




                                         Screenplay by
                                 Michael Pillar & Rick Berman

                                                               
                                                                 REV. FINAL DRAFT
 
                                                                   March 12, 1998





                   FADE IN:

               1   TALL GRASS BLOWING GENTLY IN A BREEZE - DAY - (OPTICAL)      1

                   The sound of children playing, running through the
                   grass... as one boy (ARTIM, 12) pokes his head out, we
                   see by his facial skin pattern that he's an alien... his
                   cloths are simple, homespun. As other alien children
                   pursue him in a game of tag into the rocky foothills, we
                   BOOM UP to reveal a breathtaking view of a rural
                   community along a vast sparkling lake... mountains rising
                   in the background...some odd-like livestock graze
                   on the hillside...

               2   A FARM - LONG SHOT                                           2

                   A woman uses a bike pump to get well water...a man works
                   the soil in his fields, wipes his brow, waving to --

               3   A WOMAN (ANIJ, 38)                                           3

                   whose beauty immediately captivates us as she strolls
                   past the farm, the wind barely jostling her close cut
                   curly hair. She takes us to a busy outdoor farmers
                   market at the edge of a hand-constructed village set
                   against a natural rock face barrier. These are the Ba'ku
                   people and from the opening shots we can feel the simple
                   charms of this beautiful place... and who would blame us
                   for wanting to be there, to escape a life like this...
                   where people seem to have all the time in the world... to
                   chat with neighbors, taste a piece of fresh fruit and
                   enjoy the day... Anij nods hello to people including
                   SOJEF (male, 42), the community leader... she smiles as a
                   vendor slices a piece of fruit for her...

               4   NEW ANGLE - ANIJ - (OPTICAL)                                 4

                   From the point of view of the rock face behind the
                   village. Although we may not realize it yet, we are
                   watching through a window now... slightly discolored,
                   pulling back to see a mysterious figure in an isolation
                   suit standing incongruously beside her, his suit glowing
                   with a green force field. None of the Ba'ku are aware of
                   him as he takes readings with a sophisticated sensor
                   device built into his suit. Now our pullback reveals
                   we're inside a duck blind. Low lighting levels. A bi-
                   level gallery of Starfleet officers and members of an
                   alien race (the Son'a) observe the peaceful village scene
                   like sportswriters at the ballpark...

             5-9   VARIOUS ANGLES                                             5-9

                   as they enter data into their computers. Supernumeraries
                   move in and out of the main viewing room with PADDS...

              10   ANGLE TO INCLUDE THE FULL WINDOW (OPTICAL)                  10
         
                   Outside, several other cloaked figures move among the
                   unknowing Ba'ku...

              11   ANGLE - THE RANKING SON'A OFFICER (GALLATIN, 60)            11
                   (OPTICAL)

                   Inside the duck blind. Like all Son'a, his face is
                   stretched like a rubber band about to snap...they look
                   like victims of three too many cosmetic surgeries. He
                   studies a PADD from a supernumerary...

                                           GALLATIN
                             Admiral Dougherty is waiting for
                             this. Transmit it to the ship.

                   Suddenly a communications crackle on loudspeakers...

                                           MALE SON'A COM VOICE
                             Alert, area twelve...!

                   Now the sound of a weapon blast... turmoil...As the
                   blast echoes through the hills, the Ba'ku outside the
                   window react, turn their heads toward the sound...

                                           MALE SON'A COM VOICE
                                     (distressed)
                             ... the android has...

                   It crackles off... Gallatin moves to a companel...

                                           LIEUTENANT
                             Data, report to base immediately.

                                           DATA'S COM VOICE
                             Transferring... positronic...
                             matrix functions... engaging...
                             secondary protocols...

                   The running man starts pulling at his headgear.

                                           STARFLEET OFFICER #1
                             He's trying to remove the
                             headpiece...

                                           GALLATIN
                             All field units. Intercept the
                             android.
            
              12   OMITTED                         	                       12
            THRU                                                             THRU
              15                                                               15

              16   ANGLE - THROUGH WINDOW - (OPTICAL)                          16

                   as all the men in suits converge on the running man...
                   but with superhuman strength, he tosses them aside with
                   ease... Meanwhile Ba'ku people, unaware of the fight,
                   greet their children back, happy they're safe...

              17   EXT. MARKET - CONTINUOUS (OPTICAL) - ANGLE ON ARTIM         17

                   as he moves to Sojef, his father...

                                           SOJEF
                             It must have been some kind of
                             odd electrical storm...

                   But as Sojef speaks, Artim turns to see the floating head
                   of Data DECLOAKING in mid-air barely a yard away as he
                   removes his helmet... the boy yells... jumps back,
                   falling as Data makes eye contact with him. The Ba'ku
                   scatter... Sojef pulls the boy away to safety...

                                           DATA
                             Secondary protocols... active.

                   We notice a slashing burn wound on Data's neck as he
                   fights off an invisible force again... we hear a ripping
                   crunch and a green force field sputters briefly -- a Son'a
                   man in a torn isolation suit partially DECLOAKS as he is
                   slammed to the ground, unconscious. Data rips off the
                   rest of his suit revealing himself, picks up a weapon
                   from the unconscious Son'a, aims it at the rock face...

              18   INT. DUCK BLIND - (OPTICAL)                                 18

                   The observers dive for cover as he points the weapon this
                   way. But Data fires it to the left of the window...

              19   EXT. ROCK FACE - (OPTICAL)                                  19

                   And then fires again to the right... and again above...
                   each hit knocking out generators...
       
                   finally the rock face shimmers, like a computer image
                   breaking up, and disappears revealing the high-tech
                   stations behind it...

              20   ANGLE (OPTICAL)                                             20

                   All the invisible men in suits DECLOAK in the village.

              21   THROUGH THE DUCK BLIND WINDOW                               21

                   The scientists begin to poke their heads up from the
                   floor... exposed to the world outside...

              22   THE BA'KU IN HIDING PLACES                                  22

                   including Anij, Artim and Sojef react with shock...

                                           VARIOUS BA'KU
                             What is it? Who are they?

              23   DATA                                                        23

                   stands alone, satisfied with his mysterious work.

              24   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                     24

                   In orbit of an M-class planet.

              25   INT. PICARD'S QUARTERS                                      25

                   Close on the four Captain's pips on his uniform, and
                   moving back to reveal BEVERLY CRUSHER helping JEAN-LUC
                   PICARD fasten the collar on his jacket as DEANNA TROI
                   briefs him, glancing at a PADD. All are wearing formal
                   uniforms. They are running late.

                                           TROI
                             ... Population three hundred
                             million...

                                           PICARD
                             Say the greeting again...

                                           TROI
                             Yew-cheen chef-faw... emphasis
                             on the 'cheen' and the 'faw'...

                                           CRUSHER
                             You either need a new uniform or
                             a new neck.

                                           PICARD
                             'Yew-cheen chef-faw'... My collar
                             size is exactly the same as it
                             was at the Academy.

                                           CRUSHER
                                     (dry)
                             Sure it is. And your hair is
                             still chestnut brown.

                   Our angle clearly establishes Picard's white hair... she
                   finishes with the collar... overlapping the above
                   dialogue: a chime at the door, Troi answers it, letting
                   in WILL RIKER in his dress uniform.

                                           RIKER
                             Our guests have arrived and are
                             eating the floral arrangements on
                             the banquet tables...

                                           CRUSHER
                             I guess they don't believe in
                             cocktails before dinner...

                   As Picard leads the way out of the door...
                                           
                                           TROI
                                     (looking at her PADD)
                             Oh, my God, are they vegetarians?
                             That's not in here...

                                           PICARD
                             Better have the chef whip up a
                             light balsamic vinaigrette...
                             something that goes well with
                             chrysanthemums...

              26   INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS                                  26

                   Very up-tempo dialogue...

                            PICARD (CONT'D)               PERIM'S COM VOICE
                      Yew-cheen chef-faw...     Bridge to Captain
                                                Picard...

                                           PICARD
                             Yes, Ensign...
                                 
                                           PERIM'S COM VOICE
                             Command wants to know our ETA at
                             the Goren systsem...

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Riker)
                             The Goren system...?

                                           RIKER
                             They need us to mediate some
                             territorial dispute...

                                           PICARD
                                     (frustrated)
                             We can't delay the archaeological
                             expedition to Hanoran Two. It
                             would put us into the middle of
                             monsoon season...

                                           RIKER
                                     (can't be helped)
                             The Diplomatic Corps is busy with
                             Dominion negotiations.
 
                                           PICARD
                                     (sighs)
                             ... so they need us to put out one
                             more brush fire.
                                     (beat)
                             Anyone remember when we used to 
                             be explorers?

                   They enter...

              27   INT. TURBOLIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 27

                                           PICARD
                                     (refocussing)
                             'Yew-cheen chef-faw.'

                                           RIKER
                             Deck ten.

                                           TROI
                                     (resuming her
                                      briefing)
                             Remember; they have a
                             significantly less advanced
                             technology than ours... they only
                             achieved warp drive last year...

                                           CRUSHER
                             A year? And the Federation
                             Coucil decided to make them a
                             Protectorate already?

                                           PICARD
                             In view of our losses to the Borg
                             and the Dominion, the Coucil
                             feels we need all the allies we
                             can get these days.

                   As the turbolift doors open, we see much activity, can
                   hear music coming from the party... Picard puts on a
                   brighter face. As they exit...

                                           TROI
                             You'll be expected to dance with
                             Regent Cuzar...

                                           CRUSHER
                             Can she mambo...?

                                           PICARD 
                             Very funny...

                                           CRUSHER
                                     (off Riker & Troi's
                                      reactions)
                             Your Captain used to cut quite a
                             rug...

              28   INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS                                  28

                   Several officers in dress uniform move to make room for
                   the Captain's entourage... moving with them...

                                           FEMALE ENSIGN
                             Captain on deck!

                                           LA FORGE'S COM VOICE
                             La Forge to Picard. Captain, I
                             need to talk to you before you go
                             into the reception...

                   Before Picard can respond, he runs into Worf...

                                            WORF
                             Captain...

                                            PICARD
                             Worf, what the hell are you doing
                             here?

                         WORF                                  RIKER
                   I was at the Manzar colony       It's a little late,   
                   installing a new defense         Geordi... can it wait?
                   perimeter when I heard the
                   Enterprise was in this
                   sector...

                         PICARD                       LA FORGE'S COM VOICE
                   Stop by my quarters later;       I don't think so 
                   I have a few ideas about         Commander..  
                   Manzar security...
                         (non-stop to Riker)
                   Have him come to the 
                   reception... we'll talk 
                   here...

                   Picard moves into the banquet room, continuing to Worf --

                         PICARD                                RIKER
                   How's your bride?                The Captain wants you to
                                                    come over.

                         WORF                         LA FORGE'S COM VOICE
                   A challenge                      I'm on my way... tell him
                                                    we've recieved a
                         PICARD                     communique from Admiral
                   Then you were made for           Dougherty...
                   each other.

                                           LA FORGE'S COM VOICE (CONT'D)
                             It's about Data.

              29   INT. BANQUET ROOM                                           29

                   Maybe thirty Starfleet officers, most human but a few
                   Bajorans, Trills and Borians peppered about... a small
                   group of musicians play a festive tune. The crowd moves
                   back as their Captain enters and Troi escorts him to
                   REGENT CUZAR, 50 and her delegation of about eight
                   extremely short aliens... she's at least a foot shorter
                   than he is...

                                           PICARD
                             Yew-cheen chef-faw, Regent Cuzar.
                             Welcome aboard the Enterprise.

                                           CUZAR
                             Captain Picard, may I welcome you
                             in the time-honored tradition of
                             my people...
        
                   An aide steps forward and she takes an alien headpiece
                   from him and reaches up to put it on Picard's head...
                   Picard has to make himself shorter to make it work... the
                   other aliens throw tiny seeds over Picard and Cuzar (like
                   rice at a wedding)... Picard smiles, trying not to show
                   how silly he feels...
      
                                           CUZAR
                             We are so honored to be accepted
                             within the great Federation
                             family.
                                     (excusing him)
                             Please, I know you have other
                             guests to greet...

                                           PICARD
                             We have a dance later, I believe?

                                           CUZAR
                             I look forward to it.

                   One of her misters escorts her away, Picard turns to
                   Troi -

                                           PICARD
                             How are we supposed to dance?
                             Her head will be in my...

                   He's interrupted by GEORDI LA FORGE who approaches
                   looking concerned, holding a PADD, hands it to Picard...

                                           LA FORGE
                             Excuse me, sir. Admiral
                             Dougherty's aboard the Son'a ship
                             in sector four-four-one. He's
                             requesting Data's schematics...

                                           TROI
                             Is something wrong?

                                           LA FORGE
                             The message doesn't say.

                                           PICARD
                                     (concerned)
                             Data should have been back by
                             now. They were only scheduled to
                             observe the Ba'ku village for a
                             week.
                                     (to Geordi)
                             Set up a secured com-link to the
                             Admiral in the anteroom...

                   Geordi acknowledges, moves away... a Bolian science
                   officer grabs Picard by the arm...

                                           BOLIAN OFFICER
                             Captain, Hars Adislo, we met at
                             the Nel Bato Conference last
                             year... did you ever have a
                             chance to read my paper on
                             thermionic transconductance...?

                   As Picard reacts, smiling with no recollection...

              30   A MONITOR -- INT. ANTEROOM OFF BANQUET ROOM - (OPTICAL)     30

                   Admiral MATTHEW DOUGHERTY, 69, a confident, charismatic
                   officer is transmitting from a Son'a ship.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             He's not acknowledging any
                             Starfleet protocols... not
                             responding to any of our hails...

                   We pull back to see we're in a small room off the
                   reception... Picard faces the monitor (he's removed the
                   headpiece). Geordi observes. A Starfleet Ensign stands
                   guard just outside the door to make sure they're not
                   disturbed.

                                           PICARD
                             You have no idea what
                             precipitated his behavior?

                                           DOUGHERTY
                                     (shakes his head)
                             ... And now he's holding our
                             people hostage down there...

                                           PICARD
                             The Enterprise can be at your
                             position in two days, Admiral...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             That's probably not a good idea.
                             Your ship hasn't been fitted for
                             this region; there are
                             environmental concerns...

                                           PICARD
                             What kind of concerns?

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             We haven't fully identified the
                             anomalies yet. They're calling
                             this whole area The Briar
                             Patch... it took us a day to reach
                             a location where we could get a
                             signal out to you. Just get me
                             Data's schematics. I'll keep you
                             informed.
                                     (Picard acknowledges)
                             Dougherty out.

                   The screen returns to a starfield.

                                           PICARD
                             Send him the schematics.

                   Geordi acknowledges.

                                           PICARD
                             Ensign...

                                           ENSIGN
                                     (moving inside)
                             Sir?

                                           PICARD
                             Report to the galley and tell the
                             chef to skip the fish course.

                   The Ensign gives a puzzled reaction but an order is an
                   order. He exits. Geordi gives his Captain a curious
                   look.

                                           PICARD
                             I want our guests to depart as
                             quickly a etiquette allows.
                             I'll ask Worf to delay his return
                             to DS9 so he can join us. We're
                             going to stop by sector four-four-
                             one on our way to the Goren
                             system.

                                           LA FORGE
                                     (understanding)
                             They... are in opposite
                             directions, sir...

                                           PICARD
                                     (dry)
                             Are they...?

                   La Forge smiles, leaves. Picard takes a beat to collect
                   himself and we may sense how the clutter in a Captain's
                   life may wear him down. He puts the alien headpiece back
                   on with sullen eyes...  then restores his diplomat's face
                   and returns to the reception...

              31   EXT. SPACE - SON'A SHIP - (OPTICAL)                         31

                   moving toward a ringed planet well in the distance,
                   passing slowly through wisps of space matter...
                   wonderful, glowing plasma tendrils like legs of a
                   gigantic tarantula dotted by low density gas clouds...

              32   INT. SON'A SHIP BODY ENHANCEMENT FACILITY - (OPTICAL)       32

                   Low lighting. Strange futuristic dialysis machines pump
                   fluids in and out of reclined Son'a men and women... the
                   women use powder and heavy but carefully applied make-up
                   to obscure their faces. Son'a costumes are made of
                   expensive fabrics with latinum chains and exquisite
                   jewels as accessories, suggesting a wealthy culture that
                   values materialism. Sexy female attendants from various
                   alien races, dressed provocatively, work with laser tools
                   to repair cracked, raw skin off Son'a faces. We move to
                   find RU'AFO, 63, the Son'a Ahdar (Commander), reclining
                   getting an elaborate facial from two beauties, creams and
                   oils massaged into his skin by their gentle fingertips...

                                           RU'AFO
                             I should have never let you talk
                             me into the duck blind in the
                             first place...

                   Reveal Admiral Dougherty observing, wearing a crisp,
                   Starfleet uniform... he looks and feels out of place
                   here, but such are the demands of alien alliances...

                                           RU'AFO (CONT'D)
                             Your Federation procedures have
                             made this mission ten times as
                             difficult as it needed to be...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Our procedures were in place to
                             protect the planet's population
                             from unnecessary risk...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Planet's population. Six hundred
                             people. You want to avoid
                             unnecessary risks? Next time
                             leave your android home.

                                           SON'A OFFICER #1'S COM VOICE
                             Bridge to Ahdar Ru'afo. We're
                             approaching the planet.

                   He motions to the girls to finish up, presses his
                   personal comlink, answering the call...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Take us into a high orbit.
                                    (as he rises from the
                                     chair)
                             Lie down, Admiral. The girls
                             will take twenty years off your
                             face...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Another time.

                   Ru'afo studies his own face in the mirror...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Your self-restraint puzzles me,
                             Admiral. You continue to deny
                             yourself every benefit this
                             mission has to offer...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             I prefer to wait until we can
                             share the benefits with all the
                             people of the Federation... 

                   Suddenly, boom! The ship is hit by a blast. Ru'afo
                   reacts, leads the way out....

              33   INT. SON'A BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                               33

                   As Ru'afo and Dougherty enter...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Report.

                                           SON'A OFFICER #1
                             Phaser blast. Unknown origin.

                                           RU'AFO
                             Raise shields.
                                     (another blast)
                             Take us out of orbit.

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Photon torpedoes.  Brace for
                             impact!

                   Blam... again... and again... serious hits...

                                           SON'A COMPUTER VOICE
                             Warning. Outer hull damage, deck
                             three...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #1
                             Visual contact!

                   On the viewscreen the attacking ship moves suddenly into
                   view from a low density gas cloud like a destroyer
                   emerging from a fog bank... it is a Federation Scout ship --
                   small but impressive, with windows at the forward
                   cockpit... the Admiral reacts...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             That's our ship.

              34   EXT. SPACE - CLOSE VIEW: THE SCOUT - (OPTICAL)              34

                   as it moves at us, firing one last blast which
                   illuminates the pilot for a instant and we clearly see
                   the face of Data through the window...

              35   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                     35
        
                    at warp, in normal space...

              36   INT. PICARD'S QUARTERS - (OPTICAL)                          36

                   Close on the replicator. An allegro chamber music piece
                   in the background...

                                           PICARD (O.C.)
                             Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

                   The tea appears as we pull back to reveal Picard studying
                   a PADD... he reaches out for the tea without his eyes
                   ever leaving his reading... walks across the room and
                   sits at a dining table that has stacks of various work
                   materials... more PADDS, charts and graphs and maps... a
                   half-eaten salad sits in front of him... and in a move
                   that would challenge the world's greatest juggler, he
                   pokes a fork of salad into his mouth with one hand as he
                   sips his tea with the other, finding a spot to prop the
                   PADD so he can still read... and now, his mind, asking a 
                   silent question, reaching over to grab a chart, and as he
                   pulls it over, he also spills the salad plate splashing
                   gorgonzolla dressing over his jacket... sighs... a chime
                   at the door...

                                           PICARD
                             Who is it?

                                           RIKER (O.C.)
                             Commander Riker...

                   Picard looks at himself, shrugs, what the hell...

                                           PICARD
                             Come...

                   Riker enters with a PADD, eyes drawn to Picard's stained
                   jacket...

                                           PICARD
                             I'm the casualty of a working 
                             lunch.

                   Picard takes off his jacket... and as the scene
                   continues, he changes.

                                           PICARD (CONT'D)
                             I've been going over the few star
                             charts we have of this "Briar
                             Patch". It's full of supernova
                             remnants, false vacuum
                             fluctuations...

                   Riker looks at the star chart, brushes it off...

                                           RIKER
                             ... and gorgonzolla cheese.

                                           PICARD
                             We won't be able to go any faster
                             than one-third impulse in that
                             muck...

                                           RIKER
                                     (handing him the PADD)
                             Nothing dangerous turned up in
                             the astrometric survey...

                                           PICARD
                             So where are the 'environmental
                             concerns' the Admiral was talking
                             about?

                                           RIKER
                                     (shrugs)
                             The only unusual readings were
                             low levels of metaphasic
                             radiation from interstellar dust
                             across the region...

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             Bridge to Captain Picard. We are
                             approaching sector four-four-one.

                                           PICARD
                             Slow to impulse. We're on our
                             way.

                   Picard leads the way out...

              37   EXT. SPACE - THE BRIAR PATCH - (OPTICAL)                    37

                   The edge of the dangerous and beautiful region...

                   moving to find the Enterprise approaching at impulse...

              38   INT. BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                                     38

                   Seeing the Patch on the viewscreen... Worf at tactical,
                   ENSIGN KELL PERIM, female Trill, 29, at Conn... Troi at
                   command, La Forge at Ops... as Picard and Riker enter...

                                           LA FORGE
                             We're about to lose
                             communications with Starfleet,
                             Captain.

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Troi)
                             Do you have everything you need
                             from command?

                                           TROI
                             We've downloaded all the files on
                             the duck blind mission as well as
                             intelligence reports on the
                             Son'a.

                                           PICARD
                                     (including Riker)
                             You have two days to become
                             experts... Mister Worf, your job
                             and mine will be to find a plan
                             to safely capture Data.

                   Worf holds up a modified tricorder...

                                           WORF
                             I've already modified a tricorder
                             with one of his spare actuation
                             servos. Its operational range is
                             only seven meters but it should
                             shut him down...

                                           PICARD
                                     (appreciating his
                                      initiative)
                             It's good to have you back, Worf.
                                     (he sits)
                             Slow to one-third. Take us in.

              39   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                     39

                   as it moves slowly into The Patch.

              40   INT. ENTERPRISE LIBRARY                                     40

                   Significantly electronic... many computer stations... a
                   few real books... Troi and Riker work at parallel
                   computer stations... people are at other stations...

                                           TROI
                                     (off her computer)
                             The Son'a discovered an M-class
                             planet with humanoid life six 
                             months ago. Turned out it's in
                             us to get approval for a 
                             sociological study. The 
                             Federation Council suggested it
                             be a joint mission...

                                           RIKER
                             Why was Data assigned?

                                           TROI
                             "Environmental concerns", again.
                             An android could be safely
                             exposed to the elements during
                             the installation of a duck
                             blind...

                                           LIBRARIAN(C.O.)
                             Sssshhh...

                   They turn to see -- a middle-aged, prune-faced woman at a
                   desk, looking sternly at them... Troi goes back to her
                   reading but seems distracted... sees a paper notepad on
                   the desk, rips off a shred and, during the following
                   exchange, starts to press it between her thumb and
                   forefinger into a little ball. Whispering now --

                                           RIKER
                             I don't see anything to suggest
                             the Son'a have any interest in
                             sociology...

                                           TROI
                             What are they interested in...?

                                           RIKER
                             Wine, women and song.

                                           TROI
                             You should feel right at home
                             with them.

                   She throws the ball of paper and hits Riker on the side
                   of the head... he turns but she's looking innocently at 
                   her screen... he rolls a little paper ball himself...

                                           RIKER
                             Nomadic, collectors of precious
                             metals, jewels...

                                           TROI
                                     (joking)
                             Hmm, I should feel right at home
                             with them...

                                           RIKER
                             You're in luck... it says here
                             they've taken women from several
                             races as indentured servants.

                   Just as he's about to throw his paper ball back at her...
                   he sees the librarian staring at him... Riker, caught,
                   sheepishly turns back to his computer... a beat...

                                           RIKER
                                     (reacts)
                             Look at this...

                   She stands, leaning over Riker's shoulder to see his
                   computer, putting one arm on the desk...

                                           RIKER (CONT'D)
                             'The Son'a have been suspected of
                             producing mass quantities of the
                             narcotic ketracel-white... their
                             ships are rumored to be equipped
                             with isolytic subspace weapons
                             outlawed by the Second Khitomer
                             Accord...'

              41   ANGLE EMPHASIZING HER BREAST                                41

                   as it rests gently on his upper arm... and he's deeply
                   aware of that breast touching him...

                                           TROI
                             Why would we be involved with
                             these people?

                                           RIKER
                             Good question.

                   They exchange a brief glance that has nothing to do with 
                   the Son'a. As his eyes return to the computer scrolling,
                   she casually plays with hair at the nape of his neck...

                                           RIKER
                             You haven't done that in a long
                             time...

                                           TROI
                             What...?

                                           RIKER
                             What you're doing to my neck...

                                           TROI
                                     (flirtatiously)
                             Was I doing something to your
                             neck?

                   He pauses his scrolling as he comes to something
                   curious...

                                           RIKER
                             It says here that some form of
                             genetic damage has apparently
                             prevented the Son'a from
                             procreating...

                                           TROI
                             No children?

                                           RIKER
                             If that's true, they're a dying
                             race.
                   
                   Suddenly, a tiny ball of paper hits Riker...

                                           RIKER
                             Hey...

                   He turns to see an alien ensign looking too innocently at
                   his computer. The librarian's eyes fix on Riker and
                   Troi, obvious troublemakers... Troi points to Riker...

                                           TROI
                             He started it.

                   Riker reacts, starts to leave... Troi follows...

                                           RIKER
                             I didn't do anything, I swear it.

             41A   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE (OPTICAL)                      41A

                   As it continues slowly through The Briar Patch...

              42   INT. WORF'S QUARTERS                                        42

                   Dark. Worf asleep in bed, an alarm already beeping...

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             Bridge to Commander Worf...

                   Worf begins to stir... then his eyes open and he realizes
                   the alarm is going off... he sits up...

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             Worf?

                                           WORF
                             Captain?

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             I don't know how they do it on
                             Deep Space Nine... but on the
                             Enterprise, we still report for
                             duty on time.

                   Worf stands in the dark, bumping his head as he does...

                   INTERCUT:

              43   INT. BRIDGE                                                 43

                   Picard at command... La Forge at Ops... Perim at conn...
                   LIEUTENANT NARA, human male, 35, at Tactical...

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             I... I must have slept through my
                             alarm. I'm on my way...

                                           PICARD
                             We'll skip the court martial this
                             time... Picard out.

                   A beat as Picard listens to the sound of his ship, raises
                   an eyebrow... we hear nothing... he moves forward to
                   La Forge and Perim...

                                           PICARD
                             When was the last time we aligned
                             our torque sensors...

                                           PERIM
                             Two months ago, sir...

                                           PICARD
                             They don't sound right.

                   La Forge and Perim react, work the controls, exchange a
                   look at the results...

                                           LA FORGE
                             The torque sensors are out of
                             alignment... by twelve microns...
                             you could hear that?

                                           PICARD
                                     (pleased with himself)
                             When I was an ensign, I could
                             detect a three-micron mis-
                             alignment...

                                           NARA
                             Excuse me, sir. The Son'a ship                        
                             with Admiral Dougherty aboard has
                             entered tracking range...

                                           PICARD
                             Try to hail them.

                    A disheveled and embarrassed Worf enters...

                                           NARA
                             Admiral Dougherty responding.

                   Worf replaces Nara...

                                           PICARD
                             Straighten your baldric,
                             Commander. On screen...

              44   ANGLE - INCLUDE THE VIEWSCREEN - (OPTICAL)                  44

                   Dougherty and Ru'afo are sitting in Ru'afo's tactical
                   room, opulently decorated for a spaceship.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Captain, I wasn't expecting you.
                             
                                           PICARD
                             This was too important for the
                             Enterprise to be on the
                             sidelines, Admiral...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             I wish I had better news.
                             Commander Data attacked us in the
                             mission scout ship yesterday.
                             Ru'afo and I have decided to send
                             in an assault team...

                                           PICARD
                             Sir, Commander Worf and I have
                             been working on several tactical
                             plans to safely...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Your android has turned
                             dangerously violent, Captain...
                             Considerable damage was done to
                             my ship. He must be destroyed.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             I know what Data means to
                             Starfleet, Jean-Luc... but our
                             crew is at the mercy of those
                             people on the planet...

                                           PICARD
                             If our first attempt to capture
                             Data fails, I will terminate him.
                                     (beat)
                             I should be the one to do it.
                             I'm his Captain. And his friend.

                   Dougherty pauses to consider but Ru'afo wants none of
                   Picard.

                                           RU'AFO
                             It isn't safe for you to remain
                             in this area.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             He's right. Our shields have
                             been upgraded to protect against
                             the environmental anomalies...

                                           PICARD
                             We haven't noticed any ill
                             effects.

                   The Admiral studies him a long beat, is sympathetic to
                   Picard's position.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             All right. You have twelve
                             hours, Captain. Then I want you
                             out of The Briar Patch. In the
                             meantime, we'll be heading out to
                             the perimeter to call for Son'a
                             reinforcements in case you fail.

                                           PICARD
                             Understood.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Good luck. Dougherty out.

                   His image disappears. On Picard's expression...

              45   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                     45

                   As the bay door slides open and a shuttle emerges... moves
                   through the gas clouds toward the beautiful ringed
                   planet...

              46   INT. SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                                    46

                   Worf and Picard at the controls...

                                           WORF
                             Sensors are not picking up any
                             ships coming from the surface...

                                           PICARD
                             Transmit a wide band co-variant
                             signal. That'll get his
                             attention.

                                           WORF
                                     (touches panel)
                             He might be using the planet's
                             rings to mask his approach.

                                           PICARD
                                     (off sensors)
                             The metaphasic radiation in those
                             rings is in a state of extreme
                             flux. Steer clear of them,
                             Mister Worf...

                   A beat. Watching and waiting.

                                           PICARD
                             Come out, come out wherever you
                             are...

                                           WORF
                             Sir?

                                           PICARD
                             Hmm? Oh, it's just something my
                             mother used to...

                   Suddenly, wham -- a blast...

                                           PICARD
                             Hold on.

                   He hits the controls and they climb sharply...

              47   EXT. SPACE - THE SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                        47

                   evading phaser shots form the scout... the planet
                   providing a dramatic backdrop...

              48   INT. SHUTTLE                                                48

                                           PICARD
                             Open all hailing frequencies.
                                     (Worf acknowledges)
                             Data, this is Captain Picard...

              49   INT. SCOUT - CLOSEUP DATA - (OPTICAL)                       49

                   Windows showing a gas cloud outside...

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE (CONT'D)
                             ... please acknowledge...

                   Data ignores him, continues to fire...

              50   EXT. SPACE - THE SCOUT - (OPTICAL)                          50

                   moving through the dark clouds, pursuing the shuttle,
                   firing phasers...

              51   INT. SHUTTLE                                                51

                   More shots connect... more sharp evasive maneuvers...

                                           WORF
                             Sir, if we fire a tachyon burst,
                             it may force him to reset his
                             shield harmonics. When he does,
                             we could beam him out...

                                           PICARD
                             Make it so.

              52   OMITTED                                                     52

              53   EXT. SPACE - THE SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                        53
                   
                   fires a tachyon burst...

             53A   THE SCOUT - (OPTICAL)                                      53A

                   the blast connects...

              54   INT. SHUTTLE                                                54
 
                                           WORF
                             Direct hit. He's resetting his
                             shield harmonics...

                                           PICARD
                             Beam him out!

              55   NEW ANGLE INCLUDING THE TRANSPORTER PAD -  (OPTICAL)        55

                   which wheezes unsuccessfully... they react...

                                           WORF
                             He's activated a transport
                             inhibitor.

                                           PICARD
                             Prepare to enter the
                             atmosphere... we'll use the
                             ionospheric boundary to shake
                             him...

              56   EXT. SPACE - UPPER ATMOSPHERE - SCOUT/ SHUTTLE -            56
                   DAY (OPTICAL)

                   The shuttle blasts through the atmosphere attempting to
                   shake off the scout...

              57   INT. SHUTTLE                                                57

                   Picard works hard to stabilize the ship...

                                           WORF
                             Scanners are off line!

                                           PICARD
                             Evasive maneuvers... heading one-
                             four-zero mark three-one...

                   Then, wham... wham... WHAM! Gas shoots from the
                   ceiling... Worf tries to stop it...

              58   THROUGH THE WINDOW - (OPTICAL)                              58

                   to see the Scout zooming past, so close that Picard and
                   Data can even make eye contact... Picard works to avoid
                   him again...

                                           PICARD
                             He can fly a ship, he anticipates
                             tactical strategies, his brain is
                             obviously functioning...
                             We've seen how he responds to
                             threats. I wonder how he'd
                             respond to...

                   Another shot connects...

                                           PICARD
                                     (a new idea)
                             Do you know Gilbert and Sullivan?

                                           WORF
                             No, sir. I haven't had a chance to
                             meet all the new crew members
                             since I've been back...

                                           PICARD
                             They're composers, Worf, from the
                             nineteenth century. Data was
                             rehearsing a part in H.M.S.
                             Pinafore before he left...
                                     (singing to com)
                             "A British tar is a soaring soul,
                             As free as a mountain bird, His
                             energetic first should be ready to
                             resist A dictatorial word..."

                   Picard looks at Worf, nods, join me! Worf gives him an
                   exasperated look...  Picard begins to enter commands into
                   the computer as he continues to sing...

              59   OMITTED                                                     59
               &                                                                &
              60                                                               60

              61   INT. SCOUT                                                  61

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE (CONT'D)
                             "His nose should pant and his lip
                             should curl, His cheeks should
                             flame and his brow should
                             furl..."
          
                   Data reacts.

                   From somewhere inside his damaged brain, he recalls this
                   song. He starts to sing to himself...

                                           DATA/PICARD'S COM VOICE
                                     (together)
                             "His bosom should heave and his
                             heart should glow, and his fist
                             be ready for a knock-down
                             blow..."

              62   INT. SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                                    62

                   The lyrics are scrolling on a monitor now... a bouncing
                   ball making it easier for Worf to follow...

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Worf)
                             Sing!

                                           PICARD AND WORF
                             "His nose should pant and his lip
                             should curl, his cheeks should
                             flame and his brow should
                             furl..."

              63   INT. SCOUT                                                  63

                   And Data sings in unison --

                                           DATA/PICARD/WORF'S COM VOICES
                                     (CONT'D)
                             "... His bosom should heave and
                             his heart should glow... And his
                             fist be ready for a knock-down
                             blow..."

              64   INT. SHUTTLE                                                64

                   Picard catches his breath, turns off the companel.

                                           PICARD
                             He's stopped firing.

                   Suddenly from the speaker --

                                           DATA'S COM VOICE
                             "His eyes should flash with an
                             inborn fire, His brow should scorn
                             be wrung; he never should bow
                             down to a domineering frown, Or
                             the tang of a tyrant tongue..."

                                           PICARD
                                     (smiles, triumphant)
                             Prepare the docking clamps.

                   Worf moves to a rear panel as Picard sings with Data...

                                           PICARD/ DATA'S COM VOICE
                             "... His foot should stamp..."

              65   INT. SCOUT                                                  65

                   Data, mesmerized by the song, is not paying attention to
                   his sensors...

                                           DATA/PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             "... and his throat should growl,
                             His hair should twirl and his
                             face should scowl..."

              66   EXT. SCOUT AND SHUTTLE - DAY - CONTINUOUS (OPTICAL)         66

                   As the shuttle moves within yards, even feet, of the
                   scout... sliding under the belly of Data's craft...

                                           DATA/PICARD'S VOICES
                                     (muffled)
                             "... His eyes should flash and his
                             breast protrude, And this should
                             be his customary attitude --"

              67   CLOSE - THE DOCKING CLAMP - (OPTICAL)                       67

                   on the roof of the shuttle extends and with a magnetic
                   jolt attaches itself to the scout.
  
                                           DATA/PICARD'S VOICES
                             ... His foot should stamp and his
                             throat should growl..."

              68   INT. SCOUT                                                  68

                   Data feels the jolt, reacts, stops singing, his programs
                   clinking back into a defense mode...

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             "His hair should twirl and his
                             face should scowl..."

                   Data checks his sensors, hits a panel and...

              69   EXT. SCOUT AND SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                          69

                   as the scout rocks back and forth trying to shake the
                   shuttle loose...

              70   INT. SHUTTLE                                                70

                   Picard and Worf hold on for dear life...

                                           WORF
                             Sir, inertial coupling is
                             exceeding tolerance... if we
                             don't release him, he may destroy
                             both vessels...

                                           PICARD
                             I'm not letting go of him.

              71   EXT. SCOUT AND SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                          71

                   They begin to spin and spiral downwards...

              72   INT. SCOUT - (OPTICAL)                                      72

                   Data still trying to free his ship... the surface
                   spinning and looming closer through the window...

                                           COMPUTER VOICE
                             Warning. Impact with surface...

              73   INT. SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                                    73

                   The same view of the surface through their window...

                                           COMPUTER VOICE
                             ... in twenty seconds.

                                           PICARD
                             Reroute emergency power to
                             inertial dampers!

                                           WORF
                             The damping sequencer was damaged
                             by phaser fire!

                                           PICARD
                             Transferring controls to manual.

                                           COMPUTER VOICE
                             Warning. Impact with surface...

              74   INT. SCOUT - (OPTICAL)                                      74

                   As before.

                                           COMPUTER VOICE
                             ... in ten seconds.

              75   INT. SHUTTLE - (OPTICAL)                                    75
 
                                           WORF
                             Damping field established!

                                           PICARD
                             Maximum power!

              76   EXT. SCOUT AND SHUTTLE (OPTICAL)                            76

                   The shuttle gains control sweeping both ships into a hard
                   arc parallel to the surface, only a dozen yards above the
                   surface.

              77   INT. SCOUT (OPTICAL)                                        77

                   Data reacts to a hatch being blown open on the floor
                   behind him, turns to see Worf aiming the modified
                   tricorder at him... Worf presses a button, nothing
                   happens... Data looks curiously at him... then lunges at
                   him, but Worf extends his arm and presses the button
                   again and Data shuts off in mid-lunge and falls
                   motionless, inches from Worf. He presses his combadge...

                                           WORF
                             Captain...

              78   INT. SHUTTLE                                                78

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             Commander Data is safely in
                             custody.

                   Picard takes a deep breath... satisfied.

              79   OMITTED                                                     79
               &                                                                &
              80                                                               80

              81   EXT. VILLAGE - DAY (OPTICAL)                                81

                   The hostages are sitting at wooden tables with the Ba'ku
                   having lunch, the Son'a quietly keeping to themselves at
                   separate tables. To the side, Artim and friends play a
                   game (TBD) that displays extraordinary hand-eye
                   coordination, well beyond human abilities.

              82   ANGLE - PICARD, TROI AND CRUSHER                            82
          
                   and several engineers enter the village on foot, phasers
                   drawn, their faces curious at the picnic before them...
                   the hum of conversation fades... for a moment, it almost
                   seems that the hostages are sorry to seem them...
                   Gallatin and the Starfleet lieutenant move to Picard...
          
                                           GALLATIN
                             Captain, Subahdar Gallatin, Son'a
                             Command.

                                           LIEUTENANT
                             Lieutenant Curtis, attach, to
                             Admiral Dougherty.

                                           PICARD
                             Are you all right?

                                           LIEUTENANT
                             We've been treated extremely well
                             by these people.

                   The children have resumed their game. Troi observes them
                   with keen interest... Picard notices...

                                           PICARD
                             Counselor?

                                           TROI
                             They have an incredible clarity
                             of perception, Captain. I've
                             never encountered a species with
                             such mental discipline...

                   Sojef, Anij and several of the Ba'ku, including another
                   village leader, TOURNEL (35), move toward them.

                                           SOJEF
                             My name is Sojef, Captain.

                                           PICARD
                             Jean-Luc Picard... my officers
                             Doctor Crusher and Counselor
                             Troi.

                                           SOJEF
                             Would you like something to eat?
                   
                                           PICARD
                             No, we're here to... rescue them.

                                           SOJEF
                             As you wish. But I would ask you
                             to disarm yourselves. This
                             village is a sanctuary of life.

                   Picard measures the request... then holsters his
                   phaser... the rest of the away team does the same...

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Crusher and Troi)
                             Prepare to transport the
                             'hostages' to the ship...

                                           CRUSHER
                             They should be quarantined
                             before joining the ship's
                             population.

                   Picard nods. They move off with Gallatin and the
                   Lieutenant. The work crew moves to disassemble the duck
                   blind.

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Sojef)
                             We were under the impression they
                             were being held against their
                             will.

                                           ANIJ
                             It's not our custom to have
                             guests here at all, let alone
                             hold anyone against their will.

                   Picard makes eye contact with Anij... her tone is not
                   harsh, but we can sense an inner strength in this woman.

                                           SOJEF
                             The artificial lifeform would not
                             allow them to leave. He told us
                             they were our enemies and more
                             would follow.

                                           ANIJ
                             Are you our enemy?

                                           SOJEF
                             Anij...

                                           PICARD 
                             My people have a strict policy of
                             non-interference with other
                             cultures. In fact, it's our Prime
                             Directive.

                                           ANIJ
                                     (dry, with a smile)
                             Your directive apparently doesn't
                             include spying on other cultures.

                                           PICARD
                             If I were in your shoes, I'd feel
                             the same way after what happened.
                                     (beat)
                             The 'artificial lifeform' is a
                             member of my crew. Apparently,
                             he became... ill...

                                           TOURNEL
                             There did seem to be a phase
                             variance in the positronic matrix
                             that we were unable to repair.

                   Picard reacts, not the sort of thing one expects to hear
                   from someone in a place like this...

                                           ANIJ
                             I believe the Captain finds it
                             hard to believe that we'd have
                             any skills repairing a positronic
                             device...

                                           SOJEF
                             Our technological abilities
                             aren't apparent because we've
                             chosen not to employ them in our
                             daily lives. We believe when you
                             create a machine to do the work
                             of a man, you take something away
                             from the man.

                                           ANIJ
                                     (don't take us
                                      lightly)
                             But at one time, we explored the
                             galaxy just as you do...

                                           PICARD
                             You have warp capability?
                                 
                                           ANIJ
                             Capability, yes. But where can
                             warp drive take us, except away
                             from here...?

                   Clearly establishing that she and her people have very
                   little interest in life beyond their world. Picard
                   allows himself to take in this glorious setting... a
                   humming bird hovers briefly nearby... it is the kind of
                   paradise that would appeal to any contemporary man trying
                   to escape the clutter of his life if only for a brief
                   respite... and at least, to that extent --

                                           PICARD
                             I understand.

                   In the background, the Starfleet hostages embrace their
                   hosts as they say farewell...

                                           PICARD
                             I apologize for our intrusion.

    
              83   INT. READY ROOM - (OPTICAL)                                 83

                   Picard talks to Dougherty on a monitor...

                                           PICARD
                             ... and because they have warp
                             capabilities, the consequences to
                             their society are minimal...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             You've done a terrific job, Jean-
                             Luc. Now, pack your bags and get 
                             the hell out of there. How's
                             Data?

                                           PICARD
                             In stasis. La Forge is
                             completing the diagnostic.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                                     (acknowledge)
                             I'll need all your paperwork
                             tomorrow. We're heading back
                             your way. Set a course to
                             rendezvous with us so you can
                             transfer the crew and equipment
                             on your way out.

                                           PICARD
                             You're not finished here?

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Just a few loose ends to tie up.
                             Dougherty out.

                   Picard turns off the monitor, glances at the pile of work
                   PADDS -- his "paperwork" -- on his desk without
                   pleasure... 

                   picks one up and begins to study it for a beat... then is 
                   drawn to the window, where he can see the warm inviting
                   planet below.

              84   INT. TROI'S OFFICE                                          84

                   She's sitting on the sofa making some notes on a PADD
                   when the door chimes...

                                           TROI
                             Come in.
                                     (Riker enters)
                             Hi.

                                           RIKER
                             Got a minute? I... need a little
                             counseling.
                                     (off her surprise)
                             First time for everything. Do
                             I... lie down... or what?

                                           TROI
                             Whatever makes you comfortable...

                   Riker lies down, only he winds up with his head on her
                   lap looking up at her...

                                           TROI
                             This isn't one of the usual
                             therapeutic postures...

                                           RIKER
                             But it's comfortable.

                                           TROI
                             Why don't you try sitting up?

                                           RIKER
                             Or you could try lying down.

                                           TROI
                             You're in quite a mood today.

                   He finally sits up, stealing a kiss along the way... she
                   rises shocked but not upset...

                                           TROI
                             Do you really need counseling or
                             did you come down here to play?

                   Riker is on his feet now, approaching her. She retreats.

                                           RIKER
                             Both.
                                     (off her look)
                             I think I'm having a mid-life
                             crisis...

                                           TROI
                                     (retreating)
                             ... I believe you...

                                           RIKER
                             ... I'm not sleeping well...

                                           TROI
                             ... Doctor Crusher has something
                             that'll take care of that...

                   She allows him to catch her...

                                           RIKER
                             What I need, I can't get from
                             Doctor Crusher...
                                     (inches away)
                             Counselor, do you think it's
                             possible for two people to go
                             back in time to fix a mistake
                             they've made?

                                           TROI
                             On this ship, anything can
                             happen. And usually does.

                   He closes the gap between them, kisses her deeply.

                                           TROI
                             Augh.

                                           RIKER
                             Augh?

                                           TROI
                             I never kissed you with a beard 
                             before.

                   She pushes him out the door...

                                           RIKER
                             I kiss you and you say 'augh'?!

                   She hits the panel and the door slides closed in his
                   face... a tiny grin comes to her face...

              85   INT. ENGINEERING CORRIDOR - MOVING WITH PICARD &            85
                   LA FORGE

                   La Forge has a headache he's trying to work through... he
                   shows Picard several burned components...

                                           LA FORGE
                             I took these out of Data's neural
                             net... they contain memory
                             engrams...

                                           PICARD
                             Do you know how they were
                             damaged?

                                           LA FORGE
                             By a Son'a weapon.
                                     (off Picard's look)
                             There's no doubt about it, sir.
                             That's what made Data
                             malfunction.

                                           PICARD
                             The Son'a reports claim they
                             didn't fire until after he
                             malfunctioned.

                                           LA FORGE
                             I don't believe it happened that
                             way.

                                           PICARD
                             Why would they fire at him
                             without provocation?

                                           LA FORGE
                             All I know is that he was
                             functioning normally until he was
                             shot. Then, his fail-safe system
                             was activated...

                                           PICARD
                             Fail-safe?

                                           LA FORGE
                             His ethical and moral subroutines
                             took over all of his basic
                             functions...

                                           PICARD
                             So, you're saying he still knew
                             the difference between right and
                             wrong.

                                           LA FORGE
                             In a sense, that's all he knew.
                             The system is designed to protect
                             him against anyone who might try
                             to take advantage of his memory
                             loss.

                                           PICARD
                             And yet he attacked us. And told
                             the Ba'ku we were a threat...

                   'Why?' is the unspoken question on Picard's face.

              86   ANGLE                                                       86

                   They reach a door with a significant security system in
                   place... Geordi hits several panels... Picard notices his
                   eye discomfort...

                                           PICARD
                             Implants bothering you?

                                           LA FORGE
                             It's nothing. I'm just tired.

                   The door slides open to reveal a closet-sized space with
                   Data mounted on the wall in a diagnostic device... Geordi
                   touches a panel which activates Data...

                                           PICARD
                             Hello, Data...

                                           DATA
                             Captain, Geordi...?

                                           PICARD
                             You're aboard the Enterprise.

                                           LA FORGE
                             You've had a serious malfunction.

                                           DATA
                                     (going inward a beat)
                             I seem to be missing several
                             memory engrams...

                   Geordi holds up the damaged components for him to see.

                                           DATA
                             Yes... that looks like them.

                                           PICARD
                             What's the last thing you
                             remember, Data...

                                           DATA
                                     (searching his
                                      memory, signs)
                             'his nose should pant and his lip
                             should curl...'

                                           PICARD
                             From the mission...

                                           DATA
                             I was in an isolation suit
                             collecting physiometric data on
                             Ba'ku children. My last memory
                             is going into the hills,
                             following a boy...

              87   EXT. VILLAGE - DAY - (OPTICAL)                              87

                   Artim is playing with a tiny 'palm-pet', a colorful cross
                   between a caterpillar and a jellyfish that crawls over
                   his hand and between his fingers, as Sojef moves over
                   with Picard and Data... the boy looks at Data with fear
                   in his eyes. Data can't help but notice...

                                           SOJEF
                             Artim, do you remember where you
                             were on the day of lightning
                             when the artificial lifeform
                             appeared to us?

                                           ARTIM
                             In the hills, by the dam.

                                           PICARD
                             Can you show us?

                   Artim puts his pet in a pocket (or it can have its own
                   little pouch on Artim's belt if he has no pockets) and 
                   leads  the way. Several Ba'ku including Anij and Tournel
                   curiously follow. As Picard makes eye contact with her,
                   she moves over...

                                           ANIJ
                             Haven't you disrupted our lives
                             enough...?

                   She says it gently, but honestly...

                                           PICARD
                             I understand how you feel. We 
                             just want to retrace Data's
                             movements that day...

                                           ANIJ
                             Why?

                                           PICARD
                                     (a cautious reply)
                             I don't like to leave questions
                             unanswered.

                                           ANIJ
                                     (evenly)
                             Then you must spend your life
                             answering questions.

                  She moves away. Picard watches her; she doesn't look
                  back.

             88   ANGLE ON DATA                                                88

                  Who notices Artim still glancing at him with fear. To
                  reassure him --

                                           DATA
                             There is no need for concern. I 
                             am operating within normal
                             parameters now.

                                           ARTIM
                             You're what?

                                           DATA
                             I am better.

                   The android's manner only seems to frighten Artim more.
                   Before Data can say anything else, Sojef comes and leads
                   him away, giving Data a cool smile that says, in effect,
                   I don't want any artificial lifeform talking to my son.
                   Data reacts. After a thoughtful beat, moves to walk with
                   Picard.

                                           DATA
                             I believe the boy is... afraid...
                             of me.

                                           PICARD
                             It's nothing personal data. You
                             have to remember these people
                             have rejected technology. And
                             you...

                                           DATA
                             ... I am the personification of 
                             everything they have rejected.

                                           PICARD
                             Until this week, that young man
                             probably never saw a  machine, let
                             alone one that walks and talks...

                                           DATA
                             And I do not believe I made a
                             very good first impression.
          
                   It clearly bothers Data to be the object of fear. The
                   boy glances over his shoulder once more at the android,
                   looks quickly away...

              89   LONG SHOT                                                   89

                   as the group moves into the rocky foothills...

              90   PICARD                                                      90
                                                              
                   enchanted by the natural beauty, the antithesis of 
                   clutter.
     
              91   NEW ANGEL                                                   91

                   They come to a brook. Artim hops on one foot across
                   rocks in the water and without stopping to think, Picard
                   does the same thing, looking like a little boy... then
                   notices a curious look from Data which makes him collect
                   himself and adjust his jacket. Anij glances over at
                   Sojef with concern. The others cross in adult fashion.

              92   COMING OVER A RISE                                          92

                                           ARTIM
                             I saw the first bolt of lightning
                             over there...

                   As they move along the rise...

              93   INT. RIKER'S QUARTERS - BATHROOM                            93

                   Close on a 24th century container of Gillette Foamy
                   Shaving Cream ("For weightless Environments!")... finding
                   a female hand with a straight razor moving to Riker's
                   face... his chin and cheeks lathered with cream... and
                   the hand is Troi's and they're in the bathtub together in
                   a bubble bath... she expertly moves the blade across his
                   face, leaving a swath of bare chin...

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             Bridge to Riker.

                                           RIKER
                             Can I get back to you, Worf?

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             Admiral Dougherty's on the com-
                             link, sir.

                                           RIKER
                                     (sighs)
                             Patch him through.
                                     (the computer bleeps)
                             Yes, Admiral.

              94   INT. SON'A BODY FACILITY                                    94

                   Dougherty in the foreground; behind him a Son'a physician
                   is pulling green scum from subcutaneous boils under the
                   skin of Ru'afo's neck with a syringe...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Why haven't you left orbit yet?

                                           RIKER
                             Captain Picard is still on the
                             surface, sir.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Doing what?

                                           RIKER
                             He didn't want to leave until we
                             could adequately explain why Data
                             malfunctioned. His future in
                             Starfleet could depend on it.

                   Dougherty exchanges a concerned look with Ru'afo...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Remind the captain his twelve
                             hours are up.

                                           RIKER'S COM VOICE
                             Yes, sir.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Dougherty out.

                   Ru'afo's eyes are closed, as the green goo moves from his
                   neck to the doctor's syringe...

                                           SON'A DOCTOR
                             Your body is producing far too
                             many toxins... we've reached the
                             limit of genetic manipulation...

                                           RU'AFO
                             I won't need any more genetic
                             manipulation if our Federation
                             friends will allow us to complete
                             this mission.

                   He opens his eyes, gives Dougherty a pointed look...

              95   EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAY - LOOKING DOWN TO SEE A SMALL     95
                   LAKE

                   Picard, Data and the Ba'ku have moved toward a dam where
                   Data is having trouble with is tricorder...

                                           DATA
                             Tricorder functions are limited
                             due to heavy deposits of
                             kelbonite in these hills...

                                           PICARD
                             How about a passive radiation
                             scan?

                   Data adjusts his tricorder... reacts...

                                           DATA
                             Curious, there appear to be
                             strong neutrino emissions coming
                             from the lake...

                   Staying with Data s he follows the tricorder to the edge
                   of the lake... a brief pause... and then in a Harold
                   Lloyd sort of moment, he steps into the lake up to his
                   ankles, pauses again to look at the tricorder and then
                   disappears under water.
 
              96   ARTIM                                                       96

                   reacts, astounded... looks to Picard...

                                           ARTIM
                             Can he breathe under water?

                                           PICARD
                             Data doesn't breathe.

                                           ARTIM
                             Won't he rust?

                                           PICARD
                                     (smiles to himself)
                             No.

                   The boy turns his wide eyes back toward the lake.

              97   UNDERWATER - DATA (OPTICAL)                                 97

                   An eel and a fish investigate him as he stands on the
                   lake bottom, examining his tricorder...

              98   EXT. LAKE - DAY                                             98

                  Data emerges at a distance from the others... calling --

                                           DATA
                             Sir, I believe I know what is
                             causing the neutrino emissions...

                   He climbs to the top of the earthen dam and turns a heavy
                   wheel that might usually require the strength of two men,
                   opening a floodgate... as he does --

                                           ARTIM
                                     (fascinated)
                             Are there other machines like him
                             in the offland?

                                           SOJEF
                             The offland is no concern of
                             yours.

             98A   ANGLE WITH DATA                                            98A

                   The water continues to run off and as we push to the
                   falling water...

             98B   WITH PICARD                                                98B

                   reacting as he looks down at the lake...

              99   ANGLE (OPTICAL)                                             99

                   a strange displacement of water appearing as the lake
                   drains... something invisible is sitting in the water...

                   a bird lands on top of it... and as the water sinks
                   lower, spilling off the sides of the invisible object,
                   the shape is revealed to be that of a cloaked spaceship.

             100   PICARD                                                     100

                                           PICARD
                             A ship,

                                           DATA
                             It is clearly Federation in
                             origin, Captain.

                                           PICARD
                                     (quoting Dougherty)
                             'Just a few loose ends to tie
                             up.'

                   As they move to a rowboat... Artim begins to follow but
                   Sojef puts a firm arm on his shoulder.

                                           SOJEF
                             We're not interested in such
                             things.

                   Anij looks to Sojef...

                                           ANIJ
                             I am.

                   And she hops onto the rowboat with Picard and Data...
                   decidedly not trusting either of them to go alone...

                                           PICARD
                             It might be wiser for you to stay
                             on shore.

                   Anij's answer is to grab an oar and push them away from
                   shore... as Data and Picard exchange a glance, Picard
                   takes the oar from her and...

             101   WIDE - (OPTICAL)                                           101

                   Picard, Anij and Data row closer to the invisible ship.

             102   CLOSER - THE ROWBOAT                                       102

                   Data presses controls on his tricorder. A hatch opens.
                   Picard and Data draw phasers...

             103   INT. HOLOGRAPHIC SHIP/VILLAGE - (OPTICAL)                  103

                   As they climb in to find themselves in an identical image
                   of the Ba'ku village. Anij is stunned...

                                           DATA
                                     (off tricorder)
                             It is a holographic projection.

                   Moving to a gap that shows the metal holo-grid...

                                           DATA (CONT'D)
                             Incomplete, I might add.

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Anij)
                             What you're seeing is a computer
                             driven image created by photons
                             and forcefields...

                                           ANIJ
                             I know what a hologram is,
                             Captain. The question is -- why
                             would someone want to create one
                             of our village?

                                           PICARD
                                     (beat, considering)
                             Data, if you were following the
                             boy and discovered this ship...

                                           DATA
                             ... it is conceivable I was shot
                             to protect the secret of its
                             existence.

                                           PICARD
                                     (beat, musing aloud)
                             What possible purpose could a
                             duplicate village have except...
                             to deceive the Ba'ku...

                                           ANIJ
                             Deceive us?

                                           PICARD
                             To move you off this planet. You
                             go to sleep one night in your
                             village... wake up the next
                             morning in this flying holodeck
                             transported en masse. A week
                             later, maybe a month, you've been
                             relocated on a similar planet
                             without ever realizing it.

                                           DATA
                             Why would the Federation or the
                             Son'a wish to move the Ba'ku?

                                           PICARD
                             I don't know.

                   We may notice a look in Anij's eyes - she knows why but
                   doesn't intend to say. Picard and Data don't notice her
                   reaction...

             104   ANGLE - (OPTICAL)                                          104

                   Suddenly wham! -- a plasma charge is fired from the
                   shadows of the "village" hologram... and then another and
                   another... the shots hit walls revealing portions of the
                   holo-grid (an effect we will see again later during the
                   final action). Plasma ricochets off the walls spraying
                   sparks over them all... as Data fires back, Picard grabs
                   Anij and shoves her out of the hatch for her safety...

             105   ANGLE OUT THE HATCH                                        105

                   as she falls several yards into the water making a big
                   splash... Picard turns back and starts firing...

             106   INT. HOLO-SHIP - (OPTICAL)                                 106

                   A brief, intense exchange of shots... creating more gaps
                   in the holo-image... and finally a Son'a officer falls
                   off the roof of a holo-building, unconscious.

                                           PICARD
                             Computer, end program and decloak
                             the vessel.

                   And as the holo-image DEMATERIALIZES, they're standing on
                   a holodeck.

             107   EXT. HOLO-SHIP - (OPTICAL)                                 107

                   DECLOAKING... Anij splaying her arms to keep afloat in
                   the water... Picard and Data stick their heads out of the
                   hatch...

                                           ANIJ
                             I can't swim!

                   Data and Picard promptly jump in after her...

                                           PICARD
                                     (reaching for her)
                             Don't panic...

                                           ANIJ
                                     (with some humor)
                             I've been shot at... thrown into
                             the lake out of an invisible ship
                             that's come to abduct us all...
                             what's there to panic about?

                                           DATA
                             In the event of a water landing,
                             I have been designed to serve as
                             a floatation device.

                   He twists his neck a certain way and we hear a slight
                   technical re-alignment and suddenly he floats...she
                   hangs on as Picard swims over to retrieve the rowboat...

             108   INT. TRANSPORTER ROOM - (OPTICAL)                          108

                   Data and Picard MATERIALIZE... Worf, sporting a large
                   red mark on his nose, observes. Picard is still wet and
                   angry... on the move...

                                           PICARD
                             Did any of the hostages mention a
                             cloaked ship during their
                             debriefings?

                                           WORF
                             No, sir...

                                           PICARD
                             Debrief them again.
                                     (noticing)
                             Have you been in a fight,
                             Commander?

                                           WORF
                                     (humiliated)
                             No, sir. It is a gorch.

                                           PICARD
                             Gorch?

                   Data leans in and whispers the translation into Picard's
                   ear... Picard is embarrassed he brought it up...

                                           PICARD
                             Oh... well, it's hardly...
                             noticeable...
         
                   Off Data's deadpan look at Picard, as they exit...

             109   INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS                                 109

                   Riker with his clean shaven face moving to meet them...
                   Picard and Data react... Riker smiles...

                                           RIKER
                             Smooth as an android's bottom,
                             eh, Data?

                                           DATA
                             I... beg your pardon, sir?

                   For the rest of the sequence, Data observes Riker's chin.
                   Moving to the turbolift...

                                           RIKER
                             Admiral Dougherty wants to know
                             why we haven't left yet...

                                           PICARD
                             We're not going anywhere.

                   Worf and Riker exchange a glance as they enter...

             110   INT. TURBOLIFT - CONTINUOUS                                110

                                           PICARD (CONT'D)
                             Deck five.

                                           RIKER
                                     (re: the gorge)
                             You Klingons never do anything
                             small, do you...

                   The doors close. Ignoring Riker --
                                 
                                           WORF
                             Doctor Crusher asked to talk to
                             you when you returned...

                                           PICARD
                             Picard to Crusher...

             111   INT. SICKBAY                                               111

                                           CRUSHER
                             Captain, the Son'a hostages
                             declined to be examined.
                             I had them confined to quarters.

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             And our people?

                                           CRUSHER
                             They all have slightly elevated
                             levels of endorphin production...
                             probably the result of the
                             environmental anomalies here...

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             Are they in any danger?

                                           CRUSHER
                             Not at all. They're fine... in
                             fact, they're better than fine.
                             Increased metabolism, high
                             energy, improved muscle tone. We
                             should all be so lucky.

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             Very good, Doctor. Picard out.

             112   INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS                                 112

                   coming out of the turbolift toward Picard's quarters...

                                           PICARD
                             The Son'a officers are not to be
                             released until I've met with
                             Ahdar Ru'afo.

                   He enters his quarters. Data finally submits to his
                   curiosity and runs a finger along Riker's chin...

                                           DATA
                             No, sir. It is not.
                                     (off Riker's look)
                             As smooth as an android's bottom.
          
             113   INT. PICARD'S QUARTERS                                     113

                   As he enters...

                                           PICARD
                             Computer, music.

                   Picard's favorite chamber music comes on...

                                           PICARD
                             No. Not that. Something else.
                             Something... Latin.

                                           COMPUTER VOICE
                             Please specify.

                                           PICARD
                             A mambo.
                                     (as the music comes
                                      on, his tension
                                      easing)
                             That's more like it...

                   Picard moves to...

             114   INT. BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS                                 114

                   He takes off his jacket and shirt... and begins to towel
                   himself dry... as he glances in the mirror... his towel
                   patting his face, slows to a stop as he stares at himself
                   in the mirror...
 
             115   CLOSE - THE HAIR AROUND HIS EAR                            115

                   is changing color, no longer all white, it is now
                   predominantly chestnut brown.

             116   PICARD                                                     116

                   looks, his mind adding up all the strange little things
                   that have been happening on the ship...

             117   EXT. ANIJ'S HOME - NIGHT                                   117

                   Picard knocks on a door... it is opened by Anij...

                                           PICARD
                             How old are you?

                   TIME CUT:

             118   INT. ANIJ'S HOME - NIGHT                                   118

                   Austere but inviting with a warm fire... Sojef, Tournel
                   and Artim have joined them... Artim spoons hot cider from
                   a kettle into cups, serves it to the adults as the scene
                   continues...

                                          SOJEF
                             We came here from a solar system
                             on the verge of self-
                             annihilation... where technology
                             had created weapons that
                             threatened to destroy all life.
                             A small group of us set off to
                             find a new home... a home that
                             would be isolated from the
                             threats of other worlds.
                                     (beat)
                             That was three hundred and nine
                             years ago.

                                           PICARD
                                     (reacts)
                             You've not aged a day since then?

                                           SOJEF
                             Actually, I was a good deal older
                             when we arrived... in terms of my
                             physical condition.

                                           ANIJ
                             There's an unusual metaphasic
                             radiation coming from the
                             planet's rings. It continuously
                             regenerates the cells in our
                             bodies. You must have noticed
                             the effects by now.

                                           PICARD
                             We've... just begun to.
                                     (to Artim)
                             I suppose you're seventy-five.

                                           ARTIM
                             No. I'm twelve.

                                           TOURNEL
                             The metaphasic radiation won't
                             begin to affect him until he
                             reaches maturity...

                                           PICARD
                             To many offlanders, what you have
                             here would be more valuable than
                             gold-pressed latinum.
                                     (beat)
                             And I'm afraid it's the reason
                             that someone is trying to take
                             this world away from you.

                                           ARTIM
                             The artificial lifeform was
                             right?

                                           PICARD
                             If not for Data, you'd probably
                             have been re-located by now.

                                           TOURNEL
                             How can we possibly defend
                             ourselves?

                                           SOJEF
                             The moment we pick up a weapon,
                             we become one of them... we lose
                             everything we are...

                                           PICARD
                             It may not come to that.

                   They turn to him...

                                           PICARD
                             Clearly, the architects of this
                             conspiracy have tried to keep it
                             a secret. Not just from you, but
                             from my people as well.
                                     (beat)
                             I don't intend to let them.

             119   EXT. VILLAGE - PREDAWN                                     119

                                          ANIJ
                             We've always known that to
                             survive, we had to remain apart.
                             It hasn't been easy. Many of the
                             young people here want to know
                             more about the offland... they're
                             attracted to stories of a faster
                             pace of life...

                                           PICARD
                             Most of my people who live that
                             faster pace would sell their
                             souls to slow it down.

                                           ANIJ
                             But not you.

                                           PICARD
                                     (smiles)
                             There are days.

                                           ANIJ
                                     (beat, studying him)
                             You don't live up to your
                             reputation as an offlander,
                             Picard.

                                           PICARD
                                     (self-effacing)
                             In defense of offlanders, there
                             are many more like me...

                                           ANIJ
                             ... who wouldn't be tempted by the
                             promise of perpetual youth? I
                             don't think so.

                                           PICARD
                             You give me more credit than I
                             deserve. Of course, I'm tempted.
                             Who wouldn't be?
                                     (beat)
                             But some of the blackest marks in
                             the history of my world have
                             involved the forced relocation of
                             a small group of people to
                             satisfy the demands of a larger
                             one. I'd like to believe we
                             learn from our mistakes.
                             Obviously, some of us haven't.

             120   NEW ANGLE - (OPTICAL)                                      120

                   Picard pausing to look in a corner window... beautifully
                   hand-crafted quilts are displayed...

                                           PICARD 
                             The craftsmanship is
                             extraordinary.
          
                                           ANIJ
                                     (smiles)
                             This is a school... that's a
                             student's work.
                                     (off his reaction)
                             She'll be ready to become an
                             apprentice soon. Then, in thirty
                             or forty years, she'll take her
                             place among the artisans...

                                           PICARD
                             An apprentice for thirty years.
                                     (they continue
                                      walking)
                             We've noticed your people's
                             mental discipline. Did that
                             develop here?

                                           ANIJ
                                     (teasing)
                             More questions. Always the
                             explorer. If you stay long
                             enough, that'll change.

                                           PICARD
                             Will it?

                                           ANIJ
                             You'll stop reviewing what
                             happened yesterday... stop
                             planning for tomorrow... until
                             you find...
                                     (interrupting herself)
                             Let me ask you a question -- have
                             you ever experienced a perfect
                             moment in time?

                                           PICARD
                             A perfect moment?

                                           ANIJ
                             When time seemed to stop... and
                             you could almost live in that
                             moment...

                                           PICARD
                             Seeing my home planet from space
                             for the first time...

                                           ANIJ
                             Yes. Exactly. Nothing more
                             complicated than perception.
                                     (beat)
                             You explore the universe. We've
                             discovered a single moment in
                             time can be a universe in
                             itself... full of powerful
                             forces... most people aren't
                             aware enough of the now... to
                             ever notice them...
                             
                                           PICARD
                             I wish I could spare a few
                             centuries to learn.

                                           ANIJ
                             It took us centuries to learn
                             that it doesn't have to take
                             centuries to learn.

                   They reach a doorway to her home...

                                           PICARD
                             There's one thing I don't
                             understand.
                                     (off her look)
                             In three hundred years...you
                             never learned to swim?

                                           ANIJ
                                    (smiles)
                             I just... haven't gotten around
                             to it yet.

                   She steps forward to enter, pauses...

                                           ANIJ
                             I wonder if you're aware of the
                             trust you endanger, Jean-Luc
                             Picard. In my experience, it's
                             unusual for...

                                           PICARD
                             ... an offlander?

                                           ANIJ
                                     (beat, smiles)
                             For someone so young.

                   Picard smiles, aware of a sexual tension... for the
                   second time in his visit, a humming bird flitters by,
                   briefly examining a street lamp and then away. She moves
                   inside, glances back and smiles. Then she's gone.
                   Picard turns and looks at the horizon where the sun will
                   come up soon... reacts as he sees --

             121   THE SILHOUETTE OF GEORDI LA FORGE - (OPTICAL)              121

                   standing there, looking out at the horizon...

             122   CLOSER                                                     122

                   as Picard moves over...

                                           PICARD
                             Geordi...?

                   Geordi turns and Picard reacts as he sees Geordi's
                   eyes... without the implants... Geordi smiles...
                      
                                           LA FORGE
                             Funniest thing, Captain. There
                             wasn't anything wrong with my
                             implants. There was something
                             right with my eyes. When Doctor
                             Crusher removed the ocular
                             connections, she found the cells
                             around my optic nerves...

                                           PICARD
                             ... had regenerated.
                   
                                           LA FORGE
                             It may not last after we leave.
                             If not, I just wanted, before we
                             go...
                                     (beat)
                             I've never actually seen a
                             sunrise.

                   Picard considers him a long beat... and they turn to see --

             123   THE SUN - (OPTICAL)                                        123

                   cracking the horizon turning the lake red...

             124   PICARD AND GEORDI                                          124

                   bathed in the sunlight... Picard's face looking younger,
                   contented in the new sun...

             125   THE SUNRISE - VARIOUS SHOTS                                125

                   ... the silhouette of an eagle-like bird coasting a foot
                   above the water... the morning breeze brushing the red-
                   tinged field of tall grass.

             126   GEORDI                                                     126

                   A tear rolls down his cheek...

             127   WIDE - (OPTICAL)                                           127

                   as the sunlight cascades over the village and hills and
                   if we weren't sure this place was magic before, we
                   certainly know it now.

             128   EXT. SPACE - THE FOUR SON'A SHIPS - (OPTICAL)              128

                   dwarf the Enterprise as they move into orbit...
  
             129   INT. READY ROOM (OPTICAL)                                  129

                   Dougherty and Ru'afo enter... Ru'afo is furious --

                                           RU'AFO
                             Am I to understand you're
                             not releasing my men, Captain?

                   Picard at his desk working, looks up, makes strong eye
                   contact with his guests...

                                           PICARD
                                     (quietly)
                             I found the holoship.

                   That stops Ru'afo. He looks at Dougherty who realizes
                   some damage control will be necessary...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Ru'afo, why don't you let the 
                             Captain and I...

                   Ru'afo's face is so tight it seems it's going to break...

                                           RU'AFO
                             No!

                   ... and it does -- a crack opens up from his forehead to
                   his chin and blood dribbles out of it...

                                           RU'AFO (CONT'D)
                             This entire mission has been one
                             Federation blunder after another.
                             You will return my men or this
                             alliance will end with the
                             destruction of your ship.

                   He exits. Dougherty measures Picard for a beat...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             You're looking well, Jean-Luc.
                             Rested.

                                           PICARD
                             Your "Briar Patch" turned out to
                             be more hospitable than I
                             expected.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                                     (nods)
                             That's why we put chromodynamic
                             shields in place - so our people
                             wouldn't feel the effects from
                             the metaphasic radiation...

                                           PICARD
                             ... or understand that they were
                             participating in the outright
                             theft of a world.
                                     (beat)
                             I won't let you move them,
                             Admiral. I'll go to the
                             Federation Council...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             I'm acting on orders form the
                             Federation Council.

                                           PICARD
                                     (reacts, beat)
                             How can there be an order to
                             abandon the Prime Directive...?

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             The Prime Directive doesn't
                             apply. These people are not
                             indigenous to this world. They
                             were never meant to be immortal.
                             We'll simply be restoring their
                             natural evolution.

                                           PICARD
                             Who are we to decide the next
                             course of evolution for these
                             people?

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             There are six hundred people down
                             there. We'll be able to use the
                             regenerative properties of this
                             radiation to help billions.
                                     (beat)
                             The Son'a have developed a
                             procedure to collect the
                             metaphasic particles form the
                             planets rings...

                                           PICARD
                             A planet in Federation space...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Right. We have the planet and
                             they have the technology -- a
                             technology we can't duplicate.
                             You know what that makes us?
                             Their partners.

                                           PICARD
                             Our partners are nothing more
                             than petty thugs.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                                     (dismissing that)
                             On Earth, petroleum once turned
                             petty thugs into world leaders.
                             Warp drive transformed a bunch of
                             Romulan thugs into an empire. We
                             can handle the Son'a, I'm not
                             worried about that...
                                 
                                           PICARD
                             Someone probably said the same
                             thing about the Romulans a 
                             century ago.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             With metaphasics, lifespans will
                             be doubled... an entire new
                             medical science will evolve...
                                     (beat)
                             I understand your Chief Engineer
                             has the use of his eyes for the
                             first time in his life... would
                             you take his sight away from him?

                                           PICARD
                             There are metaphasic particles
                             all over The Briar Patch. Why
                             must this planet be...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                                     (interrupting)
                             The concentration in the rings is
                             what makes the whole damned thing
                             work. Don't ask me to explain
                             it. I only know they inject
                             something into the rings that
                             starts a thermolytic reaction.
                             After it's over, the planet will
                             be unlivable for generations.

                                           PICARD
                             Delay the procedure. Let my
                             people look at the technology.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Our best scientific minds already
                             have. We can't find any other
                             way to do this.

                                           PICARD
                             Then the Son'a can establish a
                             separate colony on this planet
                             until we do...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             It would take ten years of normal
                             exposure to begin to reverse
                             their condition. Some of them
                             won't survive that long.
                             Besides, they don't want to live
                             in the middle of The Briar
                             Patch... who would?

                                           PICARD
                             The Ba'ku.

                   Picard and Dougherty look at each other a long beat.
                                 
                                           PICARD
                             We are betraying the principles
                             upon which the Federation was
                             founded... this is an attack on
                             the very soul of the Federation.
                                     (beat)
                             This will destroy the Ba'ku.
                             Just as cultures have been 
                             destroyed in every other forced
                             relocation throughout history.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             We are only moving six hundred
                             people, Jean-Luc.

                                           PICARD
                                     (beat)
                             How many people would it take...
                             before it becomes wrong? A
                             thousand? Fifty thousand. A
                             million?

                   Dougherty has taken this as far as he intends to.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             I'm ordering you to the Goren
                             system. File whatever protests
                             you wish to. By the time you do,
                             this will be all done.
                                     (moves to exit)
                             I'm also ordering the release of
                             the Son'a officers.

                   He's out. Picard sits at his desk for a long beat...

             130   INT. BRIDGE                                                130

                   Worf at Conn, Data at Ops, Riker at command... they look
                   up at Picard as he comes out of the Ready Room.

                                           PICARD
                             Prepare the ship for departure at
                             oh-seven-hundred hours.

                                           RIKER
                             Aye, sir.

                   Data exchanges a curious glance with Riker as Picard
                   crosses to the turbolift. Before he gets in, he turns
                   and looks at his bridge, imprinting it on his mind.
 
             131   INT. PICARD'S QUARTERS                                     131

                   as he enters, stands in the middle of the room a long
                   beat, his table still cluttered with charts and PADDS...

             132   ANGLE - CLOSEUP - HIS DRESSER                              132

                   One pip is placed on top, a second, third and fourth...

             133   INT. SON'A BODY SCULPTURE CHAMBER - CLOSE ON A TOOTH       133
                   (OPTICAL)

                   as it's implanted into a very old man's mouth and now,
                   the old fellow has a mouthful of bright new teeth...
                   Gallatin enters, moving to --

             134   RU'AFO - (OPTICAL)                                         134

                   sitting, his head locked in position by an apparatus... a
                   female attendant actually giving him a facelift in front
                   of our eyes... the device stretching his face ever
                   tighter, as she snips off skin by one ear with a laser in
                   a bloodless surgery that heals his wound...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Gallatin! So the righteous
                             Starfleet Captain finally
                             released you. Did you encounter
                             any problems on the surface?

                                           GALLATIN
                                     (acknowledges)
                             No, sir. But it wasn't easy...
                             being among them...

                                           RU'AFO
                             I'm sure. Just don't forget what
                             they did to us.
                                     (Gallatin nods)
                             We'll have them rounded up in a
                             day or two... we needn't bother
                             with the Federation holo-ship
                             any more. Just get the holding
                             cells ready.

                   Gallatin acknowledges, leaves. To the attendant -

                                          RU'AFO
                             I'm going to miss these little
                             flesh-stretching sessions of
                             ours, my dear.

                    As she pulls up his other ear...

             135   INT. YACHT COCKPIT - (OPTICAL)                             135

                   Picard, out of uniform, works a transporter and cases of
                   military supplies MATERIALIZE on a loading platform that
                   will lower into the cargo hold of the yacht... he studies
                   a translucent geological scan of the surface that we will
                   hear more about later...

                                           DATA (O.C.)
                             Re-routing the transport grid to
                             avoid detection was wise, sir,
                             but the transporter is rarely
                             used after oh-two-hundred hours.

                   Picard turns to see Data, Troi, Crusher, La Forge, Worf
                   and Riker have entered the hatch. All but Riker and
                   Geordi are out of uniform.

                                           TROI
                             Taking the Captain's yacht out
                             for a spin?

                                           WORF
                                     (examining the cargo)
                             Seven metric tons of ultritium
                             explosives, eight tetryon pulse
                             launchers, ten isomagnetic
                             disintegrators...

                                           RIKER
                             You must be planning on doing
                             some hunting.

                                           PICARD
                             Go back to your quarters
                                     (no one moves)
                             That's an order.

                   No one moves.

                                           RIKER
                             No uniform? No orders.

                   Geordi, with his normal eyes, moves forward...

                                           LA FORGE
                             How could I look at another
                             sunrise, knowing what my sight
                             cost these people, Captain?

                   Picard looks at them with appreciation.

                                           DATA
                             I feel obliged to point out that
                             the environmental anomalies may
                             be stimulating certain rebellious
                             instincts common to youth that
                             could affect everyone's judgment.
                             Except mine, of course.

                                           CRUSHER
                             Okay, Data, what do you think we
                             should do?

                   Data looks to everyone, considering a beat... picks up a
                   phaser rifle... activates it...

                                           DATA
                             Saddle up. Lock and load.

                   The family united looks to their Captain for
                   instructions. Picard looks to them with deep affection.

                                           PICARD
                             They won't begin the procedure
                             while the planet is inhabited.
                             So, our job is to keep the planet
                             inhabited.

                   He looks at Riker and La Forge, knowing that his first
                   officer and chief engineer must stay with the ship.

                                           PICARD (CONT'D)
                             Go back and put a face on what's
                             happening here. Make the Council
                             see the Ba'ku. It's too easy to
                             turn a blind eye to the suffering
                             of an unfamiliar people.

                   Riker and La Forge acknowledge. Picard takes an extra
                   moment to look, perhaps for the last time, into the eyes
                   of his first officer with affection...

                                           PICARD
                             There's a short letter I left you
                             all, just some... sentimental
                             nonsense... the computer will
                             bring it to your attention at oh-
                             four-hundred... I'd just as soon
                             you delete it...

                                           RIKER
                             Fat chance. I'll post it on
                             every monitor on the ship...

                   Picard grins with nice embarrassment, then with a serious
                   look to Riker --

                                           PICARD
                             We'll hold out as long as we can.

                   Riker understands they're counting on him. Picard hits a
                   panel and the weapons sink into the yacht...

                   as the non-uniformed officers move to take their posts,
                   Riker takes Troi in his arms, kisses her good-bye. The
                   others react in surprise.

                                           DATA
                             Apparently the environmental
                             anomalies are also stimulating...
                   
                   Worf shuts him up with a hard look... Data gets the
                   message, sits in a cockpit chair and quietly begins to
                   work...

             136   EXT. SPACE - THE YACHT - (OPTICAL)                         136

                   falls away from the belly of the mother ship...

                   and after a beat, the thrusters ignite and off they go...

             137   INT. SON'A SHIP TACTICAL ROOM - (OPTICAL)                  137

                   Ru'afo watches a realistic simulation of a space
                   procedure on a monitor... a small but sophisticated
                   injector assembly sailing into the planet's rings begins
                   to fire charges that start a thermolytic reaction (we see
                   only the early stages here)... Gallatin enters with a
                   PADD...

                                           RU'AFO
                             The injector performs perfectly
                             in every simulation...

                                           GALLATIN
                             Sir, as the Enterprise left
                             orbit, one of their support craft
                             went down to the surface.
                                     (Ru'afo reacts, takes
                                       the PADD)
                             It appeared to be the Captain's
                             Yacht. Five persons on board.

                                           RU'AFO
                             We're not waiting until
                             morning... take the shuttles and
                             get everyone off the surface
                             tonight.

                   Gallatin starts to leave... pauses as --

                                           RU'AFO
                             Gallatin, if Picard or any of his
                             people interfere... eliminate
                             them.

             138   EXT. VILLAGE - NIGHT - (OPTICAL)                           138

                   On a door opening... as we hear a bell ringing... the
                   face of Artim fills the screen... his eyes scared... and
                   as we reveal his point of view of the village, it's a
                   stunning sight -- Tournel pulling on the warning bell in
                   the square... hundreds of people moving with urgency...
                   supplies are being packed onto the backs of llamas...
                   Worf, Data and Troi are unpacking the cases of military
                   supplies that have already been loaded from the
                   (unseen) yacht... Picard is going over charts with Anij 
                   and Sojef near-by...

                                           VARIOUS BA'KU
                                     (ad lib)
                             What is it? What's going on?
                             What's happened? Is something
                             wrong?

                                           TOURNEL
                             We're leaving the village...
                             take only what you need. Bring
                             food... we may not be back for
                             days...

                   Artim jumps with a start as a slim, high-tech device on a
                   stake suddenly lights up like a Christmas tree beside
                   him... sees Data who just activated it...

                                           DATA
                             It is a transport inhibitor. It
                             will help prevent Son'a ships
                             from beaming anyone off the
                             surface...

                   Artim, overwhelmed and still scared of the android, backs
                   away from Data without responding and moves toward his
                   father. Picard is showing Anij and Sojef the translucent
                   geo-scans we saw on the yacht...

                                           PICARD
                             ... these are the veins of
                             kelbonite running through the
                             hills... the more concentrated
                             the deposits the more trouble
                             they'll have with their
                             transporters... our route will
                             keep us close to these
                             deposits as possible...

                   Artim moves beside his father, holds onto him...

                                           PICARD (CONT'D)
                             When we're forced away by the
                             terrain, we'll use transport
                             inhibitors to compensate. The
                             mountains have the highest
                             concentrations. Once we're
                             there, transport will be
                             virtually impossible...
                                 
                                           ANIJ
                             There are caves in those
                             mountains.

                                           PICARD
                                     (acknowledges)
                             We can hold them off a long
                             time... once we get there...
                                     (beat)
                             But they will not make it easy to
                             get there...

                   Worf and Data move over...

                                           DATA
                             Captain, I've activated transport
                             inhibitors around the village...

                                           PICARD
                             Good. Let's begin to move these
                             people out...

                                           WORF
                             Should I distribute phasers to
                             the Ba'ku, sir...?

                                           PICARD
                             No. We'll be responsible for
                             that, Mister Worf.

                   They all react to the sound of thrusters flying
                   overhead... they look up to see --

             139   P.O.V. - THE NIGHT SKY - (OPTICAL)                         139

                   as Son'a shuttlecraft roar overhead...

             140   INT. SON'A SHUTTLE - NIGHT                                 140

                                           SON'A OFFICER #1
                             Transporters are not functioning.

                                           GALLATIN
                                     (off sensors)
                             They're blocking the beams with
                             some kind of inhibitors. We'll
                             have to locate and destroy them.

             141   EXT. FIELD - WIDE NIGHT - (OPTICAL)                        141

                   The mass of people cross the fields.. the Starfleet
                   officers separated at intervals among them, continuing to
                   encourage and assist them forward... progress slows as
                   they converge onto the narrow path leading into the
                   hills...

             142   ANGLE NEAR THE VILLAGE - (OPTICAL)                         142

                   with Sojef and Artim...

                                           SOJEF
                             Don't try to carry too much...
                             we've got a long climb ahead of
                             us...

                   Suddenly, the ground shakes with booms as the ships
                   overhead fire a series of air to surface missiles
                   parallel to the path ahead... voices raise in fear,
                   parents grab their children, people begin to move more
                   quickly, some drop what they're carrying...

             143   OMITTED                                                    143
               &                                                                & 
             144                                                              144

             145   ANOTHER SON'A SHIP - (OPTICAL)                             145

                   fires at the surface... we see the blast knock out...

             146   A TRANSPORT INHIBITOR                                      146

                   that explodes...near-by --

             147   WORF                                                       147

                   reacts...moves to Picard and Anij guiding people up the
                   narrow path as the explosions continue...

                                           WORF
                             We've lost an inhibitor! There's
                             a gap in the field...
    
             148   EXT. FIELD - WIDE (OPTICAL)                                148

                   As another wave of ships passes over, suddenly, with the
                   moving sounds of ships above, people caught in the
                   unprotected gap are swept away on a path of
                   DEMATERIALIZATION...maybe fifty are just scooped away
                   from the crowd... and now people are really panicking,
                   screaming, cries, pushing forward... some scatter...

             149   ARTIM - (OPTICAL)                                          149

                   being pushed, trying to hang onto his father...

                   but as the ships continue to pass over and the
                   DEMATERIALIZATIONS in the same gap continue, suddenly
                   Sojef is beamed away...

                                           ARTIM
                             My father!

                   His voice is lost in the cries of the scared people who
                   surge even harder forward toward the protection of the
                   next inhibitor and now the boy is thrust to the ground.
                   As he falls, the little palm-pet slips out of his
                   pocket... Artim desperately tries to save him from being
                   stepped on, finally snatches him in his hand. But now
                   the crush of people threatens to trample the boy and it's
                   a reminder how scary it can be to be small. Suddenly, an
                   arm reaches down and scoops him up... and as we follow
                   Artim up, we can see it's Data who has rescued him...
                   their eyes connect briefly as Data carries him forward...
                   in the pushing crowd...

             150   ANGLE - PICARD - (OPTICAL)                                 150

                                           PICARD
                             Stay in the protected areas...
                             we'll be safe when we get into
                             the hills...

                   The people file ahead up the path...

             151   INT. SON'S TACTICAL ROOM                                   151

                   Dougherty, Gallatin and Ru'afo study black and white
                   aerial surveillance photographs of the Ba'ku exodus up
                   the foothills. Dougherty is angry and embarrassed...

                                           GALLATIN
                             They're following the kelbonite
                             deposits... using the
                             interference to block our
                             transporters...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Recommendations?

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Take me down. Let me talk to
                             Picard.

                                           RU'AFO
                             Talk... we should send down an
                             assault team and take them by
                             force.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             That is not an acceptable option.
                             If people get hurt, all the
                             support we have in the 
                             Federation...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Federation support, Federation
                             procedures, Federation rules...
                             look in the mirror, Admiral...
                             the Federation is old... in the
                             last twenty four months, it's
                             been challenged by every major
                             power in the quadrant -- the
                             Borg, the Cardassians, the
                             Dominion... they all smell the
                             scent of death on the Federation.
                             That's why you've embraced our
                             offer... because it will give
                             your dear Federation new life.
                             Well, how badly do you want it,
                             Admiral? Because there are hard
                             choices to be made now. If the
                             Enterprise gets through with news
                             about their brave Captain's
                             valiant struggle on behalf of the
                             defenseless Ba'ku, your
                             Federation politicians will
                             waver, your Federation opinion
                             polls will open a public debate,
                             your Federation allies will want
                             their say... need I go on?

                   Dougherty takes a deep breath... knows Ru'afo is right.
                   Gallatin hates the idea of a violent assault, gives
                   Dougherty the other option he's desperately seeking --

                                           GALLATIN
                             There is an alternative to an all-
                             out assault. Isolinear tags
                             would allow our transporters to
                             lock on to them.

                                           RU'AFO
                             We'd have to tag every one of
                             them... that would take time...
                             and we don't have it. The
                             Enterprise is only nineteen hours
                             from communications range with
                             the Federation...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             I'll order Riker to turn around.

                                           RU'AFO
                             Picard's first officer. Do you
                             really believe he'll listen?

                   Ru'afo's clearly lost faith in the Admiral's ability to
                   control the situation... Dougherty's jaw tightens...

                                           RU'AFO
                             My ships are capable of
                             intercepting the Enterprise
                             before it reaches the perimeter.
                             I could send them to... escort...
                             it back... but Commander Riker
                             might not want to come...

                   And we slowly push into Dougherty as he steps across his
                   self-imposed moral line...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Send your ships.

                   Dougherty tries to digest the knot in his stomach...

             152   EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAWN (MATTE/OPTICAL)                 152

                   Deep into the foothills now... much steeper terrain...
                   feeling the power of the mountains near-by... seeing the
                   path below as hundreds of Ba'ku and dozens of llamas wind
                   their way up... it's almost biblical in scope with Picard
                   and Moses leading the way...

             153   ANGLE WITH DATA AND ARTIM - (OPTICAL)                      153

                   They've been walking silently for some time...Artim
                   struggling inside to reconcile what he's been taught
                   about machines and the experience he's had with Data...

                                           ARTIM
                             My father told me I shouldn't
                             talk to you.

                                           DATA
                             I understand.

                                           ARTIM
                             I don't.

                   They exchange a glance. Artim sighs, troubled.

                                           ARTIM
                             Not everyone here agrees with
                             him. I mean, you know, about
                             machines. There was even a 
                             big fight about it once.
                                     (beat)
                             Do you like being a machine?

                                           DATA
                                     (considering)
                             I aspire to be more than I am.

                                           ARTIM
                             I know why.
                                     (off Data's look)
                             So people like us won't be afraid
                             of you any more.

                                           DATA
                                     (a beat)
                             Perhaps, that is true.

                   The boy is obviously tired from miles of walking
                   uphill...

                                           ARTIM
                             Don't you ever get tired?

                                           DATA
                             My power cells continually re-
                             charge themselves.

                                           ARTIM
                             I can't imagine what it would be
                             like to be a machine.

                   Data studies him... (and it should be noted that his
                   responses are a deliberate attempt to enlighten Artim,
                   give the child a new perspective on what it means to be
                   an android.)

                                           DATA
                             Perhaps it would surprise you to
                             know that I have often tried to
                             imagine what it would be like to
                             be a child...

                                           ARTIM
                             Really?

                                           DATA
                             Really.

                                           ARTIM
                                     (with fatigue)
                             For one thing, your legs are
                             shorter than everyone else's.

                                           DATA
                             But they are in a constant state
                             of growth. Do you find it
                             difficult to adapt?
                                     (off Artim's
                                      perplexed look)
                             A child's specifications are
                             never the same from one moment to
                             the next. I am surprised that
                             you do not... trip over your own
                             feet.
             
                                           ARTIM
                             Sometimes I do.

                                           DATA
                             My legs are eighty-seven-point-
                             two centimeters. They were
                             eighty-seven-point-two
                             centimeters the day I was
                             created. They will be eighty-
                             seven-point-two centimeters the
                             day I go off line. My operation
                             depends on specifications that do
                             not change.
                                     (beat)
                             I... cannot imagine... the
                             experience of growing up or even
                             tripping over my own feet...

                   Artim is seeing the artificial lifeform in a whole new
                   light now, which is exactly what Data intended...

                                           ARTIM
                             But you've never had adults
                             telling you what to do all the
                             time... or bedtimes... or having
                             to eat food you don't like...

                                           DATA
                             I would gladly accept the
                             requirement of a bedtime in
                             exchange for knowing what it is
                             like to be a child.

                                           ARTIM
                                     (considering)
                             Do machines ever play?

                                           DATA
                             I play the violin... and my chess
                             routines are quite advanced...

                                           ARTIM
                             No, I mean...

                   He tries to find a way to explain, gets an idea -- pokes
                   him with a finger...

                                           ARTIM
                             You're it.

                   And he starts to run away...

                                           DATA
                             I'm what?

                   Artim frowns, stops...

                                           ARTIM
                             Chase me!
                   
                                           DATA
                             For what purpose?

                                           ARTIM
                             Because you're it. And if you
                             tag me... then I'm it.

                                           DATA
                             But I can run much faster than
                             you... I am capable of exceeding
                             forty-seven meters per second...

                                           ARTIM
                                     (sighs, walking back)
                             Data... haven't you ever just
                             played... for fun?

                                           DATA
                             Androids... don't have...fun.

                                           ARTIM
                             Why not...?

                                           DATA
                                     (beat)
                             No one's ever asked me that
                             before.

                                           ARTIM
                             If you want to know 'what it's
                             like to be a child', you need to
                             learn how to play...

                   As Data considers...

             154   WITH PICARD AND ANIJ                                       154

                   at point...

                   walking up a part of the trail protected by towering
                   rocks. Worf approaches from the rear... (Note: we may
                   notice more physical changes in our people because of the
                   regenerative process. For example, Picard's hair is
                   darker and there actually seems to be a touch more of it
                   growing than before... Worf's hair is more straggly,
                   unkempt...)

                                           PICARD
                                     (not serious)
                             You need a haircut, Commander.

                                           WORF
                             Accelerated hair growth is often
                             experienced by Klingons during
                             Jak'tahla...

                                           ANIJ
                             Jak'tahla?
          
                                           PICARD
                             Roughly translated: puberty...
                             although for a Klingon that's not
                             doing it justice...
                                     (to Worf)
                             Any severe mood swings, unusual
                             aggressive tendencies -- be sure
                             to let me know right away...

                                           WORF
                             The Ba'ku could use some rest,
                             sir. According to the geo-scan,
                             this may be the safest area for
                             the next few kilometers...

                                           PICARD
                             Very well. We'll take an hour.
                             Break out some rations...

                   Worf acknowledges, signals and the column lumbers to a
                   halt... people sit along the trail...

             155   AROUND THE BEND - (OPTICAL/MATTE)                          155

                   A spectacular view of the mountains ahead... Picard and
                   Anij move forward through some brush, lay on their
                   stomachs as Picard uses 24th century field glasses to
                   examine the path ahead...

                                           ANIJ
                             Right beyond that ridge is where
                             the caves begin... we can hide
                             for days...

                                           PICARD
                             By now the Son'a have scanned the
                             area and know that just as well
                             as we do.

                   She studies him as he continues to survey the territory
                   they must still cross... on a whim, she reaches out and
                   runs a finger across his bald head... he looks up,
                   surprised...

                                           ANIJ
                                     (smiles)
                             It's been three hundred years
                             since I've seen a bald man.

                   He grins, studies her... they feel the sexual tension...
                   after a beat...

                                           PICARD
                             How is it a woman like you never
                             married? And don't tell me you
                             "just haven't gotten around to it
                             yet"...

                                           ANIJ
                             What's the rush?

                                           PICARD
                                     (beat)
                             I should warn you... I've always
                             been attracted to older women...

                   She looks seriously at him, takes his hand in hers,
                   guides both hands to touch his cheek.

             156   PICARD'S SUBJECTIVE POV - (OPTICAL)                        156

                   ... and in that moment, his perception and our view 
                   begin to move down her arm... and we enter...

             157   AN ALTERED REALITY - (OPTICAL)                             157

                   Picard, and we, find ourselves in a heightened state of
                   sensory perception -- time seems to be slowing down to a
                   crawl, sounds are sharper... we hear Picard's heart
                   beating slowly with a booming percussion... he follows her 
                   gaze to see yet another humming bird, hears its languid wing
                   motion... swirling dust from the mountain seems like a 
                   zipping scarf in a breeze that plays in his ears like a
                   natural flute... his breath becomes more even as he
                   relaxes into this altered state and he feels...

             158   HER FINGERS                                                158

                   gently touching the hair at the top of his chest,
                   sensing, even hearing, her fingertips against his flesh.

             159   HER LIPS                                                   159

                   brush his cheek, his lips... her teeth nip gently on his
                   lower lip, tugging it and then her lips press against his
                   for an eternity...

             160   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                    160

                   Moving at one-third impulse through The Briar Patch...

             161   INT. BRIDGE                                                161

                   Riker at Command, Perim at Conn, La Forge at Ops, Nara at
                   Tactical, supernumeraries...

                                           PERIM
                             Commander, I'm showing two Son'a
                             ships on an intercept course.

                                           RIKER
                             How long 'til they reach us?

                                           PERIM
                             Eighteen minutes...

                                           LA FORGE
                             We're not going to be able to get
                             a transmission out of here for at
                             least another hour...

                                           NARA
                             They're hailing us.

                                           RIKER
                             Tell them our transceiver
                             assembly is down, that we can
                             send messages but can't receive
                             them.

                   Nara sends the message... a beat...

                                           NARA
                             I don't think they believe us.

                                           RIKER
                             Why not?

                   Boom... a small explosion well off target... the ship
                   shakes gently...

                                           RIKER
                                     (off sensors)
                             A photon torpedo.
                                     (dry)
                             Isn't that the universal greeting
                             when communications are down?

                                           LA FORGE
                             I think it's the universal
                             greeting when you don't like
                             someone.

                   Another boom shakes them slightly...

                                           RIKER
                             Full impulse.

                                           LA FORGE
                             The manifold can't handle full
                             impulse in the Patch, Commander.
          
                                           RIKER
                             If we don't outrun them, the
                             manifolds are going to be the
                             only thing left of this ship.

                                           LA FORGE
                                     (nods)
                             I'll be in Engineering.

                   La Forge exits. A supernumerary quickly replaces him.

                                           RIKER
                             All hands. Battle stations!

             162   EXT. TRAIL - DAY                                           162

                                           TROI
                             And have you noticed how your
                             boobs have started to firm up?

                                           CRUSHER
                                     (dry)
                             Not that we care about such
                             things in this day and age.

                                          TROI
                             Uh huh.

                   Data glances at their breasts as he hands them plates...

                                           CRUSHER
                             Thank you, Data.

                   We stay with him as he takes the tray to Worf who looks
                   at the plate with disdain...

                                           WORF
                             I have an odd craving for the
                             blood of a live Kolar beast.
                                     (off Data's look)
                             The environment must be affecting
                             me again.

                                           DATA
                                     (agreeing)
                             And have you noticed how your
                             boobs have started to firm up?
                                     (Worf reacts)
                             Not that we care about such
                             things in this day and age.

                   Suddenly, the distant sound of approaching thrusters...

             163   ANGLE - FOUR SON'A SHUTTLES (OPTICAL)                      163
   
                   coming over the horizon...

                                           WORF
                                     (hits combadge)
                             Take cover!

             164   PICARD AND ANIJ                                            164

                   moving back toward the others... look up to see --

             165   SON'A SHUTTLES - (OPTICAL)                                 165

                   overhead, dropping dozens of...

             166   FLYING DRONES - (OPTICAL)                                  166 

                   the size of footballs with parts rotating, blinking,
                   scanning...

             167   EXT. DRONE POV - FLYING ABOVE THE TRAIL - (OPTICAL)        167

                   The Ba'ku scattering as drones fly over them...

             168   DATA AND ARTIM - (OPTICAL)                                 168

                   react, Data firing at the drones as Artim crawls behind a
                   rock...

             169   PICARD AND WORF - (OPTICAL)                                169

                   open fire with phasers destroying two, but the third
                   fires a new kind of weapon hitting --

             170   CLOSE ON A BA'KU WOMAN'S BACK                              170

                   as it's tagged with a tiny device fired from the drone...

             171   ANGLE - THE BA'KU WOMAN - (OPTICAL)                        171

                   DEMATERIALIZES... a fraction of a beat later, Picard
                   blasts the drone... more people DEMATERIALIZE as the
                   drone attacks continue...

                                           WORF
                             Isolinear tags. Their
                             transporters can lock onto them.

                                           PICARD
                             We have to find shelter...

                                           ANIJ
                             There's a cavern at the base of
                             the next hill...

                                           PICARD
                                     (signaling to the
                                      others)
                             This way!
 
             172   VARIOUS - (OPTICAL)                                        172
            THRU                                                             THRU
             175                                                              175

                   on our principles providing covering fire as the Ba'ku
                   move quickly ahead... more drones fly in, firing their
                   tags, more Ba'ku are hit and DEMATERIALIZE... our people
                   fire repeated bursts destroying several of them...

             176   WITH DATA AND ARTIM - (OPTICAL)                            176

                                           DATA
                             A dangerous variation on your
                             game of 'tag', Artim. Hurry
                             we most definitely do not want
                             to be 'it'...

                   He blasts a drone as they push ahead...

             177   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                    177

                   exchanging fire with the two Son'a ships in pursuit, a
                   trail of hot exhaust coming from the Enterprise...

             178   INT. BRIDGE                                                178

                    Seriously damaged... plasma leaks, smoke...

                                           NARA
                             Shields at sixty percent... !

                                           LA FORGE'S COM VOICE
                             Engineering to Bridge. We're
                             burning deuterium down here...

             179   INT. ENGINEERING                                           179

                   Impulse engines smoking... engineers spray coolant foam
                   over them to keep the temperatures from red-lining...

                                           LA FORGE
                             We're going to blow ourselves
                             up... we won't need any help from
                             the Son'a...

             180   INT. BRIDGE INCLUDE VIEWSCREEN - (OPTICAL)                 180

                   A huge nebula cluster up ahead...

                                           RIKER
                             What's inside that nebula
                             cluster?

                                           PERIM
                             Cometary debris, pockets of
                             unstable metreon gas... we don't
                             want to go in there, sir...

                                           RIKER
                             Yes, we do.
                                     (pats her shoulder)
                             You're relieved, Ensign. Take
                             over at Ops.

                   He takes the Conn... Perim  replaces the officer at Ops...

                                           RIKER
                             Time to use "The Briar Patch"
                             like B'rer Rabbit did...

             181   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                    181

                   making a hard turn and disappearing into the cluster...

             182   EXT. PLANET SURFACE/TRIAL - (OPTICAL)                      182

                   The Ba'ku run for their lives toward the mouth of a
                   cavern, steam coming up from the hot mineral waters
                   within it...

                                           PICARD
                             Into the cavern! Move!

                   And our people continue to blast the swarming drones
                   above but there are so many of them... several Ba'ku are
                   tagged and DISAPPEAR...

             183   WITH WORF                                                  183

                   as his phaser jams and he picks up a thin tree trunk and
                   with Klingon howls, swings it like a bat'leth at the
                   drones... missing one but then connecting with another
                   and a second one knocking them out of the park like Hank
                   Aaron... glancing to Picard...

                                           WORF
                             Definitely feeling aggressive
                             tendencies...

             184   ANGLE WITH DATA AND ARTIM - (OPTICAL)                      184

                   surrounded by Ba'ku as they move quickly along a very
                   steep trail, Data firing at drones as they go... suddenly
                   just in front of them, a Son'a assault team appears over
                   the ridge... three armed foot soldiers ready to take
                   prisoners... Data lunges, like a running back hitting a
                   defensive line and his power throws them back and they
                   fall...

             185   OFF THE CLIFF - (OPTICAL)                                  185

                   the long terrible fall beginning...

             186   DATA - (OPTICAL)                                           186

                   thinks fast, snatches a passing drone out of the air and
                   aims it at...

             187   THE THREE FALLING SON'A - (OPTICAL)                        187

                   and as they're tagged, they DEMATERIALIZE in free-fall.

             188   DATA                                                       188

                   looks down, satisfied, then crushes the drone with his
                   bare hands and provides more cover fire as the Ba'ku move
                   quickly to the cavern...

             189   EXT. NEBULA - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                   189

                   Flying through dark matter clouds and stellar debris
                   which light up as Son'a torpedoes explode all around
                   them... suddenly there is a different kind of blast off
                   the Enterprise's stern -- a bright implosion, sucking up
                   everything around it, literally ripping subspace apart as
                   it cascades toward the ship...

             190   INT. BRIDGE                                                190

                   Terribly rough ride...

                                           NARA
                             Sir, they've detonated an
                             isolytic burst... a subspace tear
                             is forming...

                                           RIKER
                             On screen.

             191   ANGLE TO INCLUDE VIEWSCREEN - (OPTICAL)                    191

                   As Riker sees the tear coming at them...

                                           PERIM
                             I thought subspace weapons were
                             banned by the Khitomer Accord...

                                           RIKER
                             Remind me to lodge a protest...

                                           LA FORGE'S COM VOICE
                             Commander, our warp core is
                             acting like a magnet to the tear.

             192   INT. ENGINEERING                                           192

                   Geordi on the move to a new control panel...

                                           LA FORGE (CONT'D)
                             We're pulling it like a zipper
                             across space...

                                           RIKER'S COM VOICE
                             Options?

                                           LA FORGE
                             Eject the core.

                   INTERCUT:

             193   INT. BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                                    193

                   As the viewscreen shows the tear getting closer...

                                           RIKER
                             Will that stop the tear?

                                           LA FORGE
                             You got me, Commander.

                                           RIKER
                             That's your expert opinion?

                                           LA FORGE
                             Detonating the warp core might
                             neutralize the cascade... but
                             then again it might not.
                             Subspace weapons are
                             unpredictable. That's why they
                             were banned.

                                           NARA
                             The tear is closing on us...
                             impact in fifteen seconds...

                                           RIKER
                             Eject the core.

                                           LA FORGE
                             I just did.

                                           NARA
                             Impact in ten seconds...

                                           RIKER
                             Detonate!

             194   INT. ENGINEERING - GEORDI                                  194

                   presses the panels to detonate and...

             195   EXT. NEBULA - THE SUBSPACE TEAR (OPTICAL)                  195

                   rips toward the Enterprise as the ejected warp core
                   explodes. The subspace disruption that follows --

             196   INT. ENGINEERING                                           196

                   throws everybody down. Consoles explode...

             197   INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUOUS                                   197

                   Panels are blown off, fires break out, lights fail,
                   people thrown to the ground. As it subsides, Riker
                   crawls back to Conn...

                                           NARA
                             It worked, Commander... the
                             tear's been sealed...

             198   INT. ENGINEERING                                           198

                                           LA FORGE
                             There's nothing to stop them from
                             doing it again... and we're fresh
                             out of warp cores...

             199   INT. BRIDGE                                                199

                                           PERIM
                             We're still thirty-six minutes
                             from transmission range, sir.

                                           RIKER
                                     (nods, deciding)
                             We're through running from these
                             bastards.

             200   INT. HYDROTHERMAL CAVERN - DAY                             200

                   A large, steamy, wet environment... pools of mineral
                   water drizzle along the floor...

                   the Ba'ku and their llamas slosh through the mud, seeking
                   some kind of comfortable place to rest...

             201   ANGLE - TOWARD THE ENTRANCE - (OPTICAL)                    201

                   Where a forcefield has been established across the mouth
                   of the cave... the drones try to get in and are blocked;
                   they hover menacingly outside... Data moves to Picard
                   from the interior of the cave...

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Data)
                             How many?

                                           DATA
                             Another forty-three people
                             reported taken, sir...

                   Picard frowns, sighs, takes in their new surroundings...
                   suddenly, the caverns are shaken by the sound of overhead
                   explosions... reactions, fearful murmurs, skittish
                   llamas...
          
             202   ON ARTIM                                                   202

                   sitting with other Ba'ku... they look up at the
                   frightening sound... sand drifting dangerously from the
                   ceiling...

             203   CLOSE ON ARTIM'S POCKET                                    203

                   The palm-pet crawls out...

             204   EXT. FOOTHILLS - CONTINUOUS (OPTICAL)                      204

                   As the Son'a shuttles fly over firing torpedoes,
                   explosions across the terrain...

             205   INT. HYDROTHERMAL CAVERN                                   205

                   As Picard et al react to the aerial assault... ground
                   continually shuddering... Picard and Worf exchange a grim
                   look...

                                           WORF
                             They're trying to force us out so
                             their drones can tag us...

                   Picard nods, agreeing. As dust falls from the ceiling
                   and the blasts continue to rock them...

                   Data studies his tricorder...

                                           DATA
                             With all the hydrothermal vents
                             in the substrata, the structural
                             integrity of this cavern is not
                             going to hold for long,
                             Captain...

                   Picard glances out at a half-dozen drones hovering
                   outside...

                                           PICARD
                             Is there any other way out of
                             here?

                   Anij shakes her head, grim...

                                           DATA
                             Tracking the water flow may
                             reveal another potential exit...

                   As they use tricorders to follow the water flow deeper
                   into the cavern...
  
             206   NEW ANGLE - NARROWER PORTION OF THE CAVE - (OPTICAL)       206

                   as the flow of water disappears under a wall... the air
                   assault continues...

                                           DATA
                                     (off tricorder)
                             I'm showing fresh air (TECH
                             BETTER) behind this calcite
                             formation, Captain...

                                           PICARD
                             Will the structure hold if we
                             blast through?

                                           DATA
                                     (examines walls with
                                      tricorder)
                             I believe it is safe, sir.

                   Using their phasers, they blast the wall away, crawl
                   through the new hole --

             207   EXT. SECOND EXIT - CONTINUOUS (MATTE/OPTICAL)              207

                   as they come out and turn to see several paths up to
                   rocky mountains not far away, distant cave openings in
                   view...

                                           PICARD
                             Spread out as far as you can...
                             get everyone into those caves,
                             set up forcefields once you're
                             inside...

                   With renewed optimism, they go to gather up the Ba'ku...

             208   EXT. NEBULA - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                   208

                   coming about...

             209   INT. BRIDGE - ANGLE TO INCLUDE VIEWSCREEN - (OPTICAL)      209

                   Riker at Conn as messed up as we've ever seen him, his
                   face a study in determination. The bridge is barely
                   functional. Pockets of colorful gases are visible on the
                   screen.

                                           RIKER
                             Geordi, are those pockets of
                             metreon gas...?

             210   INT. ENGINEERING                                           210

                   Off an Okudagram --

                                           LA FORGE
                             Aye, sir. Highly volatile...I
                             recommend we keep our distance...

                                           RIKER'S COM VOICE
                             Negative. I want to use the
                             ramscoop to collect as much of it
                             as we can...

                                           LA FORGE
                             The purpose being...?

             211   INT. BRIDGE                                                211
          
                                           RIKER
                             The purpose being I intend to
                             shove it down the Son'a's throat.

                                           NARA
                             Commander, if one of their
                             weapons hits that gas...

                                           RIKER
                             It's our only way out of here,
                             Mister Nara.

             212   INT. ENGINEERING                                           212

                   as Geordi goes to work, nods with admiration...

                                           LA FORGE
                             I wouldn't be surprised if
                             history remembers this as the
                             Riker Maneuver...

                                           RIKER'S COM VOICE
                             If it works you mean.

                                           LA FORGE
                             Even if it doesn't, they'll be
                             teaching kids as the Academy not
                             to do this for years to come.

             213   EXT. NEBULA - CLOSE ON THE RAMSCOOP - (OPTICAL)            213

                   as it begins to sweep up the gases... compressing them
                   into a critical mass...

             214   INT. BRIDGE - INCLUDE THE VIEWSCREEN (OPTICAL)             214

                                           LA FORGE'S COM VOICE
                             Bridge, storage cells are at
                             maximum capacity -- five thousand
                             cubic meters of metreon gas...

                                           RIKER
                             Computer, access manual steering
                             column.

                   In an instant, a joystick pops up from the control. He
                   grabs the stick... a computer gamester's dream...

                                           RIKER
                             Transfer helm controls to manual.

                   The computer bleeps. As the fog clears, we can see on
                   the screen that we're closing fast on the Son'a ships...

                                           PERIM
                             They're powering their forward
                             weapons array.

                                           RIKER
                             Blow out the ramscoop. Stand by
                             full thrusters.

                                           LA FORGE'S COM VOICE
                             Ramscoop released!

                   Riker hits panels and the ship lurches...

             215   EXT. NEBULA - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                   215

                   turning away as the Son'a ships fire and wham, the gases
                   erupt... the Enterprise careens away out of control as
                   the Son'a ships are hit by the explosion's full force.
                   Both catch seriously on fire. After a beat, one explodes
                   into bits... the other one sits there, helplessly on
                   fire...

             216   INT. HYDROTHERMAL CAVE - (OPTICAL)                         216

                   The aerial assault continues as people file out the new
                   exit... sand drifting dangerously from the ceiling ass the
                   bombs shake the cavern... Data looks at a tricorder...
                   moves to Picard. Just outside the new exit, a series of
                   plasma blasts are fired from a nearby hill...

                                           WORF
                             Up there!

                   He points to a small squadron of Son'a that have spotted
                   them...

                                           PICARD
                             Data, Troi... keep these people
                             moving. Worf, with me...

                   They arm themselves, Worf takes a new bazooka-like
                   weapon, an isomagnetic disintegrator, and they move
                   out...

             217   EXT. CAVERN (SECOND EXIT) - (OPTICAL)                      217

                   Worf and Picard provide cover as Data and Troi lead more
                   people toward the mountains... Worf fires his
                   disintegrator...

             218   THE SON'A ASSAULT TEAM - (OPTICAL)                         218

                   is blown back as it connects... one of the wounded falls,
                   sliding a long way down the hill, landing near the
                   cave...

             219   CRUSHER                                                    219

                   scans the unconscious Son'a with a tricorder. Her eyes
                   react as she sees something else on the tricorder... this
                   is impossible, she checks again.

                                           CRUSHER
                             Captain...

                   Picard moves over cautiously...
                                        
                                           PICARD
                             Will he live?

                                           CRUSHER
                             Yes. But look at this medscan...

                   He looks at the tricorder, reacts incredulously...

                                           PICARD
                             How could this be possible?

                   She shakes her head, looks back to the cavern entrance
                   where Anij and Tournel are assisting the last Ba'ku out
                   of the cave...

                                           CRUSHER
                             Maybe we should ask them.

                   Data and Troi return to lead the last group out of the
                   cave...

             220   HYDOTHERMAL CAVERN                                         220

                   Artim is among a dozen of so of the Ba'ku waiting to be
                   taken...he reaches into his pocket for his palm-pet,
                   can't find it... he reacts... he moves into the main
                   cavern away from the others... a beat later, Anij and
                   Tournel ready the group...

                                           ANIJ
                             Is that everyone?

                                           BA'KU WOMAN
                                     (looking for)
                             The boy...

                   They check the immediate vicinity... no Artim...

                                           ANIJ
                             Wait here.

                   She moves toward the main cavern...

             221   WITH ARTIM                                                 221

                   back in the corner where he found the rifle, finding his
                   pet crawling slowly on the floor...

                                           ANIJ
                             Artim! What are you doing?

                   She doesn't bother waiting for an answer... just grabs
                   him and pulls him along with her in a hurry...
   
             222   AT THE (SECOND) ENTRANCE                                      222

                   Picard, Worf, Data, Troi and Crusher arrive...

                                           TOURNEL
                             Anij went to find Artim...
          
                                           ANIJ (O.C.)
                             I've got him.

                   At the sound of her voice, Picard moves toward the main
                   cavern...

             223   ANGLE - INTO THE CAVERN                                    223

                   And we see Anij and Artim maybe thirty yards away from
                   Picard... running now... coming this way... suddenly,
                   wham... a rocket hits the mountainside and the ground
                   shudders... and the ceiling starts to collapse... and...

             224   PICARD'S EYES                                              224

                   connect with...

             225   ANIJ'S EYES                                                225

                   for an instant...

             226   WIDE                                                       226

                   Picard reaches out for her... just as the whole thing
                   comes down on both of them... Picard throws Artim out of
                   the cave just in front of the collapse into the arms
                   of...

             227   DATA                                                       227

                   who pulls him safely away from the collapse... The
                   Starfleet officers move back to examine the collapsed
                   mouth of the cave...

                                           ARTIM
                             Anij!

                                           DATA
                                     (to Artim)
                             Tournel will take you the rest of
                             the way...

                                           ARTIM
                             No... I want to stay with you...

                                           DATA
                             It is safer there. I will join
                             you shortly.

                   Artim reluctantly goes and the last people cross the
                   divide with Tournel. Overlapping the above dialogue --
                                 
                                           WORF
                                     (press combadge)
                             Worf to Picard.

                   No response.

                                           CRUSHER
                                     (off tricorder)
                             Two life signs... one extremely
                             faint...

                                           TROI
                                     (off tricorder)
                             There are almost four metric tons
                             of rock blocking our way...

                   She aims a phaser at the rocks, but Worf stops her...

                                           WORF
                             That might cause another cave-in.

                   They have no choice... they start digging furiously...
                   Data picking up rocks that no human could lift...  Worf
                   refusing to surrender to his own physical limitations...
                   Beverly and Troi do the best they can... Tournel takes
                   the last children across the divide...

             228   INT. HYDROTHERMAL CAVERN                                   228

                   Almost pitch black... finding Picard under rubble, his
                   face cut, dazed, shaking himself back to consciousness...
                   hoarsely cries out for...

                                           PICARD
                             Anij...

                   He gropes around for her...

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             Worf to Picard...

                                           PICARD
                             Yes... yes, I... can hear you...

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             We're trying to get to you,
                             sir...

                   Picard begins to crawl around in the darkness and finally
                   comes to motionless body of Anij...

                                           PICARD
                             Anij.

                   She barely opens her eyes... Picard looks to see if he
                   still has his tricorder; he does... he trains it on
                   her... the reading are not good...

                                           PICARD
                             Help is coming.

                   She looks at him and tries to smile, but it's too much...
                   and her eyes close... and the tricorder tells Picard
                   she's on the edge of death...
                                        
                                           PICARD
                             Worf, you must hurry...

                                           WORF'S COM VOICE
                             We're coming as fast as we can...
                             we can't risk using phasers...

                                           PICARD
                             I understand. Tell Doctor
                             Crusher to have a hypospray of
                             lectrazine ready...

                                           CRUSHER'S COM VOICE
                             How bad is she, Captain...?

                                           PICARD
                                     (beat)
                             I'm losing her.

                                           CRUSHER'S COM VOICE
                             We're coming.

                   Picard takes Anij's hand and holds it to his own cheek...

                                           PICARD
                             Stay with me... don't let go of
                             this moment, Anij... help me find
                             the power to make you live in
                             this moment... just one more
                             moment... and then one more after
                             that... and one more after that.

                   Her eyes weakly open one last time and look at him...and
                   as their eyes connect... once again...

             229   HIS POV (OPTICAL)                                          229

                   as his consciousness moves down her arm and as the bond
                   is formed... he experiences --
   
             230   AN ALTERED REALITY - (OPTICAL)                             230

                   with heightened senses again as time seems to slow down,
                   her eyelids thumping slowly louder and louder... and as
                   they hold the moment the cavern seems to light up with
                   the metaphysical energy they're emanating... and it's
                   like Picard has thrown her a mystical lifeline to hold
                   onto... his eyes are her eyes as life seeps into them...
                   the moment seems to last forever... she smiles gently and
                   finally sunlight cracks into the cavern as Data and Worf
                   break through... Crusher crawls in and uses the
                   hypospray an Anij's neck... measures her lifesigns with
                   the tricorder, smiles at Picard...

                                           CRUSHER
                             She's stabilizing.

                                           PICARD
                             Is it safe to move her?

                                           CRUSHER
                             Safer than leaving her here.

                   Picard kneels and picks her up in his arms... Anij looks
                   weakly at him...

                                           ANIJ
                             And you thought it would take
                             centuries to learn.

                   He smiles with affection at her... and they all exit...

             231   EXT. HYDROTHERMAL CAVERN (ENTRANCE #2) - DAY               231

                   as Beverly, Worf, Troi, Data and Picard, carrying Anij,
                   come out to cross the divide... and they stop dead in
                   their tracks... as they see --
 
             232   FIVE DRONES HOVERING - (OPTICAL)                           232

                   menacingly between them and the safety of the mountain
                   caverns... and as we intercut between the drones and

             233   THE FACES OF OUR HEROES                                    233

                   we understand a classic showdown is imminent... an
                   O.K. Corral moment... and all this happens very fast: our
                   people stand shoulder to shoulder each a yard apart...
                   Picard gently lowers Anij to the ground... Worf tosses
                   him a spare phaser rifle... as he catches it...

             234   THE DRONES - (OPTICAL)                                     234

                   open fire...

             235    VARIOUS - (OPTICAL)                                       235
            THRU                                                             THRU
             238                                                              238

                   Our people react... move, duck and roll, tags just
                   missing them, as they fire back... only Picard stands
                   motionless on one knee protecting Anij... one, two,
                   three, four drones are destroyed but the fifth fires,
                   tagging Anij... Picard instantly reaches for her tag, but
                   then he feels the sting of...

             239   CLOSE - A TAG                                              239

                   on the side of his jacket; he reaches to pull it off but
                   it's too late...

             240   PICARD AND ANIJ - (OPTICAL)                                240
  
                   DEMATERIALIZE together...

             241   EXT. SPACE - RU'AFO'S SHIP - (OPTICAL)                     241

                   in orbit of the Ba'ku planet...

             242   INT. SON'A BRIG - DOUGHERTY                                242

                   escorted by Gallatin, enters a cavernous brig filled with
                   Ba'ku, perhaps as many as eighty of them...his eyes
                   looking for --

             243   ANGLE - PICARD                                             243

                   stroking Anij's hair as she lies weakly next to him and
                   Sojef. A beat as he locks eyes with Dougherty.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             Order them to surrender, and I
                             promise you won't be court-
                             martialed.

                                           PICARD
                             If a court-martial is the only
                             way to tell the people of the
                             Federation what happened here,
                             then I welcome it.

                   Ru'afo enters, controlled rage, hands a PADD to
                   Dougherty.

                                           RU'AFO
                             The Enterprise has destroyed one
                             of my ships. The other is on
                             fire, requesting assistance.

                   A beat. Picard reacts as Dougherty studies the PADD.

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Dougherty)
                             The Enterprise would only fire if
                             it were defending itself. Ru'afo
                             must have ordered the attack.
                                     (beat)
                             I can't believe he would've given
                             that order without your consent,
                             Admiral.

                   Dougherty maintains eye contact but has completely lost
                   his dignity...

                                           PICARD
                             I wonder... which one of us will be
                             facing that court-martial...
          
                                          DOUGHERTY
                                     (to Ru'afo)
                             There's nothing further to be
                             gained from this...

                                           RU'AFO
                             You're right. This is going to
                             end now.
                                     (to Picard)
                             The Ba'ku want to stay on the
                             planet. Let them. I'm going to
                             launch the injector...

                   Gallatin's face reacts to that...Picard sees his sharp
                   displeasure and then for an instant their eyes meet.
                   Gallatin looks away, but Picard registers the
                   information.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             You're not going to launch 
                             anything until...

                                           RU'AFO
                             In six hours, every living thing
                             in this system will be dead or
                             dying.

                   He starts to exit...

                                           PICARD
                             You would kill your own people,
                             Ru'afo? Your own parents, your
                             brothers, sisters...
                                     (off Dougherty's look)
                             Didn't you know, Admiral? The
                             Ba'ku and the Son'a are the same
                             race.

                   Dougherty, confused, looks to Ru'afo... who doesn't look
                   back... Sojef stands and comes forward... to Ru'afo --

                                           SOJEF
                             Which one were you? Gal'na...
                             Ro'tin...Belath'nin... I'm
                             sorry, I don't recognize you...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Those names, those children are
                             gone forever.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             What is he talking about?

                                           SOJEF
                             A century ago, a group of our
                             young people wanted to follow the
                             ways of the offlanders. They
                             tried to take over the colony...
                             and when they failed...

                                           RU'AFO
                             When we failed, you exiled us.
                             To die slowly.
         
                   Anij gathers the strength to look at him...

                                           ANIJ
                             You're Ro'tin, aren't you...?
                             There's something in the voice.
                                     (to Gallatin)
                             Would you be his friend Gal'na?
                                     (Gallatin looks away)
                             I helped your mother bathe you
                             when you were a child. She still
                             speaks of you.

                                           PICARD
                                     (to Dougherty)
                             You've brought the Federation
                             into the middle of a blood feud,
                             Admiral. The children have
                             returned to expel their elders...
                             just as they were once expelled.
                             Except Ru'afo's need for revenge
                             has now escalated to parricide.

                   Ru'afo exits. Gallatin looks at Sojef and then follows.
                   Dougherty is a lost man, realizing his tragic errors.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             It was for the Federation. It
                             was all for the Federation.

                   Picard offers no sympathy... Dougherty turns and exits...

             244   INT. SON'A BODY SCULPTURE CHAMBER - (OPTICAL)              244

                   Deserted as Ru'afo enters, his face full of tension... he
                   moves to a device that bombards his face with pulsating
                   green energy, trying to relax... Dougherty enters...

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             We're taking this ship out of
                             here... this mission is over...

                                           RU'AFO
                             It is not over.

                                           DOUGHERTY
                             It is over.

                   Ru'afo moves away from the device and grabs Dougherty
                   roughly... moving him across the room...

                                           RU'AFO
                             I do not take orders from you.
                              
                                           DOUGHERTY
                             If you begin the procedure while
                             the planet is still populated,
                             the Federation will pursue you
                             until...

                   Ru'afo, more powerful than Dougherty, throws him down
                   into one of the treatment chairs...

                                           RU'AFO
                             The Federation...

                   He locks Dougherty's head into the device... switches
                   several panels... the device lights up ominously...

                                           RU'AFO (CONT'D)
                             ... will never know what happened
                             here.

                   He hits a switch and begins to raise Dougherty's ears in
                   the facelift procedure we saw before... Dougherty
                   struggles but Ru'afo holds him down... as the Admiral's
                   twists and morphs into a grotesque facelift that
                   finally strangles him to death.
  
             245   INT. SON'A BRIDGE                                          245

                   Ru'afo enters...Gallatin and officers on duty...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Admiral Dougherty will not be
                             joining us for diner. Deploy
                             the collector.
                                     (Gallatin hesitates)
                             Do you have a problem with those
                             orders?

                                           GALLATIN
                             May I talk to you alone?

                                           RU'AFO
                                     (to another officer)
                             Deploy the collector.

                   The officer complies.

                                           GALLATIN
                             Moving them is one thing.
                             Killing them all...

                                           RU'AFO
                             No one hated them more than you,
                             Gal'na.
                                     (beat, intimately)
                             We've come a long way together.
                             This is the moment we've planned
                             for so many years...

                   Gallatin looks at his friend, his commander... Ru'afo
                   pats him encouragingly on the shoulder...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Separate the Starfleet personnel
                             and secure them in the aft cargo
                             hold... see that Picard joins
                             them...

                                           GALLATIN
                             The shields in that section won't
                             protect them against the
                             thermolytic reaction...

                                           RU'AFO
                             Thank-you for reminding me.

                   He sits in his command seat and watches his viewscreen...

             246   ANGLE INCLUDE SCREEN - THE SON'A SCIENCE VESSEL -          246
                   (OPTICAL)

                   as huge hatches open and the particle collector that will
                   capture the metaphasic radiation from the rings slowly
                   extends out in both directions. After a beat, Gallatin
                   exits... push in to Ru'afo...

             247   INT. COLLECTOR - (OPTICAL)                                 247

                   an Astrodome-sized chamber full of weird crisscrossing
                   patterns of pipes, conduits, cables, and rails -- all of
                   them stretching slowing outward as the collector expands.

             248   EXT. SPACE - BRILLIANT SOLAR SAILS                         248

                   begin to unfurl majestically in front of the planet's
                   rings... and now we recognize it as the remarkable device
                   we saw earlier in Ru'afo's simulation.

             249   INT. SON'A BRIG - (OPTICAL)                                249

                   Picard has climbed the rear wall with help from two
                   Ba'ku, examines the forcefield generators in the ceiling.

                                           ANIJ
                                     (a warning)
                             Jean-Luc...

                   Gallatin arrives... armed with a hand weapon. Aiming it
                   at Picard, he turns off the forcefield...

                                           GALLATIN
                             Come with me.

                   Picard measures him for a moment then comes out, smiles
                   'don't worry' to Anij... Gallatin restores the field and
                   motions for Picard to exit...
  
             250   INT. SON'A CORRIDOR                                        250

                   walking to a turbolift... unusually cordial considering
                   the circumstances --

                                           PICARD
                             It must have been very strange
                             for you.
                                     (off his look)
                             When you were a hostage. Being
                             among the friends and families
                             you knew so many years ago. All
                             of them looking exactly as they
                             did. Almost like... looking
                             through the eyes of childhood
                             again.

                   Gallatin presses a panel at the lift... Picard fixes his
                   eyes on him, evenly --

                                           PICARD
                             And here you are trying to close
                             those eyes again... to pretend
                             you can't see what the bitterness
                             has done to your people... what
                             it's done to Ru'afo... and to
                             you
                                     (beat)
                             It's turned you... into a coward.
                                     (off his reaction)
                             A man who ignores his conscience.

                   The turbolift arrives...

                                           GALLATIN
                            Get in.

                   Picard enters...

             251   INT. TURBOLIFT - CONTINUOUS                                251

                                           PICARD
                             A coward... without the moral
                             courage to stop an unspeakable
                             atrocity. You offend me.

                                           GALLATIN
                                     (incredulous)
                             Is this how a Federation officer
                             begs for his life?

                                           PICARD
                             I'm not begging for my life. I'm
                             begging for yours.
                                     (beat)
                             There is still a way home,
                             Gal'na.

                   Gallatin looks at Picard a long, miserable beat, then...

                                           GALLATIN
                             Computer, close turbolift doors.

                   The doors close. Gallatin lowers his weapon.

                                           GALLATIN
                             What you're asking me to do... is
                             impossible... the crew is loyal
                             to Ru'afo...

                                           PICARD
                             Do you know how to disable the
                             injector?

                                           GALLATIN
                                     (nods)
                             But I would need at least three
                             minutes on the bridge.

                                           PICARD
                             If we could lure him away from
                             the bridge...

                                           GALLATIN
                                     (shaking his head)
                             It doesn't matter where he is.
                             As soon as he realizes something
                             is happening, he'll override my
                             commands with one word at his com-
                             link...

                                           PICARD
                                     (beat, an idea)
                             What if he doesn't realize
                             something's happening...
                                     (Gallatin reacts,
                                      confused)
                             Can you get me to a transmitter?
                             I have to speak with Worf and
                             Data on the surface... we'll need
                             their help...

                   As Gallatin acknowledges, still uncertain what Picard's
                   up to...

                                           GALLATIN
                             Deck twelve.

             252   EXT. SPACE - THE COLLECTOR - (OPTICAL)                     252
    
                   sails fully extended now...

             253   INT. SON'A BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                              253

                                           RU'AFO
                             Initiate launch sequence.
                                 
                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Activating injector assembly.
                                
                                           SON'A OFFICER #3
                             Launch in (TECH) minutes.

                   Establish a digital display near Ru'afo's command post
                   that shows (time TECH) counting down. Ru'afo is calm,
                   determined. Suddenly a tiny boom. Reactions.
          
                                           SON'A OFFICER #3
                             A small craft is coming up from
                             the surface. It's firing tachyon
                             bursts at us...

                                           RU'AFO
                             On screen.

                   On the screen, the Captain's yacht approaches, firing...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #3
                             One person aboard. It's the
                             android.

                   Ru'afo dismisses the puny attack...

                                 RU'AFO
                             He's no threat.

             254   EXT. SPACE - THE YACHT - (OPTICAL)                         254

                   firing at the Son'a ship... the solar collector
                   continuing to power up in the background...

             255   INT. YACHT COCKPIT                                         255

                   Data is alone... presses the companel...

                                           DATA
                             Data to Picard...

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             Yes, Data...

             256   INT. SON'A SHIP ELECTRICAL CONDUIT - PICARD                256

                   crawling through the narrow passage behind Gallatin...

                                           DATA'S COM VOICE
                             Sir, they're ignoring my attack.

                                           PICARD
                             Keep firing tachyon bursts into
                             their shield grid. Is Worf in
                             position...?

             257   INT. YACHT - (OPTICAL)                                     257

                                           DATA
                             Yes, sir. He's ready for
                             simultaneous transport.
                              
                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             We'll be at the bridge in two
                             minutes... Picard out...

                   Data moves the ship into an attack posture, diving at the
                   larger vessel seen in the window... firing...

             258   OMITTED                                                    258

             259   INT. SON'A BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                              259

                   The collector on the viewscreen...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #3
                             Detonation in three minutes.

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Sir, the Federation ship is
                             creating a disruption in our
                             shields... if they go out of
                             phase, it will increase our
                             exposure to the thermolytic
                             reaction...

                                           RU'AFO
                                     (beat, irritated)
                             Very well. Destroy that ship and
                             reset our shield harmonics... do
                             not delay the countdown...

             260   EXT. SPACE - THE YACHT - (OPTICAL)                         260

                   is hit by a concentrated burst of fire from the Son'a
                   ship... it goes spinning out of control...

             261   INT. YACHT                                                 261

                   Data tries to control the yacht. He's hit again... his
                   whole console is smoking...

                                           DATA
                                     (off console)
                             Data to Picard. They are
                             rotating the shield harmonics. I
                             am attempting to return to the
                             surface...

             262   INT. SON'A BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                              262

                                           SON'A OFFICER #3
                             The Federation ship has been
                             disabled.

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Launch in thirty seconds.

                   Suddenly, there is an extended optical flash (note: long
                   enough to cover a brief transporter effect). Reactions.
                             
                                           RU'AFO
                             What is that?

                                           SON'A OFFICER #3
                             I don't know.
                                     (the effect ends)
                             Systems don't seem affected...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Launch in fifteen seconds.

                   See the digital countdown display at 00:15.

             263   ANGLE TO INCLUDE VIEWSCREEN - (OPTICAL)                    263

                   to see the collector with its sails fully extended...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Ten seconds.

                   A tiny section of the collector is launched toward the
                   rings...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Injector assembly launched.

                   As it enters, it begins to disperse charges that set off
                   a chain reaction in the ring system... the very nature of
                   the rings changes before our eyes, and flumes of
                   particulate matter scatter away. The process continues
                   racing along the rings...  all of this is seen on the
                   viewscreen...

             264   CLOSE ON RU'AFO                                            264

                   He watches mesmerized, his vengeance finally satisfied.

                                           RU'AFO
                             Exactly as the simulations
                             predicted...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                             Sir, I am not showing any change
                             in metaphasic flux levels...

             265   WIDER - (OPTICAL)                                          265

                                           RU'AFO
                             Your scanners must be
                             malfunctioning.

                       		       SON'A OFFICER #2
                                     (off console, puzzled)
                             All ship functions are off-line.

                   Ru'afo reacts, turns to a station and presses panels...

                                           RU'AFO
                             How can there be no ship
                             functions if the viewscreen is
                             working, artificial gravity is
                             stable, life support is...

                   But his eyes catch something. He moves across the bridge
                   to a small visual gap where a holo-grid is visible... his 
                   eyes react with horror... he reaches out, touches it...

                                           RU'AFO
                             A holodeck?

                   He takes out a disruptor and fires it at the wall
                   revealing a further portion of the holo-grid in the same
                   effect we saw earlier with Picard and Data...

                                           RU'AFO
                             A holodeck?

                   He fires again and again...revealing more of the grid...
                   his repeated blasting eventually reveals a short flight
                   of stairs... he leads the way up them...

             266   INT. HOLO-SHIP BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                          266

                   Barely more than a cockpit with a large window into space --
                   as they enter, Ru'afo reacts as he sees the rings are
                   normal... his own ship is right there in front of him...

                                           RU'AFO
                                     (stunned, realizing)
                             We were transported to the holo-
                             ship when we reset our shields.
                             Everything we saw... was an
                             illusion.
                                     (hitting his com-link)
                             Ru'afo, authorization delta two-
                             one... override all interlink
                             commands to injector assembly
                             one.

                   He stands there, but his com-link responds simply...

                                           SON'A COMPUTER
                             Unable to comply. Injector
                             assembly one has been de-
                             activated.

                   On his reaction...

             267   INT. SON'A BRIDGE - (OPTICAL)                              267

                   where Picard, Worf and Gallatin are firmly in command...
                   see the real countdown display has been frozen at 2:12.

      						 WORF
                             All injector sub-systems are
                             confirmed off-line.

                                           PICARD
                             Decloak the holo-ship and engage
                             a tractor beam, Mister Worf.

                   As Worf presses panels and the holo-ship DECLOAKS on the
                   viewscreen, Picard presses a companel...

                                           PICARD
                             Picard to Data.

             268   INT. YACHT COCKPIT - (OPTICAL)                             268

                   as the ship re-enters the planet's atmosphere, shaking
                   badly, heating up... a piece of the roof breaks off...

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             Your status?

                                           DATA
                             Precarious, sir... I am having
                             trouble re-entering the
                             atmosphere... I believe I will
                             have to transport to the
                             surface...

                   Data is heating up and turning red just as the rest of
                   the ship is.

                                           PICARD'S COM VOICE
                             Understood. Well done.

                                           DATA
                             Thank-you, sir.

                   He DEMATERIALIZES.  A beat later, the yacht disintegrates
                   in the atmosphere.

             269   INT. HOLO-SHIP COCKPIT                                     269

                   Ru'afo is frustrated...

                                           RU'AFO
                             This ship is equipped with
                             fourteen long range
                             transporters... are they all
                             useless...?

                                           SON'A OFFICER #2
                                     (working the console)
                             They must have been locked and
                             secured after we were beamed
                             here.

                                           RU'AFO
                             Isolate one and re-route its
                             command sequence through the
                             auxiliary processor...

                                           SON'A OFFICER #3
                             Sir, there's nothing we can do...
                             they already have control of our
                             ship.

                                           RU'AFO
                             I don't plan on going back to our
                             ship.

             270   EXT. SPACE - BRIAR PATCH - THE ENTERPRISE (OPTICAL)        270

                   on it's way back...

             271   INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE                                     271

                   Riker at Command, La Forge at Ops, Perim at Conn, Nara at
                   Tactical. Basic repairs have been done, but the bridge
                   still shows signs of the battle.

                                           NARA
                             Sir, we're within sensor range of
                             the Son'a ship. I'm picking up
                             Captain Picard's com-signal on
                             board...

                   Off Riker's reaction...

             272   INT. SON'A BRIDGE                                          272

                                           RIKER'S COM VOICE
                             Enterprise to Picard...

                                           PICARD
                                     (reacts)
                             Number one.

                                           RIKER'S COM VOICE
                             We should be at your position in
                             seven minutes. Do you need
                             assistance...

                                           PICARD
                             Negative. Did you succeed?

             273   INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE                                     273

                                           RIKER
                             The Council has ordered a halt to
                             the Ba'ku relocation while they
                             conduct a top-level review.

             274   INT. SON'A BRIDGE                                          274

                                           PICARD
                             Top level review, my ass.
                             There'll be no cover-up of this.
                             Not after I get...

                                           WORF
                             Captain...

                   He motions to the digital display... counting backwards
                   at 2:05 now... Picard reacts... Gallatin works the
                   controls...

                                           GALLATIN
                             The countdown control has been
                             transferred to the collector...I
                             can't override...

                                           PICARD
                             Scan for lifesigns.

                                           WORF
                             One. It's Ru'afo.

                                           PICARD
                             Can you beam him off?

                                           WORF
                             Negative. He's established a
                             security field around the control
                             room...

                                           PICARD
                             Is there any other way to disable
                             the injector?

                   Gallatin thinks, then calls up...

             275   ANGLE (OPTICAL) - COMPUTER DISPLAY SHOWING THE             275
                   INJECTOR ASSEMBLY

                   isolating the section that we saw launched into the rings
                   in the simulation...

                                           GALLATIN
                             We'd have to remove the ignition
                             matrix directly from the injector
                             assembly... but in less than two
                             minutes, that injector is going
                             to be launched into the rings...

             276   OMITTED                                                    276

             277   RESUME                                                     277

                                           WORF
                             Sir, I volunteer to...
         
                   Picard moves toward a transporter station, starts to
                   Remove his jacket...

                                           PICARD
                             Denied, Commander. I have no
                             intention of informing your bride
                             that you're not coming home...

                   The countdown is at 1:41...

             278   INT. COLLECTOR - (OPTICAL)                                 278

                   The weird cavernous room is left with a skeleton of
                   structured elements now that all the sails are fully
                   unfurled... it almost reminds of the support foe an old-
                   time roller coaster -- a cobweb of crisscrossing pipes,
                   and conduits and planks...

             279   RU'AFO - (OPTICAL)                                         279

                   in a control area safely removed from the injector,
                   working controls... the digital display moving back from
                   1:35... he doesn't immediately see --

             280   ANGLE - PICARD - (OPTICAL)                                 280

                   MATERIALIZING... near the injector. This is not an area
                   built for manned operation... so Picard has to make do
                   with the structural elements...

                   he's been beamed to a platform a few yards from the
                   injector... and now he has to crawl across what is
                   essentially a plank on his back... under the injector
                   assembly...

             281   ANGLE (OPTICAL) - LOOKING DOWN ON PICARD                   281

                   moving across the plank... the dark recesses of the vast
                   chamber below him... he slides into the assembly's grill,
                   with many open spaces...

             282   ANGLE FAVORING HIS POV - THE IGNITION MATRIX - (OPTICAL)   282

                   where another digital display shows the countdown at
                   1:19...he takes a Son'a tool out of a pouch on his
                   costume... goes to work, still lying on his back... he
                   inserts the tool and removes the panel cover to expose
                   the interior of the ignition matrix...

             283   WITH RU'AFO (OPTICAL)                                      283

                   as an alarm goes off on his console...he reacts...
                   switches off the forcefield and goes out to look up at --

             284   HIS POV - PICARD (OPTICAL)                                 284

                   working on the injector...

             285   WIDE - (OPTICAL)                                           285

                   as Ru'afo climbs toward Picard...

             286   PICARD                                                     286

                   knows he's running out of time now... he works on
                   removing an interior safety screen that shields the
                   components... it finally slips off and falls, clanging as
                   it hits structural elements below... the countdown hits
                   1:09...

             287   RU'AFO - (OPTICAL)                                         287

                   climbs...

             288   PICARD - (OPTICAL)                                         288

                   reaches in to pull out the ignition matrix but a small
                   forcefield blocks his hand... he frowns... examines the
                   security sensors, begins to disconnect them...

             289   RU'AFO (OPTICAL)                                           289

                   starts to cross a plank toward Picard... their eyes
                   connect...

             290   ON THE INJECTOR'S GRILL - (OPTICAL)                        290

                   Picard succeeds in defeating the security system... the
                   forcefield fritzes off... the countdown at :47... he
                   reaches for the component but Ru'afo gets there first...
                   lunges at Picard, seconds before he can complete his
                   task. They grapple across the grill and Picard slips
                   through one of the openings...

             291   ANGLE EMPHASIZING THE FALL - (OPTICAL)                     291

                   ... Picard barely catching himself by grabbing on to the
                   grill...

             292   RU'AFO                                                     292

                   scrambles onto the assembly, reaches Picard and starts 
                   to uncurl...

             293   PICARD'S FINGERS                                           293

                   holding onto the grill... trying to force him to let
                   go...

             294   PICARD - (OPTICAL)                                         294

                   grimaces, looks to see:

             295   THE DIGITAL DISPLAY HITS :20                               295

             296   RESUME - (OPTICAL)                                         296

                   The ignition matrix engages and the nitrogen flow that
                   follows throws Ru'afo slightly off-balance... Picard
                   knowing it's now or never, releases one hand and grabs
                   Ru'afo by the neck and yanks his head down hard against
                   the grill, stunning him... Picard pulls himself up and
                   moves quickly into the blinding nitrogen toward the
                   detonation circuit again...

                   he literally disappears for a brief second... as Ru'afo
                   comes back at him again... the countdown at :10... Ru'afo
                   pulls him away from the controls... :05... Picard leaps
                   for the plank he crawled over on... Ru'afo looks at...

             297   HIS POV - THE DETONATION CIRCUIT                           297
  
                   and it's gone!

             298   RU'AFO                                                     298

                   reacts... looks at...

             299   PICARD                                                     299

                   on the plank who holds up the circuit for him to see...

                                           PICARD
                             Looking for this?

             300   THE DIGITAL DISPLAY - 0:00                                 300

             301   TWO SHOT: PICARD AND RU'AFO - (OPTICAL)                    301

                   perhaps no more than a foot apart... but an instant
                   later, Ru'afo slides away with the injector as it's
                   launched... a protective forcefield zaps into place as it
                   enters space... Picard watches as it moves toward the
                   rings...    

             302   EXT. COLLECTOR - CONTINUOUS (OPTICAL)                      302

                   As we saw in the simulation, the injector continues to
                   move toward the rings...

             303   INT. INJECTOR - ANGLE THROUGH THE FORCEFIELD - (OPTICAL)   303

                   to see the rings getting closer and closer... and as we
                   burst into them... the bright colorful metaphasic dust
                   and gases swirling around us like a hurricane...

             304   RU'AFO - (OPTICAL)                                         304

                   begins to change... growing younger and younger... face-
                   lift falls into middle-age... then taking on the Ba'ku
                   facial skin pattern as he reaches young adulthood... then
                   adolescence... then childhood. White out.

             305   EXT. VILLAGE - DAY                                         305
          
                   The Ba'ku returning from the hills... Troi waves from a
                   distance... and we move to see Riker, standing with Worf
                   (back in uniform), waving back...

                                           WORF
                             Have I mentioned the
                             unanticipated rewards I've
                             discovered in a permanent
                             relationship...?

                                           RIKER
                             'Permanent'... that sounds like a
                             long time, Worf.

                                           WORF
                                     (with irony)
                             Life is short, Commander.

                   Worf leaves Riker to think about that... and as we move
                   away with him, he takes us to Gallatin watching the
                   children play tag in the high grass with a personal
                   longing.

             306   ANGLE TO SEE PICARD, ANIJ AND SOJEF - (OPTICAL)            306

                   walking slowly observing Gallatin. Anij is almost fully
                   recovered. Picard is back in uniform.

                                           SOJEF
                             I wish there was a way to bring
                             them back home.

                                           PICARD
                             Ask them.

                                           SOJEF
                             I'm afraid there's too much
                             bitterness... on both sides.

                   They pause as they notice Crusher escorting a young Ba'ku
                   woman... returning from the mountains... she tries to
                   recognize Gallatin... we're too far away to hear what is
                   said... but the woman embraces Gallatin as a mother
                   embraces a lost son... and Crusher looks over and smiles
                   to Picard... before she leaves the couple alone...  Anij
                   looks to Picard, realizing --

                                           ANIJ
                             Mother and son. You arranged
                             this...?

                                           PICARD
                             I thought it might begin the
                             healing process.

                   Sojef considers Picard, shakes his hand with a unstated
                   but deep appreciation for all that this offlander has
                   done. He moves away to join Gallatin and his mother.
                   Anij looks to Picard with love.

                                           ANIJ
                             What am I going to do without
                             you?

                   Picard reacts, slightly surprised that she has
                   anticipated that he has to go.

                                           PICARD
                             These are perilous times for the
                             Federation. I can't abandon it
                             to people who would threaten
                             everything I've spent a lifetime
                             defending.

                                           PICARD (CONT'D)
                             I'm going back to Earth to...
                             slow things down... at the
                             Federation Council.

                   She nods, she knows...

                                           PICARD
                             But I have three hundred and
                             eighteen days of vacation time
                             coming. I plan on using them.

                                           ANIJ
                             I'll be here.

                             Worf moves over...

                                           WORF
                             Captain, the Ticonderoga has
                             moved into orbit.

                                           QUARK'S VOICE
                             Worf!

                   They turn to see a Ferengi (QUARK) approaching in a
                   bathing suit with a beach umbrella and two barely dressed
                   Dabo girls...

                                           WORF
                             What are you doing here, Quark?

                                           QUARK
                             The same thing everyone else in
                             the quadrant is going to be doing
                             here... as soon as I build the
                             greatest spa in the galaxy...
                                     (sotto)
                             ... these people don't have any
                             religious thing about casinos do
                             they...?

                                           PICARD
                             There aren't going to be any spas
                             on this planet.
                   
                                           QUARK
                             Do I know you?

                                           PICARD
                                     (ignoring the
                                      question)
                             This world is about to become a
                             Federation protectorate, which
                             will end any and all attempts at
                             exploitation by people like you.

                                           QUARK
                             Explain to me how five thousand
                             time-share units... right there
                             along the lake... would be
                             'exploiting' anyone.

                                           PICARD
                             Mister Worf, have this
                             uninvited... offlander and his
                             quests beamed to the Enterprise.
                             We'll deposit them at Deep Space
                             Nine.

                                           WORF
                             Must you, sir?

                   Worf takes Quark away by the scruff of his beach shirt...
                   his disappointed babes follow ...trailing away --

                                           QUARK
                             You'll hear from my Nagus.

                   They're gone.

                                           ANIJ
                             Do you really think your mighty
                             Federation would be interested in
                             protecting six hundred people?

                                           PICARD
                             The "mighty" Federation could
                             learn a few things from this
                             village...

                   He kisses her. The signature humming bird appears,
                   sweeping up in the breeze and hovers briefly in front of
                   them... and as he takes her hand to his cheek...

             307   THE HUMMING BIRD (OPTICAL)                                 307

                   slows... its wing movements becoming more fluid and
                   gentle... as the moment extends...

             308   ANGLE ON TROI, CRUSHER, WORF, LA FORGE AND RIKER           308
                   
                   prepared to transport...

                                           LA FORGE
                             Where's Data?

             309   ANGLE - THE HIGH GRASS                                     309

                   a shot like our opening shot...except the head that
                   peeks through the grass this time is Data's... and as we
                   widen, we see he has taken Artim's earlier advice and is
                   playing tag with all the kids...

                                           CRUSHER
                                     (calling)
                             Data! It's time to go!

                   Data stands up straight as he hears the voice, looks at
                   Artim a long beat... and this is a kid's moment,
                   underplaying the sentiment the way kids would...

                                           DATA
                             I have to go home now.

                                           ARTIM
                             Bye.

                   Data nods...

                                           DATA
                             Bye.

                   Artim smiles as Data joins the others...

                                           ARTIM
                             Don't forget -- you've got to 
                             play a little bit every day.

                   Data acknowledges...

                                           RIKER
                             Good advice.

                   Riker takes Troi's hand suggesting perhaps a new
                   permanent commitment. Picard moves to join the others,
                   presses his combadge.

                                           PICARD
                             Enterprise... seven to beam up.
                             Energize.

                   Picard exchanges a final look with Anij as they
                   DEMATERIALIZE.

             310   EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - (OPTICAL)                    310

                   leaves orbit and as it moves into space...

                   FADE OUT.

                                           THE END












  
