Tamarian cruiser commanded by Dathon, whose crew isolated Picard on El-Adrel IV in an attempt to forge understanding with a species that spoke in metaphor.
The Tamarian ship was a deep-space cruiser belonging to the Children of Tama, a species whose language consisted of references to their own myths and history. Earlier contacts with the Federation had failed because, even with translators, neither side could understand the other.
In Darmok, the Tamarian ship met the Enterprise-D at El-Adrel. Its captain, Dathon, had himself and Picard beamed to the planet below, and the ship then projected a scattering field that blocked the Enterprise's transporters. Riker's attempts to break through led to an exchange of fire between the two vessels.
On the surface Dathon was mortally wounded by a creature while Picard slowly learned to understand his way of speaking. Picard was returned to the Enterprise just as the Tamarian ship's attack was disabling it, and his use of Tamarian imagery to describe what had happened ended the fighting. The cruiser departed, leaving a first real step towards communication.