See Also: 'A Night In Sickbay' Episode Guide

The Enterprise crew next season will find themselves helping a far-off alien mining colony suffering from a group of Klingon raiders.

Sources revealed the first plot information on 'Marauders,' the fifth episode of Enterprise's second season and one that is expected to begin shooting in the coming week. Although the full story of the episode has not yet been revealed, the below synopsis does give a preview at what the Enterprise will encounter during the first half of 'Marauders.'

Possibly the most significant aspect of the 'Marauders' script is its revelation that the Klingons now have access to transporter technology. However, please keep in mind that the below synopsis is only based on an early version of the script, and aspects of the story may still change before actual shooting begins.

After recently taking heavy damage, the Enterprise is in desperate need of deuterium supplies and makes its way to a Quonset mining colony. Captain Archer, T'Pol and Trip take down a shuttle to the colony to negotiate with the alien leader Tessic, but they find him surprisingly cool and unwilling to sell any of of his deuterium stocks. Pointing at his filled storage tanks, Tessic says all the stocks have been promised to another trading partner, and the colony is already running behind schedule. It's only after Captain Archer promises to help repair two broken deuterium pumps that the Quonset hesitantly agree to trade.

Once the aliens agree to this, the Enterprise crew begin to strike up some tentative friendships with the aliens. Trip meets a young boy named Q'ell, who takes an active interest in the shuttlepod and wants to learn to fly it. Phlox takes the female doctor E'Lis on a tour through sickbay, as they need to pick which medical supplies the Enterprise will trade for the deuterium. E'Lis is surprised by the equipment Phlox wants to offer her, saying she could never take such expensive equipment. In turn, Phlox is taken aback by the medication E'Lis does request, including gels protecting against plasma burns and a cardio-stimulator: they all suggest the miners are running far more risk than would be expected from a normal deuterium processing plant.

Back on the planet, it soon becomes clear this is no normal deuterium installation when a group of heavily armed Klingons transport down into the miner village. Archer, T'Pol and Trip look from a hut as Tessic speeds toward the Klingons in an effort to greet them on the village square and keep them away from the hut the Enterprise crew is in. He is roughly embraced by the Klingon leader Korok, who demands food and drink for his men, but all appearance of civility is stripped away when Tessic nervously begins to explain he'll need more time to process all the deuterium the Klingons need.

This is not a message Korok appreciates. He wounds one of the Quonset miners, then turns to Tessic and tells him to have all the supplies ready in one week. After the Klingons beam away again, Archer finally gets some answers from the Quonset. It turns out the Klingons have been coming to the colony for five seasons now, stealing so much deuterium the miners always barely have anything left to get them through the winter. There's nothing the Quonset have been able to do to stop this: their homeworld is out of communications range, and when they tried to rebel three seasons ago, seven miners were killed. Clearly, there's a new mission for the Enterprise crew...

'Marauders' is thought to be the fifth episode of Enterprise's second season. No creative staff or guest cast details are yet known about the episode, but it will likely air in late October.

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