A Romulan interrogator, Rokan, is assigned to question Harriman about the Starfleet reaction to Romulan incursions into the outer rim and their troop deployment. The dialogue turns into a battle of wills with both of them attempting to expose the other's insecurities: Harriman's feeling that he owes his position to his father and will not measure up to earlier Enterprise captains, Rokan's fears of being replaced with younger men who have more brutal methods.