Admiral Valdore is looking out a window on Romulus, while Senator Vrax (with two Remans next to him) complains that their assignment has become a disaster— they tried to sow discord between the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, but the Andorians and Tellarites formed an alliance instead. Valdore thinks the alliance won't last, but Vrax tells him that some other Romulans in the senate don't agree and plan to cancel the mission. Regretting his support of the mission, Vrax blames Valdore for weakening his position in the senate, but Valdore claims that Vrax will be made First Consul, since he has a plan— destroy the Enterprise with drone ships.
On the Enterprise, the Tellarite ambassador has left, but Shran has decided to stay. In the briefing room, T'Pol tells Archer, Malcolm, Phlox, and Shran that a drone ship that's powered by telepresence (a method involving remote operation of a vessel) is nearby. She suggests that the Enterprise crew build their own telepresence unit to interfere with the Romulan drone, also noting that the data they gained from the ship included a brain wave pattern of the pilot, who's telepathic (telepathy is apparently required to pilot this vessel), with Phlox adding that the pilot appears to be related to Andorians.
On Romulus, Nijil reports the damage that Trip and Malcolm did to the drone ship, so Valdore orders the damaged components replaced. Nijil then expresses concern about the pilot, who is psychologically fatigued. Valdore decides that the pilot will be allowed to recover within three days, but in the meantime, he asks Nijil to increase the pilot's stimulants. This concerns Nijil, since the pilot's stimulant levels are already high and he fears killing the pilot.
Shran goes into Archer's ready room, informing him of a transmission which revealed that the pilot is Aenar— a blind subspecies of Andorians that were previously thought to be a myth. He adds that it's unlikely that the pilot built or deployed the drone ship, since Aenar are pacifistic. Archer, wanting to find out who the pilot is, tells Travis to set a course for Andoria.
In sickbay, Trip and T'Pol start on their telepresence unit, but T'Pol tells Trip, who seems tired, to get some sleep and that, according to Phlox, he shouldn't be working again yet, making Trip surprised that she talked about him to Phlox. Trip asks T'Pol if she's ever felt like she's in danger of dying, like he was on the drone ship, and she replies that she doubted her survival while the Enterprise was trying to destroy Sphere 41. He asks her what she thought then, but she reveals that she simply thought about work.
They arrive at Andoria, which is a moon orbiting a gas giant. Before beaming down, Malcolm wants MACOs to accompany Archer and Shran, but Archer refuses, stating that the Aenar might see their presence as a threat. They beam down to Andoria, where it's technically summer despite being -28 degrees. Archer and Shran walk towards the Aenar compound, with Shran revealing that Andorians live in subterranean cities. Shran falls down, since his cut antenna is affecting his balance, but gets up on his own and they enter the compound.
On Romulus, Nijil reveals that the pilot of the drone ship is now resting. Valdore compliments Nijil, calling him a soldier, and when Nijil replies that he's actually a scientist, Valdore replies that all Romulans are soldiers, even since birth. He reveals that he used to be a senator, and back then, he and Vrax were friends, but then he challenged the precept of unlimited expansion and was therefore kicked out of the senate. He concludes that his actions were a mistake and the moral is to never forget that you're a soldier.
On Andoria, Archer and Shran meet some "ice-bores" (worms that heat up whatever they touch and burn whoever touches them). They find a steep incline and Archer suggests they find a different route. Shran disagrees, starts climbing down, and falls down the slope, ending with his leg being impaled. He gets it out and Archer begins doing first aid on him.
Archer manages to stop the bleeding, but fears that Shran will bleed more if he moves— however, if he doesn't movie, he might get hypothermia. Archer tries to contact Enterprise, but there is a dampening field in the way. Then, an Aenar woman appears, followed by several other Aenar. Archer tells them that Shran needs medical attention and the woman agrees to care for him.
On Enterprise, Phlox wishes he and the crew had more information about the neural interface which connects the pilot to the telepresence unit. He notes that if he tried to connect someone to it now, the person might end up brain-damaged. Trip wants to try the unit, but T'Pol points out that he's not telepathic. He retorts that at least if he tries it, they'll know whether it's safe. T'Pol wants to test the unit herself, but Trip points out that she's currently in command and should at least wait until Archer comes back. She insists on doing it now, since she promised to have it ready before he comes back and they'll need to test it to know if it's ready.
In an Andorian city, an Aenar woman tells Archer that Shran (who is being treated by an Aenar doctor) will soon be recovered. She knows Archer's name despite it being illegal to use telepathy without permission because she learnt it when the Andorian chancellor contacted her species. He asks to see her leader, and she tells him that she's been designated as the "Speaker". He asks if she knows why they're here, and she responds that Starfleet thinks the Aenar are involved with attacks on ships. Archer tells her that she doesn't know the whole story, and she asks him to read his mind. He accepts, and the woman notes that the evidence that an Aenar was the pilot of the drone ship seems irrefutable, but is shocked that one of her species could have caused so much death. She wonders if a missing Aenar man named Gareb was abducted and forced to pilot it, then tells Archer and Shran that they'll need someone to power their own telepresence unit, then leaves to contact other Aenar.
Trip, who is drinking coffee, meets T'Pol in the hallway and she tells him that his emotions are clouding his judgement, but he insists that he's just being rational and doesn't want a good officer put out of commission. Back on Andoria, Shran is now inside quarters, where he meets a young Aenar woman, who can somehow tell he has blue skin despite being blind. They talk about places Shran has been to and the weather there, and then she reveals that she came there to apologise for accidentally reading his mind. She sympathises with him for Talas's death, revealing herself to be Gareb's sister. She is confident that her brother would never intentionally cause harm, further hinting that he was forced. Meanwhile, the pilot, who turns out to indeed be Gareb, is led to the telepresence unit, where Nijil apologetically injects him with stimulants.
T'Pol tests the telepresence unit and initially does well, but then her synaptic patterns go awry. Trip orders Phlox to power down the unit, and it turns out that she's relatively unharmed and just needs several days off. Meanwhile, in the Aenar city, Archer tries to convince the Speaker to help him stop the Romulan drone ship, but she refuses lest it involve using violence. Shran leaves, followed by Archer, and the drone ships launch.
On Andoria, Archer, Shran, and Gareb's sister walk through a tunnel. Gareb's sister thinks Shran needs more recuperation, but he disagrees. A swarm of ice-bores start falling from the roof, reminding Gareb's sister of a time when she and her brother chased some ice bores for two hours, worrying their family, so she fears her family will be worried again. Shran asks her if she's sure she wants to leave, but she responds that she will do anything to save her brother.
In sickbay, Trip expresses doubt about T'Pol retrying the unit, but Phlox states that T'Pol is aware of the risk and not to interfere with her job. Trip asks if the crew has gone crazy, but Phlox says that Trip is the crazy one for trying to date a coworker (T'Pol). Trip blames Phlox, since the neuro-pressure he suggested led to him developing his crush, but Phlox points out that the neruo-pressure was to help with his insomnia. Trip asks for advice on how to deal with his romantic feelings, but Phlox says he just has to cope with it.
On Andoria, a hologram of the Speaker appears in the tunnel in front of Archer, Shran, and Gareb's sister and tries to persuade her to turn back, revealing her name to be Jhamel. The hologram reads Jhamel's mind, concludes that Jhamel is doing what she thinks is right and saving her brother, and accepts her choice. The holographic Speaker disappears, revealing the tunnel behind her to also have been holographic. Then, they walk through an opening to the surface.
Later, Archer, who is now back on the Enterprise, has received word that a cargo ship called the Ticonderoga is missing. T'Pol tells Archer in the corridor that the Enterprise is on its way to the Ticonderoga's last known location. He tells her to tell Malcolm to update the targeting scanners in case they run into the Romulan drone ship. Jhamel tests the telepresence unit and it works at first, but then she starts shaking, panting, and having synaptic trouble. Trip shuts down the unit and Phlox anaesthetises her.
When the ship arrives at the last known coordinates of the Ticonderoga, T'Pol detects debris, including human bodies. Archer orders her to search for the ship's warp signature, and she asks what will happen to Jhamel. Archer says that Jhamel will recover, but that it's too dangerous for her to try the device again.
Jhamel wakes up in sickbay and asks Shran what happened. When he explains, she reveals that she dreamt about her brother and is annoyed at herself for failing the test. Shran says that she should be proud of her courage, since despite being a commander of the Andorian Imperial Guard, even he wouldn't be brave enough to test it. They flirt a little and Shran refuses to let Jhamel believe Gareb will die. On the bridge, T'Pol notifies Archer that what appears to be a Tellarite freighter is dropping out of warp nearby. Hoshi hails the ship, but there is no reply, so Archer orders Malcolm to open fire.
A fight begins, revealing the ship to be the drone ship in disguise. Archer orders Malcolm to fire at its weapons, but the vessel is moving too quickly. In sickbay, Shran tells Jhamel that the Enterprise is being attacked and starts to go to the bridge. She stops him and insists on using the telepresence unit, claiming to be able to sense her brother. On Romulus, Nijil tells Valdore that the Enterprise is severely damaged. Valdore orders Nijil to send a second drone ship, and insists on it despite Nijil's claim that it's unnecessary.
The second ship appears, disguised as an Andorian battle cruiser, and T'Pol recognises that the telepresence unit has been activated. Archer contacts Phlox, who tells him that Jhamel is insisting on using it. As the firefight continues, Phlox points out that Jhamel is having a "cortical fluctuation", which could lead to another seizure, but Jhamel insists that she can do it. Phlox orders Shran to disconnect her from the unit, but he refuses. Meanwhile, in the Romulan command centre, Nijil finds out that someone is hacking into the telemetric array.
Gareb senses Jhamel and, surprised that she's alive, asks where she is. Upon learning his sister is on the ship he's about to attack, he stops the attack, which Valdore and the Enterprise crew notice. Gareb reveals that the Romulans told him that he was the last of his species, and he feels guilty knowing that he killed people because of a lie. Jhamel tells him to stop the violence instantly.
The drone ships start to attack each other, alarming Nijil. Valdore orders him to disengage the weapons, but Nijil has lost control of the vessels. Meanwhile, Archer orders Malcolm to fire torpedoes at the ships. On Romulus, Valdore threatens to kill Gareb if he doesn't target Enterprise again. Nijil tries to save Gareb, but is held back, so after one drone ship explodes, Valdore kills Gareb.
In sickbay, Phlox and Shran disconnect Jhamel from the unit, and on the bridge, the Enterprise destroys the second drone ship. Meanwhile, on Romulus, Valdore accepts defeat. In sickbay, Jhamel is relieved that the drone ships are gone, but also sad that Gareb is dead.
Archer returns Shran and Jhamel to Andoria and they say their goodbyes, with Shran regretting his past with Archer. He reveals that he'll likely be given a hard time for losing his ship, so T'Pol offers whatever help she can. After they leave, Trip gives Archer the report and Archer believes Trip is beating himself up too much. Trip blames himself for the fault that led to Jhamel's seizure, but Archer reveals that Phlox doesn't think he was at fault. Trip still feels bad, though, and insists on transferring to the Columbia.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Discussed when Nijil doesn't want to increase the pilot's stimulants for fear of killing the pilot.
- All for Nothing: When Phlox determines that the telepresence unit is too dangerous for Jhamel to use, Archer laments that their trip to Andoria was for naught. Subverted later when Jhamel succeeds in using it anyway.
- Attack Pattern Alpha: The Romulan drones use Attack Vector 1-7-7 against Enterprise.
- Big Sister Instinct: While it's never established who the elder sibling is, Jhamel is willing to do whatever is needed to save her brother, Gareb.
- Birds of a Feather: Jhamel instantly picks up on Shran's powerful feelings of loss and says that she knows how it feels.
- Bittersweet Ending: Yes, the drone ships are destroyed and Jhamel and T'Pol have recovered, but Gareb is dead, Shran is likely going to face punishment, and Trip is wracked with guilt and transferred to the Columbia.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!:
- Shran's opinion of Archer helping him in consideration of his temporarily-severed antenna is "hands off, pinkskin."
- The admiral tells the story of his downfall from the Senate for questioning the need for conquest. Nijil expresses sympathy, but the admiral says that he's not fishing for pity, he's trying to make a point about service to the Empire.
- The Dulcinea Effect: Trip objects to to T'Pol testing the device on herself, claiming that it's because she's presently in command.
- Flawed Prototype: The telepresence unit that Trip and T'Pol build to disrupt the Romulan marauder. It ends up being incredibly dangerous to the user.
- Hand Wave: Jhamel can tell that Shran has blue skin despite being blind. She avoids explaining how by saying that she's not good at science.
- Heat Wave: On Andoria, the temperature occasionally rises above freezing. Shran describes that as a heat wave by comparison.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Gareb turns the two drone ships against each other and is shot to death by Valdore.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: As Senator Vrax notes, their mission to destabilize the quadrant has ended up uniting the local powers against a common enemy.
- Human Subspecies: The Aenar are a subspecies of Andorian. The differences with the Aenar is that they're blind, have white skin, and have telepathic powers.
- Humans Are Special: Valdore is well-aware that it was a human crew that brought Andorians and Tellarites together, so he intends to reverse things by hunting down Enterprise with their drone ships and killing everyone onboard.
- I Don't Think That's Such a Good Idea:
- When Valdore asks Nijil to increase the pilot's stimulants, Nijil responds that doing so may kill the pilot.
- When T'Pol wants to test the telepresence unit on herself, Trip says that it's a bad idea (partly because she's in command and partly because he likes her).
- Phlox isn't onboard with Jhamel's insistence that she try the telepresnce unit on herself.
- It Will Never Catch On: Valdore scoffs at the notion of a long-term alliance between planets with a bitter history.
- Last of His Kind: The Romulans convinced Gareb he was this when gaslighting him into serving them. He realizes it's not true when Jhamel makes telepathic contact with him.
- Literal-Minded: When Trip asks what went through T'Pol's mind when she was convinced they would die while collapsing the control sphere in the Expanse, she replies "whether to transfer auxiliary power to the deflector array" as opposed to something emotionally meaningful (though it's possible that she just didn't think any emotionally-meaningful thoughts).
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Gareb feels guilty when he finds out that he was made to kill people because of a lie.
- Trip transfers to the Columbia out of guilt, believing that he was responsible for Jhamel's seizure.
- Never Found the Body: Jhamel says this (that a body was never found) of Gareb when he disappeared a year ago. It's why she now believes that he was abducted.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Valdore and Vrax's opening scene highlights how the mission was supposed to cause discord between the region's major players but has instead prompted a historic alliance between the Andorians and Tellarites. The fact that Earth and Vulcan are in on it makes it even frustrating. Vrax says this was not lost on the Romulan Senate and that reprisals will be made.
- Noodle Incident: Shran recalls missions to worlds with temperatures "slightly below the boiling point of water." He remarks it didn't do his body weight any favors.
- The Not-Love Interest: Shran and Jhamel form a close bond and become very affectionate and emotionally supportive of each other, since they've both lost someone they care about. It never goes beyond that in the episode; although it turns out they became each other's mates and had a daughter by the time of These Are The Voyages...
- No, You: When Trip calls Phlox and the others insane for letting T'Pol try the telepresence device again, Phlox says that Trip is the insane one for romancing a colleague.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Twice, both for Shran, though one is backstory.
- When traveling through an ice tunnel with Archer they come across small holes created by ice-worms generating heat to migrate, and Shran relates the story of falling into one of their nests when he was 15, suffering third degree burns on over half of his body. Granted, he's Andorian with different physiology and it's the future, but that's usually barely survivable with prompt medical treatment, and in the best case results in severe disfigurement and permanent mobility restriction from the scar tissue, but the way it's mentioned he might as well have broken his arm. (In addition, it was implied last episode that Andorians are more susceptible to infection and death from such injuries than humans would be.)
- A short time later, Shran's insistence on making his own way despite his temporary unsteadiness backfires when he tumbles off some stairs and impales his right calf on an icicle. Lodged Blade Removal is employed and the leg is moved off of the icicle and bandaged over his clothes, but the icicle should have done massive damage; that sort of thing can't just be patched up with some gauze, and could lead to a human bleeding out in minutes, especially with the icicle no longer providing pressure. The only major effect on Shran is that he can't walk until treated.
- Perfect Pacifist People: The Aenar only choose leaders when one is needed and decline to give Archer and Shran assistance to find Gareb because, although they acknowledge that he's the marauder's pilot and abhor the fact, they don't want violence used to stop him. Shran isn't impressed, but Jhamel volunteers to help.
- Plagued by Nightmares: Jhamel apparently had recurring nightmares about bad things happening to Gareb after he disappeared.
- Professor Guinea Pig: T'Pol insists on testing their own telepresence device.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Nijil, the Romulan scientist attached to the operation. He shows concern for Gareb, asking for his forgiveness when he's forced to give him an extra dose of stimulants that might kill him and is saddened when he's killed.
- Put on a Bus: Shran tells Archer that he doesn't expect to be awarded with a new ship, so he probably won't see them for a while. He does wish him well and tells him to stay out of trouble. Had ENT been renewed for a fifth season, Shran would have joined the main cast by serving as an advisor.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Vulcan is a desert planet, Andoria is an ice moon. No wonder they don't get along.Shran: The Vulcans say the desert teaches men the meaning of endurance. But it's the ice that forges real strength.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Jhamel defies the Aenar leader to join Archer and Shran in their search for Gareb.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: We finally visit Andoria, and find that it's a frozen moon of a gas giant. Not that Shran minds.Archer: (looks at scanner) 28 below?!
Shran: Lucky for you, it's the middle of summer! - Strictly Professional Relationship: Discussed when Phlox thinks that it was crazy of Trip to attempt romance with T'Pol, since he and T'Pol are coworkers.
- This Explains So Much: Shran can't resist making this crack when Jhamel looks into Archer's mind.Jhamel: You have an interesting mind, Captain. Many facets.
Archer: Thank you.
Jhamel: Some of those facets are in conflict.
Shran: That explains a lot. - Underground City: The Aenar settlement is buried beneath the ice. According to Shran, this is typical of all Andorian cities, as they take advantage of geothermal heat.
- Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway: The makeshift telepresence unit that Trip builds. T'Pol actually does test it, but only minimally, and not enough to guarantee its success when used by an Aenar. Sure enough, Jhamel nearly suffers brain damage when she uses it.
- We Used to Be Friends: Valdore reveals that he and Vrax were once friends, until the former got kicked out of the senate.
- Wham Line: At the end, Trip tells Archer that he wants to transfer to Columbia.
- You Have Failed Me: Vrax worries that if the drone project fails, it will mean his head.
