They enter the chamber, where a large crowd of Klingons is chanting, "Enemy!" at Archer. The Klingon magistrate enters and tells Orak the prosecutor to start the tribunal. He calls Duras, who "explains" that Enterprise was holding Klingon fugitives and refused to surrender them, therefore he's a conspirator and thus an enemy, but this is a lie. The magistrate asks for a response and Kolos, despite knowing that Duras is lying, says he has none. The magistrate decides to take a break to mull it over, so Archer yells out that Duras is lying. However, the magistrate simply ignores Archer's statement, hits him with pain sticks, and orders him taken out.
In Archer's cell, Kolos enters and reveals that he made a deal with the magistrate, saying that Archer won't be executed if he reveals where the fugitives are. Archer refuses, believing they'd simply be sent to an unfair court as well. He wants to defend himself, and Kolos isn't sure since Klingon trials have been very unfair lately, but Archer angrily insists on being allowed to do so.
Back in the tribunal, Kolos convinces the magistrate to let Archer speak. Archer explains what happened: the Enterprise found a ship adrift in space and beamed the aliens onboard, who turned out to be from a colony annexed by the Klingon Empire. Then, Duras arrived with the Bortas and Archer put Enterprise on tactical alert. Orak interrupts, saying that Archer knew the Bortas was retrieving the aliens, who were with the Empire, but Orak points out that a Klingon commander would have done the same, and Archer notes that the aliens were abandoned. However, Orak sees Archer's behaviour as an act of war regardless.
Duras demands that Archer hand the refugees over, but Archer refuses. Duras also explains that he got angry and fired on Enterprise which led it into an asteroid field, disabling the ship. Kolos notes that Archer was trying to be reasonable, didn't fire first, and was only trying to defend himself and his crew, also noting that Archer didn't destroy Duras's ship, since they're not enemies. Kolos goes on, saying that Archer is guilty, but only of being a "nuisance", not an enemy— he's helped the Klingons at least twice before. Archer and Kolos talk over bloodwine while the magistrate mulls it over, and then decides not to have Archer executed but rather send him to a dilithium mine for the rest of his life.
Kolos objects, saying that a lot of people who work in those mines die before their time, that Archer never did anything wrong, and that the courtroom has been unfair for years. The magistrate punishes Kolos by sending him to the same mine for a year. Meanwhile, on Enterprise, T'Pol tells the bridge crew that they have to leave Klingon space now. The crew consider attempting to save Archer, but she thinks that's not an option, however, she has had experience "persuading" Klingon beuraucrats.
Archer and Kolos are mining, and Kolos is hit with a pain stick for being too slow, so Archer defends him but is also hit. Then, a group of people arrive, including Malcolm Reed. He explains that T'Pol bribed a few officials and thus they've come to rescue Archer. Malcolm also offers to save Kolos, but he decides to simply accept his punishment since being a fugitive would interfere with his goal to restore honour. When they point out that most miners die, he points out that they usually don't have anything to live for, which he does. Thus, Archer and Malcolm say goodbye.
Tropes in this episode include:
- All There in the Manual: The script reveals the name of the planet the trial is taking place on: Narendra III.
- Call-Back: Kolos cites Archer's actions in "Broken Bow" and "Sleeping Dogs" to try to sway the court's opinion.
- Call-Forward:
- The House of Duras's troubles with Starfleet actually begin here.
- The Klingon trial takes place on Narendra III, which is where the USS Enterprise-C was destroyed holding off Romulans during the TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise".
- Cruel Mercy: Being sent to Rura Penthe is basically a drawn-out death sentence.
- EMP: Enterprise detonates a torpedo in the gas giant's rings to create one, blinding Duras' battlecruiser long enough to pull a Hyperspeed Escape.
- Generation Xerox: Duras is indeed an ancestor of TNG-era antagonists that bedeviled Worf. Like them, he has little concept of true honor and is just a violent thug.
- Ham-to-Ham Combat: In a Klingon tribunal, this is expected. Orak loves playing to the crowd with his oratory, and Kolos does his best to match. Archer even steps up the ham game as well.
- I Choose to Stay/Self-Restraint: Kolos chooses not to escape Rura Penthe with Archer, preferring to serve his sentence so he can then fight to restore honor to his people.
- Implied Death Threat: At the beginning, the Klingon judge tells Archer that if he's found guilty, there's "only one punishment". It's later revealed that he was indeed referring to execution.
- "Inescapable" Prison Easily Escaped: At the end, the crew simply bribe their captain's release.
- Internal Homage: The episode was directly inspired by the trial scene in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
- Kangaroo Court: The deck is stacked against Archer from the start (as he himself seems to know). Even Kolos can't do much about it.Phlox: I wasn't sure if I'd find you alive.
Archer: They promised me a trial before the execution. - Klingon Promotion: Prosecutor Orak tells Duras that he's lucky to not have been on the losing end of this for his failure.
- Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: Discussed at length by Archer and Kolos.Kolos: My father was a teacher. My mother, a biologist at the university. They encouraged me to take up the law. Now all young people want to do is take up weapons as soon as they can hold them. They're told there's honour in victory, any victory. What honour is there in a victory over a weaker opponent? Had Duras destroyed that ship he would have been lauded as a hero of the Empire for murdering helpless refugees. We were a great society not so long ago, when honour was earned through integrity and acts of true courage, not senseless bloodshed.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Archer is brought to trial for saving defenseless refugees from being killed by Duras.
- Oh, Crap!: Kolos' face immediately transforms when he hears that Archer has been condemned to Rura Penthe.
- Planet of Hats: Lampshaded; Kolos complains of how the diverse Klingon society is being taken over by its Proud Warrior Race shtick.
- Proud Warrior Race: Deconstructed as it just leads to cowardly thugs like Duras bullying defenseless aliens to provide fake victories.
- "Rashomon"-Style: Duras claims that Archer attacked him after declaring his support of a rebellion. Archer counters by saying that he was helping a ship of starving refugees, and that Duras attacked him when he tried to talk things out.
- Here's the dialogue in Duras' version:Duras: Identify yourself.
Archer: Captain Archer of the battlecruiser Enterprise.
Duras: The people aboard your ship are wanted for treason. Surrender them immediately.
Archer: By whose authority?
Duras: The Chancellor of the Klingon High Council.
Archer: I don't know your Chancellor, and I don't give a damn what he wants! I've formed an alliance with these people, and I'm going to support their revolt!
Duras: Give them to me now, or I'll destroy your vessel!
Archer: Fire one shot, and you'll be joining your ancestors in the afterlife.
Duras: Don't be a fool. Your ship is inferior. You won't survive a battle with us.
Archer: Death to the Empire. (terminates communication and opens fire) - And here it is in Archer's version:Duras: Identify yourself.
Archer: I'm Jonathan Archer, captain of the Starship Enterprise.
Duras: You're harboring fugitives. Surrender them!
Archer: I wasn't aware they'd committed any crime.
Duras: They're wanted for inciting rebellion!
Archer: From what I can tell, they are in no condition to incite anything. Apparently their colony was abandoned by—
Duras: Turn over the rebels, now!
Archer: What do you intend to do with them?
Duras: That's none of your concern.
Archer: I'm sorry, but I'm not prepared to hand them over without a little more information. If I could speak to someone in your government—
Duras: I speak for the Empire!
Archer: (Beat) Fair enough. Let's sit down and try to—
Duras: (terminates communication and opens fire)
- Here's the dialogue in Duras' version:
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: T'Pol bribes a few Klingons to secure Archer's release.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Kolos delivers one regarding the Klingon justice system, earning himself his own sentence in Rura Penthe.
- Vestigial Empire: Kolos says that the empire he grew up in is going through a decline. His parents were a teacher and a university biologist; they encouraged him to take up law. Now, every young Klingon wants to pick up a weapon, and the warrior caste is rapidly gaining strength. This decline sets the stage for Star Trek: Discovery, set a hundred years later.
- You Don't Want to Catch This/Faking Another Person's Illness: In order to have a private conversation with Archer, Phlox tells the Klingons that Archer has xenopolycythemia and he needs to perform a checkup. The guard quickly excuses himself.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: To the Klingons, the aliens were dangerous terrorists that Archer was helping in a plot to overthrow the Empire. To Archer, they are malnourished refugees who are fleeing after their world had been annexed by the Klingons.
