- A group of people are watching a video screen play back the Klingon's encounter with the evil alien cloud.
- Kirk steps in front of the group. He explains that this video is all they know about the entity, and that it will reach Earth in roughly fifty hours. Starfleet suspects there's some sort of ship at its center.
- To make things even more dire, the Enterprise is the only ship close enough to reach it. Kirk hopes that it will be a friendly encounter, but doesn't rule out any options.
- He's interrupted by a message from the peeps at Epsilon Nine. They explain that the cloud is indeed a power field, but it's stronger than anything they've ever seen.
- Suddenly, they start freaking out—the cloud is preparing for an attack. Epsilon Nine is vaporized by the same energy blasts that destroyed the Klingons.
- The crowd is in utter shock, but Kirk stands firm: they leave in forty minutes.