Balok was a representative of the First Federation as well as well the commander of the Fesarius. The crew of the USS Enterprise had an encounter with him in 2266. Balok condemned the Enterprise and her crew because they had been forced to destroy a marker buoy when in fact, he had actually forced their hand, by threatening them with the device. Then, he advised the Enterprise and her crew that they were the products of a "savage, primitive society" and therefore must be destroyed. An extremely tense confrontation then ensued, during which Captain Kirk searched for a solution. Eventually, he bluffed Balok with corbomite and apparently it worked as Balok decided not to destroy the Enterprise immediately. Instead, it would be towed to a First Federation planet, where the crew would be imprisoned and then the Enterprise would be destroyed. As the Enterprise was being towed to its fate, Captain Kirk managed to damage Balok's ship in the process. At this time, Kirk certainly could attacked or fled but instead he chose to board Balok's ship and offer his assistance. This is when he discovered that the Balok he had seen was actually a puppet! Then Captain Kirk and his landing party saw the real Balok. The purpose of the puppet had simply been to frighten and intimidate the crew of the Enterprise. After Balok shared a drink of tranya with them he gave them a tour of his ship. Captain Kirk then left crew member Dave Bailey behind with Balok in order to obtain an exchange of cultures and ideas.
