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Archer, Tucker and T'Pol partake in a spicy dinner with an exotic alien
trader named D'Marr, discussing with him their needs for raw materials to patch
up Enterprise. In exchange for a few kilograms of an Earth beverage
called "coffee," D'Marr reveals the location of an old vessel that
crash-landed years ago on a nearby planet, a shipwreck that no one else has
salvaged because it's "haunted." The crew locates the derelict ship
and goes to take a look, joking that maybe they should calibrate their sensors
for ghosts. Breaking into the spooky wreckage, Tucker and T'Pol look for
engineering while Archer and Mayweather try to find clues as to what happened to
the ship. As Tucker uncovers dilithium crystals he says are in perfect shape,
T'Pol sees the reflection of a humanoid figure, who disappears immediately when
she turns. T'Pol reports that someone is there, despite the fact that scanners
show no bio-signs. She and Tucker spot the figure again and follow him, but find
themselves at a dead end. Tucker uses his phase-pistol to cut open the bulkhead,
and they discover a lush airponics bay behind it — hidden to their sensors by
a dampening field. Exploring the oasis, Tucker is stopped dead in his tracks by
an attractive humanoid woman, who immediately rushes away. Tucker and T'Pol
chase her into a cargo bay, where they come face to face with 18 aliens pointing
weapons at them.
Archer and Mayweather join their crewmates and speak with the Kantare, who
inform the team they were a supply ship who came under attack nearly three years
ago from unknown assailants and forced to make a crash landing. They didn't send
out a distress call for fear the raiders would find them and finish them off, so
they opted instead to hide behind the dampening field. Tucker believes he can
get their ship flying again, and the Kantare hesitantly agree to the help. While
Tucker is working in their engineering section, he is startled once again by the
young woman he encountered in the airponics bay, whose name is Liana. She is the
daughter of Ezral, the ship's engineer, and she gives Trip some advice about the
ship's systems. Her mother, Maya, tries to keep her away from Tucker, but Liana
is intent on getting to know the human and learn about his world. As Tucker
makes progress on the engines, the ship's captain, Kuulan, asks him and T'Pol to
help repair the computer core's optronic relays. Tucker needs to get some
diagnostic gear from Enterprise, so he asks Liana to come with him. Her
father initially forbids it, but she promises "not to say anything."
Meanwhile on the starship, Archer, Reed and Mayweather examine a schematic of
the Kantare ship and find discrepancies in their story — for instance, no
indications of damage from weapons, and the fact that the airponics bay is not
big enough to feed all those people. Archer decides to take a look at a data
module they recovered earlier. Tucker is giving Liana a tour of Enterprise
when he's called to the captain's ready room. Archer and Reed inform him what
they've uncovered: the Kantare ship was brought down not by an attack, but
rather an internal malfunction — and it happened nearly 22 years ago! On top
of that, they launched several escape pods, and one has been found. Rattled that
Liana would be part of such a big lie, Tucker accompanies his fellow officers to
the Launch Bay to open the retrieved escape pod, and there he recognizes the
desiccated corpse of Shilat, a Kantare he saw alive on the surface just an hour
ago.
Archer, Reed and Tucker bring Liana back to the planet and set out to get an
explanation. But then the Kantare confront them and confiscate their weapons,
demanding that repairs be completed before they'll let Tucker and T'Pol leave.
Tucker is forced to work on the optronic relays, held at gunpoint by Shilat.
Tucker asks point-blank how a dead man can be guarding him. Liana comes in,
orders Shilat to step out and begins to confess the truth. Meanwhile Archer,
Reed, Mayweather and a security team embark upon a rescue effort. They invade
the derelict ship and get into a firefight with the Kantare, but they are at a
disadvantage because the Kantare can appear and disappear at will, and
phase-pistol shots pass right through them! Tucker, now knowledgeable of the
situation, convinces Liana to stop the firefight. She begins removing datachips
from a console, causing each Kantare in turn to shimmer out of existence —
except for herself and Ezral.
Ezral confesses to creating holographic versions of his dead crew to provide
his daughter with a family to grow up with. He believes himself responsible for
the catastrophe that downed their ship, because after an ion storm overloaded
the plasma conduits, he left his station to protect his young daughter rather
than make repairs, and an explosion resulted, killing half the crew instantly
including his wife. He and Liana ultimately were the only survivors, and for
years he tried in vain to repair the ship while watching his daughter grow up,
so he decided to bring his wife and friends back through holographic technology,
and the resulting "oasis" became the only home she's ever known.
Archer and Tucker understand his quandary, but they urge Ezral to consider his
daughter's best interests, that perhaps this life is not enough for her. Later
Ezral visits Archer on Enterprise and, though reluctant to leave the home
he created, acknowledges he should stop being so afraid of change, and asks
Archer to help him get his ship flying again. Tucker completes repairs and sees
Liana off, getting a kiss from her as she looks forward to her new life.
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