after the Enterprise sends a message with instructions for removing the organism. Suspicious of the radio silence, the Enterprise raises its shields. Seemingly accepting his fate, Riker convinces Kargan to close to a distance of 40,000 kilometers before attacking the Enterprise. He activates the transponder he got from Worf and tricks Kargan into taking it. The Enterprise locks onto the transponder signal and waits for the Pagh to get within 40,000 kilometers, the range of the Enterprises transporters. Kargan is beamed to the Enterprises bridge and draws his disruptor but Worf fires first and stuns him. Riker assumes command of the Pagh, decloaks and demands that the Enterprise surrender, which Picard agrees to, disgracing Kargan further. The Enterprise cleans the organism from the Klingon ship and Kargan is returned. Riker allows Kargan to hit him and order him off the ship to allow the Klingon to regain some of his dignity before the Pagh departs. Production Brian Thompson was cast as the Klingon Lieutenant Klag. He had some difficulties during the audition process as the producers originally sought to have the actor portraying that part wear the same costume created for Christopher Lloyd in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. His audition was originally cancelled, as he later explained, "I phoned Herb Tobias, who was the head of the agency at the time, and told him what happened. I said, 'Herb, would you mind calling the Star Trek office and figuring out a tactful way of asking them, "Who casts this program? The directors and producers or the wardrobe department? Thompson praised the work of Jonathan Frakes, saying he is a "true professional and I loved working with him." Awards Makeup supervisor Michael Westmore was nominated for an Emmy for this episode. Reception In 2011, Tor.com said that this episode "set the tone" for Klingon themed episodes, and praised both the performance and character arcs for both Riker and Mendon. Den of Geek says, in their 2013 review of this episode, "Competent, engaging, full of heart, humour and character interplay. The scene with Riker and Picard down at the shooting range is fantastic, ...". Zack Handlen, writing for the A.V. Club in 2010, gave the episode an A−. Handlen praised the episode's brevity, and called Riker's taking over the Pagh as "a cheer-worthy twist," stating, "it wouldn't have worked if it didn't feel earned." References External links Star Trek: