Boimler, T’Lyn, and Mariner are assisting research scientists on Persiov-9 who need energy barriers to prevent the creatures they are studying, the Venomous Tremble Lizards, from entering their compound.

As the head scientist is extolling the wonders of the Tremble Lizards, one of the creatures rips out a cable, taking down a part of the energy barrier and sending the head scientist into panic.

As T’Lyn and Boimler put on their anti-venom suits, Mariner rushes out to deal with the Tremble Lizards with no protective gear on.

She gets the barrier up and working again, fighting off the Tremble Lizards the entire time. When she returns to the outpost, she unknowingly carries one in with her and it attacks the head scientist.

Boimler, T’Lyn, Rutherford, and Tendi are called to the conference room by Freeman. She wants to know why Mariner’s trying to get herself killed. No one has a good explanation.

Ransom briefs them on some intel on the mysterious vessel abductions. Ex-Starfleet officers are now being targeted. The Cerritos has been assigned the retrieval of Nick Locarno, the expelled Cadet from TNG 519, who is now working as a pilot for hire.

Freeman wants the LT:JGs to distract Mariner from the rescue mission. Tendi suggests they take her to repair a buoy in the Sherbal system and play it up as more dangerous than it is to get Mariner interested in going.

At the buoy orbiting Sherbal V, Tendi discovers the communication relays have been tampered with.

At a distance, the Klingon crew of the Che’Ta, Ma’ah’s ship watch the Starfleet repair team.

The Cerritos tracks Locarno to New Axton. The New Axton space traffic comptroller sends them to dock the ship on the second moon while allowing a masked bounty hunter free access to the planet’s space dock.

As the shuttle to the buoy begins to return to the Cerritos, the Che’Ta decloaks and fires on the shuttle.

The shields are inoperable so Tendi activates an emergency transport, beaming them to the planet’s surface before the shuttle is destroyed.

On the planet, they realize it’s not uninhabited as expected. Mariner’s ready for a fight, but T’Lyn advises they find shelter first.

As they explore, they witness a Ferengi and a Romulan trapping a third creature in a leghole trap. Mariner jumps into the fight, giving the third creature an opportunity to escape. She gets knocked out and the others drag her to safety.

Freeman, Rutherford, and Shaxs shuttle down to the surface of New Axton and look for information at Mudd’s, a notorious dive in the Pickpockets’ District.

The bouncer at Mudds isn’t fooled by Freeman’s tough talk, especially since they’re all in Starfleet uniform. He puts them on the list to wait a few hours to enter but lets the same bounty hunter in right away.

On Sherbal V, Mariner theorizes the Klingons are behind this, referencing their alliance with the Pakleds. T’Lyn notes that Mariner was at that battle, as was she. Suddenly, a Cardassian attacks Boimler but T’Lyn uses the Vulcan nerve pinch and renders him unconscious. Tendi finds a shelter option nearby.

With a chance to evaluate the situation, Tendi realizes they could repurpose the planet’s monitoring station into a distress beacon.

Mariner wants to take the direct route and encounter as many combatants as possible. T’Lyn reveals their orders are to keep Mariner safe. Tendi and Boimler try to get Mariner to open up but she lashes out and insists they all get some rest before heading to the monitoring station.

In the middle of the night, Mariner sneaks away. She encounters the masked third being from the Ferengi and Romulan fight. He unmasks and it’s Ma’ah.

They fight but are interrupted by a glass storm. They find shelter together but Ma’ah refuses to fight in the shelter, claiming it is too confined for proper combat.

Waiting for the storm to pass, they talk with Ma’ah observing that Mariner wages war with herself. Mariner confesses that she has never been the same since her friend, Sito Jaxa, died while on a spy mission. She claims to never want to be promoted because Sito died an ensign. She throws her lieutenant pip at Ma’ah.

Ma’ah points out she does not honor Sito’s memory by wasting her life and career. Mariner realizes that this is true and hugs Ma’ah when he proposes they resume their fight because the storm has passed. She decides they should be allies instead.

When they finally gain entrance to Mudds, Freeman, Rutherford, and Shaxs are addressed by an information broker who resembles Balok’s Puppet from TOS 102.

Freeman assumes it is a puppet and grabs it, trying to force it to give up its puppeteer. Rutherford scans the broker and confirms it is an organic being and she’s harming it. Shocked, Freeman apologizes but the broker is angry and sells the information on Locarno to the bounty hunter. The bouncer kicks the Starfleet crew out.

Mariner and Ma’ah discover the monitoring station is being guarded by the Orions who don’t want the Ferengi to take the fruit. The Romulans arrive, threatening to harm the Binars which doesn’t bother the Orions at all. The Cardassians arrive next and a melee ensues.

Ma’ah tries to plan an attack, but Mariner decides to talk everyone into working together instead.

The others reveal that all their ships were taken when the lower decks officers mutinied and shut down the systems so the mysterious vessel could capture them.

The Orion captain, Cosmia, decides to attack Mariner but Tendi arrives and her position as Mistress of the Winter Constellation intimidates Cosmia into complying.

Mariner rallies everyone to a singular cause with a rousing speech. But just as they’re getting down to turning the station into a distress beacon, Mariner is beamed away.

This makes the other species suspicious but Ma’ah silences them and decides they’ll set up the distress beacon so he can enact a plan.

On New Axton, Rutherford’s consoling Freeman that the mission failed. She corrects him, revealing that the masked bounty hunter they kept running into is in fact Billups in disguise. They go to find Locarno.

In orbit above Sherbal V, the mysterious vessel departs just as the Che’Ta detects the distress signal from the planet. They locate the source and have to fly low, under some rock formations, to destroy the monitoring station.

Freeman, Rutherford, Billups, and Shaxs find Locarno hideout.

Ma’ah leads a group of the planet’s prisoners onto the rock formation and they leap onto the ship, taking it over. However, Mariner is not on the ship.

Freeman’s away team discovers evidence that Locarno’s the mastermind behind the mysterious vessel.

Mariner wakes up in a sparsely decorated ship’s quarters. She opens the door and throws a punch at the person she finds outside. He ducks the punch and tells her to relax. Mariner recognizes Nick Locarno and asks what he’s doing there. He declares that they’re going to cause some trouble together.

TO BE CONTINUED…