Responding to an automated distress call, the Enterprise finds the Seleya, a Vulcan ship that entered the Expanse nine months previously, derelict in an asteroid field rich in Trellium-D. Rescue efforts go sideways, as the Vulcan crew is exhibiting classic signs of Zombie-ism.
Star Trek: Enterprise 3×05 – Impulse
Directed by David Livingston
Written by Jonathan Fernandez, Terry Matalas
Guest Stars: Sean McGowan
There Are Four Mics is a weekly Star Trek podcast discussing the Star Trek episodes and movies in stardate order. Join Jason Allen and Joe Heiser as we discuss the 5th episode of season three of Star Trek: Enterprise, Impulse.
Cold Open
Archer carries an injured and crazed T’Pol into the Medbay as she screaming her intent to murder the captain.
Part I
A day before the events in the Medbay, Archer and Trip are discussing bring back movie night when they pick up a Vulcan distress call. Archer and a team to take a shuttlepod through a dense field of Trellium-D laden asteroids to reach T’Pol’s former ship and crew. After the Vulcan vessel is unresponsive to their hails, they board it to find it in a state of unnerving disarray. Even more unnerving is the arrival of a Zombie Vulcan that tries to kill T’Pol until he is phasered by Archer.
Hordes of zombie Vulcans descend onto the boarding party, blocking their ability to retreat to their shuttlepod. They begin making their way to the Vulcan sickbay to treat Corporal Hawkins injury, as T’Pol clearly begins to start suffering the effects of whatever has incapicated the Vulcan crew and she starts losing control over her emotions. Meanwhile, not having any luck beaming over Trellium-D asteroids, Travis and Trip take a shuttlepod out to manually collect some. Unfortunately once they land, an anomaly alters the course of the asteroid and sends them barreling dangerously into the densest section.
Part 2
Archer and the gang make it to the bridge, but when they call the Enterprise asking for help they learn that Trip and Travis’ little asteroid adventure has disabled their only means of rescue for a few hours. Paranoia begins setting in on T’Pol and she briefly pulls a phaser set to kill on the Captain before his kick-ass moves saves his skin. Using the bio-data Archer transmitted, Phlox discovers that Trellium-D is a deadly neurotoxin for Vulcans and T’Pol will need to get treatment immediately before the effects are permanent. As if all this wasn’t enough, the Vulcans begin flooding the away team’s hideout with a deadly gas.
The Enterprise away team overloads the ship’s system in order to clear the bulkheads keeping them from the shuttlepod. As the ship begins exploding around them, T’Pol’s mental state also continues to deteriorate, culminating in Archer stunning her. The crew fight their way through Vulcan zombies back to their shuttlepod when Shuttlepod Two finally arrives at blasts the locked docking clamp freeing them to make their escape. Phlox is able to heal T’Pol but they aren’t aren’t going to be able to use that Trelium-D Trip and Travis collected to protect the Enterprise until he can come up with an inoculation for T’Pol. Even though she’s safely back aboard her ship, T’Pol’s dreams continue to be haunted by Zombie Vulcans.