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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.
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