“Symbiosis” is episode twenty-two of season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The Enterprise is in the Delos system investigating some unusual solar flares. The star has violent eruptions and an unusual number of sunspots and prominences. The star’s magnetic field is extremely irregular and energy from it is disrupting systems. Data says that if they want to learn more, they will need to get closer, but Worf states that they are getting a distress signal. The signal is degraded by the solar flares, and is coming from a ship in orbit around the fourth planet. It is being sent to a receiving station on the third. Captain Picard has the ship hailed and offers assistance. It is having problems navigating and the ship is heading into the atmosphere.
When they arrive, Worf states the ship is a freighter and very old. Data can pick up six lifeforms, though sensors are severely degraded by the solar flares. The ship’s orbit is decaying rapidly. When hailed, the Enterprise is told that it is the Ornaran freighter Sanction by its captain, T’Jon. The problem is that the thrusters are all dead. He guesses. The Enterprise thinks this is a little vague. Not kidding. As for the Sanction‘s computer, it isn’t working very well. Tasha suggests a tractor beam, but the star interferes with it. Data has discovered what’s wrong with the freighter and they are going to beam the needed part over. Captain Picard is not impressed that the captain doesn’t know how his ship functions. A ship he’s been captain of for seven years. No-one knows how to install the part even if it’s beamed over. The only other option is to beam the crew off. T’Jon agrees, if that’s what they think best. Unless he has any other options? Not really. Captain Picard is really not impressed with Captain T’Jon.
They need to interface with the transporter on the other ship with their own; T’Jon seems less than bothered. When Tasha and Riker manage to beam something across, it isn’t people, but cargo. Rather to their surprise. The cargo is beamed to a hold and Tasha tries again, this time getting four of the six people on board. Riker informs them that the other two didn’t make it, but would have if they hadn’t beamed the cargo across first. He asks if their cargo is more important than their people. Given that they ask to see the cargo immediately, that would be a yes.
The four are two Ornarans, T’Jon and Romas, and two Brekkians, Sobi and Langor. T’Jon calls the cargo theirs; Sobi disagrees. T’Jon says they paid for it. Sobi asks where the payment is then. Scattered across Brekka’s upper atmosphere along with the rest of the freighter. Sobi’s position is that, as they haven’t received payment, the cargo is still theirs and he wants to be beamed back to Brekka with it. Rather surprising they didn’t take payment from the freighter before beaming the cargo on board in the first place. The Ornarans and Brekkians start arguing, then fighting using an inbuilt electrical facility until Tasha breaks them up with a phaser. Afterwards, Tasha speculates to Riker on what it might be and how to defend against such a weapon.
The Ornarans and Brekkians are taken to the observation lounge where they are still arguing. Tasha and Riker return to the bridge, where Data says the only recorded contact with the system was over 200 years ago. Two inhabited worlds, one on the verge of space travel. According to Counselor Troi, the visitors are anxious over the cargo, but not the dead. Picard heads to get answers with Data and Riker.
T’Jon asks if they can fix the Ornarans’ two remaining ships; they are needed for their survival. Yes, they can. T’Jon explains that the cargo is a matter of life and death. It’s a medicine the Ornarans desperately need. Their people are suffering from a lethal plague. They will shortly see what it does to the Ornarans. Because T’Jon and Romas have it. All Ornarans do. The captain is concerned that people carrying a lethal plague are on his ship. The transporter’s medical scan is unverified and the biofilter may not have been working correctly. He calls Dr Crusher immediately.
Dr Crusher, as she observes the reaction of the Ornarans to being without the medicine, and with what she is able to discover about the plague – which is she can’t find it – becomes increasingly suspicious about the medicine. Suspicion that is confirmed when the two Ornarans take some to relieve their suffering. They aren’t dying; they are in withdrawal. The medicine is an addictive drug. This leads to a really unsubtle scene between Wesley, Data and Tasha about why drugs are bad.