Gambit, Part I

Picard has apparently been killed while on an archaeological trip, vaporised in a seedy bar during a dispute over stolen artefacts. Riker, unwilling to let it go, tracks the criminals to an ancient dig site, where the away team is attacked and Riker is captured. He wakes on the ship of the mercenary Arctus Baran, who keeps his crew in line with painful neural implants. To his amazement, Riker finds Picard alive and posing as a rogue archaeologist called Galen. Picard explains that the mercenaries' weapons were rigged to work like transporters, not to kill, and that he was taken prisoner. Baran is collecting ancient artefacts for a buyer, and Picard wants to know why. He tells Baran that Riker is a disgraced officer, and Riker must play along. With Data now commanding the Enterprise, Riker's loyalty to Baran is tested as the ship he loves closes in.