Responding to a distress call from a stricken Talarian vessel, an Away Team from the U.S.S. Enterprise discovers that the ship is manned by five teenagers -- one of whom is human. While treating them, Dr. Crusher finds that the young human shows signs of severe abuse. The boy, called Jono, will not communicate with anyone among the crew, and responds to Picard only upon learning that he is a captain. The boy requests that Picard return him to Endar, the Talarian father who raised him. Fearing for the boy's safety, Picard refuses. Starfleet reveals that Jono is actually Jeremiah Rossa, an orphaned human member of a Federation outpost presumed dead in a battle ten years before. His human grandmother, a Starfleet admiral, is anxious for his return, but Troi fears readjusting to the human lifestyle could be traumatic for him. When Picard asks Troi to work with the boy, she reminds him that since Talarians respond only to male authority, he must be the one to help Jono.
