Cold Front (episode)

Archer is confronted by a member of his crew who claims to be from nine hundred years in the future – and is there to capture a Suliban operative who has boarded the Enterprise.

Summary
While on its way to a stellar nursery, Enterprise encounters an alien transport ship with pilgrims aboard. The pilgrims have come to see the Great Plume of Agosoria, a phenomenon their religion associates with the beginning of the universe. Captain Archer invites the pilgrims aboard to show them Enterprise.

The guests are greeted without incident. After, following the tour of the ship by the guests, the Enterprise is hit by a plasma storm. An antimatter cascade occurs, nearly destroying the Enterprise. Without the actions of an anti-saboteur, who unplugged an antimatter conduit before the storm, destruction would have been certain.

At this point, a crewman named Daniels begins explaining strange things to Captain Archer. He talks about the events of a Temporal Cold War, and claims that the 22nd century is seen as an important front in the war. Archer is skeptical at first, but is convinced when Daniels shows him amazing technological devices, such as the temporal observatory. Daniels also reveals facts that would be impossible to know otherwise. He reveals that there is a Suliban named Silik aboard the Enterprise, who saved the ship, and must be captured by Daniels.

Captain Archer offers Daniel his full cooperation. Silik then makes contact with the captain to find out who is searching for him: he has detected tachyon radiation that would not normally be on the ship. He learns from an unfortunate communication from T'Pol that it is Daniels who is seeking him. Before stunning the captain, he presents relativist arguments about Daniels just being in another faction and not being who he seems to be. He also suggests that the antimatter cascade wasn't accidental.

In Engineering, Daniels brings his sensors online. Tucker notices a movement, and orders everyone except Daniels to evacuate engineering. Silik appears, and twice shoots Daniels, who seems to explode.

Doctor Phlox revives Archer, who realizes that Silik stole Daniels' temporal observatory from his quarters. After Tucker works out how Daniel's sensor system works, he pinpoints Silik's location. Archer goes after him with another device that allows him to walk through walls. After a brief struggle in the shuttlebay, during which turbulence from the Plume disrupts both men, Archer destroys the temporal observatory device with a phase pistol. Silik escapes, however, by flinging himself out of the shuttlebay, before being picked up by a Suliban ship. The last words Silik tells the captain are "You may have endangered your future, Jon", leaving the captain with a final puzzle.

On the bridge, Archer orders Daniels' quarters to be sealed, stating that there may be more technology inside.

Memorable Quotes
"If you don't mind my asking, what brings you here?"

"A job. I'm escorting a group of spiritually minded men on a pilgrimage to the Great Plume of Agosoria."

"The - the what?"

"Every eleven years one of the protostars gives out a neutron blast. These gentlemen believe it's a sacred event.  If you ask me, I think it's just another ball of hydrogen!"
 * - Archer and Captain Fraddock

"It's customary on Earth to greet someone with a... handshake."
 * - Archer, to Prah Mantoos

"For you, Captain."

"It's beautiful. What, uh, exactly is it?"

"A clock! It charts time from the beginning of the universe."
 * - Prah Mantoos and Archer

"Aren't you going to take the chair?"

"What?"

"You're in command!"

"I'm fine right here."

"Haven't you ever wondered what it's like?"

"I can wait until I'm promoted."

"Okay..." (Mayweather thinks about it, then takes his place in the Captain's chair.)

"Nice fit."

"The bridge looks a lot different from here. Think anyone would mind if I fired a torpedo?"
 * - Hoshi and Mayweather

"I see you already know a thing or two about starship engines."

"I'm a warp field theorist."
 * - Tucker and Sonsorra

"You might want to focus your sensors on that plasma lightning up ahead."

"We're aware of it."

"You ever been in a plasma storm?"

"Twice."

"Then you know it can get a little bumpy. I suggest we try and go around it."
 * - Captain Fraddock and T'Pol

"We've got a power surge in the impulse relays. Here's a good example of how we can reroute the energy flow to protect our critical systems."
 * - Trip, to the group of visitors touring engineering

"Trip, what's happening?"

"That last bolt struck the warp manifold! We've got an antimatter cascade, sir! If it reaches the warp reactor..." (Everyone holds their breath as they await the inevitable.) "I think we're alright Captain. The cascade stopped in its tracks."

"Good work, Trip."

"It wasn't me, Captain."
 * - Archer and Trip

"I'm sorry about the mess. Sometimes I think my bunk-mate majored in Chaos Theory."
 * - Daniels, to Captain Archer

"Are you Human?"

"More or less."
 * - Archer and Daniels

"You're from... 900 years in the future, and you need my help?"
 * - Archer, to Daniels

"You're asking me to capture someone who just saved my ship - why should I trust you?"

"You like your scrambled eggs soft. Have I ever brought them to you any other way?"
 * - Archer and Daniels

"The Vulcan Science Directorate has studied the question of time travel in great detail. They found no evidence that it exists, or that it can exist."
 * - T'Pol, to Captain Archer

"Starfleet's in store for one hell of a report. I'm not quite sure where to begin."

"I'd be glad to help."
 * - Archer and T'Pol

Background Information

 * The restrictiveness of the set for the service junction shown near the end of this episode made filming the episode's climactic fight scene, between Archer and Silik, a difficult task. "You've really gotta create some different types of choreographed sequences when you're in tight like that," stunt coordinator Vince Deadrick, Jr. said of the tightly confined area. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 138, p. 42)
 * According to dates given, this episode actually takes place a week after the next episode,.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Daniels (Matt Winston) on the series.
 * This episode also marks the first time Silik's name is given.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of movie night. Ensign Mayweather gripes that out of 50,000 titles in the movie database, they could find no better movie than Night of the Killer Androids. It further implies that Reed and Sato frequent the event.
 * Ensign Mayweather is briefly the highest-ranking bridge officer, and sits in the command chair as is his privilege in that capacity.
 * This episodes marks the first appearance of T'Pol's disbelief in time travel based on the Vulcan Science Directorate's conclusions.
 * Both the Temporal Observatory and the phasing device are lost in this episode, but Daniels' Temporal Database remains to be used in and the episode, its last appearance in the series.
 * Several costumes from this episode were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including the costumes of John Fleck and Lamont Thompson  and an unnamed pilgrim's robe.
 * The following year, Trip Tucker recalled seeing the Great Plume of Agosoria to Zho'Kaan while they were stranded on a moon together.
 * This is the Humanoid Figure's only appearance on the series which is not in either a season premiere or season finale.

Video and DVD releases

 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 1.6,.
 * As part of the ENT Season 1 DVD collection.
 * As part of the ENT Season 1 Blu-ray collection.

Starring

 * Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer
 * John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox
 * Jolene Blalock as Subcommander T'Pol
 * Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
 * Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather
 * Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato
 * Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Guest Stars

 * John Fleck as Silik
 * Matt Winston as Daniels
 * Michael O'Hagan as Fraddock
 * Joseph Hindy as Prah Mantoos

Co-stars

 * Leonard Keely-Young as Sonsorra
 * Lamont D. Thompson as N.D. Alien Pilgrim

Uncredited co-stars

 * David Keith Anderson as alien pilgrim
 * Adam Anello as an operations division crewman
 * Solomon Burke, Jr. as Billy
 * David Christian as Borothan pilgrim
 * Cecilia Conn as a command division crewman
 * Mark Correy as Alex
 * Evan English as alien pilgrim
 * Lee Faranda as alien pilgrim
 * Hilde Garcia as Crewman Rossi (deleted scene)
 * Lindly Gardner as an operations division crewman
 * James Horan as Humanoid Figure
 * Aldric Horton as an operations division crewman
 * Amina Islam as a command division ensign
 * John Jurgens as a command division crewman
 * Les Matloff as alien pilgrim
 * Robert Middleton as Borothan pilgrim
 * Carmen Nogales as an operations division crewman
 * Louis Ortiz as Suliban medic
 * Mike Rappaport as Borothan pilgrim
 * Cary Sato Lee as Borothan pilgrim
 * Thelma Tyrell as an operations division crewman
 * John Wan as an operations division crewman
 * Mark Watson as an operations division crewman
 * Gary Weeks as an operations division crewman
 * Tyson Weihe as Borothan pilgrim
 * J.B. Williams as alien pilgrim
 * James L. Woods as alien pilgrim
 * Prada as Porthos