Mariner, stranded with a rival captain, confronts her insecurities as a mysterious ship attacks.
The mysterious vessel begins targeting former Starfleet officers, and the Cerritos is ordered to protect former cadet Nick Locarno. Mariner, Tendi, T'Lyn and Boimler are sent on a simple repair job near Sherbal V, but the Che'Ta destroys their shuttle, and on the planet they find the senior officers of the missing ships, stranded by their own mutinous junior crews.
Mariner clashes with the Klingon captain Ma'ah until a storm forces them to shelter together, and she admits that losing her friend Sito Jaxa on a covert mission has driven her reckless behavior. Ma'ah restores her faith in herself, and the stranded officers seize the Che'Ta. Freeman finds the vessel's schematics in Locarno's home, and Mariner wakes aboard the ship to find Locarno waiting.