Fortunate Son ( episode ) " Enterprise " is sent to assist the " Fortunate " , an Earth freighter that has been attacked by Nausicaan pirates . But the " Fortunate " may not be as innocent as it seems . Summary . Teaser . Aboard the cargo ship , Captain Jackson Keene and first officer Matthew Ryan play a game of low - gravity football in one of the cargo bays , while they discuss the ship ' s operations . Their talk is interrupted by the arrival of Nausicaan pirates , who launch an attack on the ship . Act One . The is on a mission to drop subspace amplifier s when Admiral Maxwell Forrest calls Captain Jonathan Archer to help the " Fortunate " , being the only ship in the area . As they approach the freighter , T ' Pol and Mayweather brief the rest of the crew on what they can expect to find , including that most freighters are slow and lightly armed , but that the crews are used to dealing with problems on their own . On arrival , Malcolm Reed confirms hull damage on the " Fortunate " with down systems and T ' Pol reports that the Nausicaans have left the area . They don ' t respond to their hail but T ' Pol does read life signs . Archer orders an away team and Mayweather flies Archer , Reed and Phlox over to the freighter . On arrival , the " Enterprise " crew are greeted by Ryan and the rest of the freighter ' s command crew , who report that Keene was badly hurt in the attack , but that they can handle the damage and require no further assistance . Phlox insists on treating Keene , however , and then Archer insists on sending engineering crews over to help speed up repairs . Ryan reluctantly agrees to both of these with some trepidation . As he walks away with his team to another area of the ship , it appears the group does not want to raise suspicion , as they ' re holding a Nausicaan prisoner for information . Act Two . Aboard the " Enterprise " Ryan is visiting the ship with Mayweather , visiting the transporter and engineering . He initially bonds with Mayweather due to their shared background of having grown up on freighters . Mayweather discusses his early life on the and leaving to join Starfleet , while Ryan reveals that he was born on the , a freighter which was destroyed in a pirate attack ; Ryan survived , but his parents , who were crewmembers , did not . In engineering , it ' s suggested that the " Fortunate " s warp drive can be upgraded to shorten their journeys , but Ryan dismisses it , in a polite but direct way . During lunch , however , Ryan starts to challenge Mayweather ' s choice to leave the " Horizon " . The mood of the discussion quickly sours , with Ryan accusing Travis of having betrayed his family by choosing to join Starfleet rather than staying on and replacing his father . Meanwhile , aboard the " Fortunate " , T ' Pol becomes suspicious when she finds that the crew have disabled the internal sensors , and decides to run a full scan of the ship when she returns to the " Enterprise " . She notifies Archer who , a little while later , summons Ryan to his ready room under the pretense of discussing the repairs , only for Archer to confront Ryan about the captive Nausicaan . Archer tells Ryan that taking prisoners is immoral and asks that the Nausicaan be handed over , so that he can be returned to his people . Ryan refuses to do so , as Starfleet does not have jurisdiction on his ship . Archer acknowledges that , but also decides to force the issue by telling Tucker to remove all the newly - installed components from the " Fortunate " , which will leave her stranded and helpless . Ryan seemingly then caves in and allows Archer to see the prisoner , however , he dupes Archer , T ' Pol and Reed into entering a cargo bay . Another of the crew is also present with a weapon , and they soon find themselves in a firefight . Ryan and his accomplice manage to make it back to the entrance , blast a hole in the wall , and detach the room from the rest of the ship . Act Three . The " Fortunate " attacks the " Enterprise " and disables her sensors before warping away . Tucker is unable to stop them , and forced to spend time retrieving the crew . Archer intends to go after them , and Mayweather states finding the Nausicaans is the key . Once the " Fortunate " is safely at warp , Ryan interrogates the captive Nausicaan and demands the shield frequency of his ship , intending to take on and destroy it . When he gets them , he leaves to prepare for the attack . Shaw , however , has reservations about Ryan ' s methods , seeing as he almost killed the pirate . Ryan , however , insists they need to make a show of force and start inflicting damage on the Nausicaans for once . With its faster warp drive , the " Enterprise " is able to effect repairs and begin chasing down the " Fortunate " before it leaves sensor range . Tucker , trying to get the sensors back online , talks with Mayweather about the odd situation of a Starfleet vessel hunting one of its own . Mayweather understands the nature of cargo crews , and knows the problems that would arise if Starfleet started micromanaging his father ' s ship . Tucker replies that times are changing , and Ryan will have to change with them . Feeling conflicted , Mayweather goes to talk to Archer . He wonders whether they should be interfering with this matter , possibly letting Ryan on his own . Archer , however , tells Mayweather that Ryan ' s actions are immoral and driven solely by revenge , and this is against Starfleet code of ethics . Furthermore , the idea of letting a large group of Nausicaans be killed doesn ' t sit well with him , regardless of the fact they ' re alien . Mayweather understands , and Archer dismisses him by jokingly reprimanding him for questioning his orders . When the " Fortunate " finally chases down the Nausicaan freighter to an asteroid field , it turns out that not only did their prisoner give fake shield frequencies , but that the asteroid field is home to a heavily armed Nausicaan base . Ryan only becomes even more determined , believing that they can destroy the entire base and deal a crippling blow to Nausicaan operations in this area of space , but the rest of his crew argue that they ' re out of their league . The matter is soon rendered moot , as the " Fortunate " is attacked and quickly loses all engine power , and the Nausicaans begin to board her . Act Four . The " Enterprise " arrives on the scene , and hails the Nausicaans . The base ' s commander is initially bullish , saying that because the " Fortunate " attacked them , the ship and the lives of her crew are forfeit . He orders the " Enterprise " to leave the area , threatening them with same fate if they do not comply . Archer , on the other hand , points out that while the Nausicaans may have the numerical advantage , " Enterprise " is far more heavily armed than any of their ships . The Nausicaan Commander sees sense , and consents to letting the two Earth vessels leave if the prisoner is returned unharmed . Archer tries to get Ryan to hand over the Nausicaan , without much success , as Ryan continues to point out that unless they send some message to the Nausicaans , their attacks on Earth freighters will continue . Archer and Mayweather dismiss his argument , however , pointing out that he has surrendered the moral high ground by taking a hostage and launching a sneak attack on the Nausicaan base . Mayweather further points out that , if anything , Ryan ' s actions are guaranteeing that any future attacks by the Nausicaans will be even more violent , and that not only will he be responsible for the death of his own crew , he will be endangering the lives of many more freighter crews , including Mayweather ' s own parents . On hearing this , Ryan finally caves in and surrenders . Some time later , Archer meets with Captain Keene , who has finally regained consciousness . Archer offers to take Ryan into custody and take him back to Earth to stand trial for his actions , but Keene asks that Ryan not be charged with anything . He intends on punishing Ryan himself , by demoting him to the lowest - ranking crewmember on the " Fortunate " . Both captains regret that things got to this point and that Ryan could not look past his need for revenge , but agree that it is the right course of action , and Keene says that next time the " Fortunate " makes port , he will install the warp drive upgrade that Ryan had earlier scorned . The two captains shake hands , before the " Enterprise " departs . Memorable quotes . " " The Earth Cargo Ship " Fortunate " . Y - class freighter . Maximum Speed : Warp 1 . 8 . Crew complement : 23 . " " " " Not counting newborn babies . " " " " Ensign ? " " " " I grew up on a J - class . A little smaller , but the same basic design . And one thing I can tell you is that at warp 1 . 8 , you ' ve got a lot of time on your hands between ports . . . That ' s how my parents wound up with me . " " " " Do you have any helpful information on this vessel beyond its . . . recreational activities ? " " " " Ready or not , here I come ! Have you seen Nadine ? " " " " I ' m sorry . I don ' t know which child is named ' Nadine ' . " " " " Thanks ! " " " " I just told him the truth . " " " " I want those codes ! " " " " They say that for a split second , you can actually feel yourself in both places at once . " " " " Why do you think I wanna try it ? " " " " Warp 1 . 8 works just fine for us . Any faster and there ' d be no time to enjoy the trip . " " " " You ever think about doing something else ? " " " " You mean join Starfleet ? " " " " The food ' s not bad . " " " " Get down ! " " " " Under the circumstance , I defer to your experience . " " " " Ryan , you ' re making a big mistake ! " " " " The Nausicaans . Ryan ' s after revenge , sir . " " " " A very primitive emotion but it would explain his irrational behavior . " " " " It ' s rational to " him . " " " " Just because someone wasn ' t born on Earth doesn ' t make them any less Human . " " " " Any other orders of mine you ' d like to question ? " " " " Not today , sir . " " Links and references . References . 384 . 20 GHz ; 47 ; able crewman ; Archer ' s Comet ; away team ; batter ; bioscan ; " boomer " ; cargo module ; ; ; debris ; dilithium ; dilithium ore ; distress call ; Draylax ; Draylaxian whiskey ; Earth ; Echo 1 ; ECS ; football ; ; ; freighter ; gravity ; hide and seek ; ; hydroponics ; ice cream ; inorganic ; ; Jupiter Station ; kiloton ; ; meatloaf ; Milky Way Galaxy ; " mystery meal s " ; Nausicaa ; Nausicaan s ; Nausicaan pirate ship ; ; ; ; NX - 03 ; NX - 04 ; nutri - pak ; pet skunk ; pirate s ; plasma cannon ; polarized hull plating ; Protocol DSN - 03A ; quartermaster ; relay ; sector ; sector attacked by Nausicaans ; Starfleet Command ; Starfleet Com Net ; steak ; subspace amplifier ; subspace band ; Teneebian skunk ; Theta 309 ; Transponder 4 ; transporter ; valve seal s ; Vega colony ; warp three engine ; warp five engine ; Unreferenced materials . charge ; Earth standard ; escort s ; government ; patrol s ; policeman ; postcard s ; ramp rats ; Ship Toss ; stores ; technical brief s ; ; Vulcan High Command ; Vulcan ship