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Finally arriving at planet Risa, the weary Enterprise crew eagerly embarks
on a long overdue shore leave on the tropical paradise for two days and
two nights. As some of the crew needs to stay onboard and run the ship,
Captain Jonathan Archer institutes the drawing of lots to determine who
can take leave. Winning a vacation himself, Archer feels both guilty for
taking a break and also suffers from premature separation anxiety for leaving
the Enterprise. With the comfort of T'Pol remaining onboard, the Captain
is finally able to board the shuttlepod along with Trip, Reed, Mayweather
and Hoshi. Everyone seems to have quite varied agendas for their short time
on the planet: Mayweather plans to do some rock climbing on a cliff that
changes pitch while you climb it; both Trip and Reed plan to meet some of
the female aliens and ... broaden their cultural horizons; Hoshi feels she
has had to rely on the Universal Translator far too much, and therefore
plans to put her linguistic skills to the test with the various alien languages
she hopes to encounter; while Archer booked a small cabin overlooking the
ocean, and simply plans to relax with a good book and Porthos. Once the
shuttlepod lands on Risa, the eager crewmates all go their separate ways.
Soon after arriving at his cabin, Archer discovers a wrapped Vulcan book
on meditation, a gift to help him relax from T'Pol. Chuckling, Archer steps
onto the deck to take in the breathtaking vista, and notices a beautiful
alien woman and her dog in the cabin just below his. Their eyes amicably
meet for a moment, and Archer senses the possibility of an unexpected romantic
element to his vacation. Later, Archer hears Porthos growling as the alien
woman's dog finds its way onto his porch. When the woman tracks her dog
down, Archer seizes the opportunity and strikes up a conversation. The two
hit it off and with Archer learns her name is Keyla and that this is the
first trip to Risa for both of them. He invites Keyla to dinner, but she
is forced to take a rain check due to a previous engagement. As she leaves,
Archer senses promise in the air. Viewing the stars from his deck later
that evening, Archer is pleased to find Keyla on his doorstep, having just
finished her previous engagement. The two discuss their respective homeworlds
and pasts, but Archer senses a strong hesitation from Keyla to share the
details of her own history. Continuing their discussion over breakfast,
Archer learns the Suliban massacred Keyla's entire family. When Archer admits
he has encountered the Suliban, Keyla suddenly floods him with questions.
Hesitant to reveal any privileged information, Archer is surprised by Keyla's
tenacity. Sensing something suspicious, Archer surreptitiously takes a bio-scan
of Keyla and runs it through the Enterprise computer for a match. Confirming
his suspicions, Archer discovers Keyla is actually a Tandaran, the same
species that unjustly ran a Suliban concentration camp. Confronting Keyla
with the truth, Archer refuses to let her leave until she tells him who
sent her ... but his questions go unanswered when Keyla renders him unconscious
by pricking him with some type of anesthetic. Waking in the morning Archer
finds Keyla long gone, and sadly packs his bags to rendezvous with the shuttlepod
to return to the Enterprise. Meanwhile, Hoshi finds a friendly indigenous
couple and practices her Risan with them at a quaint restaurant. As the
couple bids her farewell, Hoshi is approached by a charming and handsome
alien who couldn't help but overhear her previous conversation. Introducing
himself as Ravis, the two hit it off, and Ravis wonders if Hoshi has ever
met a language she couldn't learn ... indicating his native language might
just be her Achilles heel. Up to the challenge, Hoshi convinces Ravis to
both join her for lunch and attempt to teach her his extremely complex native
language. Finding the language nearly impossible to learn, Hoshi's impromptu
lesson continues into the night until she finally gives up on learning it
in only one day. Seeing Hoshi is a little tense from her concentration,
Ravis invites her to join him in the exotic steam pools to melt her tension
away. A little flattered and nervous, Hoshi gives into carpe diem, and accepts
Ravis' invitation. The next morning, Hoshi rolls over to find a very happy
Ravis in bed beside her. Sad that she has to leave to rendezvous with the
shuttlepod, the lovers lie in each other's arms, knowing that other than
their time ending too soon, they wouldn't change a thing in their otherwise
perfect vacation. Elsewhere, Trip and Reed immerse themselves in a rocking
nightclub, filled to the rim with exotic alien females of every description.
The two bachelors have trouble targeting their prey, when suddenly the decision
is made for them as two gorgeous women join them for a drink. Introducing
themselves as Dee'Ahn and Latia, the flirtatious women find everything about
Trip and Reed fascinating. After several rounds of Risan drinks, the women
invite the fairly inebriated Reed and Trip to view the nearby subterranean
gardens, filled with luminescent plant-life. Letting the ladies show them
the way, Trip and Reed are led into the basement underneath the bar. Sensing
something amiss Reed questions the ladies as to how the basement could lead
to a garden, when suddenly the ladies turn around and demand all of the
men's valuables. Still shocked and fairly intoxicated, both Reed and Trip
sober up fairly quickly when the "ladies" morph right in front of them,
turning into grotesque and decidedly male aliens! Held at phaser-point,
Trip and Reed are helpless as the aliens tie them up and mug them. Finding
their prey to be of no more value, the muggers shoot the officers unconscious
and leave them tied up in the club basement for the night. Waking up in
the morning with a killer hangover from both the alcohol and the phaser-blasts,
Trip and Reed find themselves very much alone as the club shuts down in
the daytime. Preferring not to be discovered by the Captain tied up and
in their skivvies, the two spend the day frantically searching for a means
of escape from their awkward predicament. Eventually smashing a nearby bottle
to saw through their ropes, the officers awkwardly make their way through
the then crowded club on their way back to their hotel room to pack for
their return to the Enterprise. In Sickbay, Dr. Phlox prepares to take his
annual hibernation. Normally requiring six days of deep sleep per year,
Phlox informs T'Pol he should be fine with only two days, and he has prepared
Crewman Cutler to handle any medical situations in the meantime. Although
it would not hurt Phlox to be prematurely awakened from his hibernation,
he states it would be highly unpleasant and he would prefer it not to happen
unless absolutely necessary. Time flies smoothly, until Mayweather contacts
Enterprise and requests a shuttlepod to pick him up as he had a slight accident
rock climbing. First arriving at a Risan hospital, Mayweather felt uncomfortable
being treated by a doctor who has never even heard of a human before, and
wished to be seen by his familiar Dr. Phlox. After arriving back on the
Enterprise, Mayweather is unnerved by the absence of Phlox, but is assured
by Cutler that she can handle his broken leg. The ensign also notices some
trouble breathing, however, and Cutler diagnoses him having a reaction to
a painkiller the Risan doctor gave him. Mayweather's reaction worsens and
causes swelling which threatens to cut off his air supply, which forces
Cutler and T'Pol to awaken the hibernating Phlox. After Cutler applies the
appropriate hypospray, Phlox snaps out of his sleep; however, the doctor
is extremely disorientated and somewhat delusional due to being prematurely
awakened. With the assistance of Cutler and T'Pol, the somewhat incoherent
Phlox makes his way to sickbay and diagnoses the extremely concerned Mayweather.
Despite his mental cloudiness, Phlox determines the problem and creates
a suitable antidote for Mayweather's reaction. Once administered with the
hypospray Mayweather immediately feels better, but is unable to thank the
doctor as Phlox immediately collapses back into hibernation! On Risa the
next morning, the Enterprise crew members take the shuttlepod back to their
ship. Each having a story to tell, but not necessarily divulging what they
got up to just yet. |
