“The Perfect Mate” is episode twenty-one of season five of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
To end a centuries long war between Krios and Valt Minor a ceremony of reconciliation is going to be held on the Enterprise midway between the two systems.
Ambassador Briam is meeting with Captain Picard in the captain’s ready room. The captain says Geordi is handling the special cargo handling provisions the ambassador requested. The ambassador asks that the cargo bay be off limits to all the most essential personnel until they reach the rendezvous. It’s not dangerous, just fragile and irreplaceable. Commander Riker contacts the captain; a Ferengi shuttle has sent out a distress call.
Two Ferengi are beamed off the shuttle just before it explodes. Riker asks Worf to escort them to their quarters. Not too close to his. Worf explains to the Ferengi that they will be on the Enterprise until the ship’s mission is completed. They seem okay with this. In fact, once Worf leaves, it seems they wanted to get onboard.
Geordi is with the captain and the ambassador, heading to the holodeck. Inside, he’s recreated the Temple of Akadar to the ambassador’s specifications. According to Briam, two brothers ruled an empire from here, until they were torn apart by the love of an extraordinary woman. This is where wars began and where they will end.
One of the Ferengi is sneaking into the cargo bay where the ambassador’s cargo – a glowing egg thing – is kept. Evidently, off limits doesn’t mean post a guard. The other Ferengi, Par Lenor (played by Max Grodénchik who would later play Rom in DS9), approaches the ambassador as they leave the holodeck and starts babbling on about trade. His companion is stacking barrels in the cargo bay. Geordi gets rid of Par Lenor and the captain contacts Worf asking him to keep the Ferengi on a tight leash so they don’t disrupt the conference.
Worf then detects the other in the cargo bay and dispatches security before informing Riker. The commander contacts the captain. The Ferengi is scanning the egg when security arrives. He falls and disrupts it. The egg evaporates as the captain and ambassador arrive with Riker.
Inside it was a young woman who smiles at the captain and says she is for him, mistaking him for Chancellor Alrik. The ambassador explains she is mistaken. The woman is an empath and sensed the captain’s authority. The captain wants an explanation, as does she as to why she was brought out early. The woman, Kamala, is a gift for Alrik. She doesn’t need to be rescued.
The ambassador explains that the two brothers loved the same woman and caused a war. Kamala, like her, is an empathic metamorph, a mutant, the first female one born in over 100 years. They have the ability to sense what a potential mate wants and needs and in the final stage forms a perfect bond with one man. Females are rare and sought after.
Riker escorts Kamala to her quarters (she looks not dissimilar to the later portrayal of the Trill, not the portrayal from “The Host”; that’s because Trill were redesigned based on her appearance). She says that in her current stage she produces an unusual amount of pheromones which can be quite provocative. She kisses him. Riker ends up excusing himself and informs the bridge he’s going to the holodeck. Either that or a cold shower it seems.
The captain is talking to Dr Crusher over breakfast; the doctor is not that impressed with Kamala’s treatment. The captain didn’t know Briam had confined her to quarters. He’s not that happy with this. He heads to see Kamala and she explains her presence would be disruptive to the crew. Captain Picard decides to speak to the ambassador, who is worried that every man on the ship will be fighting over Kamala.
So, the captain assigns Data to be her escort. However, the ambassador’s fears were well-founded; Kamala nearly starts a riot by walking into a room. She adapts to become what men desire. It seems that she is what the Ferengi are after and they cause trouble trying to get her. Meanwhile, Kamala is spending a lot of time with the captain, who is unable to just abandon her, and the time when she will permanently bond with a mate is approaching rapidly.