Synopsis: A shuttlepod, in which Commander Tucker was piloting alone while testing upgrades, is shot at by an alien vessel and forced to land onto a moon.
This episode can be seen as another illustration of how sometimes it can feel more uncomfortable than other times for the Logos-driven rational conscious ego to acknowledge bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious.
In “Dawn” the shuttlepod in which Commander Charles (Trip) Tucker is testing autopilot upgrades is fired upon by another small vessel. Tucker is forced to make an emergency landing on a moon. The shuttlepod’s engines were neutralized by the moon’s atmosphere and Tucker begins trying to repair a transceiver, which would allow Enterprise to locate him. He is fired upon by Zho’Kann, the pilot of the alien vessel that fired on him and who was also was forced to land on the moon. They cannot understand each other and fight over the transceiver. But when Tucker is injured by an electrical shock, Zho’Kann is able to heal his wound. But then Tucker pulls a gun on Zho’Kann and ties him up. Meanwhile on Enterprise, the crew is hailed by Captain Khata’n Zshaar of the Arkonian Military. He tells Captain Jonathan Archer that he sent a ship to intercept the shuttlepod. Archer suggests that the two crews work together to find their missing crew members. This is in spite of Sub-Commander T’Pol telling him that the Arkonians are prone to hostility. She also informs Archer that the daylight temperature on the moon that Tucker has landed on will reach 170 degrees and that dawn is approaching. Zshaar comes aboard Enterprise and both Tucker and Zho’Kann are rescued from the moon. Afterward, T’Pol tells Archer he made more progress in creating a relationship with the Arkonians in a day than Vulcans did in a year. Later, Zho’Kann tells Tucker he is glad that he didn’t destroy his shuttlepod.
In this episode, Tucker and Archer can both be seen as embodiments of the conscious ego, and the Arkonians, Zho’Kann and Zshaar, can be seen as representing bits of unconscious material. On the moon, Tucker and Zho’Kann do not understand each other and fight until Zho’Kann heals Tucker’s wound. But they still are at odds even as they face death together on the quickly heating moon. On Enterprise, aided by the universal translator, Archer and Zshaar are able to get along a bit better. Archer suggests that the two crews work together. This proves to be fruitful. Tucker and Zho’Kann are rescued and T’Pol tells Archer that in a day he has created a positive relationship with the Arkonians, somethings the Vulcans were not able to do in a century. This result can be analogized to when the conscious ego acknowledges the unconscious’s existence and integrates bits of it into itself to become stronger and make the psyche more whole.
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