| A
rash of odd malfunctions are afflicting the Enterprise NX-01, such as a
gravity outage while Captain Archer is showering. Chief Engineer Tucker
determines that the ship's plasma exhaust flow is being restricted for some
unknown reason. When Archer orders Lt. Reed to ignite the plasma exhaust,
they discover a cloaked alien ship riding between the ship's nacelles. Archer
hails the "hitchhikers" and learns their engines are malfunctioning and
they've been using Enterprise's exhaust to replenish them. Archer offers
to help them with repairs, so Tucker prepares for a three-day away mission
on the disabled ship. Tucker has to undergo a very uncomfortable three-hour
decompression and acclimation process, and when he enters the Xyrillian
ship, he is faced with a disorienting visual and auditory experience the
walls are glowing with bioluminescent moss, the consoles operate with viscous
fluids and electrical arcs, there's an aquarium holding hundreds of undulating
eels, and the Xyrillians themselves glisten with moist, scaly skin. Tucker
insists on going straight to work in their engine room, but he has a very
hard time adjusting to the environment. After finally agreeing to get some
rest, Tucker starts to enjoy his stay, and develops a flirtatious friendship
with the female engineer, Ah'len. On a break from their repair work, Ah'len
shows Tucker a holographic chamber where she recreates a three-dimensional
landscape of her homeworld. While sitting in a holographic boat in an exotic
ocean, she introduces Tucker to one of their games: they immerse their hands
into a box of granules which begin to glow, enabling them to read each other's
minds. After helping the Xyrillians get their teraphasic coils back on line,
Tucker returns to Enterprise and the ships go their separate ways. As Tucker
relates his experiences to Reed over lunch, he notices an unusual growth
on his left wrist. He visits Dr. Phlox, who determines the growth is a nipple
and he has an embryo forming in his ribs... Tucker is pregnant! Tucker insists
to Phlox, T'Pol and Archer that he had no sexual encounters during his stay,
but then realizes that the "box of pebbles" he shared with Ah'len must have
inadvertently served as a medium to transfer genetic material. Phlox says
the embryo is actually not his child, but that he is simply serving as a
host, so Tucker hopes the lifeform can be removed from him and incubated.
But Phlox is hesitant to perform any procedure without learning more about
the Xyrillian gestation process, so Archer sets out to track down the Xyrillian
ship, while agreeing to keep Tucker's condition secret from the rest of
the crew. Days go by as Enterprise looks for the Xyrillians, and in the
meantime the bulge in Tucker's ribcage is growing while he experiences morning
sickness, a ravenous appetite, and severe mood swings, which baffle his
crewmates. After more than a week, Tucker has to face the possibility that
he will have to deliver the baby and care for it. On the "bright side,"
Archer points out to Tucker's chagrin that he's making history with the
first interspecies pregnancy involving a human. Tucker is relieved when
the Xyrillians' warp signature is detected, but upon approach, Enterprise
comes face-to-face with a Klingon battle cruiser. Apparently the Xyrillian
ship has malfunctioned again and they're hiding in the Klingons' plasma
wake. Archer hails the Klingons and informs them about the stealth vessel.
The angered Klingons intend to kill the Xyrillian crew, but Archer tries
desperately to talk them out of it. Tucker steps forward and suggests that
the Xyrillian crew would be willing to share their holographic technology
if their lives are spared. The Klingon captain, Vorok, is enticed, but refuses
to let Tucker join them as they board the ship. Archer then reveals that
Tucker has some unfinished business involving a pregnancy, but Vorok holds
firm. Tucker then grits his teeth and shows his "bulge," revealing he is
the one who is pregnant and giving the Klingons an uproarious laugh. Tucker
and two of the Klingons board the Xyrillian ship, and after a decompression
period, Tucker talks Trena'l, one of their leaders, into cooperating. Trena'l
installs a topographical survey of the capital city of Kronos into the holographic
chamber, allowing the Klingons to experience a simulation of their homeworld,
and agrees to adapt the technology to the Klingon ship. Meanwhile Ah'len
is surprised to learn about Tucker's pregnancy, unaware such a thing could
happen with another species. She scans the embryo and determines it can
still be transferred to another host, and learns it's a girl. Captain Vorok
informs Archer that the Xyrillians will soon be free to go, but when Archer
extends his friendship to the Klingons, Vorok issues a stern warning that
if they should ever meet again, he will regret it. On a brighter note, life
for Tucker returns to normal again, except for knowing that he will go down
in history as the first human male to become pregnant. |
