History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E16StarshipMine

* BrickJoke: "Captain... you keep a saddle on board?"

** Picard's love of horseback riding makes a return... four seasons later.

** Data mentions the Sheliak, whom we last saw in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E2TheEnsignsOfCommand The Ensigns of Command]]"

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: After Picard tosses Kelsey to the ground, he makes the very questionable decision to simply dive on top of her and roll around on the ground with her.[[note]]Then again, he was likely trying to go for the trilithium canister that Kelsey is holding on to.[[/note]]

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. [=LaForge=] needs some additional shielding around the computer core to protect the ship's memory. Worf needs the command codes to set a timer that will power down the ship once everyone has disembarked. Data confuses Picard with his latest attempt to emulate human behavior by making small talk. And ''nobody'' wants to go to Commander Hutchinson's reception down at the local Starfleet base, since the man's reputation [[TheBore for boringness]] 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.

** Nobody on Kelsey's team notices Picard when they first enter TheBridge; if they had, he couldn't have successfully posed as Mott the barber.

** Kiros and Kelsey fail to notice the lines drawn on the ground in Ten Forward as that is where Picard concealed the explosives. Kiros gets the worst of it for her troubles.

* ImprovisedWeaponUser: Picard uses his saddle to attack Devor. In the end, he notes that it came in useful but hopes to use it for actually riding horses. Because the sweep makes all phasers useless, he must makes use of a variety of other improvised weapons.

* ItWorksBetterWithBullets: Picard threatens Devor with a phaser, but Devor is quick to point out that it won't fire with the baryon sweep active. Picard then swaps to a laser welder he stole, though Devor correctly guesses Picard won't kill him so brutally. Shame he didn't anticipate that Picard wouldn't need to personally kill him.

* MrFanservice: Patrick Stewart kicks ass and crawling around in Jeffries Tubes while wearing jodhpurs and riding boots.

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

* PushyGunTotingVillain: The two Arkarians on the planet's surface take the partygoers hostage (even killing Hutchinson when he questions why they're going overboard like this) and have no intention of negotiating, while Devor, Neil, Kiros, Orton, Pomet, Satler, and Kelsey on the ''Enterprise'', disguised as maintenance workers, put their plan into motion. Picard [[ObfuscatingStupidity acts as the ship's barber]], to try to get close and sabotage their plans. They aren't terrorists, but simply merciless thieves. Kelsey is so abhorrent, that she picks off Neil [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness after they simply tell her how to disarm the container the volatile waste chemicals are stored in.]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: Kelsey's heist was actually pretty well thought-out. Her team would have pulled it off without anyone knowing it even happened, if not for: 1) [=LaForge=]'s VISOR alerting him to hidden weaponry; and 2) Picard being on the ''Enterprise'' when he shouldn't have been.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Alas, poor Neil. This is why Scotty never told anyone how long repairs would ''really'' take.
* YouWouldntShootMe: When the phaser proves to be useless, Picard threatens Devor with a laser welder to get him to talk. Devor isn't cowed, not buying that a Starfleet officer would be willing to kill someone in such a cold-blooded manner. He's half-right; Picard isn't willing to execute a defenseless prisoner, so he just knocks him out with a hypospray and leaves him to die in the sweep. Had Picard's immediate survival or the safety of the ship as a whole been on the line, he probably would have done it, and shows little hesitation in making sure the other thieves meet their ends.

Meanwhile, Picard is taken to Main Engineering and introduced to Kelsey, the leader of a small gang of unsavory types 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 Arkaria, Crusher has gotten [=LaForge=] stabilized and the rest of the crew are assessing the situation. Troi senses that Orton is extremely nervous; Geordi's discovery of the hidden weapons screwed up whatever his plan originally was, and now he's working without a net. There might be a way that they can take advantage of that, if they're ''very'' careful.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: After Picard tosses Kelsey to the ground, he makes the very questionable decision to simply dive on top of her and roll around on the ground with her.

* BadBoss: Kelsey. She doesn't bother to go back for Devor or Pomet despite the chance that they're still alive. And she kills Neil once she doesn't need him any more. More profit for her, apparently.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: This is Picard's episode to be a pretty straightforward action hero.

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

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.

By now, Picard has figured out what Kelsey's gang is up to: they're harvesting trilithium resin from the warp core, trilithium resin being a highly volatile (and easily weaponizable) substance. Using the laser welder he lifted from Devore, Picard causes an engine overheat to make the ship's fire suppressant systems kick in. In the chaos that follows, Picard destroys the portable force-field generator that they were using to keep themselves safe from the baryon sweep, then he makes a break for it. One of Kelsey's men, Satler, follows him, but Picard leads him smack into the approaching radiation, then heads to Worf's quarters to get his hands on some weaponry.

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 by foot, 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 safety measure and advises her to cut her losses. Kelsey's not about to back down, however, and since Picard accidentally left his combadge behind, she knows he's not just a barber. She sends her goons Kiros and Pomet to find Picard and lights a fire under Neil to get that stabilizer done.

* BadBoss: Kelsey. She doesn't bother to go back for Devore or Pomet despite the chance that they're still alive. And she kills Neil once she doesn't need him any more. More profit for her, apparently.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: {{Downplayed}}, as Devore is the first member of Kelsey's team incapacitated (non-fatally) by Picard. Of course, with nobody going back for him, he almost certainly dies in the sweep.

* DescriptionCut: When Riker asks where Picard is, Geordi tells him that Picard decided to go horse riding and is probably already on the trails. Cut to the ''Enterprise'', where Picard is dragging Devore's unconscious body.

** Devore: Knocked out with the [[InstantSedation off-button hypospray]] by Picard and left to the baryon sweep.

* ImprovisedWeaponUser: Picard uses his saddle to attack Devore. In the end, he notes that it came in useful but hopes to use it for actually riding horses. Because the sweep makes all phasers useless, he must makes use of a variety of other improvised weapons.

* ItWorksBetterWithBullets: Picard threatens Devore with a phaser, but Devore is quick to point out that it won't fire with the baryon sweep active. Picard then swaps to a laser welder he stole, though Devore correctly guesses Picard won't kill him so brutally. Shame he didn't anticipate that Picard wouldn't need to personally kill him.

* PushyGunTotingVillain: The two Arkarians on the planet's surface take the partygoers hostage (even killing Hutchinson when he questions why they're going overboard like this) and have no intention of negotiating, while Devore, Neil, Kiros, Orton, Pomet, Satler, and Kelsey on the ''Enterprise'', disguised as maintenance workers, put their plan into motion. Picard [[ObfuscatingStupidity acts as the ship's barber]], to try to get close and sabotage their plans. They aren't terrorists, but simply merciless thieves. Kelsey is so abhorrent, that she picks off Neil [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness after they simply tell her how to disarm the container the volatile waste chemicals are stored in.]]

* YankTheDogsChain: Picard has just knocked out Devore and is about to use the transporter to beam down to the surface with his saddle when... the power is shut down.

* YouWouldntShootMe: When the phaser proves to be useless, Picard threatens Devore with a laser welder to get him to talk. Devore isn't cowed, not buying that a Starfleet officer would be willing to kill someone in such a cold-blooded manner. He's half-right; Picard isn't willing to execute a defenseless prisoner, so he just knocks him out with a hypospray and leaves him to die in the sweep. Had Picard's immediate survival or the safety of the ship as a whole been on the line, he probably would have done it, and shows little hesitation in making sure the other thieves meet their ends.

...[[OhCrap Well, Dammit.]]

* IntercomVillainy: The episode starts with the villains only talking to each other over their hijakced starship's comm systems. Once Picard starts chatting on the same channel, they start to talk to him alone in attempts to demoralize him, scare him into surrendering, and goad him into revealing his knowledge about the ship.
* ItWorksBetterWithBullets: Picard threatens Devore with a phaser, but Devore is quick to point out that it won't fire with the baryon sweep active.

* PushyGunTotingVillain: The two Arkarians on the planet's surface take the partygoers hostage (even killing Hutchinson when he questions why they're going overboard like this) and have no intention of negotiating, while Devore, Neil, Kiros, Orton, Pomet, Satler, and Kelsey on the Enterprise, disguised as maintenance workers, put their plan into motion. Picard [[ObfuscatingStupidity acts as the ship's barber]], to try to get close and sabotage their plans. They aren't terrorists, but simply merciless thieves. Kelsey is so abhorrent, that she picks off Neil [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness after they simply tell her how to disarm the container the volatile waste chemicals are stored in.]]

* YouWouldntShootMe: When the phaser proves to be useless, Picard threatens Devore with a laser welder to get him to talk. Devore isn't cowed, not buying that Picard would be willing to use it on another living being. He's right, so Picard just knocks him out with a hypospray and leaves him to die in the sweep.
** More explicitly, Devore states that Picard won't kill him because Picard is Starfleet. Devore is quite wrong, the Enterprise is apparently being hijacked. Had Picard believed it necessary to prevent the theft of the powerful ship, he would have killed Devore without a moment's hesitation.

** More explicitly, Devore states that Picard won't kill him because Picard is Starfleet. Devore is quite wrong, the Enterprise is apparently being commandeered. Had Picard believed it necessary to prevent the theft of the powerful ship, he would have killed Devore without a moment's hesitation.

** Neil: Killed through unknown means by Kelsey (probably shot) after fashioning a stabilizer for the trilithium resin.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Pomet has green hair.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: After Picard tosses Kelsey to the ground, he makes the very questionable decision to simply dive on top of her and roll around on the ground with her. Then again, he was likely going for the stabilization device on the Trilithium container.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: After Picard tosses Kelsey to the ground, he makes the very questionable decision to simply dive on top of her and roll around on the ground with her.

* PlotArmour: Hutchinson and [=LaForge=] both get shot in pretty much the same area. Geordi is later seen being treated by Crusher, while Hutchison is on the floor under a sheet.

* TheDreaded: A comedic example in Hutchinson, a man so boring everyone tries to find a way to avoid him.

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. [=LaForge=] needs some additional shielding around the computer core to protect the ship's memory. Worf needs the command codes to set a timer that will power down the ship once everyone has disembarked. Data confuses Picard with his latest attempt to emulate human behavior by making small talk. And ''nobody'' wants to go to Commander Hutchinson's reception down at the local Starfleet base, since the man's reputation [[TheBore 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.

Down on Arkaria, Hutchinson's reception proves to be just as dull 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 sarcastic advice literally, 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, [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E15PenPals 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 system shutdown timer hits zero]].

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. Although he's 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.

Meanwhile, back on Arkaria, Data has cornered the Arkarian station administrator Orton and is small-talking him to within an inch of his life. Riker, on the other hand, is holding the Hutch Ball. Seeing Orton's distress, he steers Hutchinson over to Data, and the two of them go off together. Wow, problem solved.

On Arkaria, the crew watch with fascination as Hutch and Data appear to be trapped in some sort of loop: they've been talking for a very long time about ''nothing at all,'' and show no signs of stopping any time soon. And then 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. All hell promptly 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, [=LaForge=] is wounded, and everyone else is taken hostage.

Meanwhile, Picard is taken to Main Engineering and introduced to Kelsey, the leader of a small gang of unsavory types 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 Arkaria, Crusher has gotten [=LaForge=] stabilized and the rest of the crew are assessing the situation. Troi senses that Orton is extremely nervous; Geordi detecting the hidden weapons screwed up whatever his plan originally was, and now he's working without a net. There might be a way that they can take advantage of that, if they're ''very'' careful.

By now, Picard has figured out what Kelsey's gang is up to: they're harvesting trilithium resin from the warp core. Trilithium resin being a highly volatile (and easily weaponizable) substance, they're moving very slowly and carefully. So much so, that they're not really paying attention to their prisoner. Using the laser welder he lifted from Devore, Picard causes an engine overheat to make the ship's fire suppressant systems kick in. In the chaos that follows, Picard destroys the portable force-field generator that they were using to keep themselves safe from the baryon sweep, then he makes a break for it. One of Kelsey's men, Satler, follows him, but Picard leads him smack into the approaching radiation, then heads to Worf's quarters to get his hands on some weaponry.

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 by foot, 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 safety measure, and advises her to cut her losses and just leave. Kelsey's not about to back down, however, and since Picard accidentally left his combadge behind, she knows he's not just a barber. She sends her goons 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 Jeffries 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. 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, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness 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 his true identity as Jean-Luc Picard, he offers himself as a hostage in exchange for the explosive. But Kelsey's not interested. She's not a terrorist, it turns out. She's a businesswoman. And a practical one at that: there's a lot more demand on the black market for easily-weaponizable raw material than there is for a Starfleet Officer. The three of them walk into Ten Forward...and right into Picard's last booby trap. Kiros is taken out immediately by the explosion, and Picard and Kelsey end up grappling over the trilithium container. Meanwhile, the baryon sweep comes ever closer. Kelsey manages to fight her way free with the container, and beams out to the nearby ship that Orton had been waiting on. Picard is able to contact Arkaria Base Command (which is Data at this point), and gets the baryon sweep shut off before it kills him. Then he reveals that, in the struggle, he managed to get hold of the safety valve for the trilithium container.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Any fans who had doubts that Picard was a badass fighter might want to watch this episode.
* BadBoss: Kelsey. She doesn't bother to go back for Devore or Pommet despite the chance that they're still alive. And she kills Neil once she doesn't need him any more. More profit for her, apparently.

* TheBore: Hutchinson. Most of the episode's comedy comes from the crew's constant annoyance at his ''unceasing'' small talk (and attempts to dodge being a target of said talk). They eventually foist Data upon him to see who cracks first.

* CallBack:

** Worf has a [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E3CodeOfHonor Ligonian glavin]] in his quarters. It might even be the one used by the late Tasha Yar, which would make it [[TragicKeepsake that much more important to him]].
* ContinuityNod: Mot the barber, who Picard claims to be, has appeared in a few earlier episodes. Like Picard, the real Mot is bald.
** That said, ''Generations'' did provide a ContinuityNod in exchange, as Picard is finally seen riding a horse in the Nexus.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Death by exposure to the 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.

* DieHardOnAnX: It's ''Die Hard'' on the ''Enterprise''. Right down to Devore's line, "You won't kill me; you're Starfleet", and the main character's disappointment that the villain's plan was about money instead of terrorism. In fact, The FanNickname for this episode is "Die Hard Picard." The official French title for the episode is "28 minutes to live", a reference to the French title for ''Die Hard 2'' ("58 minutes to live"). Sounds like some translator was having fun.

** Pommet: Shot with a crossbow by Picard; not immediately killed (according to Picard), but still left to the baryon sweep.

* ImprovisedWeaponUser: Picard makes use of every tool at his disposal to fend off the thieves. Even the saddle comes in handy at one point.

* MrFanservice: Patrick Stewart kicking ass and crawling around in Jeffries Tubes while wearing jodhpurs and riding boots...

* PlotArmour: Hutchinson and [=LaForge=] both get shot in pretty much the same area. Geordi is later seen being treated by Crusher, while Hutchison is on the floor under a sheet. Was his small talk really that annoying?

* TalkAboutTheWeather: Data creates an entire subroutine for small talk, leading him to try some of this on Picard in the turbolift. There's lots more in store when he meets Hutch. (And some of it really is about the weather on alien planets.)

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Hutchinson is implicitly killed when the thieves take hostages, but the episode is more ambiguous about the fact than it needs to be. After he and Geordi are shot, Beverly is only seen treating Geordi's wounds afterwards, while there's a body on the floor covered by a sheet that the viewer is evidently meant to presume to be Hutchinson.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Pommet has green hair.

* DieHardOnAnX: It's ''Die Hard'' on the ''Enterprise''. Right down to Devore's line, "You won't kill me; you're Starfleet." In fact, The FanNickname for this episode is "Die Hard Picard." The official French title for the episode is "28 minutes to live", a reference to the French title for ''Die Hard 2'' ("58 minutes to live"). Sounds like some translator was having fun.