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UNEXPECTED
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Synopsis
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS from
StarTrek.com
A rash of odd malfunctions are afflicting the Enterprise
NX-01, such as a gravity outage while Captain Archer is
showering. Chief Engineer Tucker determines that the ship's
plasma exhaust flow is being restricted for some unknown
reason. When Archer orders Lt. Reed to ignite the plasma
exhaust, they discover a cloaked alien ship riding between
the ship's nacelles.
Archer hails the "hitchhikers" and learns their engines are
malfunctioning and they've been using Enterprise's exhaust
to replenish them. Archer offers to help them with repairs,
so Tucker prepares for a three-day away mission on the
disabled ship. Tucker has to undergo a very uncomfortable
three-hour decompression and acclimation process, and when
he enters the Xyrillian ship, he is faced with a
disorienting visual and auditory experience — the walls are
glowing with bioluminescent moss, the consoles operate with
viscous fluids and electrical arcs, there's an aquarium
holding hundreds of undulating eels, and the Xyrillians
themselves glisten with moist, scaly skin. Tucker insists on
going straight to work in their engine room, but he has a
very hard time adjusting to the environment. After finally
agreeing to get some rest, Tucker starts to enjoy his stay,
and develops a flirtatious friendship with the female
engineer, Ah'len. On a break from their repair work, Ah'len
shows Tucker a holographic chamber where she recreates a
three-dimensional landscape of her homeworld. While sitting
in a holographic boat in an exotic ocean, she introduces
Tucker to one of their games: they immerse their hands into
a box of granules which begin to glow, enabling them to read
each other's minds.
After helping the Xyrillians get their teraphasic coils back
on line, Tucker returns to Enterprise and the ships go their
separate ways. As Tucker relates his experiences to Reed
over lunch, he notices an unusual growth on his left wrist.
He visits Dr. Phlox, who determines the growth is a nipple
and he has an embryo forming in his ribs... Tucker is
pregnant! Tucker insists to Phlox, T'Pol and Archer that he
had no sexual encounters during his stay, but then realizes
that the "box of pebbles" he shared with Ah'len must have
inadvertently served as a medium to transfer genetic
material. Phlox says the embryo is actually not his child,
but that he is simply serving as a host, so Tucker hopes the
lifeform can be removed from him and incubated. But Phlox is
hesitant to perform any procedure without learning more
about the Xyrillian gestation process, so Archer sets out to
track down the Xyrillian ship, while agreeing to keep
Tucker's condition secret from the rest of the crew.
Days go by as Enterprise looks for the Xyrillians, and in
the meantime the bulge in Tucker's ribcage is growing while
he experiences morning sickness, a ravenous appetite, and
severe mood swings, which baffle his crewmates. After more
than a week, Tucker has to face the possibility that he will
have to deliver the baby and care for it. On the "bright
side," Archer points out to Tucker's chagrin that he's
making history with the first interspecies pregnancy
involving a human.
Tucker is relieved when the Xyrillians' warp signature is
detected, but upon approach, Enterprise comes face-to-face
with a Klingon battle cruiser. Apparently the Xyrillian ship
has malfunctioned again and they're hiding in the Klingons'
plasma wake. Archer hails the Klingons and informs them
about the stealth vessel. The angered Klingons intend to
kill the Xyrillian crew, but Archer tries desperately to
talk them out of it. Tucker steps forward and suggests that
the Xyrillian crew would be willing to share their
holographic technology if their lives are spared. The
Klingon captain, Vorok, is enticed, but refuses to let
Tucker join them as they board the ship. Archer then reveals
that Tucker has some unfinished business involving a
pregnancy, but Vorok holds firm. Tucker then grits his teeth
and shows his "bulge," revealing he is the one who is
pregnant and giving the Klingons an uproarious laugh.
Tucker and two of the Klingons board the Xyrillian ship, and
after a decompression period, Tucker talks Trena'l, one of
their leaders, into cooperating. Trena'l installs a
topographical survey of the capital city of Kronos into the
holographic chamber, allowing the Klingons to experience a
simulation of their homeworld, and agrees to adapt the
technology to the Klingon ship. Meanwhile Ah'len is
surprised to learn about Tucker's pregnancy, unaware such a
thing could happen with another species. She scans the
embryo and determines it can still be transferred to another
host, and learns it's a girl.
Captain Vorok informs Archer that the Xyrillians will soon
be free to go, but when Archer extends his friendship to the
Klingons, Vorok issues a stern warning that if they should
ever meet again, he will regret it. On a brighter note, life
for Tucker returns to normal again, except for knowing that
he will go down in history as the first human male to become
pregnant.
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