hth2k wrote:Odd that the ship is intact. The Orions were able to commandeer it and use it so no Vulcan only protocols?
I can easily fathom the idea, that Vulcans are so paranoid with their technology that you can run the ship itself after cracking the normal security measures on your own, what also includes to insert additional or alternative software into the ship, but underneath it all, the Vulcan security codes are still embedded to ensure access to any Vulcan officer/citizen in order to reclaim it.
To get rid of the codes, you would have to exchange the whole memory core, what isn't necessarily in the interest of the Orions since they probably highjacked it, put the crew into slavery and used the ship itself without too much problems.
Therefore, considering Vulcans potentially paranoid attitude with their technology and the Orion attitude not to fuzz too much about "acquired equipment", I find it quite convincing.
hth2k wrote:Did the Orions have Vulcans enslaved to drive it? If so what happened to them?
Vulcan slaves should be quite profitable, since they are "cooperative" in their situation, don't need too much surplies - as long as the VHC doesn't know about it.
hth2k wrote:Here the first thing we would do is take the dang thing apart to see what makes it work. More like this bunch would take it apart and not figure anything out and leave it in pieces scattered all over the place. How long have they had it? Remember the MiG 25 we gave back to the Russians in pieces?
There several things to consider:
1) What's the technological status of Ekos? Something like 20s/30s of the 20th century in the western hemisphere? Now compare this to a Vulcan deep space vessel...
Do they even have the resources to take it apart? Are effective cutting torches at hand? Does it even leave a single scratch on the hull? I doubt it, since the ship has to handle the flight through the atmosphere of a planet with thousands of degree Celsius.
2) Even if they could open it: Could they even begin to handle the technology without risking to blow themself up any minute? Let us think that the level of technology of the Vulcan ship equals
Enterprise - this isn't the case since the Vulcan one is probably more advanced in technology and manufacturing - but for the sake of it.
That makes the 20s of the 20th century compared with the fictional middle of the 22th century about 200-250 years distance. Let's round it up to 300 to count in that the Vulcan technology is even more advanced than the human one.
How let's just count back from today about 300 years: Just fathom what would happen, if Isaac Newton gets his fingers on your PC. Does he even know the concept of electricity? Benjamin Franklins fly with his kite is still decades away. So how should Isaac handle the electronics let alone the fundamental basics behind it?
Therefore, Rigil gets my thumb up for the way to get Trip and T'Pol off the planet.
In addition, to base T'Pol's hesitation to get "too close" with Trip on her concern to infect him with Pa'Nar-Syndrome gives the acting of the figure creditability.
So assuming they get close enough, T'Pol just walks up to it and gives the Vulcan "Open sessame" and they hop in and boogie.
Well wait and see I guess.
We are talking here about a Rigil Kent story - this can't work just smoothly for Trip and T'Pol - everything else would be a huge surprise.