A bombing at Earth's embassy on Vulcan kills Admiral Forrest, and Archer and T'Pol search the Forge for the group blamed for the attack.
A bomb destroys the United Earth embassy on Vulcan, killing 43 people, among them Admiral Forrest, who dies shielding Ambassador Soval. Administrator V'Las of the Vulcan High Command blames the Syrrannites, a dissident group following its own reading of Surak's teachings, and evidence points to their member T'Pau. Koss delivers to T'Pol a pendant from her mother T'Les, also a Syrrannite, which projects a map into the Forge desert.
Archer and T'Pol cross the desert with a guide, Arev, who before dying in a sand-fire storm melds with Archer and passes him his katra, letting Archer lead them to the hidden sanctuary where they are captured. On Enterprise, Phlox and Tucker find the DNA evidence was planted, and Soval performs a forbidden mind meld with a comatose guard, identifying the bomber as an aide to V'Las. Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens wrote this opener of a three-part arc continuing in Awakening and Kir'Shara.