Screenplay by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga
Story by Rick Berman, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga
Directed by David Carson
Cast: Captain Jean Luc Picard-Patrick Stewart, Cmdr. William Riker-Jonathan Frakes, Lt. Cmdr. Data-Brent Spiner, Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge-Levar Burton, Lt. Cmdr. Worf-Michael Dorn, Dr. Beverly Crusher-Gates McFadden, Counselor Deanna Troi-Marina Sirtis, Dr. Tollan Soran-Malcolm McDowell, Guinan-Whoopi Goldberg, Nurse Alyssa Ogawa-Patti Yasutake, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott-James Doohan, Pavel Andreivich Chekov-Walter Koenig, Captain James T. Kirk, ret.-William Shatner, Captain John Harriman -Alan Ruck, Ensign Demore Sulu-Jacqueline Kim, 1701-B Science Officer-Jenette Goldstein, 1701-B Com Officer-Thomas Kopache, 1701-B Navigator-Glenn Morshower, 1701-B Lt.-Tim Russ, Journalist #1-Christine Jansen, Journalist #2-John Putch, Journalist #3-Tommy Hinckley, Ensign Hayes-Michael Mack, Lt. Farrell-Dendrie Taylor, Transporter Chief-Granville Ames, Security Officer Paskall-Henry Marshall, Girl w/ teddy bear-Brittany Parkyn, Lursa Barbara-March, B'Etor-Gwynyth Walsh, Klingon Guard-Rif Hutton, Klingon Helmsman-Brian Thompson, El-Aurian survivors-Marcy Goldman, Jim Krestaiuce, Judy Levitt, Kristopher Logan, Gwen Van Dam. Picard's wife-Kim Braden, Rene' Picard-Christopher James Miller, Matthew Picard-Matthew Collins, Mimi Picard-Mimi Collins, Thomas Picard-Thomas Alexander Dekker, Madison Picard-Madison P. Dinton
Olivia Picard-Olivia Hack, Computer Voice-Majel Barrett
Stardate 48632.4
Released November 18, 1994
A Champagne bottle tumbles
through space, slowly drifting towards its intended target, the new U.S.S.
Enterprise, NCC-1701-B. It is late in the 23rd century, and the
inauguration of the vessel is attended by crew from the former starship of the
same name—James Kirk, Montgomery Scott and Pavel Chekov. Reporters and
onlookers clamor to interview Kirk and the new U.S.S. Enterprise captain
about commanding a starship, as the crew begins to embark on its routine maiden
voyage. A short time into the flight, however, the starship receives a distress
call and is diverted to aid two El-Aurian transport vessels which are caught in
a strange, mysterious energy ribbon. Kirk, falling back on his old instincts,
quickly finds that not only is the new captain inexperienced, but most of the
ship's vital weapons and functions have not yet been installed. While Kirk,
Scott and Chekov struggle to save the ship, the transporter room beams aboard
survivors, even as their El-Aurian transport vessels are torn apart by the
energy ribbon.
Kirk
goes below deck to work on the deflector relays, but the ribbon suddenly
strikes the starship, tearing a large gash through the hull and leaving only
debris where Kirk was working. Scotty and Chekov stare out into space,
bewildered by the sudden loss of their friend.
Seventy-eight
years later, in 2371, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D join
together on the holodeck for a ceremony to promote Lt. Worf—a Klingon
officer—to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. The ceremony is conducted using a
19th-century sailing ship and corresponding uniforms. The merriment is suddenly
interrupted, however, when Picard receives an urgent personal message. Suddenly
depressed, Picard leaves the festivities to contemplate in privacy.
Meanwhile,
officers Geordi La Forge and Data successfully install an emotion chip designed
by Data's creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, into the android. Although La Forge
questions the wisdom of the installation as a potentially painful step in the
growth of his friend, Data ignores him. After installing the chip, Data quickly
discovers the vast array of emotions now available to him and believes he has
the necessary skills to integrate them into his programming.
Sent
to the Amargosa Observatory to investigate a distress call, the U.S.S.
Enterprise finds two dead Romulans and five humans left alive after a
mysterious and brutal attack. One of these survivors is a Dr. Tolian Soran.
Data and La Forge later return to the starship's laboratory and find traces of
a volatile explosive which Soran has secretly concealed in the lab. While Data
watches in abject terror, Soran kidnaps La Forge, taking him to a cloaked
Klingon ship. When questioning La Forge proves unsuccessful, Soran releases the
starship officer—after modifying his VISOR to transmit its signals back to the
Klingon vessel.
Soran
then fires a trilithium probe into the sun, which causes an incredible shock
wave. The Klingon ship, on which he is a passenger, is commanded by the Klingon
Duras sisters. In exchange for the formula for Soran's trilithium explosive,
they have agreed to take him to the planet Veridian III, where he wants to
conduct another solar implosion.
On
board the U.S.S. Enterprise, Picard learns that Soran is 300 years old
and, like Guinan, a survivor of the El-Aurian incident that killed Captain
Kirk. In an effort to understand what is happening, Picard finally goes to
Guinan. She tells him that the energy ribbon, called the Nexus, is a temporal
anomaly moving through space. To anyone or anything inside the Nexus, linear
time has no meaning and a person can experience anything that he or she
desires. There is an overpowering feeling of joy so addictive, that once there,
no one wants to leave. Soran is desperate to return to the Nexus and recreate
that joy with the family he lost when his world was assimilated by the Borg.
Picard,
still depressed from his previous message, informs Troi of his family lineage
and that he never intended to have any children because his brother had
children who would carry on the Picard name. However, according to the message
he received, his brother and nephew were killed in a fire on Earth. Therefore,
Jean-Luc will now be the last Picard.
In
Stellar Cartography, Picard and an emotionally troubled Data plot the course of
the Nexus and the changes that have occurred since the sun was destroyed. They
conclude that Soran plans to destroy another sun when the Nexus passes close to
the Veridian system—killing as many as 230 million inhabitants on one of the
system's planets. Destroying the suns alters spacial forces, thereby changing
the path of the Nexus. With the Veridian sun destroyed, the Nexus will then
pass along the surface of Veridian III, allowing Soran to re-enter the
phenomenon.
Picard,
learning of the situation, beams down to Veridian III to try to dissuade Soran.
In the meantime, La Forge has been returned to the U.S.S. Enterprise in
exchange for Picard; the Duras sisters watch with great interest as La Forge
moves about the ship. Finally they see what they've been waiting for—the U.S.S.
Enterprise deflector shield modulation. Seizing this information, the
cloaked Bird-of-Prey fires through the starship's deflector shields, severely
damaging the U.S.S. Enterprise. Ultimately, however, the U.S.S.
Enterprise succeeds in destroying the Klingon warbird, killing all aboard.
Unfortunately Soran has already beamed down to the planet Veridian III.
Due
to damage sustained by the Klingon's attack, the Enterprise suffers a
warp-core breach and Riker orders the saucer section separated. Before he can
get the saucer away safely, however, the battle section explodes, hurtling the
saucer and its entire crew toward the surface of Veridian III. After a
terrifying ride, the U.S.S. Enterprise saucer crash lands on the
planet's surface. Fortunately, most of the crew are uninjured.
Elsewhere
on the planet's surface, Picard and Soran fight to the death as the Nexus
rapidly approaches. Soran manages to fire his trilithium probe into the sun,
destroying it as the ribbon engulfs both men, taking them inside the Nexus. In
their wake, the inhabitants of the Veridian system, as well as the survivors
from the U.S.S. Enterprise, are engulfed in a giant cloud of fire.
For
a time, Picard is bewildered but delighted to be spending Christmas with his
large, happy family—a family he's never had the time to start. But then, just
as the captain gazes at a sparkling ornament, he is suddenly reminded that this
experience is not real and that he must get on with his mission. Picard
remembers that Guinan had told him he would find someone in the Nexus to help
him defeat Soran. Just then, an "echo" of Guinan appears, telling
Picard that he can have anything he wants in the Nexus, but that he can also
leave—and he can leave prior to when he came. There might still be time to stop
Soran's destruction, but Picard believes he needs help if he's to be
successful.
With
Guinan's help, Picard finds a slightly puzzled but happy James T. Kirk in the
Nexus. Kirk wasn't killed 78 years earlier on the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B,
but was drawn into the Nexus instead. Picard meets a content Kirk who is now a
happy farmer in Iowa, complete with his life's loves—"Antonia" and
his horses. Picard is successful in convincing Kirk of the spurious nature of
the Nexus realities, and he awakens Kirk's taste for adventure, duty, and the
chance to "make a difference again." The two Enterprise
captains leave the Nexus and materialize on Veridian III, just as Soran is
preparing to set off his solar bomb. This time, Kirk grapples with Soran while Picard
races to sabotages the probe.
Although
Kirk wins the fight, knocking Soran off the edge of the cliff, the diabolical
doctor manages to cloak the launch mechanism before Picard can disarm it. Yet
Soran, hanging on for dear life at the end of a rope, loses control of the
remote after the line suddenly gives. The remote control is thrown into the
air, landing on a nearby bridge. Kirk races to recover the remote, as does
Soran, who fires on Kirk and the bridge with his deadly disruptor. Although
Kirk is saved in the nick of time by Picard, the bridge is broken in two, with
the remote resting on the opposite portion across the void.
Picard
urges Kirk to accept his help, yet Kirk, stubborn as always, goes after the
remote himself. With the second half of the bridge about to give, Kirk jumps to
the other side, escaping certain death by seconds. Just as the remote is about
to fall into the chasm, Kirk miraculously grabs it out of thin air. With time
running out and the Nexus fast approaching, Kirk decloaks the launch mechanism.
Suddenly the second half of the bridge collapses into the chasm, carrying Kirk
with it.
Picard,
now able to see the mechanism, races to the controls. Yet his plans are
seemingly cut short when Soran, frantic that he might miss his last chance at
gaining access to the Nexus, aims his disruptor directly at the captain.
Although Picard escapes, capitalizing on Soran's distraction, the evil doctor
doesn't care. His moment of triumph is at hand. Soran's smile slowly fades,
however, when he realizes that Picard has secured the missile's locking clamps;
although about to ignite, the rocket will not launch.
The
launch mechanism explodes into a giant fireball, killing Soran and preventing
the destruction of the entire Veridian system. Picard runs to Kirk, where he
stays until the former captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise dies. "It
was fun...oh my." are Kirk's last words. After Picard has buried and
mourned the loss of his new friend, a shuttlecraft from the U.S.S.
Enterprise finds Picard and takes him to the ship's crash site where
survivors are being rescued by the U.S.S. Farragut.
Believing
he has finally mastered human emotions, Data finds himself wrong when he and
Counselor Troi manage to find the android's cat amongst the Enterprise
wreckage. Data, bewildered, is overcome with tears of joy. Riker is saddened as
they leave the wrecked starship, but Picard assures him that this is not likely
to be the last ship named "Enterprise."
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