The Varich continues exploring the Rupture Zone encountering several unusual planets on the way. One of the attempt to follow the ship as it's gravitational force supercedes that of the system; some quick thinking by Fal, Ssleestak and K'tral enable them to slingshot the wayward planet back into its original orbit. They encounter the Dominion base they've been assigned to find, but it has been completely stripped bare of usable tech and life forms.

They continue exploring and find an apparently uninhabited planet, as well as another ship flying casual in the system. The other ship clearly has design elements from an older Starfleet vessel, so Mel decides to hail the other ship, initiating first contact with the Urathi. Two members of that crew, Guardian Galeb Shi'zor and his daughter Ileeya beam over to the Varich.

Through conversation and the consumption of cinnamon buns thoughtfully provided by Ssleestak, the Urathi reveal the fate of the long lost Starfleet vessel Marie Curie and how it helped their people to free themselves from Tizit occupations. They also learn that the "unihabited" planet nearby is seemingly occupied by a human settlement modeled after the Roman Empire, the Urathi have developed modifications to their sheilds that allow them to traverse the subspace tears of the Rupture Zone safely and that cinnamon has an intoxicant effect on the Urathi physiology. The cultural exchange is interrupted by subspace rippling and the appearance of several warp capable ships bearing Roman eagles.