When a Ferengi trader arrives on Archanis Station trafficking in a form of dilithium more efficient than any before seen, the interest of the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity is piqued. After compelling the man to reveal his source, the USS Vesta, along with a team from ASTRA, is sent to investigate the source of this material, a planet that lies beyond the Talvath Cluster.

What the team arrives, they discover a planet in the midst of a subspace field with natural depositions of isotopes that make it a sink for exotic material, along with curious tectonics that, when put together, cause the formation of high-grade dilithium that would likely improve the efficiency of warp core over standard. Unfortunately, the catch is that the planet is home to a pre-warp civilization, and further, as they covertly investigate, they discover that the dilithium-forming mechanisms are such that the planet is going to soon collapse inward on itself.