Star Trek: The Next Generation s02e20 Episode Script

The Emissary

Looking good.
I'll go five.
Five here.
And five more.
I believe the wiser course|of action here is to bend.
You mean fold, Data.
That is correct.
Fold.
To bend.
|To make compact or to capitulate.
I raise 50.
I do not believe Lt Worf understands|all the nuances of betting.
I wouldn't judge.
|His pile's a lot bigger than yours.
Than any of ours.
The cards have favoured Lt Worf,|but that is the result of chance, thus, a temporary situation.
- You hope.
|- Talk or play.
Not both.
My cards are getting cold.
|Here you go.
I'm glad you stayed in.
|I need the chips.
Talk, talk, talk.
OK, here's the action.
Fold, fold, fold.
Your 50, and 50 more.
I'd love to play,|but not with these cards.
Looks like it's just us, handsome.
I'll see you.
- Beats my straight.
|- The Iceman wins again.
You took my last chip.
|At least smile, Worf.
That would break his concentration.
Your deal.
The game is seven-card stud.
After the queen, one-eyed jacks|and low card in the hole are wild.
Wait, let me write this down.
I open with 50.
Bridge to Cmdr Riker.
Receiving a class-11 emergency signal|from Starfleet Command.
On my way.
- Klingons never bluff.
|- Yeah, right.
- Mr Data?|- Emergency signal reads as follows.
"Enterprise to divert to coordinates|423 by 112 by 51 immediately.
" - "Further orders to follow.
"|- That's it? What's the emergency? The message did not elaborate, sir.
Not even a hint.
- Course laid in.
|- Warp eight.
When Starfleet gets enigmatic, I know|we're facing a challenge.
Engage.
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.
Our destination|is a point near the Boradis system.
That area was colonized recently|as I recall.
The first Federation outpost was|founded 34 years ago on Boradis III.
The Federation has since colonized|several planets nearby.
Yet we are not headed for a colony.
The coordinates|are outside the system.
- Any problems reported in that area?|- None, sir.
What the devil is going on? Captain,|Starfleet Command is hailing us.
About time.
On screen.
- Greetings, Capt Picard.
|- My compliments, Admiral Gromek.
You will soon be joined by a|special emissary from Starbase 153.
We are now transmitting|the specifics.
We are receiving, sir.
The rendezvous will be tricky, so you must reach|the intercept point on schedule.
Understood.
And the mission? The envoy will fill you in.
|You are to cooperate fully.
- Can you give me any details?|- Negative.
It's rather difficult to prepare|for a mission I know nothing about.
I sympathize, but Starfleet Command|considers this a top-security matter.
Once the envoy has briefed you,|you should understand our caution.
Gromek out.
Data, what ship|is transporting the envoy? Apparently, there were no starships|available on Starbase 153.
The envoy is aboard a class-8 probe.
A class-8 probe|is just over two meters long.
Yes, that's true, Number One.
With transmitters and sensors removed|and a life-support system installed, there would be room for one person.
And it can travel at warp nine.
By sending the probe to us,|rather than diverting us, they are saving us 6.
1 hours.
Starfleet must feel|time is of the essence.
But to seal someone inside|a class-8 probe and launch it What a way to transport|a Federation dignitary.
Coming to 31, mark 113.
Our course|is now parallel to the probe, sir.
Increase speed to warp 8.
9.
- Full sensors aft.
|- Scanning.
Data, project our course beyond|the rendezvous.
What lies ahead? From what I can tell, very little.
There are four colonies, and nine|outposts throughout the sector.
I have it.
Bearing 05, mark 231 .
|Velocity, warp nine.
- I see it.
|- Adjust speed to intercept.
Probe is coming up to starboard.
|Range, 8200.
Tractor beam ready.
- Mr La Forge?|- Transporter ready, Captain.
Range now 7500.
Steady as she goes.
- Probe is standing abeam.
|- Engage tractor beam.
- Transporter beam locked, Captain.
|- Energize.
- Probe aboard, Captain.
|- Acknowledged.
Number One? - I'll welcome our visitor.
|- Resume original course and speed.
Aye, sir.
All yours, Commander.
Something wrong, Doctor? I'm not sure.
|The readings are quite interesting.
I greet you.
I am K'Ehleyr.
You speak Klingon.
A little.
I'm Cmdr Riker.
This is|Chief Medical Officer Pulaski.
I hope your trip|wasn't too unpleasant.
Klingons do not mind hardship, but I|am delighted I'm out of that coffin.
I don't blame you.
It's not|the most luxurious accommodation.
Whoever said "Getting there is half|the fun" never rode in a probe.
How are you feeling? Your vital|signs are atypical for a Klingon.
Because I am only half Klingon.
Yes.
My father was Klingon.
|My mother was human.
Captain, allow me to present Special|Federation Emissary K'Ehleyr.
Welcome aboard.
|I'm Jean-Luc Picard.
This is Counsellor Troi.
|Lt Cmdr Data.
- And this is Lt|- Worf.
So this is where you've been hiding.
|I told you we'd meet again.
- Aren't you going to greet me?|- I have nothing to say to you.
Haven't changed a bit.
Well, I missed you, too.
Two days ago, Starbase 336 received|an automated transmission from a Klingon ship, the T'Ong.
That ship was sent out|over 75 years ago.
When the Federation|and the Klingons were at war.
The message|was to Klingon High Command.
It said that the ship was going home|and was nearing its awakening point.
Suggesting that the crew were in|cryogenic sleep for the journey.
- Exactly.
|- And when they're revived? We'll have a ship full of Klingons|who think the war's still going on.
So our task is to find the ship|and tell them they're not at war? Why us?|Wouldn't a Klingon ship be better? A Klingon ship, the P'Rang, is two|days behind us.
It may be too late.
Why too late? The T'Ong crew will awaken|near several Federation outposts.
There are 13 colonies|in that sector.
Nice, ripe targets|for a Klingon warship.
And you think you can convince them|that humans are now their allies? No, not a chance.
I think talking will be|a waste of time.
Klingons of that era|were raised to despise humans.
We'll try diplomacy,|but I promise you it won't work.
Then you'll have to destroy them.
No.
No? Captain, these Klingons|are killers.
You'll have no choice.
We shall find another choice.
I want options|before we encounter the Klingon ship.
Lieutenant, I'm assigning you|to help the Emissary.
Dismissed.
I will escort you|to the guest quarters.
Captain.
Lieutenant? Sir, I suggest Cmdr Riker or Data can|better serve the Special Emissary.
Any personal reasons|you don't want the assignment? Yes.
Any professional reasons? No.
- I withdraw my request, Captain.
|- Good.
I didn't know humans and Klingons|could produce children.
Actually, the DNA is compatible,|with a fair amount of help.
Rather like my parents.
I know what you mean.
My father|was human and my mother is Betazoid.
Really? It was the other way round|for me.
My mother was human.
You must have grown up like me,|trapped between cultures.
I never felt trapped.
I tried to experience the richness|and diversity of the two worlds.
Perhaps you got the best of each.
Myself, I think|I got the worst of each.
- I doubt that.
|- Yes.
Having my mother's sense of humour|is bad enough.
It's gotten me into|plenty of trouble.
And your Klingon side? That I keep under tight control.
It's like a terrible temper,|not something I want people to see.
- Everyone has tempers.
|- Not like mine.
Sometimes I feel there's a monster|inside of me, fighting to get out.
And it frightens you? Of course it does.
My Klingon side|can be terrifying.
Even to me.
It gives you strength.
|It's a part of you.
That doesn't mean I have to like it.
You are late.
Sorry.
Had to make myself beautiful.
I fail to understand why.
Worf, we're alone now.
You don't|have to act like a Klingon glacier.
I don't bite.
Well, that's wrong.
I do bite.
Shall we proceed with our duties? You weren't this aloof six years ago.
|Or don't you remember? Nothing is wrong with my memory.
Something is wrong with you.
|You're not even looking at me.
I am familiar with your appearance.
And it gives you no pleasure|to see me again.
It isn't as if we tried it|and it didn't work, you know.
You never gave it a chance.
I never? I mean, as I see it, we have some .
.
unfinished business, you and I.
Not as far as I'm concerned.
According to the library computer,|the Captain of the T'Ong is K'Temoc.
There is nothing|on the ship's mission.
Probably some|secret military objective.
Perhaps.
|But we have no evidence of that.
Why else would there be|no record of the mission? The records|may simply have been lost.
What does it matter? Our concern|is the present, the possible threat.
To contend with that threat,|we need information.
We have all the information we need.
That is foolish.
Knowing their|mission may help us understand them.
There is nothing to understand.
|These are Klingons.
They'll attack.
In their minds, we're the enemy,|and we can't talk them out of that.
And I do not appreciate|being interrupted.
And I do not appreciate|wasting my time! We were instructed to find options.
There aren't any.
|The assignment's hopeless.
- There are always options.
|- Are there? Tell me, whatever happened to that|wonderful Klingon fatalism of yours? My experiences aboard this ship|have taught me most problems|have more than one solution.
Starfleet hasn't improved you one|bit.
You're as stubborn as ever.
Are you going to carry out|your duties, or aren't you? Alright.
I will.
Upon due consideration|of the problem and careful examination|of all possible options, my original recommendation stands.
Meeting adjourned! Come.
You're upset.
Your finely honed Betazoid sense|tell you that? Well, that and the table.
I warned you about my Klingon half.
May I make a suggestion? I thank you, Counsellor,|but I don't want any counselling.
I was going to suggest|something else.
I find the exercise programs|on the holodeck rigorous enough to take my mind|off most frustrations.
And it'll keep me|from wrecking the ship.
That, too.
- Enter program.
|- Show me the exercise menu.
Hold.
Callisthenics program of Lt Worf.
Program complete.
|You may enter when ready.
Status, Mr Data? Based on the last position|of the Klingon ship, its trajectory|and estimates of its speed, we should be within scanner range|in 15 hours, eight minutes.
Lieutenant? Special Emissary K'Ehleyr has|declared a short recess, sir.
I wish to run a test|on tactical backup equipment.
- We just tested all those systems.
|- I wish to check them again.
Lieutenant.
I commend your diligence.
However, I'm concerned that|you're working yourself too hard.
Sir, given the unknowns|we will face - Lieutenant, I order you to relax.
|- I am relaxed.
Yes, sir.
I've never before seen|the Lieutenant so unsettled.
The Iceman's finally melting.
Not much of a program.
Computer, .
.
level two.
Some callisthenics programs|are better than others.
You still can make jokes.
- You don't like a sense of humour?|- I did not say that.
Worf, you're the perfect Klingon.
|The ultimate minimalist.
Talk to me.
I've noted that some people|use humour as a shield.
They talk much, yet say little.
Whereas others take|a simpler approach.
Say nothing.
When one does not have the words.
Or is loath to speak them.
Why didn't we do this six years ago? - We were not ready.
|- I was.
No.
We were both too young,|too unaware.
We lacked commitment.
Perhaps we lacked courage as well.
No longer.
Wait.
You can't mean We are mated.
Yes, I know.
I was there.
But Now we must solemnize our union|with the oath.
I am not going to become your wife.
You already are.
Don't give me that Klingon nonsense.
You would dishonour|our sacred traditions? They're not sacred.
They're absurd.
Marrying you is out of the question|for a million reasons.
They didn't stop you earlier.
Worf, it was what it was,|glorious and wonderful, and all that.
But it doesn't mean anything.
That is a human attitude.
- I am human!|- You are also Klingon.
So that means|we should bond for life? It is our way.
Yours.
Not mine.
I will not take the oath.
Then this night had no meaning.
And that I will not believe.
Believe what you will.
- Approaching the coordinates.
|- Slow to impulse.
Short- and long-range|sensor scans negative.
Lay in a standard search pattern.
- Search pattern laid in.
|- Full impulse.
Engage.
I hope we find them|before they end their nap.
Agreed.
No outpost in this area could defend|itself from a Klingon warship.
I'm working on our assignment,|trying a few computer simulations.
Your devotion to duty|is commendable if belated.
Unwilling to be alone with me? I asked Cmdr Data|to help us analyze the alternatives.
An android chaperon.
Android, of course,|is correct.
But .
.
I fail to see how chaperon|is applicable here.
Never mind.
I guess I can't blame you.
Tell me one thing.
You'd have gone|through with the oath, wouldn't you? Regardless of the consequences|to our careers, to our lives.
Honour demanded no less.
What do you want?|Is honour all you care about? Don't you feel anything else? No comment? Poor android.
Whose behaviour|do you find more perplexing? Human or Klingon? At the moment,|I would find it difficult to choose.
So would I.
OK, when we locate the T'Ong,|there are two possibilities.
First We find the ship before|it reaches the awakening point and simply keep them asleep.
- Is that feasible?|- We can override their controls.
That way we await the arrival|of the Klingon ship P'Rang.
So when the T'Ong's crew awakens,|they are surrounded by Klingons.
- That would be ideal.
|- But there's the second possibility.
That the crew of the T'Ong|has already revived.
They see this is Federation|territory and attack an outpost.
Theirs could be a scientific voyage.
Klingons of that era|doing research for its own sake? - But they may be reasonable.
|- That point is beside the point.
These are Klingons, at war with us.
Whatever their mission, once they see|a Federation target, they'll attack.
Can they be disabled|rather than destroyed? We could knock out their engines|without damaging the ship.
No use.
Disable the ship and|K'Temoc will destroy it himself.
Klingons do not surrender.
If we don't reach it before they|wake up, you have no alternatives.
I can't accept that.
There must be some way|to make the Klingons listen.
- If we convince them|- Captain, we've detected a ship.
Bearing 316, mark 42.
Extreme sensor range.
Lay in intercept course.
|Go to yellow alert.
Shields are up.
Better lock in phasers.
|It may be your only chance.
Intercept course laid in.
Hold position.
|Let's see if they've spotted us.
Magnification, 100.
Mr Data? Life forms are aboard.
Unable to|ascertain whether they are awake.
Their propulsion is inactive, so|I hypothesize that they are asleep.
However, I could be in error.
Shields holding.
They've cloaked themselves.
Well, Captain,|you've had your chance.
Transferring Engineering|to the bridge.
Can you find them? I think so.
Those old shields|weren't too efficient at blocking gamma-ray output.
If I can tune the sensors|to a particular band There, got 'em.
|Transferring coordinates to helm.
- Intercept.
Warp two.
|- Warp two, sir.
Let them die like Klingons,|in battle.
They deserve that much.
Captain.
I have another option.
Captain's log, stardate 42901.
3.
Despite their cloaking shields,|we have located the Klingon vessel.
In an effort to avoid confrontation,|we plan to implement the option presented by Lt Worf.
The T'Ong has changed course to 32,|mark 81 .
Increasing to warp three.
- Standard evasive manoeuvre.
|- Stay with them.
Yes, sir.
The T'Ong is now on a heading of 42,|mark 113, accelerating to warp five.
- They're making a break for it.
|- Overtake, warp eight.
Aye.
Put us right in their path.
Come to|a full stop.
Full power to shields.
We've thrown down the gauntlet.
|Let's see if they pick it up.
Slowing to impulse, sir.
Phaser hit on forward shields.
|Brimming up now.
No damage.
I guess we've piqued|their interest now.
Agreed.
Give them a chance to look their|enemy in the face.
Ready, Lieutenant.
- Open hailing frequencies.
|- Open, sir.
What ? What is this? Captain K'Temoc,|have you lost your mind? Halt your vessel|and drop your shields! What treachery is this?|By whose authority? I am Worf,|commanding the Enterprise.
And it is you who have committed|treason by firing on this vessel.
I have standing orders|to fire on all Federation ships.
You fool! Did it not occur to you that|the war would be over by now? - I have no proof of that.
|- Trust your eyes.
Or is your brain still stuck|in its long slumber? How do I know this is no|Federation trick? How can I be sure? Captain, as you are new to this|century, I have tried to be patient.
But I will tolerate|no further insubordination.
- Drop your shields immediately.
|- And if I refuse? Then die in ignorance.
|I can waste no more time on you.
Phasers to full power.
Aye, sir.
Phasers ready.
|Target locked.
You dare not destroy us.
We are on a crucial mission|for Klingon High Command.
Has the T'Ong dropped its shields? No, sir.
Very well.
Fire all phasers.
Wait! Lower the shields.
I yield command of the T'Ong|to you, Capt Worf.
Long live the Klingon Empire.
A wise decision, Captain.
Cmdr K'Ehleyr will board|and take command.
The Klingon cruiser P'Rang will|soon arrive and escort you home.
- And Captain|- Yes? Welcome to the 24th century.
I return command to you, Captain.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
|Congratulations.
A very fine first command.
|Well done.
How did you like command? Comfortable chair.
And you wore it well.
One to beam aboard the T'Ong.
All set.
I relieve you.
Yes, Lieutenant.
The Klingon P'Rang will rendezvous|with you in three days.
And I'll begin the assimilation|of these Klingons to our era.
Is there anything else you require? No.
Nothing else.
Damn you, Worf.
You'd let me go without saying|another word, wouldn't you? What needs to be said? Nothing.
Everything.
We're about|to go our separate ways again.
And that disturbs you? I hid the truth from you.
|Last night did have meaning.
I was tempted to take the oath|with you.
But it scared me.
I've never had|such strong feelings toward anyone.
Nor have I.
Then it was more|than just a point of honour.
Maybe someday,|when our paths cross again, .
.
I won't be so easy to get rid of.
I will not be complete|without you.

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