ENT: Cold Station 12

         This episode doesn't have the twists and turns of a complicated TNG plot, instead it has the intensity of drive of one of the better TOS movies, specifically it reminded me of parts of Wrath. But it also didn't feel like it was aping directly from it despite the borrowed plot elements of a group of genetically engineered people taking a ship and then a space station. Specifically this episode is about the crew of the station we only saw as corpses in Wrath with the added twist of a human "father" to try and keep his children on the moral path. I also like the emerging conflict between Soong and Malik over leadership of the group. It is clear Soong doesn't understand what kind of trouble he is really in. 
         We open with what I guess is a flashback to Soong with his augment children teaching them about how humans will never accept them. After the credits he and the augments are on the Klingon ship the stole trying to figure a way to steal the embryos of the rest of their kind from a Starfleet base embedded in an asteroid. Meanwhile Archer and company are on their former homeworld looking for some sign of where they are headed when they encounter a young augment who tries to attack with knife before being knocked out by Archer. The young man is named Udar and he was apparently left behind for being too weak. He is distrustful at first but after Archer shows him his actual parents he seems to open up a bit. Meanwhile Soong and company take a Denobulan shuttle which they use to sneak into the station with the embryos but before they can get in the head scientist locks everything down. 
         It doesn't take Malik long to start threatening to kill the scientists and Soong is barely able to hold him back. Things get worse when Enterprise arrives but Archer decides to pull back rather than watch the hostages be killed one by one. Instead he comes up with a plan to sneak a team on board that includes Phlox and Udar. Soong decides to expose one of the scientists to a deadly pathogen to get the code from the head scientist but gives up and orders Malik to save him, which Malik refuses to do. Archer shows up and Malik tries to use Phlox to get the code and this time it works. But the rift between Soong and Malik only widens. They take the embryos but Malik also takes several super deadly pathogens with them. He gets into a fist fight with Archer and wins leaving the station to release all the pathogens after they leave and killing Udar for helping the humans. We close with the pathogens about to be released and the augments escaping on their Klingon ship. 

         Review: This is a tense episode with plenty of action and lots of moral conflict. There are many TNG episodes without half the tension this episode creates. Can't wait to see where this goes!

8 out of 10