During a shuttlepod mission, Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed become convinced Enterprise has been destroyed and that their prospects of survival are slim.
On Pod 1, Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed are attempting to locate Enterprise in an asteroid field that Captain Archer had intended to map.
Just then, Reed spots an impact crater and debris; with only one piece large enough to be identifiable as part of Enterprise, they conclude that the ship has been destroyed.
Ensign Mayweather reports that their ETA at Tesnia is twenty hours, allowing enough time to return to meet the shuttlepod.
Reed and Tucker quickly seal the holes, but find that one of their oxygen cylinders was damaged, leaving them with less than two days' air.
Dominic Keating said this episode was an unexpected opportunity to stretch his acting muscles, and he really enjoyed the rhythm he was able to establish with Connor Trinneer.
[2] The set was surrounded by an igloo constructed from six air-conditioning units and blocks of dry ice, so when the actors looked like they were freezing they really were, and it was so cold that were only able to film for about thirty seconds at a time.
[6] Trinneer said director David Livingston was very thorough, and focused on "capturing a moment" even if that means shooting a scene repeatedly to get it.
[13] Robert Bianco of USA Today called it "one of the season's worst episodes" and said the actors "performances collapse under an overwrought script, and neither man should be asked to do a drunk scene again.
They noted how the episode uses the threat of air running out in a spacecraft to create a backdrop of tension as the characters try to find a solution and discuss the danger.