History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E8ThePrice

Back in the Alpha Quadrant, Riker is trying his best to hold the Federation bid together, when Goss suddenly goes apeshit and opens fire on the wormhole; he can't directly destroy it, but could easily hit Data and La Forge's shuttle as it returns. Riker leaves to deal with the situation, leaving Ral and Bhavani alone together. Picard and Riker fruitlessly try to talk Goss down, to no avail. At that point, Ral walks onto the bridge and announces that the Chrysalians have just been named the winners of the bidding process. He then offers Goss and the Ferengi Alliance free use of the wormhole, which Goss happily accepts. However, Troi reads the thoughts of both Ral and Goss and realizes that the entire thing has been a set-up. Ral and Goss were in cahoots from the start, in order to persuade Bhavani that the Federation would not be able to protect the wormhole.

* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: Not so much in terms of the overall storyline -- albeit the two stranded Ferengi later appear on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', and the Barzans would pop up again on ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' -- but the episode does establish several franchise conventions, most notably the Alpha-Beta-Gamma-Delta Quadrant system and the concept of a stable wormhole (and how it would be a pivotal strategic location).

Three parties are interested in the wormhole: the Federation, the Caldonians, and the Chrysalians, the latter of whom are represented by the suave Devinoni Ral, a mercenary human negotiator. Troi seems quite taken with Ral, and the two agree to spend some "informal" time together later. Just as formal negotiations begin than the Ferengi crash the conference. Their leader, [=DaiMon=] Goss, wastes no time taking the Federation negotiator out of commission, forcing Riker to take over.

The following day, Data and La Forge take a shuttlecraft to travel through and analyze the wormhole. Not trusting to Federation to be forthcoming with their findings, the Ferengi insist on sending their own shuttle containing Goss's minions, Arridor and Kol. The negotiations continue. Riker holds his own as a negotiator and presents a persuasive offer to Bhavani bolstered by the Federation's massive resources. However, Ral argues that the Federation's size and importance make it a dangerous ally, as the Barzanians risk getting drawn in their various conflicts with other superpowers. Later, Ral manages to convince the Caldonian representative to withdraw their bid and strike a deal with the Chrysalians.

Ral is on a hot streak and continues seeing Troi. After they consummate their relationship, he admits that he is one-quarter Betazoid and empathic, like her. She accuses him of using his abilities in an underhanded manner to gain an advantage over his adversaries. He points out that she must uses her abilities to get her ship out of jams all the time, leaving her without a retort. Ral asks Troi to keep his abilities a secret, but the pair separate without coming to terms.

The mood of the two cohorts is further deflated when the ''Enterprise'' shuttlepod returns through the wormhole, and La Forge informs everyone that the wormhole doesn't work as advertised. The Chrysalians, Ferengi and (presumably) the Caldonians must now all reconcile that they've just partnered up on a worthless deal. All told, the Federation definitely seems to have gotten the better of the whole mess. Who knows, maybe one day they'll [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine find another wormhole]] to the Gamma Quadrant and won't even need to pay for it?

Before leaving the ''Enterprise'' Ral to answer for his actions, Ral speaks to Troi one last time, admitting that he does have genuine feelings for her, and asks her to run away with him. Unfortunately however, Troi consigns him to the FriendZone and says that she wouldn't want to be a full-time counsellor for just one patient.

* ADayInTheLimelight: This is the series' first real "Troi episode." The only prior episodes where she had a central role were "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E10Haven Haven]]" and "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E1TheChild The Child]]," but the former was really more a vehicle for her mother, while the latter was shared pretty evenly between Troi, Wesley and Pulaski.

** Picard claims that the Ferengi's missile will have no effect on a wormhole. However, this would be contradicted in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', in which numerous attempts are made (including one by the crew) to collapse the Bajoran wormhole using explosive weaponry, with every indication being that this would work.

* GracefulLoser: Ral takes his failure here in stride, saying it's all part of the risks of his job.

* InformedAttribute: Riker is said to be a natural negotiator. The only thing we see him do in the negotiations is present the Federation's offer, which pretty much sells itself. While he does immediately go to make a deal with the Caldonians, it's revealed Ral already did so.

* LoveAtFirstSight: Discussed. Beverly recalls falling hard for a guy she barely knew (they broke up after a week), while it took quite some time for her to realize her feelings for Jack (the one she actually married).

* ManipulativeBastard: Ral has absolutely no qualms about using his empathic abilities to play on others' emotions, both to manipulate competitors into dropping out and ultimately to lure the seller into accepting his bid. It becomes clear just how low he's prepared to sink when he tries to use his relationship with Troi as a tool by rubbing it in Riker's face -- though this promptly backfires when Riker tells him that, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy if Ral can make Deanna happy, it will make him happy also]]. Ral then proceeds to throw any remaining hint of ethics out the window when he has the Ferengi stage a military confrontation with the Enterprise, just to play on Bhavani's concerns about the Federation's struggles with its enemies.

* OurWormholesAreDifferent: InUniverse; the Barzan Wormhole is supposed to be the first stable one discovered. Turns out it's only stable on one end, and in an easily missed line, Data claims even THAT is goign to change in the long-term.

* SmugSnake: Ral, big-time. He actually comes across as somewhat genuine whenever he's with Troi, but outside of that it's obvious that he's relishing the fact that the negotiations have been effectively rigged for him to win.

* OurWormholesAreDifferent: InUniverse; the Barzan Wormhole is supposed to be the first stable one discovered. Turns out it's only stable on one end.

* InformedAttribute: Riker is said to be a natural negotiator. The only thing we see him do in the negotiations is present the Federation's offer, which pretty much sells itself.

* InformedAttribute: Riker is said to be a crushing poker player and a natural negotiator. In his previous scenes playing poker, he didn't seem to be any more talented than the other players (save Data). And the only thing we see him do in the negotiations is present the Federation's offer, which pretty much sells itself.

* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: Not so much in terms of the overall storyline -- albeit the two stranded Ferengi later appear on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', and the Barzans would pop up again on ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' -- but the episode does establish several franchise conventions, most notably the Alpha-Beta-Gamma-Delta Quadrant system.

** The Barzans as well. While they never appear prominently in the TNG-era of Trek shows, the Barzan Commander Nhan will become a recurring character on ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery''.

* InformedAttribute: For all Riker's supposed negotiating skills, and Ral's fears that Bhavani is buying into Riker's bid, he never actually comes across as a serious rival in the bidding process; Ral appears to thoroughly kick his ass throughout, even before pulling his BatmanGambit. While this is somewhat justifiable, as Riker was inserted into the negotiation table at the last minute after the Ferengi took out the official Federation envoy, and even he himself says that he's ill-prepared for the negotiations, it ends up making Ral and Goss's plan seem like a case of DickDastardlyStopsToCheat, as Ral should have easily won the negotiations anyway going by what we see on-screen.

* InsultBackfire: Ral asks Troi if she tells everyone she meets that she is an empath to make a point about his secret psychic powers. Troi actually does frequently spell it out to everyone she meets.

* VillainHasAPoint: Ral has a VERY good lecture on how him hiding his empathic abilities not being unfair, as negotiation is all about such things. If he was actually working as an honest negotiator? It would make sense. His cheating is less from his empathic abilities, and more from willingness to manipulate things behind the scenes.

After a hard day's counselling, Troi wants nothing more than to relax in her quarters with one of her favorite, obscenely rich chocolate desserts. Sadly, she doesn't get the chance, and is called away to Ten Forward, where a formal reception is taking place. The ''Enterprise'' has arrived at the planet Barzan II, a resource-poor world which has just figuratively struck gold: in orbit of the planet is a stable wormhole, which leads all the way to the Gamma Quadrant. Premier Bhavani, the leader of the planetary government, tells the assembled parties that the wormhole could be theirs--[[TitleDrop for the right price]], of course.

Three parties are interested in the wormhole: the Federation, the Caldonians, and the Chrysalians, the latter of whom are represented by the suave Devinoni Ral, a notoriously slippery human negotiator. However, Troi is quite taken with him, and the two agree to spend some "informal" time together later. No sooner do the formal negotiations begin than trouble shows up in the shape of the Ferengi, who at this point in the series are still very much [[CardCarryingVillain Card-Carrying Villains]]. Their leader, [=DaiMon=] Goss, gets all upset that the Ferengi weren't invited, and so is allowed to join in the bidding process. They soon demonstrate that their intentions are less than honorable when they discreetly take the Federation negotiator out of commission, forcing Riker to take over.

During their date, Ral makes a confession to Troi; like her, he's part-Betazoid. Only one-quarter instead of the one-half that Troi is, but this is still enough to give him much the same range of empathic abilities that she has, which he has no problem using in the negotiations. Troi is a little surprised by this, especially because she never sensed anything odd about him, but is confident that Riker is a good enough negotiator that it won't matter.

The following day, Data and La Forge take a shuttlecraft to travel through and analyze the wormhole, though after more bitching and complaining from Goss they're forced to allow a Ferengi shuttle containing two of Goss's crew, Arridor and Kol, to accompany them. In the meantime, Ral manages to corner the Caldonian representative, and points out that the Caldonians are a race of mostly scientists, with little military force or administrative experience, and that they probably won't be able to effectively manage all of the claims on their new interstellar real estate, let alone handle any hostile aliens that want to use the wormhole in either direction. Sure enough, the Caldonian representative announces at the next round of negotiations that they're withdrawing their bid, and joining forces with the Chrysalians, leaving the other two representatives annoyed.

At the other side of the wormhole, Data and La Forge make an alarming discovery: they haven't emerged in the Gamma Quadrant, but rather the ''Delta'' Quadrant. La Forge immediately realizes that even the Barzans aren't stupid enough to confuse two entire quarters of the galaxy, and that the wormhole isn't actually stable at all. He tries to persuade Arridor and Kol to come back through the wormhole, but the two Ferengi are having none of it, convinced that the two Starfleet officers are just trying to disrupt their research. Data and La Forge fly back into the wormhole, seconds before it shifts again, leaving the two Ferengi stranded. In that little, non warp-capable shuttle of theirs, too. Sucks to be them, they'll probably starve to death and [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E5FalseProfits certainly never bother anyone in the Delta Quadrant]], right?

Back in the Alpha Quadrant, Riker is trying his best to hold the Federation bid together, when Goss suddenly goes apeshit and opens fire on the wormhole; he can't directly destroy it, but could easily hit Data and La Forge's shuttle as it returns. Riker leaves to deal with the situation, leaving Ral and Bhavani alone together. Picard and Riker fruitlessly try to talk Goss down, but the Ferengi seems utterly convinced that the negotiations have been rigged for the Federation to win. At that point, Ral walks onto the bridge and announces that the Chrysalians have just been named the winners of the bidding process. He then offers Goss and the Ferengi Alliance free use of the wormhole, which Goss happily accepts. However, Troi reads the thoughts of both Ral and Goss and realizes that the entire thing has been a set-up. Ral and Goss were in cahoots from the start, in order to persuade Bhavani that the Federation would not be able to protect the wormhole.

The mood of the two cohorts is further deflated when the ''Enterprise'' shuttlepod returns through the wormhole, and La Forge informs everyone that the wormhole doesn't work as advertised. Goss now has the problem of two of his crewmen being stranded on the other side of the galaxy, while Ral has the much bigger issue of needing to explain to the Chrysalians (and presumably the Caldonians) how he just squandered a ton of their resources on a worthless wormhole. All told, the Federation definitely seems to have gotten the better of the whole mess. Who knows, maybe one day they'll [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine find another wormhole]] to the Gamma Quadrant and won't even need to pay for it?

Before leaving the ''Enterprise'', Ral speaks to Troi one last time, admitting that he does have genuine feelings for her, and asks her to run away with him. Unfortunately however, Troi consigns him to the FriendZone and says that she wouldn't want to be a full-time counsellor for just one patient.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The Ferengi try to make their bid in gold nuggets rather than gold-pressed latinum. This was also a point when the Ferengi were considered outright enemies of the Federation instead of just interested in business, although we do see the first step towards the Ferengi that we eventually come to know, with Goss and his men being interested in business first and foremost, and only resorting to military force as part of a BatmanGambit with Ral.

* OurWormholesAreDifferent: InUniverse--the Barzan Wormhole is supposed to be the first stable one discovered. Too bad it's not.

* MagnificentBastard: Ral, despite also being a SmugSnake. He plays every single party involved like a fiddle with the exception of Troi.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The Ferengi try to make their bid in gold nuggets rather than gold-pressed latinum. This was also a point when the Ferengi were considered outright enemies of the Federation instead of just interested in business.