“Liaisons” is episode two of season seven of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Worf is fiddling with his dress uniform when Riker enters; they will be here any minute. Worf is not looking forward to this; Riker says Worf will only lose maybe an hour. He has to escort them around the ship for days. Worf thinks the dress uniform looks like an actual dress. Riker tells him off for that. And says Worf looks good in a dress.
They meet Captain Picard and Troi in the shuttle bay. The captain greets two ambassadors; he’s honoured the Enterprise is the site of the first cultural exchange between the Iyaarans and the Federation. The captain is going to the Iyaarans’ homeworld and he introduces the others. Troi will escort Ambassador Loquel around; Riker Ambassador Byleth. Byleth wants Worf, though. And he’s not exactly polite about it. Picard enters the shuttle to leave.
At the reception in Ten Forward, Troi is talking to Loquel at the buffet. He’s more interested to know why she hasn’t any food. She’s saving herself for desserts. Loquel needs them explaining. He says his people eat only for nourishment. Troi introduces him to the desserts. Including a chocolate dish. He likes that. And takes an entire plater of desserts.
Worf is dining with Dr Crusher and Byleth; Byleth wants Worf to get him new food. The doctor says it’s customary to serve yourself from a buffet. Worf claims he is happy to do it. A blatant lie. He’s carving some meat when Data comes over and asks how the assignment is going. Data suggests finding something in common with Byleth. Worf states that Byleth is demanding, temperamental and rude. Data says that Worf shares those qualities in abundance. Perhaps he could build on their similarities. Data thinks he’s being helpful. Worf spends some time looking at the carving knife afterwards, clearly with thoughts of using it.
The captain is on the shuttle; he tries, and fails, to make conversation with the pilot, Voval. Then asks how long the journey is. 17 hours 32 minutes. Picard clearly thinks this will be a long 17 hours 32 minutes. Then the shuttle suffers a power failure from a disruption field. The captain says there’s a class M planet they can try to reach.
The shuttle lands fairly hard and the captain comes around. He checks Voval, then finds he can’t contact the Enterprise because of interference. He scans and detects a structure and heads out to take a look, telling Voval to remain in the shuttle due to plasma discharges. One of which the captain, knocking him out. Then someone drags him away.
Worf is leading Byleth on a tour and can’t answer an engineering question. Byleth asks Geordi if he’s smarter than Worf. Troi is with Loquel; she is feeling the aftereffects of overindulgence in desserts, he is not. Loquel gets distracted by a child and asks what it is. Iyaarans emerge fully grown. Loquel asks the child, Eric, if he likes desserts. And Eric’s mother if he can give Eric some.
The captain comes around in a ship with device attached to him and a woman there. According to her, Voval is dead. The captain recognises the freighter as Terellian, and asks the woman if she was a member of the crew. A passenger. And the only survivor. Picard says she isn’t Terellian, unless she’s lost two arms, and introduces himself. She is Anna. She doesn’t know how long she’s been on the planet. Going by the stardate, seven years. Anna is shocked; she thought it was one or two. The captain wants equipment from the shuttle in order to contact Starfleet, but he has injuries. Anna says she will get it.
Worf thinks the Iyaarans are insane and Loquel is testing even Troi’s limits with chocolate. The Iyaarans’ behaviour does seem to lend credence to Worf’s belief. And Anna claims to be in love with the captain. Things, on the Enterprise and the planet, are somewhat odd.