The Enemy

**** (4 stars out of 5)

It was a dark and stormy planet. Worf meets an injured Romulan who hollers to let him go, and rather than catch him by the toe, the Klingon punches him in the face.

Geordi falls into a sinkhole, and misses his transporter window back. This world, Galornden Core, is firmly inside the Federation, and should not have Romulan encroachment, strictly speaking. Unless they're up to no good. Which is always.

With a phaser, Geordi fashions some metal spikes to climb out. Wes devises a neutrino pulse beacon to send him. Now if only this place wasn't so bad for the brain pan that his VISOR inputs fail. And then he's captured by a Romulan. And there's sand in his boots. And there's nothing good on TV on Galornden Core.

Romulan Commander Tomalak stops by. (By sheerest coincidence he is the identical cousin of Babylon 5's Ambassador G'Kar.)

Bev gets to break the good news to Worf: of all the people on board, (even the Vulcans somehow), Worf's the only one whose ribosome donations can cure the wounded Romulan.

Guess what Worf doesn't do.

"If you had seen them kill your parents, Doctor, you would understand it is always the time and place for those feelings."

Crusher is aghast. "You're the only one who can save his life!"

"Then he will die."

Geordi's captor, Centurion Bochra, is surprised to hear La Forge was born blind. His race does not waste resources on 'defective children'. Bochra can barely walk and Geordi's vision has cut out. They must rely on each other. And possibly get an apartment together. Spin-off!

"If that Romulan dies, does his family carry that bitterness on another generation?" Riker asks Worf. Even Picard begs Worf to help, but doesn't make it an order. I'd call that a mistake on Picard's end, but Worf could probably sue for cultural insensitivity or something. Protected under his Rights and Freedoms to Blind Hatred, no doubt.

The injured Romulan seals his own fate. "I would rather die than pollute my body with Klingon filth." Worf is only too happy to accommodate him.

He's a racist in Vorta Vor now.

"Then he is but the first to fall, Picard," sneers Tomalak. Always itching to start intergalactic war, these Romulans. They must not be getting enough blue jeans and bootleg CDs across the border.

Picard bravely tells Tomalak he's about to lower his shields in order to beam up Geordi and Bochra. Jean-Luc literally risks the peace & a thousand souls on Tomalak's unwillingness to shoot first. Note to self: this works on Romulans. Not so sure about everybody else. Klingons, for example.

"The Enemy" is an old favourite. Like the movie 'Enemy Mine' before it, there is cause for ire on both sides and we get some more insight into the bad guys. I cheer Geordi's struggle for survival. The portrayal of Worf, I also admire: his grudges are real and they don't go away just because the hour has elapsed.