Delta Team are repairing a satellite when the Cerritos takes off to respond to a distress signal, leaving them behind. Six hours later, the ship returns for them.

Mariner is irritated that lower decks crew are treated as expendable. Freeman doesn't want to engage because a drill instructor is coming to assess the crew.

The instructor/consultant is Pandronian, able to separate its body into its component parts. She explains how the drills will work, including the fact the lower decks will be tested on bridge crew scenarios and vice versa.

Mariner gets a Mirror Universe scenario. And fails.

Tendi gets a paralyzed Klingon ethical dilemma. And fails.

Mariner gets another crack and draws the Old West Planet adventure. And fails when she is trampled by her own horse.

Rutherford tries to fix a warp core breach but can't get the door open. He fails.

Boimler faces a Borg encounter. He breezes through it but only scores 79%. He insists on redoing the simulation. And again. And again.

Mariner is in the Naked Time scenario. She airlocks herself, begging the program to fail her.

Rutherford, Mariner, and Tendi enjoy the bridge crew quarters and food while they commiserate, but Boimler is still trying for a perfect score.

The bridge crew are enjoying the carefree life of lower decks crew until a simulation alarm wakes them and throws them into a major ship event where they are only allowed to stack crates. And they fail.

In a combined crew simulation, they need to save Spock. Freeman and Mariner start arguing and they aren't even able to get out of Space Dock. Fail.

Freeman and Mariner talk it over in the lounge and come to the conclusion that the lesson the drills were teaching them was to foster better understanding between the ranks.

When they go to thank the consultant, she laughs at them. She set them up to fail so her job could be secured. Once the drills are finished and the scores submitted, the Cerritos crew will be disbanded.

Mariner notices that Boimler's drill is still running. If he doesn't finish, the scores can't be submitted. They tell him to stay in the drill to buy them more time.

Freeman orders the ship to the nearest dangerous situation to show the consultant how things work in a real-life situation.

Boimler is cornered by the Borg Queen and assimilated.

Freeman continues to take the ship further and further into an unknown situation that threatens to tear the ship apart. The consultant is terrified.

She finally agrees to give them a passing mark. They break Boimler out but the assimilation has nearly broken him.

In the lounge, Freeman reveals that the consultant has left Starfleet and presents the lower decks with a new replicator.