Ed Cowley was a trader who once piloted his spacecraft near what the thought was a kind of black hole. Like all vessel masters of his era, he had consulted with the ADF prior to disembarkation, and had been assured by their people that his path was well outside Dalek-controlled space. Unfortunately, the ADF's data had been wrong. Several Dalek ships lay along his route as he neared the anomaly. The Daleks immediately began pummelling his ship with firepower. Cowley's only hope for survival was to enter the anomaly.