“The Enemy” is episode seven of season three of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Worf, Geordi and Riker beam down onto a planet that looks a little inhospitable. There’s a lot of lightning in the air. Communicators are down and tricorders only have a 5m reach. Geordi detects something with his VISOR; electrically conductive objects. There are the remains of a Romulan ship that Geordi says was destroyed with an explosive device after it crashed. They split up, because the window back to the ship closes in 12 minutes. Worf finds a live, injured Romulan, who tries to attack him until Worf knocks him out. Geordi falls down a hole. The other two make it back to the beacon with the Romulan and Riker tries to find Geordi. Geordi replaces his VISOR, which was knocked off in the fall and calls for help. Riker can’t see or hear Geordi. He and Worf have to beam back before the window closes.
The Enterprise is at Galorndon Core after following up a distress signal. In the transporter room, Dr Crusher orders the Romulan be taken to sickbay; with a posted guard, according to Worf. O’Brien can’t get a lock on Geordi; the electrical storm is generating ghosts. Riker says to beam them back, one might be Geordi. Captain Picard has arrived and Riker wants to beam back down. Not yet. Riker fills the captain ion on the craft; Picard thinks it’s an odd place to find a Romulan. But the location would provide ideal cover for the opening move in a new offensive.
Geordi is still in the hole and detects something metallic in the soil. He removes several pieces and puts them in a channel made in the soil, then melts them with his phasor.
In sickbay, Dr Crusher isn’t having much luck. There are differences between Romulans and Vulcans, too many of them. She tells Riker and Picard that the Romulan needs an appropriate transfusion. She’ll test every member of the crew; replicators won’t manage it. She doesn’t know if the Romulan will survive. Riker wants to know if the Romulan can be brought around long enough to answer a few questions. Yes, but the electrical fields on the surface have caused degeneration in his neural pathways. And they will affect Geordi in the same way. The Romulan refuses to say anything other than that he was alone, which leads Riker and the captain to suspect he wasn’t,
Geordi has made two spikes from the metal he found, and uses them to climb out of the hole.
On the bridge, Riker is demanding some way of getting through the storm. Wesley suggests a neutrino pulse, attached to a probe. It could act as a beacon. Data confirms Geordi’s VISOR will be able to detect it. He can modify the pulse so that they know he’s found it.
Data reports a new signal coming from inside the Romulan area. A Romulan, Tomalak, is trying to contact someone and says they are entering the Neutral Zone and will reach them in 6 hours. Captain Picard orders the Romulan be hailed. There’s no response and the captain tells them not to enter the Neutral Zone. Commander Tomalak (Andreas Katsulas, perhaps best known for his role as G’Kar on Babylon 5) responds. He claims the destroyed Romulan ship suffered a slight navigational error. That is not believed. Picard tells him they have recovered a survivor who is being treated for severe injuries. The craft? It was destroyed. Deliberately. Tomalak wants to meet the Enterprise at the edge of the Neutral Zone and confirms it was a one-man craft. Picard replies they need to recover their away team first.
Afterwards, Troi says she sensed great hostility. From a Romulan? Who’d expect that. Tomalak will stop at nothing to complete his mission. Worf wants to hold and interrogate the Romulan and Riker suggests a more aggressive response. The captain would prefer not to start a war.
The probe is launched and Geordi spots the beam from it. He heads towards it and discovers there was more than one Romulan on the planet when other knocks him down from behind. The Romulan insists Geordi is his prisoner. Geordi gives him a sarcastic answer and claims the sky is full of Federation ships. The Romulan then gets hit by a rockfall and Geordi helps him. Only for the Romulan to insist Geordi is still his prisoner.
Dr Crusher finally finds a donor compatible with the injured Romulan, and there’s only one. Unfortunately, it’s Worf, whose parents were killed by Romulans. Worf does not want to help. On the planet, the other Romulan is being arrogant and finally Tomalak is not being patient. Geordi and his Romulan will probably only survive if they work together. The other will only live if Worf helps him.