When the crew run into Dal's former mentor, Daimon Nandi, Dal reluctantly makes a secret deal with her to help his crew.
Tropes:
- Alien Non-Interference Clause: Janeway brings up the Prime Directive when the issue of First Contact comes up, as the species hasn't achieved space travel.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Murf’s durability apparently means he can be outside the ship while in space without any sort of protection and not suffer any ill effects.
- Bittersweet Ending: The crystal is returned, but Janeway makes it clear to the crew that their violation of the Prime Directive is going to have severe consequences on the aliens. Not to mention that Nandi managed to steal chimerium from the Protostar and is going to sell the kids out to the Diviner.
- Blatant Lies: When the aliens play a beautiful song as their gift to the crew, Jankom complains that it's the worst thing he's ever heard... while weeping Tears of Joy.
- Broken Pedestal: Dal knew that Nandi was a conwoman, but he didn't think she would stoop to such lows as stealing something that caused the aliens obvious distress. When she subsequently admits that she sold him, he's completely shattered.
- Call-Back: Upon seeing Dal's "room", which is just a hammock hanging off the engine with a single window for a view, Gwyn recalls all the stories he told her about his adventures in space, which was brought up in the first episode. He laughs nervously at the reality being less glamorous than he portrayed it.
- Chekhov's Gun: The crew are toying with the transporter in the opening scene, using a commbadge to beam a piece of pie (and then Murf) around the ship. Dal exploits this in the climax by tagging the stolen remalite crystal with his commbadge, allowing him to beam it back from the Damsel.
- Continuity Nod: Dal mentions the Phage when he's taking apart Nandi's ruse, which is the sickness the Vidiians were afflicted with (and subsequently cured of, offscreen) in Star Trek: Voyager.
- Contrived Coincidence: After a 4,000 light-year jump in the previous episode, the Protostar just happens to run into Nandi, the woman who raised Dal. He lampshades this immediately by quipping, "Of all the sectors...!"
- Deal with the Devil: Dal agrees to help Nandi trade with a civilization for a remalite crystal in exchange for a Klingon cloaking device. When the aliens turn out to need all of them, Nandi steals one and reveals she stole the chimerium stores on the Protostar while she was at it, keeping the cloaking device for herself. Dal, thankfully, is able to steal back the crystal before she leaves.
- Decoy Damsel: Nandi tries to lure the Protostar in with a false distress signal, which Dal figures out almost instantly. Her ship is even literally called the Damsel.
- Disappointed in You: Janeway gives the crew a stern dressing-down for violating the Prime Directive and harming an alien species.
- Dishing Out Dirt: The aliens have the ability to control sand, molding it into solid structures and back into dust, through electromagnetic frequencies focused by their remalite crystals.
- Establishing Character Moment: Nandi is first seen faking a distress call with a fake burning ship and fake baby before recognizing Dal and abandoning the ruse.
- Failed a Spot Check: Nandi missed Dal attaching his combadge to the crystal during their scuffle and failed to notice it while carrying it, her fingers inches from the item. This causes it to be beamed away.
- Glass Smack and Slide: After beaming Murf to the bridge, the crew initially can't find him until they look up and see him sliding across the canopy, having been transported ''outside' the ship.
- I Never Said It Was Poison: When fighting Nandi for the crystal, she complains that she thought the mines would toughen Dal up. Having never explained what happened to him after they were separated, she then admits that she's the one who sold him to the Diviner.
- Man Bites Man: When fighting with Dal over the crystal Nandi bites him to get him to let go.
- Mundane Utility: The crew have been busying themselves by teleporting a slice of pie around the ship.
- Recycled Title: Kinda. While Paramount+ lists the episode title as "First Con-tact", which is a new title, the title card in the episode itself says "First Contact", which was a previously used title in TNG. The day after this episode aired, however, Paramount+ uploaded a new version of it, which features the hyphen, thereby averting this trope, and making this a
Post-Release Retitle. - Saying Too Much: Rok blurts out that the Protostar has a large store of chimerium when Nandi mentions needing it for the Klingon cloaking device, before Dal has a chance to stop her. Nandi later steals the chimerium by beaming it off the Protostar while the shields are down.
- Sequel Hook: The episode ends with Nandi preparing to contact the Diviner with information on the kids.
- Teleporter Accident: The crew decide to test the transporter on Murf by beaming him to the bridge. Unfortunately, they're off by a couple meters and beam him outside the bridge window. Fortunately, Murf is invulnerable and comes out of it unharmed.
- Trash of the Titans: The crew quarters and mess hall are shown to be filthy, no one having bothered to clean for what seems to be days at least.
- Wham Shot: Janeway enhances the final frame of the message fragment, revealing it was Drednok who boarded the Protostar.
