The Arsenal of Freedom ( episode ) Geordi La Forge leads the " Enterprise " - D into battle while Captain Picard and an away team are trapped on planet Minos , taking fire from a dangerous automated weapons system . Summary . Teaser . Arriving at Minos in the Lorenze Cluster to investigate the disappearance of the , the enters orbit . Discovering no life signs on the planet ' s surface , they are surprised by a hail from a peddler , which is soon realized to be an automated message from the time of the Ersalrope Wars . Commander Riker , Lieutenant Yar and Lieutenant Commander Data transport down to the planet ' s surface to investigate . Act One . The away team searches the area . Yar finds a piece of melted tritanium and Data uncovers an undamaged high - tech weapon mounted in a ruined structure . Riker comments on the finds , and Yar mentions that whatever weapon melted the tritanium is beyond current Federation technology . Suddenly , Captain Paul Rice , the commanding officer of the USS " Drake " , appears from behind the bushes and engages Riker , who personally knows him and attended Starfleet Academy at the same time , in conversation . Back on " Enterprise " , they confirm there are still no lifeforms other than the away team , but that there is an energy build - up close to the commander . Captain Rice asks Riker about the abilities of the " Enterprise " , which raises suspicions in Riker ' s mind , and he soon realizes that he ' s not speaking to the real Captain Rice . Rather than give away any information about the Enterprise , Riker gives Rice false information about the , calling it " " a good ship . " " Riker then reveals to the that he knows Rice isn ' t real , having among other things not called him " Will " even once , and Rice is quickly replaced by a weapon device . Before the away team can be beamed back to the " Enterprise " , the weapon fires on Riker , encasing him in a bubble of energy . Yar quickly fires back and destroys the weapon , but the bubble does not disappear . Data and Yar examine the bubble holding Riker in stasis , and contact Captain Picard to tell him that Riker has been trapped by a force field . Act Two . Unable to transport Riker to the ship , the captain and Doctor Crusher transport down to the planet ' s surface to help , leaving Geordi La Forge in charge on the bridge . On the surface , Picard and the others theorize about the reason why the weapon put Riker in stasis rather than kill him . Data is instructed to try and use his phaser to cut away the bubble , but just as he starts , the " Enterprise " hails the away team , informing them that another energy reading has appeared , and that it is moving towards them . Suddenly , the second weapon arrives and fires , chasing Picard and Crusher from the area . They fall into a deep underground cavern . Picard lands well and is unharmed , but the doctor is almost buried in loose sand and rocks , suffering significant injuries . Meanwhile , Data and Yar battle with the second weapon , discovering that it has learned and adapted from its previous encounter , and is now evasive and much more difficult to destroy . However , the combined effort of the two is enough to destroy it . Finally noticing the disappearance of the captain and the doctor , Yar and Data try and contact them , but their combadges aren ' t functioning . Yar decides to go off and try to find them , leaving Data with the still immobile Riker . Back in the cavern , Crusher is nearly unconscious , with a broken arm and heavy bleeding . Picard also discovers that their communicators are malfunctioning . Realizing the need to tend to Crusher , Picard begins to treat her broken arm by using a twig from a branch nearby to fashion a splint and stopping the bleeding by tearing a piece from Crusher ' s lab coat . Yar returns to Data , after failing to find the captain and doctor , and Data informs her that he has figured out the precise setting needed to dissolve the bubble around Riker . He fires his phaser and Riker is released , disoriented , but unharmed . Back on the " Enterprise " , La Forge receives a report that they can now beam up the entire away team , but suddenly the deflector shields raise automatically , just before one of the weapons starts firing at the ship from almost point - blank range . The blast rocks the ship , but the shields hold . Just before their weapons can target the device and destroy it , it vanishes from the sensors , appearing seconds later behind the ship , and firing again . Realizing that the shields won ' t be able to stand up to this much punishment indefinitely , and that the away team can ' t be transported back with the shields up , La Forge is left to ponder his options . Act Three . Chief Engineer Lieutenant arrives on the bridge and , hearing La Forge ' s plan of staying in orbit to try and rescue the away team , demands that La Forge relinquish his command to him , a higher - ranking officer . However , La Forge is more interested in trying to destroy the weapon , so he ignores Logan and tells Worf to compute the predicted attack path of the weapon , firing in the dark against their cloaked opponent . Logan continues to interfere , and La Forge sends him back to engineering , saying he ' s in command until relieved by either Commander Riker or Captain Picard . Back on the planet , a third weapon device has been released , and this time it is equipped with its own deflector shield . Data comments that the weapon continues to upgrade itself after every encounter . With the combined firepower of their phasers , the officers only just manage to destroy the weapon . Data tells Riker that the weapons appear every twelve minutes , which gives them all the incentive they need to be off the planet by that time . In the cavern , Picard continues to make sure Crusher doesn ' t fall unconscious . He discovers that she ' s got another , more serious wound on her leg , which is bleeding heavily . Searching for a clotting agent , Crusher notices some roots nearby . At the doctor ' s instruction , Picard breaks a piece off and tastes it to learn how bitter it is , and notices some discoloration when he applies some to his hand . Crusher slips in and out of consciousness much to the concern of Picard , who needs her help to treat her as he crushes the root and applies it to the wound . He manages to stop the bleeding , and although Crusher is still in shock , he tries to do his best for her by elevating her legs to settle her down . Back on the ship , La Forge and the bridge crew are ready for their first test shot . The " Enterprise " ' s phasers and photon torpedoes are fired simultaneously , but they miss completely . This is confirmed by the weapon firing on the ship once again . With the crew reporting increasing damage to the shields , and the weapon continuing to fire unabated , La Forge appears increasingly frustrated . Everyone on the bridge is now looking to him for orders . La Forge then calls for Logan to come to the bridge . Act Four . As soon as Logan arrives , La Forge calls for the " Enterprise " to go to warp and leave orbit of the planet , surprising everyone on the bridge . He then orders Logan to take command of the saucer section of the " Enterprise " , to ensure the safety of the majority of the crew by taking it to Starbase 103 , while La Forge takes the stardrive section back to the planet . La Forge retreats to Picard ' s ready room to ponder his strategy . Counselor Troi enters and gives him some advice on how to properly command the two young junior officers Solis and T ' Su , telling him that it is " he " they will draw strength from . She advises him to show confidence in them , just as Captain Picard showed confidence in La Forge when he left him in command of the " Enterprise " . La Forge gratefully accepts Troi ' s advice . When La Forge and the bridge crew have relocated to the battle bridge , the ship separates , leaving the saucer section behind . Meanwhile , back in the cavern , Picard uncovers an alien viewscreen . A holographic projection of the same salesman as they ' d seen before appears and begins extolling the virtues of the " Echo Papa 607 , " the Minosians ' ultimate achievement . Picard is shocked to be told that the attacks on the away team and the " Enterprise " have simply been part of an automated " demonstration " of the weapon . Picard tells the salesman to abort the demonstration , but the salesman says they have to see what the weapon ' s capabilites are in order to be convinced of its worth . Beverly volunteers that the salesman program doesn ' t understand anything other than what its been programmed to sell – it has no idea that its parent civilization was wiped out . The salesman continues to explain the weapon : after each encounter with the enemy , the central unit learns and adapts its weapons to combat them . Once it is activated , the Echo Papa 607 is unstoppable . The captain realizes that this is all too true : it was the Minosians ' own weapon system that destroyed their civilization . The unit then signals that the final weapon device is about to be launched . Commander Riker and the others locate the hole the captain and doctor fell through , but there is no way for them to reach each other . Then Data states that he can safely jump down the 11 . 75 meter drop without damage . This surprises everyone , but without hesitation , the android officer drops down the hole , and easily lands firmly on his feet . Riker and Yar take up defensive positions in an attempt to prepare for the final weapon , though neither of them has any ideas as to how to fight it . Act Five . As the stardrive section of the " Enterprise " returns to Minos , La Forge tries to give the two young officers ( Solis and T ' Su ) some encouragement just as Troi suggested . Back in the cavern , the final weapon is launched , and Data attempts to reprogram the targeting settings . Finding no alternate targets for the weapon to lock onto , however , Data draws a blank . Crusher suggests that they simply turn the machine off . The idea is so simple , Picard hadn ' t even considered it . He demands to the peddler to turn off the machine . Again , the peddler seems not to understand , insisting that they have to see everything the machine can do . Picard says they ' ve seen enough , and quickly agrees to " buy " the Echo Papa 607 . Satisfied , the peddler congratulates Picard on his decision , and disappears . The effect is immediate – the display screen goes blank , the final weapon deactivates , and the dampening field blocking communications is released . However , things are not so good on " Enterprise " . The weapon system is still functional in orbit of the planet , and is chasing the ship . La Forge orders the ship into the planet ' s atmosphere , where he hopes atmospheric interaction with the weapon will reveal its presence , despite its cloaking device . As the " Enterprise " descends , the shields begin to fail , but just in time , T ' Su detects a disturbance to starboard . The plan works perfectly as Worf instantly locks phasers on the weapon and obliterates it with ease . Celebrating their victory , the bridge crew quickly returns the " Enterprise " to standard orbit and T ' Su reports the away team being transported aboard . When Captain Picard and Riker arrive on the battle bridge , La Forge rises from the captain ' s chair to relinquish command but Picard refuses . At first La Forge doesn ' t understand but Picard tells La Forge that when he left , the " Enterprise " was still in one piece and that he would appreciate it being returned to him in that same condition . So La Forge , delighted that he will remain in command for a bit longer , orders Solis to lay in a course for a rendezvous with the saucer section while Picard and Riker look on and T ' Su reports that sickbay says Dr . Crusher will be fine . Memorable quotes . " " What happened to all the people ? " " " " War ? " " " " Disease ? " " " " A dissatisfied customer ? " " " " Captain , we are being hailed . " " " " How can that be , from a planet with no people ? " " " " If you need a little something ' special ' , be it for one target , or multiple targets , we got it , you ' ll see it , here on Minos , where we live by the motto , ' Peace through superior firepower ' . " " " " Minos , the arsenal of freedom . Perfection in highly advanced weaponry . Versatility , flexibility , and everything one hundred percent guaranteed ! So , lock onto my signal and beam on down ! Because we don ' t just provide weapons , we provide complete weapons sys - " " " " That ' s a heck of a sales pitch . " " " " Who sent you here to look for me ? " " " " Your mother . She ' s worried about you . " " " " Spooky . " " " " Tell me about your ship , Riker . It ' s the " Enterprise " , isn ' t it ? " " " " No . . . the name of my ship is the . . . " Lollipop " . " " " " I have no knowledge of that ship . " " " " It ' s just been commissioned . It ' s a good ship . " " " " What ' s the armament on your ship ? " " " " Ten . " " " " Ten ? I don ' t understand , ten what ? " " " " Six . " " " " Commander Riker , your answers make no sense . " " " " You haven ' t used my first name once , Paul . You remember it , don ' t you ? " " " " You can ' t fight what you can ' t see . " " " " Mr . Logan , you will take command . . . of the saucer section . " " " " We " MISSED " ! " " " " So what went wrong ? Where are its creators ? Where are the people of Minos ? " " " " Once unleashed , the unit " is . . . " invincible – the perfect killing system . " " " Too " perfect . . . You poor fools – your own creation destroyed you ! " " " " Captain , Data ' s going to join you down there . " " " " Data ? " " " " At your service , captain . " " " " Relinquishing command , captain . " " " " As you were , Lieutenant . " " " " Sir ? " " " " Mr . La Forge , when I left this ship , it was in one piece . I would appreciate your returning it to me in the same condition . Do you concur , Number One ? " " " " Absolutely , sir . " " Links and references . References . Advanced Navigation ; aquarium ; arms dealer ; Arvada III ; away team ; battle bridge ; blanket ; blood ; bridge ; cannon ; clotting agent ; desktop monitor ; docking latch ; ; Echo Papa 607 ; emergency power ; Ersalrope Wars ; extinction ; fish ; fog ; force field ; ; " Galaxy " - class decks ; heat shield ; hologram ; ; ; ; light cruiser ; Livingston ; ; Lorenze Cluster ; medical tricorder ; " The Merchant of Venice " ; meter ; Minos ; Minosian ; motto ; number one ; orbit ; PADD ; phaser ; photon torpedo ; planet ; planetary defense system ; ready room ; ring ; root ; saucer module ; saucer separation ; schematic ; sculpture ; shock ; skant ; standard orbit ; Starbase 103 ; stardrive section ; Starfleet Academy ; stasis ; stasis field ; " The Annotated Shakespeare " ; transporter room ; tricorder ; tritanium ; type 2 phaser ; unnamed plants ; viewscreen ; VISOR ; warp 3 ; weapon ; wood