Picard: Captain's log, stardate 45470.1. The Enterprise has been diverted to the Moab sector to track a stellar core fragment of a disintegrated neutron star. Our science teams have been asked to monitor the planetary disruptions it may cause.
Riker: We've got a problem. Our core fragment is going to pass by Moab Four in six days.
Picard: Isn't that exactly what we anticipated?
Riker: We didn't anticipate that somebody would be living there.
Data: An artificial environment has been constructed on the southern continent, sir.
Picard: Have you definitely established that there's someone's inside it?
Data: Yes, Captain. Sensors are reading human life forms.
Picard: Human?
Riker: Are they responding to our hails, Mister Worf?
Worf: Negative, sir.
Picard: Any starships ever reported missing in this sector, Mister Data?
Data: No, sir.
Riker: How the hell did they find themselves on a deserted planet?
Laforge: I'm pretty sure they know we're here.
Picard: Mister La Forge?
Laforge: Our sensors are picking up deep EM readings. Looks like wave patterns from an obsolete subspace relay.
Riker: Which would suggest they also have the ability to communicate with us.
Picard: Mister Worf, open the lower band frequencies most commonly used in the last century.
Worf: Channel open.
Picard: This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. It is urgent that you respond.
Worf: Sir, defensive shield around the structure is increasing in strength.
Riker: Not exactly a welcome mat.
Picard: We mean you no harm. We must warn you that your planet is about to experience massive seismic disruptions due to an approaching stellar core fragment. No structure will be able to withstand them.
Worf: They are responding.
Picard: On screen.
Conor: Enterprise, I am Aaron Conor.
Picard: Mister Conor, we were unaware that there were human colonies in this system.
Conor: I don't want to be rude, Captain, but we don't wish to interact with outsiders. I'm only responding because of your warning.
Picard: The fragment will have serious effects on your planet within six days.
Conor: Yes, I know. We have been tracking it. But our biosphere has been constructed to withstand quakes of eight point seven on the Richter Scale.
Riker: Mister Data?
Data: The fragment has a density of one hundred billion kilograms per cubic centimeter. As a result, when it passes Moab Four, it will cause tectonic shifts well beyond eight point seven on the Richter Scale.
Picard: I'm afraid we're going to have to evacuate your people.
Conor: Evacuate? That is not possible. There must be an alternative.
Picard: Well, we will gladly explore the possibility of it with you, Mister Conor. Would you like to come aboard to discuss it?
Conor: Our environment is sealed. No one can get in or out.
Picard: We are capable of matter-energy transport.
Conor: Matter-energy?
Picard: We can take you directly through the structure.
Conor: Really? That's quite remarkable.
Picard: May we arrange for your transport?
Conor: No, I must stay here. But under the circumstances, I will permit a small delegation from your ship inside the biosphere. If only to see this matter-energy transportation you speak of.
Picard: Very good. Commander Riker and an away team will join you shortly. Picard out.
Martin: This is a mistake, Aaron.
Conor: Good Lord, Martin. What would you have me do?
Martin: Anything that would keep them out of here.
Conor: We have nothing to hide.
Martin: We have a great deal to lose.
Martin: What is that?
Conor: It's them. Look at this, Martin.
Troi: It's lovely I can understand why you are reluctant to leave, Mister Conor.
Conor: Not just reluctant, Miss Troi. It is imperative that we remain.
Martin: It would be suicide to evacuate. It would destroy everything we've worked for two centuries to accomplish.
Conor: You see, this is an engineered society.
Riker: Engineered?
Conor: Genetically engineered. Our ancestors came from Earth to develop a perfect society. They believed that through controlled procreation, they could create people without flaws and those people would build a paradise.
Troi: All of you have been selectively bred? Your DNA patterns chosen?
Conor: Eight generations of us.
Martin: We have immeasurably extended the potential of humanity, physically, psychologically. We have evolved beyond, beyond
Laforge: Beyond us.
Martin: Frankly, yes. No one in this society would be blind, for example. No offense intended.
Laforge: I can see you just fine, sir.
Martin: Yes. Well, my point was just.
Conor: Thank you, Martin. Perhaps you've also made it clear there are still a few imperfections we're working on. For the most part, we've achieved a fully integrated existence. Not just among ourselves but with our environment. We don't just live here, we're a part of our environment. it is part of us. Every plant life, every microscopic lifeform is part of a master design. We cannot separate ourselves from it without irreparably altering who and what we are.
Martin: Your presence here has already begun to affect the entire balance of our society.
Conor: If we do not survive, the balance of our society won't mean a great deal, will it?
Conor: I apologize. But he is performing his function as he is designed to do.
Laforge: What function might that be?
Conor: He is the interpreter of our founders' intentions for this society.
Riker: A judge?
Conor: Yes, more or less. Obviously, he has no diplomatic talents.
Troi: And obviously you do.
Conor: I have been bred to fill this specific role. We grow up knowing exactly what our society needs from us. What we are expected to do.
Riker: That must take some of fun out it?
Conor: Not at all. My entire psychological makeup tells me that I was born to lead. I am exactly what I would choose to be. Think of it another way. Are there still people in your society who have not discovered who they really are, or what they were meant to do with their lives? They may be in the wrong job, they may be writing bad poetry. Or worse yet, they may be great poets working as laborers, never to be discovered. That does not happen here. It is, for us, an ideal existence. We will not give it up easily.
Troi: We will do whatever we can to help you preserve it.
Conor: Hannah, I'd like you to meet our guests.
Hannah: Oh yes, of course, from the starship. I've been looking forward to speaking with you.
Conor: Hannah Bates is one of our scientists. If there's any way to shore up our defenses, Hannah will find it. She has a remarkable talent with theoretical physics.
Hannah: I've worked up a few schematics based on gravimetric potentials and deflector energy allocation.
Riker: Geordi, Troi and I will return to the Enterprise. When you've reached a conclusion, you can contact us.
Troi: Commander, if Mister Conor doesn't mind, I'd like to stay and see more of his colony.
Conor: No, no, that would be fine. I'd like you to see it.
Riker: Riker to Enterprise. One to beam up.
Crewman: Acknowledged, Commander.
Riker: Energize.
Troi: You're sure my being here is not going to be disruptive?
Conor: Disruptive? You mean, what Martin was saying.
Troi: Well, I certainly wouldn't wish to throw off your entire balance.
Conor: Too late. The damage is done.
Troi: Seriously.
Conor: I sometimes think that strict interpreters like Martin have forgotten we're still human. We'll adjust, accommodate.
Troi: There must be other unexpected events you have to deal with. An untimely death, an accident.
Conor: Our geneticists are able to screen out any congenital health risks before conception. Our population is diverse enough to maintain a genetic balance in the event of accidental death. But very little that is unexpected occurs here. Am I making this sound incredibly dull?
Troi: Not at all.
Conor: I'll tell you the truth, but I'll deny it if you tell Martin. I've found today exhilarating. Meeting you, meeting new people, with new ideas.
Troi: I feel the same about being here. I'm something of a student of human nature, and I find this all fascinating.
Conor: A student of human nature?
Troi: I'm the ship's Counselor.
Conor: Ah, I'm afraid you wouldn't find much work here, Counselor.
Troi: I'd book my next vacation at your hotel, if you had one.
Conor: Well in that case, I shall have to have them build one.
Hannah: The biosphere's superstructure will never withstand the tectonic shocks. The environment would be compromised.
Laforge: That's how I see it.
Hannah: Your ship. What kind of energy output is it capable of generating?
Laforge: We have a matter-antimatter warp reaction system, the most powerful in the Starfleet. Normally, it kicks plasma up into the terawatt range. Why?
Hannah: Well, either we're going to have to move or that fragment is.
Laforge: We can move a small moon or an asteroid, but a stellar core fragment? That's much too massive for our tractor beam.
Laforge: What's that?
Hannah: A wild idea, purely theoretical.
Laforge: A multiphase tractor beam?
Hannah: When we first spotted the fragment approaching, I came up with the idea, but we can't generate the kind of energy we would need. You can.
Laforge: We'd need Hannah on the ship.
Martin: No.
Hannah: With my theories and their equipment, we might be able to alter the fragment's path. It's our only chance to avoid evacuation.
Conor: No one had ever come here and no one had ever left, until today. This is a date to note in our history books.
Martin: This is in direct violation of the intentions of our founders, Aaron.
Conor: I don't think they intended us to die, Martin.
Martin: Her absence will create an additional imbalance.
Conor: Temporarily. The circumstances require us to be flexible.
Martin: We have no idea how molecular transport will affect her DNA.
Laforge: It won't affect her DNA at all. There's been over a century of evidence to prove that.
Conor: You can go, Hannah.
Troi: May I return later?
Conor: I look forward to it.
Laforge: Enterprise, three to beam up. Energize.
Picard: Captain's log, supplemental. Commander La Forge and Hannah Bates have spent three days trying to find a way to adjust the path of the core fragment. If they do not succeed in the next forty eight hours, we will need to begin evacuation.
Troi: I believe some will choose to risk death rather than leave, Captain.
Picard: You've spent a good deal of time on the surface. How do you suggest we change their minds?
Troi: I'm not sure we can. It would mean abandoning their fundamental way of life.
Picard: They've managed to turn a dubious scientific endeavor into dogma.
Troi: You don't approve of genetic engineering.
Picard: It was a bad idea whose time is long past.
Troi: They seem to have made it succeed.
Picard: They've given away their humanity with this genetic manipulation. Many of the qualities that they breed out, the uncertainty, the self-discovery, the unknown, those are many of the qualities that make life worth living. Well, at least to me. I wouldn't want to live knowing that my future was written, that my boundaries had been already set, would you?
Troi: I've asked myself that question a lot during the past few days. I don't know. I doubt it. Nevertheless, it's what they believe in, and it won't be an easy matter to talk them into leaving.
Picard: This leader of theirs, Conor, he seems to be a reasonable man.
Troi: I find him very reasonable. Open to suggestions, thoughtful, quite disarming. The perfect administrator.
Picard: I'm sure. Will he leave when he sees there's no other choice?
Troi: I don't know. I hope so.
Picard: You admire him.
Troi: Yes.
Picard: Then help him to see the reality of what may happen to his colony. If he makes the right decision, if he's as good a leader as he's designed to be, then perhaps the others will follow.
Hannah: If we increase warp power transfer by eighty percent.
Laforge: It's just going to blow the emitters again.
Hannah: We won't be able to reinforce the conduit to hold that power level. It just doesn't work.
Laforge: Yeah. I haven't had any sleep in so long, my eyelids feel like they have lead weights attached.
Hannah: Geordi.
Laforge: Hmm?
Hannah: Were you always blind?
Laforge: I'm sorry. I probably shocked the hell out of you, didn't I?
Hannah: No.
Laforge: I'll put it back on.
Hannah: Don't. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you.
Laforge: I've never been embarrassed by this, Hannah. Never. I was born blind. I've always been this way.
Hannah: May I see it? Your visor?
Laforge: Sure. So, I guess if I had been conceived on your world, I wouldn't even be here now, would I?
Hannah: No.
Laforge: No, I'd've been terminated as a fertilized cell.
Hannah: It was the wish of our founders that no one had to suffer a life with disabilities.
Laforge: Who gave them the right to decide whether or not I should be here? Whether or not I might have something to contribute.
Hannah: I don't know what to say. Here you go. How does it work?
Laforge: Well, the visor scans the electromagnetic spectrum between one hertz and one hundred thousand terahertz, converts it all to usable frequencies and then transmits that information directly to my brain.
Hannah: What about the data conversion rates? How do you avoid a sensory overload?
Laforge: A bank of pre-processors compresses the data stream into pulses, you see. That way, my visual cortex never. Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. We should be able to send a high-energy pulse through the tractor system. If it's short enough, it shouldn't overload the emitters. The technology is right here. If we could adapt those pulse compression routines and then apply them to the warp power conduits.
Hannah: We'd have to avoid tractor force rebounding, but that shouldn't be hard.
Laforge: Sure. With a few modifications. Oh, that's perfect.
Hannah: What?
Laforge: If the answer to all of this is in a visor created for a blind man who never would have existed in your society. No offense intended.
Conor: Please, Matthew, continue.
Troi: It's hard to believe. So much loveliness here, just a few meters away from such desolation.
Conor: It's hard to believe we're about to lose it.
Troi: This must sound incredibly simplistic but, can't you re-engineer all this on another planet?
Conor: A nursery rhyme my mother used to read to me has been running round and round my mind since this all began.
Troi: A nursery rhyme?
Conor: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. CONOR +
Troi: All the King's horses and all the King's Men, couldn't put Humpty together again.
Conor: Why do we tell our children such ghastly stories?
Troi: Perhaps to prepare them for times like these.
Conor: We are every bit as fragile as an egg and as impossible to reconstruct. We are integrated and refined to such a degree that any fundamental change would lead to chaos.
Troi: I'm so sorry, Aaron. I wish I could do something to help.
Conor: You have helped. You've been wonderful these past few days. You've been my Counselor.
Troi: No, a Counselor has to maintain a diskreet distance. I'd rather think of us as friends.
Conor: Friends? That just won't do either.
Conor: Will it?
Troi: Aaron.
Conor: I must confess, a part of me knows that if I transport through these walls, you'll be on the other side.
Troi: This is wrong.
Conor: Terribly wrong.
Laforge: In order to move the core fragment to a safe trajectory, we needed our tractor beam to be able to handle high power pulses.
Hannah: And we needed a much more efficient emitter to do that.
Laforge: About four times more efficient.
Hannah: And we couldn't get anywhere near that without overloading the emitter arrays.
Laforge: So, we added a little visor technology to the process and we were able to boost the effective force and, at the same time, lower the power conduit stress levels.
Picard: What's the increase in efficiency?
Laforge: Up to almost three hundred percent.
Riker: That's not enough.
Hannah: That's true. We won't be able to move the fragment as far as we'd like to, but
Laforge: But if we also fortify the biosphere's structural integrity at the same time
Hannah: With some of the shield improvements I've discovered here, it could work.
Laforge: Of course, we'll have to lend them some of our engineering support crews.
Picard: Advise Mister Conor, Number One, and brief the appropriate officers. Prepare them for transport as soon as Mister Conor approves.
Riker: Yes, sir.
Conor: You're up early.
Troi: I'm still on Enterprise time. Aaron, I'm going back to the ship. I'm not going to see you again.
Conor: Why?
Troi: Because it's the right thing to do.
Conor: I'm not convinced of that.
Troi: You know it as well as I do.
Conor: You're angry.
Troi: Yes, I'm angry. I'm angry with myself for allowing this to happen.
Conor: Deanna.
Troi: I could fall in love with you so easily, but we both know the end of that story, don't we? How would Martin feel about introducing half-Betazoid DNA into the genetic balance?
Conor: If we have to evacuate, anything's possible.
Troi: Listen to yourself. A few days ago you wouldn't even talk to us. This is my fault. I'm so sorry.
Conor: I need you here. This doesn't have to happen again.
Troi: I have to go.
Hannah: Good news, Aaron. We should be able to change the course of the core fragment, but we'll also need to fortify the structure. And we're going to need help to do it.
Laforge: We'll need to bring down engineering crews from the Enterprise to work with your people for the next forty eight hours.
Conor: Engineering crews?
Laforge: They have to installl five new shield generators and power supplies.
Hannah: Fifty officers are waiting for your approval to transport down. We don't have much time, Aaron.
Conor: Is there any other choice?
Hannah: None.
Laforge: Enterprise, you may begin transport when ready.
Picard: Captain's log, supplemental. The Enterprise has moved to a parallel course with the core fragment. We must adjust its trajectory by a minimum of one point two degrees to ensure the colony's safety.
Picard: Bring us within range of the fragment, Ensign.
Felton: Aye, sir.
Picard: You may proceed
Picard: Mister La Forge.
Laforge: Yes, sir. Good luck.
Hannah: You, too.
Laforge: Engage tractor beam. Okay, let's give it a try. Shutting down non-critical systems.
Hannah: Emitter circuits one hundred seventy percent over standard.
Data: Increasing impulse power to tractor emitters. EPS power levels rising.
Laforge: Transferring warp power to tractor beam generator.
Hannah: Graviton generators operating normally. Surge pulse now synchronized. Emitters radiating at three hundred twenty percent over standard.
Laforge: Bridge, we need more power.
Riker: Reduce life support to minimum requirements, Mister Data.
Data: Aye, sir.
Hannah: Three hundred ninety percent over standard.
Laforge: Come on, come on.
Hannah: No change in the fragment's course.
Laforge: We've got to increase the pulse frequency.
Hannah: The emitter circuits won't hold for long.
Laforge: We won't need them for long.
Hannah: Four hundred percent over standard.
Laforge: Okay. Now we're getting there.
Hannah: The fragment's moved point four degrees off its previous heading. Point six five. It's working.
Data: We have lost one of the emitter circuits.
Worf: Life support failure. Decks nine, twelve, and thirteen.
Riker: Engage evacuation procedures for those decks. Geordi, we're going to need power back soon.
Laforge: Acknowledged.
Hannah: Fragment's new heading adjustment is at one point zero one degrees. Is it enough?
Laforge: Not yet. Hold on.
Data: We've lost
Data: The second lateral emitter circuit.
Worf: Losing life support systems on decks five through nine. Evacuation procedures initiated.
Picard: Mister La Forge.
Laforge: Hold on, Captain.
Data: Shipwide life support failure in fifteen seconds, sir.
Hannah: Almost there, Geordi. Course shift is at one point one six degrees.
Data: Termination of all life support in five seconds.
Hannah: One point one eight.
Picard: Now, Mister La Forge.
Laforge: Yes, sir. Shutting down all tractor emissions. Transferring power back to life support.
Hannah: One point two. We've got it.
Worf: Life support normal on all decks.
Picard: Mister Data?
Data: The fragment's course has been altered by one point two one degrees, sir.
Picard: Hail the colony.
Conor: Yes, Captain.
Picard: Success, Mister Conor. With the upgrades to your biosphere, the core fragment should no longer be a danger.
Conor: I cannot adequately express my appreciation to your crew. Is Hannah able to hear me?
Hannah: Yes, yes. Go ahead, Aaron.
Conor: This is an historic achievement, Hannah. You've done a wonderful thing for our people.
Hannah: Thank you.
Conor: We look forward to honoring you appropriately when you return. Thank you again, Captain. Conor out.
Picard: Captain's log, supplemental. The stellar core fragment has passed safely out of the Moab system. The colony was shaken by powerful temblors, but fortunately there were no injuries and only minor damage was reported.
Riker: Energize.
Riker: That should do it. All members of the Enterprise crew are accounted for, Mister Conor.
Conor: They've been invaluable, Commander. Thank you again.
Riker: If there's nothing else, we'll be on our way.
Conor: Would you tell Deanna Troi for me that I'm sorry I didn't have the opportunity to say goodbye personally?
Riker: I'm sure she'll feel the same way.
Conor: A breach in the biosphere. Get Hannah Bates.
Hannah: Apparently, the refortification wasn't adequate. There's definite structural damage. It appears that the tectonic shifts created a breach.
Martin: Can it be repaired?
Hannah: I don't know. I'll have to run a diagnostic in the lab. Unless we seal it and fast we may have to evacuate.
Conor: How long do we have, Hannah?
Hannah: Based on the level of toxicity I'm reading, it may be only a matter of hours.
Laforge: Mind if I give her a hand, Commander?
Riker: By all means.
Hannah: Isn't it amazing after all we went through?
Laforge: Yeah. Amazing.
Hannah: Looks bad. It's cracked well beneath the surface.
Laforge: Why are you doing this?
Hannah: What do you mean?
Laforge: There's no breach.
Hannah: What are you talking about. Look at it, it's right here. I measured the toxic leak. You saw me.
Laforge: Hannah, my visor's positronic scan would have detected the leak. Its molecular pattern enhancer would have picked up even the smallest crack.
Hannah: The damn thing doesn't miss much, does it. Fine. I'll tell them the truth. Will that make you happy?
Laforge: Why are you doing this?
Hannah: I was born to be one of the best scientific minds of my generation, and in the past five days I have encountered technology that I have barely imagined. And I've got to ask myself, If we're so brilliant how come we didn't invent any of these things?
Laforge: Well, maybe necessity really is the mother of invention. You never really look for something until you need it.
Hannah: But all my needs have been anticipated and planned for before I'm even born. All of us in this colony have been living in the dark ages. It's like we're victims of a two hundred year old joke. Until you came, we could only see to the wall of our biosphere. Suddenly our eyes have been opened to the infinite possibilities.
Picard: Asylum?
Laforge: She wants to leave the colony.
Riker: She may not be the only one. The science teams that went down to the surface fielded a lot of questions from colonists who were more than curious about what's outside their world.
Worf: Why shouldn't we grant them asylum?
Troi: We can't do that.
Laforge: We have to do that.
Troi: Do you understand what it would do to the colony?
Laforge: I understand these are human beings, Counselor, with free will. If she wants to leave, she has every right to.
Riker: And what happens to the colony if she does? If others join her?
Crusher: The society is genetically integrated. Suddenly there would be gaps, missing pieces.
Troi: It would destroy them.
Crusher: There must be something we can do to help.
Picard: We may have done too much to help them already, Doctor.
Worf: We saved them from destruction.
Picard: Did we? Counselor, I think it's time you took me to meet Mister Conor.
Picard: Transporter room three.
Troi: Computer, halt. Captain, I have to tell you something, and it isn't easy for me because I've used very poor judgment. Actually, I've acted quite unprofessionally.
Picard: Counselor, what is it you say? Take a deep breath.
Troi: Conor and I have had a relationship.
Picard: I see.
Troi: It should never have happened. I knew there was concern about outside influences and I should have been more careful.
Picard: What is your status with him now?
Troi: I did not intend to see him again.
Picard: Would you prefer not to return to the surface?
Troi: No, I think I should come with you, but I wanted you to know before we went down.
Picard: I appreciate that. Computer, resume.
Troi: I wanted so much to help him, to be there for him, but the more I was.
Picard: Deanna, we all went into this with the best intentions.
Troi: I should have walked away as soon as I saw what was happening.
Picard: But you didn't. And that's human. We make mistakes. Genetic manipulation or not, nobody's perfect.
Martin: You would ignore the welfare of the colony for your own selfish interests.
Hannah: The welfare of this colony would be best served by rejoining the human race.
Martin: She has been contaminated by the people on that ship.
Troi: Aaron.
Picard: Mister Conor, I believe that you and I should talk.
Martin: This is your doing. We should never have answered your hails.
Hannah: If we'd followed that advice, Martin, we'd all be dead by now. So much for the welfare of this colony.
Martin: You are not taking her with you.
Hannah: I'm leaving. And I'll tell you something else. There are at least a dozen others who are ready to go with me.
Troi: Hannah, let's allow Aaron and Captain Picard to discuss this. Why don't we go for a walk?
Hannah: There's nothing else for them to talk about.
Conor: Martin.
Martin: I think it would be helpful if I.
Conor: I want to talk with Captain Picard alone.
Martin: But
Conor: Thank you, Martin.
Conor: The irony is, he's the one who saw this coming from the moment you arrived. Because I didn't want to hear it, I chose not to listen.
Picard: You made decisions you felt would save your colony.
Conor: No. No, I wish it were that simple, but I can't forgive myself so easily. You see, Captain, I know what Hannah Bates is feeling. I've been feeling it as well. I've found your people intriguing and stimulating as she has. I've been every bit as curious about you as the next man. But I am not the next man. I am the leader of these people. And every genetic fiber in my being demands that I protect them. Instead, I have betrayed them. I have allowed this to happen.
Picard: We have both allowed this to happen.
Conor: Then let us both find a way to stop it from going any further.
Picard: I wish I could see a way.
Conor: Picard, I was born to govern this colony, not to dismantle it.
Picard: If you force them to stay, you will be suppressing their human rights.
Conor: If even a handful leave, the damage to this society will be devastating. What about the rights of those who would stay behind? They are the ones who will inherit the social chaos that will follow for generations. Your arrival created this problem. Your departure solves it.
Picard: That is simplistic.
Conor: Refuse them passage.
Picard: I cannot ignore the requests of people, humans, who ask for transport away from here.
Conor: Nor can you ignore the fact that thousands will suffer if you agree to take them. And as suffering grows, more will demand to leave. We are witnessing the end of this existence. I implore you, Captain, do not let this happen.
Picard: You would have me make the decision for you, nut I can't do that. I am willing to talk to these people with you, and I will urge them not to make an impulsive choice, but if finally they choose to leave, the Enterprise will not turn them away.
Conor: Captain Picard has decided to grant transport to any individuals who wish to leave Genome Colony. I'm asking you to stay.
Hannah: Aaron, don't you see we can't be happy here any longer? We were innocent. it will never be that way again.
Conor: The experiences of the past week will become part of our heritage. We will adjust. In a few generations, we will be able to
Hannah: We're not willing to stay here a few generations.
Conor: Give me six months. Just wait six months before you leave.
Hannah: What will that accomplish?
Picard: It's true that our presence here has had an unintended influence on your society. But it's done and there is no way to undo it. But feelings are running very high. Perhaps it's not such a bad idea that you should take adequate time to weigh carefully the consequences of what you're about to do. We are prepared to return in six months.
Hannah: In other words, we are being asked to stay here for six months while they pressure us to change our minds.
Picard: In five days, you have seen only the most superficial evidence of what life is like outside this biosphere.
Hannah: Would you ever choose to live aboard a ship in a bottle, Captain? You are in command of a starship. You live to explore the unknown. We ask for that same privilege.
Conor: Hannah, this is your home. We are all, in a sense, your family. Don't we deserve an opportunity to open a dialogue on this issue at the very least? I am only asking for six months.
Hannah: It won't make any difference. You'll only be putting the people of this colony through unnecessary pain and anguish.
Martin: You are the ones who are causing pain and anguish in this colony. You.
Hannah: Don't you see, Aaron? It's over. It's time for you to lead our people into a new era. You could come with us.
Conor: When you're ready to come home, you will be welcome.
Troi: What will you do now?
Conor: Attempt to assess the damage. Spend the rest of my life on the near impossible task of rebuilding this society without the proper pieces.
Troi: Aaron, you acted in the best interests of your people. There was no way to avoid what happened.
Conor: I replay each step of this in my mind, looking for the wrong turn, the mistake in judgment. I can find only one. And as hard as I try, I cannot regret even that one. In fact, I'm quite certain that, given the opportunity, I would choose to make the same mistake again. I can only wonder why, with all the hundreds of genetically compatible women, I would fall in love with you.
Troi: Don't say that.
Conor: Perhaps it's your imperfections which make you so unique. But I am in love with you, Deanna Troi, and I will always be.
Picard: Come.
Riker: The colonists are all on board, sir.
Picard: How many finally?
Riker: Twenty three.
Picard: If we ever needed reminding of the importance of the Prime Directive, it is now.
Riker: The Prime Directive doesn't apply. They're human.
Picard: Doesn't it? Our very presence may have damaged, even destroyed, their way of life. Whether or not we agree with that way of life or whether they're human or not is irrelevant, Number One. We are responsible.
Riker: We had to respond to the threat from the core fragment didn't we?
Picard: Of course we did. But in the end we may have proved just as dangerous to that colony as any core fragment could ever have been.


Picard: Captain's log, stardate 45494.2. We're investigating a series of subspace signals that may indicate intelligent life in the Epsilon Silar System. We are within sensor range.
Data: The characteristic response to the Kriskov Gambit is to counter with the el-Mitra Exchange, particularly since I have already taken both your rooks. By missing that opportunity, you have left your king vulnerable.
Troi: We'll see.
Data: As you wish, Counselor. Check.
Data: Intriguing. You have devised a completely unanticipated response to a classic attack. You will checkmate my king in seven moves.
Troi: Data, chess isn't just a game of ploys and gambits. It's a game of intuition.
Data: You are a challenging opponent, Counselor.
Troi: Thanks, but don't think a compliment's going to get you out of our bet. You owe me one Samarian Sunset made in the traditional style, as only you can make it, Data.
Data: I will honor our agreement.
Crusher: Raise your arm to the side.
Crusher: Is that it?
Kristin: I'm afraid so. What do you think?
Crusher: Well, it looks like you tucked when you should have flattened out.
Kristin: Something like that.
Crusher: Turn your head to the left. Some tearing of the ligaments. Nothing we can't take care of.
Kristin: Good.
Crusher: If I remember correctly, the last time you graced my Sickbay, you were diving off the Cliffs of Heaven on Sumiko Four. Holodeck program 47C.
Kristin: Same thing. Only that time, I flattened out when I should have tucked.
Crusher: Well, as your Doctor, I would like to recommend the Emerald Wading Pool on Cirrus Four. It's a lot safer.
Riker: Navigators on this ship have been doing flight handling assessments the same way for years, Ensign.
Ro: And I've found a better way.
Riker: Bridge. Do you mind if we discuss changes in procedure before you make them?
Ro: If I had come to you in advance and asked you to do it my way
Riker: I might have said
Ro: No.
Riker: Yes, maybe. The point is, I didn't get the chance.
Ro: The point is, with all due respect Commander, you're trying to turn me into your idea of the model officer.
Riker: The rules on this ship do not change just because Ro Laren decides they do.
Worf: We are picking up a subspace signal, Captain. Sensors indicate a small spacecraft ahead.
Laforge: The configuration is unfamiliar. Nothing in our database comes close.
Worf: Within visual range.
Picard: On screen.
Picard: Analysis, Mister Worf.
Worf: No diskernable armament. Reading one lifeform aboard.
Picard: Hail the vessel.
Worf: No response, Captain.
Laforge: We're being scanned. It's not like any sensor system I've ever seen. Shall we raise shields?
Picard: No, let's begin this with a show of good faith.
Worf: Sir, the scans are now matching the frequency of our optical data network. It could be an attempt to access our computer system.
Laforge: Scanning intensity has increased by fifteen hundred percent.
Picard: Shields up.
Data: One Samarian Sunset, made in the traditional style.
Troi: It's beautiful.
Data: I hope you enjoy it.
Data: I hope you enjoy it.
Worf: The scanning signal has penetrated our shields.
Laforge: Computers are going down.
Picard: Take evasive action.
Ro: The helm's not responding.
Picard: What happened?
Laforge: What the hell?
Riker: I don't know who any of you are.
Picard: Nor do I. I don't even remember who I am.
Laforge: Looks like we're all in the same boat.
Riker: Make that on the same starship.
Macduff: But who are we? What are we doing here?
Ro: It looks like I'm the pilot. We're not going anywhere now. The helm's dead.
Picard: But you still know how to work it.
Ro: Yes.
Riker: This console has tactical configuration?
Worf: Yes. Phaser power status, intruder scan, torpedo guidance. But they do not appear to be operable.
Picard: Clearly, we still possess certain skills. It would seem we know how to operate this ship. But our identities have somehow been erased or suppressed.
Riker: We are on the Bridge. There's a good chance this is our ship. Looks like you're the leader.
Worf: Perhaps we should not jump to conclusions. I am decorated as well.
Picard: It seems to me that determining leadership is not crucial right now. We need to find out who we are and well, what we're doing out here.
Macduff: But how did this happen? What did this to us?
Laforge: Better still, who did this to us? I've got some intermittent sensor readings here. The scan keeps repeating itself like it's stuck, but it looks like there's metallic debris right in front of us. Distance, seventeen kilometers.
Riker: The remains of another ship?
Laforge: That's a good possibility.
Worf: Perhaps we were engaged in battle.
Macduff: If they stunned us with some type of bioelectric field that could have wiped out our memories.
Ro: Then we fired back, destroyed them.
Picard: But if that presumption is correct, then we could have sustained other damage. Um, Computer, status report.
Riker: No voice interface.
Laforge: No interface, period. Hey. Got something. I've accessed the basic system directories.
Picard: Can we get a general status report?
Laforge: Life support systems throughout the ship are fully operational. Navigation, propulsion offline.
Ro: What about communications?
Laforge: Completely disrupted.
Ro: That rules out a distress signal.
Riker: If we even knew where to send it.
Picard: Do we have an onboard communications system?
Laforge: We do now.
Picard: Lets use it. This ship must have a crew. They may still have their memories.
Ro: We should be careful what we say. There could be a boarding party somewhere on the ship.
Worf: Bridge to all personnel. Select a representative from your group to contact the Bridge and report on your status.
Worf: Remain where you are and stay calm. Bridge out.
Kristin: Well, that helps a lot.
Crusher: Report on our status? I wonder if every one else is in the same condition as we are.
Kristin: This hurts.
Crusher: How's that?
Kristin: Thanks.
Crusher: I didn't even think. I just picked it up and knew how to use it. At least I have an idea of what I'm doing here.
Kristin: But what about me? I mean, I'm a patient in a bathing suit. That doesn't say much.
Crusher: No, it doesn't.
Kristin: Do you have any clothes around here I could borrow? At least until I figure out where the swimming pool is?
Macduff: We've heard from all decks. There are over a thousand people on board. Everyone's had their memories affected in the same way we have.
Worf: I have completed a survey of our tactical systems. We are equipped with ten phaser banks, two hundred and fifty photon torpedoes, and a high capacity shield grid.
Macduff: We're a battleship.
Worf: It appears so.
Ro: This turbolift system gives us access to the rest of the ship.
Riker: That sounds like the next logical step. Start with the most crucial areas.
Ro: Main Engineering, deck thirty six. I'm on my way.
Riker: Whoa, wait a minute. We've got to coordinate our efforts here first.
Ro: I just need to do something.
Riker: Look, I feel the same way. We all do. But if anything's going to get done.
Ro: I know, I just. It's really an ugly feeling I don't like being so out of control.
Riker: Well, we're going to have to depend on each other if we're going to get through this, okay?
Ro: Okay.
Riker: We're going to search the ship.
Worf: Very well. Proceed.
Laforge: I'll go with you. I want to get my hands on the computer core. See if we can re-establish control from there.
Laforge: I've accessed the optical data network for the engineering core. I can monitor every system that's routed through here.
Ro: Warp and impulse drive are reading within tolerance levels. So are the tactical arrays, defensive and offensive.
Laforge: Everything looks functional. Now, if we could just access the control systems, we could get them up and running.
Riker: According to the schematics, the engineering computer core access is down that corridor.
Ro: Weapons, propulsion and shields are the priorities. We could be in danger of another attack.
Laforge: That's where I'll start.
Riker: We'll begin our crew survey on decks five through ten. When you get those systems going, try to pull up the personnel files. It'd be nice if we all had names. Right. Good luck.
Laforge: Yeah. You too.
Picard: So far our survey team has found no deaths or injuries among the crew. Shuttlecraft are all operational, as are the transporters.
Macduff: But no one they've talked to knows any more about their identities than we do.
Worf: Engineering is working on accessing the control systems. As soon as the ship is operational, we must make it combat ready.
Picard: Well, I would recommend that before we prepare for combat, we try to access the ship's logs, find out who we are, what our purpose here might be.
Worf: I disagree. We must first make ourselves ready for battle. That is the highest priority.
Laforge: Engineering to Bridge.
Worf: Go ahead.
Laforge: I've regained control of navigation, propulsion, weapons and communications.
Laforge: We should be able to tie them into the Bridge in just a few minutes.
Worf: Well done. Now we are ready.
Picard: The question is, for what?
Macduff: The phasers are operational.
Worf: We now have full tactical control.
Picard: We should run a complete diagnostic of all command systems.
Worf: A full diagnostic would require us to take our systems offline. We would be defenseless.
Picard: If we're going to trust our lives to these systems, we should be certain they're not going to fail.
Macduff: The computer was damaged. Some processors might still be down.
Worf: Proceed with the diagnostic.
Worf: What have you found, Doctor?
Crusher: Not much. The brain scans I've run are unusual, but there's no damage to the hippocampus. That suggests that we still have our long-term memories but somehow they're being blocked.
Picard: Is it possible to bypass the normal pathways? To get at those memories some other way?
Crusher: That's what I'm hoping. What I need now is to see some normal brain scans for comparison. Is there any chance I can get the crew's medical files?
Worf: We are currently running a full diagnostic. Computer resources are limited.
Picard: The medical records are our next priority.
Crusher: Thank you.
Crewman: I guess these are my quarters, but I don't remember anything.
Riker: If it's any comfort, we're all in the same situation, so stay put for now. We'll be back in touch.
Crewman: Okay, sir. Thanks.
Ro: That's all I need for now.
Ro: Well, that's it for the living quarters on this deck. What's next?
Riker: There's a large room up ahead called Ten Forward.
Ro: Let's go. So if everything were back to the way it was supposed to be, what do you think you'd be doing right now?
Riker: I'd be having more fun than searching the ship, I'd imagine.
Ro: Fun?
Riker: Well, with that holodeck we just saw. I think I could conjure up an interesting program or two.
Ro: Now that's disappointing.
Riker: Why?
Ro: You don't strike me as a man who needs a holodeck to have a good time.
Riker: Who reported to the Bridge from this group?
Troi: I did.
Riker: Have you found anything that might give us some insight into what happened?
Troi: Not specifically, but there are two things that seem unusual. The bartender is an artificial lifeform.
Data: Can I get you something? A beverage?
Riker: No, thank you.
Ro: I'm fine.
Riker: Your memories are gone as well?
Data: The databanks that identify who I am are not functioning.
Riker: You were going to mention something else?
Troi: I don't know if this means anything, but I seem to have an ability that the others don't. I have a very strong sense of what other people are feeling at times it's almost
Riker: Is something wrong?
Troi: No. Just for a moment, you seemed familiar.
Riker: You remember me?
Troi: Not exactly. I mean, I don't know who you are, but there's something about you.
Worf: Bridge to survey team.
Riker: Survey team here. Go ahead.
Worf: We have accessed the personnel files. Report to the Bridge immediately.
Ro: We're on our way.
Laforge: Computer give me a biographical listing of all personnel responsible for primary operation of the ship.
Computer: A full biographical listing is not available.
Laforge: Is there any list of the ship's senior officers?
Computer: The crew manifest is available.
Laforge: That's better than nothing. Give me the crew manifest.
Computer: Commanding Officer, Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Executive Officer, Commander Keiran MacDuff. Second Officer, Commander William Riker. Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data. Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Beverly Crusher. Ship's Counselor, Lieutenant Commander Deanna Troi. Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge. Security Chief, Lieutenant Worf. Helm Officer, Ensign Ro Laren.
Picard: Commander MacDuff, have the other officers listed here report to the Bridge.
Macduff: Aye, sir.
Picard: Your next priority will be to retrieve any information you can about this ship's mission. Contact the Operations Officer to assist you.
Laforge: Aye, sir.
Ro: He's in Ten Forward, waiting tables.
Worf: Captain. I regret my recent behavior. I assumed an attitude of authority that was unwarranted.
Picard: Mister Worf, we're all doing the best we can in a difficult situation. Think nothing more of it.
Worf: Thank you, Captain.
Laforge: We haven't finished a full search of the computer records, but we have found out quite a bit.
Data: This vessel is called the Enterprise. We are part of an organization called the United Federation of Planets. The Federation is currently in a state of war.
Troi: With whom?
Laforge: The Lysian Alliance. They're a genocidal race determined to destroy us. The war has been going on for years.
Data: Starfleet Command believes the Lysians are using a new weapon which has shifted the balance of power to their favor.
Laforge: Over the last two months, fourteen Federation ships have been captured, apparently very easily, their crews held captive on Lysia.
Picard: What do we know about this weapon?
Data: Our scientists theorize the Lysians are using an energy wave, either plasma-based or a subspace interference pattern. The weapon severely disrupts a starship's computer system as well as the mental functions of its crew.
Macduff: That's what happened to us.
Picard: Mister La Forge, do we have any record of our current mission?
Laforge: Yes, sir. We're approximately here. We've been ordered to cross into Lysian territory and destroy their Central Command. This is it. The nerve center for the entire Lysian military operation.
Troi: Captain, there's been a great deal of damage to our computer system. Maybe we're not getting the correct information.
Picard: What are you saying?
Troi: That we get confirmation of this mission from our headquarters.
Worf: If we use subspace radio we will be detected.
Troi: There could be thousands of lives at stake.
Laforge: Our orders specifically require us to maintain radio silence.
Data: Our mission is part of a highly coordinated effort to put an end to the war. There are other vessels on other fronts, all working according to an intricate plan.
Laforge: We're the lynchpin to the operation. If we don't destroy the Central Command, the entire effort will fail.
Worf: He's right, Captain. Our choice is clear.
Picard: Commander MacDuff, set a course for the Lysian Central Command.
Riker: These are your quarters.
Troi: Thanks for your help. Come in for a minute?
Riker: Recognize anything?
Troi: It's like it belongs to someone else. Nothing feels right. This room, this ship, most of all this war we're fighting.
Riker: I don't imagine war ever feels right.
Troi: I suppose that's true.
Riker: What is it?
Troi: That same feeling. You seem familiar. You're the only thing that does.
Riker: Can you remember anything specific about us?
Troi: I don't know. It's more like remembering an emotion. Feelings that you're somehow associated with.
Riker: I hope they're good feelings.
Troi: Yes, they are. This entire situation is a little unnerving.
Riker: It's been a long day. We've all been through a lot.
Troi: We certainly have.
Riker: I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.
Ro: Hi.
Riker: I know I didn't get the wrong room.
Ro: I just didn't like the way my quarters were decorated. Besides, I have this funny feeling that maybe I spend most of my off hours here.
Riker: Really?
Ro: For all we know, you and I could be married.
Riker: For all we know, you and I could hate each other.
Ro: Sort of exciting, isn't it? We just don't know.
Riker: We might regret this.
Ro: Regret what? Aren't you being a little presumptuous? Like I said, I just didn't like the way my quarters were decorated.
Riker: Maybe we should switch quarters.
Ro: Maybe we should stay right here and see what happens.
Riker: What if I snore in my sleep?
Ro: What makes you think you're going to get any sleep?
Worf: Captain, we have crossed the Lysian border.
Picard: Take us out of warp, Ensign. Go to three quarters impulse.
Ro: Yes, sir.
Picard: Mister Worf, maintain a continuous sensor sweep.
Worf: Aye, sir.
Macduff: How long till we reach their central command?
Data: At our current speed, approximately thirty seven hours.
Worf: Captain, I am picking up a vessel directly ahead.
Picard: Can you identify it, Mister Data?
Data: The ship matches the Starfleet description of a Lysian destroyer. A short range attack vessel with disruptor style weapons, and a standard crew of fifty three.
Worf: Within visual range.
Picard: On screen.
Worf: The destroyer is increasing its speed. They are moving to intercept.
Picard: Evasive maneuver sequence delta.
Ro: Yes, sir.
Worf: They are matching our maneuvers.
Macduff: Activating phaser arrays. Ready to fire, sir.
Picard: Stand by.
Macduff: Captain, our orders were to destroy all Lysian warships.
Picard: I'm aware of that, Commander. Tactical analysis, Mister Data.
Data: The destroyer has minimal shields. Their disruptor capacity appears to be only two point one megajoules.
Riker: They're no match for the Enterprise.
Data: Captain, the destroyer is hailing us.
Picard: Open a channel.
Macduff: No! Their new weapon. Whatever it was that erased out our computers and our memories, maybe this is how they do it, over communication channels.
Data: It is conceivable, sir.
Troi: It's also possible that they just want to talk to us. I think we should respond.
Worf: Captain, the ship is hailing us again.
Macduff: If you're wrong, it could mean our destruction. We can't take the risk, Captain.
Data: The Lysians have stopped transmitting, Captain. They are powering up their disruptors. They have locked onto us, sir.
Riker: Full shields.
Worf: Shields up.
Macduff: Captain?
Picard: Return fire.
Worf: The ship has been destroyed.
Picard: Maintain this course, Ensign. Three quarters impulse.
Ro: Yes, sir.
Macduff: Well done, Captain.
Worf: The Lysian Central Command would have received any transmission from the destroyer by now.
Macduff: They're going to be on alert.
Ro: I recommend a randomly vectored approach to our target. It would be our best chance of avoiding sort of any pursuit.
Picard: Agreed. Doctor, the success of this mission would be far more likely if we could get our memories back. Is there anything you can do?
Crusher: I found several cases resembling our condition in the medical index. The causes are different, but the cure is similar in each case.
Riker: Could the same treatment work for us?
Crusher: That's my hope. It involves increasing the activity of the medial temporal region of the brain, using short-term memory synapses to retrieve long-term memory.
Picard: When can you start?
Crusher: As soon as our medical files become available. It would be dangerous to attempt treatment without them.
Picard: Mister La Forge?
Laforge: Data and I ran into some trouble accessing the medical file areas in the computer, but with a little time I'm pretty sure we'll be able to get there. Three hours, maximum.
Picard: Proceed.
Laforge: I don't get it. I'm still hitting a file wall.
Data: There appears to be a command path discontinuity. I shall attempt to rewrite the locator subroutine.
Laforge: You must have been one hell of a bartender. It's too bad there aren't any more of you around. We could certainly use the help.
Data: Yes.
Laforge: I wonder why you're the only one on board?
Data: I have expended considerable thought with respect to my apparent uniqueness among the crew.
Laforge: Any conclusions?
Data: Several possibilities suggest themselves. I may represent an entire race of artificial lifeforms. If so, there may be a home planet for others of my kind. A shared history and a culture of which I am not presently aware.
Laforge: Then again, you could've been built just for this ship.
Data: I have considered that possibility as well. It may also be the case that every starship in the Federation is equipped with an artificial lifeform such as myself.
Laforge: If that's true, maybe you all look alike. A standard issue android. Hard to construct so only one allowed per vessel.
Data: There is another possibility. Perhaps my origin is unique. In that case, I am alone. We have accessed the information storage area. Considerable damage has been done to the files themselves.
Laforge: The mission reports are gone.
Data: As well as the crew records, and the personal logs.
Laforge: So are the medical records.
Riker: Come in.
Troi: I'm restless. Mind if I visit for a while?
Riker: Please. What's wrong?
Troi: Everything. Every time I think about this war, our mission, I feel a sense of panic like a hand's closing around my throat.
Riker: You're never going to feel good about this war. None of us will. But we've got to complete our mission. I've been doing a little research, trying to find out about William T Riker.
Troi: What have you discovered?
Riker: He's a musician, for one thing.
Troi: Very impressive.
Riker: No one was more surprised than I.
Troi: So what else has your research uncovered about William Riker?
Riker: He's athletically inclined, loves to climb mountain. He's from somewhere called Alaska. He enjoys exotic food, and takes his vacations on a planet called Risa.
Troi: Ode to Psyche. John Keats.
Riker: Open it.
Troi: To Will, all my love, Deanna.
Riker: That may explain some of the familiar feelings we have.
Troi: I don't know what to think.
Riker: Come in.
Ro: Hello, Counselor.
Troi: Ensign.
Ro: Am I interrupting anything? RIKER +
Troi: No.
Troi: I was just visiting. We'll talk again soon, Commander.
Riker: Of course. Thank you, Counselor.
Ro: Bye.
Ro: And what was all of that about?
Riker: Oh, we were just discussing the situation we're all in.
Ro: Good. Because I have a feeling that I used to be the jealous type.
Laforge: What bothers me, Captain, is how specific this damage is. Any records of a personal nature, any files that could tell us about who we are, those are the ones that are gone.
Riker: It's a little too selective to be coincidence.
Crusher: As selective as what was done to our own memories. Skills still in place but personal knowledge is unavailable.
Macduff: It is consistent with what we know about the new Lysian weapon.
Picard: Doctor, is it absolutely necessary to see the medical files to attempt treatment?
Crusher: It would be dangerous to do it without them.
Riker: It's a risk I think we have to take.
Macduff: He's right, Captain. I volunteer for the procedure.
Crusher: That's strange. The diencephalic activity is exactly the same. There should be some increase. Let's try broadening the bandwidth. Go to thirty point one. Raise the frequency as well. Increase by thirty three percent.
Crusher: Something's wrong with the sequencing program.
Crusher: Kieran. Kieran.
Macduff: I'm all right. I'm all right. What happened?
Crusher: I don't know. Something went wrong with the sequence initiator. We're lucky we didn't lose you. Did any of this work? Do you remember anything more about yourself?
Macduff: No. I'm sorry, Doctor.
Crusher: Back to square one.
Picard: Come.
Macduff: You wanted to see me, Captain?
Picard: Yes, Commander. Please, come in. Sit down. I find myself having grave concerns about our mission.
Macduff: Concerns as to its success?
Picard: No, no, no. More fundamental doubts. Whether or not it can be justified.
Macduff: I've been asking myself the same thing. I'm sure our superiors feel their orders are justified.
Picard: Orders which we can't even verify.
Macduff: Orders we can't ignore.
Picard: But I also can't ignore that we have greatly outclassed the only enemy vessel we've encountered. And that every single possible shred of information which might shed some light on this situation has been conveniently eliminated. I feel as though I've been handed a weapon, sent into a room and told to shoot a stranger. Well, I need some moral context to justify that action, and I don't have it. I'm not content simply to obey orders. I need to know that what I am doing is right.
Macduff: So do I. I'd feel a lot better about this if all the questions were answered. And if you want to abandon our mission until our memories return, that's your choice, but I must ask you. Is it right to risk prolonging this war, to allow the needless deaths of thousands on both sides, solely on the basis of our moral discomfort?
Macduff: Come.
Macduff: Lieutenant.
Worf: You wished to see me, sir?
Macduff: I did. Please. Memory or no, it seems clear that both you and I were born for battle. More so than the others.
Worf: I thought this as well.
Macduff: It's conceivable that is the very reason that we've been assigned to this vessel. The Enterprise has science officers, medical specialists, engineers. Our Captain is undoubtedly an accomplished diplomat. But we, we are the warriors. There are times for diplomacy. This is not one of them.
Worf: You're concerned about the Captain?
Macduff: I am concerned about completing our mission, ending this war. In victory. We may soon face a critical moment. The success of our mission may hang on a split-second decision. A hesitation would kill us all, and those that are counting on us will surely die as well. We cannot let this happen. That'll be all.
Data: We are entering the Lysian system, sir.
Picard: Slow to one quarter impulse.
Ro: Yes, sir.
Macduff: The Central Command is directly ahead. Still beyond weapon range.
Picard: Red Alert. Battle stations. Bring us to an attack posture, Mister Worf.
Worf: Aye, sir.
Data: Sensors show several objects in our path, sir. They are twenty nine meters in length and are unmanned.
Macduff: According to Starfleet records, they're sentry pods programmed to defend their Central Command.
Riker: I'm reading forty seven of them around the perimeter.
Picard: Tactical analysis, Mister Data.
Data: The pods are equipped with fusion-generated pulse lasers and minimal shielding.
Riker: Not much power there.
Picard: Forward shields to maximum. Lock phasers on the sentry pods. Prepare to return fire.
Worf: Shields up. Phasers locked on targets.
Picard: Full impulse. Take us straight through them.
Data: We are through the perimeter, sir.
Riker: That was too easy.
Worf: We have yet to encounter any battleships. They may lie ahead.
Picard: Load all torpedo bays. Ready phasers.
Worf: Aye, sir.
Macduff: Approaching Central Command.
Picard: Mister Data, scan for defenses.
Data: I am picking up no vessels, no additional sentry pods.
Riker: Optimal firing range in fifty five seconds.
Macduff: Phaser banks ready. Loading torpedoes.
Picard: What are the defensive capabilities of the Central Command?
Data: Armaments consist of four laser cannons and thirty nine cobalt fusion warheads with magnetic propulsion. Defensive shield output is four point three kilojoules.
Riker: One photon torpedo ought to do it.
Troi: Data, how many people on that station?
Data: Fifteen thousand, three hundred eleven.
Macduff: We're within range, Captain.
Picard: Stand by.
Macduff: Waiting for your order, sir.
Troi: Captain, this isn't right.
Macduff: The rest of our forces are depending on us.
Riker: How can our mortal enemy be over a hundred years behind us in weapons technology?
Macduff: Their battleships may be on the way right now. We must attack!
Picard: I do not fire on defenseless people. Mister Worf open a channel to the Lysians.
Macduff: Belay that order! There's something wrong with the Captain. I'm taking command of this vessel. Fire all weapons! Mister Worf.
Picard: Captain's log, supplemental. We are on a course to Starbase three zero one. Doctor Crusher has been working steadily, and has restored the memories of most of the crew.
Picard: The Lysians have identified Commander MacDuff as a Satarran, an alien race that's been at war with the Lysians for decades. I have conveyed our deepest regrets to the Lysians over the tragedy of their lost ship and crew.
Riker: With all the power that MacDuff had to alter our brain chemistry and manipulate the computers, it's hard to believe he needed the Enterprise.
Picard: The Satarrans' weapons technology is no more advanced than the Lysians'. One photon torpedo would have ended their war.
Riker: It almost did.
Riker: I hope I'm not interrupting. RO +
Troi: No.
Ro: I was hoping to run into you.
Troi: Please, sit down.
Riker: Well. I'm glad I ran into the two of you. When you have no memory of who you are, or who anybody else is, you find yourself
Ro: The Counselor tells me that at times like that, we might do the things that we've always wanted to do.
Riker: She said that?
Troi: It's psychologically valid.
Ro: Commander, don't worry about it. As far as I'm concerned, you and I have shared something that we will treasure forever.
Riker: Well, I'm a little confused.
Troi: Well, if you're still confused tomorrow, you know where my office is.


Picard: Captain's log, stardate 45571.2. We are going into orbit around an unexplored M-class moon of Mab-Bu Six. Though the moon was reported to be uninhabited, we have picked up a weak distress call.
Data: The intense electromagnetic whirlwinds on the moon's surface make it virtually impossible to locate the source of the signal, Captain.
Picard: Any indications of life, Mister Worf?
Worf: Scanners read negative, sir, but they may be affected by the interference.
Riker: Have you ever heard anything like this, Data?
Data: I believe so, Commander. At Starfleet Academy.
Picard: The Academy?
Data: I will verify it. Just as I thought. It is a Starfleet subspace distress signal, standard to Daedalus-class starships.
Riker: There hasn't been a Daedalus class in service for what?
Data: One hundred seventy two years, sir.
Picard: Are there any records of missing ships in this vicinity?
Data: The USS Essex under the command of Captain Bryce Shumar disappeared in this sector over two centuries ago.
Picard: Daedalus class.
Data: I have accessed the subspace transponder signature of the Essex. It is identical to the signal coming from the moon's surface.
Riker: W arrived a little late.
Picard: Mute it, Mister Data. With that storm activity down there, it isn't worth the risk to check on a ghost ship. Advise Starfleet that we have solved the mystery of Captain Shumar and the Essex.
Troi: I'm not sure we have. Someone's down there. Alive. First officer's log, supplemental. The electromagnetic interference on the surface has been judged too dangerous for anyone to transport down, so we have taken a shuttle to investigate.
Data: Shields are holding, sir.
Riker: Wind shear is incredible. Data, keep an eye on the stabilizers. If it's anything like this on the ground, I don't see how anyone can survive on this moon for long.
Troi: Maybe they've been living underground.
Riker: Question is where? I still can't locate the source of the damn signal. It's bouncing around more than we are.
Data: Forward thrusters have failed, sir. We are losing power.
Riker: Enterprise!
Picard: Go ahead.
Riker: We've lost our thrusters. Attempting to compensate with secondary boosters
Worf: Sir? The shuttlecraft's impulse generators have shut down.
Picard: Commander, can you hear me?
Picard: Enterprise to shuttle, please respond.
Riker: Hold on! We're going down.
Data: Initiating emergency landing procedures.
Riker: Maintain the approach attitude, Data. I'm taking her in. Brace for impact.
Ro: The shuttle has crashed on the surface.
Picard: Do we have their position?
Worf: I am picking up the shuttle's trace signature, but the surface interference is distorting its position.
Picard: Can you locate them?
Ro: I think I can. I followed their entry almost all the way in. We can calculate the coordinates from the angle of descent.
Troi: Your arm.
Riker: Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's broken. Enterprise?
Data: It is unlikely that we will be able to establish communication with the ship, given the electromagnetic interference.
Riker: We'll stay in the area until the Enterprise finds us. Take an inventory of the shuttle. See if there's anything left in there that's usable. The ground cover is all non-porous rock, which makes me believe it's even less likely there's anyone living here.
Data: There are no instruments left of practical value that have not been damaged by our landing, sir.
Troi: What is that?
Riker: That doesn't look like any storm front I've ever seen.
Data: The tricorder is picking up high levels of EM bursts across the spectrum. No lifesign readings other than our own.
Troi: There is someone alive here. I'm more certain of it now than ever.
Riker: Well, I hope they can find us, because there's no way we'll find them.
Troi: They're coming. They're coming with the storm.
Laforge: We can't get a pattern lock on their communicators because of the EM bursts, Captain. There's no way we can beam them out of there, not under these conditions.
Picard: The same conditions won't permit a shuttle to land safely, Mister LaForge. Any suggestions?
O'Brien: Give us a minute, Captain.
O'Brien: Sir, let me beam down with a pattern enhancer.
Laforge: Chief, there's no guarantee you won't rematerialize in a million pieces if your signal gets caught up in that electromagnetic whirlwind.
O'Brien: I can boost the confinement beam. One person might be able to make it.
Laforge: Captain, Chief O'Brien wants to beam down to the surface with a pattern enhancer.
Laforge: His chances of getting down there safely are no better than fifty-fifty, in my opinion.
Worf: Captain, a major storm front is moving in on the away team's coordinates.
Picard: You're aware of the risks, Mister O'Brien?
O'Brien: Yes sir.
O'Brien: I think I can make it.
Picard: All right then. Good luck.
O'Brien: Aye, sir.
Riker: Mister O'Brien! Nice of you to join us.
O'Brien: Nice spot for a picnic, sir. We need to distribute these enhancer rods at seven meter lengths. That should do it.
Riker: Is this storm front going to interfere with the transport, Chief?
O'Brien: I'd really like to get us out of here before it hits, Commander. I'm supposed to be feeding the baby lunch. Molly gets in a terribly foul mood if I'm late.
Riker: I'm with you.
Riker: Lunch time, Miles! Let's do it!
Crusher: Easy, Deanna.
Troi: Where?
Crusher: Back on the Enterprise. You're going to be okay.
Troi: My skin, it's tingling.
Crusher: You're experiencing the afterimages of the electromagnetic discharge. The sensation will pass. They're all fine, too. Now, I want you to take your time, Counselor. Doctor's orders.
Picard: Injury report, Doctor?
Crusher: Mostly minor abrasions. Commander Riker took the worst of it with a broken arm.
Picard: Mister Data. Good work, Chief.
O'Brien: Thank you, sir.
Riker: Ready for duty, sir.
Picard: You're sure, Number One?
Riker: It's not the first bone I've ever broken.
Picard: And how are you, Counselor?
Troi: Very glad to be here.
Picard: Good. Let's go.
Picard: So what happened down there?
Riker: It was just one hell of a storm. It moved in on our position faster than anything I've ever seen.
Picard: Was there any evidence of life?
Riker: No, but if Troi was right, we were very close to it.
Picard: Bridge. How do you suggest we proceed?
Riker: We need to adjust the scanners so they can penetrate those storms. Do you have any ideas, Data?
Data: We might be able to employ virtual imaging to interpolate missing data.
Picard: Is something wrong, Commander?
Data: My apologies. It seems my primary speech processors are experiencing a minor fluctuation. I will have it corrected in a moment.
Troi: Captain, may I speak with you a moment in private?
Picard: Of course. You have the Bridge, Number One.
Riker: Mister Data, deploy sensor scans when you're ready. Ensign, take us to a synchronous orbit aligned around our crash site.
Ro: Aye, sir.
Data: Sir, given the EM field properties of this moon, I recommend a search pattern beginning in the southern polar region.
Riker: The polar region? That would be starting from scratch, Mister Data. Our latest readings would suggest that we begin our scan around our crash site.
Data: The Essex signal was never clearly located, sir. A systematic survey of the moon from a polar orbit might be more practical.
Riker: Well, you might be right, but I'd like to give the crash site a once over first. Maintain our current orbit.
Data: Understood, sir.
Troi: I've never felt anything like it. It was as though they were calling to me.
Picard: Are you saying someone was communicating telepathically?
Troi: Perhaps, for an instant. It was like their voices were being carried on the wind.
Picard: What were they trying to communicate?
Troi: I'm not sure, but they were calling me to the southern polar region. I believe that's where we should look for the Essex.
Ro: Commander, did you override my orbital heading?
Riker: Override them?
Ro: We've moved into a polar orbit and I'm locked out. The helm isn't responding.
Riker: Do you know anything about this, Mister Data? Data?
Riker: Security to the Bridge!
Riker: Computer, transfer command to Engineering. Full security alert!
O'Brien: This way!
Troi: What happened?
Data: He would not move to a polar orbit.
Troi: You couldn't wait? The Captain would have done it for me.
O'Brien: Deck thirty six. Engineering.
Riker: Computer, re-enable Bridge control. Security protocol, Riker omega Three.
Picard: Report.
Riker: Data, O'Brien and Troi tried to commandeer the ship.
Worf: They're in turbolift four. Engaging override controls now.
Data: They've trapped us.
Troi: What deck is this?
O'Brien: We're on deck ten.
Troi: Can you move us again?
O'Brien: I know how to override the bridge command.
Riker: Activate security fields decks eight through fifteen.
Worf: Sir, the turbolift is moving again. They're still inside.
Picard: Initiate emergency bulkheads in turboshaft four.
Worf: Aye, sir. They have been stopped at deck thirteen.
Picard: Mister Worf.
Troi: Do you know how to deactivate this?
O'Brien: The computer will not allow us to override an emergency forcefield command.
Data: My entity's artificial substructure may be useful.
Riker: They've broken through a security field, deck ten, section two.
Picard: Security to Ten Forward.
Keiko: Shh. Momma's here. Shh.
Troi: Everyone get down on the floor.
Keiko: Miles?
O'Brien: On the floor!
Worf: Everyone down, now!
Riker: Multiple phaser shots, Ten Forward.
Picard: Picard to Worf. Report.
Picard: Mister Worf acknowledge. Can you hear me, Mister Worf?
Troi: Yes, Bridge. He can hear you.
Picard: Captain's log, supplemental. Following an aborted attempt to take control of the Bridge, Counselor Troi, Mister Data, and Chief O'Brien have seized Ten Forward.
Riker: Position security teams at both entrances.
Ro: Yes sir.
Picard: Mister La Forge, shut down all computer access to Ten Forward.
Laforge: I can't, Captain. They've already set up a remote security lock out. We'd have to shut down all computer function in the saucer section.
Riker: Transporter room three, can you get a pattern lock on Commander Data, Counselor Troi
Riker: And Chief O'Brien in Ten Forward?
Crewman: Attempting to lock on, sir.
O'Brien: You were correct. They're attempting to engage their transporters. But I know how to shut them down.
Data: Do it.
Crewman: Bridge, the entire transporter array has been taken off line and placed into diagnostic mode.
Crewman: I can't override. It'll take a couple of hours to complete the cycle.
Picard: How many people are down there?
Ro: Seventeen. They just shut down the internal scanners too, Captain.
Picard: Doctor Crusher to the Bridge.
Crusher: On my way.
Troi: What are you doing now?
Data: I can reverse the polarity of their forcefields to isolate this room.
Troi: Good.
O'Brien: Their communicators. Now they will learn nothing but what we tell them.
Ro: They've done something to the forcefields on deck ten, section one.
Riker: Geordi?
Laforge: I don't recognize the configurations, but they've completely isolated Ten Forward.
Riker: What about flooding their air vents with anaesthezine gas?
Laforge: That won't affect Data. No rescue plan will work unless we can knock out all three of them.
Riker: A concussive charge would blow out the security fields. We could go in with phasers on wide beam, stun everybody. Sort it out later.
Picard: Doctor, go back to the biofilter readouts taken of the away team's transport from the moon's surface. See if you can come up with any clue that might explain this.
Picard: Ten Forward, this is Captain Picard. I am prepared to discuss this situation. There is no need for further violence.
Picard: Please identify yourselves.
Troi: They will now attempt to negotiate for the safety and release of their people. Interesting. Under normal circumstances, I would be counseling the Captain at a time like this.
O'Brien: And what would you tell him to do?
Troi: I would help him find a way to secure our trust.
Data: What are you looking at? You, Klingon. Attack me. Are you afraid?
Worf: I have no fear of death.
Data: And I have no fear of killing you.
Troi: Stop it!
Picard: Please respond, Ten Forward. Are there any members of my crew who require medical assistance?
Troi: We can discuss your wounded, but first you will move the ship.
Picard: Move it where?
Troi: You will
Troi: Change the ship's orbit to an inclination of eighty degrees south.
Riker: The southern polar region. That's where Data tried to move the ship.
Picard: And that's what Troi asked me to do. But why? Ten Forward, if you could be more specific about our intended destination
Picard: Perhaps we could
Troi: You have thirty seconds to change your heading or additional members of your crew will require medical attention.
Picard: We need to stabilize this situation. Play for time. I suggest we move the ship as they've asked. Agreed? Set a new heading, but take us there as slowly as you can. Ten Forward, we are moving the ship as you requested.
Data: He's telling the truth. Their heading has changed.
Crusher: Captain, I've compared the away team's last transporter trace patterns to their earlier records. They're exactly the same, except in Troi, Data and O'Brien there's an unusual synaptic activity. Some kind of anionic energy. It may be another lifeform superimposing its neural patterns on our people.
Riker: Why wasn't I affected?
Crusher: I don't know. The only difference between you and the others was that you were injured.
Riker: My broken arm.
Crusher: The fracture caused pain receptors to fire, which may have made you immune to this energy.
Picard: If your theory is accurate, Doctor, what would happen if we were to inflict pain on the others?
Crusher: It might force whatever it is out of our people.
Ro: A plasma shock. It would be painful but it wouldn't cause any physical harm.
Laforge: I could hook up a modified laser scanner to a plasma inverter.
Riker: What about Data?
Laforge: Well, a plasma shock would definitely overload his neural net. It'll work on him too.
Riker: We have to find a way to penetrate the forcefield around Ten Forward.
Laforge: I might be able to interrupt the forcefield for a few seconds, but I'll be fighting the computer for control. Timing would be critical.
Ro: We'd have to hit all three with a single discharge. If they're standing together, it shouldn't be a problem.
Picard: How will you gain access?
Laforge: A micro-optic drill through the ceiling. They'll never detect it.
Crusher: If this is going to work, we have to have some way to contain or neutralize this anionic energy once it's out of our people.
Picard: Yes, Doctor. That will be your top priority. Very well, proceed. Bridge to Ten Forward. Now that we are moving the ship as you requested, I would like to know the nature of the injuries to the members of my crew.
Troi: Five of your people have been injured.
Picard: How serious is their condition?
Troi: You, Klingon, tell him.
Worf: Captain, one person has suffered what looks like a level-five phaser hit, and four others have secondary burns. They require medical attention. And our captors are not affected by phaser stun settings.
Data: Silence, Klingon.
Picard: Ten Forward, you must release these people so that they can receive proper medical attention.
Troi: I will release no one.
Picard: If you will release them, I will take their place.
Data: I don't trust him. It may be a deception.
Troi: The crew values Picard's life above all others. Captain Picard, we agree to your proposal.
Picard: Expect a medical team to accompany me.
Troi: Acknowledged.
Picard: Sickbay, this is Picard. Have an emergency medical team meet me outside Ten Forward.
Riker: Sir, putting you down there only strengthens their position.
Picard: Number One, so long as they're on board this ship, I'm a hostage no matter where I am. We all are. I must find out who we're dealing with. If La Forge and Ro can attempt a rescue in short order, then let them proceed. If they can't, I will provide you with another opportunity. Watch for it.
Riker: Yes, sir.
Data: Silence that child!
O'Brien: I know you. I know who you are. And I know who this is.
Keiko: She's frightened. Why don't you just let us go?
O'Brien: No. Make it stop.
Picard: Ten Forward, we're outside the door.
Troi: Lower the force field.
Troi: Welcome, Captain. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Bryce Shumar, of the Federation Starship Essex.
Picard: The Starship Essex vanished over two hundred years ago.
Troi: Indeed. I know, I was there. This is my First Officer Commander Steven Mullen, and my Security Chief, Lieutenant Morgan Kelly.
Picard: And you have survived all this time as?
Troi: Spirits? Ghosts? But you're a man who would never believe in ghosts, Picard. Isn't that true? You see, Troi knows you. And so I do as well.
Picard: Then Counselor Troi is still alive?
Troi: Yes, of course she is. I have no wish to harm her or to harm anyone else.
Picard: I'm very pleased to hear that.
Troi: We have been forced to take this action, Captain, because we need your help.
Picard: My help?
Troi: Our consciousness has been trapped on this moon for two centuries. We must escape this torture.
Picard: How did this happen to you?
Troi: I can't explain how it happened. I only know that it did. The Essex was caught in an electromagnetic storm just as your shuttle was. Moments before we crashed, the bridge was struck by lightning. The ship was ripped apart. Somehow, in that instant, our consciousness was absorbed in the magnetic currents on the surface.
Picard: Why didn't you tell us this? Why the deception? The violence?
Troi: Because as I said, I knew you would not believe us. Even now, I know you don't.
Picard: What was your vessel's designation and its complement?
Troi: NCC One seven three. Daedalus-class starship. Crew, two hundred and twenty nine.
Picard: Under whose command in this sector?
Troi: Admiral Uttan Narsu, Starbase Twelve. You will find all this in Starfleet records.
Picard: I don't need to see the records.
Troi: Then you know I am correct.
Picard: End this, and I will give you whatever help you need.
Troi: No. You don't trust us. And I can't risk trusting you.
Data: It is taking too long. We should have been there by now. He is manipulating you.
Troi: Captain Picard has every right to be curious.
Data: He will try to delay until a rescue attempt is possible.
Troi: I know that. I also know that he will make every effort to protect the lives of his people. Since our demands are not excessive, Captain, I hope you will see that it will be simpler to accede than to risk further injuries.
Picard: What do you want?
Troi: All you need to know for now is that we want to rest. Simply, finally, to rest.
Laforge: Section two B, A, section one.
Ro: Finally. I never want to see this part of the Enterprise again.
Laforge: I hear you. This is what starship designers call easy access. Yeah, yeah, this is it. I thought we might have a problem with conduit number two twenty seven but it looks like we're going to be able to get by it.
Ro: Thanks.
Ro: We're through.
Laforge: Good. Let's hook up the scanner and see what we've got.
Ro: Got it. All three have got to be in the circle if this is going to work.
Laforge: We're halfway home. La Forge to Crusher. How're you doing?
Crusher: I think I've come up with an idea for a containment field.
Crusher: This anionic energy seems to be vulnerable to the same magnetic flux density we monitored in the storms. If we can duplicate it, we can trap it
Crusher: Once it's out of our people.
Laforge: You should be able to do that by flooding Ten Forward with ionogenic particles.
Crusher: Exactly what I was thinking.
Riker: Geordi, how long will it take to get it all ready?
Laforge: We still have to calibrate the plasma inverter, Commander. My guess is forty five minutes to an hour.
Crusher: I can have the containment field ready by then.
Riker: Keep me advised.
Picard: Impressions, Mister Worf?
Worf: Spiritual possessions of this sort have been reported throughout Klingon history. It is called jat'yIn, the taking of the living by the dead.
Picard: Human history is full of many similar legends.
Worf: Then you believe they may be telling the truth?
Picard: Not for one moment.
Worf: Sir, they know much about the Essex. If it is the spirit of Captain Shumar.
Picard: Then he should be behaving very much better, don't you think? A Starfleet Captain.
O'Brien: You two, sit down.
Worf: After living disembodied for two centuries, perhaps they've gone mad.
Picard: I assure you, Mister Worf, these are not jat'yIn. Our job is to find out exactly what they are and then to determine how to deal with them.
Data: Right, That's enough. Sit down, both of you. You over there, you there. Down.
O'Brien: I gave you that. In a place called McKinley Park. Green grass. Tall trees.
Keiko: Please don't.
O'Brien: I hid the bracelet in your pocket. You were surprised.
Keiko: Don't.
O'Brien: You said, Miles, you make me feel so happy.
Keiko: No! Get away! Get away from me.
Troi: Leave her alone.
Picard: Captain Shumar. We'll be approaching the southern polar region that you requested in a few minutes. I need to give additional instructions.
Troi: Very well. We're taking you to our crash site.
Picard: The southern pole?
Troi: That is correct.
Picard: Nothing our sensors were able to detect indicated that the Essex went down in that region.
Troi: As I told you, Captain, the ship broke up in the atmosphere, and the bridge went down here. When we reach it, you will beam what's left of our skeletal remains on board this ship and then take them back to Earth for a proper burial. You see how simple a request this is?
Picard: Captain, if you will let these people go, I'll order the Bridge to follow your instructions.
Troi: I will release no one.
Picard: If you are who you say you are, there's no need for any of this. We'll gladly take you home.
Troi: I wish you were truly as open-minded as you say, Picard.
Picard: If you don't release the hostages, I won't cooperate.
Data: You will cooperate, Captain. You will cooperate or someone will die. Who shall it be? How about the Klingon? Get another one.
O'Brien: You.
O'Brien: Come on. Come on, come on.
Data: Pick one to die, Captain, or I kill them both.
Ro: They're all in range. I have to do it now.
Laforge: I'm only going to be able to shut down the forcefield for about seven seconds before the computer compensates.
Ro: Well, if they're the right seven seconds, it'll be enough.
Laforge: Bridge,
Laforge: Prepare to release the ionogenic field on my signal.
Riker: Standing by.
Laforge: Ready?
Ro: Lower the forcefield.
Laforge: Forcefield down.
Ro: Firing plasma charge.
Ro: Damn!
Data: Tell them to stop, or I kill everyone in this room, starting with you.
Picard: Picard to Bridge, abort immediately.
Riker: As you say, Captain. Riker to La Forge, return to the Bridge.
Troi: Are you ready to cooperate?
Picard: Yes. First officer's log, supplemental. The Enterprise has moved into a synchronous orbit near the southern polar region. We await further instructions from Ten Forward.
Riker: Any sign of the Essex?
Laforge: Negative, Commander. Electromagnetic disturbances are even worse here. Scanners can't read a thing.
Riker: Bridge to Ten Forward.
Riker: Intense storm activity over the southern pole is making it virtually impossible for us to pick up any trace of the Essex.
Troi: We are giving you the exact coordinates of our remains on board the wreck of the Essex.
Laforge: I'm receiving the coordinates now.
Riker: Can you tell what's there?
Laforge: Just your basic ionic cyclone. I can't read a thing.
Riker: I'm sure as hell not going to beam up whatever might be down there.
Laforge: I've got a good excuse for you. The transporters aren't going to work any better than the scanners.
Riker: Bridge to Ten Forward.
Riker: Whatever's blocking our scanners will prevent the use of the transporters.
O'Brien: They're lying.
Picard: On the contrary, we've had a difficult time with transporters since we arrived here. That's why we had to send down the shuttle. You should all have been aware of that fact.
Data: We must be able to use the transporters.
Picard: Mister O'Brien was the one who safely executed the return of the away team. He's the most qualified person on board to operate the transporters under these circumstances.
Troi: Can you do it from here?
O'Brien: No. I'd have to use a transporter pad.
Picard: I could give you safe passage to a transporter pad in one of the cargo bays.
Data: It's a trick. He is trying to divide us.
Troi: We must not be separated.
Picard: I can give you all safe passage.
Data: Why are you suddenly being so helpful?
Picard: Because I assume that if you choose go to the cargo bay, then you won't to take all of the hostages. Their safety is my chief priority.
Troi: What are the risks when we leave this room?
Data: Without the protection of the forcefields, we are completely vulnerable.
O'Brien: They could use the transporter against us. Once the forcefield is down, they could beam us back to the surface. But there is a way to neutralize that threat. Bridge, transfer all transporter functions to Ten Forward.
Riker: In order to do that
Riker: You will have to release your computer control lockouts.
O'Brien: That's not true.
Picard: Let me talk to him. Number One, I think we have an opportunity to end this siege.
Picard: It will require the cooperation of all concerned.
Picard: Our guests will be moving shortly to cargo bay four, where the transport will occur. I want you to ensure them of safe passage between Ten Forward to the cargo bay.
Riker: Understood, Captain. Doctor. Mister La Forge.
Laforge: Yes, sir.
O'Brien: Transporter controls are being transferred. Ten Forward to Bridge. I said all transporter controls. Including those aboard all your shuttlecraft.
Riker: Almost had them, Ensign. Nice try. Ten Forward. Our mistake. Remaining transporter functions are being transferred to you.
O'Brien: Once we create our own access code, we can prevent anyone using the transporter against us. We can go to the cargo bay.
Data: What about the weapons?
Troi: We will each take a hostage for protection.
Data: Klingon.
Troi: Picard, you are mine.
Keiko: Please, let her stay.
Troi: Lower the forcefield.
Riker: Security teams, stand by.
Ro: They're heading through section five.
Riker: Mister La Forge, Doctor, they'll be at their destination in less than a minute.
Ro: They've stopped at deck eighteen, sir.
Riker: Security, allow them access into cargo bay four.
Security: Aye, sir.
O'Brien: I will require assistance.
Picard: Captain Shumar, how do you intend to achieve this rest that you so desire?
Troi: What do you mean?
Picard: Well, how do you intend to free yourselves of this existence that has so trapped your consciousness?
Troi: It will fade as we move further from this planet.
Picard: Really? What is your scientific basis for that?
Troi: I don't need a scientific basis. Just be quiet.
Picard: Captain Shumar, when are you going to tell me who you really are?
O'Brien: I've initialized the transporter signal.
Troi: Proceed.
Ro: They're powering up the transporter, Commander.
Riker: Mister LaForge.
Laforge: I've isolated cargo bay four with a neutrino field, sir, but it'll only take Data and O'Brien a couple of minutes to override it, once they discover that it's there.
Riker: I hope that'll give the Captain enough time to play his hand.
Ro: Do you know what he's going to do?
Riker: There's only one reason he chose cargo bay four. If it becomes necessary, Ensign, you will blow the cargo bay hatch on my orders.
Ro: Yes, sir.
Troi: You're quite right, Picard, it's not rest we seek. Only escape.
Picard: Escape?
Troi: We were brought to this moon over five centuries ago from a star system called Ux-Mal. We were separated from our bodies and left to drift in the storms. Once we almost escaped, on board the Essex, but that ship was incapable of eluding this moon's electromagnetic storms.
Picard: Did you really think using their identities would gain our sympathy?
Troi: It was a better approach than asking you to allow hundreds of condemned prisoners on board.
Picard: Then this moon is a penal colony.
Troi: That's correct. But now we have your ship and your bodies to carry us home.
Ro: I'm reading dozens of them. Hundreds.
Crusher: They have the same anionic signature we saw on the biofilter scans.
Riker: I think we can give the Captain a new bargaining chip. Doctor Crusher, flood the cargo bay with your containment field.
Troi: No! Let them go or you will all die.
Picard: Your threats are meaningless now.
O'Brien: We are still in control of these three bodies. We will not let them go.
Picard: Are you prepared to sacrifice the lives of the others? They'll all die when the cargo bay hatch is blown.
Data: You will die too, Picard.
Keiko: I would die to save the life of my child.
Worf: To die defending one's ship is the hope of every Klingon.
Picard: If you each know the officers you inhabit, then you know they're equally ready to give their lives for this ship. Free them now and I will return you to the moon's surface.
Troi: I advise you, Picard, not to pass our way again.
Picard: Picard to Bridge.
Riker: Aye, sir.
Picard: Our guests will be leaving shortly. I need an emergency medical team down here.
Crusher: On our way, Captain.
Picard: Mister Worf, prepare to transport these prisoners back down to the moon's surface.
Worf: Gladly, sir.
Picard: Captain's log, stardate 45572.1. Doctor Crusher has examined Troi, Data and O'Brien. There seem to be no residual effects from their experience.
Troi: It was as though my own consciousness were pushed to the side. I was watching everything happen, hearing my own voice, but not being able to control any of it.
Picard: What about the entity that controlled you, What were your perceptions of him?
Troi: He was intelligent, actually. Thoughtful, in a ruthless sort of way. Cold.
Data: Lieutenant, I must apologize for my inadvertent misconduct toward you.
Worf: No apology necessary.
Data: Your restraint was most remarkable.
Worf: You have no idea.
Crusher: How do you feel?
O'Brien: Hungry.
Crusher: That's a good sign. Go home.
O'Brien: How do you feel?
Keiko: I'm just glad to have you back.
O'Brien: If I could've killed that thing inside me, I would have.
Keiko: I know. We both know.