After overpowering the fanatic monks of the Brotherhood of Mikaere hell-bent on hijacking the Discovery to enter an unstable wormhole, the intrepid crew wrest control of the ship and maroon the group of religious zealots on the desert planet Aurix II.

However, in their effort to deny anyone else access to the wormhole, they had no choice but to enter it and close it from within, thus saving the Avalon sector from total annihilation. The ship is subsequently sucked into the vortex, sustaining heavy damage in the process. Once through the wormhole, the crew of the Discovery finds itself in an uncharted, unknown region of space where they discover an M-class planet with a yet-undiscovered starship in orbit. Crippled and lost, the crew head towards the planet for repairs and replenishment of supplies.

Little do they realize that their harrowing journey through the wormhole was but only the precursor of deadlier things to come..