“Damage” is episode nineteen of season three of Star Trek: Enterprise.
At the end of the previous episode, “Azati Prime”, Enterprise was being shot to pieces by Reptilian ships. Reed tells T’Pol they can’t take much more when the Reptilians stop firing and withdraw. T’Pol tells Travis to get them out of there, but thrusters are down. They aren’t going anywhere.
On Degra’s ship, Dolim is telling Degra and the Primate and Arboreal councillors that they had no right to withdraw his ships. Degra says Dolim had no authorisation to launch an attack. Dolim might think the humans should have been destroyed, but the council doesn’t agree and Enterprise no longer poses a threat. Dolim wants to board the ship and take prisoners, but is refused. He’s also told the council want to interrogate Archer. Dolim is ordered to release him immediately, and Degra doesn’t trust his assurances that Archer won’t be harmed any further. The Aquatics will provide transport.
Enterprise is a mess and looks to be barely holding together, something Reed essentially confirms as he’s briefing T’Pol. In engineering, Trip says it would take them a couple of weeks to get warp back. If they had the parts. They don’t.
Captain Archer comes around on an Aquatic ship and gets the crews’ attention. They evidently don’t want to talk, as he’s promptly knocked out again.
T’Pol arrives on the bridge and Reed fills her in on repairs. She wants access to cargo bay 2, as Trip needs supplies in there. Travis reports a vessel approaching. Xindi, a one-man vessel with no armaments and one biosign. T’Pol orders it brought in and, once it is opened, Archer is found inside.
Dr Phlox examines Archer in sickbay and tells him the casualties. 14 dead, three unaccounted for. Probably the three seen drifting off into space. The captain doesn’t want Phlox to bother with him. T’Pol gives him a damage report and says impulse will be back in six hours. Hoshi and Travis are going to examine the pod, which looks Aquatic. The captain says being on an Aquatic ship was the last thing he remembered. He may have got through to Degra. T’Pol hands him a towel, her hands shaking as she does. She says she’s fine. She isn’t.
At a briefing on the bridge, the captain ells Reed the Xindi might attack again, even after he was let go, because they are not exactly unified and the Reptilians attacked on their own. There’s a cometary dust cloud they can hide in. Then engineering contacts them, warning of an explosion just before it happens.
Trip and the captain are working on repairs. Trip asks if they can trust Degra. The captain says Degra might not be on their side, but Archer has a feeling that Degra is starting to question his own. After their repair doesn’t work, T’Pol contacts them from the bridge. An unidentified ship is asking for assistance. They’ve taken heavy damage. Archer thinks maybe they can help each other.
The other ship has minimal weapons, all powered down, and there are numerous spatial anomalies. When hailed, they say they have suffered damage to engines and life support and would appreciate assistance. When they dock, the other ship’s captain says they were studying the red giant. They weren’t prepared for the anomalies and haven’t heard of the Xindi. They have heard of trellium-D but haven’t got any. The captain offers a trade, but the other captain can’t spare a warp coil. They are too far from home.
T’Pol wakes from a nightmare and heads to the still-depressurised cargo bay 2. To get some trellium-D. Risking her life in the process. Her behaviour suggests an addiction. Degra has sent a message with a location, but Enterprise needs warp drive to get there. Which means they need a warp coil. And there’s really only one way to get one of those.