I would have ended the series by tying together the exploration aspects of Archer's mission with the necessity of politics that he has endured over the previous seasons.
The Enterprise is set upon by a Romulan vessel, which subsequently crashes on an inhabited planet among a range of high glatial mountains. The society is only at the industrial stage of development, capable of atmospheric flight and digital computing but have not yet mastered the atom. Archer sends a team to clean up the crash site in order to prevent cultural contamination. On the ground, T'Pol discovers that the crash has already created widespread enivronmental contamination of the water supply for a vast region, potentially poisoning towns and cities for generations, and could spread to other regions. Reed convinces Archer that any clean up would need to be too extensive and time consuming that it could be done without the notice of the inhabitants.
Archer, T'Pol and Hoshi beam down to one of the major cities in order to make contact. The inhabitants look very much like humans. However, they have no ability to talk to them. Their spoken language consists only of the most basic lingusitic concepts. T'Pol deduces that their high language functions are all telepathic, meaning that Archer has no means to speak to them. Their emotions, though, are on full display. Their faces show anger. Outside the hall where the meeting takes places, angry crowds have gathered, screaming hostile, wordless chants in unison.
Archer and company retreat to the Enterprise. Hoshi was able to record examples of the written language in the hope of making some breakthrough. From what she can tell, the inhabitants were well aware of vessel from other planets visiting their system. Indeed, they had observed the battle between Enterprise and the Romulan vessel, blaming Enterprise for the polution that the crash caused. Numerous people were already falling sick. Their impression of aliens was entirely negative based on these few incidents: they would cause disease and suffering without consideration for less developed. The humans, they believed, were advanced in technology, but primitive in thought and spirit.
Despite the inability to communicate, Archer sends down teams to start environmental work. They encounter angry mobs, who are restrained.Nonetheless,the teams flee in fear for their lives. Hoshi works on the language. Working with T'Pol, she devises a means of not just talking to the inhabitants, but also a strategy for winning their trust.
Archer and T'Pol beam down to meet with the same leaders. The meet in a large outdoor area that is similar to a zen garden. With a stick, Archer draws out the story of Enterprise, bringing the Vulcans, Andorians, and Telarites together, resolving the hostilities with the Xindi, etc. He explains in simple language as he goes. He finishes with two pictograms, turns to the inhabitants, saying, "Let me help."
A short woman steps forward. She says to Archer, speaking with great difficulty, "Yes, help."
Archer seems please. He says, "Thank you."
The woman says, "Welcome, humans."
Archer asks, "Who are you?"
The woman says three syllable word that Archer finds difficult to understand. Hoshi shows himthe word on her tricorder. He then repeats back, "Betazoids."
OK, so this is basically a first contact story, one that would be set against the Romulan-Federation conflict to come. I would have wanted to see some story that explained some part of the building of the Federation wherein its values were in question and that called back to other problems with communication, especially Darmok.
The Enterprise is set upon by a Romulan vessel, which subsequently crashes on an inhabited planet among a range of high glatial mountains. The society is only at the industrial stage of development, capable of atmospheric flight and digital computing but have not yet mastered the atom. Archer sends a team to clean up the crash site in order to prevent cultural contamination. On the ground, T'Pol discovers that the crash has already created widespread enivronmental contamination of the water supply for a vast region, potentially poisoning towns and cities for generations, and could spread to other regions. Reed convinces Archer that any clean up would need to be too extensive and time consuming that it could be done without the notice of the inhabitants.
Archer, T'Pol and Hoshi beam down to one of the major cities in order to make contact. The inhabitants look very much like humans. However, they have no ability to talk to them. Their spoken language consists only of the most basic lingusitic concepts. T'Pol deduces that their high language functions are all telepathic, meaning that Archer has no means to speak to them. Their emotions, though, are on full display. Their faces show anger. Outside the hall where the meeting takes places, angry crowds have gathered, screaming hostile, wordless chants in unison.
Archer and company retreat to the Enterprise. Hoshi was able to record examples of the written language in the hope of making some breakthrough. From what she can tell, the inhabitants were well aware of vessel from other planets visiting their system. Indeed, they had observed the battle between Enterprise and the Romulan vessel, blaming Enterprise for the polution that the crash caused. Numerous people were already falling sick. Their impression of aliens was entirely negative based on these few incidents: they would cause disease and suffering without consideration for less developed. The humans, they believed, were advanced in technology, but primitive in thought and spirit.
Despite the inability to communicate, Archer sends down teams to start environmental work. They encounter angry mobs, who are restrained.Nonetheless,the teams flee in fear for their lives. Hoshi works on the language. Working with T'Pol, she devises a means of not just talking to the inhabitants, but also a strategy for winning their trust.
Archer and T'Pol beam down to meet with the same leaders. The meet in a large outdoor area that is similar to a zen garden. With a stick, Archer draws out the story of Enterprise, bringing the Vulcans, Andorians, and Telarites together, resolving the hostilities with the Xindi, etc. He explains in simple language as he goes. He finishes with two pictograms, turns to the inhabitants, saying, "Let me help."
A short woman steps forward. She says to Archer, speaking with great difficulty, "Yes, help."
Archer seems please. He says, "Thank you."
The woman says, "Welcome, humans."
Archer asks, "Who are you?"
The woman says three syllable word that Archer finds difficult to understand. Hoshi shows himthe word on her tricorder. He then repeats back, "Betazoids."
OK, so this is basically a first contact story, one that would be set against the Romulan-Federation conflict to come. I would have wanted to see some story that explained some part of the building of the Federation wherein its values were in question and that called back to other problems with communication, especially Darmok.
