Stella Cartography. The qrew senses half a dozen Kovaalan ships in the nebula, which is many more than Degra cautioned them about. "According to Degra, they're not very tolerant of trespassers," Quantum stiffs. Are they ever? Just once I'd like to see an alien race more like the Squire of Gothos where they're all "Be my guest!" until their parents spank them. Technobabble as they discuss how they're going to get to the subspace corridor with minimal detection. I guess the one thing that's important (or ironic) in all Reed's technobabble is that they're going to create multiple and false readings of their ship so the Kovaalans won't know which one to fire at.

Degra's ship. Degra, the other Mr. Man, and Three-Toed argue some more about whether or not they trust Quantum. All I care about in this scene is discussing what the hell happened to Degra's hair. It used to look like a ploughed field with strips of baldness alternating with lines of hair, but now those lines of hair are like big, singular curls! "I'm sorry, but he is just so ready to put on a mawashi and give someone a yorikiri," the Evil Dr. Mathra sniggers. For my part, I think he's getting ready to announce, "Weeee represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild!" It's a really odd hairstyle choice. Degra says they will protect Enterprise from Snake Eyes on their side of the corridor, and the other Mr. Man wonders what makes Degra think Snake Eyes won't fire at them.

Enterprise flies through fog and picks up readings from another ship. It's a Starfleet NX-class ship. They haven't actually entered the nebula yet, so it's not one of their own false readings. A visual is brought up onscreen, and a twin of Enterprise flies at them. "Must be the NX-02 Columbia," Reed guesses. Hail, Columbia. Quantum negates that idea, since the Columbia is still under construction. Hoshi doesn't think it's Columbia either, and a following close-up is supposed to prove that. I had to rewind several times before I finally got the idea that we are looking at "NX-01 Enterprise" on the battered hull. I have 20/20 vision, but it's next to impossible to read. They could have done a better job with their "revelation." Everyone is stunned into…stunned reaction shots. Tri'Progeny comes on the screen and -- without saying who he is -- he orders them to alter their course. They alter their course. "Would you tell me what the hell is going on?" Quantum demands. I guess he doesn't, because the next scene is at the airlock. Tri'Progeny and some chick with a perma-furrow aliened into her head step aboard. She's clearly related to Quantum -- those furrows have been bred into her DNA. Sure enough, after Tri'Progeny introduces himself as "Lorian, commander of Enterprise," he introduces Perma-Furrow as "Karen Archer, my first officer." Tri'Progeny insists they go somewhere to talk -- the conference room, specifically -- and requests that T'Pol join them.