“Sleeping Dogs” is episode fourteen of season one of Star Trek: Enterprise.
Hoshi is doing target practice in the armoury – which doesn’t seem like the best place, even without live rounds – with Reed. He tells her that she is still below 50% and with live rounds she’d have blown out some bulkheads. Hoshi never had the same problem with the previous weapon. Reed gives her some advice but, before they can go again, the ship drops out of warp, even though it wasn’t intended. They are near a class 9 gas giant.
A probe is sent into the gas giant and Hoshi reports strange EM interference. It’s put on speaker and Travis calls the sound siren calls; that’s what they used to call it when he was a kid. T’Pol is not sure what they are expecting to find; there are four gas giants in their own solar system. None a class 9, according to Archer. T’Pol says there’s an anomalous power signature in the lower atmosphere and several biosigns. The probe reveals a ship. It looks Klingon, though no-one says this.
Reed is in sickbay; he has a cold. Dr Phlox tells him to be grateful the human cold is so mild. And suggests ways he could have caught it. Phlox can treat the symptoms, but the only cure is bedrest. Reed is going on an away mission. Phlox advises him not to sneeze in the helmet.
Hoshi arrives in the captain’s ready room. She suggests the away team might need a translator. It sounds like she wants to go, which Archer can tell. Hoshi has never been the first to volunteer for such missions, but she’s ready. Good, because T’Pol has just asked for Hoshi to be assigned to her team.
Reed, T’Pol and Hoshi take a shuttlepod into the gas giant. T’Pol says the other vessel will be outside of their tolerance range in an hour. Hoshi suggests T’Pol sounds uncomfortable. Merely stating the facts. They dock and enter the ship. The ship has a breathable atmosphere. One smell and T’Pol suggests leaving their helmets on. Reed can’t smell anything. Hoshi reads some writing. She says it’s Klingon. Everyone draws their phase pistol. T’Pol states there are many classes of Klingon ships and she isn’t familiar with all of them.
Weak biosigns lead them to the bridge where there are three unconscious Klingons. T’Pol suggests leaving in case they regain consciousness. They won’t want help; they’re Klingons. They’d be dishonoured by being rescued. Elsewhere, a conscious Klingon leaves what looks like cold storage. T’Pol contacts the Enterprise; there are more biosigns and traces of a neurotoxin which has dissipated. Trip says they maybe have half an hour before the vessel is crushed. The captain gives T’Pol 20 minutes, then leave. T’Pol thinks they should leave now. Then they lose transmission. The other Klingon is sneaking up on them. Reed hears a noise, goes to check, gets attacked and the Klingon steals their shuttlepod.
The Enterprise is trying to regain communications when Travis detects the shuttlepod leaving the gas giant. And a message in Klingon which translates into a claim that they’ve been attacked by an unknown starship. Called Enterprise. And telling warships in range to respond. Not good. The shuttlepod is grappled and brought in and the Klingon is, eventually, stunned. Archer wants to take the shuttlepod back for the others but Travis tells him they’re past the shuttlepod’s limits now. Okay, they’ll take the Enterprise.
On the Klingon ship, the others are trying to work out how to get off, or put the vessel into a stable orbit. Hoshi finds something called photon torpedoes, which sparks Reed’s interest. Hull integrity is failing and the engines are offline. Captain Archer contacts them, but the Enterprise can’t get close enough.
So, they are stuck on a dying ship and more Klingons are coming in. The Klingon concept of gratitude is such that Archer thinks he should stop helping people. And studies up on the Klingons.