History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E16StarshipMine

On Arkaria, the crew watch with fascination as Hutch and Data appear to be trapped in some sort of loop: they've being talking for a very long time about ''nothing at all,'' and show no signs of stopping any time soon. And Geordi notices some very strange heat signatures coming from under the buffet table. Orton comes up to him and immediately tries to pull him away, which in turn draws Riker over to them to ask if anything's wrong. And then all hell breaks loose: the heat Geordi was detecting was from some hidden disruptor rifles, which Orton and a colleague immediately pull and fire. Hutchinson is killed, La Forge is badly wounded, and everyone else is held hostage.

Meanwhile, Picard is taken to Main Engineering and introduced to Kelsey, the leader of a small gang of thugs who are doing...something to the warp core. Picard identifies himself as Mott, the ship's barber, and he's put under guard until they can figure out what to do with him. On Akaria, Crusher has gotten La Forge stabilized and the rest of the crew are assessing the situation. Troi notes that Orton is extremely nervous; Geordi detecting the hidden weapons clearly screwed up whatever his plan originally was. There might be a way that they can take advantage of this situation...if they're very careful.

* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Picard hears the word "horses" and uses it to escape the reception.

Down on Arkaria, Hutchinson's reception proves to be just as boring as everyone feared, as the senior staff of the ''Enterprise'' vigorously engage in a game of "Hutch Ball," passing the Commander off to each other in a desperate attempt to get away from his incessant chatting. The only real bright spot to be found is Data, who, taking Picard's advice, has been observing Hutchinson for pointers on how to make his Small Talk seem more normal and natural, and starts imitating his mannerisms. Even Picard finds he can't take much more of this, and when Hutchinson mentions Arkaria's scenic horseriding trails, he sees his opportunity to escape. After all, [[BlatantLies he loves horseback riding]]. All he needs to do is slip back to the ''Enterprise'' for his saddle. [[TemptingFate He should have plenty of time before the automated system shutdown]].

* CanonDiscontinuity: Trilithium makes another appearance in Film/StarTrekGenerations. Only there, the crew act like they've never actually dealt with it before. Here, it's a known byproduct of antimatter reactors, with a set of well-established proper handling procedures.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Hutchinson's reception has several. Data observing Hutch in action and imitating his facial expressions is just one of them. Also, Riker, clearly finding the whole affair intolerable, can be seen ''pounding'' back cocktails at every chance.

* {{Discontinuity}}: Trilithium makes another appearance in Film/StarTrekGenerations. Only there, the crew act like they've never actually dealt with it before. Here, it's a known byproduct of antimatter reactors, with a set of well-established proper handling procedures.

On Arkaria, the crew watch with fascination as Hutch and Data appear to be trapped in some sort of loop: they've being talking for a very long time about ''nothing at all,'' and appear to show no signs of stopping any time soon. And Geordi notices some very strange heat signatures coming from under the buffet table. Orton comes up to him and immediately tries to pull him away, which in turn draws Riker over to them to ask if anything's wrong. And then all hell breaks loose: the heat Geordi was detecting was from some hidden disruptor rifles, which Orton and a colleague immediately pull and fire. Hutchinson is killed, La Forge is badly wounded, and everyone else is held hostage.

* EqualOpportunityEvil: Kelsey's crew consists of three Humans, three Arkarians, and two random RubberForeheadAliens, all united by their love of money.

* SpaceIsAnOcean: Another parallel is brought up in this episode. The process of cleaning a starship's hull of exotic particles is pretty much the equivalent of dry-docking a ship to scrape the barnacles off.

So everyone is busy getting ready to go, and ''everyone'' needs something from Captain Picard. Doctor Crusher needs containment space aboard the station to preserve some of her organic samples. La Forge needs some additional shielding around the computer core to protect the ship's memory. Data torments Picard with his latest attempt to emulate Human behavior by making Small Talk. And ''no one'' wants to go to Commander Hutchinson's reception at the Arkaria Base, since the man's reputation for boring-ness precedes him. Picard manages to solve ''almost'' everyone's problems; only Worf gets to bow out of the reception...because he asked first. All that done, Picard - as the Captain, he's the last to leave the ship - permits himself one loving gaze around the empty bridge, before the maintenance crew setting up the computer shielding barge in and get to work.

* [[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard On The Enterprise]]: Pretty much. Right down to Devore's line, "You won't kill me; you're Starfleet."

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Death by baryon sweep is apparently not a pleasant way to go, judging from Satler's tortured scream, and Picard's almost remorseful expression when he hears it.

Down on Arkaria, Hutchinson's reception proves to be just as boring as everyone feared, as the senior staff of the ''Enterprise'' vigorously engage in a game of "Hutch Ball," passing the Commander off to each other in a desperate attempt to get away from his incessant chatting. The only real bright spot to be found is Data, who, taking Picard's advice, has been observing Hutchinson for pointers on how to make his Small Talk seem more normal and natural, and starts imitating his mannerisms. Even Picard finds he can't take much more of this, and when Hutchinson mentions Arkaria's scenic horseriding trails, he sees his opportunity to escape. After all, [[BlatantLies he loves horseback riding]]. All he needs to do is slip back to the ''Enterprise'' for his saddle. He should have plenty of time before the automated system shutdown.

On Arkaria, the crew's plan goes off without a hitch. Data disarms the unconscious Orton and takes over the console. On the ''Enterprise'', Picard is brought before Kelsey, and he tries one last time to negotiate with her. Revealing himself to be Jean-Luc Picard, he offers himself as a hostage in exchange for the explosive. Kelsey's not interested: a hostage is worth nothing to her. She's not a terrorist; she's a mercenary. And plenty of people would pay good money for weaponized trilithium. The three of them walk into Ten Forward...and right into Picard's last booby trap. Kiros is taken out immediately, and Picard and Kelsey end up grappling over the trilithium container...and the baryon sweep comes ever closer. Kelsey manages to fight her way free with the container, and manages to beam aboard the nearby ship that Orton had been waiting on. Picard is able to contact Arkaria Base Command (which is Data at this point), and get the baryon sweep shut off before it kills him. Then he realizes that, in the struggle, he managed to get hold of the safety valve for the trilithium container.

Once back aboard the ''Enterprise'', having fetched his saddle (he really does have one; who knew?) and changed into something more riding-appropriate, Picard prepares to beam back down...when he notices something. There's an open panel in the corridor, and some of the wires have been cut. Picard has little chance to puzzle over this, as a maintenance crew member comes around the corner and assures him that it's nothing to worry about. Suspicious, Picard tries to walk away...but the crewman attacks him instead. Picard manages to disable the man (with a Vulcan Neck Pinch!), and makes a break for it. He narrowly avoids an encounter with some other "maintenance crew members" having a suspicious conversation, and gets to the Transporter just in time...for the system shutdown to kick in.

On Arkaria, the crew watch with fascination as Hutch and Data appear to be trapped in some sort of loop: they've being talking for a very long time about ''nothing at all,'' and appear to show no signs of stopping any time soon. And Geordi notices some very strange energy readings under the buffet table. Orton comes up to him and immediately tries to pull him away, which in turn draws Riker over to them to ask if anything's wrong. And then all hell breaks loose: the energy readings Geordi was detecting were some hidden disruptor rifles, which Orton and a colleague immediately pull and fire. Hutchinson is killed, La Forge is badly wounded, and everyone else is held hostage.

* EqualOpportunityEvil: Kelsey's crew consists of three Humans, two Arkarians, and two random RubberForeheadAliens, all united by their love of money.

* AdvancingWallOfDoom: The baryon sweep takes the form of a wall of green light that slowly but surely travels across the ''Enterprise'', killing anyone it hits.

Thanks to the communicator he took from Devore, Picard learns of Kelsey's plans. Since the field diverter is now useless, and the sweep is coming, they have to move. She orders Neil, her tech guy, to improvise a stabilizer for the trilithium container so it can be safely transported, and then they'll head to Ten Forward, the last place the sweep will touch. Picard breaks into the conversation, warning Kelsey that the trilithium is much too unstable to move with some jury-rigged device, and advises her to cut her losses and just leave. Kelsey's not about to back down...and since Picard accidentally left his combadge behind, she knows he's not just a barber. She sends her thugs Kiros and Pommet to find Picard, and lights a fire under Neil to get that stabilizer done.

Meanwhile on the ''Enterprise'', the Game of Cat and Mouse continues. Neil and Kelsey make their way to Ten Forward, with Picard doing everything he can to slow them down, including cutting the rungs out of a few crucial Jeffrey's Tubes forcing them to take a roundabout route. And Pommet and Kiros continue to hunt Picard. Picard manages to take out Pommet with a knock-out dart, but Kiros gets the drop on him and takes him into custody. Once Kiros informs Kelsey of the situation, she orders her to bring Picard to Ten Forward with them...and then, once Neil lets her know what she needs to do to drain the trilithium from the container, she kills him. Poor dope.

On Arkaria, the crew's plan goes off without a hitch. Data disarms the unconscious Orton and takes over the console. On the ''Enterprise'', Picard is brought before Kelsey, and he tries one last time to negotiate with her. Revealing himself to be the Captain of the ''Enterprise'', he offers himself as a hostage in exchange for the explosive. Kelsey's not interested: a hostage is worth nothing to her. She's not a terrorist; she's a mercenary. And plenty of people would pay good money for weaponized trilithium. The three of them walk into Ten Forward...and right into Picard's last booby trap. Kiros is taken out immediately, and Picard and Kelsey end up grappling over the trilithium container...and the baryon sweep comes ever closer. Kelsey manages to fight her way free with the container, and manages to beam aboard the nearby ship that Orton had been waiting on. Picard is able to contact Arkaria Base Command (which is Data at this point), and get the baryon sweep shut off before it kills him. Then he realizes that, in the struggle, he managed to get hold of the safety valve for the trilithium container.

On Arkaria, the crew watch with fascination as Hutch and Data appear to be trapped in some of loop: they've being talking for a very long time about ''nothing at all,'' and appear to show no signs of stopping any time soon. And Geordi notices some very strange energy readings under the buffet table. Orton comes up to him and immediately tries to pull him away, which in turn draws Riker over to them to ask if anything's wrong. And then all hell breaks loose: the energy readings Geordi was detecting were some hidden disruptor rifles, which Orton and a colleague immediately pull and fire. Hutchinson is killed, La Forge is badly wounded, and everyone else is held hostage.

On the ''Enterprise'', Picard drags his attacker (whose name is later established to be Devore)to Sickbay, wakes him up, and demands some answers. He doesn't get them, so Picard just tranquilizes him instead...and then he hears voices. Devore is wearing a communicator. A woman named Kelsey is asking him to report in, and when he doesn't respond, she sends someone named Kiros to go check on him. Picard takes the communicator with him and attempts to figure out what's going on. He doesn't get far, unfortunately, before he runs into Kiros: an Arkarian woman with a laser pistol, who takes him into custody.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Devore, the thug that Picard takes out with a Vulcan Neck Pinch, is played by Tim Russ, who would go on to play Tuvok (a Vulcan!) in Series/StarTrekVoyager.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Death by baryon sweep is apparently not a pleasant way to go, judging from Satler's tortured scream, and Picard's almost regretful expression when he hears it.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: While pretending to be Mott, Picard plays it anxious and dumb.

* AdvancingWallOfDoom: The baryon sweep takes the form of a wall of green light that slowly but surely travels across the ''Enterpise'', killing anyone it hits.

Back on Arkaria, the crew has devised a plan. They can modify Geordi's VISOR to emit a high-frequency audio pulse, which will knock out everyone in the room except Data. And then they notice that Orton's consulting a nearby communications console: a ship is approaching. Possibly his getaway vehicle. Riker gives Data his orders: once they activate the pulse, take control of the situation and stop that ship.