The Andorian Incident

"The Andorian Incident" is the seventh episode (production #107) of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and was written by Brannon Braga, Fred Dekker and Rick Berman. Roxann Dawson served as director for the episode. As one of the most significant of the first season episodes, the events of "The Andorian Incident" would continue to resonate into the third and fourth seasons. This would, in particular, affect T'Pol and her family.

Captain Archer and Commander Tucker, after finding the Vulcan star maps incomplete, talk Sub-Commander T'Pol into taking a trip to P'Jem, a Vulcan monastery. When they arrive there, they find the monastery has unwelcome guests: the Andorians.

Plot

Captain Archer tells Sub-Commander T'Pol that he had found a remote outpost on a planet a few light years off their current heading, and that he would like to visit this 3000-year-old Vulcan monastery, called P'Jem. En route, T'Pol describes it as an ancient retreat, a place for kolinahr and peaceful meditation. She also explains the strict visit protocols—they should not speak to anyone unless spoken to first, nor touch any relics. Arriving at P'Jem, a Vulcan elder tries to send the away team away, but Archer notices the reflected form of an armed intruder. Although they manage to subdue him, they are quickly captured by a larger group of armed Andorian Imperial Guards, led by Commander Shran.

Shran interrogates Archer, asking if they have brought more surveillance equipment for the Vulcans. The Andorians lock up the away team with the Vulcan monks, who explain that the Andorians, neighbors of Vulcan, believe that P'Jem holds a long-range sensor array, and the arrival of T'Pol and Enterprise has unfortunately amplified their suspicions. When Enterprise attempts to contact the away team, Shran warns them not to interfere and destroys their communicators. During interrogation, wrongly disbelieving Archer's protestations of ignorance, the Andorians beat him.

Seeing Archer, the monks relent and take Commander Tucker to an ancient transmitter in the catacombs. After repairing the device, Archer manages to send a signal to Enterprise to tell them to wait. Soon, Lieutenant Reed and a security team transport into the tunnels, taking out most of the Andorians with explosive charges and phaser fire. Shran escapes into the Reliquary, where a fire-fight reveals a large modern door. Archer manages to open it, revealing a high-tech sensor chamber. With the Vulcan deception exposed, Archer lets the Andorians go with T'Pol's palm scanner as evidence of installation. Shran remarks that he is now in Archer's debt.

Production

During the first season of Enterprise, production designer Herman Zimmerman described "The Andorian Incident" as the most challenging episode with the exception of the pilot, "Broken Bow". This was because of the volume of work that was required to build the Vulcan monastery of P'Jem.^[1]

References

External links

• The Andorian Incident at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Andorian Incident" at TV.com
• The Andorian Incident at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• The Andorian Incident at StarTrek.com