Original subtitles

I admit it. I've got a few butterflies.

Heh, okay, more than a few.

You haven't stopped talking about this for a week.

It's different for you. You grew up with the man.

When I was 7, my mom bought me a book about him.

Emory Erickson: Father of the Transporter.

I made her read it to me every night for a month.

That book is the reason I became an engineer.

Did I ever tell you about meeting Zefram Cochrane?

Yeah, only about 50 times.

Then you know I understand how you feel.

[TRIP CHUCKLES]

You want a mirror?

You got a mean streak in you, you know that?

- Nothing seems to be missing. DANICA: Mm.

- Hello, Emory. - Jonathan, look at you.

I always suspected you'd be famous.

Just didn't think that you'd be more famous than me.

[ARCHER CHUCKLES AND EMORY LAUGHS]

- Jon. - Good to see you.

- Oh, we have a lot of catching up to do. - Mm-hm.

Do it later. I want a tour of this place.

My chief engineer, Commander Charles Tucker.

It's an honor.

Guess you and I will be spending some time together.

I'm looking forward to it.

Danica, Trip.

I hope you don't mind that I'm borrowing your ship, captain.

As long as you return it in good condition.

Don't know if I can promise that.

When this test is over,

Enterprise and all of Starfleet could be obsolete.

Sounds like you're trying to put me out of a job.

[LAUGHS]

ARCHER: Captain's starlog, supplemental.

In preparation for Dr. Erickson's experiment,

we've reduced power in all but essential areas of the ship.

Feel like some company?

We haven't talked much since Vulcan. How are you holding up?

I'm fine.

I've been seeing you by yourself a lot.

I'm reading the Kir'Shara.

How is it?

Interesting.

Interesting?

Extremely.

Look, I know what you're going through.

Losing a family member, it's the toughest thing there is.

I see no point in discussing it. It's in the past.

- Your mother died a week ago. - Talking won't change that.

It may change the way you feel about it.

I don't feel anything about it.

- Well, you can tell yourself that. - It's the truth.

You know, when Lizzie died,

there were times I wanted to close up and retreat inside of myself.

Trip, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not necessary.

You're fine?

Well, if you ever do wanna talk,

let me know.

I'll see you.

Sub-quantum teleportation. You step onto a transporter on Earth,

a few seconds later, you're on Vulcan.

That's over 16 light years.

EMORY: That's just for starters.

Theoretically, there is no limit to the distance.

One of the things we're here to test.

You tell me, with that kind of technology,

who'd have any use for a starship?

Maybe you will put me out of a job.

- Dad. TRIP: Heh.

Well, I wouldn't worry too much.

It's gonna take decades to work out all the bugs.

But when we do,

Starfleet's gonna look a hell of a lot different.

That's if it exists at all.

You can see he hasn't changed.

I remember you and my father having similar discussions.

He believed the future was in the warp drive.

I believed in the transporter pad.

I miss those talks.

I miss him.

To Henry.

The Vulcan Science Academy

has been studying sub-quantum transporting

for some time with little result.

I've been trying to get my hands on some of that research for years.

In hindsight, it's probably just as well that I couldn't.

Might have sent me down the wrong path.

It's hard to imagine beaming someone that far.

All breakthroughs are hard to imagine before they happen.

When I developed the transporter, most people simply couldn't grasp it.

Some still can't.

I have to confess, given a choice,

I'd much rather use a good old-fashioned shuttlepod.

[EMORY CHUCKLES]

I'll never forget the protests

when the transporter was first approved for bio-matter.

Oh, God, here we go. Heh.

People said it was unsafe.

That it caused brain cancer, psychosis, and even sleep disorders.

And then there was all that metaphysical chatter

about whether or not the person who arrived after the transport

was the same person who left and not some weird copy.

Which would make all of us copies.

I had to fight all of that nonsense.

And I'm not gonna tell you there weren't costs.

I'm living proof of that.

But I won.

[EMORY CHUCKLES]

Mankind is better off.

Makes everything I fought for worthwhile.

Here's to a successful experiment.

ARCHER: Captain's starlog, supplemental.

We're entering an area known as the Barrens.

There's not a star system within a hundred light years.

Perfect conditions for Emory's test.

EMORY: Those early days were pretty terrifying.

I'm lucky to be alive.

Is it true you were the first person to go through?

I wasn't about to let anyone else do it.

Oh, you must have been scared.

Terrified.

That original transporter took a full minute and a half to cycle through.

Felt like a year.

You could actually feel yourself being taken apart and put back together.

When I materialized,

first thing I did was lose my lunch.

[CHUCKLES]

Second thing I did was get stone drunk.

Trick I learned from Zefram Cochrane.

Now, there was a man who knew the benefits of a little liquid courage.

What is it?

Well, you're gonna need more juice than I thought.

Not more than Enterprise can spare.

Well, we'll have to draw directly from the warp reactor,

maybe even have to shut down a few systems.

You'll be able to leave the lights on.

Yeah.

If I could get a look at your power converter, it might help me out.

I'll tell you what, when I'm done with this, I'll install the converter.

See if I can make life easier on you.

Well, thanks, but, uh, when it comes to modifying our systems,

I prefer to do things myself.

Can I get a look at it?

I said I'd install the converter.

And I said, "No, thanks."

Heh. I wish I had time to debate the finer points of engineering protocol,

but as you can see, I'm extremely busy.

And I realize this is your ship and I'm only a guest,

but let me remind you that Starfleet has granted me

complete access to your systems.

If you hadn't noticed,

I'm more than capable of handling a little power upgrade.

[SIGHS]

Hand me that, will you?

That's the main reactor, and those are the plasma feeds, right?

You know the ship like a member of the crew.

I've read just about everything I could find on her.

I probably could describe every one of your missions.

Still wonder why you haven't signed on.

I think you know the answer.

Your father seems like he can take care of himself.

He sure hasn't lost any of his edge.

Can't argue with that.

- So why are you still on Earth? - He needs me.

He still hasn't gotten over Quinn.

- It's been 14 years. - Fifteen.

He lost a son.

If you leave, he'll lose a daughter.

If this test goes well, it'll be a new start for him.

Give him something to look forward to.

He won't spend all of his time thinking about the past.

And if the test doesn't go well?

I don't know.

We both grew up with fathers who could be pretty demanding.

That's an understatement.

[ARCHER CHUCKLES]

Maybe you should start thinking more about yourself.

I know it's hard taking advice from someone who used

to chase you around the backyard with a plastic laser pistol.

[DANICA CHUCKLES]

Yeah, but it's good advice, Jonathan.

I just wish I could follow it.

EMORY: How was your tour?

I enjoyed it.

I can always tell when you're upset.

You do this like you're in a hurry.

Don't you think there's something to be upset about?

We're here.

That's reason enough to be optimistic.

We're lying to them.

- We have no choice. - We could talk to Jon.

- He might be able to help us. - No.

He wouldn't understand. We can't say anything to him.

We can't trust anyone.

It's Jon.

He's a Starfleet captain. His first duty is to his ship.

[SCOFFS]

You talk about him like he's an enemy.

He's not an enemy.

But he's not on our side either, believe me.

[SYSTEMS POWERING DOWN]

It's from over there.

No.

I'll take up.

You take down.

It could be a form of spatial distortion.

Can you pinpoint it?

F-Deck. Near the Armory.

[SCREAMS]

Sickbay. Crewman down in the Armory.

T'POL: He suffered massive cellular disruption,

as if he'd been subjected to intense delta radiation.

- Did other crewmen see anything? - The lights were malfunctioning.

This anomaly you detected,

do you think it was somehow responsible?

It showed up at the same time

in the same location.

Can't have been a coincidence.

I sympathize, believe me.

During the initial tests for the transporter,

some brave men and women were lost.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about them.

How can I help?

You spent a great deal of time in this region of space.

I never encountered anything like this.

Are you sure?

There's a reason this is called the Barrens, captain.

There's nothing out here.

Something out here killed one of my crewmen.

I wish I had an explanation for you.

[GROANS]

- What is it? - Time for my treatment. Dani.

I'm sorry.

Can we, uh, continue this later?

Of course.

Calm down.

You never said anything like this would happen.

I didn't know this would happen.

Dad,

a man is dead.

And we're responsible.

I'm not gonna go along with this anymore.

- Listen to me. - No. No.

We've gotta tell them the truth.

Dani, you're condemning him to death.

I'm condemning him?

How do you know he isn't already dead?

He's alive.

Dad.

Jonathan's practically family.

He and Quinn were best friends.

I know. I know that.

We can't do this to him, to his crew.

We're almost ready for our first test.

Someone else could die before then.

Oh, the odds of that happening again are extremely small.

No one's going to die.

I just need a couple days.

We owe him that much, Dani.

I wonder what he would have to say about all this.

About what we're doing.

When we're done, you can ask him.

TRIP: Routing power.

[ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS WHINING]

- Ready. - Help me up.

- Sir? - Give me a hand, please.

This part I like doing myself.

[TRIP CHUCKLES]

Energizing.

The probe materialized at the target coordinates.

Looks like it arrived in good condition.

Captain, we're receiving telemetry.

ARCHER: We're already getting back data.

Congratulations, Emory.

Forty thousand kilometers.

- Nothing's ever gone that far. - It's a start.

[TRIP CHUCKLES]

It's, uh, gonna take a few hours to gather all the telemetry.

Let's celebrate in Mess Hall. My treat.

I like to monitor the data as it comes in. I'm sort of obsessive that way.

Well, then let me bring something back for you.

Help pass the time between data streams.

No, thanks.

It's been a long day. You must be starving.

You go ahead. I'll join you later.

Sure you don't want a second pair of eyes?

One pair will do.

And no offense, commander,

but I work much better when I'm not being distracted.

You know where to find me.

[DOOR CHIMES]

Come in.

Something's wrong.

Most of the work Emory had me do,

tapping into the warp reactor for extra power,

re-routing the plasma flow,

it wasn't necessary for the test.

What are you saying?

- Remember when the lights dimmed? - Yeah.

Well, he channeled that energy into a feedback loop.

It wasn't going into the beam.

Maybe he needs the power for another phase of the experiment.

Well, from what I can tell,

his sub-quantum version should use less energy than a regular transporter.

That's one of the reasons it's so brilliant.

Either he was keeping me busy, making sure I was looking the other way,

or this sub-quantum thing is a smokescreen for something else.

Something he hasn't told us about.

I wouldn't have picked up on any of it if you hadn't asked me to take a closer look.

ARCHER: When I asked Emory about the anomaly that killed Burrows,

he claimed he'd never heard of anything like it.

Not true?

Something very similar appeared on Emory's research ship

five years ago.

T'Pol dug up the report from Starfleet's data banks.

Crew member saw it.

Said it seemed to be alive.

T'POL [OVER COM]: Bridge to Captain Archer.

- Go ahead. - We're picking up another one.

It's on C-Deck, Section 5.

ARCHER: On my way.

It's fluctuating.

What's your best guess?

I've lost it.

Take Section 3. Take Section 4. Don't let it touch you.

This way.

It should be here.

It's highly unstable, surrounded by a subspace field.

[T'POL YELLS]

You're fortunate you didn't have more prolonged contact.

Can you put that down for 30 seconds?

I took visual readings.

Can you slow it down?

Hold it.

Enhance.

A little more.

Who is it?

It's Quinn.

Emory's son.

That's incredible.

- He hasn't aged a day. - Emory.

I'm not here to test a new transporter.

I'm here to bring back my son.

What are you talking about?

We were conducting first trials,

my greatest achievement.

Quinn wanted to be the first to go through.

He was a lot like his old man.

A lot like you.

I lost his signal and couldn't get it back.

Truth is,

the sub-quantum transporter is a fundamentally flawed concept.

It'll never work. Not now.

Not a thousand years from now.

I suppose I knew that at the time.

You let him go through with the test?

I was a relatively young man who had

created something to change Starfleet.

After an achievement of that magnitude, there was nowhere to go but down.

My life became just one long struggle to recapture past glory.

I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about Quinn.

I wasn't thinking of the consequences.

You said you came here to get him back?

This region, the Barrens,

is actually a subspace node,

a bubble of curved space-time.

It's why there are no stars.

Quinn's transporter signal is trapped here.

At certain intervals, there are fluctuations in the node

that cause the signal to reappear.

If we can lock onto it at one of those intervals

we can save him.

You could have told me all of this before.

Starfleet would never have authorized the mission.

I had to create an excuse.

A member of my crew is dead.

I didn't know that the manifestations would be dangerous, believe me.

You want me to believe you?

I want you to help me.

Quinn was like a brother to you.

You were like my second father.

You should have trusted me.

All I need is one more scan.

- I can bring him back. - Is that the truth?

I'm not lying.

You've been lying to me since you came.

I had no choice.

I'm sorry.

Please help me, Jonathan.

Help me save my son.

Please.

I want you both to work with Emory, give him whatever help he needs.

What is it, Trip?

I can't believe I'm hearing this. We've already lost one man.

It won't happen again.

We'll alert the crew to the danger.

If they'd been alerted 24 hours ago, Burrows might be alive.

We don't fully understand the nature of these manifestations.

- They could pose other dangers. - I know there's a risk.

We're talking one more day. That's all Emory needs.

- What he claims he needs. - I believe him.

- Because he's a friend of the family? - That's not why I'm doing this.

Why are you doing this?

Quinn's signal is getting weaker, Trip.

It's been decaying for the past 15 years.

Emory says if we don't do something now, we'll never get him back in one piece.

- We have a responsibility to help. - What about Emory's responsibility?

- He lied to get us out here. - I'm aware of that.

But we're here.

We can't just turn the ship around and leave a man to die.

You have your orders. I suggest you get started.

We're still getting a spike in the array.

I could swap out the emitter coils with something from Engineering.

Might even out a bit.

Sounds good.

I'll get on it.

I know you don't approve of what I've done.

Well, you need my approval?

I'm disappointed that you think less of me.

You liked me better when I worshiped your shadow?

Yes.

It's an honest answer.

I'd think you'd be out of practice.

You may want to reserve judgment on my actions until you've lost a son.

I have lost someone close.

And I'd do almost anything to get her back.

Except put other people in danger.

Quinn and I used to argue all the time.

Wasn't until I lost him that I realized

that those arguments were some of the happiest moments of my life.

I'll be in Engineering.

[DOOR CHIMES] [PORTHOS WHINES]

DANICA: Can I come in?

Hey, there.

You must be Porthos.

I heard a lot about you.

Heh. He's got a lot of personality.

And an appetite to match.

I wanted to say that I'm sorry.

I should have come to you earlier. I feel responsible.

You lost a crewman.

We can't change what's happened.

Maybe some good can come out of it.

You think we can get him back?

I think that it's possible.

That's enough reason for me to try.

I wonder

what it must be like for him, you know?

Is he in pain?

Is he conscious?

If he is, does he think that we've forgotten about him?

Quinn was everything to my father.

To both of us.

Getting him back is all that we've thought about for the past 15 years.

Let's hope when this is over,

you'll have something else to think about.

The power conversion tables.

Some of these modifications should help.

- Thanks. - Is there anything else?

No, I think we're pretty much there.

I'm trying to decide what to show for movie night.

Movie night?

Yeah, I thought I'd fire up the old tradition.

You in the mood for a horror film or a musical?

I don't think I'll have the time for either.

You can't spend every second of your life studying the...

- Whatever it's called. - Kir'Shara.

You gotta take a break eventually.

Eventually.

I don't get you, T'Pol.

I thought you joined Starfleet so you could interact a little more with humans.

But it seems to me that ever since we left spacedock,

you spend all your free time cooped up in your room reading that bible of yours.

I may have found new priorities.

What's that supposed to mean?

I'm needed on the Bridge.

T'POL [OVER COM]: T'Pol to Captain Archer.

Archer.

I picked up something that was in your area, but I've lost it.

Keep monitoring.

He's here.

[SYSTEMS POWERING DOWN]

Jonathan.

There.

Quinn?

[EMORY GRUNTS]

[EMORY COUGHING]

We docked at an EPS junction.

- Repair is gonna take a couple hours. - Will it affect the transporter?

No.

Can't believe you're going through with it.

We're not gonna have this argument.

That thing barely missed a stack of torpedoes.

If it had jumped two feet to the left, we wouldn't be here to talk about it.

We should concentrate on repairing the ship so we can get out.

If we beam Quinn aboard, there won't be any more of these manifestations.

- How do you know? - Trip.

You're putting your feelings before the safety of the ship.

You are this close to insubordination.

- Insubordination? - I've made a decision. The right decision.

And the discussion is over. Can you accept that?

- Now go do your job. - Yes, sir.

I got what I needed.

You should be able to get a good lock when he reappears.

When will that be?

Just over three hours.

- How's your ship? - We're ready.

You saved my life.

Forget it.

You didn't deserve any of this, Jonathan.

I'm sorry this became your problem.

Let's make it worthwhile. Let's get Quinn back.

[SIGHS]

I'm scared.

I don't blame you.

I've waited so long for this moment, planned for it.

What if something goes wrong? What if I fail?

On the day before I entered flight training,

I asked my father pretty much the same thing.

What did he say?

"Don't fail."

[CHUCKLES]

Henry never was a poet.

He didn't need to be.

Any moment now.

- T'Pol? - Nothing.

[COM BEEPS]

T'POL: Captain. - Go ahead.

B-Deck, Section 8.

Confinement beam, widest possible spread.

Way ahead of you.

Got a lock on something.

- Pattern's good. - Let me.

Energizing.

- We need more power. TRIP: That's all we've got.

It's working.

Quinn.

No. No.

Complete the transport sequence.

I don't have a strong enough signal.

Recalibrate the confinement beam.

- That won't help get us a lock. - Just do it.

I'm reading massive cellular deterioration.

That's not possible.

He's losing cohesion. If he materializes, he'll die in seconds.

Then reverse the damage by cross-phasing the stream.

The transporter can't do that.

I built the damn thing.

I'm losing his vital signs.

- Emory. - Get away from me.

Tie in the secondary buffers.

- There's not enough time. - Dad.

I can hold the pattern. Just do it.

- Dad, let him go. - No.

There's nothing you can do for him.

I can't let him go, I can't.

Emory.

You can't save him.

I'm sorry, Quinn.

[QUINN GROANING]

- Quinn. - Dad?

What's wrong?

Quinn, please forgive me.

- Please. - What is it?

What?

[SOBBING]

[DOOR CHIMES]

Come in.

I couldn't leave him like that.

It's better to be alive or dead,

not somewhere in between.

If it means anything,

my guess is Quinn would feel the same way.

I came here to bring my son home.

I suppose I accomplished my goal.

I've been in contact with Starfleet.

I imagine they're not too happy with all this.

I'm sure they'll take your achievements into consideration.

I perpetrated a fraud to obtain the use of your ship.

A member of your crew is dead.

There's no way I'm going to avoid the consequences.

It's one good thing to come out of this.

Dani won't have to worry about taking care of me anymore.

I managed to let go of one of my children.

Now I guess it's time for me to let go of the other.

I always thought she should be out here.

Maybe they'll put me somewhere where I'll be useful.

Get a chance to teach.

You'd probably be good at it.

[CHUCKLES]

I wouldn't be boring.

Why settle for making myself miserable

when I can spread the misery around to an entire class of students?

Your neurolytic enzymes are at the same level they were a week ago.

No sign of Pa'nar Syndrome.

It's still difficult for me to accept.

You were diagnosed with an incurable disease, now it's gone.

It's a big adjustment.

From what I've been reading, similar diagnoses

have taken place all over Vulcan.

People with Pa'nar are coming forward. It's no longer a stigma.

The Kir'Shara is having an enormous impact.

It's clearly had an impact on you.

You, uh, seem more certain of yourself.

I've never felt less certain.

You're re-examining your core beliefs.

Something most people never do.

Do you have a moment?

Sure.

Something tells me you're not here to talk about movie night.

I'm going through something that's very complicated.

I know.

I'm learning, it seems for the first time,

what it truly means to be Vulcan.

Well, maybe you can fill me in.

Not until I understand it myself.

I don't think there'll be time for...

What do you want me to say?

That you understand.

I do.

It's not like I didn't know this was coming.

At least the warp engines still need me.

ARCHER: Captain's starlog, supplemental.

We've rendezvoused with the Sarajevo,

which will be returning Emory and Danica to Earth.

Safe journey.

And you, Jonathan.

Commander.

An honor working with you.

Some suggestions.

Might boost your transporter range a few hundred kilometers.

Couldn't resist.

I'll check it out.

Say goodbye to Porthos.

Good luck.

Maybe I'll see you around.