Stardate 45614.6: Assisting the androgynous J’naii people in a search for a missing space shuttle, the Enterprise crew discovers a pocket of null space from which energy emissions cannot escape. Riker and J’naii pilot Soren take an Enterprise shuttlecraft into the null zone to investigate, a trip on which Soren makes Riker uneasy by her unusual curiosity about human sexuality, and says that such practices among J’naii would be considered repugnant. Preparing for another trip, Soren reveals to Riker that she is one of a group of outlaws among the J’naii who embrace the “ancient” genders of male and female. After rescuing the J’naii shuttle crew and returning them safely, the Enterprise crew is invited to a celebration on the J’naii planet, during which Riker and Soren take their relationship a good deal further. When the other J’naii discover this, Soren is taken into custody so her “deviance” can be “cured,” and Riker decides that he must disobey the prime directive to rescue Soren from her own society.
written by Jeri Taylor
directed by Robert Scheerer
music by Jay ChattawayCast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Melinda Culea (Soren), Callan White (Krite), Megan Cole (Noor)
LogBook entry by Earl Green