When Kirk discovers that the cube will follow the ship or block its path, he orders the cube destroyed. At this point, an enormous vessel appears, and alien captain Balok declares that he will destroy the Enterprise in minutes. Kirk bluffs his way out by claiming that all Federation vessels have 'corbomite' aboard, which he will detonate if Balok threatens the crew. Balok attempts to escape in an escape craft, but the Enterprise catches up and contacts the real Balok - a representative of an alien race whose members, in adulthood, look like human children. Lt. Bailey, whose emotional outbursts had been disrupting the already fatalistic attitude on the Enterprise, agrees to stay with Balok as an 'exchange student' so he may learn more about the diversity of life in the galaxy.
