 On a mission of exploration, Kirk destroys a warning buoy at the edge of space controlled by a mysterious alien race. In response, the Enterprise is met by an extremely powerful ship that plans on destroying the Enterprise. Kirk bluffs his way out of this destruction by letting the aliens think that if the Enterprise is destroyed that they will also be destroyed by the fallacious Corbomite device. A subsection of the alien ship, the Fesarius (captained by the fierce looking Balok), then takes the Enterprise in tow. After presumably disabling the Fasarius, Kirk then returns to aid the seemingly hostile aliens. However, the alien s hostile nature (as well as the appearance) is a ruse to test the character of the humans, and Kirk has passed the test.