“Singularity” is episode nine of season two of Star Trek: Enterprise.
On Enterprise, all but T’Pol are passed out. She’s recording her log; Enterprise remains on course for the trinary star system and she’s transmitted a distress call but the nearest Vulcan ship is nine days or more away. They will find only debris, if that. Even if they make it past the black hole without being destroyed, the crew likely won’t survive.
T’Pol has continued to analyse the condition that has stricken the crew, but without Dr Phlox’s assistance, it’s doubtful she will be able to reverse its effects. She’s documenting this for Starfleet to leave a record of what happened. The symptoms started not long after they set course for the trinary system, two days ago.
On the bridge, T’Pol was showing a black hole to Captain Archer and Trip. The Vulcans have documented a couple of thousand black holes, so the captain asks what’s special about this one. None are in a trinary star system. T’Pol wants to approach to 5 million kilometres, under impulse, which will take two days. The captain agrees to set a course, then asks Trip if he can take a look at the captain’s chair. Archer doesn’t sit in it much. Because it’s uncomfortable. He’d like it fixing.
T’Pol arrives in the captain’s ready room; Reed has a new security protocol he’d like to discuss. Chef is ill, and Hoshi has offered to take charge of the mess hall. The captain has received a manuscript from Earth; a biography of his father. He’s been asked to write a one-page preface, and asks T’Pol if she’d mind reading it when he’s done. He’s been putting it off for weeks; the captain would find it easier to write the book than a page. T’Pol suggests the captain focus on one incident that captures his relationship. The captain thinks that’s logical. Would T’Pol like to write the preface?
Hoshi is in the galley; she’s decided to serve the crew her grandmother’s speciality. Not resequenced either; made from scratch. Travis arrives in sickbay; he has a little headache. Phlox won’t prescribe medication without examining him first. And he wanted to examine Travis anyway, to see if there were any aftereffects from the removal of the neural implants removed after the events of “Dead Stop”. Yes, that might be the source of the headache. Or it could be muscular tension. Or Terrellian plague.
On the bridge, Trip is working, noisily, on the captain’s chair. T’Pol asks him if he could finish later. Trip thought Vulcans has mental focus and discipline. They do. They also have sensitive hearing. Trip starts working again and T’Pol heads to work on the sensor readings in her quarters.
The captain arrives in the armoury. Reed thinks they can do better when encountering hostile species. A ship wide emergency alert, more comprehensive than battle stations. It takes too long to respond to potential threats; a single order or impact with the hull should be enough. Captain Archer says they aren’t a warship. That’s obvious, but they’ve been in a number of hostile encounters. The captain tells Reed to work on a proposal for the senior officers. And call it something less aggressive than ‘Battle Stations’.
In the mess hall, Reed is trying to come up with a name. Trip is working on a chair design. With many features. The chair is just as important as Malcolm’s ‘Reed Alert’. Reed thinks that’s not a bad name. Hoshi checks if they enjoyed lunch. Reed hasn’t finished it; when Hoshi presses, he says he found it a little salty.
Phlox is still working on Travis; he hasn’t found anything so is going to keep him in overnight. The captain is still working on the preface. T’Pol is in her quarters when Trip arrives; she’s trying to identify unusual radiation the trinary system is giving off. Trip has moved the captain’s chair to engineering and doesn’t have time to cater to T’Pol’s whims. His response is… rather out of character. Enough that T’Pol asks if he’s alright. Phlox now wants to microsection Travis’s brain. Travis isn’t going to stay unless Phlox ties him to a biobed. So, Phlox sedates him and does just that.
The captain is fretting on his preface and is now taking one page as being an optional suggestion for length. Trip is busy designing a chair – one that looks rather familiar. Hoshi is constantly fretting over her food. Phlox wants to cut into Travis’s brain. All are obsessing over comparatively minor things. At least Reed’s and Phlox’s work proves useful.