Stardate 1997.9: The Enterprise is tasked with helping Dr. Aspen, who works for a humanitarian organization, to find three colony ships that are stranded near the edge of Federation space. Aspen warns Pike of a pirate ship called Serene Squall that is known for raiding their aid missions. Following a distress call, the Enterprise enters an asteroid field and gets trapped in a net consisting of lasers and mirrors that may destroy the ship. As the net is growing smaller, Spock has only one chance to pick the asteroid that contains the source of the beams and target it. He struggles with the decision but the guess turns out to be correct. Dr. Aspen approaches Spock, telling him he should not think so much in categories of being human or Vulcan. The ship then receives another distress call. A vessel with 200 lifesigns in the cargo hold shows up, plus 30 more in other places. Since there were 200 colonists on the three ships, it looks like they are held prisoners by pirates. As Pike beams over with a landing party, pirates secretly board the Enterprise. As a fight on the bridge ensues, Una Chin-Riley issues a command lockdown. Spock and Aspen escape the grasp of the pirates, as does Nurse Chapel. On the transport ship, actually the Serene Squall, Pike and his team are taken prisoners by the Orion Remy and his crew. The rest of the Enterprise crew is beamed over to that ship as well. Remy doesn't seem to be popular, not only because of his bad cooking, and Pike and Una see an opportunity to instigate a mutiny. On the Enterprise, Spock and Aspen have reached engineering, as has Chapel. Spock successfully re-initiates the ship's command functions, only to notice that someone else takes over control of the ship. It is Aspen, whose real name is Angel and who is in command of the pirates. They assumed the wrong identity and made up the colonists in distress to lure the Enterprise into a trap. They do not want the ship, however. Rather than that, they demand the release of a certain Xaverius from a Vulcan rehabilitation colony. Knowing that T'Pring, Spock's fiancée, is in charge of the program, Angel arranges an exchange. When T'Pring arrives with a ship, Spock pretends that he has an affair with Chapel, upon which the two resolve their bond. Angel's deal is going to fail. Moreover, as the mutiny is ongoing, Pike has taken command of the pirate ship and successfully locks out Angel from the command functions. Whereas all other pirates surrender, Angel escapes with a shuttle. Spock and T'Pring decide to perform a rebonding ceremony. Spock, however, has a suspicion that he shares with Chapel. He thinks that the Vulcan criminal named Xaverius is actually Sybok, his half-brother.

• E06 Previous
• E08 Next