This episode was directed by LeVar Burton, who played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987).
This episode features the first on-screen appearance of the Nausicaans in Enterprise. The outing also depicts the first official contact between Starfleet and the Nausicaans.
The sets used to depict the Fortunate were redressed NX-class sets commonly shown as areas of Enterprise. The hallways of the Fortunate were redressed corridors from Enterprise, with a new lighting scheme and several new additions to the walls. Similarly, the cargo bays of the Fortunate were the shuttlebays of Enterprise, filled with several types of cargo tubs and boxes.
Lawrence Monoson, D. Elliot Woods, Danny Goldring, and Vaughn Armstrong all appeared in Deep Space Nine. Monoson played Hovath in The Storyteller (1993) and Woods played a Klingon officer in Sons of Mogh (1996). Goldring played Legate Kell in Civil Defense (1994) and Chief Burke in Nor the Battle to the Strong (1996). Armstrong played Danar in Past Prologue (1993) and Seskal in When It Rains... (1999) and The Dogs of War (1999).
This takes place in 2151.