Terra Nova ( episode ) " Enterprise " investigates the mystery of a lost Earth colony whose inhabitants disappeared decades before . But that doesn ' t mean they left . Summary . Teaser . The crew of is heading towards Terra Nova to investigate what happened to the long lost colony . Helmsman Ensign Travis Mayweather is the most excited to visit , as he has been fascinated by the colony since his childhood . Act One . At dinner , Archer informs T ' Pol about the colony . Terra Nova was the first extra - solar Earth colony , after New Berlin on Luna , Utopia Planitia on Mars and a few asteroids were colonized by Humans just in the Sol system . The colony was referred to as " The Great Experiment " and Earth had lost all contact after a couple of unfriendly transmissions . It turns out that the Novans were opposed to a second convoy of Humans going to live in the home they struggled to build . When " Enterprise " arrives at the colony , the crew finds no one , only a ghost town , built from disassembled components from the , the vessel that transported the colonists for nine years to the colony . The site also has a low level of radiation that would be harmful to Human s in the long term . An away team composed of Ensign Mayweather , Sub - Commander T ' Pol , Captain Jonathan Archer , and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed is dispatched , going down to the planet in " " . After Reed notices some rustling in the woods , the crew converge at a cave opening . Archer and Reed head into the cave to investigate . The two make an unfriendly first contact with strange humanoid figures , resulting in Reed being shot with an MK - 34 machine gun and being taken hostage . Archer is forced to exit the cave , and Mayweather , T ' Pol and Archer scramble back to the shuttlepod , where T ' Pol reveals that the inhabitants in the cave are actually Human beings . Act Two . After returning to " Enterprise " , Archer calls a meeting in the ship ' s situation room . Tucker reports they know where Reed is , but he is too deep for the transporter . Also , the geology is unstable , with the Humans forced to live underground and hunt for food . They start to tactically assess the positions of the Humans and Reed , but Archer is insistent at finding a way to communicate with them , especially since they are Human . He orders T ' Pol and Tucker to continue investigating the geology and Hoshi Sato and Mayweather to get information from their communications . He asks chief medical officer Dr . Phlox to accompany him back to the colony . They return alone , unarmed , to try to build trust with the residents . Speaking out into the forest , two of them approach and take them underground . There , they are taken to Reed , who is alive but with lost blood . One of the Humans who seems to be a leader approaches , and reveals they speak a certain kind of English . They accuse Archer and crew of wanting to finish the job they believe earlier Humans did to them , including the " poison rain " and " gutting " the adults . Archer explains it wasn ' t Humans , but , rather , the radiation . It appears they also don ' t know they descended from Humans . Archer asks them to prove their friendliness . The doctor offers to take Nadet , an elderly Novan , to " Enterprise " to treat her lung cancer . The leader agrees , but insists he comes with them and Reed stay there . Reed consents , so Archer agrees . Act Three . In the sickbay , Phlox starts a deep scan of Nadet and explains calmly what he ' s doing and finding out . While Phlox works , Archer tries to show them pictures of the colony before the radiation . The man , Jamin , calls them lies and demands he turn off the pictures . Archer reluctantly agrees and leaves . He joins T ' Pol and Tucker on the bridge to learn that a large asteroid is what caused a radioactive cloud which lasted for a year . Meanwhile , Reed tries to talk to his guard by admiring his weapon and armor and asking for a lavatory . The guard refuses to answer and simply starts eating . Seeing Reed looking at his food , he asks if his " belly is hollow " and slowly gives him some digger meat . With Reed ' s comment that the meat is undercooked , the guard reveals that he believes Humans are weak . Soon , however , the mood turns calm as the sound of flute s fills the cavern . The people there obviously have an artistic side . In Archer ' s ready room , Sato and Mayweather play back the last transmission from Captain of the " Conestoga " . It was intended for Earth , but due to the atmosphere it wasn ' t received . It turns out that , when the asteroid hit the planet , the colonists erroneously concluded that Earth was taking the colony back by force , prompted by the treats made by Mark Logan , opposition leader to more colonists . The ensuing radiation from the impact left only the children surviving , which led to three generations of hatred for off - worlders . With this insight , it becomes clear why the Novans are still suspicious , even when Phlox offers his help . Phlox later discovers that , though the cancer is eliminated , the water supplies of the underside have recently been poison ed by radiation and that could lead to the colonists ' descendants ' extinction . Phlox cannot treat this , and the surface will continue to be irradiated for years . Archer then decides to convince Jamin and Nadet to leave , knowing it will be difficult . Indeed , Jamin doesn ' t believe anything . Archer tries to get through to Nadet by showing her a photo taken of a young girl named Bernadette Fuller and her mother Vera before the asteroid hit Terra Nova . Archer seems to be getting through to her with the photo . However , Jamin believes Archer has simply found a plan to take their home from them , accuses him of lying and demands the captain return him and his mother back to their home . Taking T ' Pol aside , he expresses his frustration . She suggests that the Novans be relocated , by force using stun grenade s , in caverns in the southern hemisphere where there is no radiation . She points out that there is a culture the Novans developed for years , and Archer should not destroy it by encouraging them to come back to Earth and live like them . Archer finally agrees and , back in " Shuttlepod 1 " , explains the new location and asks Nadet and Jamin to at least talk about it with the others . They appear to finally agree to talk to their people about the idea . When they return to the planet , " Shuttlepod 1 " is engulfed in a sinkhole and plunges eight meters below the surface . Act Four . Still able to contact " Enterprise " , Archer reports what happened . Jamin demands Archer open the door , and Tucker suggests it ' s safe , based on their location . Once out , Jamin requests Archer ' s phase - pistol to break through rock , and Archer reluctantly hands it over after he threatens Reed ' s life . On the way , Archer , Jamin , and Nadet hear the screams of a Novan named Akary . Archer and Jamin scale a large sinkhole to get to him , during which Archer nearly falls , but is pulled back up by Jamin . The two finally make it to Akary , but he is trapped by a large tree trunk . After both being unable to lift it off Akary ' s broken leg , Archer demands his pistol back from Jamin and is able to slice the trunk in half with the beam . The rescue of Akary helps build trust between Nadet ' s son and the captain . When they finally reach the other Novans , Nadet insists on telling them what awaits them and they finally accept the relocation plan , avoiding extinction . Afterwards , in the captain ' s mess , Archer , Tucker , T ' Pol , and Mayweather eat dinner together and discuss the recent events with the colony . Archer suggests that Mayweather write the official report for Starfleet , as he was the most eager crewman on " Enterprise " to visit Terra Nova . Memorable quotes . " " I ' m not familiar with the early years of Human space exploration . " " " " Really ? Every school kid on Earth had to learn about the famous Vulcan expeditions . " " " " Name one . " " " ( after long pause ) " History was never my best subject . " " " " Asking favors of the Vulcans usually ends up carrying too high a price . " " " " My experience with Humans is limited , but I ' ve come to learn that they are quite resourceful . " " " " I promised my dad I ' d see this place someday . " " " " If those aliens killed the colonists they could kill Malcolm , too . " " " " Those weren ' t aliens . They ' re Human . " " " " I ' m leg broke ! " " " " If these are the descendants of the original colonists , they ' ve never seen other Humans before . Maybe , we look as strange to them as they did to us . " " " " How are you holding up ? " " " " Not badly , all things considered . But I really wouldn ' t mind getting this bullet out of my leg . " " " " You Humans tried to gut our go - befores when they lived on the overside . Now you ' re trying to gut us ! " " " " Ever heard of Judge Crater ? " " " " Crater ? " " " " Disappeared in the early 20th century . How about Amelia Earhart ? " " " " No . " " " " 1937 . Never found a trace of her . A lot of people spent years – decades – trying to figure out what happened to them . But neither of those mysteries holds a candle to Terra Nova . And " we " solved it ! " " " " Giant rocks falling from the sky , shale ! It ' s all shale ! Take us back ! " " " " He speaks in shale . " " " " What the hell do you think this is , a slave ship ? " " Links and references . References . anorthosite ; asteroid ; beresium ; bio - sign ; cancer ; ; ; crater ; Judge Crater ; cytolytic injection ; debris ; Denobulan ; Digger ; ; Earth ; ejecta ; erosion ; feldspar ; geology ; geologic depression ; ghost town ; go - before ; " " ; hemisphere ; immunity ; ; Luna ; lymphatic system ; Mars ; millirad ; ; MK - 33 ; MK - 34 ; New Berlin ; Novan s ; phase - pistol ; radiation ; radiation poisoning ; regolith ; rot ; shale ; Starfleet database ; stun grenade ; Tracey ; Terra Nova ; Terra Nova colony ; thoracic scan ; topography ; tuber ; ; tumor ; Utopia Planitia ; Vulcan s Unreferenced materials . Romaiya