This episode contains the first mention of stardates in the series. The stardate is communicated to Enterprise by Degra.
The actions of the crew here are reflected back to their own encounter with piracy in Anomaly (2003).
The Illyrian Captain is played by Casey Biggs, who played Damar on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).
The scene between Archer and Phlox at about the 30 minute mark is steeped in symbolism. The scene starts off with Archer & Phlox in a lit space. As Archer explains that he will be "stepping over a line," he is literally, and figuratively, heading into a dark area as the lighting disappears and the two talk in the shadows.
Casey Biggs (Illyrian Captain) is the ex-husband of Roxann Dawson who played B'Elanna Torres in Star Trek: Voyager (1995), and directed several Enterprise episodes, like the one after next, E² (2004).