[ST:Ent][Tech] Overview of 1.18:"Rogue Planet" SERIES: "Enterprise" EPISODE: "Rogue Planet" PROD#: ENT018 EP#: 1.18 RATING: PG AIRDATE: wed-20-mar-2002-20:00 EPDATE: [...] OFFICIAL: startrek.com/library/episodes_ent_detail.asp?ID=[...] FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.tech, rec.arts.sf.tv REVIEW#: 14.0 FORMAT#: 3.31 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent118_rogue_planet.txt This technical overview format is intended to be easy-to-scan, unambiguous, and precise, and a foundation for (in later revisions, a summary of) further freeform discussion. It distinguishes between what is said/claimed by characters, from what is actually shown. Whenever possible, it uses spellings from the closed captioning (which may not be entirely consistent, or match those on the official website). Corrections to typos, phrasing, etc. are welcome, but please, only if you include a specific citation -- the idea is to avoid *half-remembered* lines and *unrealized inferences*. The NOTES are listed in seen-on-screen order, and ANALYSIS summarizes topics. Abbreviations used: (m/f/?) name belongs to male/female/unclear, (os) on viewer screen, (?) quote is uncertain, (sp?) spelling is unclear, (vo) voiceover. This overview is (c)2002 Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org. If you wish to reuse large hunks of text, or use this as a major source, please notify me and include a citation. PLOT SPOILERS BELOW! I. TERMS TRICKY [None] TECHNOLOGY Eisilium, planetary nebula, survey ship, transceiver array; hydroponic greenhouse, replicate, protein re-sequencer, Universal Translator, warp reactor, bio-matter re-sequencer, Polycoccyx astrix(sp?), plasma torch, translation matrix, tension headache, analgesic; _Maymora_-class ship, dark matter nebula, graviton telescope; grappler, maglock, tractor beam. CULTURE Pecan pie; Zariphean blend tea, Vulcan Starship _Ti'Mur_, Denobula Triaxa, Vulcan ship _Yahrala_, Pok Tar, Vulcan Space Program CHARACTERS Cpt.Vanik, male Asian helmsman. MENTIONS Tucker's nephew; Liam Brennan, Geoff Miles, Chloe O'Shannon, Molly McCook, Gabrielle Witty; Ens.Kimball(m). III. NOTES TEASER 001. Bridge. Archer is in the center, posing for a photo. Tucker is crouched near the conn, holding an ordinary-looking camera, searching for a good angle. "You've got a stanchion growing out of your head." The photo will go to an artist in Oakland, who'll paint the portrait for the wall of captains at Starfleet Academy. They ask T'pol if there's a similar gallery on Vulcan. "Vulcans are revered for their accomplishments, not their looks," she answers. "Except for the really important ones, who get mummified," reports Tucker sourly. Reed reports a planet ahead, but no star. T'pol classifies it as a "rogue planet". ACT I 002. Bridge. T'pol scans the planet, reports a diverse animal population, but no humanoids, concentrated around vents of hot gas from the interior. "Oases," says Archer. Reed detects a "power signature" near the equator -- a ship. 003. FX. Shuttlepod flies from Ent toward planet. 004. Shuttle: Archer, Sato, Reed, T'pol. 004. FX. Shuttlepod lands in a forest-jungle; the plants have leaves. 005a. Jungle. Archer comments: this reminds him of when he earned his wildnerness merit badge in New Zealand. He was an Eagle scout; so was Reed. He earned 26 badges; Reed sheepishly admits he earned 28 (including Exobiology). The four each wear a nightimaging headset, a metal-colored band over the head that supports an eyepiece over the right eye. The eyepiece glows green when active. 005b. They see a blue-glowing centipede-like creature crawl up a tree. 005c. FX. Imager view: green-tinged, tiny text box in the upper left. 006. They discover a campsite. Archer and Sato stay, while Reed and T'pol head for the ship, 200-m away. 007a. FX. Imager view: red-tinged, alien symbols in the lower right. 007b. Reed and T'pol are accosted by a trio of humanoids (the ESKA), dressed in grey outfits, carrying rifle-sized weapons. They shout in their alien tongue, knock Reed down. Then they calm down, fiddle with their viewer goggles, lower their weapons. Their viewers resemble ski goggles, red-lit around the edge, with an adjustment knob at the left temple. 008. They return to the campsite. The three men introduce themselves as the "Eska", led by "Damrus". An Eska face has a pronounced brow ridge, a wide mid-forehead ridge leading into nose bumps, and and two narrow forehead-edge ridges. [In the usual Trek Cardassian style.] 009. The two parties eat. The Eska identify the meal as "drayjin" meat, killed yesterday. When asked why they weren't detected, Dramus explains they have "sensing cloaks" that keep the wildlife from spotting them. The Eska have come to this world to hunt for 9 generations; it's traditional; but they don't touch the "higher primates" that live there. Archer comments that hunting went out of style on Earth over 100 years earlier. Reed asks to accompany the Eska on their next hunt; he was very impressed by their stealth. "Nightvision sensors". 010. FX. Ent in orbit. "Captain's Starlog, Supplemental". [CC reads only "log"] 011. Launch bay. Reed, Tucker, and T'pol(?) load gear into a shuttle. Look out for the "bore worms": they crawl into your ear and lay eggs in your brain. 012. Camp. Archer, T'pol, Reed, Tucker, Damrus. T'pol suggests sending down the entomologists first, then other bio-science teams. 013. Camp. Archer hears a voice calling his name. He picks up a flashlight, heads into the forest (the leaves a green when lit), and discovers a beautiful blonde woman wearing a diaphanous blue dress. Why does he know her? ACT II 014. Camp. Argue about whether Archer really saw her. 015. Camp. Planning Eska hunt with a map board. "Fire wolves". According to law, hunters can visit this world ("DAKALA") for only 4-dy/yr, and often wait decades for a chance. 016. Jungle. They spot a female drayjin, a shaggy pig-like animal. 017. Thermal vent cave. Archer, T'pol and Tucker. T'pol compares it to caverns of "Deneva Prime", then wanders off. Archer asks Tucker if he's ever known him to hallucinate. "I remember a poker game on Jupiter Station once," Tucker jokes unhelpfully. 018. Jungle. The hunters spot a "wraith", a human-sized slug-like creature that moves quickly. 019. Cave. Archer meets the lady again. 020. Jungle. A wraith attacks one of the Eska. ACT III 021. Camp. Archer, Tucker and T'pol arrive to find Damrus and the second Eska treating the third. Archer calls for an evac to Sick Bay. The Eska are initially reluctant, and are prepared to treat wounds, but they *do* have only two days remaining. 022. Camp. T'pol pokes her head into Archer's tent, tells him the shuttle has docked. Archer, fiddling with a scanner, tells her there are no psychotropic compounds in the area. 023. FX. Ent in orbit. 024. Sick Bay. Tucker enters and asks Phlox about the patient. It was a "simple matter to synthesize his blood type," the doctor says, then asks about the attacker. A drayjin: "looks like a big nasty pig; kinda tastes like one too." Phlox shows him a sample of cellular residue from the wound: the cells are in "chromosomal flux". 025. Cave. Archer meets the lady. He guesses they're telepathic. She explains that her people can become "a tree, an animal, water, whatever you see." The Eska hunt them. ACT IV 026. Camp. Toasting the recovery of the wounded Eska. They also hunt on their homeworld, so Archer asks why they come lightyears to Dakala. Damrus describes the challenge of the wraiths: "imagine something that can get inside your mind." They're "shape-shifters" who originally had the upper hand in the hunts, but he insists the response is instinctual, not intelligent. They assume the exact characteristics of objects, enough to fool even scanners. In recent years, the Eska learned that when they panic, especially the young, they emit a chemical signature that can be tracked. 027. FX. Ent in orbit. 028. Situation Room: Archer, T'pol, Reed, Phlox, Tucker. Archer wants a way to protect the wraiths. Their "mutative ability -- quite remarkable," comments Phlox. Archer asks him for a way to mask the chemical signature. 029. Mess. Tucker enters, sees Archer, gets some milk. "Do you know any poetry?" Archer asks. "Besides 'There was a young lady from Ipswich'?" he replies. Archer explains how his mom had read to him "The Song of the Wandering Angus", which he later learned was by Yates [Yeats?]. It described a beautiful woman, and though he'd forgotten about the image he'd built in his mind, he figures *that's* what the Wraith had keyed from. 030. Jungle. The three Eska hunters track a Wraith, which changes unobserved from a drayjin into a tree. They enter the clearing, and are surprised they can't detect its chemical signature, so they start firing randomly to frighten it. It shifts to its native slug-form, knocks over one hunter, and slithers off. 031. Camp. Archer and Tucker meet the frustrated returning hunters. 032. Cave. Archer meets the Wraith-lady, who confirms that she distributed the "masking agent" to the others. She changes to her slug-form and departs. It's grey, flat, with a rippled edge, The small rounded head is surmounted by two short stalks. The back sports three lines of darker-grey sawtooth fringes. V. CONNECTIONS 1. Shape-shifters TOS: "Star Trek 6" TNG:"The Dauphin" DS9 VI. ANALYSIS VII. NITS 1. If this "rogue planet" is wandering through the dark of interstellar space, why do all the plants have green (when lit) leaves? Just how large are these "oases" around the thermal vents, and why is there so little thermal gradient? Why does the fauna have eyes? VIII. NEXT WEEK Ferengi! Ferengi with UTs! Ferengi using their UTs to try to speak to Porthos!