The story covers how Hoshi Sato (mirror) becomes the Empress of the Terran Empire. In January of 2155, Sato has seized the USS Defiant (NCC-1764) and poisoned Jonathan Archer (mirror) with a drug known as tricoulamine. However, her power is not yet secure. In order to consolidate her power, she decides to have the agony booth built that Malcolm Reed (mirror) and Phlox (mirror) have been designing. Reed's PADD is password-protected, so she and Travis Mayweather (mirror) pay a visit to sickbay, where Reed is a patient.