S1E16 · Too Short a Season

The starship Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), brings aboard the elderly Admiral Mark Jameson and his wife Anne (Marsha Hunt) on request of Karnas (Michael Pataki), the Governor of Mordan IV. Karnas warns that a dissident terrorist group has taken a Federation Ambassador and his staff hostage, and demand to speak to a negotiator. Jameson had negotiated a previous settlement on Mordan IV. As the ship travels to Mordan IV, Jameson becomes stronger and more able to move about on his own, and no longer shows signs of the terminal Iverson's Disease he was known to have before he was beamed aboard.

Jameson admits to taking an array of drugs to reverse the aging process over the last two years, and only recently has taken an overdose of the drugs to prepare himself for the negotiations. Jameson begins to appear younger and full of energy, but has frequent pains as a result of the overdose. By the time they are nearing Mordan, Jameson appears as a young adult.

As they approach the planet, Jameson begins audio communication with Karnas to learn more of the situation, and asks Karnas if his old enemies had taken the hostages. Karnas replies they are dead, and that Jameson is coming back to Mordan IV just like he did 45 years before. Jameson realizes that Karnas has never forgiven him and that it is Karnas that has taken the Federation staff. Karnas reminds Jameson that his treachery during their last encounter on Mordan IV resulted in years of war. Against the advice of Picard, Jameson devises plans to rescue the hostages by transporting the away team to the tunnels beneath Karnas' mansion, believing that they are being held in the same place as the previous captives.

Picard privately confronts Jameson about Karnas' motives. Jameson reveals that in the past, Karnas captured a Federation starliner in revenge for the death of his father by another local tribe. Jameson was sent in to bargain for their release after two previous Federation negotiators had been killed; Jameson reveals the truth to Picard: he secured the hostages' release not by persuasion, but by granting Karnas' demand for Federation weapons. However, Jameson gave the same weapons to Karnas' enemies, intending to let the two sides settle their dispute on an equal footing. He had expected a short-lived skirmish, not 40 years of civil war, and is now trying to correct his mistake. He took the reverse-aging drug overdose in order to be at his best.

In orbit, the Enterprise crew and Jameson beam down into the tunnels beneath Karnas' manor but find that their arrival was anticipated and face off against armed guards. Jameson collapses during the fight and the crew beams back to the Enterprise. Jameson was not shot, but the reverse aging drug is literally destroying his body. Karnas demands to see Jameson or he will kill a hostage every 15 minutes. Picard opts to beam him, Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), Jameson and eventually Jameson's wife Anne directly to Karnas' office. Karnas refuses to believe that the young man is Jameson, so Jameson reveals a scar on his wrist inflicted by Karnas years ago to seal their bargain. Jameson dies shortly afterward in his wife's embrace. Karnas agrees to let the hostages go and to allow Jameson to be buried on Mordan IV at Anne's request.