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We complained a bit in “Borderland” that Arik Soong was a bit flat as a character. And then along comes “Cold Station 12” to set us straight! Soong and his Augment children take control of a biological weapons facility. The only problem is that they need a code to reclaim the Augment embryos – is Soong vicious enough to do what needs to be done?
The Wikipedia plot summary for “Cold Station 12”:
After the escape of Doctor Soong and the Augments, Captain Archer and his crew proceed to the coordinates Soong had provided earlier in the mission. On Trialis IV, the away team find an abandoned building where the young Augments were raised and schooled by “father” Soong. They also capture a banished member of the Augments named Udar. Nicknamed “Smike” by his Augment siblings after a handicapped character from the comic novel Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, he is taken to Enterprise. Analysis reveals that although Udar’s DNA is similar to the other Augments, he has none of their enhanced abilities (except for superior hearing).
Meanwhile, Soong and the Augments capture Barzai, a Denobulan medical ship, and use it to enter the medical facility called Cold Station 12 (C-12). They soon overpower security and capture the scientists there, including its chief medical officer, Doctor Jeremy Lucas (Doctor Phlox’s Interspecies Medical Exchange counterpart). Due to security protocols, tensions begin to surface between Soong and Malik, as to how to coerce Lucas into divulging the entry codes. Malik convinces Soong to torture Lucas, and failing that, to expose a scientist to a deadly pathogen using a containment chamber.
Enterprise approaches within transporter range, and beams an away team (including Phlox) to the facility. They are soon detected, however, and imprisoned with the facility’s staff. Meanwhile, Commander T’Pol, having lost contact with the team, attempts to destroy the station, but the Klingon ship intervenes. Malik uses Phlox’s friendship to finally coerce the security codes from Lucas (by threatening to expose him to a pathogen as well). Soong, who had previously stolen 19 genetically enhanced and frozen embryos from C-12, is now able to access the remaining 1,800, a carry-over from the Eugenics Wars. Soong and the Augments then escape, but not before Malik kills Smike, helps himself to a number of pathogen samples, and sets the viral containment fields to fail.
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss “Cold Station 12” and the development of the character of Arik Soong. Plus! The guys chat about casting unremarkable actors, clothing that cannot have holes, and being friends with Phlox.
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