[ST:Ent][Tech] Overview of 1.20:"Oasis" SERIES: "Enterprise" EPISODE: "Oasis" PROD#: ENT020 EP#: 1.20 RATING: PG AIRDATE: wed-3-apr-2002-20:00 EPDATE: [not stated] OFFICIAL: startrek.com/library/episodes_ent_detail.asp?ID=123863 FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.tech, rec.arts.sf.tv REVIEW#: 16.0 FORMAT#: 3.4 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent120_oasis.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: mel=male, fem=female, (m/f/?) name belongs to mel/fem/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 Kantare pronounced "kan-tar-ay". TECHNOLOGY (t) protein resequencer, duratanium, dilithium ore; (1) computer terminal, data module, dilithium crystals, dampening field, dilithium matrix; (2) cross-circuited, helm control, airponics, plasma feed, power shunt, computer core, optronic relays, diagnostic gear; (3) escape pod; (4) holograms, plasma conduits, plasma leak, antimatter injectors. CULTURE (t) hajjlaran, Preenos, Triaxian silk; (1) ghost stories, Kotara Barath, Kantare; (2) Xyrillian, lorella; (3) Denobula; Rocky Road ice cream. CHARACTERS Billy; D'Marr[web]/D'Mar[cc](?); Cpt.Kuulan, Shilat, Liana, Liana's father Ezral (unnamed), Liana's mother Maya (unnamed). MENTIONS Chef. III. NOTES TEASER * Officers mess. Archer, Tucker and T'pol are dining with the alien trader D'MARR. The two humans choke on a spice he calls HAJJLARAN ("and I thought Cajun cooking was hot," says Tucker); he claims the warlords on PREENOS [planet?] test their courage with it. T'pol turns it down. D'Marr offers them some TRIAXIAN SILK for another "protein resequencer", but Archer says what they really need is engineering supplies: "raw duratanium", "dilithium ore". D'Marr says he prefers to deal in "exotic goods", but mentions that there's a small system "2 days away" that might serve their purposes. He's reluctant to say more, until Archer bribes him with 10-kg of coffee (Chef is mentioned). He'd discovered a largely intact "transport vessel" crashed on "one of the inner planets", with no "life-signs" -- but when he tried to salvage it, the crew objected. Haunted? ACT I * FX #1. Ent passes over planet, right to left. * Bridge. * Screen FX. Crashed ship seen from above. * Archer, T'pol, Reed, Mayweather, Tucker, Sato, (3 extras in situation room). * T'pol confirms that the ship shows no life-signs or power signature. Tucker reads "duratanium", "beryllium", and "dilithium". Despite some misgivings by Mayweather and Sato, Tucker points out that Ent's suffered a lot more damage than expected, and that duratanium could patch a lot of "hull fractures". Archer agrees. * FX #2a. Shuttle lands beside ship, which sits on a grassy plain below several sheer rocky cliffs. There's a large moon in the sky. * K-Corridor. Archer, Mayweather, Tucker and T'pol enter, wearing jackets (T'pol has her own Vulcan jacket, slick brown, with her insignia on the left collar) and holding flashlights. They split up; Archer reminds them to "comm us" if they come across the crew. * K-Engineering. Tucker and T'pol enter. T'pol hears something, but her scan shows it's not rats (as Tucker suggests). Vulcans don't imagine things, she tells him, nor do they get scared (the creeps, willies, heebie-jeebies). * K-Corridor. Archer mentions Mayweather's "famous ghost stories". They find a "computer terminal", and Mayweather's scans indicate the "data modules" are without power, but intact. He sets to remove one. (The terminal has 4 bowtie-shaped screens, 1 large vertical and 3 small horizontal.) * K-Engineering. Tucker's scan indicates the "dilithium crystals" are in perfect shape. T'pol sees a reflection, turns. Tucker jokes until they both see a shadow. He calls Archer, pulls his phase-pistol. They find a series of access panels on the lower half of the wall; T'pol detects a space behind one. He cuts open the fastenings with the gun. * K-Anteroom. They enter an anteroom, and T'pol triggers the control for a large double-door. * K-Airponics. They enter a room full of vegetation; T'pol reports a "dampening field" that had hidden its life-signs. Tucker discovers a young woman (LIANA), who stares frightened at him, until he lowers his gun; she scoots off. He calls T'pol, and they pass through a door. * K-Cargo. They stop short when confronted with at least a dozen crew (male and female), all with raised pistols. Both lower their phase-pistols. * FX #2b. Shuttle landed beside ship. * K-Cargo, later. CAPTAIN KUULAN and EZRAL explain the situation to Archer. The "supply ship" had been returning from their colony on KOTARA BARATH, when it was beset and forced down by attackers. They set up the dampening field, and haven't called out for fear of attracting them; thus they've waited for 3 years. Archer offers to take them home, but Kuulan says their world (KANTARE) is "over a year away". Tucker points out that their "dilithium matrix is stable", and they have "plenty of antimatter reserves", and offers to help them with repairs. * K-Engineering. Tucker is working alone, and is startled by Liana's silent arrival. She explains that her father (Ezral) is the ship's engineer, and had taught her. Her MOTHER (MAYA) enters, and scolds her. ACT II * K-Engineering. T'pol notes the "cross-circuited" fees, and Tucker explains the crew had shunted "helm control" to AIRPONICS. He mentions Liana, how she'd earlier warned him away from a "live plasma feed". T'pol denigrates his relationship. "She's very competent," he says defensively. "So was the female engineer on the Xyrillian ship." Liana arrives with food, a tray bearing a LORELLA (looks like an acorn squash). T'pol departs to remove the "power shunts" on the bridge. Liana explains that nothing can take root outside. Tucker mentions that "nearly a third" of Ent's crew is female. She evades his questions about her homeworld, "Kantare". Kuulan, Ezral, and SHILAT enter, and mention something else that can be repaired. * K-Computer. Kuulan leads T'pol, Tucker into a room (followed by Ezral, Liana and Shilat.) Tucker(?) identifies it as "their computer core". T'pol notices the "optronic relays", and Kuulan(?) explains they've begun to "degrade". Tucker claims to have worked on something similar on the Xyrillian ship. He'll need some "diagnostic gear" from Ent, and offers to bring them up; but the men refuse. Liana is anxious to go, but Ezral objects. * Situation room * Reed, Archer, Mayweather, (2 extras at starboard bridge stations). * Mayweather is growing suspicious. The ship shows only impact damage, no weapons fire. Surely their attackers would be gone after 3 years. The airponics bay is too small to feed the entire crew. Archer orders Mayweather to get the data module (still in "shuttlepod one") and have Sato "download" it. * FX #1. * Engineering. * Tucker, Liana, (fem cauc blon, fem afr, mel, mel, mel). * Tucker gives Liana a tour. He mentions the crew of 83 is mostly humans, except for T'pol, Phlox (from "a planet called Denobula"), and Porthos. He tries to explain "dog" and "pet". She's still evading questions. They take the lift down, then exit through the port hatch (as mel #4 enters). * Corridor. * Tucker, Liana, Archer(vo), Billy, (1 fem, 2 mel). * Archer pages Tucker, and he answers at an intercom panel next to a turbolift. He's called to the ready room, and hands Liana off to BILLY (mel cauc shaved). * Ready room: Archer, Reed, Tucker. Archer asks about any strange behavior he's seen. He and Reed explain the findings from the data module, their reconstruction of events prior to the crash. There was no attack; there was "some kind of catastrophic malfunction" and a "massive depressurization". Reed ran some "detailed scans", and the "oxidation rate" of the "hull plating" shows the ship's been grounded for "nearly 22 years". (Reed hands the pad to Tucker so he can check the figures.) Several "escape pods" were launched; Reed had located one still in orbit. * Launch bay. * Archer, Reed, Tucker, Phlox, (1 mel). * Phlox seems unsure about opening the pod. [Squeamish about corpses? Denobulan death-respect customs?] Reed punches three buttons, and the single-place pod's hatch opens, revealing the dessicated (but not decayed) corpse. Tucker recognizes it as Shilat -- whom he'd seen alive on the ship "an hour ago". ACT III * K-Computer. T' pol works alone on the optronic relays. Reading the screen, something concerns her. She exits. * Mess hall. Tucker enters, sees Liana eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream. He mentions that he likes "Rocky Road", but stumbles on trying to explain marshmallows. She mentions that Phlox had let her feed "his bat". He confronts her with their findings: the 22-year span, the escape pod with Shilat. Agitated, she gets up to leave, refuses to explain, starts to cry, asks to return home. * K-Corridor. T'pol prowls with a flashlight. She turns, and suddenly Shilat is standing there. Turn again -- 2 more crew, then Kuulan. * FX #2a(?). * K-Corridor. Archer, Reed, Tucker, Liana enter. They're confronted by Kuulan, Ezral, Shilat; and suddenly 3 others. Their weapons are taken. Tucker is taken, and the other two are ushered out. * K-Computer. Tucker's ushered in by Shilat and Kuulan; the latter leaves, and the former keeps his pistol drawn. * K-Airponics. Liana speaks with her mother. * Launch bay. Archer, Reed, Mayweather and mel board Pod 1. The dampening field means the Kantarens are blind, but it also blocks the transporter (Reed notes). They'll sneak in. * K-Computer. Shilat refuses to explain about his corpse. Liana enters, asks him to leave. She admits they're ghosts. * K-Corridor. * K-Computer. * The Ent party splits: Archer and Reed, Mayweather and mel. The former come under fire; Reed is hit. (Yellow-green beam.) Archer carries Reed. They fire back. Shilat comes through the wall. * Tucker and Liana hear the gunfire. She comes to a decision, a begins removing circuitry modules from the desk. * With each module, 2 crew vanish, their guns dropping to the deck. Finally, Ezral is left alone. ACT IV * K-Cargo. * Archer, Tucker, Ezral, Liana. * To Archer's questions, Ezral explains he'd "created" the crew (whom he thinks of as real). "It wasn't easy." "They were holograms," realizes Tucker. Ezral buried them after the crash, and blames their deaths on himself. He'd been chief engineer. An "ion storm" overloaded some "plasma conduits"(?), and "leaking plasma burned through the hull". He left his station to fetch Liana from their quarters, located on the lowest deck, and which wouldn't survive the imminent crash. While he was gone, the "plasma leak" caused an explosion which instantly killed half the crew, including his wife. For 2 years after the crash he'd tried to make the ship spaceworthy, but saw Liana growing up alone. So he recreated the crew, starting with her mother. The two aren't anxious to leave, but Tucker asks Liana: is merely surviving, enough? Mayweather enters with T'pol. Archer offers to repair the "holographic systems", but asks them to think hard. * FX #3. Ent in orbit, forward stance, approaching. * Ready room. Ezral enters, speaks to Archer. Reaches decision. Provides a list of components he needs, but declines Archer's offer of help; he has his own crew. * K-Cargo. Liana and the crew bustle about. Tucker enters, carrying a metal case. She tells him they're ready to start "realigning the antimatter injectors". He explains it's a "protein resequencer"; he's programmed it with 5 flavors of "ice-cream". * FX #2c. Shuttle lifts off from beside ship. V. CONNECTIONS 1. Holographic lifeforms unconfined to holodecks have been seen in DS9-216:"Shadowplay" (isolated town), VGR-405:"Revulsion" (murderous isomorph), VGR-414:"Message in a Bottle" (_Prometheus_ EMH), VGR-709/10:"Flesh and Blood" (Hirogen prey). Holographic technology was first seen in ENT in ENT-105:"Unexpected". 2. T'pol once again questions Tucker's integrity, re: his unfortunate experience with the Xyrillians from ENT-105:"Unexpected". [Perhaps the lady doth protest too much.] VI. ANALYSIS 1. D'Mar. An trader in exotic items, including spices and fabric, but not hardware (though he'll take it in trade). Has a reptile-like head: green-grey hairless skin, a serrated diagonal ridge on each cheeks, raised plates across his elongated skull. We don't see his ship. 2. Kantaren aliens. 99% humanoid. Patterns of light-colored freckle/pimples: a wedge at each temple, and a trail on the back of the neck, leading down from the hairline. The homeworld(?) is called Kantare (pronounced kan-tar-ay), and there's a colony on Kotara Barath, located at least 1-yr distant (at the freighter's speed). 3. Kantaren supply ship. The oft-seen wedge-shaped TNG freighter, which originally appeared (in white, with extra bits) as the Husnock battleship, and was later used by Pakleds and Bajorans. 4. Kantaren script and displays. Characters are vaguely hexagonal, sometimes with two parts, sometimes with a long leg. Line weight varies. Notches and wedge-shaped serifs. Appear as single characters on hatches, and in vertical columns on displays. Some displays (seen dark) are apparently bowtie-shaped: oblong with two semicircular indents. When powered, there's a central section delimited by a purple outline in the shape of two fused hexagons; above and below are columns of text. VII. NITS 1. Holographic technology usually requires a lot of power, computing and holo-emitters. Was the Kantare ship originally equipped for ship-wide holograms, or did Ezral install emitters? If so, did he replicate them (no sign of food replication), or were they part of the cargo? If the antimatter core was offline, what powered them? 2. Does the Kantare ship have replication technology? Perhaps it's too power-intensive, hence the airponics. Maybe it wore out after the putative holo-emitter manufacturing. Maybe it's limited to non-food goods. VIII. NEXT WEEK Repeats.