A call from Admiral Forrest leaves Archer distraught – his old friend, A.G. Robinson, the first human to break the warp 2 barrier, has died in a mountain-climbing accident. Robinson’s first test flight ended in disaster, as his attempts to pass warp 2 result in the destruction of the NX-Alpha at Jupiter – and a narrow escape for its pilot. After the near-disastrous test flight, the NX program was nearly canned, with the Vulcans advising that Starfleet slow down its space program, until Archer and Robinson – with the help of a bright young engineer named “Trip” Tucker – decided to launch a second and entirely unauthorized test flight. The flight was a success in terms of proving stable spaceflight faster than warp 2, but it would propel one of its two pilots into a career as Starfleet’s first starship captain…and would see the other leave the fleet altogether.
written by John Shiban & Chris Black
directed by LeVar Burton
music by Paul BaillargeonGuest Cast: Keith Carradine (Robinson), Michael Canavan (Vulcan), Vaughn Armstrong (Forrest), Victor Bevine (Flight Controller), Brigid Brannagh (Ruby), John B. Moody (Security Officer)
LogBook entry by Earl Green