Investigating an emergency distress call from the Delta Rana system, the crew find that all 11,000 inhabitants have been killed, except for two lifeforms on a small, very conspicuous patch of green. Riker, Bev, Geordi, Data and Worf beam down to investigate. They meet the two survivors, Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge, and although Kevin is taciturn and unfriendly, Rishon invites everyone in for tea. After Data finds their music box, Troi, who earlier sensed something "strange" about these two, hears the music in her mind, growing ever louder.

After finding nothing odd about the house that would keep it spared, Riker asks the Uxbridges to come back to the Enterprise, but they refuse, saying they can take care of themselves. At a conference a short time later, Troi leaves in pain from the music. When Picard asks her about it later, she mentions that the music began when she started thinking about Kevin and Rishon. Suddenly, the ship that Kevin described as attacking the planet returns and attacks. Its weapons, however, are no match for the Enterprise, and they quickly run off the attacker and give chase. They find they cannot catch up to it, however, and return to the planet, where Picard beams down to talk to the two survivors.

He finds that Kevin has sworn never to kill, but Kevin insists that the aliens who killed them could not have known he didn't fight with the others. Picard asks them again to come with him, but they refuse, and Kevin suggests that the Enterprise leaves the system. Picard returns, and as Troi's condition worsens, the enemy ship returns, looking much nastier. It severely damages the Enterprise, and forces it to temporarily flee the system. Picard becomes suspicious that the ship somehow responds to Kevin and Rishon's wishes, and tests his theory by beaming down once more and telling Kevin that "the Enterprise will remain in orbit for as long as the two of you are alive." When he returns, so does the ship, but Picard orders that it not be interfered with. The ship destroys the Uxbridge home, leaving no survivors, and is then destroyed itself by a single photon torpedo from the Enterprise. Despite there now being no reason to stay, Picard orders Worf and Geordi to monitor the surface.

Three hours later, just as Picard's finished telling Riker that if he's right, the massacre on Rana had only one survivor, the house mysteriously returns, with two life-form readings. Picard beams them both aboard and claims Kevin is responsible for Troi's suffering, and the warship. He tells Rishon that she is merely a re-creation of Kevin's, and she vanishes. Kevin heals Troi, then tells Picard the truth of what happened: he is a Douwd, a being which spends its life in disguises. He refused to fight when the Husnock attacked, but Rishon went to fight and was killed. He says that her death drove him insane, and in his rage, he destroyed the entire Husnock species. Picard, taken aback, says "we have no law to fit your crime", and allows Kevin to return to Rana.

Highlight Listing:

"The Survivors" - The crew travels to Rana IV, a remote colony where just two of its 11,000 inhabitants have miraculously survived a devastating attack.

Advertising Headline:

MIRACLE OR MIRAGE? Picard tries to unravel the mystery of a two- person planet!

TV log listing:

Two-person planet baffles the crew/STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION.

Technical design, graphic design, interactive features, HTML & CGI programming by Andrew Tong. || All materials Copyright © 1987-1995 by their respective authors. || Document created: January 28, 1995 || Last Modified: November 09, 2010