Silent Enemy

Star Trek: Enterprise  Season 1 Episode 12

Air Date: 1/16/2002

The Enterprise crew is in the process of deploying the second in a series of subspace amplifiers that will allow better communications with home, when an unidentified ship drops out of warp. Captain Archer hails the vessel, but it ominously refuses to respond and just warps away. T'Pol dismisses the "silent treatment" by stating that not every species has motives that can be understood in human terms. So Archer turns his attention to a more pressing concern — doing something special for Lt. Malcolm Reed's upcoming birthday. Archer breaks in the new subspace amplifiers by calling Reed's parents on Earth in hopes of learning his favorite food. He's a bit surprised to learn during the awkward conversation that the lieutenant's own parents don't know what he likes to eat. So the captain gives a reluctant Ensign Hoshi Sato the "mission" of discovering this bit of information about Reed in time for his birthday.