The Enterprise receives a distress call from the Federation freighter Arcos, and before the two crewmen aboard can be rescued, the ship blows up as both men beam down to the planet Turkana IV. (Just as an aside, how is it that almost every planet the Enterprise comes across is the fourth one in their system? Anyone else notice that?) Attempting to retrieve both men, the Enterprise officers learn that they are being held captive by a vicious faction called the Alliance. Their liaison happens to be Ishara Yar (Beth Toussaint), sister of former Security Chief Lieutenant Natasha Yar who died in the first season episode 'Skin of Evil'. Ishara does not have fond memories of her sister, feeling that Tasha demonstrated cowardice by abandoning the planet as it fell into disarray with rival gangs competing with each other.
Nevertheless, Ishara Yar agrees to cooperate with Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise officers in helping an away team navigate the myriad of tunnels that the Alliance uses for their benefit to thwart their rivals. She even develops what might be called a friendship with Commander Data (Brent Spiner), or at least as close to a friendship one could have with an android. It's all a ruse however, as Ishara intends on gaining an advantage for her Coalition by blowing up one of their key facilities, even if it meant taking part in a suicide mission. As this would have presented a significant problem for Picard with the Federation for taking sides, Ishara's effort is terminated by Data, who stuns her with a phaser blast before she could follow through on her betrayal. In the meantime, the two crewmen from the Arcos are saved by Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and the away team.
A couple thoughts about this story. Since Data had a hologram image and message from Natasha Yar, wouldn't it have been a good idea to share it with sister Ishara to help convince her that Tasha was not a coward by any means during her service with the Enterprise? Instead that idea was conveyed solely via dialog between the characters. The other thing that consistently distracted me during the episode was Beth Toussaint's striking resemblance to actress Linda Hamilton, so much so that I thought it was actually Hamilton throughout.
Nevertheless, Ishara Yar agrees to cooperate with Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise officers in helping an away team navigate the myriad of tunnels that the Alliance uses for their benefit to thwart their rivals. She even develops what might be called a friendship with Commander Data (Brent Spiner), or at least as close to a friendship one could have with an android. It's all a ruse however, as Ishara intends on gaining an advantage for her Coalition by blowing up one of their key facilities, even if it meant taking part in a suicide mission. As this would have presented a significant problem for Picard with the Federation for taking sides, Ishara's effort is terminated by Data, who stuns her with a phaser blast before she could follow through on her betrayal. In the meantime, the two crewmen from the Arcos are saved by Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and the away team.
A couple thoughts about this story. Since Data had a hologram image and message from Natasha Yar, wouldn't it have been a good idea to share it with sister Ishara to help convince her that Tasha was not a coward by any means during her service with the Enterprise? Instead that idea was conveyed solely via dialog between the characters. The other thing that consistently distracted me during the episode was Beth Toussaint's striking resemblance to actress Linda Hamilton, so much so that I thought it was actually Hamilton throughout.