The Breach

Enterprise rescues the injured crew of a stricken transport. Among them is Hudak, an Antaran, whose people have a long history of bloody conflict with the Denobulans. Dying from radiation poisoning, he refuses to let Phlox treat him, and Phlox, bound by his medical ethics, must respect his wishes. Meanwhile, Starfleet orders Enterprise to retrieve three Denobulan geologists from a planet whose new xenophobic government has given all aliens three days to leave. The scientists are working deep underground, so Mayweather leads Tucker and Reed on a perilous descent through the caves, injuring his leg on the way. They find the geologists still absorbed in their work and race to bring them out before the deadline. Back aboard, Phlox confronts the old hostility between their peoples, and through patient diplomacy slowly wins Hudak's trust. Hudak finally accepts treatment, and he and the geologists head home together on the same transport.