Captain's Holiday
Captain Picard's forced vacation on Risa turns into a dangerous treasure hunt when a mysterious woman pulls him into a conflict over a device from the future, pursued by a Ferengi and time-traveling agents who want the device for themselves.
Captain Picard, exhausted from mediating a trade dispute, is coerced into taking a vacation on the pleasure planet Risa. His attempts to relax are immediately thwarted when he collides with Vash, a mysterious woman who uses him as a cover to evade a Ferengi named Sovak. Picard quickly learns that Vash is searching for a device called the Tox Uthat which is from the future and capable of halting all nuclear reactions within a star.
Picard is approached by two Vorgons, Ajur and Boratus, who claim to be time-traveling security officers from the 27th century tasked with retrieving the Uthat. They explain that a scientist hid the device in the 22nd century to prevent criminals from acquiring it. Picard is skeptical but intrigued as the Vorgons say that he'll soon find the Uthat during his vacation on Risa, the records show this as part of known history.
Vash seeks Picard's help, revealing she worked for Professor Estragon, who dedicated his life to finding the Uthat. She possesses a disc containing his research, but Sovak is after it, believing it will lead him to the Uthat which he hopes to sell to the highest bidder. Despite his reluctance, Picard finds himself drawn into the adventure. He agrees to help Vash find the Uthat, though he doesn't fully trust her.
Picard and Vash evade Sovak and travel to a series of subterranean caves where Estragon's research suggests the Uthat is hidden. They confront each other about their true motives. She admits that Sovak paid her to hand over the disc from Professor Eastragon, but she intended to honor her commitment to the professor by presenting the alien artifact to the Daystrom Institute, albeit for a profit. They grow intimately close, and the cave soon provides new meaning to his "Captain's Holiday". They eventually reach the location indicated by Vash's notes, only to find nothing. Sovak arrives, revealing that he found a copy of Vash's research disc and followed them. The Vorgons also appear, escalating the tension. It's revealed that they are the criminals. Picard, realizing he's been manipulated, initiates a transporter code, causing the Uthat to shimmer in a TRANSPORTER EFFECT and then EXPLODES before Ajur reaches to take it. The Vorgons depart, their mission failed.
Back at the resort, Picard confronts Vash, revealing he knows she found the Uthat before and allowed Sovak to follow them to the caves to be convinced it was not there because she had hidden it somewhere else entirely. Vash relents and produces the Uthat, hidden inside a Horga'hn statue. The Vorgons reappear, attempting to seize the device, but Picard activates the transporter beam, destroying the Uthat rather than letting it fall into the wrong hands. With the Uthat destroyed, the Vorgons disappear, returning to their own time.
Picard prepares to leave Risa, having developed a complicated relationship with Vash. There is mutual goodbay and perhaps, they were not so different after all. He returns to the Enterprise, ready to resume his duties. The episode concludes by returning to the teaser scene with the Vorgons who materialized at the beginning of the episode. This time, the Vorgons determine that they arrived earlier than Captain Picard's arrival and the scene irises out.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The narrative opens by introducing two mysterious Vorgon aliens who materialize on Risa, searching for Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but find no record of his arrival, yet remain confident he will appear. Concurrently, Captain Picard is shown on the Enterprise, visibly exhausted after mediating a strenuous trade dispute. His weariness is noted by Commander Riker and Counselor Troi, who discuss his need for a vacation. Troi suggests a vacation is the only solution, a notion Riker believes Picard will vehemently resist, setting the stage for Picard's forced relaxation.
The Enterprise emerges from orbit around Gemaris V, where Captain Picard has just brokered a high-stakes trade agreement—yet his return to the bridge is a study in quiet dissonance. His …
The Enterprise emerges from orbit around Gemaris V, where Captain Picard has just brokered a high-stakes trade agreement—a victory that should have been triumphant. Yet the moment he steps onto …
The Enterprise emerges from orbit around Gemaris V, where Captain Picard has spent two grueling weeks mediating a trade dispute between the obstinate Gemarians and Dachlyds. Though the mission was …
Act One begins with Dr. Beverly Crusher confronting Picard about his health, effectively ordering him to take shore leave, which he initially resists. Riker and Troi then subtly coerce him into choosing Risa by mentioning the potential visit of Lwaxana Troi to Starbase 12, a prospect Picard finds unbearable. Resigned, Picard prepares for his 'holiday' on Risa, packing serious academic texts. Upon his arrival, he immediately collides with Vash, a mysterious woman who uses him as a decoy to evade a Ferengi named Sovak, involving Picard in an unexpected embrace and an immediate entanglement. The Vorgons, observing from a distance, confirm Picard's arrival, signaling the start of their mission.
Picard's attempts to enjoy his mandated vacation on Risa are continuously thwarted by the planet's overtly sensual atmosphere and persistent locals, including Joval, who explains the Horga'hn's true meaning as a symbol of seeking 'Jamaharohn.' His solitude is further interrupted by Sovak, the Ferengi, who mistakenly believes Picard is Vash's accomplice and demands a mysterious disc. Vash then approaches Picard, apologizing for her earlier deception and establishing a flirtatious dynamic. She slips Picard the disc, further entangling him in her affairs. The act culminates with the sudden appearance of the two Vorgons in Picard's room, who reveal their 27th-century origin and their purpose: to find him.
In a tense, high-stakes confrontation in the Enterprise ready room, Dr. Beverly Crusher—armed with medical authority and maternal concern—directly challenges Captain Picard’s self-destructive work ethic, exposing his exhaustion as a …
In this emotionally charged transition between Picard’s reluctant medical surrender and his forced departure for Risa, the scene unfolds in two distinct but thematically linked moments: Beverly’s clinical intervention and …
In Act Three, the Vorgons reveal to Picard the legend of the Tox Uthat, a powerful quantum phase inhibitor from the future, hidden in the 22nd century to prevent criminals from acquiring it. They claim history indicates Picard will find it on Risa and expect his cooperation. Picard then confronts Vash about the disc, learning she was Professor Estragon's assistant, and the disc contains his research notes on the Uthat's location. Vash confesses she took Sovak's money but intends to present the Uthat to the Daystrom Institute, albeit for profit. Despite his distrust, Picard agrees to help her find it, and they set off for subterranean caves, evading Sovak. The Vorgons, observing their departure, reveal their sinister intent to prevent Picard from destroying the Uthat, hinting at their true nature.
The scene opens in the sterile, functional corridor of the Enterprise, where Picard’s reluctant departure for Risa is framed by the crew’s well-meaning but misguided optimism. Riker’s playful teasing about …
In a high-stakes game of deception and survival, Vash—mid-conversation with Picard—spots Sovak, her relentless Ferengi pursuer, entering the Risan lobby. With the precision of a seasoned operative, she seizes the …
Picard’s forced relaxation on Risa is violently disrupted when Joval, a resort employee, misinterprets his possession of a Horga'hn—a Risian symbol of sensuality—as a deliberate invitation for Jamaharohn (intimate services). …
Picard’s forced relaxation on Risa is violently disrupted when Sovak, a Ferengi operative, ambushes him in the lanai, accusing him of colluding with Vash over a mysterious disc tied to …
Picard’s forced vacation on Risa—already fraught with cultural misunderstandings and his own resistance to relaxation—shatters when Vash, the enigmatic woman Sovak warned him about, materializes in the lanai. Their charged …
Picard and Vash camp in the dark, primeval caverns, where Vash confesses her full deception regarding Sovak's payment, which Picard wryly acknowledges as a testament to her cunning. During their intimate conversation, Picard admits he is enjoying the unexpected adventure, and they acknowledge their mutual attraction, culminating in a passionate kiss. They reach the location indicated by Estragon's notes, but Vash's tricorder finds no Uthat, suggesting interference from Starithium ore. As they begin to dig, the Vorgons materialize, claiming to witness a 'great moment,' and Sovak arrives, revealing he found a copy of Vash's disc. Under duress, Picard and Vash are forced to continue digging, with the Vorgons and Sovak observing.
This event is a masterclass in narrative escalation, where Picard’s forced vacation on Risa collides with a high-stakes treasure hunt for the Tox Uthat—a device capable of destabilizing stars. The …
This pivotal event transforms Picard’s reluctant involvement in Vash’s treasure hunt into a high-stakes alliance, while simultaneously introducing the existential threat of the Tox Uthat through the Vorgons’ revelation. The …
This explosive confrontation in the Risa lobby marks the moment when Sovak’s twisted obsession with Vash and Picard’s reluctant entanglement in the Uthat hunt collide with devastating clarity. The scene …
Picard and Vash realize the Uthat is not in the cave, leading to Vash's devastation and Sovak's frantic, desperate digging. The puzzled Vorgons beam out, their historical records seemingly contradicted. Picard and Vash return to the resort, where Picard confronts Vash, revealing he deduced she had already found the Uthat and deliberately allowed Sovak to follow them to the empty cave to throw him off. Vash, impressed by his insight, produces the Uthat from a hidden compartment within a Horga'hn statue. The Vorgons reappear, confirming Vash's suspicion that they are the original criminals. Picard, refusing to let the dangerous device fall into their hands, activates a transporter code, destroying the Uthat. The Vorgons, their mission failed, disappear. Picard shares a final, affectionate farewell with Vash before beaming back to the Enterprise, refreshed. The episode concludes with a re-run of the teaser, revealing the Vorgons arrived 'early' in their timeline, implying a cyclical, ongoing quest.
The fragile truce between Picard and Vash shatters in the cavern’s vaulted cul-de-sac as their desperate excavation for the Tox Uthat spirals into a high-stakes confrontation. The Vorgons materialize first, …
The fragile alliance between Picard, Vash, and Sovak shatters in this claustrophobic cavern as Sovak’s obsession with the Tox Uthat curdles into violent desperation. After the Vorgons materialize—revealing their 27th-century …
In the claustrophobic confines of the cavern, Sovak’s obsession with the Tox Uthat—once a calculated, pragmatic pursuit—unravels into raw, unhinged desperation. After hours of fruitless digging, Picard and Vash abandon …
In a high-stakes confrontation within the deserted Risan lobby, Picard outmaneuvers Vash’s deception by exposing her manipulation of Sovak to conceal the Tox Uthat’s true location. His strategic deduction—revealing she …
In a tense, high-stakes confrontation in the deserted Risan lobby, Picard—having outmaneuvered Vash’s deception—exposes the Tox Uthat hidden inside a Horga’hn statue, only for the Vorgons (Ajur and Boratus) to …
In a high-stakes confrontation in the deserted Risan lobby, Picard—having deduced Vash’s deception—retrieves the Tox Uthat from a hidden shrine, only to be ambushed by the Vorgons, Ajur and Boratus, …