Date not given: Emory Erickson, the inventor of the transporter, and his daughter Danica are going to perform an experiment on Enterprise with a new subquantum transporter that could one day make starships dispensable. The ship enters the "Barrens", a region devoid of stars where it is struck by a spatial anomaly that kills one crew member. Trip becomes suspicious when he notices that Erickson requires more energy than necessary for his experiment. Erickson has to admit that his true goal is and always was to get back his son Quinn, who vanished during a subquantum transporter test in the Barrens 15 years ago. Despite Trip's anger and concerns about Erickson's unethical practices, Archer allows the scientist, who is an old friend of the family, to carry on. They retrieve Quinn, but he dies on the transporter platform because of cellular decay, leaving behind a father who is finally ready to live a normal life. In sickbay Dr. Phlox is pleased to tell T'Pol that her Pa'nar syndrome has been cured.

• E09 Previous
• E11 Next