STAR TREK

ENTERPRISE

FUTURE TENSE

With

Scott Bakula………………………………………………………..………..Cap. Archer Jolene Blalok……………………………………………………………..Vicecom. T’Pol John Billingsley………………………………………………….………………….Dr. Phlox Dominic Keating………………………………..……………………………...Ten. Reed Anthony A.T. Montgomery……………………...Guard. Mayweather Linda Park………………………………………………….…………………...Guard. Sato Connor Trinneer………………………………….……………………….Com. Tucker Vaughn Armstrong………………………………...……………..Amm. Forrest Cullen Douglas……………………………………….………………………………Sulibano

2

2 SPACE EXPLORERS MAKE A LARGE NUMBER OF UN-PREDICTABLE ENCOUNTERS. LIKE A SHIPWRECK.

No bio-signs… the hull seems to scatter our sensors.

Bring it to launch bay 2! Any idea what hap-pened?

No weapon signatu-res. Possibly some sort of accident.

3

3

A REALLY INTERESTING OBJECT.

It is the bow or the stern...?

This might be a hatch...

REED GETS A PHASER TO OPEN THE DOOR.

4

4 ARCHER HIMSELF REMOVES IT...

...GETS IN FOR A LOOK...

...MAKING A NASTY DISCOVER.

5

5 He’s human.

DR. PHLOX IS GOING TO IN-VESTIGATE.

This was a human male. A scan should tell us his age...

Apparently, you are not the first humans out this far...

6

6

If he was a member of Starfleet, his ge-netic profile is in the database... Can you get his DNA?

The tissue damage is extensive, but I should be able to isolate so-me fragments.

There are no ships or inhabited systems for several light years...

I wonder if this could be Ze-fram Cochrane. He was pilo-ting a one-man vessel when he disappeared...

7

7 How could he have travelled this far?

They say he was testing some kind of experimen-tal warp ship...

THE SHIP’S ANALYSIS DOESN’T GIVE MUCH HELP.

The hull seems to absorb EM radia-tions...

We are more than 30 ye-ars light from the nearest trade route... How did he made it?

Maybe he got a ride from someone...

8

8 That’s got to be a world record for hitchhicking! How did this thing made it into deep space without an engine?

MEANWHILE ARCHER RE-PORTS TO ADMIRAL FOR-REST.

Any new mission you have-n’t told us about…?

I wish it was! It’s possible it was launched from the Ve-ga colony but they are a long way behind you.

9

9 Phlox has asked for Dr. Co-chrane’s genetic profile...

You might have sol-ved the greatest missing-person ca-se of the century...

TUCKER AND REED GO ON WITH THE SHIP.

It looks as organic circuitry...

Maybe we should get Phlox to come down...

10

10 AN HEAVY HATCH IS LIFTED...

...SHOWING AN INCREDI-BLE SURPRISE.

But... Am I hallucina-ting...?

THE HATCH LEADS TO ANOTHER SEC-TION OF THE SHIP, AS IF IT COULD BE MUCH BIGGER!

11

11 THE TWO MEN COME DOWN FOR AN INCREDIBLE INSPECTION...

I have never heard a theory that would explain this...

What do you think, a warp reactor...?

I’m picking up an energy signature...

12

12 UNPREDICTED NEWS ON THE BRIDGE.

Sir, a vessel has dropped out of warp...

THE SHIP IS ON THE SCREEN.

It’s suliban. I don’t belie-ve it’s a combat ship...

13

13

We’re being hailed...

THE SULIBAN IS NOT PROPERLY KIND.

We have a salvage claim on the vessel in your launch bay. We were sent to retrieve it.

I don’t believe I had the pleasure... And the pilot is human!

14

14 I’m not interested in the corpse... Release the vessel! Now!

What’s your interest in that ship? I don’t respond well to threats...

They are charging weapons...

15

15

IN THE SHIP, REED AND TUCKER HAVE FOUND SOMETHING VERY INTERSTING...

...WHICH CAN BE DETACHED AND TAKEN AWAY.

Let’s get it to En-gineering...

SULIBANS ATTACK THE ENTERPRISE.

16

16

THE DANCING BEGINS.

Platings are holding...

Bring us about, Travis! Power the phase-cannons...

DANCING HAS BEGUN IN THE HANGAR TOO, OBVIOUSLY.

17

17 Tucker to the bri-dge! Do you read me?

TUCKER TRIES TO GET SOME INFORMATIONS.

The comm is down...

BUT AN INTRUDER APPEARS BEHIND HIM.

SULIBAN ATTACKS TUCKER AND KNOCKS HIM OUT...

18

18 ANOTHER SULIBAN APPEARS...

REED IS VERY FAST TO GET A PHASER AND STUN AN INTRUDER...

...BUT THE OTHER IS FAST TOO IN TAKING COVER.

19

19 HE FIRES BACK TO REED...

...AND LOCKS HIMSELF IN THE CONTROL ROOM.

HOSHI IMMEDIATELY UNDER-STANDS THEIR INTENTIONS.

They’re trying to open launchbay 2!

Lock them out! And send a security team!

20

20 MEANWHILE TRAVIS HAS REVERSED THE BATTLE...

Their weapons have been disabled! The-y’re moving off...

Stay with them! I’d like to know what they wanted...

BUT THE SULIBAN INTRUDER VANISHES...

21

21 ...SO DOES HIS COMPANION...

...AND THEIR SHIP.

REED CAN SET AGAIN THE ALTERED CONTROLS.

22

22 “CAPTAIN’S STARLOG. WE’VE CONTACTED THE VULCAN SHIP TAL’KIR. THEY’VE AGREED TO MEET US IN THREE DAYS TO TAKE THE CRAFT BACK TO EARTH. HOPEFULLY, WE WON’T HAVE ANOTHER VISIT FROM THE SULIBAN...”

TUCKER SHOWS HIS LAST FINDINGS.

It was heavily shielded, might be the black box...

It could tell us what happened...

Assuming we can get it working! But I gotta take you down in that chamber! Bigger than outside... You won’t be-lieve to your eyes!

23

23

Sickbay to Captain Archer. I need to see you immedia-tely.

THE DOCTOR HAS BIG NEWS.

No matches in the Star-fleet database. But our guest is no ordinary hu-man...

There is a nucleotide sequence... Vulcan!

24

24 The likeliest explanation is that he had at least a vulcan ancestor... Further than a great-grandparent!

We haven’t known Vul-cans so long!

I also found genetic material belonging to several other spe-cies...

25

25

This individual is the result of several generations of inter-species breeding!

ARCHER LOOKS FOR ANSWERS IN DANIELS’ QUARTERS (cfr. “Cold front”).

Daniels left a database from the future...

I’m not certain he would approve of this...

We’ll keep to our-selves...

26

26 A LITTLE BOX CREATES AN HOLOGRAM.

I Vulcan cruiser, but I don’t recognise the configuration...

That’s because it hasn’t been built yet...

It’s unlikely we could reproduce with hu-mans. There are si-gnificant biological differences...

That’s it. Look at the commission date: that’s almost 900 years from now... It’s powered by a temporal displacement drive.

27

27 If the Sulibans get their hands on it, that could change the course of the Temporal War!

Assuming the vessel is from the future, why have-n’t they retrieved it?

BUT THERE ARE MORE URGENT PROBLEMS. ANOTHER SHIP IS PUR-SUING THE ENTERPRISE. NOT A SU-LIBAN ONE.

28

28 T’pol ?

The vessel is Tholian. They’re extremely xe-nophobic. It’s unusual for them to travel this far from their system...

Archer, we were sent to retrieve the vessel! It is dangerous to you. Tempo-ral radiation.

A TRANSMISSION IS HEARD, DISTURBED BY UNPLEASANT CRACKS...

Thanks for the war-ning, but we can’t give it to you!

29

29 THOLIANS WANT TO HOLD IT...

They’ve locked onto us with a tractor beam. It is interfering with our tar-geting scanners.

ARCHER IS REALLY FED UP.

Release us, or I will destroy the ship in our launch bay...

30

30 WITH GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT, THOLIANS ARE FORCED TO HOLD OFF...

I don’t know what they said, but I don’t think they were paying you a compliment ...

I wonder if there’s anyone else who thinks they have a claim on that ship!

31

31

T’POL AND PHLOX CASUALLY MEET IN THE DINING ROOM...

I didn’t realise how late it was until my stomach reminded me it was time to eat!

I found another nucleoti-de sequence in the pilo-t’s genome... You found anything noteworthy ?

Captain asked me to perform a metallurgical analysis of the ves-sel’s hull. I’ve found several unu-sual alloys, one of them is in a se-mi-fluidical state.

32

32

Captain Archer thinks that the vessel travelled here from the future... The eviden-ce seems to be mounting!

Vulcans might reconsider their opinion on time travel...

It’s not an opinion. It’s simple logic.

33

33

There was a time when Deno-bulans believed they were the only intelligent species in the galaxy. Many refused to accept the truth... I believe in embra-cing surprises...

I prefer to em-brace logic.

TUCKER AND REED TRY TO HA-VE THE MYSTERIOUS BOX WORKING...

Let’s start re-initialising the power grid... Assuming that is the power grid!

34

34 When I was young, I al-ways wanted to build a time machine... See the future!

Some things are better left a mystery...

Suppose you can find out the name of the woman you’re going to marry... You marry her for love or becau-se some book told you to?

If we’re happily ever after, what differen-ce does it make?

We’ve got power, now we’-ve got to figure how to tap in these organic circuits...

35

35 They’re similar to the ones in the cockpit. We might be a-ble to salvage some of them and build an interface....

I’d like to see the past... I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus...

He’d probably ma-ke a quick meal of you...

The stegosaurus was an herbivore...

I’d like to go in 1588, when England defea-ted the Spanish Armada...

36

36

Why there?

I’m sure someone named Reed had a lot to do with that...

I’d like to see the past... I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus...

He’d probably ma-ke a quick meal of you...

The stegosaurus was an herbivore...

37

37 (It seems like we were just in here...).

I’d like to go in...

...1588!

38

38

How did I know you were going to say that...? I think we are spen-

ding far too much time together...!

I’d like to see the past...

You always wanted to meet a stegosau-rus...?

He’d probably ma-ke a quick meal of you...?

39

39 The stegosaurus was an herbivore...?

THE TWO MEN ARE ASTONISHED. SOME-THING VERY STRANGE IS HAPPENING.

THE FIRST THING TO DO IS CALL THE DOCTOR.

...we were standing near the ship, and it felt like we were having the same con-versation over and over a-gain...

40

40

I can’t find an-ything wrong with either of you.

We didn’t imagine what happened...

The craft is emitting some type of high-energy particles...

This may be the temporal radiations the Tholians warned us about.

We have spent a fair amount of time around that ship... The radiation could

have affected your perception of time.

41

41 Or maybe they were really reli-ving the same moment. Seal off Launch Bay 2, and evacuate the surrounding sections!

How are you coming with the black box?

The power is online, but we still can’t access the data.

The radiation could spread to other sections, affect more systems.

THE LITTLE MEETING IS FINISHED.

We’ll keep an eye on it, the Vulcans are only a few hours away...

42

42 We have attracted the at-tention of two hostile spe-cies. Perhaps you should destroy the vessel!

I am not going to do that! It’s time we took a more active interest in this tem-poral war...

Assuming for the moment this “Temporal War” exists, I believe we shouldn’t get in-volved!

43

43

We are already involved! And I’m tired of these fac-tions interfering with our century!

If the Sulibans return, they may be cloaked. I recom-mend we go to Tactical Alert.

T’POL IS FORCED TO SURRENDER.

NEWS FROM THE ENGINEERING ROOM.

This isn’t a black box! It’s a microtransmitter! After we got the power running, it started generating a sub-space signature. Some kind of emergency beacon!

44

44

Bridge to Captain Archer! Several Sulibans vessels are approaching!

A SULIBAN FLEET PURSUING THE ENTERPRISE.

Tey’ll be in range in 20 seconds...

Go to maximum warp!

45

45

How long to the rendez –vous point?

Three minutes...

Contact the Tal’Kir, let them know we’re bringing company.

We’re being hai-led by the Suli-bans...

SULIBANS DON’T WASTE TIME FOR DEALING, AS USUAL.

Drop out of warp and prepare to be boarded!

46

46 You are not going to risk any more damage to that ship. There’s a Vulcan combat cruiser waiting for us... I sug-gest you turn around!

Vulcans won’t risk their ship for an Earth vessel!

THE SULIBAN IS NOT IMPRESSED.

SULIBANS RAPIDLY USE ROUGH MANNERS...

47

47 They are trying to blast the launch bay doors!

REED CAN’T HANDLE IT.

Take us out of warp!

BUT THERE’S AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE. THE VULCAN SHIP IS ODDLY INACTIVE.

48

48 The crew is alive, but the vessel is disabled...

NOTHING TRAGIC HAS HAPPENED, BUT NEWS ARE BAD ANYWAY.

Their comm system is down...

BEHIND THE HUGE SHIP THOLIANS WERE HIDDEN.

49

49 THE ENTERPRISE IS CAUGHT BY THOLIAN FORCE FIELDS.

Engines are down. I can’t go back to warp.

Weapons off-line too. The hull plating is depo-larising.

50

50 Sulibans have drop-ped out of warp...

A BATTLE RAGES BETWEEN SULIBANS AND THOLIANS. THE ENTERPRISE IS THE PRIZE.

Tucker! We could use warp engines right about now!

I’ll need a few hours...

ARCHER CALLS THE ENGINEERING ROOM.

51

51 Then forget everything else and get that bea-con working! Whoever built that ship might be able to send help.

AN IDEA MAKES ITS WAY IN CAPTAIN’S MIND.

Even if you’re correct, it’s unlikely help will arrive in time...

T’POL IS SCEPTICAL.

How long would it take to remove one of the torpedo warheads?

Four minutes. Less if I had some help.

52

52

Let’s go! You head the bridge!

OUT IN SPACE SULIBANS ARE LOSING THE BATTLE.

I’m going to hold you to that four minutes...

It was only an estimate, sir...

53

53 TUCKER SWITCHES ON THE TRANSMITTER...

NEWS FROM THE BRIDGE.

The Sulibans have lost more than half of their ships. You don’t have much time...

THE HEAD IS REMOVED...

54

54

I’m going to hold you to that four minutes...

It was only an estimate, sir...

It’s happening again! We have had this con-versation before!

BUT THEN...

We’d better hurry! How far do you think we got last time?

55

55 I think we may have removed the warhe-ad... If time is not re-peating out of the launch bay, the Tho-lians could be close.

REED’S ANALYSIS IS QUITE CORRECT.

The Suliban ships ha-ve been destroyed.

Tholians are hailing us!

56

56 A METAL-LIKE VOICE WITH UNPLEASANT CRACKS. Give us the

vessel!

We are preparing to surrender... But our launch bay doors took he-avy damage... We are going to need more time.

VULCANS CAN LIE TOO, IF NECESSARY.

THOLIANS ARE NOT MORE PATIENT THAN SULIBANS.

They have locked onto both docking ports.

57

57 Seal the hatches and send security teams!

IN THE HANGAR THEY ARE STRUGGLING AGAINST TIME. LITERALLY.

I’m going to hold you to that four minutes...

It was only an estimate, sir...

How many times do you think we have done this?

At least twice, maybe more... Let’s hope we got it down by now!

58

58 SECURITY GUARDS STAND BY TO WELCOME THOLIANS...

...WHO DON’T SEEM TO BE SLOWED BY TIME INTERFERENCES.

They’re cutting through the doors!

59

59

ARCHER AND REED ARE SLOWLY FINISHING.

I’ll take it from here. Go to the control room!

REED GETS READY TO LAUNCH THE SHIP IN SPACE.

THE TORPEDO HEAD IS A SPECIAL PRESENT FOR THOLIANS.

60

60 Let’s get those doors open!

THE SHIP IS FREED IN SPACE...

AND A THOLIAN SHIP IS READY TO CATCH IT WITH A TRACTION BEAM.

61

61 Now! Blow it up!

NOT SO EASY. T’Pol to Archer, they have neutralised the warhead...

JUST THEN THE TRANSMITTER DISAPPEARS WHILE TUCKER IS STILL OPERATING IT.

62

62 THE PILOT DISAPPEARS TOO...

...TOGETHER WITH HIS MYSTERIOUS SHIP.

ON THE BRIDGE THEY CAN’T BELIEVE IT.

Sir, it’s... gone!

63

63 It dematerialised. And it’s not aboard the Tholian ships.

THOLIANS ARE LEAVING.

Prep a shuttlepod. Le-t’s see if we can give Vulcans a hand...

64

64

“CAPTAIN’S STARLOG: A VULCAN TRAN-SPORT IS EN ROUTE TO TOW THE TAL’-KIR. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO CASUALTIES. OUR SCANNERS SHOW NO SIGNS OF SULIBANS OR THOLIANS...”

IN THE DINING ROOM, THE OF-FICERS IN COMMAND CAST THEIR MINDS.

I wish we’d had more time to explore that ship. It looks like they sent the whole kit and ca-boodle in the XXXI century...

What I don’t understand is how quickly everything disappea-red. That beacon was online for less than a minute...

65

65 Whoever had sent it had plenty of time to locate the signal... And then travel back to any point of time to retrieve it.

Unfortunately, time isn’t irri-levant in my engine room. I’ve got repairs to finish. See you later.

ALONE WITH T’POL, ARCHER HAS SOMETHING MORE CON-FIDENTIAL TO SAY.

I want to contact the High Com-mand... And apologise for the trouble we caused them.

66

66 I’m sure the gesture would be appreciated. The High Com-mand asked me to prepare a report on this incident... With your permission.

By any means... I wonder if they will believe that Humans and Vulcans will be swapping chromosomes one day...

They are more li-kely to believe in time travel.

THE END