DIRECTED BY
AIRED ON
January 17, 1994
RUNTIME
45 minutes
STARRING
VIEWS
185
LAST UPDATE
2024-09-11 20:31:19
PAGE VERSION
Version 1
LIKES
0
DISLIKES
0
SUMMARY
Stardate: 47423.9. Worf's adoptive brother violates the Prime Directive to save an alien society whose planet is dying.
STORY
No story yet.
BEHIND THE SCENES
No trivia yet.
QUOTES
Prez: No one wins, one side just loses more slowly.
FILMING LOCATIONS
TOPICS
No topics yet.
REVIEWS
Excellent
Written by
Pike on 2018-05-20
★
★
★
★
KIMA
I liked that Kima joining the homicide section and getting the murder investigation that is supposed to take forever to be resolved. They decide to give it to the rookie and I expect that she will actually care and resolve it quickly, which will have some consequences.
EVERYBODY LOSES
In this episode, there is a great quote that I think fits particularly this literary exercise of a tv series. Prez is watching the game and then says to his wife that "no one wins, one side just loses more slowly." I think this was just the perfect quote to summarize The Wire and the situations of the social classes. The gangsters are suffering, the kids are suffering, the policemen are suffering, the politicians are suffering. It's a zero sum game where no one wins at the end.
SUMMARY
An excellent episode, once again. I give it 7 out of 10.
TRANSCRIPT
Captain's log, stardate 47423.9. We have arrived at Boraal Two in response to an emergency distress call from Lieutenant Worf's foster brother, Nikolai Rozhenko. He has been stationed on the planet as a cultural observer.
[Bridge]
PICARD: Analysis. Mister Data.
DATA: The planet's atmosphere is dissipating, sir. Intense plasmonic reactions are destroying it. The stratosphere is already breaking down. There are turbulent radiation storms across much of its surface. I estimate that the planet will be uninhabitable in less than thirty eight hours.
RIKER: The distress call came in only four days ago. Why would Doctor Rozhenko have waited so long before sending it?
DATA: Atmospheric dissipation is a rare and essentially unpredictable event. When it occurs, it proceeds rapidly. Doctor Rozhenko may not have had sufficient warning.
(ship shakes)
PICARD: What was that?
DATA: The dissipation effect is generating plasmonic energy bursts.
RIKER: Is there any danger to the ship?
DATA: I do not believe so. However, we may experience intermittent system failures and power surges as a result.
PICARD: Keep an eye on it. Mister Worf, any luck?
WORF: There is still no response to our hails, sir. I am attempting to scan the observation post.
RIKER: He could be hurt. Maybe he can't respond.
WORF: Sensor interference is significant, but the post appears to be intact. Their power grid is still functioning. However, I am reading no life forms within the structure.
RIKER: It's not like him to the post.
PICARD: Especially under these circumstances.
WORF: Captain, I am detecting faint power emissions from a system of caverns near the post. It could be a deflector shield.
RIKER: That can't be native to the planet. The Boraalans don't have anything close to that level of technology.
WORF: Captain, request permission to lead an away team.
PICARD: Very well. But regardless of this planet's immediate situation, we must observe the Prime Directive. I want to minimise the risk of contact with the inhabitants. You will go alone, Mister Worf, and I want to have you surgically altered so that you could pass as a Boraalan.
WORF: Aye, sir.
[Sickbay]
CRUSHER: You're worried about Nikolai, aren't you?
WORF: Yes.
CRUSHER: Are the two of you close?
WORF: We are brothers.
CRUSHER: You never talk much about him. What's he like?
WORF: Nikolai is older than I. We are not alike. We had many disagreements when we were growing up.
CRUSHER: That's not unusual.
WORF: Nikolai has a mind of his own. He attended Starfleet Academy, but he was unable to follow the rules. He left after one year. But he has many fine qualities. He is brilliant, persuasive. A natural leader.
CRUSHER: Sounds intriguing. I look forward to meeting him.
[Passageway]
(Worf beams into an underground cavern complex and starts scanning)
VORIN: What are you doing here? You're not from our village. Who are you?
KATERAS: (old man) Who is this?
WORF: My name is Worf. I am a traveller.
VORIN: How did you survive the storms?
NIKOLAI: (a thick-set man) I would know that voice anywhere. Worf, is it really you? It's good to see you. You've changed a lot in four years.
WORF: Nikolai?
NIKOLAI: Yes. Oh, Worf. This is my brother, Worf. He's come to help us.
[Cavern]
(main living area with campfire and water supply)
VORIN: But if you were able to get here, the storms must have subsided.
WORF: Please.
VORIN: Do you think it's safe enough to return to the surface?
WORF: Please, I must speak to my brother.
(they move away from the locals)
WORF: Nikolai, what have you done?
NIKOLAI: They were dying. I refused to sit there safe in that observation post and watch it happen. I set up a deflector shield to screen these caves from the radiation and then I brought them here.
WORF: What did you tell them?
NIKOLAI: They think I'm a Boraalan. I told them I was from another village far from here.
WORF: At least you had that much sense.
NIKOLAI: When I sent the distress call I knew the Enterprise was in this sector, but I wasn't sure you'd be the one to come. I'm so glad that you're here, Worf.
WORF: Nikolai, there is nothing we can do for these people. You have only postponed their deaths.
NIKOLAI: I want to discuss that with your Captain.
WORF: And I am certain he will want to speak with you.
NIKOLAI: Friends, my brother and I must go back to the surface. He has provisions and will need help bringing them here. We'll return shortly.
DOBARA: (or Cassidy Yates for DS9 fans) It's too dangerous. The storms can occur without warning. If you're caught in one.
NIKOLAI: Don't worry. Worf is a seer. He understands the nature of the storms. He'll know when it's safe to travel.
WORF: Yes, that is correct.
KATERAS: Our seer died when the storms first came. We've been without his guidance for many weeks.
VORIN: Let me go with you. I know the terrain better than anyone and I can help.
NIKOLAI: No, Vorin. Worf and I will be safe. We'll return shortly.
[Observation lounge]
(Worf and Nikolai are back to their normal appearances)
PICARD: Doctor, you were fully aware that the atmospheric dissipation could not be stopped. What did you hope to accomplish by assisting these people?
NIKOLAI: I was trying to give them a future. What I propose is we create an atmospheric shield on the planet. We can camouflage the equipment just as was done with my observation post. No one will ever know it's there.
RIKER: You can't be serious.
NIKOLAI: Indeed I am. I realise it will only provide atmosphere for a limited area on the surface, but it will be enough to save one village.
PICARD: I have no intention of compounding what you have done by committing another gross violation of the Prime Directive.
NIKOLAI: Captain, the Boraalans have a rich and beautiful culture, a deep spiritual life. They deserve the chance to survive. And isn't that what the Prime Directive was truly intended to do, to allow cultures to survive and grow naturally?
TROI: Not entirely. The Prime Directive was designed to ensure non-interference.
CRUSHER: But aren't we interfering either way? If we take no action, it's a conscious decision to let the Boraalans die.
NIKOLAI: Exactly. We have the power to save some of them. All we have to do is exercise it.
PICARD: We are sworn to uphold the principle of the Prime Directive, and until that is changed there is no further course of action that we can take. Is that understood?
NIKOLAI: Some of my log recorders are still in my observation post. They contain most of my research. Since it appears that the only way I'm going to preserve Boraalan culture is in a museum, I request permission to return to the surface and retrieve them.
PICARD: I'm afraid that won't be possible. But you can have full use of the ship's computer to set up a comm. link and upload your data from here. If there's nothing further, you're dismissed.
(all leave except Nikolai and Worf)
WORF: I'm sorry, Nikolai. I wish there were another way. I am quite familiar with your communications systems. If you like, I will help you set up your comm. link.
NIKOLAI: I'll do it myself.
[Bridge]
DATA: Captain, atmospheric dissipation has accelerated over the past several hours. I estimate the planet's atmosphere will be completely gone within three minutes.
NIKOLAI: Captain, I've completed my data uplink. With your permission, I would like to integrate my research logs with the ship's library computer.
PICARD: Of course.
DATA: The mesosphere is gone. Plasmonic reactions are now beginning to break down the troposphere.
PICARD: Put it on screen.
(viewscreen goes out)
PICARD: What's going on?
DATA: It appears the plasmonic reactions are continuing to interfere with our sensors.
RIKER: I thought you had compensated for that.
DATA: I had, sir. I will attempt to engage additional filtering elements. Visual re-established.
PICARD: This is one of those times when we must face the ramifications of the Prime Directive and honour those lives which we cannot save.
NIKOLAI: I find no honour in this whatsoever, Captain. You will forgive me if I don't stay.
(the atmosphere disappears)
PICARD: You have the Bridge, Number One.
(Picard leaves)
RIKER: Helm, take us out of orbit. Set a course for Starbase eighty seven, warp five.
GATES: Aye, sir.
(a science station blows up)
RIKER: What happened?
DATA: There appears to be an unusual power drain in the EPS distribution net.
RIKER: What's the source?
DATA: Unknown, sir. It is difficult to localize.
WORF: The power drain has registered on my security grid as well, sir. It appears to be coming from deck ten.
RIKER: All right, Mister Worf, get a security team on it.
[Corridor]
WORF: Concentrate your scans on the EPS transfer links.
(his security team split up, Worf ends up outside a holodeck)
WORF: Computer, open holodeck five.
COMPUTER: Unable to comply. Holodeck five is in use.
WORF: Override. Authorisation, Worf theta six one nine.
COMPUTER: Unable to comply. Holodeck control systems have been bypassed.
(then the doors open)
NIKOLAI: Worf Come in.
[Holodeck Cavern]
WORF: What are you doing here?
NIKOLAI: I have to show you something. Whatever you do, stay quiet.
(Nikolai taps on a PADD and a 'window opens in the holodeck rock face)
NIKOLAI: Look.
(it's the cavern on the planet)
NIKOLAI: I've done what you refused to do. I've saved them.
[Corridor]
NIKOLAI: I started thinking about this days ago when it became clear the planet was doomed. I knew if I could get access to your ship's computer, I could generate a replica of the caves. The hard part was transporting the Boraalans into the holodeck without anybody on the Enterprise noticing. But I was able to blank out the sensors and make it look like interference from the plasmonic bursts. And it worked, perfectly. The Boraalans were transported while they were sleeping. They never knew anything had happened.
[Turbolift]
WORF: Bridge.
NIKOLAI: It's a simple plan, really. That's the beauty of it. Worf, trust me. This is going to work.
WORF: Trust you? You never had any intention of obeying the Captain.
NIKOLAI: I wasn't going to let those people die just because your Captain started quoting Federation dogma to me.
WORF: Your duty was to respect the Captain's orders and to uphold the Prime Directive.
NIKOLAI: Duty. That's all that really matters to you, isn't it? Well, I refuse to be bound by an abstraction. The lives of the people of Boraal are far more important to me. You worry too much, Worf. You always did. Everything will work out.
WORF: You have disgraced yourself and you have disgraced me. I want nothing more to do with you.
[Ready room]
PICARD: You realise your career is finished.
NIKOLAI: I know that, Captain, and I would do it all again.
PICARD: What do you expect us to do now? You have left us with a colony of Boraalans who think they're still on their planet.
NIKOLAI: I didn't beam them up without a plan. I've given this a lot of thought. I think we can find a new planet, an M class world, that can be their new home.
PICARD: A home which would look very different from Boraal. You can't really believe that they'll be fooled.
NIKOLAI: That's where the holodeck comes in. I'll go back and tell the Boraalans we're going on a journey, to a different place where they'll be safe from the storms. The holodeck can gradually change the terrain as we travel, so that at the end, the holodeck simulation will match the conditions on the new planet. Then we'll simply beam them down.
PICARD: What if it doesn't work? What if they become aware that something strange is going on?
NIKOLAI: Captain, I can't prepare for every contingency, but I assure you I'm accustomed to thinking on my feet. I'll deal with the situation as it evolves.
PICARD: I'm not enthusiastic about this plan, but I don't see that we have another option. Very well, let's give it a try.
NIKOLAI: Thank you, Captain.
[Stellar cartography]
CRUSHER: There are countless M class planets in Federation space which can support the Boraalans. We need to narrow the parameters.
DATA: It will take approximately nine and one half hours to complete the analysis.
PICARD: Even then there's no guarantee that we'll find a suitable planet.
DATA: That is correct, sir.
LAFORGE: Captain, you'd better take a look at this.
PICARD: What is it?
LAFORGE: We've got a problem, sir. I don't think it's going to be possible to keep this holodeck simulation stable.
PICARD: Why not?
LAFORGE: The plasmonic energy surges from the planet are affecting the ship's systems. We're having problems with the EPS systems and the power distribution matrix.
NIKOLAI: And as a result, the holodeck imaging processor has been severely destabilised.
LAFORGE: It's not a question of whether the simulation will break down, it's a question of when.
PICARD: There's no way round it?
LAFORGE: Not while it's running. In order to fix it, I'd have to shut down all of the holodecks and re-initialise the entire system.
PICARD: That will take hours.
NIKOLAI: We'll just have to hope the simulation holds long enough.
PICARD: Very well. Let's try it. Mister La Forge, I want you to monitor the situation very carefully, and keep an open comm. link with the Holodeck so as to be apprised of any problems.
LAFORGE: Aye, sir.
NIKOLAI: Captain, I'll return to the holodeck as soon as my surgical alterations are completed and I'll prepare the Boraalans for their journey.
PICARD: Considering the situation you have put us in, I don't think it's wise to leave you alone with those people. Mister Worf will accompany you.
WORF: Sir, perhaps someone else would be a better choice. Counsellor Troi is familiar with
PICARD: Mister Worf, the Boraalans already know you. There's no need to introduce them to anyone new.
WORF: Aye, sir.
(Nikolai leaves)
PICARD: Keep a close eye on your brother. I don't want him making this situation worse than it is.
[Holodeck Cavern]
NIKOLAI: My friends, we have returned. We have food. This is difficult to say, but you have a right to hear it. By the time Worf and I had reached the surface, the village was gone. The storms have destroyed everything. There is nothing for us to return to.
DOBARA: We can't survive in here. Our supplies won't last forever.
NIKOLAI: That's why we must leave. There is a place far from here where there are no storms. It will be a difficult journey, but in the end we will have a new home.
WORF: I know a way through the caves. We will travel safely until we return to the surface.
VORIN: Where is this new land?
WORF: As we said, it is far from here. It will not be like the home you knew. Even the stars may be different.
VORIN: Why would they be different? And how do you know we'll be safe there?
NIKOLAI: My brother is a seer. If he says we'll be safe, you must trust that we will be safe.
(a scream)
KATERAS: What's wrong?
TARRANA: Look.
(holodeck grid lines are flickering on and off in the pool)
WORF: Do not worry. It is an omen.
DOBARA: What does it mean?
WORF: This is the sign of La Forge. It is a message to travellers. It is said when these lines appear and disappear
[Engineering]
WORF [OC]: In a pool of water, the road ahead will be filled with good fortune.
LAFORGE: Hang in there, Worf. Give me just a second. There. That should do it.
[Holodeck Cavern]
(the pool stops flickering)
NIKOLAI: You see? Our journey is already blessed. The road ahead is long. Let us have a meal together, then we'll make preparations to leave.
(the people disperse)
NIKOLAI: Worf, very good work. Apparently we don't make such a bad team after all.
WORF: We are not a team. I am here because Captain Picard ordered me here.
NIKOLAI: Worf, don't we both share the same goal? Aren't we both trying to make this plan work?
WORF: Only because you forced us into it.
NIKOLAI: I'm not ashamed of what I did. I'm not sorry I saved their lives.
WORF: You have not changed. You still expect people to solve the problems you create.
NIKOLAI: I'm not here to work out the issues of our childhood. I'm here to save a people who I care about. And if that upsets you, then so be it.
[Stellar cartography]
DATA: These are the two planets which best match our search criteria. Draygo Four features an unusually large temperate zone. However, it is within three light years of Cardassian space.
CRUSHER: There are constant border disputes in that sector.
DATA: The alternative is Vacca Six. It is located in the Cabral sector.
CRUSHER: That's pretty isolated.
DATA: It offers a less hospitable climate than the Boraalans are accustomed to. However, it would still appear to be the better choice. Do you disagree, Doctor?
CRUSHER: No, Data, you're right. It's just that the enormity of what we're doing is overwhelming. We are deciding the future of a species.
DATA: It is a formidable responsibility.
CRUSHER: There are so many questions we don't have answers to. What if the climate is so different that it affects them in a way that we can't anticipate? How do we even know they'll be able to survive? And if they do, how will their society evolve and what impact will it have on the Vaccan system? We have no idea what this decision will mean to their future.
DATA: Doctor, I do not believe we can offer any guarantees. We can simply make the best choice we have at the moment.
CRUSHER: All right, Data. Vacca Six it is.
DATA: Data to Bridge.
PICARD [OC]: Picard here.
DATA: We have located a new home for the Boraalans, sir.
[Bridge]
DATA [OC]: It is Vacca Six in the Cabral sector.
RIKER: We can reach that in forty two hours at maximum warp, sir.
PICARD: Very well. Helm, set course for Vacca Six.
GATES: Aye, sir.
[Holodeck Cavern]
(the meal is ending and Vorin is writing on a series of thin wooden sheets)
WORF: What is this?
VORIN: Our chronicle. The history of our village. Doesn't your village keep a chronicle?
WORF: Not in this manner.
VORIN: Then how do you teach your children their history, who their ancestors were, where they come from?
WORF: We tell each other stories, make up songs.
VORIN: Stories change with each person who tells them. This, this will always be the same. Our chronicle has been maintained for seventeen generations. I was only able to save the last six. This shows the destruction of our village. This is you and Nikolai leading us to safety.
WORF: We must leave. Gather your belongings.
VORIN: One of the scrolls is gone. I must have dropped it in the passageway. I'll go find it.
WORF: We must stay together. We will have to leave it behind.
VORIN: Worf, the chronicle is the life of our village. Without that past, our future means nothing. I must find it.
WORF: Go, and return quickly.
KATERAS: Seer. I am an old man. Would you help me with my gear?
WORF: Of course.
KATERAS: That is Tarrana, my daughter. I am fortunate she was old enough to survive the storms.
WORF: She is a fine girl.
KATERAS: She is a beautiful girl. She has not been promised to anyone. If I do not reach our new home, I would like her to become your wife.
WORF: You will reach your new home. I promise.
(meanwhile, Vorin has found his scroll, and the arch partly showing in the rock. He touches it and the door appears. He steps forward, it opens and out he goes)
[Corridor]
(Vorin walks along, mouth wide open. Most people ignore him)
WOMAN: Can I help you?
(he backs away into)
[Ten Forward]
MAN: All right, all right, it's okay. Do you need some help? It's okay.
RIKER: All right, everybody. Back off, back off.
TROI: I know things must look very strange to you, but everything's going to be all right. No one's going to hurt you. We're friends of Nikolai and Worf. Don't be afraid.
VORIN: Nikolai?
TROI: Yes. He's my friend. That means you are, too. I promise I won't hurt you.
VORIN: Please, help me. Where am I?
[Sickbay]
CRUSHER: I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do. His neural physiology is unusual. I can't wipe his memory.
PICARD: I see. How is he?
CRUSHER: As well as can be expected. I've given him a mild sedative and Troi's been speaking with him. And he seems much calmer.
PICARD: Does he understand the situation?
CRUSHER: I think so.
PICARD: Contact Mister Worf. Make sure he knows what's going on.
TROI: Here he is now. This is Captain Picard.
PICARD: Vorin, isn't it?
VORIN: Why did you bring us here?
PICARD: Your planet was dying. It could no longer support life. We took you away from it.
VORIN: But we never left the caves.
PICARD: We have the ability to create the illusion of other places, like the caves on your planet. You have actually spent the last two days here on this starship, not on Boraal.
VORIN: Then our home is gone.
TROI: Yes.
PICARD: Vorin, listen to me. We can visit many other worlds. We can take you to one where you can build a new life.
VORIN: A new life?
PICARD: A chance for your culture, your people, to survive and grow.
VORIN: How can we grow when everything that made us who we are is gone?
[Holodeck planet surface]
(the group are travelling in sunlight along a rock face)
NIKOLAI: Dobara, you go on ahead.
WORF: I will carry your pack. Go and join the others.
KATERAS: Thank you, seer.
NIKOLAI: It'll be dark soon, in a few hours. Would you ask Mister La Forge to create a suitable campsite for us a few kilometres from here? What's wrong?
WORF: Vorin has left the holodeck.
NIKOLAI: How did he get out?
WORF: I do not know, but Doctor Crusher cannot erase his memory.
NIKOLAI: What will they do with him?
WORF: They have explained the situation to him. He must make his own decisions.
NIKOLAI: Wait. Are you saying that if Vorin wants to come back in here, they'll let him?
WORF: That is right. He is not a prisoner.
NIKOLAI: But if he comes back here and tells the others what he has seen on the Enterprise, everything we have done will be for nothing.
WORF: Then you should have considered that before you beamed them on board. But you never think about the consequences of your acts.
NIKOLAI: If you mean by that that I'm willing to do something while others hesitate, that's true.
WORF: Wherever you go, you create chaos. How many times did our parents lie awake at night, wondering what kind of trouble you were in?
NIKOLAI: Oh, if only I could have been like you. Worf, the perfect son.
WORF: I was not perfect, but I was not wild and disobedient.
NIKOLAI: Of course not. You were too busy doing your duty.
WORF: I would rather be accused of that than making our mother weep. But I see it is clear you have no intention of changing. I see no reason to discuss it further.
[Holodeck campsite]
WORF: Commander, the holodeck malfunctions
[Engineering]
WORF [OC]: Are increasing.
LAFORGE: I'm running every stabilisation routine I know.
WORF [OC]: How much longer till we reach the new planet?
LAFORGE: We'll be there in less than eight hours. You're just going to have to hold things together a little while longer.
WORF [OC]: Someone is coming.
[Holodeck campsite]
DOBARA: May I speak with you?
WORF: Yes, of course.
DOBARA: I don't know what Nikolai said to you but, please, forgive him.
WORF: It is an old argument.
DOBARA: I've never seen him like this. He's usually so confident, so sure of himself. But now he seems different. Do you know why?
WORF: No. No, I do not.
DOBARA: Ever since Vorin was lost, people have been afraid. Worried that we won't reach our new home. We need Nikolai's strength now more than ever. When the storms first came to our village, many of us were ready to die. But Nikolai refused to let us. He gathered us together and led us into caves. He saved us. He is a brave and compassionate man, and I love him. Please, go to him. Make things right between you. I want us to be a family.
WORF: Us?
DOBARA: Yes. I want you to consider yourself my brother. After all, you're going to be the uncle of my child.
[Bridge]
DATA: We are in synchronous orbit above the beam down site, sir.
PICARD: Good. Mister La Forge, how much longer before we can transport the Boraalans?
LAFORGE [OC]: A few more hours, Captain, but we've got some problems here.
[Engineering]
LAFORGE: I don't think the holodeck's going to last that long. We've had materialisation errors and resolution failures all over the place, and it's getting worse. The simulation could fall apart any minute.
[Bridge]
PICARD: We'll have the transporter room standing by. But we may have to transport the Boraalans whether you're ready or not. Please keep Mister Worf apprised.
LAFORGE [OC]: Aye, sir.
PICARD: You have the Bridge, Number One. We still have one more problem to worry about.
[Vorin's quarters]
VORIN: Yes.
PICARD: We have arrived at the planet that I told you about. Have you made a decision?
VORIN: I believe I would like to go back to my people.
PICARD: I see. What do you intend to tell them?
VORIN: I don't know.
PICARD: If you tell them the truth, what will happen? Will they believe you?
VORIN: I'm not sure. It is a fantastic story.
PICARD: Perhaps they will think that you have had an hallucination, or that you're insane.
VORIN: I don't think I would like to live my life knowing what I know and being regarded as a madman.
PICARD: On the other hand, they may believe your fantastic story. They would learn about alien worlds, starships.
VORIN: That would be disastrous. It would destroy everything they believed in. I can't tell them the truth, but I don't think I can live with a secret.
PICARD: Then stay here. Make a future for yourself with us.
VORIN: I need some time. Please.
[Holodeck planet surface]
WORF: How could you have mated with a Boraalan? What were you thinking?
NIKOLAI: I don't owe you an explanation. This is a matter between Dobara and me.
WORF: As usual, you are thinking only of yourself.
NIKOLAI: And as usual, you are here to point out the error of my ways.
WORF: You have treated Dobara with dishonour.
NIKOLAI: I have not! I love her and we're going to raise our child together.
WORF: That is not possible. I cannot allow you to stay here.
NIKOLAI: You will have to kill me first.
(as they square up, everything flickers)
DOBARA: What does it mean ?
NIKOLAI: The storms have returned.
KATERAS: We will be killed.
NIKOLAI: No, you won't. Worf has the power to end the storms once and for all.
WORF: Yes. But everyone must take shelter in the tents.
KATERAS: The tents won't protect us.
NIKOLAI: Worf will protect you. You must trust him. Hurry, hurry. Get to your tents now.
WORF: Commander, it might be helpful if you could produce
[Engineering]
WORF [OC]: A storm. Wind, lightning and thunder.
LAFORGE: I'll see what I can do.
[Holodeck planet surface]
NIKOLAI: Get in! Get in! The storm is getting worse! Stay inside. Worf and I will take care of you.
(once everyone is out of sight)
WORF: Commander, energise.
[Planet surface]
(sudden peace. the people come out)
WORF: The storms will not return.
NIKOLAI: As I said he would, my brother Worf has saved us all.
Captain's log, stardate 47427.2. The Boraalans have safely reached the site of what will eventually become their new village. None of them suspects they ever left their planet. However, our success has come at a high price.
[Vorin's quarters]
(Beverly covers Vorin's face)
CRUSHER: I think it was some form of ritual suicide.
PICARD: He said that he had nowhere to go.
CRUSHER: He would have died even if we hadn't interfered.
PICARD: But he wouldn't have died alone and afraid.
CRUSHER: Are you saying you're sorry we saved the Boraalans?
PICARD: No, of course not. Our plan for them worked out well. But I wish that Vorin could have bridged the gap between our two cultures. I would have liked the chance to have known him better.
[Planet surface]
NIKOLAI: Go inside.
DOBARA: Nikolai, don't.
NIKOLAI: Please.
(she does)
NIKOLAI: I told you, you would have to kill me to get me away from here.
WORF: I do not want to fight you, Nikolai.
NIKOLAI: Things were never easy between us, were they?
WORF: No.
NIKOLAI: It's my fault. If I'd been more like you, we wouldn't have had so many problems.
WORF: No. If you had been more like me, these people would not be here now. You gave them a chance at a new life.
NIKOLAI: And I intend to share that life with them. The village will need a new chronicle. Someone will have to begin it. My child will need a father. My place is here. I'm finally taking responsibility.
WORF: You were never good at drawing. How will you keep a chronicle?
NIKOLAI: I learn quickly.
WORF: Then perhaps there is hope.
(the two men embrace, then Worf takes one of the old chronicles)
WORF: Could I take this with me?
NIKOLAI: It's yours.
WORF: I will have to explain all of this to mother and father.
NIKOLAI: They won't understand.
WORF: They may. I will tell them that you are happy.
2024-09-11 20:31:19 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
