...and one that shows Enterprise at the fullest of its potential.
We start with a shocking premise where a disoriented Archer is disturbed from rest in quarters by Enterprise being battered during an attack. When nobody from the bridge answers his hails he leaves his quarters only to be stopped by a security guard. When confronted the guard tells him that "the captain" has ordered him confined to quarters. Archer manages to knock out the guard and makes his way to the bridge where he sees Enterprise in Earth orbit engaged in battle with the Xindi. The Xindi knock Enterprise out of the fray and deploy a super-weapon which destroys the Earth. Cut to commercial ...
When we return, a story of the past unfolds where it is revealed that Archer has been infected by transdimensional parasites which keep him from forming long-term memories. We eventually discover that Archer was infected after risking his live to save T'Pol during an Enterprise encounter with an anomaly. Phlox, over time, tries everything but cannot cure Archer of these parasites which have lodged in his brain.
As the story progresses, it is revealed that, due to the failure of Enterprise's mission to locate the Xindi weapon (during the last mission Archer remembers), that the Xindi have destroyed not only Earth, but every colony settled by humans. In a scene reminiscent of "Battlestar Galactica," the ragtag survivors of humanity settle on a planet off the beaten path, where Archer finds himself with T'Pol, who resigned her commission to take care of the human who saved her now some twelve years ago, patiently retelling the story to Archer on a near daily basis as he cannot remember any of the intervening time. However, this day is different, as Phlox has finally discovered a way to remove these parasites from Archer's brain. Unfortunately, the procedure can only be performed where a warp coil is present, so they adjourn to Enterprise to perform a test procedure before eradicating them totally.
The test is a success - or so it seems, until further investigation reveals that the few parasites removed during the test were *also* removed from all the historical scans. T'Pol and Phlox posit that removing the rest of the parasites might also change time, which would give Archer the chance to continue the original mission and locate the Xindi weapon before it could be used to destroy humanity. Unfortunately, a spy is discovered who has informed the Xindi of Phlox' whereabouts, and six Xindi ships appear on the scanners and prevent the procedure from being completed.
Enterprise and Intrepid (with newly enhanced shields) move off to engage the Xindi fleet, and while they have some success, first Intrepid and then Enterprise are crippled. T'Pol and Phlox realize there may be no other chance and take Archer to Engineering where the earlier test had been performed. Unfortunately the medical unit has been crippled during the battle; Archer realizes that a controlled detonation of the engines would produce the same radiation as Phlox' procedure and tells T'Pol and Phlox to evacuate. They refuse and go about the process of setting the engines to overload. The Xindi have by now breached the Enterprise defensive, and make their way to Engineering where they kill first Phlox and T'Pol, whose efforts buy Archer just enough time to take the final actions despite being shot. With his final breath, Archer pulls the final trigger and collapses on top of T'Pol. The resulting explosion engulfs and totally destroys Enterprise as we fade to black...
Archer wakes in sick bay, twelve years earlier, where Phlox tells him he has suffered a mild concussion. T'Pau tells Archer Enterprise has left the anomaly behind.
We start with a shocking premise where a disoriented Archer is disturbed from rest in quarters by Enterprise being battered during an attack. When nobody from the bridge answers his hails he leaves his quarters only to be stopped by a security guard. When confronted the guard tells him that "the captain" has ordered him confined to quarters. Archer manages to knock out the guard and makes his way to the bridge where he sees Enterprise in Earth orbit engaged in battle with the Xindi. The Xindi knock Enterprise out of the fray and deploy a super-weapon which destroys the Earth. Cut to commercial ...
When we return, a story of the past unfolds where it is revealed that Archer has been infected by transdimensional parasites which keep him from forming long-term memories. We eventually discover that Archer was infected after risking his live to save T'Pol during an Enterprise encounter with an anomaly. Phlox, over time, tries everything but cannot cure Archer of these parasites which have lodged in his brain.
As the story progresses, it is revealed that, due to the failure of Enterprise's mission to locate the Xindi weapon (during the last mission Archer remembers), that the Xindi have destroyed not only Earth, but every colony settled by humans. In a scene reminiscent of "Battlestar Galactica," the ragtag survivors of humanity settle on a planet off the beaten path, where Archer finds himself with T'Pol, who resigned her commission to take care of the human who saved her now some twelve years ago, patiently retelling the story to Archer on a near daily basis as he cannot remember any of the intervening time. However, this day is different, as Phlox has finally discovered a way to remove these parasites from Archer's brain. Unfortunately, the procedure can only be performed where a warp coil is present, so they adjourn to Enterprise to perform a test procedure before eradicating them totally.
The test is a success - or so it seems, until further investigation reveals that the few parasites removed during the test were *also* removed from all the historical scans. T'Pol and Phlox posit that removing the rest of the parasites might also change time, which would give Archer the chance to continue the original mission and locate the Xindi weapon before it could be used to destroy humanity. Unfortunately, a spy is discovered who has informed the Xindi of Phlox' whereabouts, and six Xindi ships appear on the scanners and prevent the procedure from being completed.
Enterprise and Intrepid (with newly enhanced shields) move off to engage the Xindi fleet, and while they have some success, first Intrepid and then Enterprise are crippled. T'Pol and Phlox realize there may be no other chance and take Archer to Engineering where the earlier test had been performed. Unfortunately the medical unit has been crippled during the battle; Archer realizes that a controlled detonation of the engines would produce the same radiation as Phlox' procedure and tells T'Pol and Phlox to evacuate. They refuse and go about the process of setting the engines to overload. The Xindi have by now breached the Enterprise defensive, and make their way to Engineering where they kill first Phlox and T'Pol, whose efforts buy Archer just enough time to take the final actions despite being shot. With his final breath, Archer pulls the final trigger and collapses on top of T'Pol. The resulting explosion engulfs and totally destroys Enterprise as we fade to black...
Archer wakes in sick bay, twelve years earlier, where Phlox tells him he has suffered a mild concussion. T'Pau tells Archer Enterprise has left the anomaly behind.