"Symbiosis" is the twenty-second episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It first aired on April 18, 1988, in broadcast syndication. The teleplay was written by Robert Lewin, Richard Manning, and Hans Beimler, based on a story by Lewin, and the episode was directed by Win Phelps. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, Picard tries to mediate a trade dispute between two neighboring planets, one of which is the sole supplier of a drug to treat the other's apparently fatal disease. The episode was written after executive producer Maurice Hurley worked on Miami Vice, which he credited for resulting in the drug trade theme in the episode. The guest cast included Judson Scott and Merritt Butrick who had both appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). The episode received mixed reviews with criticism directed at the subject matter and the unsubtle nature of the presentation. Plot The Enterprise attempts to rescue the freighter Sanction, which has been disabled by a star's magnetic field and is about to collide with a planet. An agreement is reached to transport over the crew of the freighter, but they surprisingly send over cargo barrels first. The Enterprise crew attempts to transport the freighter's crew, but is only successful in recovering four of them before their ship is destroyed. Two, T'Jon (Merritt Butrick) and Romas (Richard Lineback), are scruffy and unshaven, while the other two, Sobi (Judson Scott) and Langor (Kimberly Farr), are groomed and well dressed. They all show relief that the barrels made it over, and little remorse for the lost ship and crewmen. Both groups start to fight over the ownership of the barrels using electrical shock attack from their bodies and are escorted to the observation lounge under guard. The two pairs come from different planets within the same system. It is explained that the barrels contains felicium, a medicine for a plague which is ravaging the planet Ornara. The medicine is produced on the planet Brekka but the Ornarans are the only race in the system with the means of space travel; the two remaining Ornaran ships were built long ago and are beginning to fail due to overuse and lack of maintenance; the Ornarans no longer know how to repair them. Captain Jean-Luc Picard