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Captain's log, stardate 42609.
1.
In response to a desperate plea
from my old friend
Capt Donald Varley of the USS Yamato,
I'm running a grave risk
by taking the Enterprise
into the Neutral Zone.
Dangerous malfunctions
have been plaguing our sister ship.
Perhaps if both crews work 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.
Have you nailed down our hiccup?
- Sir?
- The odd reading?
No, sir.
It might be due to problems
being experienced by the Yamato.
Trouble, Number One?
I'm not sure.
Are we alone out here, Worf?
Yes.
There are no other vessels
except the Yamato,
which is coming
into visual range now.
At last.
- Transmission from the Yamato, sir.
- On viewer.
What's a nice Captain
doing in a place like this?
It's good to see you again,
despite your antique humour.
I hope your people can help us.
Malfunctions are becoming serious.
We lost an Engineering team
when a computer shut down
a force field in a shuttle bay.
Any idea what caused this, sir?
None.
They affect
every system simultaneously.
It's like the ship
decided to fall apart.
Maybe we should have run
these Galaxy-class ships
across more drawing boards
before we built one.
You believe it's a design flaw?
I don't know.
I'm grasping at straws.
We must fix it before I lose
more than an Engineering team.
Do you wish to evacuate any
nonessential personnel, sir?
No.
That would be premature.
We'll get our teams
to work on it immediately.
I'm not comfortable
sitting around in the Neutral Zone.
I know you're wondering
what the hell I'm doing here.
Well, I heard rumours about
a couple of archaeological digs
that made the Iconians
sound a lot less like legend.
I did a little investigating
and I located their home world.
In the Neutral Zone?
In the Neutral Zone.
That was quite a risk to run
to satisfy archaeological curiosity!
The risk would be in allowing
the Romulans to locate Iconia.
Fortunately, I got there first.
It's a virtually dead planet.
Enough technology remains to give
the Romulans an edge if they find
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.
Magnetic seals in
the antimatter chamber are decaying!
Captain!
Donald, come in!
Shields up.
Sir.
Sensors indicate
no life reading, sir.
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 1,000 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.
Their weapon systems have been
fully activated.
Still no response.
Romulan vessel, this is Capt
Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise.
Capt Picard.
Explain your illegal presence
in the Neutral Zone!
Explain yours.
Are you responsible
for the destruction of the Yamato?
No.
But believe me, had we exercised
our right to defend the Neutral Zone,
we would not have stopped
with one starship.
You will leave at once.
- Mute.
- Comments.
- She's extremely anxious.
- She just destroyed a starship.
Your scan was inconclusive.
We don't know what happened.
Our presence here is provocative.
It could force her to respond.
- Open.
- We will comply
when I know the cause
of the destruction of the Yamato,
and I am satisfied
you were not responsible.
Picard out.
- Their cloaking device is engaged.
- Good.
They can't fire.
Unless they have overcome
that deficiency.
The Yamato was destroyed
while they were cloaked.
Enough.
I want answers, not conjecture.
Number One,
I want them at a meeting in one hour.
Aye, sir.
Sensors reveal that what we saw
was an uncontrolled
and catastrophic
matter/antimatter mix.
The magnetic seals
between the chambers collapsed and
Wait! That's not possible.
It is, but a highly improbable set
of circumstances has to take place.
Explain.
OK.
In the event
of a breach of seal integrity,
there's a release system
which dumps the antimatter.
Such a dump began, was halted, and
the containment seals were dropped.
There was enough antimatter present
to lead to an explosion.
There is no evidence of weapon use?
No, sir, none.
However it happened,
the Yamato did it to herself.
Theorize.
What could have caused
such a catastrophic malfunction?
Capt Varley may have been right.
There may be a design flaw.
In a Galaxy-class starship?
Yes, sir.
It's the most
sophisticated machine ever built.
Maybe something was overlooked.
Knowing where the flaw is located,
can you isolate it 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 behind
the destruction of the Yamato,
would it not be prudent to withdraw?
If it is a design flaw,
we're better to stay where we are
and give Geordi time to work on it.
Or what happened to the Yamato
could happen to us.
Computer, access
Capt Donald Varley's personal log.
Search parameter.
Locate entries containing words
Romulan and/or Iconian.
Working.
Personal log.
It was kind of Dr Ramsey to allow me
to take my own piece of legend
from the archaeological dig
at Denius III.
My engineers have examined it,
but are completely baffled
by its technology.
What was its purpose?
I'm like a caveman
confronted by a tricorder.
I'm certain this device is Iconian,
but how far had it travelled
before it was abandoned
on this alien world?
Personal log.
A galactic Rosetta stone.
The star fields on the artifact
were unintelligible
until I took into account
After that, it was easy
to pinpoint Iconia.
My First Officer is questioning my
order to violate the Neutral Zone.
But I'm convinced
I've taken the only proper course.
Should this technology fall
into the hands of the Romulans
we might as well dock our ships
and defend ourselves with sticks.
Personal log.
We've been
spotted by a Romulan cruiser.
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 can't send a team to the surface
of Iconia or scan its energy source
because of these maddening
systems failures.
It's infuriating to be stopped at the
threshold of a dream by my own ship.
We're leaving orbit
to rendezvous with Picard.
If he can't help us
repair the Yamato,
I must convince him
to continue this exploration.
The future wellbeing of the
Federation may well depend on it.
No further entries
conforming to search parameters.
Mr Data.
There's a reference in Varley's log
to a probe that scanned the Yamato.
Aye, sir.
We have a visual record.
Put it on main viewer.
What the devil is that?
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.
Any progress on
the matter&antimatter scan?
Everything continues to check out.
Now analyzing the magnetic coils.
When the Yamato was probed,
where was she?
In orbit around a planet
at coordinates 227, mark 359.
ETA at warp factor eight?
Sir.
That would put us close to
the Romulan side of the Neutral Zone.
Can't be helped.
Lay in a course.
- Warp factor eight.
- Aye, sir.
- We'll assume the Yamato's mission.
- And risk a war?
Perhaps prevent one.
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 went there.
The Iconians are certainly real.
Sit down.
We know that three systems
within this sector
had several cultural similarities
which could only be explained
by there being a 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 travelled
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 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 Cmdr Riker and Geordi,
how you handle it so easily.
Easily?
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 to our sister ship,
the Enterprise is experiencing
a series of system failures.
So far they are random,
but they could be early symptoms
of what happened to the Yamato.
- Engineering.
- La Forge.
Any progress on solving our problems?
No, but I can eliminate one worry.
It is not a design flaw.
Reviewing the Yamato logs,
I think that probe had something
to do with their problems.
- How?
- I need to see the thing.
If it was the probe,
that explains the Yamato.
But how do you explain
the Enterprise's difficulties?
I can't.
Are our problems likely to attain
the seriousness of the Yamato's?
If you're asking for speculation,
I'd say yes.
I need time.
Mr La Forge, time is one thing
we do not have in abundance.
Analysis, Mr Data.
Scanning, sir.
- Well, Mr Data?
- No life-form readings, sir.
All major cities have been damaged.
The destruction is consistent
with large-scale orbital bombardment.
How long ago?
Approximately 200,000 years, sir.
There is an energy source in
the smaller continent's mountains.
Magnify.
Is that Iconia?
Capt Varley died
believing that it was.
Did you see that?
Projectile launched
from the planet surface!
Its size and composition match
the probe which scanned the Yamato.
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!
Bridge!
Emergency! Stop!
Stop! Damn it!
Tractor beam ready, sir.
- Geordi, are you alright?
- Destroy the probe, sir! Quickly!
Worf, target phasers.
- Phasers locked on target.
- Fire!
Welcome to the bridge, Mr La Forge.
Thank you, sir.
If that thing
had managed to scan us,
we'd have had no chance
of saving the Enterprise.
That probe was transmitting
an alien computer program.
That program is now on the Enterprise
trying to rewrite our software.
We have two completely incompatible
computer systems trying to interact.
That's why our instruments
are so erratic?
- Yes.
- What can you do?
Not much.
The Iconian program is so
sophisticated, I may never crack it.
Consider, Captain, this program
has entered an alien database, ours.
In less than seven hours
it has learned our systems
and begun to reprogram our computer.
The earlier probe was responsible
for the Yamato's destruction?
Yes.
Only in as much as it was the
probe that transmitted the program.
We weren't scanned by that probe.
How did it get aboard the Enterprise?
We downloaded the Yamato log,
and in that log was the program.
Why didn't we suffer the same fate?
The program affected
the Yamato's systems simultaneously.
Here, it was deposited within
a specific section of our mainframe.
It has to work its way out.
It gives us some breathing space.
Not much.
Injury reports
are increasing, too, sir.
Dr Pulaski does not trust
the turbo lifts.
She is sending her teams
through access tunnels.
The Enterprise computer
is a lot like our own bodies,
with voluntary
and involuntary systems.
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.
Try a splint.
- Doctor?
- Splint.
It's an ancient concept.
You take two flat pieces of wood,
or plastic, a bandage.
- The broken limb is kept immobile.
- That's not practising medicine.
Yes, it is.
It's a time-honoured way.
With your head, your heart
and your hands.
So jump to it.
Damn.
Try a bypass on
the shield-control interface.
No go.
Let me see if I can directly
access the master program.
- What happened?
- Any answer would be speculation.
This is yet another example of how
our actions have random results.
Thanks, Data.
I noticed.
Life support has failed
on decks seven and 13, sir.
What if this thing
can rewrite our entire system?
It's so far beyond our understanding,
never mind our control.
Our own ignorance could kill us.
We may never
We may never reach that point.
A variation of what happened
to the Yamato may destroy us first.
So, we sit 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.
We've had this conversation
a hundred times.
And we will have it again.
I have
studied the Iconians.
I have to go.
The Enterprise is yours.
For as long as she lasts.
I've got a lock on the energy source
and it's working.
- But that could change.
- We're aware of the risks.
Energize.
Transport complete.
Stay sharp.
I want to be able to
pull them out at a moment's notice.
Aye, sir.
- Commander, Romulan vessel.
- Open hailing frequencies.
- They're arming torpedoes!
- Shields up! Go to red alert.
- The shields aren't responding!
- They're preparing to fire!
Mr Crusher, I need those shields!
- I'm trying, sir!
- They're firing!
What happened?
Instead of firing,
they disarmed and cancelled.
Fate
.
.
protects fools, little children
and ships named Enterprise.
Lock phasers on them
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.
Another time and place,
this could be funny.
Status of torpedo banks?
They're down, too.
If we have to fight, could you
find me some rocks to throw?
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 Cmdr William
Riker of the USS Enterprise.
Why did you attempt to fire on us?
This is Subcommander 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.
Withdraw or I'll have to destroy
your ship and your away team!
What the hell?
This is your final warning.
I will not
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.
Heading for 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!
And not even a thank you.
She is frustrated, probably because
her ship is as crippled as ours.
Why would the Romulans be having
problems? They weren't probed.
They must have tapped into
the Yamato log.
Taris got more
than she bargained for.
Maintain red alert.
Try to keep our 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.
There is little left
on the surface of Iconia,
but we have found a control centre
which seems to have remained intact.
Come in, Enterprise.
Still no response, sir.
Keep trying.
Communications
are bound to be erratic.
I would not like to become
a permanent resident of this planet.
Nor would l, 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.
Mr Data, let's see
what sense we can make of this.
Aye, sir.
- This is reminiscent of Dinasian.
- Yes, sir.
There are also similarities
to Dewan and Iccobar.
Is it possible they form one language
family, beginning with Iconian?
It is, sir.
Run a comparison using basic words
from Dinasian, Dewan and Iccobar.
See if we can reconstruct
a common root language.
Accessing, sir.
You're jumpy.
The tension on the ship is very high.
Any recommendation?
Give everyone something to do,
to focus their attention.
Alright.
Let's consider evacuation.
For the planet?
I know it's probably impossible
with Taris sitting out there,
but it would give everyone
something to do.
You go and organise it.
You may need me if you have
to negotiate with Taris.
I'll manage.
Right now, they're more important.
Captain.
Your original hypothesis is correct.
Iconian is the parent tongue
of a language family
consisting of Iccobar,
Dewan and Dinasian.
I've constructed an understanding
through a comparison of root words,
such as mother, father, child, home,
tribe, food, life, death, yours
You know my interpretation
of the signals will not be exact?
Yes.
Let's get on with it.
This appears 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!
- That was very foolish.
- But proves this is not a holograph.
If I stepped through, we could see
if this is truly a gateway.
No, Data.
You might not get back.
I can't risk losing you.
This gate would seem to take us
beyond the confines of this planet.
Is this how the Iconians travelled?
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, nothing here indicates
this was a military command centre.
Perhaps a transporter room?
- The probe was hostile.
- We can't make that assumption.
It devastated the Yamato, but what
if it was by accident not design?
What I'm going to say
may sound unscientific,
but standing on this soil,
breathing in this air,
my instincts say
we may have got them wrong.
We do know the Iconians
were conquerors.
Only according to descendants
of those who attacked this world.
The victors invariably write
history to their advantage.
It is an unfortunate tendency
in many cultures
to fear what they do not understand.
It's possible that their enemies,
confronted by this technology,
may have attacked 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 an upsurge
in the power level.
I have access.
Data, can you hear me?
Data, respond.
Captain
- Are you alright?
- No
I am damaged.
How bad is it?
The Iconian program is attempting
to rewrite my software.
Physical manifestations,
blindness, motor cont
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.
Next time the Enterprise appears,
go through it with Data.
Geordi can learn from him.
Maybe help him.
- We don't know if that is a gateway.
- This will be the test.
Aye, sir.
Destroy the tricorder.
It contains everything
we've discovered up to this point.
Precisely why it must be destroyed.
How long?
About three minutes.
I'm running out of time.
We all are.
Data.
I have to destroy this.
This control room 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.
- But how? How do I do that?
- The probes, sir.
Probes? The probes?
Launch? I launch the probes?
But why?
- What good will that do?
- The doors, sir.
Doors?
Perhaps the probes
are in a launch bay.
If the doors are closed,
the backwash from the rockets
will overload the power bridge.
Yes, sir.
The doors open automatically
when the launch begins.
- And I will override.
- Correct, sir.
Which control keys? Damn.
You can't see.
Help.
Worf, help him up.
Describe, please.
I'm in front of the gate.
To my left
there is a small triangular screen.
Right.
One meter.
Right.
To my right is a larger screen.
The top is solid amber.
- 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 what the delay is
between launch and detonation.
I won't key 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
to get Data back to the Enterprise.
He may be their only hope.
Aye, sir.
- Commander, look.
- 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.
Comparing recorded norms
to these current readings shows all
his functions are just going crazy!
If we had an expert,
a Maddox, somebody
He's gone.
What the hell?
- I am accessing.
- The self-correcting mechanism.
Captain?
It's 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?
I was on Iconia,
now I am on the Enterprise.
- This is critical.
How?
- Give me a second to think.
There was an incompatible program
in Data's system.
The mechanism looked for a way to
keep him alive.
The solution
The solution was a shutdown
and a total wipe of affected memory.
- Inquiry.
What have I forgotten?
- Can you do it with the Enterprise?
I don't see why not.
But it must be a complete shutdown
to effect a wipe of the Yamato log,
including every event
since we downloaded it.
I'll reload the ship's programs
from the archives in the core.
Geordi, if we shut down, it means
we'll be bringing down the shields.
We're hanging nose to nose
with the Romulans!
Whether it's Romulan phasers or our
own warp engines, we're just as dead.
Make it so.
May I help?
All systems functioning.
- Lock on the Captain, get him back.
- Scanning, sir.
Got him!
- I've lost him.
- Damn it!
Got him, sir.
- On the Romulan ship!
- How the hell?
Go to your stations.
You did this!
- You sabotaged my ship!
- 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.
Bridge, Picard.
Take us out of here.
The Romulan vessel
is set to auto-destruct.
Wait! Open hailing frequencies.
Cmdr Taris, our Chief Engineer will
transmit how to purge your system.
Agreed, Enterprise.
Standing by.
Commander, your transmission
has been received and acknowledged.
Now, Mr Data, warp speed, please.
In case Taris's engineer
is not as efficient as La Forge.
Aye, sir.
Well, Number One, I see why you
keep the away missions to yourself.
That's where the excitement is.
What's been happening here?
Same old routine, I suppose?