Captain's Holiday

"Captain's Holiday"

"Captain's Holiday" is the 19th episode of the third season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 67th episode of the series overall.

Plot

Captain Picard has finished a difficult series of negotiations, and though resilient to the crew's insistent, agrees to take shore leave at the resort planet of Risa while the Enterprise continues on a routine mission.

On Risa, he is greeted by a woman with a kiss, to his surprise. After several more such kisses, Picard learns that the Horga'hn, a souvenir he carries to give to Commander Riker, is considered a symbol of sexuality and a sign that he is looking for sexual coupling. While returning the souvenir to his quarters, he is interrupted by the first woman that kissed him named Vash, and a Ferengi named Sovak. Sovak demands the return of a stolen optical disc from Picard, but Picard asserts he has no knowledge and leaves, unaware that Vash has stashed the disc away in his pocket.

At his quarters, Picard finds a pair of Vorgons, Boratus and Ajur. They claim to have come from the 27th Century, and are here seeking the Tox Uthat, a legendary weapon that was invented in the future but sent back in time by its creator after attempts to steal it failed. The Vorgons assert that Picard will be the one to locate the Tox Uthat on Risa, based on their future records, and have been following him. Picard, though aware of the legend, says he has no knowledge of the Tox Uthat, but should he come across it, will give it to the Vorgons. The Vorgons shortly disappear, after which Picard discovers the optical disc.

Picard approaches Vash, whose room has been ransacked by Sovak. Vash admits the disc was given to her by an archaeologist who discovered clues to the location of the Uthat on Risa, and had palmed the disc to Picard to prevent Sovak from getting his hands on it. Picard agrees to go with Vash to find the Uthat, about a day's hike from the main resort. After collecting gear, they are met by Sovak, who had found a partially burned copy of the disc from Vash, enough to track them. Picard and Vash work together to knock the Ferengi out and continue to the cave where the Uthat is reportedly buried. They camp for the night, where Vash admits to Picard that Sovak had paid her to locate the Uthat but has come to have feelings for Picard. The two give in to their shared passion for each other.

The next day, they reach the cave, where the Vorgons have been waiting, hoping to see the unearthing of the Uthat. As they dig, Sovak arrives, and orders Picard and Vash to continue to dig, training his weapon on them. They spend hours digging but find nothing. The Vorgons depart, and Picard, Vash, and Sovak return to the resort, retiring for the night.

The next morning as Picard is preparing to return to the Enterprise, he stops Vash as she tries to sneak away, asserting that she already found the Uthat. Vash admits to this and shows it to him, having found it well before Picard's arrival, and was playing the rouse to fool Sovak. The Vorgons suddenly appear, but Picard claims they were the ones that were trying to steal the weapon in the future. He takes the weapon, contacts the Enterprise and has them destroy it via transporter. The Vorgons state that Picard acted as their records show, and depart for the future. Vash kisses Picard goodbye before leaving on another adventure. On return to his ship, Picard realizes that he did have a very relaxing holiday.

Notes

• The episode introduces the character of Vash, who would appear in the later TNG episode "Q-Pid" and the DS9 episode "Q-Less".

• Max Grodenchik would later be cast as another Ferengi in The Perfect Mate before becoming Quark's brother Rom on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

References

• Star Trek The Next Generation DVD set, volume 3, disc 5, selection 3.

External links

• Captain's Holiday at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com episode
• Template:StarTrek.com link
• Captain's Holiday at Memory Alpha
• Tox Uthat at Memory Alpha
• Captain's Holiday rewatch by Keith R.A. DeCandido