Captain's log, stardate 46 154.2.
The Enterprise has entered the Amargosa Diaspora,
an unusually dense, globular cluster.
We have the daunting task of charting this vast region.
Lt Shipley, get a triangulation on these sector points.
Aye, sir.
Sorry I'm late. I overslept again. What have we got?
Well, the cluster is dense. It'll take three days to map a tenth of it.
- Three days? - We can speed that up.
We've tested a way to channel warp energy to the deflector grid.
It should enhance the sensors.
The modification would increase our sensor efficiency and imaging
by 25 percent or more.
That would use up warp energy.
We'd channel it through the EPS mains on deck four.
OK. Let's give it a try.
Data, let's get the field taps on line.
Commander, I would like to remind you about my poetry reading.
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
I can't wait to see what he's come up with.
We sat on the sand for some time and observed
How the oceans that covered the world were perturbed
By the tides from the orbiting moon overhead.
"How relaxing the sound of the waves is," you said.
I began to expound upon tidal effects
When you asked me to stop, looking somewhat perplexed.
So I did not explain why the sunset turns red,
And we watched the occurrence, in silence, instead.
That poem was written in anapaestic tetrameter. For my ninth poem...
I don't understand. I can't keep my eyes open.
Throughout the ages, from Keats to Jorkemo,
poets have composed odes to individuals
who have had a profound effect upon their lives.
In keeping with that tradition,
I have written my next poem in honour of my cat.
I call it Ode to Spot.
Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature.
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defences.
I find myself intrigued by your sub-vocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents,
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
Commander, you have anticipated my denouement.
However, the sentiment is appreciated.
I will continue.
O Spot, the complex levels of behaviour you display
Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
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.
I have no problem getting to sleep. Then I think I'm sleeping all night.
When I wake up, I feel exhausted.
- How long has this gone on? - Two, three days.
Do you have to hold it that close?
I'm sorry. I've been on edge all day.
Well, other than some muscle tension in your neck,
I don't see anything physically wrong. Any bad dreams?
Not that I remember.
This could be the result of lack of REM sleep.
What do you recommend?
- Drink this before bed. - What is it?
A recipe for a warm-milk toddy.
A hot-milk toddy? You're kidding.
The heat activates the amino acids in the lactose. A natural sedative.
It's a recipe of the Captain's Aunt Adele.
- It's delicious. - I'll try anything.
If it still bothers you tomorrow, I'll run further tests.
Thanks.
Everything's in place. Warp-grid couplers, subspace-field taps.
Alright, let's do it.
Lt Shipley, initiate warp-power transfer.
Aye, sir. Verifying sensor calibration. EPS mains stable.
- Sensor array on line. - Come on, work.
Geordi, active scanner output has increased by 26 percent.
Inform Astrophysics that the new La Forge sensor array is on line
- and awaiting major discoveries. - Yes, sir.
Geordi, may I make a personal enquiry?
- It concerns my poetry reading. - Sure. What is it?
I noticed that many spectators seemed distracted during my presentation.
Was my poetry uninteresting?
Well, it was very well constructed, a virtual tribute to form.
Thank you.
- And? - And what?
Did it evoke an emotional response?
Well...
Your hesitation suggests you are trying to protect my feelings.
However, since I have none, I would prefer you to be honest.
An artist's growth depends upon accurate feedback.
Well, your poems were clever, Data.
And your haiku was clever.
And your sonnet was clever.
But did it evoke an emotional response?
To be honest, no, I don't think so.
Then I did not succeed.
No, it's not that you didn't succeed. You accomplished a lot, but...
If you want to touch people, don't concentrate on rhyme and meter.
Think more about what you want to say instead of how you're saying it.
It's a power grid warning.
- I read a massive EPS explosion. - Where?
I am attempting to localize it.
- It is cargo bay four. - Three people are in there.
Damage control. Medical team to cargo bay four. Let's go.
The field imbalance has subsided.
There may still be a residual discharge. Stand clear.
Is there something wrong?
There's no evidence of an EPS explosion.
The sensors thought there was.
My modification may have caused a pattern-recognition failure.
- Just a glitch? - That's my guess.
Let's perform a level-three diagnostic on the internal sensors.
Make sure we haven't overlooked anything.
Could we pick this up in the morning? A fresh start?
Would you do me a favour? Stop by my quarters, 0700 hours?
- I'm having trouble waking up. - Sure.
- Goodnight. - Goodnight.
- Commander. - Gordon.
- Who is it? - It's La Forge.
Come in.
- Good morning. - Morning? I just went to bed.
Commander, it's 0700 hours.
She said, "If they're not squirming, we won't eat them."
Mr. Worf, my good Klingon.
Sir, welcome.
What a pleasure it is to have you back with us again so soon.
So, Lieutenant, haircut today? Trim your beard?
I would like my hair trimmed.
- A trim. - Not like last time.
No. Just a little off the top. I took way too much off last time.
I was just telling my colleague, Mr. Setti,
how thick and luxuriant Klingon hair is.
It's such a pleasure to cut. Sometimes, I get carried away.
All those away missions, the wind and dry air,
the elements really are harsh on the hair.
I'd like to suggest you start using a conditioning agent.
I promise, not too much off the top.
Just before the alarm, we ran warp power through this junction.
Somehow, it must have tripped the internal scanners.
- It showed up as an EPS explosion? - Yes, but why?
I've modified the sensors before. Nothing like this has ever happened.
We can't waste time chasing sensor ghosts.
We should keep it off line until we can get a closer look.
- Excuse me. - I know the feeling.
It seems like as soon as my head hits the pillow, it's time to get up.
We could all use a little shore leave.
- Definitely. Keep me posted. - Yeah.
Data, could you give me a hand?
I need to run a structural-integrity scan. I want to make sure...
What is it?
This is the second time today that my visor has just cut out.
Are you alright, Geordi?
I don't know.
I just got a very weird feeling. Maybe I should go to sickbay.
- I will run the integrity scan. - Thanks, Data.
This is curious.
There's a slight bacterial infection around your neural inputs.
It was interrupting the data stream.
An infection? What from?
It doesn't match any bacterial strains on record.
I'm going to have to sterilize the area.
But I need to run a resonance tissue-scan
to search for signs of additional infection. Come over here.
Sit down.
Now, come forward.
Now, you're going to need to hold very still.
- How's it going? - I just started.
Did you not go to sickbay?
I've been there for over an hour-and-a-half.
That is not possible. My chronometer indicates
you have been gone for one minute, 15 seconds.
I'm telling you, I've been gone for over an hour.
Computer, what is the time, please?
The time is 1427 hours.
You are correct. 90 minutes, 17 seconds have passed since you left.
What have you been doing?
I have no memory of events during that period.
When we finish, I'll perform a diagnostic.
You know, first a false EPS explosion, then my visor cuts out,
now you lose an hour, all in this cargo bay.
La Forge to Engineering. Diagnostic team to cargo bay four.
On our way.
Cartography needs a better position to study cluster FGC-13.
Bring us about, heading 123, mark four.
Aye, sir.
Helm won't lock to those coordinates, sir.
First time navigating through a globular cluster, Ensign?
You have to compensate for the gravimetric interference before...
Is there something wrong, sir?
No.
I don't know. Put us back on our original heading.
Don't tell me...
This can't be right.
Data, come here and take a look at this, would you?
I think we have another sensor glitch.
Sensors are functioning normally.
They are detecting a subspace particle emission within this room.
Within this room? That's impossible.
The emission is emanating from this direction.
Geordi.
The bulkhead has been altered on a subatomic level.
The metal is in a state of quasimolecular flux.
- What's causing it? - This is where it gets wild.
Behind that panel is a junction we used to transfer warp power.
We're reading a subspace particle stream from that junction.
It appears to be composed of spatially inverted tetryon particles.
We believe they are from a tertiary subspace manifold.
But I thought that tetryons were unstable.
We don't understand it either, sir.
Something from deep subspace can't exist in our universe.
But there it is.
- Does it pose a danger? - Not unless it spreads.
If it does, we can beam the bulkhead into space
and erect a force field in its place.
Well, keep that option ready.
In the meantime, proceed with the analysis.
When I sat at the console, it was like I'd been trapped.
- I had to get out. - Was it the console?
No. I felt like I was disconnected.
Like it was something that I had dreamed.
You're the third person today with something like this.
An intense, emotional response provoked by an object.
Did any of them know why?
No, they couldn't explain it any more than you.
At this point, I won't say it's coincidence.
Maybe we should all get together.
Talking about it would help you understand your response.
I'll find out if anyone else has had these experiences.
Will, you told me you had an unusual experience at the console.
Why don't you describe it?
It was vague, the way you recall a dream.
I remember the sensation of feeling trapped
and something about a smooth surface.
I had a similar response, but to a pair of scissors.
Have you dreamt about scissors recently?
I have no distinct memory of it.
When my visor cut out in the cargo bay,
I had a weird feeling, too, about a smooth surface.
It was smooth and cold.
- Yeah, it was cold. - Yes. Cold.
It was elevated?
- A platform. - Right. Like a bench.
Or a table.
It seems you've all had a similar experience.
Is there anything else you remember, besides a table?
Maybe we could help ourselves remember more.
You all remember a table. Let's start with that.
Computer, show me a table.
There are 5, 047 classifications of tables on file.
Specify design parameters.
Can you be more specific?
You mentioned it was smooth and cold.
Can you remember its shape?
Long. It was long.
Yeah. And it had a rectangular shape.
Computer, show me a rectangular conference table.
It's too high.
Computer, reduce the height of the table by 25 percent.
The table was smaller. And it was inclined.
Computer, decrease the table's surface area by 20 percent
and incline the top 15 degrees.
No, it wasn't made of wood.
It was smoother. More metallic.
Computer, make this a metal table.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's starting to look right.
Was there anything else in the room? Furniture? Chairs? A door?
- Other people? - No, it was dark.
Yes, it was dark. I couldn't see beyond the table.
Computer, lower the surrounding light level.
There was a light right in my face. A bright light.
Computer. Give me a bright light right above the table.
Specify light source.
I couldn't tell. It was above me.
An overhead lamp.
- Estimated distance of light source. - I don't know.
It was at least two or three meters above.
Brighter.
Brighter.
You said you were uneasy at the conn position.
Yes. I felt trapped by the console.
But it wasn't like this. There was something else here.
A restraint of some kind?
Yes, there was a restraint.
It was flat and metal. It was made of metal.
It came down over my legs.
No, no. It was across my chest, right here.
It was holding you down?
Yes. It was part of a table. It was right here.
Computer, create a restraining arm
attached to the right side of the table at midpoint.
Was it like that?
Computer, put controls on the restraining arm.
A control panel. Lights.
There was something else there.
Over the head of the table.
A metal swing arm.
Computer, create a metal swing arm.
Double-jointed, total length, one meter.
Connect it to the head of the table.
There was something attached to it. A tool.
Scissor-like.
Computer, produce a pair of scissors attached to the armature.
The handle is wrong. It was not scissors.
Computer, make the handle a single-piece grip.
Ten centimeters long, solid metal.
Now, make one blade longer, curved inward.
Give the other a jagged edge.
Alright. You were lying on the table.
You had a bright light shining in your eyes.
Were there any smells in the room? Were there any sounds?
Yes.
Yes, there was a sound.
Computer, there were noises coming from the darkness.
Strange.
Like whispering.
More like clicks.
Clicking sounds.
Louder.
Faster.
More of them.
I've been in this room before.
We've all been here before.
Here it is again.
Something has caused high levels of serotonin
to be produced in Geordi's visual cortex.
When I examined him, I thought it was a bacterial infection.
But I find the same thing in all three.
They all have elevated levels of serotonin
concentrated in the hippocampus,
which suggests they've been exposed to a neuro-sedative.
That's not all. I have detected minute tetryon-particle traces
in their subdermal tissues.
Tetryons? Like the emissions in the cargo bay.
I have completed my self-diagnostic.
I was not aboard the Enterprise for 90 minutes, 17 seconds yesterday.
Are you sure?
When I am on the ship, the warp field leaves a signal
on my internal servo-fluid system.
Between the period of 1254 to 1426 hours,
that signature is missing.
Computer, are there any members of the crew missing?
There are two crew members unaccounted for.
Identify them.
Lt Edward Hagler and Ensign Sariel Rager.
When did they leave?
They have not been present since 2332 hours.
- How did they leave? - Method of departure unknown.
- Picard to bridge. - Bridge here.
Raise shields. I want a level-four security alert.
I need to know if anyone comes on or off this ship.
Mr. La Forge, Mr. Data.
I think if we find the source of those tetryon emissions,
we'll find the missing crew members.
We're on it, sir.
Dr Crusher?
- My God! - What is it?
It looks as though your arm has been severed, then reattached.
What?
The skeletal structure in your radius and ulna is offset by 0.02 microns.
Your arm has been amputated and surgically reattached.
Any progress with the analysis?
Look at this.
Data, the tetryon emissions have intensified.
They seem to be focusing in this direction, coalescing here.
They're reading as a point of subspace energy.
It appears to be the beginnings of a spatial rupture.
The tetryon emissions are modulating
in a way that looks like somebody's controlling the energy.
You know, the signals from the modifications to the sensor array,
some of them dig deep into subspace.
Maybe they caught somebody's attention.
At this rate, we will be in danger of hull breach.
We should surround it with a subspace containment field.
Other than the tetryon emissions,
our internal sensors haven't recorded anything unusual.
Initiate a metallurgical analysis of the hull.
Subspace incursions may have left a trace.
Captain, sensors indicate Lt Hagler has returned to the Enterprise.
He is in his quarters, deck nine, section 17.
Computer, emergency entry. Chief Medical Officer Crusher.
Crusher to sickbay. A plasma-infusion unit to deck nine, section 19.
His blood is turning into a liquid polymer.
We've set up a containment field,
but the rupture just keeps expanding.
We've got five to six hours before it breaches the hull.
Can we still beam it into space?
No, sir. The spatial rupture is creating nucleonic interference.
It is impossible to obtain a lock on the bulkheads.
Has your analysis suggested any way
in which we might seal this rupture?
We think we can close the rupture with a coherent graviton pulse.
We have to do that at the source.
- How do we find the source? - Good question.
The emissions come from a tertiary subspace domain,
but subspace has an infinite number of domains.
It's a huge honeycomb with an infinite number of cells.
We need to isolate the exact cell these emissions come from.
If someone homed on to the subspace signals
created by our modified signal array, could we do the same to them?
Track the tetryon emissions to their universe?
Tetryon particles have a random momentum.
Our sensors cannot track them.
Perhaps we could construct a homing device.
Something that our sensors could track.
Good idea, but there's no way to get that device to the source.
Yes, there is. Give it to me.
They've taken me for the last few nights.
The same thing will happen tonight.
If you had a homing device, we could track it in subspace.
As soon as they send you back, we could neutralize the emissions.
If they send him back. Ensign Rager hasn't been returned.
They're going to take me, whether I want to go or not.
We could wait as long as possible for you to be returned.
But when the spatial ruptures threaten the ship,
then we would have to transmit that graviton pulse.
Understood.
Perhaps there's a way that we could give you an advantage.
A way of keeping you conscious after they've taken you.
Doctor, can you develop some counteragent
to the neuro-sedative they have been giving the crew?
I could give you a neuro-stimulant.
The dosage would have to be high to counteract the effects. It's risky.
- I'm willing to take that risk. - Make it so.
Mr. La Forge, begin work on that homing device.
This should ward off their neuro-sedative for about 12 hours.
I hope it's enough.
It's gonna have to be. I can't risk a higher dose.
I've locked this tricorder into a continuous cycle.
That way, it will keep recording, open or not.
Hopefully, you can bring back information about their domain.
We modified an emitter to transmit a beacon.
When the indicator lights up, we've locked on to your location.
Understood.
Captain, Cmdr Riker has been taken from the Enterprise.
Mr. La Forge, report.
I still can't locate the homing signal in the energy band.
We're extending the scan to adjacent levels.
Mr. Data, your status?
The rupture has expanded another 4.2 percent.
Without reinforcement,
containment-field integrity will fail in 14 minutes.
Can you divert more power?
I can augment it with auxiliary power. It won't be much.
- Make it so. - Aye, sir.
Captain, I've located the homing signal. Locking on to it now.
It's coming from a subspace energy level of 16.2 keV.
Stand by to initiate the graviton pulse.
Graviton emitter is at full power, sir.
- Mr. Data, how much time? - Failure will occur in nine minutes.
The containment field is beginning to fluctuate.
Failure anticipated in three minutes, 11 seconds.
We can't afford to wait any longer. Begin the graviton pulse.
Initiating pulse now.
Data to Engineering.
The graviton pulse is having an effect.
Tetryon emissions have decreased by 19 percent.
Captain, additional subharmonics have appeared.
They are reinforcing the emissions.
They appear to be counteracting the graviton pulse.
The rupture is beginning to expand again.
Looks like somebody is fighting back.
Can you strengthen the pulse?
I can set up a random-frequency shift.
If we stop them guessing our modulation,
they might not be able to compensate.
Tetryon emissions continue to increase.
The rupture is expanding.
Hull breach is imminent.
They're reacting faster than we can shift frequencies.
Shipley, program the emitters for full spectrum pulse compression.
I want to channel all the energy into one burst.
- See if they can handle that. - Ready.
- The rupture is beginning to close. - Let's hit them again.
- Come on. - Ready.
The rupture is 86 percent closed.
- One more burst should do it. - Emitters recharging.
Captain's log, stardate 46 191.2.
The tetryon emissions in cargo bay four have ceased.
There have been no further signs of alien intrusions.
All crew members are safe and accounted for.
But we are still left with some unanswered questions.
Based on the information from Cmdr Riker's tricorder,
the molecular structure of the aliens is solanagen-based.
They couldn't come into our space
as easily as they could take us into theirs.
They needed to learn to remodulate their cellular-energy states.
They created a small pocket of our universe in their laboratory
to keep those they abducted alive.
Like putting a fish in a bucket of water.
In cargo bay four, they tried to create a pocket of their universe.
What can we do to prevent this?
Looks like they found us through my modified sensor signal.
We should warn all Starfleet ships not to make that mistake.
Do we know what came through the rupture before we shut it down?
No, sir. We were unable to track it.
Maybe it was a probe.
Possibly they were simply curious. Explorers like ourselves.
Ensign Rager and I were lucky to have escaped.
Lt Hagler's dead.
Whoever it was that sent that thing was more than simply curious.