He constructed an explosive device with which his captain could kill himself, James T. Kirk and trigger the destruction of both his vessel and the Enterprise. Cophot took command when his captain left, but when he was captured instead, he readily accepted the order for surrender and disarmed the self-destruct. He and the rest of the crew were captured by the Enterprise crew. (TAS episode & novelization: The Pirates of Orion) By their claims to be representatives of their government and their naval ranks, these Orion pirates may in fact be Orion Space Navy officers engaging in privateering.