The crew are still processing the news of what happened to the Protostar's original crew.

In the meanwhile, they are playing with the transporter. They use Murf as a live test subject.

Janeway alerts them to a distress signal. Dal recognizes the caller as DaiMon Nandi, the captain who raised him.

In Dal's old room, they find a cloaking device that requires chimerium to work. Rok-Tahk reveals they have lots despite Dal trying to keep her quiet in front of Nandi.

Dal negotiates with Nandi. She offers the cloaking device in exchange for a job. He presents the plan to the crew. Zero notes his hesitation.

Hologram Janeway speaks to the principles of First Contact.

When they arrive, the inhabitants use the desert sand to trap them. Gwyn figures out the inhabitants are communicating with harmonics. Once their tricorders are calibrated, they are invited into a structure.

Back on the ship, Janeway continues to examine the footage of the Protostar being boarded. She discovers that Drednok led the boarding party.

After being sucked through the floor, the crew find themselves in a cavern lit by crystals. Gwyn realizes that the crystals are necessary for the inhabitants' terraforming.

Nandi attempts to initiate a trade for a crystal. Instead, the inhabitants offer a song. Nandi starts taking the crystals, causing the inhabitants pain. Dal tries to stop her, revealing that he'd made a deal with her and lied to his crew.

When the cavern starts to collapse, Nandi manages to grab one crystal and escape. The crew replace the rest of them and then pursue her for the last one. Dal catches up to her and fights her for it. She reveals that she sold him to The Diviner.

Once she secures the crystal, her cloaked ship appears. Dal realizes she stole the chimerium on the Protostar. Nandi escapes on her ship with the crystal and Dal is beamed up to the Protostar. Pog accuses him of losing his combadge, but, in fact, he placed the badge on the crystal during the struggle so that he could beam it back to the inhabitants' cavern.

Janeway reprimands them all for breaking the Prime Directive. Dal regrets leading the crew astray.

Nandi's bot informs her that there's a reward for information on the Protostar. She prepares to send a message to The Diviner.