Where No One Has Gone Before ( episode ) When an experimental engine modification throws the " Enterprise " to the edge of the known universe , the crew must rely on a mysterious alien to guide the ship home . Summary . Teaser . The has met the starship in order to take on a Starfleet propulsion specialist who will perform an upgrade on the warp drive . He has already performed the upgrade on the " Fearless " , as well as the " Ajax " . Both these ships reported an increase in engine efficiency . Riker , however , is not convinced . He and Data have run a controlled test of the formulae that the engineer , Kosinski , has sent over , and found them to have no effect . Picard reasons that there ' s no harm in letting him come over and attempt the upgrade , especially since it doesn ' t change the hardware . Riker is still skeptical , so Picard sends him to meet Kosinski when he beams aboard , along with his assistant . Riker , Troi , and Chief Engineer Argyle go to meet him in the transporter room . Kosinski is pompous and arrogant . He asks why the captain isn ' t there to meet him and demands to be taken to engineering . As he leaves , Troi comments to Riker that Kosinski is as he appears – loud and arrogant – but she can sense nothing from his assistant , not even his presence . Act One . In engineering , Riker questions Kosinski about what he is going to do and asks him to explain his formulae . At first Kosinski resists , but eventually agrees to explain himself to Riker and Argyle . Meanwhile Wesley , who is also in engineering working on a school project , watches the assistant enter the formulae on a screen and suggests various changes to the inputs . When Kosinski is ready , Picard orders La Forge to take the " Enterprise " to warp 1 . 5 . As the ship accelerates , both Kosinski and his assistant enter various information . Suddenly a console alarm goes off and Kosinski shouts at the assistant , who has made an error . Outside the ship , the " Enterprise " s engines suddenly engage with a massive burst of speed . The assistant grabs his console and starts to " phase " in and out of view , noticed only by Wesley . On the bridge , La Forge tells the captain they are passing warp 10 , and Data later says that their velocity is off the scale . The " Enterprise " hurtles through space , with phenomena whizzing past at extremely high speed . Picard orders that they reverse engines ( which Data comments on as having never been done at their current speed ) , and the " Enterprise " flashes out of warp . When asked for the ship ' s position , La Forge replies incredulously that they have traveled 2 , 700 , 000 light year s . They are now in the galaxy M33 , and at maximum warp it will take them over three hundred years to get home . Act Two . Kosinski , Riker , and Argyle arrive on the bridge . Picard asks them what happened and Kosinski replies that he made " a mistake , a wonderful mistake " . He is highly excited , claiming he has broken the warp barrier and that his name will go down in history . However , hearing the procedure that Kosinski used , Commander Riker isn ' t convinced . Down in engineering , Wesley is talking to the assistant . He realizes that the assistant has been performing the " upgrades " all along , and that Kosinski is just a joke . The assistant tells him he means no harm to the ship or the crew – he made a mistake . He is exhausted now , and Wes offers to get his mother , but the assistant declines . Wes then says that from looking at the warp equation s he thinks time and space and thought are all one thing . This surprises the assistant , who tells him never to say such a thing again " in a world that ' s not ready for it . " Picard orders Kosinski to bring them home , and they return to engineering . Wes tries to tell Riker about the assistant , but he won ' t listen . Kosinski sets up to return them home , and the " Enterprise " shoots into warp with another tremendous burst of speed . As they input the equations , it becomes obvious to Kosinski that it is not working . Then Riker sees the assistant as he starts to " phase " again and then collapse across the console . Meanwhile , the " Enterprise " picks up incredible speed moving into untold measurements . On the viewscreen , spatial phenomena streak past faster and faster into indistinguishable light blurs . Picard orders full stop , and the " Enterprise " blasts out of warp once more , but they are certainly not back in their own galaxy . Outside the ship , clouds of cosmic dust and energy beings swim in a never - ending blue abyss . Data concludes that they must be at the edge of the known universe , " " where none have gone before . " " Act Three . The " Enterprise " is now a billion light years from the Milky Way Galaxy in the other direction . In frustration , Picard leaves for engineering . The crew now starts to see things that cannot be there . Worf is at his station when he suddenly sees a Klingon targ in front of him , his childhood pet . Yar also sees it but it disappears just as quickly . Then she sees her pet cat and is back on the colony where she grew up , trying to avoid a rape gang . La Forge touches her and she snaps out of it . When the turbolift doors open , Picard almost steps out into open space before throwing himself back inside . The doors open again and he goes into a corridor . He meets two crewmen running away from some unseen pursuer . Picard sees an ensign in a cargo bay dancing ballet . The visions of thought seeming to become visual reality soon become more evident to the captain when he then sees his dead mother drinking tea in a corridor , and starts to talk to her before he is interrupted by Riker . When he looks back , she ' s gone . Picard immediately orders general quarters and goes to engineering . He tells the crew that they are in a region of space where thoughts become reality , and that they must try to subdue their thoughts . In engineering , Dr . Crusher is examining the now unconscious assistant . Riker informs Picard that it was the assistant the whole time , not Kosinski . Crusher says the assistant is dying . Act Four . The assistant is brought to sickbay , where Picard tells Crusher to wake him . They must leave this place before their own thoughts cause the ship to be destroyed . The assistant wakes and tells Picard that he is a Traveler from another plane of existence . He is traveling through their galaxy , observing them , using his knowledge of propulsion to get passage on Starfleet ships . Kosinski is just his cover . He meant no harm to the " Enterprise " . He tells them Human s shouldn ' t be here until their distant future , until they have learned to control their thoughts . Picard asks him if he can get them home . He tells him he will try . He then asks for a private word with Picard . The others leave and the Traveler tells Picard that people like Wesley are the reason that he travels . He compares him to Mozart , only instead of music , Wes has , or will have , the ability to manipulate time , space , and thought . He urges Picard to encourage Wes , but not to tell him or Beverly any of this . He weakens , and Picard helps him up to Riker to go to engineering . Picard hurries to the bridge , helping a crewman on the way to put out a fire he has created . Act Five . The Traveler prepares to engineering and Picard makes a ship - wide announcement , telling everyone to concentrate on home and on the Traveler ' s well being . They follow the same procedure as before : the ship jumps to warp 1 . 5 and the Traveler uses his powers to attempt to send them back . He starts to " phase " as before and the ship hurtles through space . Then the Traveler disappears altogether and the " Enterprise " finds itself right back where it started . Mindful of the Traveler ' s advice , Picard calls Wesley to the bridge and thanks him for his part in their successful return . He then makes him an acting ensign , " for conduct in the true spirit and traditions of Starfleet . " He instructs Riker to make out a duty roster for him and tells him to learn the ship and its operations from top to bottom . Then Wesley takes a seat on the bridge as the " Enterprise " resumes course . Memorable quotes . " " Yes , but where is this place ? " " " " Where none have gone before . " " " " The safety of the " Enterprise " may be entrusted to those two . " " " " How basic shall I be ? " " " " Perhaps you could call it the Kosinski scale . " " " " Why not ? Yes , of course . Since I ' m the one who has made the so - called warp barrier meaningless . " " " " Captain , we ' re here . Why not avail ourselves of this opportunity for study ? There is a giant proto - star here , in the process of forming . No other vessel has been out this far . " " " " Spoken like a " true " Starfleet graduate . It is tempting , eh , Number One ? " " " " If you knew something , why didn ' t you tell anybody ? " " " " He tried , twice . I didn ' t listen . " " " " Well yes , this could seem like magic to you . " " " " No . No , it actually makes sense to me . Only the power of thought could explain what has been happening . " " " " Thought is the essence of where you are now . " " " " He and a few like him are why I travel . " " " " You ' re not involved in this decision , boy ! " " " " Please don ' t interrupt me , Wesley . " " " " It ' s a Klingon Targ , from home , from when I was a child . " " " " So you ' re telling me that that thing ' s a kitty - cat ? ! " " " " Yes . I suppose you could call it that . " " " " Should I send for Dr . Crusher ? " " " " Why ? Is someone ill ? " " Links and references . References . 2064 ; 2415 ; acting ensign ; ; ballet ; Bessel function ; bridge ; candle ; cat ; cello ; door ; earring ; " Eine kleine Nachtmusik " ; end of the universe ; exhaustion ; ; flashlight ; fire ; galaxy ; " Galaxy " - class decks ; Holodeck 4J ; hypospray ; intermix formulae ; Klingon ; Kosinski scale ; medical tricorder ; Milky Way Galaxy ; ; music ; navigation sensor ; number one ; painting ; phase ; pronunciation ; protostar ; rape gang ; red alert ; science vessel ; sewer ; sickbay ; sleigh ride ; Starfleet Academy ; string quartet ; subspace field compensator ; " targ " ; target acquisition ; Tau Alpha C ; third person ; toe shoe s ; Transporter Room 3 ; The Traveler ; Triangulum Galaxy ( M - 33 Galaxy ) ; turbolift ; Turkana IV ; tutu ; universe ; unnamed plants ; viola ; violin ; VISOR ; warp barrier ; warp drive ; warp engine ; warp field ; wig