Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994): Season 2, Episode 11 - Contagion - full transcript

Picard and the Enterprise respond to a distress call from its sister ship, the USS Yamato, where it has faced a number of serious technical glitches, losing eighteen crew members when its computer turned off the force field on an open shuttle bay. Before the Enterprise can assist, the Yamato explodes with all lives lost. The explosion appears as the result of a failure in their matter/anti-matter pods, but Picard suspects it may have something to do with a relic the Yamato's captain obtained at an archaeological dig on a nearby planet. As they are in the Neutral Zone, they are shadowed by a Romulan warbird. With both ships now suffering technical glitches, Picard, an amateur archaeologist, leads an away team to a distant planet to investigate the remnants of that ancient race and rectify their problem - a one-way trip if the glitchy Enterprise can't beam them back.

PICARD:
Captain's log, stardate 42609.1.

In response to a desperate plea
from my old friend,

Captain Donald Varley
of the U.S.S. Yamato,

I'm 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.

WORF:
Transmission from the Yamato, sir.

PICARD:
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.

Malfunctions are becoming serious.

We lost an Engineering team.

The computer shut down a force field
in an open shuttle bay.

Eighteen people.

Do you have any idea
what caused this, sir?

None. They're affecting every system
simultaneously.

It's like the ship suddenly decided
to fall apart.

It's beginning to make me think that
we should've run Galaxy-class ships

across a few more drawing boards
before we built 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 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 home-world.

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.

Fortunately, I got there first.

It's a virtually dead planet.

Enough technology remains

to give the Romulans an edge,
if they should find it.

Donald,
your transmission is breaking up.

Mr. Data, try and clean that up.

[PANEL BEEPING]

Sir, there is an energy buildup
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.

[RED ALERT SOUNDING]

Sir...

Sensors indicate
no life readings, sir.

WORF:
Captain.

Another vessel is coming
within sensor range.

It is Romulan.

PICARD:
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.

PICARD:
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.

WORF: All their weapon systems
have been fully activated.

Still no response.

Romulan vessel,

this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard
of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

TARIS:
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?
LA FORGE: 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'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
Captain Donald Varley's personal log.

Search parameter,

locate entries containing words
Romulan and/or Iconia.

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
at Denius lI.

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 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 Romulans,

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 attempted 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
of the planet

because of these maddening
systems 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.

[DOOR BUZZES]

Mr. Data, there was a reference
in Captain Varley's personal 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.

PICARD: 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 8?

DATA:
Twelve 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 8.
- Aye, sir.

We're going to assume
the Yamato's mission.

And risk a war?

Perhaps prevent one.

[DOOR CHIMES]

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 were 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 text 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?

Archeology 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...

[REPLICATOR BUZZING]

Didn't you order tea, sir?

Now, that should not
have happened.

PICARD:
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 [OVER COM]. Engineering.
- La Forge.

Lieutenant,
are you making any progress

towards solving our problems?

LA FORGE: 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
something to do with their problems.

PICARD: How?
- I'd need to see the thing.

If it was the probe,
that explains the Yamato.

How do you account for the difficulties
the Enterprise is experiencing?

I can't.

PICARD: 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.
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.

PICARD:
Magnify.

Is that Iconia?

Captain Varley died
believing that it was.

RIKER:
Did you see that?

[PANEL BEEPING]

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!

[DOOR BUZZING]

Coming through!

Bridge!

[TURBOLIFT WHIRRING
INTENSELY]

Emergency stop!

[YELLS]

Stop it! Damn it!

[GRUNTS]

[YELLS]

Tractor beam ready, sir.

[LA FORGE YELLS]

Geordi, are you all right?

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 never would have had 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.

That's why the 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 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.

How did this thing
get aboard the Enterprise?

DATA:
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 its 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.

Captain, the Enterprise computer
system is a lot like our own bodies,

with voluntary
and involuntary systems.

And probably 90 percent

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, itis. 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.

Oh, no go.

Let me see if I can directly access
the master program.

[GRUNTS]

- 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.

PICARD:
We may neve--

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
a hundred times.

And we will have it again.

I've 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.

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 wanna be able to pull them out
at a moment's notice.

O'BRIEN:
Aye, sir.

[PANEL BEEPING]

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 U.S.S. 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.

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 launch
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!

And not even a thank you.

Subcommander 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.

[SYSTEMS POWER DOWN]

Taris got a whole lot more
than she bargained for.

Maintain red alert.

Try to keep those shields up in case
Taris decides to act on her threat.

WESLEY:
Commander?

What about the away team?

With the shields up,
we can't beam them back.

PICARD:
Captain's log, supplemental.

While there is little left
on the surface of Iconia,

we have 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.

PICARD:
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.

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.

DATA:
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.

PICARD:
Be careful.

Data!

That was very foolish.

But we have established
that 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.

PICARD:
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 sail,
breathing in this air,

my instincts tell me
that we may have got them wrong.

But we do know
the Iconians were conquerors.

PICARD: But that knowledge
was passed down

by the descendants of those
who attacked this world.

The victors invariably write the 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.

PICARD:
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 discovered up to this point.

And that is precisely
why it must be destroyed.

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.

DATA:
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,
then the backwash from the rockets

will spill into the power bridge
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.

DATA:
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'll 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.

OFFICER:
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--

[SCANNER BEEPING]

He's gone.

[COMPUTER SPEAKING
IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

Data.

What the hell?

- I am accessing.
- The self-correcting mechanism.

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
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 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?

[ENTERPRISE POWERS DOWN]

[COMPUTER SPEAKING
IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

All systems functioning.

- Lock on the captain, bring him back.
- Scanning, sir.

Got him.

[COMPUTER SPEAKING
IN ROMULAN]

- I've lost him.
- Damn it.

Got him, sir.

- He's on the Romulan ship.
- How the he--?

Go to your stations.

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.

- Bridge, Picard.
DATA: Yes, captain?

Take us out of here. The Romulan
vessel is set to auto-destruct,

they can't deactivate it.

- 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.

TARIS:
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.

DATA:
Aye, sir.

Well, Number One,

I can see why you wanna keep
the away missions to yourself.

That's where the excitement is.

So, what's been happening here?

Same old routine, I suppose?