The High Ground
Dr Crusher is in an away team on Rutia IV, where they experience the immediate aftermath of an Ansata terrorist attack. Dismissing captain Picard's calls to return to the Enterprise, the doctor insists on tending the injured, regardless of personal risk. One of the Ansata appears out of thin air, grabs Beverly, and they vanish together.
The doctor is kidnapped in front of the helpless away team.
The doctor finds herself in the terrorist underground hideout. Using medical supplies originally given to the ruling Rutians by the Federation but since stolen by the Ansata, she cares for their many sick and dying. Dr Crusher quickly diagnoses the prevalent ailment being due to use of a dangerous dimensional shifting technology in the Ansata's greatest weapon: a personal site to site transporter device called an "inverter", which leaves no trace of origin or destination.
Beverly understands the Ansata are martyrs to their cause.
She argues the immorality of terrorism to the Ansata leader.
"You've controlled me by fear !"
Despite Riker's attempt to organise a bargaining meeting with the Ansata, the terrorists board the Enterprise using their inverters and almost succeed in blowing it up. Defending the bridge, Picard gets dimensionally shifted off the surviving ship to the Ansata subterranean HQ, joining Beverly.
"Was Wes' on the bridge ?"
On the Enterprise, La Forge, Wesley & Data have reckoned the Ansata must be using hazardously adaptive transports and develop a way to track the shifting to the cavern.
As an informed away team gets ready, Beverly urges Jean-Luc to consider the Ansata's stance against the seemingly Federation-supported Rutians. With the intensity of situation generated by their captivity, Beverly has some important words for Jean-Luc....
For quite some time now, I have been meaning to say something to you. Beverly's personal comments to Jean-Luc are cut off as the lights.
Plunging the cavern into darkness, Riker's team take over the cavern, but not before witnessing a young Ansata boy leader declining to kill one of his most hated oppressors. With that one act of compassion being the only good thing they have seen on Rutia, the away team waste no time in returning to the Enterprise with the doctor and captain: "Take us out of orbit Mr Crusher....
.... at your convenience".
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