EPISODE: "Rajiin" PROD#: ENT056 TRAN#: 3.04 RATING: PG-V AIRDATE: wed-24-sep-2003-20:00 EPDATE: [not stated] OFFICIAL: startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/2287.html FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.tech REVIEW#: 47.0 FORMAT#: 5.0 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent304_rajiin.txt I. INTRODUCTION This technical overview is intended to support discussion of the current episode, and to later serve as a reference: it contains PLOT SPOILERS; CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Whenever possible, it indicates who did/claimed/knew what. Spellings of technobabble and alien nouns are obtained from TV closed-captioning ("CC") -- which is imperfect: it may not match spoken dialogue, or the website, or be consistent within or between eps. In the Synopsis, I sometimes condense or reorder scenes, for clarity. If you have corrections or clarifications, please contact me, and I'll (eventually) make corrections. "Star Trek" and all related indicia are copyrights of Paramount Pictures, while this overview is (c)2003 Phillip Thorne. Some details provided by _The Star Trek Encyclopedia_, 1st ed., 1994. Feel free to use this document as a reference, but please give credit where due. Abbreviations commonly used: -(m/f/?) name belongs to mel/fem/unclear, (os) on [viewer] screen, (vo) voiceover, -(?) quote is uncertain, -(sp?) spelling is unclear; VDB Vulcan database, XDB Xindi database, VHC Vulcan High Command; series: TOS TAS TNG DS9 VGR ENT. Although CC uses "Launch Bay," "Sick Bay," and "shuttle pod," I often condense those terms to single words. The startrek.com text names the five Xindi (sub?)species as "Xindi Humanoid", "Insectoid", "Reptillian"[sic], and "Sloth"; I haven't seen a term for the aquatic species. I abbreviate those eg "Xindi-Humanoid", "Xindi-H", or "XH". II. TERMINOLOGY TECHNICAL/SHIPBOARD: clogged injector assembly, exo-biology lab, E-Deck, emergency bulkheads, starboard docking port TECHNICAL: deuterium station, spatial distortion, trellium-A, trellium-D, delta radiation, theta radiation BIOLOGICAL & MEDICAL: Khavorta position, Surah'tahn, neurotoxin, surgically enhanced, neocortex, neurophysiology, bio-signs, genetic profile, biometric scans CULTURAL: V'radians, Nuvian concubine, U'tani serpent women, Norellus, Oran'taku black pepper, paprika, mustard seed, cayenne, Xanthan marmot LOCATIONS, POLITIES and ORGANIZATIONS: Norellus, [unnamed commerce planet], Oran'taku NAME-DROPPING: Cwn.Cutler III. ANALYSIS 1. What we get... Multiple new alien species (most unnamed), a full-length view of the Xindi-Insectoid, new Xindi ships and hand weaponry. 2. What we don't get... A date, the name of the commerce planet. 3. The shirtless files... Archer sleeps in his regulation blue tanktop. He meets Rajiin in that, plus white shorts. The alien slaves on display wear various revealing outfits. T'Pol's in her blue PJs again. 4. Arcs... Archer hasn't yet fully recovered from his Loque'eque mutation (303-"Extinction"): Phlox has prescribed ointment for his skin, but can't help with continuing dreams; no word on Reed or Sato. T'Pol continues Tucker's neuro-pressure sessions, but the crew is beginning to gossip. The crew works to insulate the ship against the Expanse's anomalies. The MACOs are still being used for onboard combat. The Xindi Council is divided, but opts to start a second weapons program: a bioweapon. 5. Rajiin is near-human, except for ridges that run horizontally across the temple from the outer corners of the eye. She has red glyphs (slave-markings?) tatooed in a horizontal line across her upper torso and arms, below the collarbone. (We don't know if they're removed after her mission, because her sensible grey jumpsuit covers that region.) She claims to be from the planet Oran'taku (not necessarily a cladeworld). She has the power to dumbfound both male and female humans (as in, make them stand about looking dumb), and can take biometric scans -- we don't know if this is an innate ability, or thanks to implants concealed from Phlox's medscans. 6. Trellium exists in at least two forms: -A and -D. Only -D is useful for insulating against the Expanse's anomalies. The -A form is more common than -D, and more easily synthesized. Trellium-D can only be synthesized in liquid form, but the process is tricky, and it's highly volatile (explosive) in that state; however, once emplaced and allowed to set, it's stable and safe. 7. The two Xindi-R ships are similar in shape, but [by dialogue, but it's not visible] in size. Each has a pale yellow hull, with three violet glow-features up front. There's a central ovoid hull, flanked by two sickle-shaped wings. Four long, spike-like tails emerge from the ovoid: three in the plane of the wings, and one below. (From ventral, with aft upward, the ship resembles an ancient Roman lyre.) They fire yellow beams. They can escape into a "vortex" by emitting beams of yellow light. 8. Each Xindi-R soldier is equipped with a suicide gland (if standardized, in the right armpit ("axillary")). Their hand-weapons include blue beams, blue impact-bolts, and adhesive glop that delay-fires poison-thorns. 9. ENT's transporter has a range of 10,000 km. 10. Rajiin escaped the planet with only the clothes on her back. (So to speak -- there wasn't much coverage there.) She wears two additional outfits shipboard: did she borrow them from female crewmembers? Or is there an onboard apparel-synthesizer? IV. NITS 1. If Phlox isn't familiar with Rajiin's species, how can he pronounce her to be in perfect health? V. THIRD-PARTY COMMENTS [...] VI. EPISODE SYNOPSIS TEASER: A scientist named DEGRA reports to the Xindi Council: his lab was destroyed, three researchers killed; he doesn't yet know how much of a setback this is. Also: ENT is searching out trellium. The council argues about "another option", one that had been "discussed and rejected" -- but not by all five. ACT 1: In T'Pol's quarters, a bowl of Brazil nuts(?) sits alongside a candle, as she manipulates Tucker's face. The "Khavorta position" involves the neck. "Surah'tahn". "Purging a clogged injector assembly". Shipboard gossip now concerns their evenings: Tucker's anxious about it, but T'Pol isn't. Archer tosses in his sleep. He reports to Phlox, who treats residual scaling on his arm and face -- the captain hasn't been applying Phlox's ointment, because it smells. He still has dreams of "that alien city", and Phlox advises him, "Don't expect to recover overnight." Archer mentions meeting a "V'radian chemist" at a "deuterium station" who claimed to be able to synthesize "trellium-D"; Phlox would certainly welcome the protection, as a recent "spatial distorion" threw "Cwn.Cutler" against the wall of the "exo-biology lab". Archer, Reed and Tucker (in excursion jackets) take a shuttlepod (aft starboard) to an archipelago of barges on a blue planet. They meet an (unnamed) seller of "Xanthan marmots" (excellent pets, and very succulent), who directs them to "B'Rat Ud" on "Barge 12". They remind the chemist about meeting on "Norellus". He tells them that "trellium-A" is common and easy to synthesize, but trellium-D isn't. Barter. Leaving, they pass a slave-merchant (ZJOD, unnamed), who has a "Nuvian concubine", and recently sold two "U'tani serpent women" to some Xindi. Archer meets the eyes of a blonde near-human. She escapes, a scuffle ensues with the merchant, and the ENT trio abscond with her. In Sickbay, Phlox scans Rajiin's eyes: "I've never seen a retinal structure this complex". He's not familiar with her species, but pronounces her in perfect health. She gives her name, and homeworld: "Oran'taku". ACT 2: Reed and Tucker purchase the synthesis formula with a case of ten spices (including black pepper, paprika, mustard seed, cayenne). "Wars were fought over these on our planet ... I'm sure you'll find them very exotic." The chemist takes pinches and sneezes, and seems pleased. Handing over the padd, he advises them that trellium-D can only be synthesized in its liquid state, and that it's very volatile. Archer dines with Rajiin (in a new outfit) in the Officers Mess, and is cagey about the nature of ENT's mission. He's called by Tucker to Engineering, where he and T'Pol brief him on the process. Once the trellium-D is applied to the inner hull, it sets to a solid and is perfectly safe. T'Pol recommends placing the lab on E-Deck, "within the emergency bulkheads". Rajiin (in a third outfit) comes to Archer's quarters. He tells her T'Pol has located her homeworld, "in a database we acquired", only two days away -- but she's not interested, but very appreciative. (Segue into TOS-like music.) Archer resists, but she runs her hands over his face, abdomen, spine -- and where they pass, an X-ray-like effect shows us muscles and nerves. Suddenly it's over, and Archer's standing there surprised. Rajiin turns to leave; he tells her they'll be leaving orbit soon. At warp... In the lab, Tucker and T'Pol chase the synthesis, with "theta" and "delta radiation". Pressure in the vessel rises, and they scoot out the hatch just before it explodes, wrecking the benchtop setup. They've been working for six hours, and T'Pol prescribes neuro-pressure. Rajiin inspects the transporter niche, and is met by Sato. Exeunt in turbolift. T'Pol is surprised to find Rajiin in her quarters. ACT 3: "Your door was unlocked," explains Rajiin. "That's unlikely." The alien touches T'Pol's face, and somehow she can't resist. "You have a disciplined mind ... such control of your emotions." She does the X-ray thing again. Outside, Tucker hits the doorbell, gets no response, calls the bridge to confirm T'Pol's location, and hits override. Inside, T'Pol throws Rajiin off, they struggle; when Tucker enters and goes to T'Pol's unconscious form, she smashes a vase over his head, and leaves. After a moment he calls Security from the desk. Rajiin calls the Xindi-Reptiles on a handheld com, tells them she'll use the transporter, but they must close to "10,000 kilometers". She encounters a Security officer in the turbolift, who reaches for his phase-pistol -- but she subdues him. Reed and a second arrive, then two more. She's not up the pylon-ladder. In Engineering she shoots one crewman, then fires at a second while falling from the catwalk. Twisting, she lands on her back, then scrambles out the lower level. She reaches the transporter, calls out -- but Archer arrives, puts a gun to her head, and tells her she's being jammed. Security #3 and #4 arrive. He takes her gun and comm, and she goes to the Brig. In Sickbay, Phlox examines T'Pol as Archer and Tucker look on. He diagnoses "disruptions throughout her neocortex"; were she human or Denobulan, she'd probably be dead, but "Vulcan neurophysiology is more resilient". He'll need a few hours to finish treating her; she slides into the Imaging Chamber. Archer orders the one guard inside the Brig out, then enters Rajiin's cell and interrogates her; she admires that he rescued a slave, and apologizes about T'Pol, but keeps mum otherwise. "If I say anything else, they'll kill me." "How do you know I won't do the same?" Reed calls: two vessels approaching from aft, with bio-signs matching the "genetic profile" of the Xindi probe's pilot. ACT 4: At warp, the two Xindi-R ships fire yellow beams at ENT's nacelles; it falls from warp, and returns fire from the aft gun. Reed reports the smaller craft approaching the "starboard docking port". As he leaves, Rajiin admits to Archer that the Xindi are building a "bioweapon", and needed data on "your species". He calls for a "security detail" to keep her isolated. Three MACOs (two mel, one fem) take positions around the hatch -- it blows in. Five Xindi-R enter, firing yellow bolts; their armor absorbs the MACOs' blue bolts. Reed reports three invading parties, each with at least five members. Archer and Reed (with three and two MACOs, respectively) split up. A Xindi-Insect steps around the corner and fires and oversized blue burst that knocks over a MACO, and slides him across the deck. Reed tosses a grenade. At the Brig, three mels (with phase-pistols) meet three Xindi-R. One fires a blob, which sizzles on the wall behind the humans -- then ejects dozens of small green spikes, which hit with red bursts. They fall, poisoned. The Xindi enter, and use a resonance limpet to shatter the glass on Rajiin's cell hatch. She goes with them. Archer is tackled by a Xindi-R, who's in turn clobbered with a MACO stunstick. The raiding party exits (the outer airlock hatch is intact). ENT pursues the departing ships, but they suddenly emit rays of yellow light and vanish, as though slipping through a curtain. Mayweather reports a "vortex". Meanwhile, the captured Xindi is dead. In Sickbay, Phlox (to Archer, T'Pol, Tucker) points to the scan-image of a gland in the Xindi's right armpit, which released a "fatal dose of neurotoxin" -- he'd been "surgically enhanced". Archer orders an autopsy, Reed to examine the weapon, and T'Pol to examine the scans taken of the ships. In the Xindi Council (with Degra again present), the Xindi-Sloth and Xindi-Humanoids react badly to the news of the Xindi-R/I effort. They bring in Rajiin (now wearing a professional jumpsuit), who projects a diagnostic holo of human biology. The Xindi-Whales declare work should proceed on both fronts. Rajiin tells them they won't fall so easily: "There's more to these humans than you can learn from a set of biometric scans," but she's hustled out. VII. SFX SHOTS [...] VIII. PRODUCTION REGULAR CAST: Scott Bakula as Cpt. Jonathan Archer Connor Trinneer as LtCdr. Charles "Trip" Tucker III Jolene Blalock as [Sub-Commander in name if not fact] T'Pol Dominic Keating as Lt. Malcolm Reed Anthony Montgomery as Ens. Travis Mayweather [in one scene] Linda Park as Ens. Hoshi Sato John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox Porthos GUEST CAST: Nikita Ager as Rajiin B.K. Kennelly as Alien [animal] Merchant Steve Larson as [slave merchant] Zjod [unnamed] Dell Yount as [chemist] B'Rat Ud Scott McDonald as Xindi Reptillian Ken Lally as Security Guard Tucker Smallwood as Xindi Humanoid Rick Worthy as Xindi Sloth Randy Oglesby as [Xindi bioweapons scientist] Degra [Others] as [slave females] [Others] as [misc barge tenants and shoppers] [Others] as [Xindi Reptillian troops] [Others] as [MACOs] [Others] as [extra security guards] CREATIVE STAFF: Directed by Mike Vejar Teleplay by Brent V. Friedman and Chris Black Story by Paul Brown and Brent V. Friedman NEXT WEEK: In 3.05/057-"Impulse", they discover a derelict Vulcan vessel of zombies, and T'Pol goes crazy. That's what you get for ignoring Soval. See: http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/2329.html