See Also: 'North Star' Episode Guide

Saddle up, buckaroos, the Enterprise is heading for the Wild, Wild West!

Sources today revealed the first plot details for "North Star", reportedly the ninth episode of season three to enter production. The episode is said to revolve around a town known as North Star, located on a planet in the Delphic Expanse. North Star isn't any ordinary alien settlement — it looks just like a town from mid-west North America in the late 1800s, complete with a sheriff, deputy and saloon.

North Star is populated by humans, who hold all positions of authority, and an alien race, the Skagarans, who are treated as second class citizens. Archer gets a taste of this prejudice when he heads into the local saloon to get some information. The waiter, a Skagaran known as Cronin, is mercilessly teased by Deputy Clay, who tries to provoke Cronin into shooting him. Archer defuses the situation by dropping his glass, earning the deputy's scorn.

Not all humans treat the Skagarans (or Skags, as they're known derogatively) in this way. North Star's school mistress, Kit, has taken it upon herself to teach Skagaran children — illegally. When Archer is found with Kit and Skagaran children in her schoolroom, Deputy Clay throws them both in gaol. Their incarceration gives the pair a chance to talk, and Kit tells Archer how humans came to end up in the Delphic Expanse.

In 1857, a wagon train travelling across North America was transported by the Skagarans to the planet and the abducted humans were enslaved. Thirty years after the humans arrived, a man named Cooper Smith let a revolt against the Skagarans, and the victors instituted new laws that made their alien oppressors second-class citizens. After 300 years, Kit feels the Skagarans have changed and the people of North Star need to alter their attitudes towards the aliens.

The Sheriff issues an ultimatum to Archer: he must leave North Star by morning. But Kit will probably be sentenced to hard labour on a work farm for her attempts to teach the Skagaran children. Will Archer depart North Star quietly and leave Kit to her fate? Don't bet on it.

Please note that these plot details come from an early draft of the script and details can and will change before the episode enters production. You should treat this information as you would any other rumour from an unofficial source.

"North Star" will likely air in late 2003.

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