Plot
The discovery of a derelict pod with a long-dead human pilot opens up a mystery—who is he and what is he doing out farther in space than any known human before? The Enterprise crew even speculate that he was the missing scientist Zefram Cochrane but it turns out that the corpse is not Cochrane.
Commander Trip Tucker and Lt. Malcolm Reed examine the pod and discover that it is larger on the inside than on the outside. They also recover a gadget that still has a weak energy signature. Meanwhile, a Suliban ship arrives and claims the ship. Since Captain Archer won’t give it to them, they open fire. They don't leave until their weapons are damaged and Archer gives chase.
Enterprise is set to rendezvous with a Vulcan ship in three days. The crew stays busy on the mystery. Dr. Phlox discovers that the dead human has DNA fragments from several species including Vulcan, Terrelian, and Rigelian, even though these species have not known each other long enough for such a hybrid to exist. Archer and Sub-commander T'Pol enter Daniels' cabin to tap into his database of the future, and they discover the approximate year the mystery pod was launched. The Tholians arrive, warning Enterprise about the temporal radiation and wanting the pod. However, Archer threatens to blow the pod up, and the Tholians leave.
Tucker and Reed tinker with the gadget. While trying to retrieve some circuits from the pod, they get stuck in a time-loop, but quickly realize it. This increases T'Pol's concerns, and she discusses the situation with Archer. While he listens to her, he feels they must have more information on the temporal cold war, and rejects her pleas.
The Suliban arrive in force and attack. The crew, temporarily escaping from the Suliban, discovers that the Tholians have attacked and disabled a Vulcan ship. The Tholians then disable Enterprise. The Suliban arrive and immediately attack the Tholians. The fight is won when the Tholians annihilate the Suliban force. After working through another time-loop, Archer and Reed booby-trap the pod and send it out into space. The Tholians capture the device and deactivate the hidden bomb. Trip gets the mystery gadget, a temporal distress signal, to work, and the pod, human, and gadget dematerialize to where/whenever.
The Tholians leave. Enterprise stays to help the Vulcan ship with repairs. Archer tells T’Pol that he'll extend an olive branch to the Vulcan High Command for their help.
Read more about this topic: Future Tense (Star Trek: Enterprise)
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