The Least Dangerous Game

Learning that his old crewmate Vendome is now a captain, Boimler decides that caution is holding him back. Egged on by the virtual Martok who runs the ensigns' Bat'leths & BIHnuchs game, he accepts every risky invitation going, finally volunteering as quarry for K'ranch, an alien who hunts for sport. Boimler is caught, attempts a daring reversal and is caught again, but the hunt ends harmlessly and K'ranch praises his courage to his superiors, giving birth to a new “Bold Boimler”. On a planet whose orbital lift needs repairs, Ransom keeps Mariner on engineering work and sends Billups and Rutherford to deal with the wellness-obsessed locals. Their diplomacy goes so badly that their lives are soon at risk, so Mariner disobeys orders to help them, slipping away before she is noticed. Ransom resolves the crisis by impressing the locals with his physique, then tells Mariner one good deed does not wipe her record clean.