As Picard prepares to leave to arbitrate a 
miners' dispute on Pentarus Five, he informs 
Wes that he's just gotten into the Academy-and 
he'd like Wes to accompany him to the mediation 
as a final mission. An emergency call comes in to 
the ship from Songi, head of Gamilon Five-a 
ship has entered orbit, hasn't answered hails, 
and has increased radiation levels planetwide. 
The Enterprise warps off to help them, as Picard 
and Wes leave with Captain Dirgo in his mining 
shuttle.
<P>
However, before they reach the planet, one of the 
shuttle thrusters blows off, and the ship careens 
out of control. With no other workable options, 
they crash-land on a moon of Pentarus Three 
which can support life (just). The three of them 
are all right, but the communications system is 
destroyed, along with the replicator-and Dirgo 
has no emergency food or water.
<P>
The Enterprise arrives at Gamilon and discovers 
the ship is an abandoned garbage scow carrying 
radioactive waste-they promise to tow it out. 
Riker decides to send it into Gamilon's sun, but 
takes Geordi's advice to use remote construction 
modules rather than a tractor beam (so as to 
minimize radiation dosages on board the 
Enterprise). When they receive word from 
Pentarus Five that the shuttle hasn't arrived 
yet, they get working on the scow as fast as 
possible.
<P>
Meanwhile, Picard, Wes, and Dirgo head for the 
mountains, despite signs from Wes's tricorder of 
strange energy readings, possibly life, and 
eventually find a cave. The Enterprise crew 
quickly find the construction modules don't 
work, as one of them blows itself off the ship, 
causing a further leak. To avoid danger to the 
planet, Riker orders shields extended around the 
scow and the tractor beam set, and they begin 
towing. Wes and the others, in the meantime, 
find a fountain of water-but are repelled from 
getting to it by a force-field. Dirgo tries to shoot 
through it, but a mysterious energy-shape 
knocks away his phaser and causes a rockslide. 
Picard manages to push Wes clear of the slide, 
but is caught in it himself.
<P>
He's hurt badly, but despite Dirgo's insistence 
that Picard will never survive, Wes tries to keep 
him alive. As the Enterprise tries to find a way 
to speed up and still keep the tractor beam 
stable (so as to avoid fatalities), Wes starts 
studying the sentry's energy readings. He only 
gets as far as telling Dirgo that it must be 
sensitive to something in the phaser before 
Dirgo railroads him into setting off two phasers 
at once, so that one of them can cut through the 
field. The plan fails, and Dirgo is killed.
<P>
While Wes tells Picard about Dirgo and talks 
with him about the good fortune he's had to 
serve with Picard, the Enterprise manages to get 
the scow clear of the asteroid belt (the reason 
they couldn't just push the ship towards the sun) 
just in time, and leaves to join the search for the 
shuttle. Wes tells Picard that everything he's 
done, he's done to make Picard proud of him, and 
resolves to find a way to keep Picard alive until 
help comes no matter what.
<P>
As the Enterprise finds the debris of the 
destroyed thruster and heads for the moon as 
the best option, Wes manages to stop the sentry 
and get the water, which he then gives to Picard. 
Some time later, the Enterprise arrives and 
rescues the two. As Picard is taken from the 
cave, he tells Wesley he will be missed.
<P>