The Solstice and her flotilla of Starfleet escorts arrive at their home system. Upon being hailed by Admiral T'konra, Jen suddenly screams an order to vent cargo bay five on the starbase. The Admiral immediately does, beaming all staff inside back to safety aboard the station. Moments later a powerful explosion detonates among the vented cargo.

The Solstice reels from the vented explosion as the staff scramble to stabilize and figure out what just happened. Shan'taar and Jessa figure out the explosive agent used and the amount. The Solstice stabilizes and Phillip guides her into spacedock.

The senior officers along with personnel from their escort ships are summoned for a briefing with the Admiral and Jen Kras attempts to explain her involvement in what happened. afterward the staff is split between investigating the bomb or ship repair. Ssleestak and K'tral discover it will take months of repair and upgrades before the Solstice is fully spaceworthy again. While presenting their repair plan to the Captain, all senior officers are abruptly summoned back to the Admiral's conference room, along with the four religious heads of New P'jem; they are then told of the attacks on Earth and Starbase 375. Phillip is informed privately that his parents are all right, as they had called in.

K'Tral inquires about Romulans on the Solstice. Mel assists Zug and the Wabai gain their respective diplomatic statuses. Fal visits Armina to process his experiences on the last away mission. Jen visits Peel and a very drunk Phillip. Mel recieves new orders from the Admiral and gains a temporary First Officer; they are to transfer to the USS Varich for an exploratory mission. The new orders are forwarded to the crew.

Ssleestak has some feelings about leaving Sola behind, but is reassured. He brings cinnamon buns to alpha shift staff meeting, which are well received. Senior staff go over the impending transfer. Phillip returns to quarters and Sola offers him a few minutes of real-time communication with his parents on Starbase 375. They are all right, but Harrison Dade passes on some doubts about the official story of what happened. Peel enters the cabin and is introduced to the Dades. Ssleestak takes a meeting with Cidhela about the Solstice while EVA on her hull. Jessa counsels Edgly regarding his work on the Ra'vin'ka transporter buffer; Ssleestak later offers insight on Dai'loq tech that may help. Galan'naar offers the service of his navigator for the mission.

Phillip spends some time mollifying Peel after her unexpected "meeting" his parents. After consulting with the Admiral, Mel accepts Galan'naar's offer of his navigator (who is also his daughter) Merek'miir. Phillip later reports to Elias Vaughn to pass along what his father told him about the attack on Starbase 375 and finds out that Armina is waiting for him outside.

Jessa heads to Kelroc's for lunch and arrives back on the Solstice bearing treats. She stops at sick bay and asks Swims for a life size holo for Kel. Swims is confused, but agrees to get one. Jessa next stops in Engineering and thanks Ssleestak for the cinnabuns. Phillip stalls, but finally has to leave SI, leaving him no choice but to walk to the Varich with Armina. After briefly asking about the bloody knife, Armina tells Phillip he may continue his duties if he agrees to see her for 30 minutes per day. Phillip protests to no avail.

Shan'taar leads the officers in a tour of the Varich, during which they meet Lt. Park, who is still working on reconfiguring sickbay for Swims. Afterward the officers scatter to pack, examine their temporary ship further and other necessities before departure. Jessa beams to new P'Jem to look in on the Janneks and the Ra'vin'ka.

The staff of the Solstice prepare for departure. After staff meeting and the christening ceremony of the USS Varich, the crew transfers ships and departs. While at warp, security discovers they have again accidentally(?) kidnapped an engineer. Phillip begins processing his experiences during the temporal disjunction with Armina. Fal invites Science for a drink, which results in testing the carpet for kinetic properties and bemusing other members of the crew.

The Varich approaches the Rupture Zone after a week at warp with no issue. Lieutenant Merek'miir briefs the senior staff on what is known about the zone, including that the area was seeded with probes thousands of years ago. Of interest is the primary probe, whose distorted signal contains two discernable voices. She also talks about the three star systems contained within the zone.

Mel chats with Armina about her apparent problem with temporary XO Hall. The Varich drops out of warp at the edge of the Rupture Zone and captures the broadcast by the lead probe. After processing the first message the crew hears Peel Atuun spewing invective, and the response from an unknown Bolian superior commanding her to follow orders. The second message is dated eight years in the future and is from Captain Shay'taal of the USS Varich, stating they are marooned inside the zone and warning off rescue attempts. Engineering reports energy readings similar to those observed from Kordikar.