Ep 2. Realm of Fear

The Enterprise is en route to the star system, accompanied by a group of specialists from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Ensign Riker is chosen by Riker to join the team as an observer, much to Chief Engineer La Forge's displeasure. The Enterprise is to study a rare atmospheric disturbance, and the team is to take readings from inside the phenomenon.

Ensign Riker, after seeing Miles O'Brien, the Enterprise's transporter chief, beaming people from the ship to a planet, volunteers to be part of the transport team. However, during his first transport, Riker experiences a glitch and gets stuck in the transporter beam. He is eventually rescued, but the incident shakes him badly.

Riker, now terrified of the transporter, has a hard time resuming his normal duties, and the fact that the Enterprise has moved into a region of space filled with strange phenomena does not help matters. Worse still, his fear seems to be affecting his performance, as he is slow to react during a particularly dangerous mission.

Chief Engineer La Forge attempts to help Riker overcome his fears, and puts him in the holodeck. Riker must face his fear of the transporter in a simulated environment where he is going to run a few transport simulations. However, things start to go wrong when, despite the simulation being "safe," Riker thinks he sees a strange alien creature. Geordi must figure out what is causing the problems before Riker's fear is made worse, or before he is hurt by the holodeck's safety protocols.

Meanwhile, on the planet the team from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers accidentally beams a strange, shimmering alien creature aboard the Enterprise. The creature soon vanishes, only to be seen again in the transporter beam. O'Brien, who has had his own unpleasant experiences with the transporter, volunteers to help examine the creature, along with Ensign Riker.

"No one among Starfleet's finest is supposed to be afraid of anything," Riker says at one point in the episode, reflecting on his own fears. "But sometimes, you just lose it." By the episode's end, Riker, O'Brien, and the rest of the crew have learned that fear is a normal part of life, and that it is important to face it head-on to get past it.