Lower Decks

"Lower Decks" is the 167th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The 15th episode of the seventh season.

While enduring the Enterprise's promotion evaluation process, four junior officers find themselves involved in a top-secret mission.

Plot

Four young Enterprise junior officers find their friendship strained during personnel evaluations. Two of the friends, Sam Lavelle and a young Bajoran woman named Sito Jaxa, discover that they are being considered for the same job. Joined by their friend Ben, a civilian who works as a waiter, they learn that promotions seem to be already decided on for their other two friends, Nurse Ogawa and the young Vulcan engineer Taurik.

Worf soon detects an escape pod inside Cardassian space, which is off limits to the Enterprise, and Geordi and Taurik work to transport the passenger on board amidst a cloak of secrecy.

Ogawa seems to be doing nicely in the evaluations as Beverly Crusher has nothing but praise for her abilities and accomplishments. She orders Ogawa not to reveal what she is about to see in Sickbay, and Dr. Crusher takes her to where an injured Cardassian has been brought on board.