Ensign Andreas Nikolas, heartsick over the loss of his Mirror Universe lover, has resigned his post on Jean-Luc Picard's starship, the Stargazer, to seek a home on the freighter Iktoj'ni. All he wants of his new life is a chance to forget his troubles. And that's what he gets - until the Iktoj'ni is taken over by a monstrous alien with unbelievable powers and a disdain for all forms of life. Without saying why, the alien sends the freighter hurtling toward a part of space inhabited by the Uba