Stardate 57601.3

The Cerritos is assisting in the controlled demolition of an unstable moon near Mixtus 3. Boimler's girlfriend, Barb, is aboard the primary ship on the operation, the USS Vancouver, a Parliament-class ship which focusses on complex, large-scale engineering projects.

The residents of the star system are protesting the demolition.

Boimler met his girlfriend a month ago and they have plans for lunch while their ships are working together. Mariner is skeptical of Barb's existence.

Rutherford and Tendi are working on the ship's system when a plasma fire sparks. They comment on how the Cerritos is falling apart and how the USS Vancouver is more advanced and updated in technology.

Onboard the Vancouver, Tendi and Rutherford are very impressed while Mariner discounts the differences.

Boimler's looking for Barb and Mariner's giving him an out when Barb actually appears and kisses Brad enthusiastically.

As Barb's showing them around, they run into Jet from the Cerritos and it turns out Barb and him used to date. He's there to tell them that they have to recalibrate the moon's demolition because of the protest.

As Boimler and Mariner walk away, Mariner suspects Barb is more than she seems.

Rutherford and Tendi are welcomed by Lt. Cmdr. Ron Docent who offers them a chance to acquire some of the newer tech from the Vancouver.

Mariner expresses her concerns about Barb while Boimler worries about her history with Jet. Mariner relives a previous experience where she lost a friend to a shapechanging "perfect" partner.

Freeman manages to negotiate a settlement for all the residents of Mixtus 3 but one representative from Mixtus 2 states that blowing up the moon will doom his planet.

While Barb is trying to run a meeting, Boimler arrives and disrupts it all, trying to be cool and claim Barb as his girlfriend. Mariner arrives too and tests Barb for being an android.

Both Tendi and Rutherford envision being the ones to bring a T-88 back to the Cerritos. This fuels a competition between the two of them to be the fastest at running diagnostics.

Boimler tries dressing to impress and meets Barb in the mess. She isn't impressed by his act and even less impressed when Mariner cuts a lock of her hair for analysis.

Boimler missteps again when he interrupts Barb and Jet working in a shuttle. He admits his insecurity and Barb reassures him just as Mariner pulls her pants down in an attempt to expose a Reptoid tail.

Barb invites Boimler along as she launches to manually activate the moon demolition. As they leave, Mariner discovers a parasite's exoskeleton and realizes she was right.

Tendi and Rutherford tie in their competition but are shocked to learn that their prize is a transfer to the Vancouver.

Mariner is denied an emergency transfer to the platform where Barb took Boimler but decides to space walk over instead. She arrives at the platform and finds him naked, waiting for Barb. They argue. The platform hits some turbulance and Boimler falls and hits his hard, knocking him unconscious.

Barb returns and finds Mariner holding the naked, unconscious Boimler and the two fight.

Tendi and Rutherford discuss it and they decide to stay on the Cerritos. Docent doesn't take it well and Rutherford and Tendi steal his tablet to prevent him from finalizing the transfer.

During the fight, Barb accuses Mariner of being a parasite.

When Freeman discovers there are only two residents on Mixtus 2, she orders the moon implosion.

Mariner and Barb find themselves bonding over embarrassing Boimler stories. Barb tells Mariner to just scan her and she scans as human. However, the scanner does detect a parasite which turns out to be on Boimler.

Tendi discovers that Docent was trying to swap places with her and Rutherford. He finds working aboard the Vancouver too stressful. He apologizes and deletes the transfer orders. Rutherford extorts him for a couple of T-88s as a bonus.

Mariner and Barb extract and trap the parasite which had made Boimler chemically irresistible to Barb. She breaks up with him and then confirms her plans with Mariner for next month.

Tendi and Rutherford return to the Cerritos happy. They both reveal that they stole a bagful of T-88s from the Vancouver.