Captain's Log: Stardate 42609.1.
In response to a desperate plea from my old friend
Captain Donald Varley of the USS Yamato
I am running a grave risk by taking the Enterprise
into the Neutral Zone.
Varley's request was prompted by dangerous malfunctions
which have been plaguing our sister ship.
Perhaps with both crews working together
we can eliminate the problems
before our presence is detected by the Romulans.
How long to rendezvous, Mr. Crusher?
Four minutes and 33 seconds, sir.
Status of download, Mr. Data?
The Yamato log
should be in our computer by rendezvous, sir.
Have you nailed down our little hiccup yet?
Sir?
The odd reading?
No, sir.
It might be due to problems
currently being experienced by the Yamato.
Trouble, Number One?
I'm not sure, sir.
Are we alone out here, Worf?
Yes, sir.
There are no other vessels in the area except the Yamato
which is coming into visual range now.
At last.
( communications beep )
WORF: Transmission from the Yamato, sir.
On viewer.
Donald, what's a nice Starfleet Captain like you
doing in a place like this?
It's good to see you again, Jean-Luc
despite your antique humor.
I only hope your people are able to help us.
The malfunctions are becoming serious.
We lost an engineering team
when the computer shut down a force field
in an open shuttle bay.
18 people.
Do you have any idea what caused this, sir?
None.
They're affecting every system simultaneously.
It's like the ship has suddenly decided to fall apart.
It's beginning to make me think
that we should have run these galaxy class ships
across a few more drawing boards before building one.
You believe it's a design flaw?
I don't know.
I'm grasping at straws here.
All I know is, we've got to get it fixed
and before I lose more than an engineering team.
Do you wish to evacuate any non-essential personnel
to the Enterprise, sir?
No. No, that would be premature.
Donald, we'll get our teams to work on it immediately.
I'm sure neither of us feels too comfortable
sitting around in the Neutral Zone.
I know what you're thinking--
what the hell am I doing here?
Well, I heard a...
a few rumors about a couple of archaeological digs
that started making the Iconians sound a lot less like legend.
I did a little investigating and I located their homeworld.
In the neutral zone?
In the neutral zone.
Donald, that was quite a risk to run
to satisfy archaeological curiosity.
The risk would be in allowing the Romulans to locate Iconia.
( static )
Fortunately, I got there first.
It's a virtually dead planet, but enough technology remains
to give the Romulans an edge if they should find it.
( static )
Donald, your transmission is breaking up.
Mr. Data, try and clean that up.
Sir, there is an energy build-up
in the Yamato's engineering section.
Yamato, this is the Enterprise.
Yamato, come in.
Captain, magnetic seals in the antimatter chamber are decaying.
Captain.
Donald
Come in.
Shields up.
( alarm sounding )
Sir.
DATA: Sensors indicate...
no life reading, sir.
WORF: Captain.
Another vessel is coming within sensor range.
It is Romulan.
Space, the final frontier.
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.
Its continuing mission--
to explore strange new worlds
to seek out new life and new civilizations
to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Captain's Log, supplemental.
The Yamato's entire crew and their families
more than a thousand people, have been lost.
Circumstances, unfortunately
permit us no pause for grief.
No response from the Romulan vessel.
Arm phasers and prepare to lock on target.
Did they attack the Yamato?
Unknown, sir.
All their weapons systems have been fully activated.
Still no response.
Romulan vessel, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard
of the USS Enterprise.
Captain Picard.
Explain your illegal presence in the Neutral Zone.
Explain yours.
Are you responsible for the destruction of the Yamato?
No, but believe me, Captain
had we chosen to exercise our right
to defend the Neutral Zone
we would not have stopped with one starship.
You will leave at once.
WORF: Mute.
Comments?
She's extremely anxious.
Understandable if she just destroyed a Federation starship.
Your scan was inconclusive.
We don't know what happened to the Yamato.
Our presence in the Neutral Zone is provocative.
It could force her to respond.
Open.
We will comply
when I have determined the cause
of the destruction of the Yamato
and when I am fully satisfied that you were not responsible.
Picard out.
They're engaging their cloaking device.
Good.
They can't fire when they're cloaked.
Unless they have overcome that deficiency.
The Yamato was destroyed while they were cloaked.
Enough.
Answers.
I want answers, not conjecture.
Number One, I want them at a staff meeting in one hour.
RIKER: Aye, sir.
Sensor recordings reveal
that what we witnessed was an uncontrolled
and catastrophic matter/antimatter mix.
The magnetic seals between the chambers collapsed and...
PICARD: Wait, wait.
That's not possible.
Yes, sir, it is, but a highly improbable set of circumstances
has to take place for such a result to occur.
Explain.
Okay. In the event of a breach of seal integrity
there's an emergency release system
which dumps the antimatter.
Apparently, such a dump began, was then halted
and the containment seals were dropped.
There was still sufficient antimatter present
to lead to an explosion.
And so there is no evidence that a weapon was used?
No, sir, none.
However it happened
the Yamato did it to herself.
Theorize.
What could have caused such a catastrophic malfunction?
Well, I think Captain Varley may have been right.
There may be a design flaw.
In a galaxy class starship?
Yes, sir.
It's the most sophisticated piece of machinery ever built.
Something could have been overlooked.
Knowing where the flaw is located
can you isolate the problem and solve it?
We're already working on it, sir.
Pull any personnel you can use.
If we have established
that the Romulans were not responsible
for the destruction of the Yamato
would it not be prudent to withdraw?
If it is a design flaw, we better stay where we are
and give Geordi time to work on it
or what happened to the Yamato could happen to us.
Computer, access Captain Donald Varley's personal log.
Search parameter-- locate entries
containing words "Romulan" and/or "Iconian."
COMPUTER: Working.
Personal log.
It was kind of Dr. Ramsey to allow me to carry away
my own little piece of legend
from the archaeological dig on Denius III.
My engineers have examined it
but are completely baffled by its technology.
What was its purpose?
I'm like the caveman confronted by a tricorder.
I'm certain this device is Iconian
but how far had it traveled
before it was abandoned on this alien world?
Personal log.
A galactic Rosetta stone.
The starfields on the artifact were unintelligible
until I took into account 200 millennia of stellar drift.
After that it was easy to pinpoint Iconia.
My first officer is questioning the wisdom of my order
to violate the Neutral Zone
but I'm convinced that I've taken the only proper course.
Should this advanced technology
fall into the hands of the Romulan
we might as well dock our ships
and defend ourselves with sticks.
Personal log.
We've been spotted by a Romulan cruiser
but after playing hide and seek
through several solar systems
I think I've managed to elude them.
The Iconian probe scan--
was it an attempt at communication?
If only I knew what we were dealing with here.
Personal log.
I'm unable to send an away team to the surface of Iconia
nor can I scan the energy source on the planet
because of these maddening system failures.
It's infuriating to be stopped at the threshold of a dream
by one's own ship.
We're leaving orbit to rendezvous with Picard.
If his people can't help us repair the Yamato
I must convince him to continue this exploration.
The future well-being of the Federation
may well depend upon it.
COMPUTER: No further entries
conforming to search parameters.
Mr. Data
there was a reference in Captain Varley's personal log
to a probe that scanned the Yamato.
Aye, sir, we have the visual record.
Put it on main viewer.
What the devil is that?
PICARD: Have you seen anything
like that before?
No, sir.
It appears to be a scanner
possibly a transmitter.
Transmitting what?
Unknown, sir.
Engineering.
La Forge.
What progress on the matter/antimatter scan?
Everything continues to check out.
I'm starting an analysis on the magnetic coils.
When the Yamato was probed, where was she?
In orbit around a planet
at coordinates 227 mark 359, sir.
ETA at warp factor eight?
DATA: 12 hours, 16 minutes, sir.
Sir, that would put us substantially close
to the Romulan side of the neutral zone.
That can't be helped.
Ensign, lay in a course.
-Warp factor eight. -Aye, sir.
We're going to assume the Yamato's mission.
And risk a war?
Or perhaps... prevent one.
( door chime )
Come.
Sir, may I speak with you a moment?
Yes, of course.
Well, what is it, Wesley?
It's about the Iconians, sir.
I was told they were just a myth.
China was thought to be a myth until Marco Polo traveled there.
No, the Iconians are certainly real.
Sit down.
We know that three systems within this sector
had a number of cultural similarities
similarities which could only be explained
by there being a single unifying influence.
So they colonized those worlds?
Probably conquered.
You mean they were warlike?
Perhaps.
Ancient texts did speak of demons of air and darkness.
Air and darkness?
Legend has it
that they traveled without the benefit of spaceships
merely appearing out of thin air
on distant planets.
Sounds like magic.
Well, we would appear magical to Stone Age people.
How did you find all this out?
Archaeology has been a hobby of mine since Academy days
but why don't we talk about what really brought you here?
It's the Yamato, Captain.
I can't stop thinking about her.
All those people...
dead.
I don't know how you and Commander Riker and Geordi...
how you handle it so easily.
Easily?
Oh, no, not easily.
We handle it because we're trained to.
As you will be.
Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
But... if ever the time comes
when the death of a single individual
fails to move us...
Didn't you order tea, sir?
Now, that should not have happened.
Captain's Log, supplemental.
As happened with our sister ship
the Enterprise is beginning to experience a series
of system failures.
So far, they are random, but I fear they could be
early symptoms of what happened to the Yamato.
PICARD: Engineering.
La Forge.
Lieutenant
are you making any progress towards solving our problems?
Solving them, no, sir, but I can eliminate one worry.
It is not a design flaw.
I've been reviewing the Yamato's log
and I think that alien probe
may have had something to do with her problems.
How?
I'd need to see the thing.
If it was the probe, that explains the Yamato
But how do you account for the difficulties
the Enterprise is experiencing?
I can't.
Lieutenant, are our problems likely to attain the seriousness
of those on the Yamato?
If you're asking for speculation
I'd say yes, sir, they are.
I need time.
Mr. La Forge, time is one thing we do not have in abundance.
PICARD: Analysis, Mr. Data?
Scanning, sir.
Well, Mr. Data?
No life-form readings, sir.
All major cities have been heavily damaged
and the pattern of destruction
is that consistent with large-scale orbital bombardment.
How long ago?
Approximately 200,000 years, sir.
There is an energy source in the mountains
of the smaller continent.
Magnify.
Is that Iconia?
Captain Varley died believing that it was.
Did you see that?
Captain, projectile launched from the planet's surface.
Its size and composition
match the probe which scanned the Yamato, sir.
Shields up.
Prepare a tractor beam.
Mr. La Forge, I'm going to assist you in your research.
A probe has been launched from Iconia.
I'm going to capture it.
No, sir, wait!
Captain! Captain!
( staticky buzzing )
Coming through!
Bridge.
( grunting )
Emergency stop!
( grunting )
Stop it, damn it!
( grunting )
Tractor beam ready, sir.
Geordi, are you all right?
Destroy the probe, sir, quickly.
Worf, target phasers.
Phasers locked on target.
Fire.
( sighs )
Welcome to the Bridge, Mr. La Forge.
Thank you, sir.
If that thing had managed to scan us
we never would have any chance of saving the Enterprise.
That probe was a transmitter
sending an alien computer program
the same program that is currently aboard the Enterprise
trying to rewrite our software in its own image.
We have two completely incompatible computer systems
trying to interact.
So that's why the ship's instruments have become so erratic.
Yes.
What can you do?
Not very much.
The Iconian program is so sophisticated
I may never understand it.
Consider Captain, this program has entered an alien database--
ours-- and in less than seven hours
has managed to not only to learn our systems
but has begun to reprogram our computer.
And so the earlier probe was responsible
for the Yamato's destruction?
Yes, but only inasmuch
as it was the probe that transmitted the program.
But we weren't scanned by that probe.
Then how did this thing get aboard the Enterprise?
We downloaded the Yamato log
and contained in the log was the program.
Why didn't we suffer the same fate?
Well, the program affected
all of the Yamato's systems simultaneously
but with us, it was deposited
within a specific section of our mainframe
so it's having to work it's way out from that location.
That gives us a little breathing space.
Not much.
The injury reports are increasing, too, sir.
Dr. Pulaski is unwilling to trust the turbolifts.
She is sending medical teams through the access tunnels.
LA FORGE: Captain...
the Enterprise computer system is a lot like our own bodies
with voluntary and involuntary systems.
Now, probably 90% of what goes on
in this ship is done automatically
completely out of our control.
We're sitting on a bomb
that could go off any second or maybe never.
The biobeds aren't working.
The ship is falling apart.
I've had 35 emergency calls scattered across 12 decks.
My trauma teams are being run ragged trying to respond.
Biobeds!
Dr. Pulaski.
Yes?
I've got a problem here.
The knitter isn't working.
Uh, try a splint.
Doctor?
Splint. It's a very ancient concept.
You take two flat pieces of wood or plastic, a bandage.
The broken limb is kept immobile.
That's crazy. That's not practicing medicine.
Oh, yes, it is.
It's a time-honored way to practice medicine
with your head, and your heart and your hands.
So jump to it.
Damn.
Try a bypass on the shield control interface.
No, no go.
Let me see if I can directly access the master program.
Data.
Yes?
What happened?
Any answer would be mere speculation.
This is yet another example
of how our actions have random results.
Thanks, Data.
I noticed.
Life support has failed on decks 7 and 13, sir.
Now, what if this thing manages to rewrite our entire system?
It's so far beyond us
we have no hope of ever understanding it
let alone controlling it.
Our own ignorance could kill us.
We may never...
We may never reach that point.
A variation of what happened to the Yamato
might destroy us first.
So we just sit here and watch our ship disintegrate around us?
The probe was launched from Iconia
probably from an automated system.
There may be records
near the launch site
that could help us find a solution.
I'll arrange an away team.
And I'll lead it.
You will lead it?
Yes.
Sir, we've had this conversation 100 times.
And we will have it again, Number One.
I have been studying the Iconians since I was a cadet.
I have to be the one to go.
The Enterprise is yours.
For as long as she lasts.
O'BRIEN: I've got a lock on the energy source
and for the moment, this baby's working
but that could change in an instant.
PICARD: We're aware of the risks.
Energize.
Transport complete.
Stay sharp, Mr. O'Brien.
I want to be able to pull them out at a moment's notice.
Aye, sir.
Commander, Romulan vessel.
RIKER: Open hailing frequencies.
They're arming photon torpedoes.
Shields up. Go to red alert.
Sir, the shields aren't responding.
They're preparing to fire
photon torpedoes.
Mr. Crusher, I need those shields.
I'm trying, sir.
They're firing.
What happened?
Instead of firing, they suddenly disarmed and canceled.
Fate.
Protects fools, little children and ships named Enterprise.
Lock phasers on the Romulans and hold your fire.
Sir, the shields are back up.
Impeccable timing.
Sir, the shields are back down.
Phaser banks are down.
Shields are back up.
In another time and place, this could be funny.
Status of torpedo banks?
They're down, too.
If it should become necessary to fight
could you arrange to find me some rocks to throw at them?
Sir, the Romulan torpedoes are continuing
to arm and disarm.
Perhaps its attempt to fire was unintentional.
Open hailing frequencies.
Open.
Romulan vessel, this is Commander William Riker
First Officer of the USS Enterprise.
Why did you attempt to fire on us?
This is Sub-commander Taris of the Haakona.
Why have you penetrated deeper into the Neutral Zone?
Why are you still here?
I have claimed this planet for the Romulan empire.
This is the Neutral Zone.
No one can claim anything.
You will withdraw
or I will be forced to destroy your ship and your away team.
What the hell...?
This is your final warning.
I will not...
RIKER: Having a little trouble with your systems, Commander?
Maybe we should consider postponing the war
until we solve our more immediate problem.
You're stalling for time.
Sir, another probe launched from the planet.
Heading toward the Romulans.
Have we got our phasers back?
No, sir.
Taris, if you have phaser capability
prepare to use them now.
What?
Destroy that probe.
Not even a thank you.
Sub-commander Taris is deeply frustrated
probably because her ship is as crippled as the Enterprise.
Why would the Romulans
be experiencing problems?
They weren't probed.
They must have tapped into the Yamato log.
Taris got a whole lot more than she bargained for.
Maintain red alert
and try to keep those shields up
in case Taris decides to act on her threat.
Commander.
What about the away team?
With the shields up, we can't beam them back.
Captain's log, supplemental.
While there is little left on the surface of Iconia
we've found what appears to be
a control center which seems to have remained intact.
WORF: Come in, Enterprise.
Still no response, sir.
Keep trying them.
Communications are bound to be erratic.
I would not like to become
a permanent resident of this planet.
Nor would I, Mr. Worf.
Scanners show no other life-forms on the planet, sir.
I would not expect any.
Judging from the severity of the bombardment
I doubt any Iconians survived.
Well...
Mr. Data, let's see what sense we can make of this.
Aye, sir.
This is very reminiscent of Dinasian.
Yes, sir.
There are also similarities to Dewan and Iccobar.
Is it possible they could be branches
of the same language family
beginning with Iconian?
It is, sir.
Run a comparison using basic, simple words
from Dinasian, Dewan, and Iccobar.
Let's see if we can reconstruct a common root language.
Accessing, sir.
You're jumpy.
The tension on the ship is very high.
What's your recommendation?
Give everyone something to do
somewhere to focus their attention.
All right.
Let's consider evacuation.
To the planet?
I know it's probably impossible with Taris sitting out there
but it would give everyone something to do.
You go and organize it.
But you might need me
if you have to negotiate with Taris again.
I'll manage.
Right now, they're more important.
Captain.
Your original hypothesis is correct.
Iconian is the parent tongue of a language family
which consists of Iccobar, Dewan and Dinasian.
I've constructed a basic working understanding
through a comparison of common root words
such as mother, father, child, home, tribe, food, life, death
yours, ours, mine...
Data, Data, Data.
You do understand, sir, that my interpretation of the symbols
will not be exact?
Yes, let's get on with it.
This would appear to be manual override.
That was not manual override.
Demons of air and darkness, indeed.
What is that?
A gateway.
These scenes could be holographic images.
Be careful.
Data!
That was very foolish.
But we have established this is not a holograph.
If I step through and investigate
we could determine whether this is truly a gateway.
No, Data.
You might not be able to get back
and I can't risk losing you.
If it is not illusion, this gate would seem to take us
beyond the confines of this planet.
Is this how the Iconians traveled
crossing light-years as easily as we would cross a room?
Those places could be on worlds
in distant corners of the galaxy.
I think the Iconians might have outfoxed their enemies.
Maybe they didn't all die in the bombardment.
Some of them could have passed through this.
This is what Varley feared.
This is what he died for.
Sir?
The Romulans could use this technology as a weapon.
Like the Iconians did.
No, I disagree.
Captain, there is nothing in this room
to indicate it was used as a military command center.
Perhaps a transporter room.
But the probe was hostile.
We can't make that assumption.
The effect on the Yamato was devastating
but what if it was by accident, not by design?
What I'm going to say may sound unscientific
but standing on this soil, breathing in this air
my instincts tell me we may have got them wrong.
But we do know the Iconians were conquerors.
But that knowledge was passed down
by descendants of those who attacked this world.
The victors invariably write history to their own advantage.
There is an unfortunate tendency in many cultures
to fear what they do not understand.
It's possible that their enemies
confronted by this technology
were driven to attack the Iconians out of fear.
Sir.
Was that really the Enterprise?
I believe that it was.
Gentlemen, we have a way home.
Captain, there is a vast underground power source
which is controlled by this console.
I believe my triggering of the gateway
has caused a dramatic upsurge in the power level.
Ah, I have access.
( high-pitched tone )
Data, can you hear me?
Data, respond.
Captain...
Are you all right?
No, I am damaged.
How bad is it?
The Iconian program is attempting to rewrite
my software.
Physical manifestations:
blindness, motor con...
Sir, without him, we have no hope
of deciphering the program.
Captain, the Enterprise again.
How long is the interval?
About four minutes, if the cycle holds.
The next time the Enterprise appears
go through it with Data.
Geordi will be able to learn from him
maybe help him.
Sir, we have not yet established
that that is truly a gateway.
This will be the test.
Aye, sir.
Destroy the tricorder.
Sir, it contains everything
we've discovered up to this point.
And that is precisely why it must be destroyed.
PICARD: How long?
About three minutes.
I'm running out of time.
We all are.
Data.
Data, I have to destroy this.
This control room
and its technology must not be allowed
to fall into Romulan hands.
I understand, sir.
How? How do I do it?
How do I destroy everything?
The control room, the probes, all of it?
The power source, sir.
I detonate it?
How? How do I do that?
The probes, sir.
Probes?
The probes.
Launch?
I launch the probes?
Well... why?
What good will that do?
The doors, sir.
Doors?
Perhaps the probes are in a launch bay.
And if the doors are closed
then the backwash from the rockets will spill into the power grids
and there'll be an overload.
Yes, sir.
But the doors will open automatically
when the launch begins
and I will override.
Correct, sir.
Which control keys?
Damn.
Of course, you can't see.
Help...
Worf, help him up.
Describe, please.
I'm standing directly in front of the gate.
To my left, there is a small triangular screen.
Right one meter.
Right.
Now, to my right is a larger triangular screen
to the top, is solid amber
to the left, red.
Correct.
Key blue, amber, amber, red.
That's the launch sequence?
How do I override the doors?
Blue, blue, blue.
I hope that's not a stutter.
I don't know how long a delay there will be
between the launch and the detonation.
I will hold keying the launch sequence
until you're through the gate.
How long until the Enterprise reappears?
Almost time.
Captain, you will be killed.
I'll go through the gate.
But where will you end up?
Very shortly, anywhere will be preferable to this room.
Mr. Worf, I am depending on you.
You must get Data back to the Enterprise.
He may be their only hope.
Aye, sir.
CREWMEMBER: Commander, look!
Worf! What happened?
Where's the Captain?
We must take Data to Engineering.
Hopefully the Captain will follow.
I don't know how to help him
but comparing recorded norms for Data to these current readings
it's clear that all his functions are just going crazy.
If we had an expert, a Maddox, somebody, I...
( flatline tone )
He's gone.
ICONIAN COMPUTER: Kandar we. Kandar pro.
Kandar eja.
Kandar stig.
Kandar isay.
Data!
What the hell?
I am accessing.
The self-correcting mechanism.
DATA: Captain?
Captain!
It's constantly kicking in
to make minute adjustments in the positronic brain.
I am on the Enterprise.
How did I get here?
He cleared the Iconian program from his system-- how?
Iconia...
I was on Iconia, now I am on the Enterprise.
Geordi, this is critical!
How?!
Okay, give me a second to think.
There was an incompatible program
running through Data's system, so the mechanism
started searching for a way to keep him alive.
The solution...
The solution was a shutdown
and a total wipe of all affected memory.
Query. What have I forgotten?
Can you do the same thing with the Enterprise?
I don't see why not
but it will have to be a complete shutdown.
We turn her off, and effect a wipe of the Yamato log
including every subsequent event since we downloaded it.
I'll then be able to reload all the ship's programs
from the protected archives in the main core.
Geordi, if we shut down
that means we're going to be bringing down the shields
and we're hanging nose to nose with a Romulan battle cruiser.
Hey, Commander, whether it's Romulan phasers
or our own warp engines, we're just as dead.
Make it so.
May I help?
( ship powering down )
Kandar neeah.
Kandar goban.
Kandar gonian.
All systems functioning.
Lock onto the Captain and bring him back.
Scanning, sir.
Got him.
Kandar get.
Kandar say.
Kandar por.
Kandar aire.
Kandar...
ROMULAN COMPUTER: Setha-tri par trukatha.
Setha-ki par trukatha.
I've lost him.
Damn it!
Got him, sir.
He's on the Romulan ship.
How the h...?
Setha-mille par trukatha.
Go to your stations.
Setha-se par trukatha.
Setha-ne par trukatha.
You did this.
You sabotaged my ship.
Oh, no.
I cannot deactivate the auto-destruct
but at least I have the satisfaction
that you will die with us.
Not, I think, today, Commander.
Setha-kargil par trukatha.
Bridge, Picard.
Yes, Captain?
Take us out of here.
The Romulan vessel is set to auto-destruct
and they can't deactivate.
Wait, sir. Open hailing frequencies.
Open, sir.
Commander Taris, prepare to receive
a transmission from our chief engineer.
He'll instruct you how to purge your system.
Agreed, Enterprise.
Standing by.
Commander, your transmission has been received and acknowledged.
Now, Mr. Data, warp speed, please.
Just in case Taris' engineer
is not as efficient as our Mr. La Forge.
Aye, sir.
Well, Number One
I can see why you want to keep the away missions to yourself.
That's where the excitement is.
So, what's been happening here?
Same old routine, I suppose?