Original subtitles

DRAKE: I think this is the place.

Take a look around.

[TRICORDER BEEPING]

Over here!

Definitely humanoid but I don't recognize the species.

Seems very well-preserved.

Getting him out of here is going to be a delicate operation.

- Drake to Arctic 1. MAN [OVER COM]: Go ahead.

Set up a base camp, get alpha team started.

MAN: Acknowledged. - Contact Starfleet,

tell Commander Williams he owes me a bottle of Scotch.

MAN: Sir? - He'll know what it means. Drake out.

I'm picking up EM traces a few dozen meters under the glacier.

There's a lot more here then we're seeing.

We've got another one!

- I give up, what is it? - An arm. It's his.

You're joking.

From what I can tell,

it was integrated into his circulatory and nervous systems.

He could probably operate it like it was his own flesh and blood.

I met a Vulcan scientist who wore a prosthesis.

He lost his forearm.

It's pretty sophisticated but it doesn't compare to this.

Take a look at the eyepiece.

Judging by the optics,

I'd say he could see most of the EM spectrum.

- Did you run a genetic analysis? - That's even more interesting.

They don't have much in common.

They belong to two different species.

Transmit your findings to Starfleet.

They'll find a match in their database.

- Right away. - Sir?

I've run every test in the book. I still can't identify this alloy.

- What about this? - I thought it was thermal damage

until I found signs of antimatter residue.

Maybe their warp drive overloaded.

That could explain why there's not much debris.

- I did find some carbon traces. - Could you date them?

This debris has been here for about a hundred years.

[WHIRRING]

MONINGER: Take a look at this.

Do you see those devices? They're repairing the cell membranes.

What are they?

I believe you're looking at a form of nanotechnology.

I found thousands of these in both aliens.

They're not just regenerating the damaged tissue,

they're repairing the mechanical components as well.

As far as I can tell, this arm's as good as new.

The Denobulans have experimented with nanotechnology,

but they have nothing like this.

Maybe we should move the bodies to Module 3,

put them in cold storage with the other samples.

That way, we can examine them later under controlled conditions.

Couldn't the bodies be damaged if we freeze them again?

I guess it's possible.

Then we should leave them here, let the regeneration process continue.

What if it revives more of their systems?

We don't know anything about this species

or what they were doing here a hundred years ago.

There's no reason to assume they're hostile.

Heh. They don't exactly look friendly.

Starfleet has asked us to find out everything we can.

Keep them here for now, we'll see what happens.

DRAKE: Anything? - Oh!

Plenty.

- You seem a little jumpy. - Cybernetic corpses,

digging through frozen remains in the middle of the night.

Why would I be jumpy?

I'd be more worried about the polar bears.

Heh. I've identified 22 fragments of the outer hull.

Each one has the same curvature.

I think this ship was a perfect sphere.

- How big? - About 600 meters in diameter.

The debris field could be a lot more extensive than we thought.

We might wanna get another excavation team out here.

[TRICORDER BEEPING]

- What is it? - A warp signature.

Help me with this.

Just what the doctor ordered. Thanks.

- How are your friends? - A little on the quiet side.

There's a broken heating unit in Module 3.

They've asked me to take a look. Will you be all right here?

Go ahead. I'll be fine.

Okay.

[WHIRRING]

Feeling better?

Deuterium residue. Might be some kind of warp coil?

Seems too small for a ship this size.

I'd like to bring it back to the lab, take a closer look.

[BEEPING]

[GASPS]

[MONINGER YELLING NEARBY]

DRAKE: Here, here. ROONEY: Oh.

DRAKE: Get me a medical kit.

[GASPS]

Admiral, there's a problem with the A-6 excavation team.

The Science Council hasn't heard from them in three days.

Get a shuttle ready.

ARCHER: The admiral thinks that they're humanoids

enhanced with technology.

He believes they abducted the research team.

We're a long way from the Arctic. What can we do?

Earth tracking stations spotted the transport

leaving orbit at warp 3.9.

That's impossible.

Those transports can't exceed 1.4.

I think it's safe to assume these aliens reconfigured the engines

using technology from their own ship.

Does Starfleet know where the vessel is now?

Not exactly. But their heading puts them

within a half-dozen light years of our current position.

We've been ordered to find the ship.

It shouldn't be difficult to isolate their warp signature.

We'll start searching at these coordinates.

Go to tactical alert. Lay in a course.

Aye, sir.

Buried in the ice for a century.

Hard to believe anything could survive.

Handsome devil.

- You wanted to see me, lieutenant? REED: Yes.

The researchers gathered a great deal of biometric data on these aliens,

but I'm having trouble making heads or tails of it.

How can I help?

Well, this arm might contain some sort of weapon.

If I can determine its yield, we'll have a better idea of what we're facing.

What sort of people would replace perfectly good body parts

with cybernetic implants?

You of all people should be open-minded about technology.

I don't have a problem with it, as long as it stays outside of my skin.

If your heart was damaged,

would you want me to replace it with a synthetic organ,

- or would you rather die? - That's different.

Hmm. There's a species I once encountered

in the Beta Magellan system,

the Bynars.

When they're born, a surgeon removes the child's parietal lobe

and replaces it with a synaptic processor.

I saw the procedure performed once. It was very impressive.

Yeah, I'm sure it was.

- Anything? - I don't see any evidence of a weapon.

The research team was heavily armed.

How did these aliens manage to overpower them?

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

ARCHER: Go ahead.

T'POL: We're receiving an automated distress call.

It's from a Tarkalean freighter.

HOSHI: There's a lot of interference.

To any ship within range,

we're under attack by an unknown species.

Request immediate assistance.

That's it, sir.

How long to reach them?

- About an hour. - Set a course.

Open a channel.

This is Captain Archer of the Starfleet vessel Enterprise.

Stand down your attack or we'll open fire.

[PANEL BEEPS]

They're charging weapons.

Some kind of proton burst.

Those transports aren't normally armed.

Obviously, the engines aren't the only system they've upgraded.

Any human bio-signs?

Nine on the Arctic transport. The readings are erratic.

- Can you disable their weapons? - I believe so.

[PANEL BEEPS]

- Their weapons are down. - They're going to warp.

Is there anyone alive on the Tarkalean ship?

Two bio-signs on their upper deck. Reading minimal life support.

Hold our position. Get a shuttle pod ready.

You have the Bridge.

PHLOX: The Tarkaleans should live.

The nanoprobes have infiltrated their autonomic systems.

Their renal glands have been replaced with devices like this.

Essentially, these individuals are being transformed

into some sort of cybernetic hybrid.

You said the human bio-signs were erratic.

It's likely the researchers are going through a similar transformation.

- Can you remove the nanoprobes? - Not surgically.

These devices are multiplying at an extraordinary rate.

I could never extract them all.

I'm attempting to slow their progress with a modified retrovirus,

but so far, I haven't been very successful.

Perhaps you should isolate them in the decon chamber.

If you do that, I won't be able to treat them as effectively.

I don't believe they're a danger to the crew.

I'm not so sure.

I'll have Malcolm post a guard.

Keep me updated.

[DOOR CHIMES]

ARCHER: Come in.

I've contacted Tarkalea.

I told them we're doing everything we can for their crewmen.

- Any sign of the transport? - Nothing.

There was something familiar about all this

but I couldn't put my finger on it until I found this speech

Zefram Cochrane made 89 years ago.

When I was a kid, I read everything I could about him.

It took me a while but I finally found it in the database.

He was giving a commencement address at Princeton

when he started to talk about what really happened during first contact.

He mentioned a group of cybernetic creatures from the future

who tried to stop his first warp flight when he was living in Montana.

He said they were defeated by a group of humans

who were also from the future.

As I recall, Cochrane was famous for his imaginative stories.

He was also known to be frequently intoxicated.

No one took him seriously,

and he recanted the whole thing a few years later

but you have to admit, there are similarities.

He said their ultimate goal was to enslave the human race.

If he was right,

they might be heading back to their home world,

so they can try again.

[PATIENT GROANING]

- Who are you? - My name is Phlox. I'm a physician.

You're aboard a starship. We responded to your distress call.

What did you do to me?

Your vessel was attacked. I'm doing my very best to treat you.

[GROANS]

I'm going to sedate him.

[GRUNTS]

[VOICES CHATTERING]

ARCHER: Doctor.

Phlox.

- What happened? - We were attacked.

I've been infected with the nanoprobes.

One of the aliens injected me. Some sort of tubules.

REED: Captain?

They left through here.

Seal off the maintenance shafts. Post teams at every access point.

When you find them, put them in decon, maximum security.

Aye, sir.

Use extreme caution, lieutenant. Their strength has been enhanced.

It's critical that you don't let them touch you.

- You haven't been infected. - Thanks, doctor.

Stay here in case there are any more problems.

Understood.

Call the Bridge if you need anything.

Actually, it's, uh, feeding time for my Edosian slugs.

They're quite partial to boiled root leaf. I usually pick some up from the galley.

But under the circumstances...

I'll have it brought down.

They've modified most of the primary systems,

engines, hull plating. These look like weapons nodes.

I don't even wanna guess what this thing's for.

ARCHER: Doesn't look like they've enhanced the aft plating yet.

If we can punch through it here,

we should be able to knock out this EPS manifold,

take down their main power.

One or two torpedoes ought to do it.

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

Go ahead.

I've located the transport on long-range sensors.

They're traveling at warp 4.8.

ARCHER: How far are they? - Less than two light years.

I need you to coax more power out of the engines.

I'll give it a shot.

Travis, lay in a course, warp 4.9.

MAYWEATHER: Aye, sir.

They've doubled their top speed in less than 12 hours.

Let's hope they didn't have time to upgrade their weapons.

REED: Stop what you're doing.

I'll fire if I have to.

I said, step away.

Maximum setting.

Fall back.

Reed to the Bridge.

Go ahead.

They're in Maintenance Shaft C, junction 12.

They appear to be modifying systems.

- What's in that junction? - Warp plasma regulators.

- Can you stop them? - Our weapons were useless.

They're equipped with energy shielding.

- Sir, our warp field's destabilizing. - It's them.

Isn't there an outer hatch in that junction?

Yes.

Malcolm.

Get out of that section and seal it off.

Understood.

Come on, go.

Take us out of warp.

We're clear, captain.

Sub-commander?

The junction's empty.

Close the hatch and repressurize.

Malcolm, I want you to work with Trip, find out what they were doing in there.

Aye, sir.

Resume course and speed.

You had no choice.

Room service.

What's this?

Root leaf lettuce for your slugs, Vulcan sandworms for the bat,

and angel hair pasta for the ship's physician.

It's best if I avoid food for the time being.

You need to keep up your strength.

If I eat, my cellular metabolism will accelerate.

The nanoprobes could spread further.

Well, it's right here if you change your mind.

Why are you wearing a phase-pistol?

Oh, it's Lieutenant Reed's idea.

If you come near me, I'm supposed to shoot you.

I hope you'll use the stun setting.

It's gonna be a few hours before we catch up with that transport.

I'm sure that Captain Archer wouldn't mind

if I stayed for a little while, kept you company.

I appreciate the offer,

but it may not be safe to be near me right now.

I'm armed, remember?

You've looked after me more times than I can count.

I wanna return the favor.

The technology could assert itself at any moment.

I don't know what will happen if it does.

I underestimated these nanoprobes once.

I don't intend to make the same mistake twice.

Do you mind if I feed your animals before I go?

[CREATURES SQUEAKING]

TRIP: They did a real number on these circuits.

It could take days to get all this junk out.

- What do you think they were doing? - I don't know.

But they almost overloaded the plasma regulators.

Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Why blow up the ship if you're still on it?

Hand me that, will you?

That shielding of theirs was impressive.

We might as well have been firing holographic bullets.

Too bad you didn't get a closer look.

That kind of technology could come in handy.

There's got to be a way to get through those shields with phase-pistols.

If I cross-polarized the power cells, it might increase the particle yield.

I'll be in the armory.

[DOOR OPENS]

Coffee with cream.

I believe Crewman Cunningham is in the galley

if you'd like something else.

This'll be fine.

- Is this seat taken? - Please.

Lieutenant Reed informed me

that you plan to disable the transport when we find it.

He thinks we can knock out the power systems

without causing too much damage.

So you still intend to rescue the humans?

That's the general idea.

If they've already been transformed, that could be difficult.

I wanna take these people home,

the humans and the Tarkaleans,

no matter what state they're in.

There are 29 life forms on that transport.

It's logical to assume they've all been infected.

We could endanger Enterprise if they're brought aboard.

Perhaps you should reconsider.

Are you saying we shouldn't go after that ship?

I'm saying we destroy it.

PHLOX [OVER COM]: Phlox to Captain Archer.

- Go ahead. - Would you please come to Sickbay?

On my way.

I'm not ready to declare them a lost cause.

How are you feeling?

Better than I anticipated.

The nanoprobes seem to be having trouble with my immune system.

But they are persistent little fellows. It won't be long before they adapt.

- Any progress finding a treatment? - Possibly.

I've been attempting to treat the infection as if it were,

well, an infection, then it suddenly occurred to me,

this isn't a biological problem.

I need to think like an engineer, not a physician.

I extracted several of the devices

and subjected them to different forms of radiation.

Their intermolecular processors appear to be vulnerable

to omicron particles.

But if one of the nanoprobes survives, it will start to multiply again,

so I'll need to program a rather excessive dose.

The side effects will not be pleasant to say the least.

You, uh, may want to keep this in the event I'm unsuccessful.

- What is it? - A cure of sorts.

It contains a neural toxin that will terminate my synaptic functions

within a matter of seconds.

Aren't you jumping the gun a little?

I have no intention of turning into one of those cybernetic creatures.

Increase power another five megajoules.

Fire.

Keep it going. Increase to seven megajoules.

Try eight.

Nine.

The density's holding. Bring it up to ten.

That should do it.

We'll reach that transport in less than an hour.

Let's modify as many of these as we can.

The vessel's mass has increased by 3 percent.

They've improved their defenses since we last saw them.

They're accelerating.

Warp 4.96.

- Nine-eight. - Increase speed.

We're closing.

Target that EPS manifold.

They're dropping to impulse.

They're sending a transmission, some kind of activation sequence.

- Block it. - I can't.

Tucker to the Bridge.

These cybernetic circuits just lit up like a Christmas tree.

[SYSTEMS POWERING DOWN]

They're disrupting our plasma network. Main power is failing.

We're losing weapons.

They set us up.

[PANEL BEEPS]

They're hailing us, audio only.

- This is captain... BORG: You will be assimilated.

Resistance is futile.

Hull plating's down to 81 percent.

Trip, we could use weapons.

It's gonna be a few minutes.

Plating's down another 12 percent.

- Is the transporter still online? - For the moment.

Then you're with me.

- Captain... - I'm counting on you to pull us out.

[VOICES CHATTERING]

Doctor?

I've programmed the irradiation sequence

but I'll need you to activate it. Once the chamber's sealed,

all you have to do is press this.

[GROANING]

REED: I've doubled the particle yield.

It may take a few seconds to recharge after each shot.

Put us as close as you can to their EPS manifold.

CREWMAN: Aye, sir.

Hull plating's at 23 percent.

[FOOTSTEPS]

ARCHER: This was one of the researchers.

Was?

Look at these bio-signs. They're not human anymore.

Sir.

[PANEL BEEPS]

We've been boarded. Six bio-signs, C-Deck.

Alert Security.

Bridge to Commander Tucker.

- Go ahead. - How much longer?

I think I've isolated one of the power relays.

Stand by. Ah!

Another human?

Same as the others.

[REED GRUNTS]

[GASPING]

That's it.

REED: Captain!

We've lost hull plating.

They're cutting into the hull.

- E-Deck, starboard forequarter. - Evacuate that section.

ARCHER: They've adapted. Hurry, Malcolm.

Archer to Enterprise. Stand by, transporter.

Acknowledged.

Now.

- Tucker to the Bridge. T'POL [OVER COM]: Go ahead.

The alien circuits are losing power.

- Do we have weapons? - They're coming online now.

Report.

Our engines and weapons are back online.

The transport's been disabled. So has the alien circuitry.

Did you find the research team?

There isn't anyone on that ship we can help anymore.

[PANEL BEEPS]

Sir, something's happening on the transport.

Their systems are being restored. They're charging weapons.

Target their warp core. Hit them with everything we've got.

Get me Admiral Forrest.

ARCHER: Captain's starlog, March 1 st, 2153.

Repairs to the ship are underway

and we've resumed our previous heading at low warp.

Doctor Phlox is confident he'll make a complete recovery.

ARCHER: Aren't you supposed to be in bed?

I'm merely catching up on some paperwork.

Nothing too strenuous, I assure you.

It's vital to keep the mind occupied during the healing process.

They say doctors make the worst patients.

Captain, there's something you should know.

I had a rather strange experience while I was infected.

I believe I was connected with the aliens,

possibly through some form of telepathy.

Do you think they were trying to communicate with you?

Not precisely.

It felt as though I was part of a group consciousness.

You were under extraordinary physical stress.

You may have imagined it.

It seemed quite real.

I couldn't understand most of what I was hearing

but I got the distinct impression

they were trying to send a subspace message.

They transmitted a numerical sequence.

I heard it over and over again.

[DOOR CHIMES]

Come in.

The computer analyzed Phlox's numbers.

They're pulsar frequencies

with geometric light-year measurements.

T'POL: Spatial coordinates.

They told their home world how to find Earth.

Did you learn where the message was sent?

Somewhere deep in the Delta Quadrant.

Then I doubt there's any immediate danger.

It would take at least 200 years

for a subspace message to reach the Delta Quadrant,

assuming it's received at all.

Sounds to me like we've only postponed the invasion until, what?

The 24th century?