Plot
The crew of Enterprise is finally settling in on the new ship, and crew-members are slowly getting acquainted with one another. They have encountered their first new alien species, a slug that Hoshi brought back from an away mission and is currently in sick bay. The crew are restless as they have not encountered anything in the past two weeks. Captain Archer is trying to locate a squeak in his ready room and anxious that they have not discovered any worthwhile planets yet; T'Pol points out that Vulcans don't select their destination by what piques their interest as they don't share humanity's enthusiasm for exploration. Reed and Ensign Mayweather are running weapons simulations which are slightly off.
When T'Pol picks up an unmoving Axanar vessel on sensors, the Enterprise drops out of warp to investigate. The ship shows evidence of weapons fire and bio-signs but does not respond to hails so Archer prepares for an away mission, including Hoshi. The Captain is eager to make contact with a new race, but T'Pol recommends non-interference, and Hoshi unsuccessfully attempts to remain behind due to her claustrophobia. After discovering multiple hull breaches as a result of possible weapons discharge, an away team is dispatched. The crew of the Axanar vessel are found dead, suspended upside-down with tubes attached to their chests, so the away team flee and Enterprise warps away.
Dr. Phlox and Hoshi discuss her fear over the incident, and draw parallels between her and the slug being out of their natural environment. Archer, Trip and T'Pol also discuss the incident and the Vulcan concepts of non-intervention. Eventually, Archer decides to return to the ship, where a second away mission takes place. Phlox discovers the bodies are being harvested for a chemical similar to lymphatic fluid, whilst Trip brings the communications back online and Hoshi manages the difficult task of decoding the Axanar language.
T'Pol warns Archer that a ship is approaching and is likely to be the culprits. The away team return to Enterprise but not before shooting the pump. The alien vessel drops out of warp and attacks Enterprise, though Enterprise cannot return fire accurately due to problems with the targeting scanners. Another Anaxar vessel arrives at the scene and Hoshi overcomes her lack of confidence to persuade the new-comers that the aggressive alien ship is responsible for attacking their people. The new Anaxar vessel attacks the hostile ship and the Enterprise is saved. The episode ends with Hoshi and Phlox releasing the slug into a new environment, where Hoshi believes that it "will do just fine."
Read more about this topic: Fight Or Flight (Star Trek: Enterprise)
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