Allegiance ( episode ) Captain Picard and three other people are abducted and imprisoned by an unknown force and replaced by duplicates . Summary . Teaser . Captain Picard is reading in his quarters . He falls asleep when he is scanned by a mysterious probe and transport ed away to an unknown room where he cannot communicate with the . On the bridge , an unknown energy source is detected in the captain ' s quarters . The captain doesn ' t answer when paged , so a security team led by Lieutenant Worf immediately heads to investigate . As they attempt to open the door to his quarters , they find the captain standing there , book and glass in hand , as if nothing at all is out of the ordinary . Act One . The real captain finds himself in a black holding cell with lights and with two others , a female Bolian Starfleet cadet named Mitena Haro , and Kova Tholl , a Mizarian from the planet Mizar II . The " captain " running the " Enterprise " is a replacement of some type , but still seems to have all of the memories and experiences of Picard . His behavior , however , is somehow unusual for the captain . It is subtle , but his demeanor has changed ; he is more outgoing , yet emotionless . His actions become more and more unusual as time passes . He orders the crew to stop their course to their rendezvous with the to assist in terraforming Browder IV , and head towards the well - studied pulsar in the Lonka Cluster . Wesley Crusher says that at warp 7 they can make the trip in a little under forty minutes , but " Picard " orders him to instead travel at warp 2 , which will take nearly a day - and - a - half . The crew does not understand this but follows orders . Meanwhile , in the holding cell , Picard takes charge of the situation and attempts to find a way out . Tholl believes in peaceful non - resistance ; his homeworld has been conquered " six " times . Because of this he refuses to help in escape and in fact tries to convince the others to stop trying . He states that he tried once earlier and received an extremely painful punishment . Tholl states he will never go near the door again . Cadet Haro is willing to do whatever Picard says . A moment later , a Chalnoth named Esoqq materializes and , startled at his abduction , jumps to his feet and pulls out a large knife . Picard raises his hands to calm him , but he doesn ' t stand down . Act Two . After explaining they are prisoners like him , the captain is able to calm him down by saying that he has visited Esoqq ' s homeworld , twelve years previously , when he commanded the . Back on the ship , the Picard replacement stops in at the poker game in Data ' s quarters and asks La Forge to increase the efficiency of the warp drive from 93 % to 95 % . He emphasizes that this doesn ' t need to be done right away , but La Forge , who has had a luckless night at the table , decides it ' d be a better use of his time , and leaves . Picard , who has never stopped in for a poker game before , decides to watch the others play , though declines to actually take part . He asks to speak with Troi and when outside asks if the crew is suspicious of his actions in any way . She reminds him that such changes are not unusual and that she will tell him if they become distrustful . The conversation is rather odd and just a bit suspicious in and of itself . Esoqq finds that he is incapable of eating the food tablet that is the only nourishment provided . He is already quick to violence but he says that he can go only three to four days without food , but no more . He then eyes Tholl hungrily . The replacement captain on the ship then gets a physical examination in sickbay and appears to be in perfect health . Dr . Crusher does not understand why Picard would need a physical , as he was not due for a checkup for a month , and normally he hates physicals . Picard then invites Crusher to dinner in his quarters and she seems surprised about this unexpected gesture . In the holding cell , after some discussion , the prisoners decide to try to open the door and escape , notwithstanding the risks and Tholl ' s opposition . Esoqq smashes a panel . Haro then works on the circuits to try to rig the door open . The door opens a crack , closes again and then Picard , Esoqq , and Haro are punished by a painful green ray . Act Three . On the " Enterprise " , Crusher is having dinner with the replacement Picard . She tells Picard that she knows that something is on his mind and he says he wants a more intimate relationship . They talk about their duty and how both their jobs require professional distance . He then asks her to dance . Surprised , Crusher exclaims she thought that Picard didn ' t dance ; he responds , only on special occasions . He then kisses her , and Crusher gets the feeling that something is odd and asks if she is being played . Picard calls it a night and shows her the door . At this point , in the holding cell , the four captives begin to accuse each other . Esoqq accuses Tholl of being the enemy because he refused to help and seemed to sit there observing them , claiming he was peaceful . The remainder of the attack is directed toward Picard because he was ordering them all around all the time . Haro vouches for him by citing some of the deeds Picard has participated in , including his visit to Mintaka III and helping eradicate the Cor Caroli V plague . After clearing up some the conflicts in the holding cell , they all decide that it would be better to work together than to bicker about whose fault it was . Troi and Riker are sitting in Ten Forward talking about the unusual actions of the captain . Picard walks into Ten Forward and greets and congratulates Geordi La Forge for increasing the efficiency of warp drive even beyond his request , to 96 % . He then decide to buy ale for him and everyone else in the bar , before leading them all in a sing - along . Riker becomes increasingly suspicious about the unusual behavior . Act Four . The senior staff all meet together to discuss Picard ' s odd behavior . They are concerned but there is not enough cause for mutiny . " " The next move is his " " , states Riker as the meeting is adjourned . The " Enterprise " finally arrives to the Lonka pulsar . Picard then orders to move the ship dangerously close to it , so close that their shields will only last 18 minutes . Riker asks to speak in private with Picard , and once in the ready room , complains about these orders . Picard suggests that Riker has been under a lot of stress and should get a physical examination . With no actual proof that Picard ' s judgement is compromised , Riker is forced to withdraw his objections for now . In the holding cell all of the prisoners cooperate in disabling the green ray and opening the access door , only to find a wall behind the door that they managed to open . On the " Enterprise " , Picard orders to move even closer to the pulsar , which would almost certainly destroy the ship . Riker orders to disregard Picard ' s orders , so Picard commands Worf to remove Riker from the bridge , but Worf does not budge . Act Five . Riker takes control of the ship and orders Wesley Crusher to immediately move the " Enterprise " away from the pulsar . By now , the prisoners are depressed and confused . Picard , having long grown suspicious of Haro , announces to everyone that the entire thing is an elaborate experiment to see how everyone acts under leadership ; there was Tholl , the pacifist , who follows whoever has the most power ; Esoqq , the anarchist , who rejects authority of all kinds ; Haro , the Starfleet cadet , sworn to follow the orders of a superior officer ; and Picard , a Starfleet captain , trained to command . He notes that there were tasks designed to require them to work together to complete , and that the Chalnoth was unable to eat the food , to make him a threat . Picard then reveals that Haro is not who she appears to be ; she had earlier mentioned the Cor Caroli V plague , which has been classified as top secret and would not be known of by any real Starfleet cadet . Haro admits that Picard is correct , and then morphs into a trio of aliens , who explain that Picard that they were studying leadership . However , Picard ' s knowledge of the experiment will taint the results , so they decide to return the captives to their places of origin . Picard is transported to his ship and the fake Picard is revealed . The Picard clone had been testing if the crew would follow him , even to death . The real Picard gives his crew a subtle signal to let them know that he wants the aliens to be trapped in a force field . Once trapped , they become afraid and panicked . Picard tells them that imprisonment is harm in itself and that they should rethink the morality of their experiments . He also warns them that the Federation now has the ability to trap them . Picard then sets them free and demands they leave his ship . They transport away . Picard asks the crew how they knew it was a replica and Riker jokingly explains that he didn ' t know that Picard could sing that well . Dr . Crusher enters the bridge and sits next to Picard and glances at him in a flirtatious manner , making Picard confused as they return to their normal course . Memorable quotes . " " It ' s edible , but I wouldn ' t call it food . " " " " My given name is Esoqq . It means fighter . " " " " I ' ll bet half the names in Chalnoth language mean fighter . " " " " Mizarians , your names all mean surrenderer ! " " " " What is this ? " " " " Food . " " " " The " only " food ? ! " " " " It would seem so . " " " " POISON ! ! " " " " You ' re destroying yourself and anyone who is foolish enough to listen to you ! " " " " You ' ve shown none of the concern that Captain Picard would for the safety of his ship , the welfare of his crew . " " " " I found it unlikely that a first year cadet would know of the " Enterprise " s visit to Mintaka III , so I tested you . Starfleet has classified the Cor Caroli V plague as secret . No cadet would have knowledge of that incident . " " " " Captain . . . " " " " So you may as well drop this pretense . I ' m not playing any further . I ' m quitting this game . As far as I am concerned , this experiment is over ! " " " " You are correct , Captain Picard . " " " " In any event , we now know of your race and we know how to imprison you . Bear that in mind . Now , get off my ship ! " " " " The next beams might be lethal ! " " " " Not to you . You moved FAR from the door ! " " " " Then my doppelganger caused no serious damage . The replica was convincing ? " " " " Very convincing , but not perfect . " " " " Not perfect in what way ? " " " " Well sir , I find it hard to believe that you ' re that good a singer . " " " " Singer ? I look forward to reading your report , Commander . At least I think I do . " " Links and references . References . 2354 ; abductor aliens ; anarchy ; board of inquiry ; Bolian s ; Bolarus IX ; Browder IV ; Chalna ; Chalnoth ; Cor Caroli V ; dendrite ; drinking song ; efficiency drill ; Esoqq ( replica ) ; Esoqq ' s enemies ; gesture ; " Heart of Oak " ; ; kidnapping ; kilometer ; Kova Tholl ( replica ) ; Lonka Cluster ; Mintaka III ; Mizar II ; Mizarian s ; morality ; Moropa ; murder ; neutron star ; Ordek Nebula ; physical ; Phyrox plague ; Picard , Jean Luc ( replica ) ; poison ; prime number ; pulsar ; replica ; Romulan s ; sextant ; shock ; Starfleet Academy ; ; terraforming ; toast ; tour of duty ; Wogneer creature s Deleted references . Pozaron ; regent