Star Trek: The Next Generation s07e14 Episode Script

Most people will remember my grandmother as a healer, but her abilities went beyond that.
She didn't just relieve pain and fight illness.
She knew that wellbeing is more than just a healthy body.
Her remedies would include words of advice as well as medicinal teas, and often they were just as bitter-tasting.
I will miss Felisa Howard very much.
Her healing, her advice.
Most of all, the inspiration she has provided me throughout the years.
Rest in peace, Nana.
And so now we commit her body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope that her memory will be kept alive within us all.
Amen.
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.
- That was beautiful.
- Thank you.
Deanna.
Did you notice a strange man at the service? - In his mid-30s with longish hair.
- No.
He threw a flower on Nana's grave.
A camellia.
It was her favourite flower.
- She kept them all over the house.
- Maybe he was a friend or a patient.
It was a very personal gesture.
And he gave me a remarkable look.
Well, I guess I should be going back to the house.
There are some things I need to do.
It's only a few minutes.
Would you come? - I'd love to.
- Thanks.
- How long are you staying? - A few more hours.
Why? As you know, Caldos is one of the first terraforming projects of the Federation.
Our weather controls and fusion systems are a century old.
I wouldn't mind having a starship engineer look at them.
Perhaps give us a few upgrades.
Maybe in exchange for a tour of the colony and a home-cooked meal? We are due at Starbase 621 tomorrow morning.
But we could delay for a few days.
I'm sure we can find time.
- Excellent.
- I would enjoy that tour.
Caldos is most impressive.
I feel as if I am in the Scottish Highlands.
That was the intent.
The cornerstone of every building in town was brought from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen.
The founders wanted everyone to feel they had a piece of the real thing.
They didn't want to just imitate Scotland, they wanted to recreate it.
Tell me, Governor, I'm curious.
You're obviously not Scots yourself.
What was it that drew you here? Something about the culture, the heritage.
When I was a boy, my family visited Glamis Castle in Scotland.
And as I looked out across the Highlands I felt as if I had come home.
Your grandmother had remarkable green eyes.
Every Howard woman has had green eyes, except my mother and me.
How well do you remember your mother? Very well.
I loved her very much.
I can remember her face smiling down at me, and I can remember her voice and her scent.
But mostly I remember Nana, who raised me after my mother died.
That's beautiful.
It's a family heirloom, in the Howard clan for generations.
It's supposed to symbolise the Howard spirit.
Wherever they go, the shining light to guide them through their fortune.
Nana always kept it lit.
I remember sitting here, listening to ghost stories, with only the candle burning.
- You should take it with you.
- I think I will.
- I'm going back to the ship.
- You don't have to leave.
I thought you'd like some time alone.
See you later.
Thanks.
Who's there? What are you doing? Get out of my house.
Don't be so high and mighty, Beverly Howard Crusher.
I've spent more time here than you have.
How do you know who I am? I'm Ned Quint.
I took care of your grandmother's house.
Nana never mentioned you.
There's lots she didnae talk about.
Let me get rid of that candle.
Why? It brought nothing but misery to your grandmother.
Look, I don't know what your relationship was, but this is my house and my things.
That candle's been a curse on your family for generations.
If you have any sense, you'll do away with it.
Give it to me.
This is a family heirloom.
I intend to keep it.
Would you please get out of my house? Now! Howard women, always the same stubborn fools.
I wash my hands of it now.
You stay on in this house and keep that damn candle.
I'll not be responsible for what happens.
Get out.
The colony's aqueduct system is functioning, as are the communication relays.
We've been having tremors.
Could you check the seismic stabilisers? Certainly.
You can't imagine afternoon tea while the earth is shaking.
Governor, did you know you had a fluctuation in your weather control? No.
Our weather control's worked perfectly for 22 years.
I can't isolate the source, but the fluctuation seems to originate from one of the substations regulating humidity.
- Will this be a problem? - Not yet.
But power-distribution patterns are off by five percent.
I suggest we analyse weather patterns to see if they are affected.
I am reading unusually high humidity across the southern desert.
There is increasing cloud above the northern coast, possibly the formation of a storm system.
Storm? It's the middle of summer.
We don't have rain now.
Let's correct this.
I'll check out the climatic-flow array.
I will run a diagnostic on the thermal regulators.
- Don't worry.
We'll keep you dry.
- I hope so.
There's a caber toss tomorrow afternoon.
I'd hate to see it spoiled by an unexpected downpour.
You wouldn't believe what I read in my grandmother's journals.
She had a lover.
Can you believe that? Nana was 100 years old.
It seems that the Howard women have vigorous libidos.
I certainly hope so.
I hope I can find a handsome young man in his thirties when I'm 100.
- Thirties? - Yes.
According to these journals, his name is Ronin and he's 34 years old.
They met just after my great-grandmother's death.
I think I saw him.
A handsome man tossed a camellia onto her grave.
But the strange thing is, she never mentioned him in her letters.
Never once.
Yet it appears they spent almost all their time together.
It's as if she led an entire life that I knew nothing about.
It looks as if we'll be on Caldos for a few days more.
This will be a good opportunity to get her affairs in order.
Thank you.
Thirties.
Beverly.
You dreamt you were in bed with someone? Not exactly.
I was in bed, but there wasn't another person in my dream.
It was more like a presence.
- You said you felt a touch.
- A pair of hands.
They were moving across my skin.
- Like a caress? - Yes.
There was a voice, a man.
He whispered my name.
It was as if I knew him.
Or more like, he knew me.
He knew how I liked to be touched.
It was the most physical dream I've ever had.
The sensations were very real and extremely arousing.
Frankly, I'm envious.
I did fall asleep reading an erotic chapter in my grandmother's journal.
She wrote detailed descriptions of her experiences with Ronin.
Well, that's bound to cause a dream or two.
So, shall we start going over the personnel reports? I think he had a ring on one of his hands when he touched my shoulder, my neck.
I wonder if I'll have another dream tonight.
I'd read two chapters.
- You probably want to be alone.
- No, it's OK.
I'm sorry we got off to a bad start.
I read my grandmother's journals.
- I know how much you meant to her.
- She was a grand lady.
You'll not see many more like her.
You have your grandmother's fire, that's for sure.
Ned, you're welcome to stay at the house after I've gone to take care of the place.
That's very kind of you, but I'll ne'er set foot in that house again.
I recommend you dinna.
- Why? - I tried to tell your grandmother.
- The house is haunted.
- Haunted? You believe what you want, lass, just dinna light that candle.
- Why not? - It'll bring the ghost.
It's his home.
He's out now, wandering across the land, angry at being driven out.
That's why he's bringing the storms.
The weather system's control is malfunctioning.
The Enterprise is repairing it.
Sure.
But who do you think is causing the malfunction? - I think your imagination - Think what you want.
See what you want.
Just do as I say.
Dinna light that candle or go to that house, or before you know it, they'll bury another Howard in this cemetery.
I'm detecting atmospheric turbulence and pockets of electrical activity.
On screen.
- It is growing in intensity.
- One hell of a thunderstorm.
Bridge to Engineering.
We are reading an extremely large storm over the colony.
I thought the weather malfunction was not severe.
It began as a minor fluctuation, but the effect has spread.
It has caused a concentration of cumulonimbus activity.
I suggest we set up a power transfer to the weather substations, try to give enough power to stabilise the storm.
Make it so.
Who's there? Ned? Is that you? Hello? I know somebody's here, so I suggest you Alright, that's it.
If you don't show yourself, I'll call the Enterprise.
There will be ten guards here within 30 seconds.
Beverly.
I've come back for you.
Who are you? Don't you remember? I came to you while you were asleep.
No, that was a dream.
I'm calling the Enterprise.
Now do you remember me? Yes.
What's happening to me? Right now, I feel so strange.
I love you, Beverly, just as I loved Felisa before you.
- Are you Ronin? - Yes.
You saw me at the funeral.
Who are you? I'm a spirit.
- I don't believe in - Ghosts? Nor did I in the beginning.
I was born in 1647, in Glasgow, on Earth.
You're telling me that you're an 800-year-old ghost? I found a home with Jessel Howard.
She was a pretty lass with a mane of red hair and eyes like diamonds.
I loved her very much.
When she died, I stayed with her daughter, and her daughter, and on down through the years, generation after generation.
And now you're here on Caldos, When your family moved out into the galaxy, I moved with them.
I don't believe you.
I believe you are the most beautiful women I have ever known.
What's What's happening to me? We're becoming one, Beverly.
We're going to be together.
I don't understand.
Stop it.
Come in.
I wanted to see if you were going to Mok'bara class this morning.
No, I think I'll skip it today.
I'm exhausted.
Did you have another dream last night? - Not exactly.
- Is anything wrong? Not at all.
Beverly, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were seeing someone.
Deanna.
Now I know you're seeing someone.
I'm not seeing anybody.
I met someone, that's all.
You obviously have romantic feelings for him.
Beverly, when will you realise that you can't fool me? - Who is it? - Alright.
I met Ronin.
Ronin? Your grandmother's lover? He's unlike anyone I've ever met before.
This sounds crazy, but I have never known anyone who was so - Passionate.
- Exactly.
I can see why Nana fell in love with him.
This sounds very strange, doesn't it? I admit it's unusual.
I'm very happy for you.
But I want you to consider something.
You and Ronin have both suffered a tremendous loss.
Very often, shared traumatic experience can create the illusion of closeness and romance.
Thank you for your concern, but I think I know what I'm doing.
Besides, I didn't say I was in love with him.
I'm just intrigued.
I moved to this colony because it was a recreation of Scotland, but it's getting too realistic.
What is going on? There is a condensed suspension of water vapour, approximately one degree Celsius.
- Fog.
- It just rolled in on us, sir.
There is a malfunction in the environmental control.
We traced the problem to the power-transfer beam.
Some feedback is coming from a weather substation.
- Another power fluctuation? - Captain.
The temperature in ten-forward is below freezing.
- Deck 13 has lost gravity.
- Disengage the power transfer.
I am unable to terminate the connection.
A feedback loop has formed in the beam.
I will have to go to the substation to correct the problem.
Make it so.
In the meantime, I think I'll go get my jacket.
I have analysed the control module in the primary weather-control grid.
The station is experiencing a power failure.
This is impossible.
The backup system Excuse me, sir, you are dismantling the primary power conduit.
- I must ask you to stop.
- No.
Get away from me.
You dinna understand.
He's trying to kill us all.
He is dead.
He was trying to shut down the weather-control system.
He was pulling out the plasma conduit.
That caused the discharge that killed him.
I knew Ned.
I don't know why'd he try something like that.
It's gonna take us time to get the system back on line.
Another day.
In the meantime, the weather problems will continue.
I think you'd better look at this.
Data, you said there was a plasma discharge when Quint was killed.
- That is correct.
- That wasn't what killed him.
I'm detecting an anomalous energy residual throughout his body.
Whatever it is, it wasn't the result of a plasma discharge.
- Anything? - I cannot identify the residual.
However, it has the same anaphasic signature as the fluctuations from the weather-control system.
Whatever caused the malfunctions also killed Quint? It is possible.
Scan the colony for any readings that match this signature.
With your permission, I'd like to take the body to the ship for tests.
Of course, Doctor.
Ensign, ask Dr Selar to run a biospectral analysis.
You won't run the test yourself? No.
I have some things I need to attend to.
Ronin, I've got to talk to you.
Are you here? I'm here.
Beverly, did you miss me? Yes, but I must talk to you.
- There's been an accident.
- I know.
Quint is dead.
Why did it happen? What was he doing? Beverly, there's something more important we should talk about.
Ronin, I've got to know.
Quint's dead.
- Ronin? - Yes.
- I need you to help me.
- Help you? It's not easy for me to take corporeal form.
I can't do it for long.
I want you to light the candle.
Quint said you lived in the candle.
Is that true? Yes.
If I'm away from it for too long, I begin to weaken.
That's why the women in your family have always kept the candle lit.
The candle's on the ship.
I'll get it.
No.
- I must go with you.
- How? The power-transfer beam.
I can travel along it.
And when the candle's lit, then what happens? Then we'll be together.
Always.
Computer, secure door.
I lit the candle.
Where are you? It's alright.
We're together.
We're going to be one.
I'm going to become part of you.
- Would you like that? - More than anything.
As it was with your grandmother.
And all of the Howard women before them.
I'll take care of you.
And you will feel love as you've never felt it before.
Beverly, what the hell is this? I thought it was self-explanatory.
I'm leaving Starfleet.
Energise.
- Belay that order.
- Aye, sir.
Beverly, you can't just resign.
I can, and I have.
I've decided to stay on Caldos and become a healer.
It's a Howard tradition.
I've decided to uphold it.
Energise.
I've resigned my commission, so unless you plan on kidnapping me Beverly was attracted to Ronin in a very intense and intimate way.
I warned her that it was all very sudden, but she didn't want to talk about it.
I sensed that she was holding back, she wasn't telling the truth.
Do you think this Ronin could be exerting some influence over her? That it's because of him? It's possible, but she may believe she's in love with him.
This is a rash decision.
It's not like Beverly at all.
I agree, but she has the right to make that choice, even if we don't feel it's a good one.
Come.
Captain, Geordi and I have detected an energy residual with the same anaphasic signature as the one on Ned Quint's body.
Where? from the centre of the colony.
It is coming from the cemetery.
I want you to go to the cemetery.
Pinpoint the source.
Aye, sir.
In the meantime, I would like to meet with this Ronin.
The readings are from this direction, but I can't get a location.
I'll narrow the scan field.
The readings appear to originate two metres below the surface.
I believe they are concentrated within this burial site.
I'm so glad you're here.
I can't imagine what life was like before I met you.
And it will only get better.
Ronin.
I had no idea I could feel this way.
We're nearly merged now.
As two candles join to form a single light, so we will flourish as one.
I love you, Beverly.
I love you.
Beverly? Jean-Luc.
Sorry I startled you.
I knocked but there was no answer.
- The door was open.
- What do you want? Well, I'd hoped to meet your new friend Ronin.
He's not here.
Perhaps I could wait, if you don't mind.
I'm anxious to meet this remarkable young man who has swept away not one but two of the Howard women.
Jealousy doesn't suit you, Jean-Luc.
Have you changed the colour of your eyes? I just grew tired of the other colour.
Don't you think it suits me? I think that I preferred your eyes the way they were before.
I think I preferred you the way you were before.
Well, this is the way I am now.
And this is my life.
I've made my decision.
I won't change my mind.
- Please leave me alone.
- There's something wrong here.
This is more than a love affair that has got out of hand.
Tell me, why has no one seen this Ronin except you? Alright, Captain.
Here I am.
I believe Beverly asked you to leave her alone.
So, you're Ronin.
A pleasure to meet you.
- Where are you from? - Earth.
Scotland.
How long have you been on Caldos? All that matters is that I'm here now, and that we plan to be together for the rest of our lives.
- Data to Picard.
- Go ahead.
We have located the source of the energy.
It is concentrated within Felisa Howard's coffin.
We'd like to exhume the body.
You can't do that.
Leave her alone.
Why not? What are you afraid of? I'm not afraid of anything.
But I cannot allow you to desecrate her grave.
Data, ask Governor Maturin's permission to exhume the body.
- Picard out.
- I won't stand for this.
- I'll go to the Governor myself.
- Go on.
I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't know who you are.
He'll have the same questions that I do.
What ship did you come on? - Jean-Luc, leave him alone.
- Answer me.
What ship? I'd like to look at the passenger list.
Where have you been living? Who are your neighbours? Come on.
Get out of here.
Jean-Luc.
We must stop the others.
They cannot exhume the body.
We can't just leave him.
You must come.
I am your love.
I will take care of you.
I can't just let him die.
Beverly, come with me.
No.
I'm sorry.
I'm going to stop them.
Come on.
I'm alright.
Beverly, go after him.
Go to the cemetery.
La Forge to Enterprise.
We're ready here.
I am reading signs of anaphasic energy in her body.
- It extends to the cellular level.
- That's impossible.
She was nowhere near the station when Quint was killed.
She died of natural causes.
I suggest a deep-tissue scan to look for No! Ronin, stop this.
Stop this, please.
Beverly, it's alright.
Have trust in me.
You're not Nana.
Nana's dead.
Leave her alone! Beverly! Forgive me.
These men tried to stop us being together.
Once they're gone, everything will be right.
No, it won't.
You've infused me with the anaphasic energy that killed Quint.
He was trying to destroy me.
I had to defend myself.
My love.
I could never harm you.
I am here to protect you.
No, you're not.
There's no such thing as a ghost.
You are some sort of anaphasic life form.
Anaphasic energy is extremely unstable.
It needs an organic host to maintain molecular cohesion, or else you'll die.
Beverly.
I scanned the candle.
The flame is plasma-based.
You were using it as a receptacle to get to me, to merge with me.
You have been using me, Nana, my entire family for centuries! And I loved all of them! And they loved me! Give me the candle, Beverly.
No.
Put it down, or I will kill him.
Set it down and walk away.
No! Crusher to Riker.
Close off all plasma conduits at the weather-control system.
Understood.
You've nowhere left to go.
Yes.
I do.
Keep away from me.
Beverly.
I love you.
Beverly! Captain's log, supplemental.
La Forge and Data have recovered from exposure to anaphasic energy.
But Dr Crusher's recovery will be of a more personal nature.
Somehow, he realised that one of my ancestors had a biochemistry that was compatible with his energy matrix.
I imagine that he took on human form and seduced her like he did me.
I was about to be initiated into a very unusual relationship.
You might call it a family tradition.
But there's a part of me that's sad.
How so? I reread the entries in my grandmother's journals.
Whatever else he might have done, he made her very happy.