A large comet attracts the attention of the Enterprise crew, and just as Reed and Mayweather are about to become the first humans to set foot on such a body, a Vulcan ship appears and its captain states unequivocally that he will be standing by and observing the Enterprise’s activities in the vicinity of the comet. This annoys Captain Archer – almost as much as having to answer some letters from Trip’s young nephew’s class – but the Vulcans’ presence becomes even more suspicious when Trip detects that they’ve sent T’Pol an encoded message in a way that almost avoids detection. Hoshi decrypts the message and Trip discovers that it’s a deeply private matter instead of skullduggery. When Reed and Mayweather become trapped on the comet, a diplomatic breach is the last thing Archer needs when he may have to call on the Vulcans for help.
written by Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton
directed by Terry Windell
music by Dennis McCarthyCast: Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathan Archer), Jolene Blalock (Subcommander T’Pol), John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox), Dominic Keating (Lt. Malcolm Reed), Anthony Montgomery (Ensign Travis Mayweather), Linda Park (Ensign Hoshi Sato), Connor Trinneer (Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker III), William Utay (Captain Vanik)
Notes: Only a couple of episodes after his species is mentioned, Dr. Phlox here identifies his home world as Denobula Triaxa.
LogBook entry by Earl Green
