On the Enterprise, First Officer Riker and the crew struggle to understand the aliens' language and Riker has Commander Data work with ship's counselor Troi in hopes of translating it. Lt. Worf, in the meantime, thinks that the Captain is being tested as a warrior and advocates an aggressive stance, which Riker says he will take as a last option. Riker has Worf take a shuttlecraft to try to retrieve the Captain, which fails when the aliens precisely disable the craft and force it to return to the Enterprise.