Preemptive Strike ( episode ) Lieutenant Ro is sent undercover to root out a Maquis cell . Summary . Teaser . Lieutenant Ro Laren is on board the in Ten Forward being congratulated by Troi , Crusher , and La Forge for completing Advanced Tactical Training at Starfleet Tactical . Captain Picard calls her to the bridge , but surprises her when she finds him standing outside Ten Forward . Ro thanks Picard for recommending her for the training and for having faith in her as an officer . Commander Riker , who reports that a Cardassian ship is being attacked and needs help , calls Picard to the bridge . Ro determines there are several small ships attacking , but aren ' t immediately identifiable . Data is able to determine the ships , surprisingly , are Federation . Act One . Picard identifies the ships as from the Maquis and orders them to withdraw , but there ' s no response . A surgical photon torpedo spread from Worf between the attacking ships and the Cardassian ship prompts the Maquis to withdraw . The " Enterprise " beams Cardassian survivors aboard and Dr . Crusher treats their wounded . Gul Evek and Picard exchange words in sickbay , each accusing the other of not doing enough to suppress the skirmishes in the Demilitarized Zone . Admiral Alynna Nechayev comes aboard the " Enterprise " and shares tea with Picard in his ready room . They discuss the mounting tension in the Zone between the Cardassians and Maquis . Nechayev admits that the situation has her worried and that Starfleet cannot track down the various Maquis cells . Nechayev tells Picard that she is sending a Starfleet operative undercover to infiltrate the Maquis and gather intelligence to expose the cells . Nechayev recommends Lieutenant Ro for the assignment given her recent tactical training , her previous problems with Starfleet and the fact she is Bajoran . Ro and Picard discuss the mission and Ro agrees to accept the assignment . Although she is uncomfortable accepting a mission that will require her to help the Cardassians , she agrees if only to prove the trust that Picard has shown for her . Act Two . Ro , disguised as a civilian , walks into a bar on the Ronara Prime colony followed closely by Lieutenant Commander Data and Lieutenant Worf . They announce that they are seeking a Bajoran woman with dark hair who killed a Cardassian soldier . Ro grabs an unsuspecting man and kisses him , hiding her face from Data and Worf . Another bar patron , Santos , tells them that she was in the bar but had just left . Ro approaches the bar and thanks Santos . She mentions that she would like to meet other people who oppose the Cardassians . Santos stuns her with a phaser and she is rendered unconscious . She awakens in the presence of an older man ( Macias ) , a woman ( Kalita ) , and Santos . They question her and when she attempts to leave , Kalita aims a phaser at her . She tells them some of the truth and a few lies ; she also admits to killing a Cardassian soldier . She then goes for a walk with Macias while the other two check out her story . Macias expresses his outrage with the Cardassians and admits to Ro that many of the settlers living in the compound they are touring are Maquis . He orders " hasperat " from the food dispenser . Ro is surprised that he likes it and tells him that she knows a recipe for a very spicy " hasperat " that her father used to make on Bajor . It is clear that Ro regards Macias as a father figure , having lost her own father during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor when she was just a child . Ro is brought to a meeting with several Maquis . They have received word that the Cardassians are planning to use biogenic weapon s against them . They decide that a preemptive strike is needed to keep the Cardassians from poisoning them . Macias says they cannot strike because they are so low on medical supplies . Ro volunteers to steal medical kit s from the " Enterprise " , she tells them that she used to serve on the ship . Kalita says that she will go along . Ro welcomes her both as a helper and a witness . Act Three . The " Enterprise " receives a distress signal from a Starfleet science vessel in the Topin system . The Topin star renders communication and sensors nearly useless , and the " Enterprise " does not detect Ro and Kalita ' s ship , which is hidden near a planet . Ro piggyback s a message on the distress signal to alert Picard to her presence on the ship . Worf decodes the message just as Ro and Kalita are about to penetrate the " Enterprise " s aft deflector s . Picard lets the ship through and Ro beams the stockpile of medical kits onto the ship . As they leave , Picard orders Worf to fire phasers on their previous position to make it look like they are trying to stop them . After Ro and Kalita return to the Maquis compound , Kalita praises Ro for her bravery and Macias remarks that he could tell , despite the Maquis being suspicious of outsiders , he knew from the start that in her heart , Ro was one of them . Act Four . Having gained the trust of the Maquis cell , Ro is given a ship and is allowed to leave the colony alone . She reports to Picard everything she has learned , including the Cardassian plan to use biogenic weapon s against them . While they talk in the observation lounge , Picard tells her they have come up with a plan to severely weaken the Maquis ; they intend to present a target so threatening that they would commit a large number of ships to stop it . The prospect of biogenic weapons would be a perfect bait and tells Ro to make the Maquis believe that the Cardassians have already finished a biogenic weapon and are supplying it to the colonists via a third party . He intends to send a convoy through the demilitarized zone , and when the Maquis attack the convoy the Federation would be waiting in the nearby Hugora nebula to strike and arrest everyone involved . Ro seems to be uncomfortable betraying her new friends , but she tells Picard that she will do her duty . She then returns to the Juhraya colony and tells the Maquis that she intercepted a Federation transmission about a Yridian convoy of freighters coming from Deep Space 9 . This convoy supposedly carries the last components the Cardassians need to complete their biogenic weapon having already taken possession of others from Ferengi and Pakled transports . Macias decides to tell the other cell leaders and get their help to attack the convoy . Later , Macias and Ro are walking through the courtyard of the compound . Macias talks to Ro about the grand feast he is planning when the Maquis finally make the Cardassians leave their homes . Ro tells him it will be a long time before they do celebrating of any kind . Macias tells her she must not give up hope . He remarks that they will make blueberry pie along with " hasperat " and he will play the belaklavion . Ro remembers her father had played the musical instrument when she was younger and afraid to go to sleep . As she tearfully recalls this , Macias suggests they celebrate tonight , anyway . As Ro and Macias go to the colony ' s market to pick up food , three hooded figures climb the central steps and open fire on the settlers with phasers . They are Cardassians and succeed in killing Macias before being killed themselves by the Maquis . Macias , while trying to help an injured colonist , is shot by a Cardassian . Ro kills him and goes over to help the dying old man . Macias tells Ro , just before he dies , that when an old fighter dies , another steps up to take his place . Ro looks up at the sky with a tear falling down her face . Act Five . Picard is sitting in the settlement bar on Ronara having a drink . Ro walks in and suggests that they take a table in the back , and begin acting like she is a prostitute and he is negotiating her fee . Ro tells him he needs to cancel to convoy trap as the Maquis haven ' t fallen for the bait , but Picard knows from intelligence reports that this isn ' t true . Ro attempts to explain away this discrepancy , but Picard realizes she ' s lying and demands an explanation . Ro admits that although she was willing to complete the mission despite her hatred of the Cardassians at first , she is now starting to question what she ' s doing and the people she ' s supposed to betray despite her desire to not let Picard down . Picard tells Ro that it ' s too late for her to back out as Starfleet is committed to the operation and she has risked being put before a board of inquiry by lying to him in order to have it called off . He also tells her that not hesitate to have her court martialled if she does anything to sabotage the mission . Ro promises to follow her orders but Picard , now very wary of Ro ' s motives , tells her that Commander Riker will be joining her posing as her relative just to be certain that the plan goes through . The strike on the convoy is imminent and Riker and Ro are aboard a Maquis ship preparing to attack the convoy . Hidden in the Hugora nebula , out of sight of the incoming ships , is the " Enterprise " and other Federation starships . Just as the Maquis are about to cross into Federation space , Ro fires a low intensity particle beam toward the nebula allowing the Maquis ships to see the trap , Riker confronts Ro , who pulls a phaser on him and announces that she can ' t go through with the plan . Once Starfleet is exposed , they break formation stopping just short of Federation space and Federation jurisdiction . Ro transports to Kalita ' s ship and leaves Riker to take the Maquis ship to the " Enterprise " . Before she leaves , with tears in her eyes she asks Riker to tell Picard she is sorry . He understands and sincerely wishes her the best before she is beamed away . Later , in Picard ' s ready room , Riker says that Ro felt she was doing the right thing and that she seemed more concerned that she was letting down Picard than anything else . Picard remains silent and unmoving , not even taking Riker ' s report , so the Commander places it on his desk and leaves . After Riker leaves , Picard continues to sit silently , his face filled with anger because despite everything he did and how much he trusted Ro , she still chose to betray him . Memorable quotes . " " Those are Federation ships . " " " " Isolate one and magnify . The " Maquis " . " " " " You are Federation citizens . Your actions are in violation of our treaty with the Cardassians . Call off your attack ! " " " " I never thought we ' d be firing on our own people to " protect " a Cardassian ship . " " " " We are doing everything in our power to control them . " " " " The fact that my ship was attacked suggests your efforts have met with limited success . " " " " I ' ve spent the better part of my life fighting the Cardassians . I never thought " I ' d " be helping them out . " " " " The way I see it , there ' s one good reason to take this mission and that ' s to validate your faith in me . " " " " It was really nice meeting you . " " " " We ' ve learned to be cautious of strangers . " " " " I understand . " " " " But I ' ve known since I first met you , that in your heart , you ' re one of us . " " " " You have to hang on . " " " " When an old fighter like me dies . . . someone always steps forward to take his place . " " " " When she comes aboard , take her into custody . " " " " You can take this ship back to the " Enterprise " . " " " " You ' re going with them ? ! " " " " It ' s been a long time since I really felt like I belonged somewhere . Could you tell Captain Picard something for me ? " " " " Of course . What is it ? " " " " Tell him I ' m sorry . " " " " So long , Ro . Take care of yourself . " " " " Goodbye , Will . Energize . " " " " She seemed very sure that she was doing the right thing . I think her only regret was that she let " you " down . Here ' s my report . " " Links and references . References . Advanced Tactical Training ; " Alpha Nine " ; " Alpha Seven " ; Bajor ; Bajoran ; Bajoran interceptor ; belaklavion ; berry ; biogenic weapon ; bio - mimetic gel ; bird ; blueberry ; blueberry pie ; board of inquiry ; brine ; Bularian canapé ; Cardassia ; Cardassian ; Cardassian border ; Cardassian government ; Cardassian military ; court martial ; Deep Space 9 ; Demilitarized Zone ; desertion ; eye ; Federation ; Federation attack fighter ; Federation science vessel ; Ferengi transport ; " foraiga " ; ; ; " hasperat " ; Hugora Nebula ; isomiotic hypospray ; Juhraya ; Juhryan freighter ; Klingon ; Kurlan naiskos ; magnetascopic interference ; Maquis ; Maquis fighter ; medkit ; monk ; Occupation of Bajor ; painting ; Pakled transport ; palm beacon ; particle beam ; Pendi II ; plasma flare ; protostar ; quarantine pod ; red alert ; refugee ; refugee camp ; retroviral vaccine ; Ro Gale ; Ronara Prime ; sculpture ; sensor buoy ; sickbay ; spy ; " Squad Leader " ; tongue ; Topin system ; type 8 phaser ; " Vetar " ; Vulcan ; Yridian