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Feb 18, 2005 · Edit page. Affliction: Directed by Michael Grossman. With Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating. While Enterprise is visiting Earth, Phlox is abducted by the Klingons and forced to research a cure for a virus destined to wipe out the race.
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- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Michael Grossman
- 2005-02-18
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While Enterprise visits Earth for the launch of Columbia, Phlox is kidnapped and forced to help the Klingons deal with a grave threat toward their species. (Part 1 of 2)
Teaser
A Klingon scientist works in a laboratory, watched by a Klingon general and a guard. A representation of a DNA helix is displayed behind the scientist. A door opens and a Klingon prisoner is led into the laboratory by two soldiers of the Klingon Empire. In Klingonese, the prisoner claims that his death sentence was commuted and demands to speak with the magistrate who presided over his trial. The Klingon soldiers strap him to a chair and hang a vial of green liquid above his head, which the scientist injects him with. Confused, the prisoner wails as his cranial ridges ripple and begin to dissolve.
Act One
Returning to Earth, Enterprise finds the NX-class starship Columbia in the orbital drydock facility, undergoing final preparations for her maiden voyage. Meanwhile, Commander Tucker is packing a technical manual for Enterprise into a bag. He stops to look through a window in his quarters as the construction work to Columbia is being completed. When T'Pol enters his quarters, Trip remarks that the new starship is beautiful. The Vulcan states that Enterprise and Columbia are virtually identical, although Trip claims that an experienced engineer can see the differences between the two. Tucker notifies T'Pol of a "going away party" in the mess hall later and asks if she will be there. T'Pol says she doesn't understand the logic behind the engineer's departure and Trip eventually explains that he will find serving aboard Columbia more challenging. He believes he can fine tune Columbia in half the time it took him to do for Enterprise. He claims that T'Pol is not the reason for his transfer and that there are other considerations in his life, apart from her. Upon hearing this, she departs the engineer's quarters. In San Francisco, Doctor Phlox and Ensign Hoshi Sato exit a restaurant called "Madame Chang's". Phlox is surprised that the place was so busy, although Sato explains that she told a few of her Starfleet friends about the restaurant. Phlox tells her that, earlier in the day, the organizers of the Interspecies Medical Exchange asked the doctor if he would like to serve as their Director of Xenobiology. Phlox states that he is considering the offer, although he would find it difficult to leave his shipmates on Enterprise. Suddenly, two shadowy figures step out of an alleyway and order Phlox to accompany them. When the Denobulan voices his confusion, one of the men aims a disruptor at the doctor. Sato uses her knowledge of Aikido against the men but another hooded assailant appears behind her and knocks her to the ground. Phlox is struggling with one of the men when a disruptor blast hits him, rendering him unconscious. The doctor is restrained and carried away as Hoshi lies on the ground, barely conscious. As her eyes flutter, the linguist hears one of the men say something in an alien language. Later, when Captain Archer and Lieutenant Reed arrive at the scene of the crime, they meet Commander Collins of Starfleet Security. Sato tells Archer and Reed that she is fine and recounts that there were three men who came out of the shadows. Collins recalls that the ensign had told her the men spoke in a foreign, or alien, language. Collins tells Archer and Reed that the only DNA which Starfleet Security found belonged to Sato and Phlox. However, the security officers also detected some ionization traces nearby. Reed believes that the men were beamed away, although Collins explains that very few individuals have obtained transporter technology which would leave ionization traces. Collins presents the possibility that the men may have been organized by the same Human who attacked Phlox several months ago. (ENT: "Home") Reed, however, doubts that – having taken part in the brawl along with Ensign Mayweather, he feels quite confident that said drunken loudmouth would not be capable of such a well-executed plan. Collins informs Archer that Starfleet Security will continue to thoroughly investigate the crime and leaves the captain and Reed. Archer orders the lieutenant to check whether Starfleet Operations satellites picked up any transporter activity at the approximate time that Phlox was captured. Reed acknowledges and walks away. Aboard Columbia, Tucker informs the engineering staff that they will have to align the dilithium matrix to within 0.3 microns. When Ensign Rivers replies that Tucker's order doesn't correlate with the 0.5 written in one of the tech manuals, Tucker answers that he probably has more practical experience than the warp field specialist who wrote the manual does. He orders Biggs and Pierce to recalibrate the warp field stabilizers and asks Rivers and Strong to start work on the injector assembly. As the engineers begin their duties, Tucker notices that Captain Hernandez has entered engineering. The captain reminds him that it is Starfleet protocol for a transferred officer to report to the captain when they come on board and asks Trip to come to the captain's mess for a meal later the next day. Before she leaves, Hernandez advises him to report to the quartermaster and update his uniform patch. In the captain's ready room aboard Enterprise, T'Pol enters and informs Archer that the Denobulan ambassador has notified Phlox's wives of the doctor's kidnapping. Archer tells the Vulcan that although Sato was barely conscious, the linguist thought she heard Phlox's kidnappers say something in an alien language. Archer asks T'Pol to conduct a mind meld with Sato. When the Vulcan worries that she has never initiated a meld before, Archer replies that he will advise her with the knowledge he gained from carrying Surak's katra. Meanwhile, in Enterprise's armory, Lieutenant Reed is puzzled when he discovers that Starfleet satellite grid 137 was off-line for maintenance at the time that Phlox was kidnapped. When he contacts Starfleet Operations, there is no reply. A Human male dressed in dark clothing appears on the viewscreen which Reed was using to check the satellites. The man, Harris, claims he will tell Reed why the satellite grid was down if the lieutenant meets him at a specific address in San Francisco. In a darkened room, T'Pol tries to meld with Sato. When the ensign senses the meld isn't working, Archer suggests that the Vulcan try to slightly relax her emotional suppression. Eventually, their minds merge. T'Pol helps Sato remember the time just after she and Phlox had left Madame Chang's. The Vulcan appears in Sato's mind and the ensign indicates to the shadowy figures before they were assaulted. When they begin their assault, Sato struggles to focus. The ensign manages to focus long enough, however, to remember the men's words. She realizes that the aliens spoke in the Rigelian language. On the bridge, T'Pol reports to the captain that a Rigelian freighter left Earth approximately two hours after Phlox was captured. The freighter was scheduled to travel to Proxima colony, although the vessel's trajectory would suggest it was heading elsewhere. Canceling shore leave for the crew on Earth, the captain orders T'Pol to make sure that all officers are returned to Enterprise. He exits the bridge to contact Admiral Gardner in his ready room. At night in a foggy San Francisco, Reed meets up with the man he spoke to earlier. The lieutenant soon discovers that Harris was involved in shutting down the satellite grid. When Reed asks him if he knows Phlox's location, Harris answers that the section he is working for requires Reed's help. The lieutenant implies that he used to be employed by the same section, although he believed his tenure to be over. Harris claims that if Reed doesn't provide the assistance which is required, Phlox may die.
Act Two
In the same laboratory where experiments were conducted earlier, the Klingon general, K'Vagh, watches the scientist prepare another vial of green liquid to be tested. Restrained by two Klingon soldiers, Phlox is led into the lab. K'Vagh welcomes the Denobulan to the Qu'Vat Colony and warns him he will die unless he cooperates with Doctor Antaak, the Klingon scientist. When Phlox assumes he will be assisting Antaak, the general corrects him that he will be in charge. Antaak recognizes Phlox from an IME Conference on Tiburon in 2149. When Phlox fails to recall Antaak, the scientist claims he was disguised as a member of the Mazarite delegation because Klingon medics weren't invited to the meeting. As K'Vagh leaves, he states that he expects Phlox to prepare a progress report by sunrise on the following day. Antaak apologizes for the general's impolite behavior, a characteristic of the warrior caste. The scientist reveals that the Klingons are facing their greatest threat since the Hur'q attacked the Empire – an infection which has claimed millions already. Antaak fears the Klingons may become extinct if the infection isn't stopped. Phlox wonders why the Klingons didn't just ask Starfleet for help, and Antaak replies that would have made the Klingons look weak and dishonorable. The scientist recalls how Phlox's paper on viral propagation impressed him and tells the Denobulan he is interested in metagenic research. Antaak encourages Phlox to begin mapping the virus's nucleotides, and repeats that the virus is a great threat to the Klingon people – while he didn't like resorting to abduction any more than Phlox, it has occurred, and the need for his medical skill is very real. On the bridge of Enterprise, T'Pol reports that she is no longer detecting the Rigelian freighter's warp trail. Reed suggests that the freighter could have resumed its course on impulse power and Travis Mayweather mentions that Enterprise will intercept the vessel in 8.2 hours. When Archer hails engineering, no-one responds. The captain eventually speaks to his new chief engineer Commander Kelby and tells the engineer that Enterprise needs more acceleration. Kelby says he'll try to increase the starship's velocity. On board Columbia, Trip Tucker and Captain Hernandez are enjoying a meal. Tucker remarks that the food tastes good, and Hernandez recalls that when she left her last assignment, Republic, she stole Captain Jennings' chef. Tucker laughs, although his expression turns serious again when the captain makes him aware of two crew transfer requests since his transfer to Columbia. Not willing to reveal any names, Hernandez adds that she denied them their requested transfers, stating that engineering is already short-handed as it is. She comments on the impression Trip seems to have made with the engineering staff. Tucker doesn't care about his impression as much as he does about his staff's work. He notifies the captain that Columbia is almost ready for warp trials. Hernandez remembers that in an interview she saw with Tucker after Enterprise returned from the Xindi mission, the commander said he couldn't imagine serving on any other vessel. She wonders what changed his mind. Trip explains the crew of Enterprise were becoming too familiar and that he sometimes prefers working with colleagues rather than friends. In T'Pol's quarters, the Vulcan is meditating. In her mind, she and Tucker are in a completely white place. She asks him why he is with her, as he isn't usually in her meditations. Tucker replies that the same question puzzles him and T'Pol explains that they are in her meditation. Tucker comments that he doesn't find the white place as interesting as a beach or the Fire Plains she showed him on Vulcan. When T'Pol asks Tucker to leave her meditation, the engineer retorts that she should leave and reveals that the white space is his daydream. Rivers disturbs Tucker's reverie and the commander returns to the real world. Rivers hands him a diagnostic on a PADD and walks away. In her quarters, T'Pol is puzzled by her meditation. Archer contacts her from the bridge and informs her that Enterprise is nearing the coordinates of the Rigelian freighter. Rising to her feet, the Vulcan tells Archer that she is heading to the bridge. Later, the bridge's viewscreen displays the wreckage of the Rigelian craft. T'Pol determines that all of the vessel's Rigelian complement are dead and that there are no Denobulans on board. When Archer questions Reed if he can identify the vessel's destroyer, the lieutenant checks the sensors which state that the weapon signatures are have been successfully identified. However, Reed erases the alert from his screen and lies to the captain that he can't verify an identification. Believing the lieutenant's deception, Archer orders him to scan for the ship's data recorder. On Qu'Vat Colony, Phlox believes that the Klingon virus is a mutated form of the Levodian flu. Antaak remarks that the virus is highly immune. Phlox suggests contacting the IME, who may have experience of dealing with the virus. The Denobulan adds that no-one at the IME would have to know specific details. However, Antaak sees no reason for the IME to become involved, as the Klingons stole their entire medical database. Phlox and Antaak discuss the morals of stealing medical research. Soon, General K'Vagh returns with another prisoner and a guard. Phlox examines the prisoner and concludes that the Klingon has been infected. The Denobulan worries that he and the uninfected Klingons are being exposed to the virus but Antaak reassures him that the infection only becomes contagious at stage three – the prisoner is currently only at stage one. When Antaak draws a weapon and aims it at the prisoner, Phlox stops him before he fires it. The Klingon scientist and Denobulan doctor argue about the ethics of euthanasia. Suddenly, K'Vagh removes a disruptor from his belt and kills the patient himself, leaving Antaak and Phlox shocked. In his quarters, Reed opens a secure channel to Harris. The lieutenant communicates his frustration that the section of Starfleet which Harris works for destroyed the Rigelian freighter. When Reed asks what the complement of the Rigelian ship was, Harris refuses to reply. Reed discloses that he has completed an analysis of the weapons signatures and that he hasn't told Archer the identity of the destroyer vessel yet, although he doesn't know how long he'll be able to keep that information secret. Harris implies that Reed could say Orion raiders destroyed the Rigelian vessel since they operate in the area but the lieutenant suggests divulging his secret to Captain Archer. Harris reminds Reed of Archer's duty as a captain and advises the lieutenant to become comfortable with Harris' orders. He recalls that Reed agreed to serve Harris' section long before he was assigned to Enterprise. As an explosion rocks the ship, Hoshi hails the crew and orders the crew to man the battle stations. Shortly before Reed closes the channel to Harris, he explains that Enterprise is under attack.
"It wasn't my idea to abduct you. Nevertheless, you are here. Millions of lives are at risk!"
- Antaak, to Phlox
"I don't know who's in charge of your mess hall, but he'd give the chef on Enterprise a run for his money."
"I stole him from the Republic. Captain Jennings said I could have anything I wanted when I left, so I took his cook."
- Captain Hernandez, to Trip Tucker, as they enjoy a meal together in her mess
"This is where I go in my mind."
Story and script
•This episode and the following one ("Divergence") attempt to explain the makeup change in Klingons between TOS and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which had been semi-acknowledged as canon since the broadcast of DS9's "Blood Oath" and "Trials and Tribble-ations" in the 1990s. Some viewers had criticized the Star Trek: Enterprise producers for not depicting Klingons of this era as smooth-headed, as they had been in the Original Series. While some fans simply ignored the Klingon makeup changes in the various series and films, others had longed for an "official" explanation. The writers of Enterprise hoped their take would find a way of satisfying both points of view, while simultaneously telling an interesting story. (For more from teleplay writer Mike Sussman, see Klingon augment virus.) •The final draft script of this episode was submitted on 2 December 2004.
Continuity
•The mention of the Hur'q is a reference to the DS9 episode "The Sword of Kahless", where Worf, Jadzia Dax and Kor find the Sword of Kahless among the ruins of the Hur'q civilization in the Gamma Quadrant. •"Affliction" features the first appearance of the Rigelians in Star Trek. They, like the Tarkaleans, had been mentioned but not seen in previous series. •This episode is the first to bring Section 31, a concept introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, into Enterprise. Although the name "Section 31" is never mentioned in this or subsequent Enterprise episodes (though in the next episode, "Divergence", Agent Harris invokes "Article 14, Section 31" of the Starfleet Charter to justify his actions), interviews with the production staff confirm that this is indeed the same organization that was introduced in Deep Space Nine. •When asked why he's in the brig, Reed tells Marab that it is a "long story" – the same phrase Worf used 114 years later to describe the affair in "Trials and Tribble-ations". •Captain Hernandez makes her second appearance after "Home". Also, Commander Collins references the xenophobic attack which took place in that episode and Trip mentions the Vulcan fire plains that T'Pol showed him in "Home". •Arik Soong is mentioned several times, as are the Augments which he genetically engineered. •Archer mentions Lieutenant Reed's father, Stuart Reed, who was seen in "Silent Enemy". •The Klingon augment virus was created as a result of the Human Augment DNA modifying the Levodian flu virus. In VOY: "Tattoo", The Doctor programmed himself with a simulated version of the Levodian flu at Kes' request to make him more sympathetic to his patients. •A reverse image of the Great Lakes was used in one shot of the Enterprise orbiting the Earth, apparently the same shot used to represent Kreetassa in A Night in Sickbay. This is puzzling as of course the image should not have been reversed; the image also seems to lack any other nearby water features actually present on the Earth, such as the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Sets
•The bridge plan for the Columbia duplicates that of the alternate Enterprise from "E²".
Starring
•Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer •John Billingsley as Phlox •Jolene Blalock as T'Pol •Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed •Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather •Linda Park as Hoshi Sato •Connor Trinneer as Charles "Trip" Tucker III
Guest stars
•John Schuck as Antaak •James Avery as K'Vagh •Ada Maris as Hernandez •Eric Pierpoint as Harris •Terrell Tilford as Marab •Kate McNeil as Collins •Brad Greenquist as a Rigelian Kidnapper •Derek Magyar as Kelby
Co-stars
•Marc Worden as Klingon Prisoner •Seth MacFarlane as Rivers
Plot. Enterprise returns to Earth in time for the launch of the second NX class starship, Columbia, and Commander Tucker prepares for his transfer. Meanwhile, Ensign Sato and Doctor Phlox are attacked in San Francisco, and Phlox is kidnapped.
Linda Park. Ensign Hoshi Sato. Advertise With Us. In Theaters At Home TV Shows. Advertise With Us. Trip begins his new assignment aboard the Enterprise's companion ship; Klingons capture Phlox...
- Michael Grossman
- September 26, 2001
- Scott Bakula
Where to watch Star Trek: Enterprise · Season 4 Episode 15 · Affliction starring Terrell Tilford, Brad Greenquist, John Schuck and directed by Michael Grossman.
Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In Affliction, the crew investigate the kidnapping of Doctor Phlox ( John Billingsley ), and the ship is attacked by a new type of Klingon.
Feb 18, 2005 · Affliction. Available on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, Prime Video, iTunes, Paramount+. S4 E15: While Enterprise visits Earth for the launch of Columbia, Phlox is kidnapped and forced to help the Klingons deal with a grave threat to their species. Sci-Fi Feb 18, 2005 40 min. Starring James Avery, John Schuck, Marc Worden. Cast & Crew. JA. James Avery.
