a physician, as one of the astronauts was injured. Koenig, suspicious of the alien's generosity, agrees to a rendezvous in space. He orders the excursion Eagle fitted with two booster units—in case there is reason to hurry home. In a subterranean complex on Psychon, Mentor turns to his companion—a lioness lying across a console—and asks her opinion. The animal transforms into an exotically beautiful young woman: his daughter Maya. The girl is a metamorph, trained by her father in the Psychon art of molecular transformation, able to assume the form of any living organism at will. Well disposed toward the Alphans, she finds them more attractive and agreeable than past alien visitors. When she playfully metamorphoses into Koenig, Mentor scolds her for frivolously misusing her abilities. With work to be done, he shoos her out of the Grove. Eagle Four lifts off, crewed by Koenig, Picard, Helena Russell and Alan Carter. As they arrive at Psychon, an alien craft approaches. Sensors reveal the silent ship is under remote control, is radiating magnetic energy—and contains no life-forms. (Unknown to them, it was created out of rock by Mentor's power of matter transmutation.) Acting like an electromagnet, it drags the Eagle downward. When full engine thrust fails to break the alien's grip, Koenig orders the booster rockets fired. To Mentor's chagrin, Eagle Four blasts free. He converts the vessel into an energy sphere to capture Koenig. Eagle Four comes to rest in a volcanic crater, surrounded by derelict alien vessels. Mentor contacts Koenig, ignoring the Commander's protests as he welcomes the humans to Psychon. Behind him, the Alphan astronauts are marched into the Grove. Seeing Koenig's image on the screen, Fraser tries to warn him of something, but is stunned by a guard. Mentor tries to pass off his outburst as delirium, then tells Koenig to stay put until contacted again. As Fraser is taken away, Mentor turns to Torens, who is strapped in a seat behind a glass partition. A futuristic skull-fitting dome descends over the pilot's head. The alien scientist touches a panel and Torens arches in agony, mouth opening in a silent scream. Distrustful of their 'host', the Koenig and party disembark into the spaceship graveyard. They enter a tunnel, following it underground. Picard spies titanium ore among the loose gravel littering the ground; Helena pockets the nuggets to take back to Alpha. Rounding a bend, the four enter