The USS Euderion rescues the crew of a freighter from pirates. One of the freighter crew needs surgery but refuses based on his religion. Doctor Onaris has a hard choice to make, whether to respect the Hippocratic oath or the patients wishes.

Captain Ellen Delia replaces Captain McElroy after his recent death. She attempts to improve moral with a costume party but it is disrupted by a crystalline life form who is intent on returning to its home.

Ensign Fox is the new helmsman of the USS Euderion and we follow him on his first Day on board. After a night of drinking on Utopia Planitia, he just wants to get some sleep, which turns out to be a difficult task with his quarters formerly used by a Tellarite and on a ship that is currently in drydock for a refit.

The Planet Novaris III is facing climatic collapse after centuries of depletion have made it almost uninhabitable. The young pilot Savar, an eco-fighter flees from the planet to seek help from the Federation. Captain Delia takes the young man on board and tries to mediate between him and the government of his planet. But it turns out that despite the threat of total annihilation, they do not intend to change anything, it would eventually affect the profits of their companies ...

Doctor Onaris and Ensign Fox relax together with a game of 3d chess and get into conversation. In retrospect, Onaris tells how she met Lieutenant Commander DiFalco during his vacation on Risa and how she later became part of the crew of the USS Euderion ...

That Doctor Onaris is an ex-Maquis was not a big problem on board the USS Euderion so far. However, when she receives an immoral offer from Commander Harriman, who himself has sympathy for the Maquis, she has to decide to whom she is to be loyal...

Commander Harriman is informed by the Admiralty that Captain Delia is being transferred to the diplomatic Corp and that the vacant post of captain of the Euderion could go to him if he so chooses. Harriman isn't happy about sitting in the center seat. He consults with his longtime friend, Lieutenant Commander DiFalco, about the pros and cons of the new post.

The USS Euderion finds an artifact of the extinct Archein cilvilization.