Star Trek: The Next Generation s06e02 Episode Script

Captain's log, stardate 46041.
1.
We have located the USS Yosemite, a science vessel sent to observe|a remote plasma streamer.
The ship|has not been heard from in days.
Magnify.
The last report says|they were observing at medium range.
Maybe they went in,|got more than they bargained for.
Hail them.
- No response.
|- Life signs? Scanners cannot penetrate the plasma|streamer's distortion field.
- Can we tractor them out?|- No.
Ionic interference is too heavy.
- I'll take a shuttle in.
|- Too risky.
You could be pulled in.
Bridge to Engineering.
Mr La Forge, can we beam over? We can, but we might not|get a lock to bring them back.
If we bridged our transporter system|to theirs we might cut through the ionic field.
That's a good idea, Barclay.
Captain, I think we can do it|by bridging the transporters.
Acknowledged.
Meet Riker|in transporter room three.
Aye, sir.
Barclay,|I'll need a systems engineer.
I'll ask Ensign Dern|to join you.
I meant you, Barclay.
Shouldn't I stay here|and set up the remote link? Dern can do that.
Let's go.
- Status, Mr O'Brien?|- I have to send you one at a time and transport will take longer.
- How much longer?|- Twice the normal time.
- You're in for a bumpy ride.
|- What do you? What exactly|do you mean by a bumpy ride? There may be static.
You'll feel|some tingling, but don't worry.
Let's do it.
Mr Worf.
Engaging system interlock.
Pattern buffers synchronised.
Phase-transition coils at stand-by.
Energising.
He's there.
I'll go next.
Engaging interlock.
|Buffers synched.
Energising.
I'm ready.
Engaging interlock.
|Buffers in synch.
Wait a minute.
An ionic fluctuation|in the matter stream.
No problem.
OK.
Energising.
Reg, you're up.
Aye, sir.
Engaging interlock.
Buffers in synch.
- Phase coils are|- Sorry.
I can't do this.
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 civilisations, .
.
to boldly go|where no one has gone before.
Reg, you were faced|with a difficult transport.
Anyone would have been apprehensive.
Tell that to Cmdr La Forge|and the team.
I'm sure they understand.
As soon as you feel OK, join them.
No.
Reg, is there something|you're not telling me? Actually This is not the This is not the first time|I've been apprehensive.
Every single time|that I tried to do it, I had this certain feeling.
I guess you could call it|mortal terror.
- Why have you kept it a secret?|- Why? Because my career in Starfleet|would be over.
That's why.
- I doubt that.
|- I've always avoided it.
You wouldn't believe the hours|I've logged in shuttlecraft.
The idea of being deconstructed,|molecule by molecule, it's more than I can stand.
|Even when I was a child, I always had a dreadful fear|that if ever I was dematerialised, .
.
that I would|never come back again whole.
I know, it sounds crazy.
It's not crazy at all.
You are being taken apart|molecule by molecule.
You're not the first person|to have anxiety about transporting.
We can desensitise you|to this type of fear.
It's a slow and gradual process,|but it works.
It does? How? You might try a relaxation technique,|like plexing.
- Plexing?|- Yes, it's a Betazoid method.
The next time you feel nervous, you stimulate a neural pressure|point, like this.
There's a nerve cluster|just behind the carotid artery.
It stimulates the brain|to release natural endorphins.
Plexing.
Sounds easy enough.
Here.
You know, I feel better already.
|I think I can do this.
There's no need to rush.
We talked about confronting fear.
|The best way out is through.
You said that once.
- I suppose I did.
|- I'm gonna beam over.
I can do it! There's no sign of anyone.
- Maybe they abandoned ship.
|- Unlikely.
The escape pods are still on board.
- There was an explosion.
|- What caused it? I've ruled out a core failure|or systems overload.
Blast analysis indicates|the explosion originated here .
.
in the transport chamber.
How? The transporter|is still functional.
Could they have beamed aboard|an explosive device? Cmdr Riker,|could you come here? Excuse me.
Lt Joshua Kelly.
|He was the ship's engineer.
How did he die? He has burns over his body, but I don't think|they were the cause.
I'd like to take him back|to do an autopsy.
- You're sure, sir?|- Sure.
- Please, proceed.
|- lt'll only take a minute.
It should be smooth.
Good.
I know how you feel, sir.
You're afraid of transporting, too? No.
Arachnids.
Sickening, crawly|little things, don't you think? - All those legs.
|- Spiders never bothered me.
A few years back, I was called in to reroute|an emitter array on Zayra lV.
The entire system was infested|with Talarian hook spiders.
Have you ever seen one? Their legs are half-a-metre long.
I had a choice.
Do I let the emitter|blow itself to hell? Or do I crawl in the Jeffries tube|with 20 hook spiders? What happened? It was the hardest thing|I ever did.
I got through it.
- After that I was never so afraid.
|- Thanks.
Energising.
Welcome aboard.
- You ready to work?|- Yes, sir.
Good.
Start downloading|the ship's science logs over there.
Four crew members unaccounted for.
|Did you get anything? I don't know how these fit in.
|They were around the transporter.
They look|like pieces of sample container.
We'll take these back to the ship|for analysis.
Mr Barclay.
- Glad you could join us.
|- Me too, sir.
The Ferengi claim two freighters were destroyed by Cardassians|in your sector.
Is there any evidence? I'm loathe to believe them|about anything .
.
but there was evidence|of Cardassian weapons.
If the Cardassians|also attacked the Yosemite, it could indicate a large movement|in this sector.
I have an away team on board.
The initial report indicates|there was an explosion, but not if it was an attack.
- How soon until you know?|- A few hours.
If it looks like Cardassians,|I'll contact you.
Very well.
- Bridge to Capt Picard.
|- Go ahead, Mr Data.
The away team|is returning to the Enterprise.
Acknowledged.
Have Cmdr Riker|come to my ready room.
Aye, sir.
La Forge|to transporter room three.
Ready.
Stand by, Commander.
Barclay to Enterprise.
|One to beam back.
Stand by, sir.
See, sir?|That wasn't so bad, was it? Mission logs, science and|medical logs, all scrambled.
Looks like the blast wiped out|the ship's core memory.
We could try|to reconstitute the data stream.
It's worth a try.
Commander, has anything strange|happened to you during transport? Like what? I don't know.
|Anything out of the ordinary.
No, not really.
This looks hopeless.
We won't|get anything from these logs.
Maybe this broken container I found|can tell us something.
Let's get this thing|back into one piece.
I mean,|have you ever seen anything? - Where?|- During transport.
Sometimes my visor picks up|resonance patterns.
It's actually kind of pretty.
Why? I'm just wondering.
What are you getting at? Did you see something? When I was returning|to the Enterprise, .
.
I could've sworn I saw something|in the stream.
Something? In the phased matter round me.
At first I thought it was some kind|of energy discharge.
But then it flew toward me|and touched my arm.
How could something be in there? Molecules flying apart,|half-phased? I mean, it's impossible, isn't it? We better check it out.
When we're done here, we'll run|a full diagnostic, alright? Alright.
The confinement-beam subsystems|check out.
- So do the phase-transition coils.
|- Pattern buffer is fine.
Emitter pads, targeting scanners,|they're all working fine.
This system's clean.
|So is the science vessel's.
There's a lot of energy in the beam.
Maybe you saw a surge|in the matter stream.
Yeah.
I'll scan|the Heisenberg compensators.
- Chief, you've done enough.
|- It's no problem.
Give me a hand.
You know,|maybe ignorance really is bliss.
Sir? If I knew less about these things,|they wouldn't scare me.
I remember the day in Dr Olafson's|transporter-theory class, when he was talking|about the body being converted into billions of kiloquads of data,|zipping through subspace, and I realised|there's no margin for error.
One atom out of place|You never come back.
It's amazing|people aren't lost all the time.
With all due respect, I've done this for 22 years|and haven't lost anybody.
Yes, but you realise|if the imaging scanners are off even one thousandth of a percent That's why each pad|has four redundant scanners.
If one fails, the others take over.
How many accidents have there been|in the last ten years? Two? Three? There are millions of people|who transport safely every day.
I've heard of problems.
|What about transporter psychosis? Transporter psychosis? There hasn't been a case|in 50 years.
Not since they perfected|the multiplex pattern-buffers.
Transporting|really is the safest way to travel.
I'd like a closer look at those|burns.
Take a tissue sample, please.
Damage to the epidermis only.
|Initiate a circulatory probe.
His heart's beating.
|Cardio-stimulator.
Now.
It's gone.
Neuro-electrical activity|in the cerebral cortex.
Nothing.
Now his respiratory system's active.
What the hell is going on? Water, ten degrees Celsius.
Computer, access Starfleet|medical database.
Tell me about Describe the disorder|transporter psychosis.
Transporter psychosis was|diagnosed in the year 2209 by researchers on Delinia II.
No, stop.
|All I need is What causes it? Neurochemical molecules|break down during transport, affecting motor functions, autonomic systems and the brain's|higher reasoning centres.
What are the symptoms? Victims suffer|from paranoid delusions, multi-infarct dementia,|hallucinations Hallucinations?|What kind of hallucinations? Victims experience somatic,|tactile and visual hallucinations, accompanied|by psychogenic hysteria.
Peripheral symptoms|include sleeplessness, accelerated heart rate, diminished eyesight|leading to acute myopia, painful spasms|in the extremities, .
.
and in most cases, dehydration.
Computer.
What is the treatment|for transporter psychosis? There is no known treatment.
The autopsy showed ionisation|in every one of Lt Kelly's systems.
I think that caused|the muscular contractions.
From where did the ionisation come? There's evidence|of electrical burns on his body, as if he was exposed to ionised gas|or high-energy plasma.
Plasma? There's no way|they could have been exposed.
Unless it was from the streamer.
Is there evidence of a breach?|Could the plasma enter the ship? No.
Data, what's the report|on that broken sample container? The analysis of the fragments|is not yet complete.
Captain, if there's ionisation|in those fragments, it could mean they beamed aboard|material from the streamer.
If the plasma exploded,|that would explain a few things.
Let me know when the analysis|is complete.
From the look of these fractures,|the explosion came from within.
The container does show evidence|of residual ionisation.
I believe you are correct.
|It was used to store plasma.
So they were collecting|samples from the streamer.
They had the proper container.
|How could it have exploded? Perhaps we should recreate|their experiment to see what happens when matter|is beamed aboard in the same way.
Good idea.
We'll prepare|a new container.
I don't want to take any chances.
|Set up a containment field.
Aye, sir.
- Are you alright, Lieutenant?|- I'm fine.
Yes, thank you.
Geordi, Lt Barclay appears|inordinately preoccupied with his physiological condition.
I have seen him check|his pulse and vision several times|over the last 20 minutes.
Thanks, Data.
- Yes, sir?|- Are you OK? - I'm just fine, sir.
|- You look a little pale.
I do? Look, Reg It's been a long couple of days.
|Get some rest.
We got everything|under control here.
I think I'll do that.
Thank you.
- La Forge to Counsellor Troi.
|- Go ahead.
Counsellor, do you have a minute? Lt Barclay, I've been calling you.
Why haven't you responded?|What are you doing? - Walking.
|- So I see.
Where to? Nowhere.
|I don't get to see these decks often.
Stellar Cartography.
|I thought that was deck 11.
I was having trouble sleeping.
|I'm trying to wear myself out.
A perfectly normal thing|to be doing.
Cmdr La Forge said|you seemed nervous this morning.
I'm always nervous.
|Everybody knows that.
He also mentioned that you saw|something in the transporter beam.
I was wrong.
They checked|the transporter.
I imagined it.
You don't sound|very convinced of that.
Counsellor, I appreciate|your concern in this matter.
But I wish you wouldn't continue.
|I'm perfectly fine.
Mr Barclay, you're exhausted|and highly agitated.
I cannot allow a crew member|to endanger himself or others.
I'm not endangering anyone|and I wish I think it is in your interest|to take a leave of absence.
I'm temporarily|relieving you of duty.
Fine.
|Do what you have to do, Counsellor.
Computer, more birds.
End stress-reduction program.
- Water.
|- Specify temperature.
I don't care.
Just give me water.
Calm, calm.
Stay calm.
Alright, computer,|let's try some music.
Something soothing.
Sir, couldn't this wait|till the morning? No.
Chief, I've been reviewing|the transport logs.
What are these energy variations|that keep appearing? There was one when I transported.
They're just ionic fluctuations, a result|of our interlock with the Yosemite.
A fluctuation occurred|while I was inside the matter stream.
It's nothing to worry about, sir.
I need you to transport me|to the science ship and back again.
And while I'm in the beam, can you|recreate an ionic fluctuation? I guess so.
But, sir, what for? Cmdr La Forge wants|some tricorder readings.
- We can do that here.
|- No! The sensors|may not be sensitive enough.
I'm giving you an order, Mr O'Brien.
Aye, sir.
If you don't mind|an observation, sir, .
.
you forgot your tricorder.
Either there's something there|or I'm crazy.
I've got to know.
You can understand that, can't you? Yes, sir, I can.
Stand by, sir.
Wake the senior staff.
And then I saw it again|just 20 minutes ago.
It was the same, exact thing, just moving around|in the transporter beam.
Let me get this straight.
|You think it was alive? It was dark and distorted and it had|what looked like a mouth.
A mouth? I don't see anything wrong.
Why didn't you tell anybody|about your arm? Well, I thought|I was hallucinating, that I had .
.
that it was transporter psychosis.
|But now I know it was real.
I was the only one who experienced|ionic fluctuations in the transport.
Maybe that's why I saw it.
Mr Barclay, I'm told that you've been|under considerable strain.
Isn't it possible|that you simply imagined? I know what you're going to say.
|I've acted strange.
But believe me, I would never have called you in here|unless I was certain.
Mr La Forge, get Mr O'Brien.
Take that transporter system apart|piece by piece if you have to.
Mr Worf, I want a level-three|security alert.
Aye.
I'll run a microcellular scan|of Mr Barclay's arm.
It takes time, but if there's|a problem, I'll find it.
Keep me apprised.
Dismissed.
I'm picking up|minute levels of ionisation from the tissue of his left arm.
The patterns correspond exactly|to those in Lt Kelly's body and in the sample container.
There's no question.
You have been|exposed to the plasma.
So, something did happen|in the transporter beam.
You might've been exposed|on the science ship.
You did say something touched|your arm during transport.
That's exactly where|the ionisation is focused.
- Does this pose a threat to him?|- It might.
I'll run a base-pair correlation|for any sign of DNA breakdown.
Cmdr La Forge and I were|planning to recreate the explosion.
That might give us some answers.
|Permission to continue? Granted.
Tell Mr O'Brien to take|primary transporters off line.
I don't want further contaminations.
- Make sure you take precautions.
|- Aye, sir.
I'd like you to wear|this monitoring device.
It will tell me if there's|increased ionisation.
Yes, Doctor.
Structural reinforcement|is at 240 percent.
Activating containment field.
That should do it.
We've locked on to the plasma.
|Beam aboard a sample.
OK.
What would they do first? Standard would be|a resonance-frequency scan.
That sounds like a good place|to start.
Initiating resonance sweep.
Frequency range at three Barclay,|check the containment field.
The field is at maximum|but it is holding.
My visor's picking up|biomagnetic energy.
Highly complex patterns.
You know,|I think these things are alive.
Life forms? That is correct.
They appear to be microbes that exist within the distortion|field of the plasma.
We didn't detect them|until we ran the scan.
Apparently, they didn't like it.
- They shattered the container.
|- Which caused an explosion similar to the one|on the science ship.
When we linked up|with their transporter, one or more of the microbes|got into ours.
We think|they're caught in the buffer.
It might explain what you saw.
But what I saw|was much bigger than a microbe.
Normal spatial relationships are|distorted in the matter stream, exaggerating your perceptions.
Some of these microbes|are also in your body.
Inside me? They were in Lt Kelly's body, causing|the contractions during the autopsy.
The biofilter|should have screened them out.
The microbes exist simultaneously|as matter and energy.
The biofilter|cannot distinguish them.
If we held Barclay|suspended in mid-transport at the point where matter|loses molecular cohesion The molecules would emit|nucleonic particles.
We may be able to derive a pattern|the computer would recognise.
Then the biofilters|could screen the microbes.
I think this'll work, Reg.
You'd suspend me?|I don't like the sound of this.
- We'd have to keep you in there.
|- How long? But if I'm in|the matter stream too long? Your pattern would degrade and your|signal would be permanently lost.
After 15 seconds,|you might feel light-headed.
Try to stay calm.
It's important|not to move around too much.
Initialising the pattern buffer.
- Holding at stand-by.
|- Ready, Reg? Energise.
Molecular resolution at 60 percent.
|Engaging static mode.
His pattern is locked and holding.
Starting biofilter scan.
Signal's holding.
The imaging scanners|haven't isolated the microbes.
I'll increase molecular dispersion.
- His resolution's now 55 percent.
|- I can hold him together.
Commander, the resolution's|50 percent.
Bring him back.
I know, give me one more second.
We need to increase phase-transition|frequency.
Aye, sir.
The scanners are actuating.
Got it.
|Pattern acquisition positive.
Programming biofilter.
Don't worry, Reg,|this won't hurt a bit.
A 92 percent increase in mass.
There's something in the beam|with him.
- Security to transporter room three.
|- Right away.
I'm setting up a force field|round the chamber.
Drop the force field.
There are more in the beam.
|Grab them and hold on.
Understood.
Follow me.
Reg, what happened? When I saw|that there was more than one, I thought the other crew|were trying the same thing.
We're infected with something.
Lt Kelly|tried to reprogram the biofilter.
Looks like he pushed molecular|dispersion past integrity point.
Your patterns got caught.
The residual energy must have|amplified the charge in the buffer and stopped your patterns degrading.
Captain's log, stardate 46043.
6 The reprogrammed biofilter|was effective in removing the alien microbes|from all crew members.
The microbes have been returned|to the plasma streamer.
- Chief.
|- Lieutenant.
I'm glad you could make it.
This is the first time we've spoken|outside the transporter room.
- I've always avoided you.
|- Why? You run the transporters|that I hate.
At least, I used to.
|So, what's in the box? I thought you might like|to meet Christina.
Christina, Lt Barclay.
It's your pet spider.
Lycosa tarantula.
|Don't worry, she won't bite.
She's very large.
I found her on Titus IV.
|Almost stepped on her by accident.
I'll get us a couple of drinks.
- Keep an eye on her.
|- Sure.
Chief!