Picard's crew solves the mystery of Farpoint Station while Q watches to decide whether humanity has earned its place among the stars.
The second half of The Next Generation's pilot follows the newly assembled Enterprise-D crew as they investigate Farpoint Station, a remarkable base offered to the Federation by the Bandi. Riker leads away teams to understand how the Bandi can produce whatever their visitors want, while an unknown vessel appears in orbit and attacks the old Bandi city.
The crew realises that the station is in fact a captured space-dwelling life form, forced to take the shape of a starbase, and that the orbiting ship is its mate come to rescue it. By choosing compassion over force, Picard frees the creature and passes the test set by Q. The story completes the series' opening statement of values and introduces the dynamic between Picard and Q that returns in the finale.