The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise leaves Data for dead when his shuttlecraft explodes during a dangerous transport mission. Finding no apparent signs of foul play, the Starship proceeds on its mission to transport rare hytritium to neutralize a sudden water contamination at a Federation colony. En route, Geordi is tormented by his inability to account for the shuffle explosion and the subsequent death of his friend. Meanwhile, Kivas Fajo, the trader who supplied the hytritium, holds Data captive on his ship, adding the android to his collection of one of a kind items. Unable to escape, Data uses passive resistance to defy Fajo until his captor threatens to kill his own assistant, Varria, with a disrupter gun that slowly tortures its victims.
