Q; Why didn't Riker freak out when he found out that while he was in stasis Picard had beamed down and was somewhere nearby?
A; We might reasonably assume that he probably did, we just don't get to see it. When Riker came out of stasis he was clearly dazed and functioning on automatic. Stasis will do that. . .
Q; How come the Enterprise didn't burn up when the shields went down and they were still in the atmosphere?
A; So maybe it wasn't hot enough!
Oh and by the way; automatic shields? Did you notice that?
Interesting to see Julia Nickson at Ops. According to one of my Trek books, she played Stallone's girlfriend in Rambo Two. Can't say I remember that myself, but I do recall seeing her as the Commander's on/off girlfriend in Babylon 5. Then there was that movie about the mountain climbers, by which time she'd become Julia Nickson-Soul, if I remember correctly. And, of course, she eventually crops up in DS9.
But I digress . . .