With Enterprise's deuterium reserves running low, Archer and the crew visit a small mining colony in hopes of replenishing their supply. The alien colonists, however, claim that they can't spare any deuterium, and ask Archer to return at the end of the season. Archer manages to negotiate, and eventually reaches an agreement with the colony's leader, Tessic — the deuterium in exchange for medical supplies, power cells and assistance in repairing the colony's extraction pumps. In a puzzling move, Tessic also insists that the pump be repaired within two days.