Enterprise is hailed by a trio of aliens, who warn that a deadly neutronic wavefront, many light years across, is approaching at a speed close to warp 7.
The one place onboard that may be heavily shielded enough for the eight-day ordeal is the catwalk, a maintenance shaft running the length of each nacelle.
The storm envelops the ship, and as the days wear on, nerves fray, particularly when the alien guests start up a barbecue near a flammable conduit.
When confronted, the trio confesses that the other aliens are looking for them, explaining they deserted from the Takret Militia when they learned their commanders were capturing other ships and killing all onboard.
As T'Pol and Reed work to shut down the warp reactor, Archer hails the alien leader, pretending to be the ship's sole survivor.
When the Enterprise clears the storm and the crew return to their quarters, Tucker invites T'Pol to join their movie night every Tuesday.
Club noted this episode as one of ten in the series that epitomized what the show was about, with the crew "operating at the very edge of their knowledge and their technology", and praised its fascinating premise.
[7] In 2016, Vox rated it one of the top 25 essential episodes of all Star Trek, and described it as "a fun look at the rough-and-tumble early days of Starfleet.