| The
Enterprise crew is in the process of deploying the second in a series of
subspace amplifiers that will allow better communications with home, when
an unidentified ship drops out of warp. Captain Archer hails the vessel,
but it ominously refuses to respond and just warps away. T'Pol dismisses
the "silent treatment" by stating that not every species has motives that
can be understood in human terms. So Archer turns his attention to a more
pressing concern: Doing something special for Lt. Malcolm Reed's upcoming
birthday. Archer breaks in the new subspace amplifiers by calling Reed's
parents on Earth in hopes of learning his favorite food. He's a bit surprised
to learn during the awkward conversation that the lieutenant's own parents
don't know what he likes to eat. So the captain gives a reluctant Ensign
Hoshi Sato the "mission" of discovering this bit of information about Reed
in time for his birthday. Without warning the alien ship returns, scans
Enterprise, fires weapons and immediately goes to warp again. No one is
hurt, but the ship barely escaped serious damage. His frustration growing,
Archer wonders aloud to T'Pol why there are so many hostile aliens in deep
space. He decides to return Enterprise home so it can be fitted with phase
cannons, which were never installed because the ship left spacedock prematurely.
Reed and Commander Tucker object, insisting that their own crew can build
the phase cannons as proficiently as the engineers at Jupiter Station. But
Archer orders the ship to turn around anyway. In the meantime, though, Reed
and Tucker are granted permission to get the prototype cannon already on
the ship up and running, and build two more from scratch, so they put their
team on double shifts to try to finish the job en route. Meanwhile, Hoshi
pursues her "secret mission" by speaking with Reed's best friend, his sister
and various other relatives, all to no avail. Heeding T'Pol's suggestion
to take a more direct approach, Hoshi sits with Reed in the Mess Hall and
casually prompts him for what he likes to eat causing Reed to think she's
asking him for a date. Hoshi retracts in embarrassment, but it's quickly
forgotten as the "shadow" ship arrives again and attacks, this time knocking
out warp drive, main power and tactical systems. Now that Enterprise is
adrift, a shuttle emerges from the alien ship and docks itself in Launch
Bay 2. Two bizarre-looking spindly aliens board the ship and roam its corridors.
Archer leads a couple of security guards to investigate, and they find the
aliens standing over two paralyzed crew members, invading their bodies with
some kind of energy emanating from their hands. Archer fires his phase-pistol
at an alien twice, but it appears to have a shield around its body that
absorbs the beams. The aliens walk away impassively, and the guards pursue
while Archer contacts Sickbay. But the invaders quickly leave the ship,
and when their shuttle docks with its mothership, the aliens fire again
and jump to warp. This time they damage Enterprise's port nacelle and cause
it to vent plasma. As Dr. Phlox stabilizes the victimized crewmen in sickbay,
Archer realizes they are overpowered by the aliens and need help. Reluctantly,
Archer orders Hoshi to contact the Vulcan High Command for help, but then
learns that both of their subspace amplifiers have been destroyed, effectively
cutting off all communications. Tensions run high as the crew scrambles
to restore impulse power and then warp, and also to arm the phase cannons.
Reed convinces Tucker that drawing power from the impulse engines for the
cannons is an acceptable risk, and the ship prepares to test the new weapons
on a nearby moon. During the test a massive unexpected power surge destroys
a huge chunk of the moon and overloads the relays on several decks. Investigating
the cause of the surge, the crew discovers a strange device installed in
the launch bay where the aliens boarded. Scanning it, T'Pol discovers the
device is not only responsible for the surge, but has tapped into every
system onboard to effectively "spy" on the ship. Archer therefore speaks
into a visual interface, assuming the aliens can see him, and angrily announces
that humans don't give up easily. Then he destroys the device. While things
are quiet, Hoshi visits Dr. Phlox, still trying to glean Reed's favorite
food. Phlox recalls from Reed's medical records that he has been taking
regular injections to counter an allergy to bromelin, a plant enzyme found
in, among other things, pineapple. That's all she needs. Soon after, the
alien ship comes back and sends a transmission: they have taken Archer's
visual message to them and re-constructed it to state, "You are defenseless...
prepare to surrender your vessel." Enraged, Archer orders Reed to fire both
forward phase cannons. He does, but the alien ship's shields completely
deflect the energy beams. Remembering the massive firepower from the former
power surge, Archer orders Reed to recreate the surge and fire on the ship
again, despite the damage it will cause to Enterprise. He does, and the
resulting blast disables the aliens' shielding. Reed immediately fires two
spatial torpedoes, which punch a significant hole in their ship. As it vents
plasma, the alien ship turns and leaves. Confident their foe has retreated
for good, Archer decides not to resume course for home. As Reed, Tucker
and the captain celebrate their victory over drinks in the Armory, Hoshi
interrupts to present Malcolm with a birthday cake. Malcolm cuts into the
cake and, realizing it's pineapple, wonders how on Earth they knew that
was his favorite. |
