Picard, realizing that one of the two top officers needs to keep hold of his sanity, sends Riker off to a nap. After this, Worf, feeling that his fear makes him no longer a warrior, tries to commit suicide, but Troi stops him and takes him to sickbay. Finally, after Data's been appointed Acting Captain, Troi figures out that her nightmares are not dreams, but messages. After some study and a bit of good fortune, Troi and Data realize that the other crew needs hydrogen from the Enterprise in order to create the necessary explosion. As Data does this, Troi communicates to the aliens that they should release the catalyst, and both ships are freed.
Unexplained paranoia threatens to drive the crew insane.