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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.
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