“Shockwave” is episode twenty-six of season one of Star Trek: Enterprise and the season finale.
Captain Archer is talking to T’Pol and Trip about a mining colony on Paraagan II that they are going to visit. According to T’Pol, it’s a matriarchal society, though men have made progress towards equal rights over the last decade. The colony was founded 30 years ago by 30 miners, and now has a population of over 3,000. Trip wonders if Earth will have colonies out this far in 20 years. Travis contacts them from the bridge; they’ve been given clearance for orbit and have been sent landing protocols.
Reed is piloting the shuttle down; it will likely take a bit longer than usual. The captain says it wouldn’t be polite to ignite their atmosphere. Reed is closing the plasma ducts earlier than the protocols require. T’Pol is suggesting she take the lead when the atmosphere beneath the shuttle ignites.
Those on the shuttle are being treated in sickbay and Reed is insisting he closed both plasma ducts. Hoshi tells them the ground is scorched for 100km around the colony. Reed says there couldn’t have been a malfunction. There are alarms and backups to prevent this sort of thing. Hoshi is having to make it clear to the captain that no-one survived. There’s nothing left.
The captain arrives on the bridge; T’Pol has been analysing the shuttle’s sensor logs. Trip has scanned the atmosphere; there’s less tetrazine in it than the protocols specify when the ducts were shut. Reed states the flashpoint was directly below the shuttle, and it seemed to originate by the starboard plasma duct. T’Pol states every log shows both ducts were sealed and locked.
Archer contacts Admiral Forrest. Tetrazine is a by-product of mining operations and exhaust plasma is about the only thing that can ignite it. An emergency meeting of the command council has been called. The Vulcans will likely come in. The admiral tells Archer that the captain followed protocols. The captain is still upset, but the admiral tells him the crew will look to him to figure out how to react.
T’Pol speaks to Phlox about the captain’s behaviour. He’s erratic and ignoring responsibilities. Phlox comments on being a Vulcan. He reassures her that if the captain acted any differently, there would be a problem; it’s simply human nature. T’Pol still wants him watched to make certain he’s fit to command.
Archer is in his ready room is looking at photos of the dead when Forrest contacts him. On the bridge, probe analysis comes in; the results are what would be expected if plasma exhaust had ignited the tetrazine. But the vents were locked down and there were no leaks. Then the captain arrives on the bridge. The mission has been cancelled; they’re heading home. Soval will convince Starfleet that they need 10-20 years before they try again. They’re meeting a Vulcan ship in 3 days to drop off Phlox and T’Pol.
The captain is in his quarters when T’Pol arrives. There was an unidentified EM signature on the hull of the shuttlepod. Reed thought the captain would be interested. He isn’t. No, this isn’t what humans call feeling sorry for himself; Archer is feeling sorry for a lot of other people. T’Pol tells him he has a responsibility to dispute the suggestions of the Vulcan High Command. And to convince Starfleet. There are many decisions the captain has made that no-one will question. T’Pol will try to convince her government if Archer does the same for his. Archer thinks this is probably the first time a Vulcan has tried to cheer up a human.
The captain turns off the lights in his quarters, then turns them back on again. He’s not on the Enterprise; he’s on Earth in his own place. There’s a call from Trip, which Archer remembers from before the Enterprise set out. Archer contacts the IME and checks to see if they have a Dr Phlox. They do. Archer didn’t meet Phlox until “Broken Bow”, which was after this. So, the last 10 months weren’t a dream.
Then Daniels appears, looking surprisingly well considering he died in “Cold Front”. Daniels apologises. Yes, Silak did kill him in a manner of speaking. But they need to talk and it’s essential none of the other factions know. That’s why he brought the captain here. Which leads to some confusing time travel stuff. Daniels explains that the disaster wasn’t supposed to happen. Not that it was an accident; history never recorded it happening. Someone violated the Temporal Accords to stop the Enterprise‘s mission. It wasn’t their fault.
With this news, and more from Daniels, Archer returns to the present more energised than he has been. They now need to prove the Enterprise didn’t destroy the colony. The Suliban did.
The story continues in season two and “Shockwave, Part II”.