“Cease Fire” is episode fifteen of season two of Star Trek: Enterprise.
Fighting is going on in a wrecked city and an Andorian officer reports to Commander Shran that the enemy are deploying new units. Shran says the Vulcans want to discuss the terms of a cease fire. Shran has another option; a pinkskin who has proven even-handed when dealing with the Vulcans. Archer.
Admiral Forrest tells Captain Archer that Ambassador Soval has said Archer is crucial to resolve a crisis on a world on the frontier between the Vulcans and Andorians. Both sides claim the world and have nearly gone to war twice over it in the last century. The captain is unsure but Forrest tells him this is the first time the Vulcans have asked for their help. This is important.
Archer promises to get there as fast as he can. Though, over dinner with Trip and T’Pol, Trip doesn’t like pushing the engines that hard. Regarding the world, T’Pol says it’s Class D. Which is uninhabitable. However, the Andorians claimed the world and began terraforming (andoriaforming?) the planet and established a colony when it was possible. The sole value of the planet is its strategic location near Vulcan space. The High Command decided that a military base was the only logical conclusion and ended up removing the colonists.
The situation has deteriorated by the time Enterprise arrives. Soval isn’t that happy to see Archer; he didn’t want the captain. Why would an officer of the Andorian Imperial Guard personally ask for the captain’s involvement? Soval may not want Archer present, but he doesn’t want him to leave either. The Andorians have some Vulcans hostage and Shran wants the captain to ask as a mediator. The captain wants to clarify that Soval is asking for help. Soval wants Archer to take a Vulcan, Muroc, down with him. Archer will take T’Pol.
The captain then goes to see Phlox, who needs to treat him to stop him being affected by a mutagenic pathogen. Phlox thinks it’s interesting the Vulcans asked for help. The captain says this is not only crucial for the Vulcan interests; it’s crucial for theirs. They need to prove that humanity is ready to join a larger community (perhaps a federation?). Phlox served as a medic with the Denobulan infantry and warns the captain to be careful.
Archer and T’Pol head down in Shuttlepod 1. She wants to know if he read the territorial compromise. All 1,200 pages of it. The captain skimmed it. What about the other material? Archer asks if T’Pol is suggesting he isn’t prepared. No; Soval thinks the captain will fail and T’Pol hoped advance preparation would prove him wrong. The captain’s strategy is to convince Shran he can be trusted. Then play it by ear.
They land and are escorted to see Shran. Shran says he’s dealt with the Vulcans twice before when Archer has been involved and the captain handled the situation without prejudice. Archer wants to see the Vulcans to see they haven’t been harmed. They haven’t.
Shran’s subordinate, Tarah, is unhappy with the Vulcans and the territorial compromise. She starts squabbling with T’Pol; Shran says the situation invokes anger on both sides. Shran wants the Vulcans to withdraw, rescind the compromise and irrevocably transfer the world to the Andorians. The captain asks if Shran really expects the Vulcans to agree to that – Shran likely doesn’t.
Tarah accuses Archer of being a puppet of the High Command; he says they don’t like him very much and the feeling is mutual. Shran wants to speak to Soval; someone with the authority to deal with the situation without checking with his superiors. Archer wants Shran to release the hostages as a sign of good faith; one is released.
Soval is not that happy but agrees to go down. Andorians vessels are heading in to resupply their forces and the Vulcans won’t let that happen. Which could well kick off a war – and it seems some would be happy for that to happen.