Episode 66: Strategem

After capturing Degra, the leader of the Xindi team that is developing the Earth-destroying weapon, at the weapon test site, the Enterprise crew devise a complex "Strategem" to convince him to divulge the location at which the weapon is being developed.


Written by Michael Sussman, from a story by Terry Matalas, "Strategem" represents for me the kind of episode that seems clever and suspenseful when it stands on it own but that makes absolutely no sense in the larger scheme of things.


The "Strategem" the Enterprise crew comes up with involves using drugs to erase all of Degra's recent memories, aging him three years, then loading him into a small simulated space craft with a similarly aged Archer and feeding him a story.


The story they feed him is complicated: it is now three years since Degra's last memory and, during that three-year period, the Xindi destroyed Earth, the five-species Xindi alliance fell to pieces and the Insectoids and Reptilians overthrew the government and tossed Degra and Archer into a prison cell together in hopes that they would provide lots of entertainment for their guards as they tear each other to pieces. Archer and Degra, however, managed to put aside their differences and devise an escape from their prison. They are now running for their lives on a stolen vessel, looking for a safe haven in which to hide.


The safe haven Archer would prefer is, of course, the planet upon which Degra had settled his family while the weapon was being built. Archer supposes that Degra would want his family nearby during his years of work: ergo, find his family, find the weapon.


So, in other words, the plan is to build a fake ship in the cargo bay, put it through a variety of trials and tribulations (involving simulated attacks and lots of rocking and rolling of the little ship using ship's machinery) and hope that Degra will begin to develop trust in Archer to the extent that he will give him the coordinates of his family's planet.


Everything seems to be proceeding very well (Degra has even consented to entering the coordinates of the planet into the little ship's navigational computer, encrypted of course, though the Enterprise crew easily de-encrypt the info) until a single Xindi ship is spotted on long range sensors, leading T'Pol to order Enterprise to expose itself to spatial anomalies to avoid contact. The anomalies have their expected impact and cause the simulation to flicker just long enough for Degra to spot the deception and attempt to attack Archer.


The question arises: when did Degra figure it all out (before or after the anomaly flicker) and are the coordinates he input into the computer real or fake? The coordinates are many light years away and Enterprise could waste an awful lot of time getting there if they turn out to be fake.


That leads to the implementation of a second strategy, this time outside the little ship, in which Enterprise convinces Degra it has used the Xindi space portals to arrive at his family's planet in no time at all and plan to attack. Degra shouts in defiance: "You'll never get through the facility's defenses," which, of course, confirms that the facility is, in fact, at the coordinates provided.


In many ways, it's a fun episode. And it sort of works in terms of suspense and drama.


But, honestly, would the Enterprise crew, in the situation in which they find themselves, put in the time, resources and effort necessary to put this risky stratagem into action when it has such a ridiculously low probability of success?


And is it reasonable that Enterprise would purposely enter an anomaly to avoid a single Xindi ship, thus exposing themselves to the effects of the anomaly and almost blowing all their hard work in relation to Degra?


Why not just destroy the single Xindi ship (they disabled two quite easily in the previous episode)?


And why would Degra be so suspicious from the beginning? For him to be suspicious, he would have to tell himself that he has been captured by humans, that Archer is in control, that the ship they are on and the attacks they experience are all fake, and that this is all a deception.


Would he really be that suspicious? That wise?


Would he really believe the humans would resort to such a ridiculous "Strategem" to get information out of him?


And what are the chances that the Xindi would have a single space portal that could take Enterprise so quickly from the test site for the weapon to the weapon facility that we have established is very very far away? From what we've learned in previous episodes, the Xindi portals are fairly short range only. Wouldn't Degra immediately know that there is no such portal available to Enterprise and not fall for their trick? After being suspiciously suspicious of the earlier deception, why is so quick (and stupid) to fall for the new one?


And that brings up the question of why the test site is located so very very far away from the weapon facility? That just doesn't make sense from a business efficiency standpoint.


Further, why does Archer feel it's acceptable practice to wipe the recent memories of Degra and his crew and then put them back in their ship at the test site at the end of the episode? Wouldn't it be better for the larger mission to take the leading weapon developer and his top people out of action for good?


Finally, WHAT THE HECK HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE THREE XINDI REPTILIANS ENTERPRISE CAPTURED IN 2002 IN "CARPENTER STREET"? Couldn't they have provided some information on the matters at hand?