Another winner! The trend continues.

EMOTIONAL DISPLACEMENT OF THE WEEK:
You have to feel for poor Trip. This is probably the first time in a long time that his feelings for his sister have been dealt with directly. This was long overdue. At least he admitted that he's kept them bottled up for nine months.

EMOTIONAL REPRESSION OF THE WEEK:
Then you have T'Pol. I like her better this week than last week. She seems to have control over herself somewhat now. It was welcome that she does admit that Vulcans DO normally have emotions. This episode made it more clear what the Trellium did to her. It didn't give her emotions, it allowed her to experience them rather than repressing them. Now she has to go back to repressing them and she can't. It's an intriguing problem. I'm interested to see how she resolves the situation.

FACE OF THE ENEMY OF THE WEEK:
Degra and Archer are two of a kind. This week, Degra has had to cross a line that HE thought he'd never cross: firing on his own people. The parallels between Degra and Archer are fascinating. They each abhor what they have become, but they are both sacrificing their own morals and conscience for what they perceive to be the greater good of their respective societies. I find this very intriguing.

LONG-AWAITED CONFRONTATION OF THE WEEK:
Trip finally got to look into the face of his sister's killer and I suspect that if T'Pol hadn't been there (or Archer later), he might have done something rather harsh. Connor Trineer did a fabulous job this week.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY OF THE WEEK:
Archer could have shown Degra and his associate the room filled with Daniels' equipment or he could have shown him the captured Suliban pod. (Remember that little piece of hardware?) Either one would have given more value to Archer's claim of help from the future.

EXTRANEOUS FILLER OF THE WEEK:
As much as I enjoyed the episode, the whole incident with the repair of the leak seemed rather drawn out. The confrontation that resulted between Trip and Degra was fantastic, but I think it could have happened without such an extended scene. It's really a minor complaint, though. On the plus side, I had a brief thought that maybe they were going to kill off Reed right there. THAT would have been an interesting turn of events. Of course, then we'd be minus one main character and that wouldn't be so good.

CHANGED PREMISE OF THE WEEK:
Last week, Degra's main reason for trusting Archer was that he had offered proof. (The medallion from the future.) This week, Degra claims that Archer needs to show proof.

UNEXPLAINED ISSUE OF THE WEEK:
So how DID the Reptilians find the Enterprise?

MISSING ALIENS OF THE WEEK:
Where have the Insectoids been lately. I love those buggers. (ba dum bum)

FOREBODING MYSTERY OF THE WEEK:
The nebula is guarded by hostile aliens. There's a big surprise.

OVERALL OPINION OF THE WEEK:
I liked this one a lot too. It had more problems than either "Damage" or "Azati Prime" but the analyses of Trip and Degra were fascinating. I give it an A-.

TUE

I thought this episode did a great job! There was some powerful acting from Connor Trinneer. I really felt for Trip, the way Mr. Trinneer handled that crying scene. The realistic way he even 'finished up' his sobbing, like one does after the majority of your crying releases the emotions. I really loved how T'Pol was Vulcan and yet was there for him. You know, I always thought they might make Trip and T'Pol a couple, even though I was refusing to see it from the tidying up of scene in 'Harbinger'. But, I can just see how each other held on to each other and depended on each other. I can now see how they would end up with a bond to each other.
I agree with the assessment how the out of ship leak repairing scene seemed drawn out. What did it do for the plot except little snippets of how Trip reacted to Degra's good wish for Reed's recovery, and maybe how Reed was loyal to the ship, despite how his health was degrading. Also, was it me, but seeing Reed back to good health on the bridge, after just seeing him near death and dragged to sickbay a little unbelieveable? Yea, they must have gotten his body temperture down, but that was way too quick in my book.
I wish too that Archer should have showed Degra and sloth buddy, Daniel's room, but then again, maybe to Archer, that was a little too dangerous to screwing around with the timeline. What if Degra and friend seeing technology from the future could cause a paradox.
You know, with the reptillians Xindi so gung ho to distroy humanity for that interdemensional chick, and obviously not only are the humanoid and sloth Xindi seeing reason, with the Aquatics on their side, and no word from the insectoids, what is getting the reptillians so gung ho to kill? Is the interdemensional chick paying them something more?
I'm thinking that the reason the insectoid Xindi are missing from all this, is that I think the children that Archer took care of in 'Hatchery' are probably telling the rest of the insectoids about it, and are probably questioning their loyalties too. Just my thought.

They find 2 bodies & T'Pol says, "That accounts for everybody." Oh, really? What about those 2 or 3 people who were blown into space during Azati Prime?

Okayyyyyyyy, this magnesium flare is shooting out the hull & they claim they couldn't detect it because sensors were down? Wouldn't the fact that the flare should act like a jet and move the ship tip them off that there was somekinda leak somewhere?

Where is everybody these days? Back in ye olde days of yore, there would be 30+ posts by the morning of the next day. Now there's only three and I'm one of them. This is most distressing.

TUE

They find 2 bodies & T'Pol says, "That accounts for everybody." Oh, really? What about those 2 or 3 people who were blown into space during Azati Prime? - KAM

She said, "That accounts for everybody." She didn't say, "Those are the last bodies we've recovered." It sounded to me like they were trying to determine the whereabouts of some of the missing crewmen (maybe those not on duty at the time of the attack). Perhaps they already know who was blown out of the ship in Azati Prime.

Well, I didn't see the episode, thus no post from me. Yet. Unless you could this one.

Count this one, that should read.

Why is this episode called "The Forgotten"?

Double nit: We don't see a ship's counselor on this Enterprise, and we do see one on TNG.

It would be plausible that there is one on Archer's Enterprise because of the unknowns and they're only just starting to explore.

And it would be plausible for Picard's Enterprise not to have a regular one because they're so used to exploring space, they know a lot more, everybody's well adjusted already anyway.

Now, it does make sense that TNG had a counselor but it would make even more sense that Archer's Enterprise would have one.

That's aside from issues of Troi's competence...

"The Forgotten" refers to Trip's sister. He's been trying to forget her and this episode deals with the fact that he can't do that anymore.

I caught this nit when I watched the episode but I forgot to post it:

When Phlox convinces Trip to go to his quarters, Trip says something like "Remind me never to buy a car from you."

Is money still used in the 22nd century? I assumed it went out with poverty, disease, and war. How can Trip buy anything?

Second, they have cars in the 22nd century? I don't think so. Some Voyager episode said that hovercars came into popular use during the 21st century.

The obvious anti-nit is that Trip was just making a joke; however, why would the joke even make sense to him (or especially Phlox). Do car salesmen really have such a bad reputation that their stigma of having excellent powers of persuation will carry on for 150 years?

TUE

I agree that "The Forgotten" is in reference to Elizabeth; however, it may also have other meanings. For instance, I think it also includes the memory purge that was done on Degra in "Stratagem". There is a scene where he and Archer discuss this. Also, Archer's speech to the crew about their fallen comrades is of the "they won't be forgotten" school.

Double nit: We don't see a ship's counselor on this Enterprise, and we do see one on TNG.

It would be plausible that there is one on Archer's Enterprise because of the unknowns and they're only just starting to explore.



Antinit. They hadn't realized yet that a specialist might be needed. Instead they trust that responsibility to the ship's doctor (See McCoy and Phlox).

TUE: Is money still used in the 22nd century? I assumed it went out with poverty, disease, and war. How can Trip buy anything?
There's no reason to suspect that money has gone out of favor. Eliminating povery doesn't eliminate money, necessarily. When I think of Troi's statement about humans having eliminated poverty (in the TNG ep "Time's Arrow II"), I think of poverty being eliminated in the sense that we see it in, say, parts of Africa, where people routinely starve and can't afford basic necessities. Certainly, a "reproportioning" of the wealth could eliminate poverty while still keeping money (credit, whatever) in use.

TUE: Second, they have cars in the 22nd century? I don't think so. Some Voyager episode said that hovercars came into popular use during the 21st century.
So "car" can't mean hovercar? Or some other form of personal ground transportation? "Car" doesn't necessarily have to always refer to internal-combustion-powered wheeled vehicles.

TUE: Last week, Degra's main reason for trusting Archer was that he had offered proof. (The medallion from the future.) This week, Degra claims that Archer needs to show proof.

True. But perhaps it's a matter of degree. The "proof" that Archer offered Degra (the Xindi medallion) was enough proof to justify giving Archer a hearing (e.g., not killing him and summarily destroying Enterprise). However, Degra needs MORE proof than that to fully trust Archer. Also, a few days have elapsed since Degra made his decision to meet with Archer at the sphere. Maybe he's doubting himself and seeking proof to reassure himself that he's on the right track.

Well, I just saw the episode; I had to get it from a friend who taped it. So now I can post and make TUE happy.

NANJAO
The title of The Forgotten could also be in regards to the time traveling xindi and the bio-weapon, and all the other episodes which had no use until now.

Stardate 1138.47; Captain Hayes commanding...
So who was piloting and operating the communications and tactical controls of Enterprise during the memorial service? All the senior officers were there.

Keep it coming!! We don't have a high enough voltage and amperage to electrocute a red shirt!
What was with the fire falls on the bridge behind Archer and Mayweather during a lot of the bridge scenes? At first I thought it looked like someone was cutting with a torch or something, but they seem to continue cutting and cutting... Even through a battle. I guess they grew up on old sailing ships and can keep steady.

Forget walking into Nurse Ogawa's prenatal exam... or Apparently Hospital Gowns weren't invented until the early 23 century...
When T'pol walks into sick bay to complain that her emotions aren't going away, we see two crew(wo)men unconscious on beds who are undoubtedly nude with the exception of those blankets.

Oh! One more Nit!

Apparently Xindi Power Cells are type AAA.
How on earth does Trip kick a container full of Xindi Power Cells? I mean I wouldn't expect the container to go flying through the air.

Darth - She said, "That accounts for everybody." She didn't say, "Those are the last bodies we've recovered." It sounded to me like they were trying to
determine the whereabouts of some of the missing crewmen (maybe those not on duty at the time of the attack). Perhaps they already know who was
blown out of the ship in Azati Prime.
But unless they somehow know that those crewmen were blown out they can't account for their whereabouts. At best they can say, "Missing, presumed blown into space." but unless they somehow recovered the bodies, or had a camera recording those crewmen going bye-bye, they can't be certain what happened to them.

TUE - Second, they have cars in the 22nd century?
Didn't some episode indicate/state that Trip had a car?

OK, since this is about the third time they showed it -- I have a nit about the three crewman being blown out into space. The way it's shot, they blow out the hole, then fall back as if caught by the wind! This wouldn't happen in space unless either the Enterprise was accelerating (it certainly wasn't) or some other force acted on them. They should keep going in a radial direction from the saucer, not drift back towards the aft section.

I also thought Trip was giving out an awful lot of information to Degra. I mean, it's an uneasy alliance at best, yet Degra's allowed to see and hear many things that should be considered top military secrets.

I also thought Trip was giving out an awful lot of information to Degra. I mean, it's an uneasy alliance at best, yet Degra's allowed to see and hear many things that should be considered top military secrets. -Influx


It's all about trust. Archer knows that Enterprise has nothing, for all practical purposes, to throw at the xindi. By being totally open about information, Archer is hoping that diplomacy and diplomacy alone will work. Cause if it doesn't work, Enterprise is done for.

But unless they somehow know that those crewmen were blown out they can't account for their whereabouts. At best they can say, "Missing, presumed blown into space." but unless they somehow recovered the bodies, or had a camera recording those crewmen going bye-bye, they can't be certain what happened to them. - KAM

And maybe that's exactly what happened! Who's to say that someone didn't witness those crewmen being blown out of the ship? Couldn't there have been a survivor? Or perhaps there was a visual log of who was in that room when the hull was breached?

Because of the sustained damage I've ordered to take us into Reset Button zone. It's effects are starting to show - my ship grew new Bussard collector, and crewman Rozenblaum has risen from the dead.
So, can anyone explain to me how starboard Bussard collector managed to repair itself?

It was never damaged, they just turned it off for the Damage episode; or maybe Archer traded (wink wink) with another ship to get one.

Off topic,

I must say, it almost feels as if Luigi Novi were here.

When he finally records his condolence letter, Trip remarks that Star Fleet will already have informed the parents of the loss of their daughter.

So Enterprise is sending back regular reports? There's no 'subspace radio silence' to keep them from being tracked? [From Corbomite Maneuver on ST has allowed for tapping communication signals, disguising signals, tracking signals and preventing signals to avoid detection.] Is that how the Xindi keep finding them even if they can't be bothered to finish them off? Or, surprise surprise, have I forgotten something about communications from the beginning of this story arc?

Or it might be that Trip is recording something that won't be played by the parents until the ship gets back. [Such optimism!] In that case, why apologize for taking so long to tape the letter?

You know, Daniels had told Archer, and Archer has been telling Degra, and so on, well, that the spear builders are turning our universe into something compatible for them to live in it. The thing is............why? Why the need to make our's liveable, is there something wrong with theirs? I may have missed it, but I don't remember hearing the reason for ours to be invaded, because theirs was going to do something. Is this something to think about?

is anyone bothered by the constant recap of everything thats been happening in the past year every recent episode?

it sure takes away from the new watching time...

I just finnished watching this ep for the first time, and I already have a nit.
When Trip is done recording his letter, he doesn't tell the computer to stop. Then, a minute later he says goodbye to his sister. Did the Taylors hear that? Then again, there's always digital editing.

IIRC, he presses a button on a table or computer to stop the recording.

IIRC, he presses a button on a table or computer to stop the recording.

Afraid not, Chris. He just puts the picture down and says goodbye to Liz.

The sphere builders are turning our universe into something compatible for them to live in it. The thing is............why? Why the need to make our's liveable, is there something wrong with theirs?

Maybe, but does it have to? Maybe these sphere builders are just so imperialistic that they want to have all of the territory that they can get their hands on. As I recall, The Borg, The Dominion and other invading species didn't need anything to be wrong with their native worlds to set their sights on ours.

Now for a nit of my own: everyone calls Taylor a Crewman, but in Trip's dream scene she seems to have Lieutenant's pips on her shoulder. Is this a mistake, or perhaps a nod to his thinking that she'd make a great chief engineer someday?

Captain Bryce
The sphere builders are turning our universe into something compatible for them to live in it. The thing is............why? Why the need to make our's liveable, is there something wrong with theirs?

Maybe, but does it have to? Maybe these sphere builders are just so imperialistic that they want to have all of the territory that they can get their hands on. As I recall, The Borg, The Dominion and other invading species didn't need anything to be wrong with their native worlds to set their sights on ours.

The thing is, they had a reason, like the Dominion pretty much stuck to their own, until the federation and other Alpha Quadrant started going into their's against their wishes, or they just didn't think, with a different agenda, like the Borg, who just wanted to conquere as much technology they can get, not the territory. Then again, these examples are also part of this universe, where the Speare builders are going through a whole lot of trouble just to be imperialistic. If they are imperialistic, I would think they were also crazy. ;)

Crazy -SlinkyJ

Maybe it's Temporal Narcosis.

If it's Tuesday, the leak must be here.
All external shots show that leak is located in front of starboard impulse engine, however damage diagram locates it to the left of said engine.

Also, "warp plasma conduit"? What is warp plasma conduit doing in front of the impulse engine?

I thought the external shot showed it on the port side of the ship?

No, it was the starboard side.

Left - port.

Right - starboard.

(those sailors and their naval terms... )

Torque, Son of Keplar


Crazy -SlinkyJ

Maybe it's Temporal Narcosis

Now, I find that a reasonable explanation!

Guys, I have a question here. Without telling me what this episode is about, or giving me any spoilers, can anyone tell me if this is a "diversion" episode with regard to the Xindi arc (kinda like Hatchery or Extinction), or if it follows a tight continuity between Damage and E²?

The reason I ask is, I taped Damage while I was away, but screwed up the VCR program like an idiot, and The Forgotten wasn't taped. Since coming back, I've taped E² and The Council, but I don't want to watch those eps if it makes important references to what happened in The Forgotten. So is The Forgotten an important continuation from Damage, and lead-in for E²? Or is it a side story apart from the Xindi arc?

And btw, does anyone here have a copy of The Forgotten on tape? Postage's on me if you do.

I'd say wait till you watch The Forgotten, while it is a side story of such, it does introduce or explain issues that have been going on for a while. Also, events that occurred in this episode will no doubt be brought up in future ones.

Thanks, Torque. And if anyone else here happens to have a copy of the episode on tape--even if it's not a great copy, but a watchable one--please give a holler.

Jeez, Starfleet really loves the name Saratoga, doesn't it?!

Yes, watch "The Forgotten" first. If anything, "E2" is the diversion episode. If you don't see "The Forgotten," a certain aspect of "The Council" will seem very unusual and out of character.

TUE

Archer here describes the first Sphere they encountered as 'damaged' when Degra asks how they gained entry. I guess this confirms that the doorway they found in that first Sphere must have been put there by the Osaarians over a natural breach (I surmised as much when they reported that the doorway was made of the same stuff as the Osaarian ship).

Did I miss something? When did Archer tell Degra about the events of Stratagem? Was it during his interrogation in Azati Prime?

---Critique:
Good continuation of the Xindi storyline, and a great depiction of grief, the best treatment of Trip’s loss since The Expanse.
---The tension as Archer tries to further convince the Xindi Humaonids and Arboreals of the truth of the Sphere-Builders was well-done, and it was nice to see that a Reptilian has gotten a name, Damron, even if he’s dead. In a similar vein, it was nice that the Xindi Arboreal Council member has been given a bit more dialogue, and a more forceful personality as he comes into conflict with Degra’s tendency to believe Archer. (Now if only he can get a name!)
---The crew’s continuing efforts to deal with the damage to their ship was solid, with Reed’s willingness to sacrifice his own safety during an external repair job a nice echo of Minefield. It was nice that all the main characters got some good dialogue except Hoshi and Travis.
---Obviously, the most personal touch to the story, which involved the use of Trip dealing with the loss of one of his best friends on the Engineering staff as a parallel to his grief over the loss of his sister was a nice device. The creators managed to establish quite well how much a character we have never seen before meant so much to Trip, while simultaneously using it to resonate with another loss that he has been internalizing, something he can no longer do when the assignment he is given to write the letter forces him to face it. That final shot sums it up beautifully, as he finally manages to say good-bye to Elizabeth, was powerful. In this way, the episode, with both the Trip subplot and Archer’s speech to the crew in the teaser, managed to deal with both a character’s personal loss, while at the same time touching upon the crew’s loss of a fellow crewmate, something that was sorely lacking from Anomaly, when a casualty was just a number. Nonetheless, am I the only one who thought that this episode would’ve been the perfect opportunity to pay tribute, with either a title card or by using the character who died in the episode, to actress Kelly Waymire, who played Cutler, who tragically died the previous November at the age of 35?

---Continuity Nods:
It is established in the opening scene of Act 3 that Taylor served on a Starfleet ship called the Saratoga, a precursor to the 23rd and 24th Century ones established in ST IV and Emissary(DS9).

---Terms:
Crewman Jane Taylor Female crewmen whose body, along with crewman Kamata’s, Trip tells Archer in the opening scene of Act 1 that they found after gaining access to sections 6 and 7 on C-Deck, accounting for the entire crew for the first time since the battle at the end of Azati Prime, as T’Pol mentions. Taylor was a “d@mn good” EPS control specialist who worked on Rostov’s team, as Archer and Trip mention. Archer asks Trip to write the letter to her family informing them of her death. Trip indicates in the opening scene of Act 3 that she and Kamata were killed when those sections decompressed. It is indicated in the opening scene of Act 3 that she served on the Enterprise for three years, and that Trip had her reassigned from her previous posting on the Saratoga. Trip refers to her first name in the closing scene of Act 4.
Kamata Female crewmen whose body, along with crewman Kamata’s, Trip tells Archer in the opening scene of Act 1 that they found after gaining access to sections 6 and 7 on C-Deck, accounting for the entire crew for the first time since the battle at the end of Azati Prime, as T’Pol mentions. Trip indicates in the opening scene of Act 3 that Kamata and Taylor were killed when those sections decompressed.
Damron One of the two Reptilians Archer and T’Pol encountered on Earth in the 21st Century in Carpenter Street, whom Degra says was a colleague of sorts, the body of which Archer shows Degra and the Xindi Arboreal in Enterprise’s morgue in the opening scene of Act 2.
Saratoga The ship on which Taylor served prior to her posting on the Enterprise.
Captain Brody Captain of the Saratoga, who it is indicated in the opening scene of Act 3 was angry with Trip when he had Taylor reassigned to the Enterprise three years ago.

Trip studied military tactics at the University of Waterloo
In the opening scene of Act 1, Trip says Degra may be luring them into a trap in which they will ambush the Enterprise while it is licking its wounds. This after the Xindi already had the Enterprise helpless at the end of Azati Prime, and could’ve easily destroyed it, and Degra had the attack called off?
I hear “Taylor” is the name of choice in the 22nd Century for checking into cheap motels
The surname “Taylor” sure is a popular one among those who have served on the Enterprise. In Cold Front, a male ensign Taylor was one of the stewards Archer said sometimes brought his breakfast. In The Catwalk, a Taylor was mentioned as a helmsman that Archer said would relieve Travis. In this episode, a crewman Taylor is established to be a female EPS control specialist who worked under Rostov.
Archer: “Here’s the body of a dead Reptilian we found in our 21st Century…”
Arboreal: “That doesn’t prove you found him in the past.”
Archer: “Here’s Daniels’ quarters, where we have the bioweapon equipment…”
Arboreal: “You could’ve gotten this equipment here in the present…”
Archer: “Here is some of the biotoxin Phlox put in stasis…”
Arboreal: “What does this have to do with transdimensional beings?”
Archer: “And here are some postcards Daniels brought back from his trip to Hawaii…”
When the Xindi Arboreal tells Archer in the opening scene of Act 1 that Damron’s body doesn’t prove that Archer found him in the past, and he’s right. Archer then goes to Daniels’ old quarters, and I figured Archer was going to show them Daniels’ tesseract, and possibly his holographic temporal observatory, but instead, he shows them the Reptilian bioweapon equipment he confiscated at the end of Carpenter Street. Why does he show him this? The Arboreal again points out that this does not prove either time travel or transdimensional communication, and again, he’s right. Why doesn’t he show Daniels’ 31st Century technology?
---Also, why does the Arboreal even need proof of either time-travel or transdimensional aliens? The female Sphere-Builder mentioned that she was not from “their realm,” and admitted to him and Degra that she helped the Reptilians travel back in time to do this in the previous episode!
I think the set designers got a bit “warped by the heat” themselves
In the opening scene of Act 4, Reed has to remove a panel from the saucer outer hull. He presses two large buttons on the panel to remove it, but it won’t budge because it’s been warped by the heat. First of all, is it really a good idea for hull panels to be able to be removed with just the press of two buttons? No indication is given that Trip and Reed cleared some additional securing mechanism before pressing those buttons. Removing a panel require a bit more than this in Minefield. In that episode, Trip said that to detach the hull panel on which the Romulan mine had attached required the rerouting of some EPS conduits, and the undoing of about 300 bolt couplings, and required three or four hours of work. When you compare exterior shots in the two episodes, you see that that Trip and Reed are working in the same general area that Archer and Reed did in Minefield. The plasma conduit rupture, in fact, appears to be on the exact same spot where the Romulan mine sat! Moreover, not only did none of the panels in the area have such buttons in Minefield, but the two panels that Trip and Reed work on in this episode are the only two that have them in this episode! Wow, what a coincidence!
Or even better, Paige Davis might’ve wanted it when she showed up to tape an episode of her new starship redecoration show, Trading Outer Spaces
Why in the WORLD does Reed just toss the panel away after removing it? Even if the metal of that panel was warped from the heat, is it really a good idea to throw away a piece of equipment that may be useful, particularly since the crew might be able to have it “hammered” back into shape?
Unfortunately, T’Pol sold the transporter to support her habit
Why doesn’t the crew just beam Reed back into the ship when his suit begins to overheat and he disobeys orders to return, and why does Trip radio the others to meet him and Reed by the airlock, rather than just asking them to beam him? When Reed listed the damage to the ship to T’Pol in the beginning of Act 1, he gave no indication that the transporter was down.
Or better yet, have given this advice to the Illyrian captain in the last episode?
Right before he leaves the ready room, Degra tells Archer to watch out for an alien species that preys upon ships in the nebula to which Enterprise is headed. Shouldn’t he tell Archer the name of this species, and give him a bit more data on them and their ships, rather than just a vague “watch out for aliens”?

The Undesirable Element: It was welcome that she does admit that Vulcans DO normally have emotions. This episode made it more clear what the Trellium did to her. It didn't give her emotions, it allowed her to experience them rather than repressing them. Now she has to go back to repressing them and she can't.
Luigi Novi: It was explicitly established at least as far back as Sarek(TNG), and implicitly, even earlier, that Vulcans have the same emotions humans do.

The Undesirable Element: So how DID the Reptilians find the Enterprise?
Luigi Novi: Degra didn’t do as good a job of masking his trail as he thought.

SlinkyJ: I wish too that Archer should have showed Degra and sloth buddy, Daniel's room…
Luigi Novi: He did show them Daniels’ room. It’s that he didn’t show them Daniels’ tesseract or his Temporal Observatory.

KAM: They find 2 bodies & T'Pol says, "That accounts for everybody." Oh, really? What about those 2 or 3 people who were blown into space during Azati Prime?
Luigi Novi: Obviously, they found the bodies of those three crewmen floating in space, perhaps while searching for debris from their ship using blast pattern and flight analysis.

brent: Double nit: We don't see a ship's counselor on this Enterprise, and we do see one on TNG.
Luigi Novi: How is that nit a “double”?

Also, A Night in Sickbay established that Phlox has a degree in psychology.

TUE: When Phlox convinces Trip to go to his quarters, Trip says something like "Remind me never to buy a car from you." Is money still used in the 22nd century? I assumed it went out with poverty, disease, and war. How can Trip buy anything?
Luigi Novi: The purchasing of goods has been long-established in Trek in general, and on Enterprise in particular, despite the virtually apocryphal mentions in ST IV and ST: FC of there not being money.

TUE: Second, they have cars in the 22nd century? I don't think so.
Luigi Novi: Yes, they do. Precious Cargo established it.

TUE: Some Voyager episode said that hovercars came into popular use during the 21st century.
Luigi Novi: The fact that The 37s(VOY) established that hovercars began to come into use about 17 years before this episode doesn’t mean that automobiles would necessarily have disappeared by the time of this episode, or that Trip wouldn’t know what one was, since he mentioned in Act 3 of Precious Cargo that he used to park his car with his girlfriend at Chatkin Point years earlier.

TUE: Do car salesmen really have such a bad reputation that their stigma of having excellent powers of persuation will carry on for 150 years?
Luigi Novi: The comment seemed more a reference to Phlox’s ability to haggle, rather than powers of persuasion or salesmanship.

Torque, Son of Keplar: How on earth does Trip kick a container full of Xindi Power Cells? I mean I wouldn't expect the container to go flying through the air.
Luigi Novi: Where in the episode was this?

Influx: OK, since this is about the third time they showed it -- I have a nit about the three crewman being blown out into space. The way it's shot, they blow out the hole, then fall back as if caught by the wind! This wouldn't happen in space unless either the Enterprise was accelerating (it certainly wasn't) or some other force acted on them.
Luigi Novi: Wouldn’t it happen if the ship was progressing forward, which it most certainly was? Why would it have to be accelerating? If the three bodies ejected into space, and the ship keeps going, won’t they appear to be flying backward?

Influx: I also thought Trip was giving out an awful lot of information to Degra. I mean, it's an uneasy alliance at best, yet Degra's allowed to see and hear many things that should be considered top military secrets.
Luigi Novi: I’m not sure what secrets you’re referring to, but at this point, the Enterprise is a lone, mostly crippled ship facing the entire Xindi military, and as Archer and Degra mentioned near the end of Azati Prime, the only card the Enterprise has left to play is to convince the Xindi that the Sphere-Builders are manipulating them.

Kazeite: So, can anyone explain to me how starboard Bussard collector managed to repair itself?

Polls Voice: It was never damaged, they just turned it off for the Damage episode; or maybe Archer traded (wink wink) with another ship to get one.
Luigi Novi: Where was it established that it was damaged? I don’t recall this. Are you referring to the fact that it was not lit? I don’t see why this automatically means it was damaged. It’s possible the nacelle itself was damaged, or that there was no power to it. Even if it were damaged, they could have repaired it. (Why it had to repair “itself,” I don’t know.)

oino sakai: When he finally records his condolence letter, Trip remarks that Star Fleet will already have informed the parents of the loss of their daughter. So Enterprise is sending back regular reports?
Luigi Novi: Yeah, the same problem occurred in Doctor’s Orders in Hatchery.

oino sakai: There's no 'subspace radio silence' to keep them from being tracked? [From Corbomite Maneuver on ST has allowed for tapping communication signals, disguising signals, tracking signals and preventing signals to avoid detection.] Is that how the Xindi keep finding them even if they can't be bothered to finish them off? Or, surprise surprise, have I forgotten something about communications from the beginning of this story arc?
Luigi Novi: I simply assumed up until Doctor’s Orders that the Delphic Expanse itself prevented communication.

SlinkyJ: You know, Daniels had told Archer, and Archer has been telling Degra, and so on, well, that the spear builders are turning our universe into something compatible for them to live in it. The thing is............why? Why the need to make our's liveable, is there something wrong with theirs?
Luigi Novi: Perhaps there is. Or, like the Dominion, they are simply conquerors, and saw an opportunity for expansion.

Anonymous: is anyone bothered by the constant recap of everything thats been happening in the past year every recent episode?
Luigi Novi: Not me. Plus, from a network point of view, it makes the show more viable to new and casual viewers.

SlinkyJ: The thing is, they had a reason, like the Dominion pretty much stuck to their own, until the federation and other Alpha Quadrant started going into their's against their wishes…
Luigi Novi: That’s not why the Dominion invaded. The Dominion invaded because the Founders were driven by a history of persecution, and saw all other species as being a threat to them, and wished to bring “order” to what they saw as the “chaos” that racked the Alpha Quadrant.

Kazeite: All external shots show that leak is located in front of starboard impulse engine, however damage diagram locates it to the left of said engine.
Luigi Novi: I couldn’t make out that at all in that diagram. The graphic was too small/far away from the camera, and the blinking white circle seemed to cover the entire area affected.

Kazeite: What is warp plasma conduit doing in front of the impulse engine?
Luigi Novi: I think warp plasma is used to power other systems.

Thande: Did I miss something? When did Archer tell Degra about the events of Stratagem? Was it during his interrogation in Azati Prime?
Luigi Novi: Yes. It was during that scene when he mentioned the names of Degra’s children, including one that died three month’s into his wife’s pregnancy (though, as Darth Sarcasm pointed out, that wasn’t mentioned in the prior episode).

Influx: OK, since this is about the third time they showed it -- I have a nit about the three crewman being blown out into space. The way it's shot, they blow out the hole, then fall back as if caught by the wind! This wouldn't happen in space unless either the Enterprise was accelerating (it certainly wasn't) or some other force acted on them.
Luigi Novi: Wouldn’t it happen if the ship was progressing forward, which it most certainly was? Why would it have to be accelerating? If the three bodies ejected into space, and the ship keeps going, won’t they appear to be flying backward?

The ship is either coasting, as it appeared to be, or accelerating (under power). The bodies appeared to be ejected perpendicularly to the hull. They are going at the same speed the ship is. Therefore they should continue out in a straight line unless acted on by some other force.

Re Luigi's nit of why Archer didn't show Degra and the Arboreal Daniels' technology: I too wondered about this, but given that we haven't seen Daniels' 'temporal observatory' since Shockwave it seems probable that Archer offloaded it at Earth for Starfleet to study - perhaps also with the Suliban Cellship. I don't think there's any other reason why Archer wouldn't show the Xindi it, given that the backs of everyone on Earth are to the wall.

And what do you mean by Daniels' "tesseract"? This term has never been used in Star Trek. If you mean it in the 'Andromeda' sense, i.e. a phase-shifting device, that was lost in the same episode it was introduced (Cold Front") - it fell from the launch bay at the same time as Silik.

No, that was the "phase gauntlet," which allows the bearer to phase through solid matter. I'm talking about the tesseract that is a part of the cabinet in Daniels' quarters, where the Temporal Observatory is stored, as seen in Future Tense. My understanding is that the word for that concept is "tesseract," which is why I call it that, since the episodes never came up with a different word for it. Andromeda did not invent the term.

Wouldn’t it happen if the ship was progressing forward, which it most certainly was? Why would it have to be accelerating? If the three bodies ejected into space, and the ship keeps going, won’t they appear to be flying backward? - Luigi Novi

No. When astronauts in orbit of the earth do their spacewalks, the shuttle doesn't suddenly fly away from them just because they've stepped out of the vehicle. Instead, the astronauts orbit the Earth at the same speed and direction as the shuttle.

Thank you, Darth. The technical term is "relative velocity".

I have accepted Influx's rebuttal explanation, and incorporated it into my Nitpick Document. Thanks, Darth.

Luigi: I don't recall anything special about Daniels' cupboards, but then I haven't watched the episode for a while...were they bigger on the inside than the outside as in 'Future Tense' or something?

Future Tense is the episode in which we saw it. Archer and T'Pol went looking for the schematic of the future pod in Daniels' database, which was kept in the cabinet, which was an apparent tesseract.

I still don't quite understand what you mean by 'tesseract', though...

Bigger on the inside than the outside, just like you said. For more on tesseracts, go here. To see how a tesseract appears when it is moving, go here.

During Archer’s speech in the teaser, the creators add a nice little touch of detail: As Archer says, “I wanted to say thank you,” the shot is on a group of crewmen. The bald black man on the right side of the screen has his neck in a brace. It’s a nice little acknowledgement that some crew members are still recovering from injuries, when extras usually don’t get much attention in the way of detail or direction. Nicely done.

Luigi Novi: I couldn’t make out that at all in that diagram. The graphic was too small/far away from the camera, and the blinking white circle seemed to cover the entire area affected.
I could make it on bigger screenshot though, and it definetly is in wrong place. How's your TV, btw?

Luigi Novi: I think warp plasma is used to power other systems.
You cannot use warp plasma to power anything. You have to use EPS taps to draw power from it instead. At least, that's how they used to do it in 24th century, but given that ENT emulates 24th century technology pretty closely, I think that's the case for 22th century technology as well.

Anyway, I thought I posted this nit, but here goes:
Compare shape of the large hull breach they have to pass through on external views and closeups - you'll notice that it has different shapes.

Wow, this show really hit a stride last year. This episode was great, with several wonderful performances. Especially Connor Trinneer. He really does a great job in this episode. Trip's breakdown, and the difficulty he has with writing the letter are very believeable and well done. Trip made this episode.

I loved Phlox's unwillingness to bend when he's telling Trip to go to bed. He just stood there like a stonewall until Trip submitted. Phlox rocks.

I thought that the plasma was nice CGI.

Torque, Son of Keplar: So who was piloting and operating the communications and tactical controls of Enterprise during the memorial service? All the senior officers were there.
The ship does have other crew. Who do you think operates the consoles when the senior staff is asleep?

SlinkyJ: You know, Daniels had told Archer, and Archer has been telling Degra, and so on, well, that the spear builders are turning our universe into something compatible for them to live in it. The thing is............why? Why the need to make our's liveable, is there something wrong with theirs? I may have missed it, but I don't remember hearing the reason for ours to be invaded, because theirs was going to do something. Is this something to think about?
I don't think they ever explain why.

Anonymous: is anyone bothered by the constant recap of everything thats been happening in the past year every recent episode?
Not really, they were important, esp. for those who missed episodes.

Kazeite: All external shots show that leak is located in front of starboard impulse engine, however damage diagram locates it to the left of said engine.
Are you sure? Aren't the impulse engines on the back of the ship? You know, part of the area that connects the warp nacelles?

Luigi Novi: In the opening scene of Act 1, Trip says Degra may be luring them into a trap in which they will ambush the Enterprise while it is licking its wounds. This after the Xindi already had the Enterprise helpless at the end of Azati Prime, and could’ve easily destroyed it, and Degra had the attack called off?
We are talking about Trip. I doubt he's thinking very rationally when it comes to the Xindi.

Could the reason that the reptilians find the Enterprise be the plasma trail from the leak?

When Trip has his outburst at Degra after he wishes Reed to recover, I wondered whether Trip would've any different feeling toward a single Xindi or to the Xindis he's responsible for killing with the Enterprise weapons on the other ships. I have the feeling that while Degra was disturbed by a single human who might die, Trip wouldn't be, because of his anger towards the Xindi in general.

I also feel that this clichee is getting overdone. Once again, an alien who has good reason to mistrust Earthlings - Degra - trusts them quickly enough to switch sides and fire on his own allies. I really wish we would see a human doing a similar thing once in a while, of trusting when everybody else tells not to, even taking action to help somebody else.

"Is the interdemensional chick paying them [reptilians] something more?" SlinkyJ

The reptilians and insectiods are obviously more aggressive than the other Xindi. The 'futute chick' is just playing into the presumption they are pretty much the Xindi military.

"They find 2 bodies & T'Pol says, "That accounts for everybody." Oh, really? What about those 2 or 3 people who were blown into space during Azati Prime?" KAM

I'm pretty sure Phlox, or somebody, says there are at least three unaccounted for.

Torque: How on earth does Trip kick a container full of Xindi Power Cells? I mean I wouldn't expect the container to go flying through the air.
Luigi Novi: Where in the episode was this?

Near the very end when Trip is working on something his fallen crewmate was an expert at and T'Pol brings him the power cells.

"The bodies appeared to be ejected perpendicularly to the hull. They are going at the same speed the ship is. Therefore they should continue out in a straight line unless acted on by some other force." Influx

I just assumed it was the angle the ship was moving that caused the appearance of the bodies to move aft. I may be wrong but I'm surprised nobody mentioned that.

"The bodies appeared to be ejected perpendicularly to the hull. They are going at the same speed the ship is. Therefore they should continue out in a straight line unless acted on by some other force." Influx

I just assumed it was the angle the ship was moving that caused the appearance of the bodies to move aft. I may be wrong but I'm surprised nobody mentioned that.

That's Trek Physics. Remember, in Trek, a ship stops moving once its engines go off. Also, in Trek, even if you've achieved orbital velocity, you have to keep your engines on or you'll burn up (cf. TOS "Court Martial").

I was under the impression that "The Forgotten" refers to all of the deaths that we'd seen at this point.

Trip talking about the crewman that died and all the potential she has/had to become a legend sums it up. It's about how often in Sci-Fi/Fantasy and other genres with portrayals of death (and other fates that are just as bad if not worse) that we have characters that die that everyone forgets about almost immedatly after.

Sort of how, the main characters often get to accomplish things that everyone will remember them for even several generations after they've passed on.

Or how the entire story world seems to revolve arround the main character(s) in so much of fiction. How all of the other characters (who in real life would also have hopes, plans and dreams at least on some level) are often used as cannon fodder where they suffer horrific fates just for shock value.

My point being that in a sence, people like Elizabeth and Crewman Taylor were both young and had their entire lives ahead of him. In a sence, the world in general is going to forget about them and move on.

Archer and the others got a heroes welcome upon returning to Earth, but the ones that wern't so lucky never did and won't get the opporunity to move on with their lives after the expanse.

Imagine if Captain Picard or Captain Kirk had died in some meaningless battle when they were ensigns. Instead of everyone remembering them as legends, they'd be amoung The Forgotten.

Makes one wonder how many of those that we did see (or hear about) die (or suffer some fate equivalent to death) would have gone on to be legends had they had the opportunity to.

Imagine if Captain Picard or Captain Kirk had died in some meaningless battle when they were ensigns. Instead of everyone remembering them as legends, they'd be amoung The Forgotten.
Oddly enough, your mentioning of Picard reminded me of Tapestry, where Picard did not die, but was something of a Forgotten person because he never took the chances that helped make him a legend.

Take chances & possibly die young or don't take chances & don't be remembered for anything.

I suppose Tasha Yar was the only Trek character who died young, but was remembered.

Only because she was a Romulan collaborator....

Think of the Forgotten that were the result of the Dominion War...

Federation, Klingon, Romulan... and Cardassian

(We can forget about the Jem'Hadar hee hee)

Imagine if Kirk had died way back on the Farragut (I think that was the ship) when the vampire cloud attacked.

There's also the Voyager crew that died when the Cartaker grabbed the ship.

>>>By The Undesirable Element on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 - 7:17 pm:
CHANGED PREMISE OF THE WEEK:
Last week, Degra's main reason for trusting Archer was that he had offered proof. (The medallion from the future.) This week, Degra claims that Archer needs to show proof. <<<

I don't think this qualifies as a nit. Degra may be convinced - in fact since he was the one who arranged for Archer to be released and for the attack on Enterprise to be called off we should assume that he is largely convinced. However, Degra is a scientist who is being asked to go against his own people so it would be logical if he was or had missgivings and wanted more evidence. Also note that Degra wasn't just talking about Archer showing him proof, but also showing him proof that would convince the Xindi council. The latter point is brought up at least once.

>>>By Keith Alan Morgan on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 1:34 am:

They find 2 bodies & T'Pol says, "That accounts for everybody." Oh, really? What about those 2 or 3 people who were blown into space during Azati Prime? <<< (And related points)

We don't know what was in the section of the ship those crewmembers came from. If it was a duty station then Enterprise would know who was meant to be working there, so if that area was breached and those crewmen were missing after the attack it would be logical to assume they had been blown out of the ship. (Plus the sensors may have detected their lifesigns outside the ship, allowing the crew to know how many crewmen were blown out of that section).
Even if that section of Enterprise was for crew quarters they would also know who was likely to have been in that section of the ship. Again, if those crewmen couldn't be found on the ship after the attack it would be logical to assume they were the crewmen blown out of the ship.

As for the apparent movement of the ship, thats not a problem. Enterprise didn't loose helm control until after that section was breached. Since they were trying to get away the ship would have been moving at that point, even if it was only under thrusters.

>>>By brent on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 2:12 pm:
Double nit: We don't see a ship's counselor on this Enterprise, and we do see one on TNG.<<<

In These are the voyages Troi states that ships of this era didn't have counselors. That role was, at least in part, unofficially performed by the ships cook. (I'd assume because the cook would be outside the normal command structure).

That the Enterprise D had a counselor is not surprising. Not only were Galaxy class ships designed to explore for years at a time (Although Enterprise D never did), but they also carried families. We don't get told how long the NX class could stay in space before needing to return to a base - it must have been between two and a half to three years minimum since Enterprise spent two years exploring before being recalled early - but it may be that they were not expected to remain away from Earth long enough to warrant placing a counselor onboard given their small crew and limited size. (And it could also be one of those things that they discovered would be helpful the hard way).

Note; There is no evidence that ships of Kirks time had counselors, or any conclusive proof that they didn't have counselors.

>>>By The Undesirable Element on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 2:49 pm:
When Phlox convinces Trip to go to his quarters, Trip says something like "Remind me never to buy a car from you."

Is money still used in the 22nd century? I assumed it went out with poverty, disease, and war. How can Trip buy anything?

Second, they have cars in the 22nd century? I don't think so. Some Voyager episode said that hovercars came into popular use during the 21st century. <<<

Money as we understand it isn't used, but 'credits' are. The writer for 'Trials and Tribulations' (TOS) asked a similar question - he first asked why TOS uniforms had no pockets, then asked where they kept their money. The answer he got from the great bird himself was that ecomomics were based on electronic currency and that there was no physical currency.

As others have noted 'Car' may be a generic term for any personal form of transport. Just because hover cars are avalible doesn't mean that ground based cars are no longer in use, in fact I'd be very surprised if they were no longer in use. Ground based cars are likely to still be around - they would be cheaper (I would assume), safer (No risk of a drunken driver doing a nose dive into a populated area), easier to deal with (no need for air traffic control) and probably somewhat nostaligic. I'd also assume that hovercars could not be used in all weathers - a storm might make traveling in a hovercar an intersting experience.
And of course people can get airsick and might be happier on the ground.

>>>By Kazeite on Friday, April 30, 2004 - 2:26 pm:

Because of the sustained damage I've ordered to take us into Reset Button zone. It's effects are starting to show - my ship grew new Bussard collector, and crewman Rozenblaum has risen from the dead.
So, can anyone explain to me how starboard Bussard collector managed to repair itself?<<<

The collectors seem to be tied into the warp engines, since when the naceles/warp drive are turned off the collectors also go dark. This, however, doesn't mean that they can't be repaired so that they can work alone.
In this case however the nacele was repaired, at least in part. There is a blue glow at the back of the starboard nacele that indicates that some power is flowing through it, hence some power going to the (Undamaged) collector.

>>>By LUIGI NOVI on Friday, May 28, 2004 - 6:17 am:

The Undesirable Element: It was welcome that she does admit that Vulcans DO normally have emotions. This episode made it more clear what the Trellium did to her. It didn't give her emotions, it allowed her to experience them rather than repressing them. Now she has to go back to repressing them and she can't.
Luigi Novi: It was explicitly established at least as far back as Sarek(TNG), and implicitly, even earlier, that Vulcans have the same emotions humans do. <<<

Not quite. Vulcan emotions are stronger than human emotions, which was why Vulcans were so agressive before they learnt to control them.

>>>By Kazeite on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 11:29 am:
Luigi Novi: I think warp plasma is used to power other systems.
You cannot use warp plasma to power anything. You have to use EPS taps to draw power from it instead. At least, that's how they used to do it in 24th century, but given that ENT emulates 24th century technology pretty closely, I think that's the case for 22th century technology as well. <<<

Warp plasma is syphoned from the engines (Warp and impulse, and from reactors elsewhere on the ship) through the EPS grid where it provides power to the ship. The plasma is 'stepped down' (Basically converted into a less powerful/cooler form) before reaching the systems that need power.
The warp Plasma Conduit seen here would be part of the ships main power grid, rather than part of the warp drive directly.

Nit; Trip tells T'Pol that Crewman Taylor was found outside her quarters, presumably on her way to reach her duty station.
Given the time between between Enterprise going to tactical alert and when she started taking damage this doesn't seem quite right to me. It would seem that even if Taylor had been sleeping when the alert was given she should have had enough time to get closer to her station. The only conclusion I can come to is that Taylor is both a very heavy sleeper and a very slow dresser.

Cybermortis: Not quite. Vulcan emotions are stronger than human emotions, which was why Vulcans were so agressive before they learnt to control them.
Luigi Novi: Which episode established this?

I seem to recall Spock saying this in TOS, although it must be almost 20 years since I watched any of that series so I can't recall exactly where I heard that - and I may be confusing something I read as something seen on screen.

However, we do know from T'Pol in Impulse that before Surak Vulcans were highly aggressive and frequently paranoid. I got the impression from this and other episodes that dealt with Vulcan emotions that they were far more aggressive than humans, and hence more emotional.

I am willing to take this with something of a pinch of salt though. Most of the information, in fact practically all of it, comes from modern Vulcans who are used to controlling their emotions and have been trained to do so - even if they decide not to do so. It may not be that Vulcan emotions are stronger than Human emotions, but that Vulcans had or have less control without training. They may also claim their emotions are more powerful because they are simply not used to experiencing them, so if their suppression fails they simply don't know how to deal with them - something we have seen at least twice in Enterprise.
In short I'd say that Vulcans are scared of what they are capable of doing without their emotional control - although they would probably not say scared. While it may seem illogical and paradoxical for Vulcans to pick the path of logic because of emotional concerns, history shows that 'logic' can often be twisted to justify illogical/emotional actions.

It was established in Sarek(TNG) that Vulcan emotions are stronger.

Thank you, I thought I'd heard it somewhere.

KAM: this magnesium flare is shooting out the hull & they claim they couldn't detect it because sensors were down? Wouldn't the fact that the flare should act like a jet and move the ship tip them off that there was somekinda leak somewhere?
Not only that, shouldn't there be a loss in pressure on a few gauges somewhere from this? Are all the indicators on Enterprise digital? Not a very wise move for power outages.

SlinkyJ: I wish too that Archer should have showed Degra and sloth buddy, Daniel's room...
Luigi Novi: He did show them Daniels’ room. It’s that he didn’t show them Daniels’ tesseract or his Temporal Observatory.
That wasn't Daniels' quarters. It was just a storage room with the same style locking mechanism on it. The door to the room was different and the three are standing in an outer storage room looking in.

LN: First of all, is it really a good idea for hull panels to be able to be removed with just the press of two buttons? [...] Trip and Reed are working in the same general area that Archer and Reed did in Minefield... Why in the WORLD does Reed just toss the panel away after removing it?
Those weren't plain hull panels, they were more like hatches to get to those manual cut offs, which for some reason are out there. Reed just letting that float away was strange but if the plasma is hot enough to warp that metal plate Reed should've been broiled. Also, that should be some top-quality stuff to be on hull and a plasma leak warps it enough to need a torch?

Kazeite: Aren't the impulse engines on the back of the ship? You know, part of the area that connects the warp nacelles?
I'm pretty sure the main impulse engines are on the back edges of the saucer section, just like the newer Excelsior-class. Although there seems to be something in the area you describe but I don't know what those are.

Maybe I missed it, and I can't complain about the crew trying to remember their fallen officers, but why does Taylor get such special attention? There were a lot of dead officers and she's the only one Archer has to write a letter. Was it merely a way TPTB can show a parallel between her and Liz so Trip can let her go?

Kazeite: Aren't the impulse engines on the back of the ship? You know, part of the area that connects the warp nacelles?
I'm pretty sure the main impulse engines are on the back edges of the saucer section, just like the newer Excelsior-class. Although there seems to be something in the area you describe but I don't know what those are.

Alas, I lost mine long ago, I believe the Franz Joseph blueprints for the original 1701 showed the impulse engines at the rear of the saucer section.

The impulse engines on The 1701/1701-A Enterprise were located at the back of the Saucer section directly above the 'goose-neck'.

The Excelsior class had its impulse engines in the same area when first seen, but the Enterprise B version added two extra engines to the rear outside edges of the saucer.

The Enterprise D had three sets of impulse engines. Two set on the saucer at the rear either side of the 'goose-neck', with the third set at the base of the neck.

Enterprise E had only two impulse engines, both set into the upper-part of the saucer towards the back.

The NX Enterprise had two impulse engines located at the base of the warp-pylons right at the back of the ship.

Ah, so those are the impulse engines. Then what are those things on the back of the saucer, in a similar place as the 1701 B & D near where Reed and Trip were? It's pretty obvious for almost all the other starships where the impulse engines are but that one I wasn't so sure.

They may be part of the thruster system, or simply heat sinks for the plasma system. As far as I'm aware it has never been specified exactly what they are - although given the small size of them compared to the two know engines at the back it seems unlikely that they are impulse engines themselves.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/nx01.htm

*Edit*

Having looked at and read the above link some more, it appears that the NX Enterprise does indeed have four impulse engines. Two are located at the base of the warp pylons and the other two to either side of the primary hull at the back.

So yes, those are impulse engines.