01x22 - Vox Sola

[bunniefuu]

Captain's Starlog, supplemental.

I'm beginning to wonder

if inviting the Kreetassans
aboard was such a good idea.

It's been a challenging morning
to say the least.

Tostka jstratta yroorcoor!

Did you get that?

Tostka... "insult."
Some kind of an insult.

He's insulting us
or we insulted them?

I'm not sure.

Tostka!

Ask what we did wrong.

Kjass... skjask las?

Hwajat ajhakjahs!

Well?

"You eat like you mate"?

You sure that thing's working?

Sasooratt!

I think they want to leave.

That much is obvious.

Whatever we've done
to offend you...

I apologize.

Jhaaratun yiitooratt... loorii.

Sasooratt!

Well, this is one
for the books...

Briefest first contact.

♪ It's been a long road ♪

♪ Getting from there to here ♪

♪ It's been a long time ♪

♪ But my time is finally near ♪

♪ And I will see my dream
come alive at last ♪

♪ I will touch the sky ♪

♪ And they're not gonna
hold me down no more ♪

♪ No, they're not gonna
change my mind ♪

♪ 'Cause I've got faith ♪

♪ Of the heart ♪

♪ I'm going where my heart
will take me ♪

♪ I've got faith to believe ♪

♪ I can do anything ♪

♪ I've got strength
of the soul ♪

♪ No one's gonna bend
or break me ♪

♪ I can reach any star ♪

♪ I've got faith ♪

♪ I've got, I've got, I've got ♪

♪ I've got faith ♪

♪ Faith of the heart. ♪

Does anybody hear that?

What? The static?

Frequency distortions
mixed in with the static.

You've got better ears
than we do.

It's coming from the com system.

Have you run a diagnostic?

Twice.

Guess today is just not my day.

How's the translation
coming along?

Slowly.

"Hwajat... " their word for eat?

What about it?

With the emphasis on the
first syllable, hwa-jat,

it means "to mate."

I can see how that might cause

some confusion over dinner.

Context is critical
in every language,

but Kreetassan has

the most subtle variations
I've ever seen.

The same word can have
a dozen different meanings.

We rely on you

to recognize the
difference, Ensign.

You think it was my fault?

I didn't say that.

You implied it.

I simply noted

that linguistic matters

fall within your responsibility.

For all we know,

it was Mr. Tucker's table
manners that offended them.

But you think if I picked up

the language faster,

they might have not stormed
off the ship.

There's no need
to react emotionally.

Try to learn from failure.

It could help

your next first contact
be more successful.

Thanks.

Commander, I'm picking up
some kind of interference

on the com system...

a high-frequency distortion.

Is it a problem?

Mostly just irritating.

I'll track it down
first thing in the morning.

Thanks.

Is he in there?

Yes.

How's his mood?

Now might not be the best time.

I'll take my chances.

It better be important.

Prime rib tonight...

with real horseradish.

Thanks. I'll have
the steward send some up.

Thought we'd set a course
for this brown dwarf system.

Looks interesting.

I can't wait.

In the meantime,

why don't we sh**t
a little nine ball?

You can break.

Maybe later.

I was going to save this
for a rainy day, but...

Stanford versus Texas.

The finals?

Fresh out
of the subspace mailbag.

You've been threatening
to teach me

the finer points of the game.

Unless you're too busy
with your brown dwarves.

What if they just don't like
being touched?

Remember how uncomfortable
they looked

when the Captain tried
to shake their hands?

They looked that way
the entire time.

Besides, they didn't
really lose their temper

until they arrived here
in the Mess Hall.

Are you staying
for the movie tonight?

What's playing?

Uh, Wages of Fear.

Classic French film.

No, you'll like it.
Things blow up.

Hmm. Sounds fun.

Hoshi?

No, thanks.
I'm turning in early.

We might need a translator.

Those subtitles go by
pretty fast.

I've had enough
language problems for one day.

We're going to have
to sit in the back.

One minute.

I hate missing the beginning.

It's on the computer.

You can watch it
whenever you want.

It's not the same.

I don't want to go back
and see the first part

after you know how it ends.

The power just went out
on D-Deck.

Cargo Bay 2.

The lighting grid's down.

It's probably just
a blown relay.

Leave it for the night shift.

If it's just a blown relay,

it'll take you
ten minutes to fix.

Here. The com's out, too.

2½ hours?

Two hours and 24 minutes.

Seems awfully long

for a movie about four men
in a truck.

You'll be on the
edge of your seat.

You promised me explosions.

Don't worry.

This is all wrong.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Reed to Bridge.

Go ahead, Lieutenant.

We're trying to watch
a movie down here,

but instead, we're being
treated to a view of you.

So unless you're planning

on giving us
a little song and dance,

maybe you could see
what's gone wrong.

Come on. Come on...

Yes!

How deep's the pool?

Deep enough so that no one
can touch the bottom.

I didn't know
it was such a rough game.

Think of it as
one part basketball,

one part swimming...

and one part wrestling.

And I thought it was
just a bunch of guys

screwing around in a pool.

Hmm.

Engineering.

Michael, is that you?

Hello?

Nice goal!

Did you see the way
number 12 set him up?

He's called
the "point man," right?

Very good. I told you.

Best sport in the world.

I'll still take
a great off-tackle run

out of the backfield,
but I can see

how you can get hooked on this.

Thanks for thinking of it.

My pleasure.

Now keep watching

while Texas trounces
your sorry California butts.

You haven't watched
the end of this, have you?

Of course not.

Hello?

What the hell was that?

Number eight on Texas
just fouled one of my boys.

He's going to be
ejected for 20 seconds.

Is that fair?
It gives you guys an advantage.

Well, that's the point.

I don't suppose
it'd be practical

to put a pool on the ship.

I wouldn't want
to be taking a swim

if the gravity plating
went off-line.

No.

Kelly to the Captain.

Go ahead.

Sir, I'm in Cargo Bay 2, and...

there's some kind
of life-form in here.

Life-form?

It's got Rostov, sir.

He's still conscious,
but he can't...

Crewman?

Weapons to stun.

Captain.

Sir?

Careful.

The light.

She's alive.

Captain?

Leave.

Crewman?

Leave.

Captain!

Get out of here! Go!

This thing appears
to be growing.

There's no telling if it'll
get out of the Cargo Bay.

I recommend we evacuate
the entire deck.

How did it get on board?

The last time we
opened the airlock,

we were docked with
the Kreetassans.

You think they left us
a little souvenir?

Our encounter didn't go well,

but I doubt we gave them
reason to att*ck us.

We're not even certain
that the organism's hostile.

You didn't see that thing
go after the Captain.

It seemed hostile enough to me.

The Kreetassans might know
something about this thing.

I can start scanning
for their ship,

try to pick up their warp trail.

We'll need to communicate
with them better than last time.

I'll do my best.

T'Pol to Dr. Phlox.
Report.

I'm preparing to examine
the specimen.

Would you care to observe?

Yes. Stand by.

You'll note that, even though

it's been severed from its body,

it survives independently,

not unlike the common earthworm
or the Neethian cradlefish.

Do you think that's
wise, Doctor?

Possibly not, but I'm going
to need a tissue sample

if I hope to learn more
about its physiology.

That'll be quite enough.

This is no earthworm.

Doctor?

Look at the synaptic activity.

This organism possesses a very
sophisticated nervous system.

It could be capable of
higher mental functions.

If it's intelligent,

maybe we can
communicate with it.

The frequency distortions,

they look a lot like
the phonetic patterns

in certain Andorian dialects.

With all due respect, Hoshi,

we're not talking about
nouns and verbs here.

It could take you days to
learn a language like that,

even if it is one.

What other choice do we have?

Give me a chance.

I'm sorry, Ensign,
there isn't enough time.

Subcommander...

We need to neutralize it,
quickly.

You said phase-pistols
had no effect?

None that I could tell.

Then I suggest you find
a method that does.

If I may,

the organism is highly
photo-sensitive.

A sustained burst
of EM radiation

might be enough
to stun the creature.

Can you assemble
some EM emitters?

It'll take a few minutes.

Why doesn't it just k*ll us?

Take it easy.

I'm sure T'Pol and
Malcolm are doing

everything they can
to get us out of here.

Can either of you
see Crewman Kelly?

Yes, sir.

How's she look?

She's still breathing.

Zabel's still unconscious.

Captain?

Yeah.

I imagine in a situation
like this,

they'd cancel the movie.

I imagine so.

I really wanted to see it.

Yves Montand driving expl*sives
through the mountains.

I'll make sure they
reschedule it for next week.

Thank you, sir.

It's working.

Bridge, something's wrong.

Shut off the emitters.

Doctor?

Shut them off!

Off.

What happened?

Their nervous systems appear

to be linked to the organism's.

They're sharing autonomic
functions, neural impulses.

If we continue f*ring,

we could end up k*lling
our own people.

Mr. Reed.

Withdraw your team.

Understood.

The rate of symbiosis
is increasing.

If we don't find a way
to extract them soon,

their systems will be too
integrated with the creature.

I won't be able
to separate them.

You wanted a chance
to communicate.

I suggest you begin.

How much time do they have?

A few hours at most.

They're metabolic
rates are dropping...

Temperature, respiration.

There must be some way
to cut them out of there.

I'm not sure if you appreciate

how alien this creature is.

It's not attacking our crewmen,

it's trying to integrate
them into itself.

The end result's the same.

At some point in the
very near future,

there won't be six life-forms
in that cargo bay...

there'll only be one.

If that thing continues to grow,

we're going to have to find
a way to contain it.

Do you have a suggestion?

Starfleet's been
working on creating

a stable EM barrier
for the last five years.

A force field?

Right. They just
haven't found a way

to control the particle density.

All the specs are
in the database.

I've been trying to jury-rig

a prototype of my own.

And?

I've got it stable enough

to absorb a phase-p*stol
blast 60 percent of the time.

I think I can improve on that.

I suggest you work quickly.

I think I found them.

Where?

.52 light-years
from here.

Lay in a course.

I already have.

I've been sending out hails,

but we're still out
of com range.

Let me know as soon
as they respond.

Any progress?

Believe me, you'd
be the first to know.

I'm sorry.

It's frustrating.

I'm not having a lot of luck.

The situation requires
expertise, not luck.

Then maybe I don't
have the expertise.

If you don't,

no one else aboard
Enterprise does.

I'm doing my best.

It was your suggestion

that we attempt to
communicate with it.

If you don't think
that's possible,

we'll have to find
another solution.

I've made a little progress.

But our translation matrix
isn't designed for this.

Look at it.

It's more like

a calculus equation
than a language.

Mathematics is
sometimes considered

a form of language.

What I'm trying to say is...

that I could use help
from someone

with a background
in higher mathematics.

Perhaps I can assist you.

The Texas goalie can't
block to his right,

because he keeps
his hands too deep.

How do you know that?

Captain...

I know it, too...

And I don't understand
anything about water polo.

It's this life-form.

It's linking us
together somehow.

We got to get out!

Calm down.

This thing's gotten
inside our heads!

Trip... do...

do you know
what I'm thinking about?

Now is not the time to be
thinking about the regionals.

Trip...

Senior year...

North American regionals

against Princeton.

We...

I mean, you were down
by two goals

under a minute left.

And what was I thinking?

What was I thinking?

You thought...

you could win...

every game.

You always thought
you could win.

No matter how far
behind you were.

And we did.

We went on
to the finals that year.

As soon as you give up,

the game's lost.

How's our little friend?

Fast asleep.

It appears to have
entered a dormant state.

Probably a reaction to the shock

of being severed
from the larger organism.

But it's alive?

Very much so.

Good.

Now, if you don't mind,

I'd like to run a few
tests of my own.

What kind of tests?

I need to determine

how much bioelectric
stress it can tolerate.

May I ask why?

I'm trying to create
a force field

to isolate the Cargo Bay.

But if it's going to work,

I have to calculate

how much of a jolt it will take

to repel the organism
without k*lling it,

or any of the people it's taken.

If you intend to pummel

this appendage with EM radiation

until it cries for mercy,

I'm afraid I can't permit that.

Why not?

This is more than
just a severed limb.

It exhibits all the signs
of an intelligent being.

Intelligent being or not,

its big brother
is in the Cargo Bay

strangling the Captain
and four other crewmen.

If we don't do something
to contain it now,

it could pose a thr*at
to everyone on board.

There are less invasive ways

to gather the
information you need.

Such as?

A microcellular analysis.

How long would that take?

Less than an hour.

In less than an hour,

that thing could spread
across half a deck.

I'm willing to help you,
Mr. Reed,

but not if it means
torturing this organism.

Correct me if I'm wrong,
but isn't our mission

to try to better understand
unique forms of life?

Not if they're trying
to k*ll the Captain.

We don't know anything about
this creature's intentions.

I admire your
interspecies ethics,

but until Hoshi tells me
she's found a way

to communicate with it,
I have to assume

its intentions are hostile.

Now...

if you don't mind.

If you want information

to help you construct
your force field,

you'll acquire it
under my supervision.

I'm sure I don't have
to remind you, Doctor,

I am the ranking officer here.

Not in my Sick Bay.

Unless the Captain
says otherwise.

The Captain is in no condition
to offer an opinion.

Precisely.

Fine.

Your rules.

But we'd better get to it.

What if we used
a bilateral algorithm?

I already tried.

Did you compensate
for frequency drift?

I wouldn't be much of a
Com Officer if I didn't.

Allowing your emotions
to control you

won't help solve
this problem, Ensign.

Neither will questioning

everything I do.

You asked for my help.

I didn't ask for
you to keep count

of every time I make a mistake

or to second-guess
all of my decisions.

As First Officer,

it's my duty to supervise you.

This goes beyond
duty, Subcommander.

You've been looking
over my shoulder

ever since you came on board...

Double-checking my log entries,

my translations...

It's my job.

Is that all we're talking about?

You don't think I
belong on Enterprise,

do you?

On the contrary.

It would be a great loss
to Starfleet

if you were not a part
of this crew.

If you feel I've
been unfair to you,

I apologize.

But I hold you
to a high standard, Ensign,

because I know you're capable
of achieving it.

Shall we continue?

Yes.

Um... why don't we
take another look

at the subharmonics?

I was thinking we could run them

through the decryption matrix...

See if we can find a pattern.

All I see is numbers, codes.

Any code can be broken.

You hailed us?

You speak English.

We studied your database.

It wasn't difficult.

Okay.

We have a problem.

Yes?

There's an alien organism
on our ship.

Yes?

It came aboard
around the same time we saw you.

We were hoping you might know
something about it.

Describe this organism.

Well, it's big.

But it didn't
start out that way.

It's like a large mass
of tendrils.

Tendrils?

Like a giant web.

But it moves... and grows.

We have seen this.

Where?

On its homeworld.

Perhaps it attached itself
to our ship.

It wasn't our fault.

Can you tell us
where this planet is?

Apologize.

Excuse me?

We will send you
the coordinates,

but first you must apologize
to us for your offense.

That's the thing.

We don't know what we did
to offend you.

On your ship, you...

put food in your mouths.

You mean eat?

Yes. Eat.

I don't understand.

It is like mating.

It is very offensive to us.

We were just eating.

How do you eat?

We eat the same way,

but not in the presence
of others.

I see.

Okay.

Please believe me.

We had no idea
that would be offensive to you.

It was simply
a misunderstanding.

On behalf of the entire crew,
I sincerely apologize.

Your apology is accepted.

Thank you.

Now, could I have
those coordinates?

Captain...

Yeah.

I feel you drifting
away over there.

You aren't feeling
much better than I do.

Rostov?

He's out.

When Zefram Cochrane

talked about new life

and new civilization...

do you think
this is what he meant?

Here, here it is.

I found a third set
of repetitions.

Try it.

Just a few more

and the UT can start
building the syntax.

Phlox to T'Pol.

Go ahead.

I know you're under
a great deal of pressure,

but Crewman Kelly's
metabolic rate

has dropped to a critical level.

Whatever you're planning to do,

you'd better do it soon.

Understood.

Ready, sir.

The particle density's
still fluctuating.

I think the problem's
in the lower left quadrant.

Got it, sir.

Try again.

Better.

T'Pol to Lieutenant Reed.

Go ahead.

We've made some progress
on the translation,

but we're going to need to get
into the cargo bay to test it.

Is the force field ready?

I'm making the final
calibrations now.

You'll have to do it quickly.

Dr. Phlox says our people
don't have much time.

Understood.

Captain?

Emitter B's off by 3.2 microns.

The force field's working,

but I can't guarantee
how long it'll hold.

Have you done it?

We're about to find out.

It just sounds like
a constant tone.

I'm going to create distortions
in the tone.

Hopefully, the organism
will understand

what I'm trying to do.

Come on, just a little more.

I think I've got enough
to try something simple.

Ask what it wants.

It's talking to us.

What's it saying?

Ensign?

Hold on.

It's giving us coordinates.

Its homeworld?

The Kreetassans
already gave them to us.

These look more like the
latitude and longitude.

I think it's trying to give us

an exact location on the planet.

Tell it we're taking it back.

Commander Tucker's heart rate

is increasing.

Is that good or bad?

It's good.

Crewman Kelly's bio-signs
are stabilizing as well.

Lower the force field.

Lieutenant.

Medical Team,
report to Cargo Bay 2.

Acknowledged.

Here.

Look at all of them.

Not them... it.

This is all one organism.

The part that got on board...
Why did it take our people?

Hard to say.

When it got separated
from itself,

perhaps it needed
a physical connection

with any life-form
it could find.