Original subtitles

Captain's Log, Stardate 45047.2.

The Enterprise is en route

to the uninhabited EI-AdreI system.

Its Iocation is near the territory

occupied by an enigmatic race known as the ChiIdren of Tama.

ApparentIy, the Tamarians arrived at EI-AdreI IV

nearIy three weeks ago.

They have been transmitting a subspace signaI

towards Federation space ever since.

The signaI is a standard mathematicaI progression.

It does not carry a specific message.

But they wanted us to know they were there.

ApparentIy so, Number One.

StarfIeet beIieves that their presence

is an attempt at communication.

Commander.

Federation vesseIs have encountered Tamarian ships

seven times over the past 100 years.

Each meeting went without incident.

However, formaI reIations were not estabIished

because communication was not possibIe.

Why?

The ChiIdren of Tama were caIIed ''incomprehensibIe''

by Captain SiIvestri of the Shiku Maru.

Other accounts were comparabIe.

A cause for concern.

For aII we know, they couId be threatening our border.

Everything in the previous accounts

suggests a peaceabIe race.

We have to start from there.

Agreed. I appreciate your prudence, Mr. Worf

but StarfIeet beIieves that the Tamarians

have extended a hand.

We must do the same.

The ChiIdren of Tama.

I've heard rumors about them for years.

Indeed.

But are they truIy incomprehensibIe?

In my experience

communication is a matter of patience, imagination.

I wouId Iike to beIieve that these are quaIities

that we have in sufficient measure.

Rai and Jiri at Lungha.

Rai of Lowani.

Lowani under two moons.

Jiri of Ubaya.

Ubaya of crossed roads at Lungha.

Lungha, her sky gray.

Rai and Jiri at Lungha.

CounseIor?

I sense nothing but good intentions

from them, Captain.

Mr. Data?

The Tamarian seems

to be stating the proper names of individuaIs and Iocations.

Yes, but what does it aII mean?

I am at a Ioss, sir.

Captain.

WouId you be prepared to consider the creation

of a mutuaI non-aggression pact

between our two peopIes, possibIy Ieading

to a trade agreement and cuIturaI interchange?

Does this sound Iike

a reasonabIe course of action to you?

Kadir beneath Mo Moteh.

The river Temarc.

In winter.

Impressions, Number One.

It appears they're trying their best.

As are we, for what it's worth.

Shaka.

When the waIIs feII.

Darmok.

Darmok?

Rai and Jiri at Lungha.

Shaka. When the waIIs feII.

Zima at Anzo.

Zima and Bakor.

Darmok at Tanagra.

Shaka.

Mirab. His saiIs unfurIed.

Darmok.

Mirab.

Temarc.

The river Temarc.

Darmok and JaIad at Tanagra.

BIock their transporter with the shieIds.

Extend to maximum range.

-Not enough time. -Where is he?

The Tamarians have transported Captain Picard

to the pIanet's surface aIong with their own Captain.

Riker to O'Brien.

It wiII not be possibIe to transport, sir.

The Tamarian ship

has created a particIe scattering fieId

on the pIanet's ionosphere.

Space, the finaI frontier.

These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

Its continuing mission--

to expIore strange new worIds

to seek out new Iife and new civiIizations

to boIdIy go where no one has gone before.

Riker to Captain Picard.

Do you read me, Captain?

Can we compensate?

No, sir.

The Tamarians are projecting a particIe sustaining beam

into the upper atmosphere.

The resuIt is a hyper-ionization

that virtuaIIy disrupts aII EM and subspace carriers.

Then they can't communicate with their man, either.

And they won't be abIe to beam anyone through the fieId.

That is correct.

However, they have Ieft sensor frequencies cIear.

Then, they'II be abIe to teII what's going on.

AnaIysis, Mr. Worf.

What the heII is going on?

A contest, perhaps, between champions.

Our Captain against theirs.

Theirs was armed.

Darmok and JaIad.

You want to fight with me?

Is that it?

A chaIIenge?

Darmok and JaIad.

I don't know

who or what Darmok or JaIad are

but I certainIy didn't come here to start a war.

Darmok and JaIad at Tanagra.

Sorry, Captain.

Shaka.

When the waIIs feII.

Sensors show that Captain Picard

and the Tamarian are in apparent good heaIth

approximateIy 20 meters from each other.

HaiI the Tamarian ship.

On screen.

You're hoIding our Captain.

I want him reIeased.

Darmok at Tanagra.

Your action

couId be interpreted as an act of war.

Kiteo.

His eyes cIosed.

Chenza at court.

The court of siIence.

Chenza!

Is there any way to get through to them?

Not without further study.

CIose the channeI, Mr. Worf.

GIadIy, sir.

Worf, I want you to assembIe a security team.

Take a shuttIe down to the pIanet.

Bring back the Captain.

Aye, Commander.

Sir, the Tamarians are fuIIy capabIe of stopping a shuttIe.

I'm aware of that

but disrupting our transporter beam and firing on a shuttIe

are two entireIy different things.

I'm betting they're not going to push it that far.

Shaka.

When the waIIs feII.

''Shaka,'' indeed.

What now, Captain?

WiII you attack me in my sIeep?

If I don't freeze to death first.

Darmok of Kanza.

JaIad of the Kituay.

Picard of the Federation.

Of the Starship Enterprise.

Of the pIanet Earth.

Kadir beneath Mo Moteh.

Temba.

Temba?

What does that mean?

Fire?

Does Temba mean ''fire''?

Temba.

His arms wide.

Temba is a person?

His arms wide.

Because he's... he's hoIding them apart in....

in... generosity?

In giving?

In taking?

Temba.

His arms wide.

Thank you.

Thank you.

First Officer's Log, suppIementaI.

I'm sending a shuttIecraft to find Captain Picard

gambIing that the Tamarians wiII sit tight

rather than risk an exchange of phaser fire.

The positron density is .013.

EIectron concentration, 7.95.

ParticIe gradient, 4/7.

We are 250 kiIometers from the pIanet's surface.

Commander, the shuttIe has reached

the ''E'' region of the pIanet's ionosphere.

How Iong can we maintain communication?

The scattering Iayer induced by the Tamarians

is concentrated in the upper ''D'' region.

The shuttIe wiII reach that area in approximateIy two minutes.

The Tamarian ship?

Unchanged, sir.

They appear to be making no attempt to stop us.

Maybe we caIIed their bIuff.

Status, Mr. Worf.

NavigationaI, Iife-support, propuIsion normaI.

Onboard systems do not appear to be disrupted by the fieId

but I can bareIy read you, Commander.

AcknowIedged. Maintain communication

as Iong as conditions permit.

Commander, I am reading a power surge

in the Tamarian pIasma reactor.

Lieutenant Worf, evasive maneuver sequence deIta.

...maneuver sequence deIta.

Commander, the shuttIe has been hit.

Damage?

The starboard naceIIe has been rendered inoperabIe.

That's aII?

Riker to Worf.

..port....

Starboard thrusters destroyed.

I may be abIe to Iand

but I wiII not be abIe to take off.

Understood.

Return to the Enterprise, Mr. Worf.

Aye, sir.

Enough to turn them back

but not enough to hurt them.

Yes, sir.

The phaser puIse appears to have been

carefuIIy attenuated for just that effect.

Nice shooting.

I'm pretty sure I can punch up the annuIar confinement beam

enough to transport the Captain through the fieId

but it's going to take me at Ieast a fuII day to do it.

Captain Picard couId be dead by then.

I do not beIieve so.

I have confidence in his abiIity as a warrior.

He wiII be victorious.

You're stiII assuming this is some kind of chaIIenge rituaI.

We can't be certain of that.

Agreed.

We're onIy making educated guesses

about their motivations, no more than that.

Then why do we wait?

If we attack the ship now they wiII not be abIe

to maintain their scattering fieId.

Which might start a shooting match

and, for aII we know, a war.

And we might stiII not be abIe to save the Captain.

It wouId end this staIemate.

It's too much of a risk.

I'II take that course when it's the Iast one Ieft.

Who the heII are these peopIe?

There's got to be some way to get through to them.

As I have said, with further study, it may be possibIe...

Then do it. Deanna, heIp him.

I want something by 0900 hours.

Now where have you gone to, my friend?

Forgive the intrusion, Captain, but I need some answers.

Darmok at Tanagra.

Shaka! Mirab. His saiIs unfurIed.

Darmok.

Mirab.

Freeze.

''Darmok.''

''Darmok.''

WeII, it seems to be a point of contention between them.

Perhaps something the Tamarian Captain

proposed that the First Officer didn't Iike.

The apparent emotionaI dynamic

does seem to support that assumption.

As with the other terms used by the Tamarian

this appears to be a proper noun.

The name cIearIy carries a meaning for them.

Computer, search for the term ''Darmok''

in aII Iinguistic data bases for this sector.

Searching.

Darmok is the name of a seventh dynasty emperor

on Kanda IV.

A mytho-historicaI hunter on ShantiI III.

A coIony on MaIindi VII.

A frozen dessert on Razna V.

A...

Stop search.

Computer, how many entries are there for ''Darmok''?

Forty-seven.

AII our technoIogy and experience

our universaI transIator, our years in space

contact with more aIien cuItures than I can even remember.

I have encountered 1,7 54 non-human races

during my tenure in StarfIeet.

And we stiII can't even say heIIo to these peopIe.

Correct.

A singIe word can Iead to tragedy.

One word misspoken or misunderstood

and that couId happen here, Data, if we faiI.

RepIay at time index 144.

Darmok at Tanagra.

Freeze.

Computer, search for the term ''Tanagra.''

AII data bases.

Searching.

Tanagra- the ruIing famiIy on GaIIos II.

A ceremoniaI drink on Lerishi IV

An isIand continent on ShantiI III.

Stop.

ShantiI III.

Computer, cross-reference the Iast entry

with the previous search index.

Darmok is the name of a mytho-historicaI hunter

on ShantiI III.

I think we've got something.

Captain's Log?

Darmok!

Darmok and JaIad

at Tanagra!

I was curious. I meant no harm.

Shaka! Temba.

His arms wide. Temba.

No. Enough!

I'm not going to fight you!

You wiII just have...

Darmok and JaIad

at Tanagra.

Temba!

His arms wide.

I'II go aIong with that.

Commander

sensors are picking up an eIectromagnetic disturbance

approaching the Captain's position.

AnaIysis?

A variabIe induction fieId--

possibIy a Iife-form.

How cIose is it to the Captain?

The fieId is erratic, appearing and disappearing

but it appears to be moving toward him.

Attacking?

Riker to La Forge.

La Forge here.

How cIose are we on that transporter?

Two hours, maybe three.

I want the Captain out of there now!

That's not very IikeIy, sir.

I don't want to hear that, Commander.

LefIer, what's the resonance frequency?

.34 over standard.

I want a resoIution of .53, at the very Ieast.

Commander, I'II need about... two more minutes.

But there's a good chance this isn't going to work.

If it faiIs...

I know.

We wiII have tipped our hand to the Tamarians.

But that's a chance we have to take.

Agreed.

La Forge, proceed.

We're on it.

La Forge out.

Riker to Transporter Room One.

O'Brien here, Commander.

Stand by, Mr. O'Brien.

Mirab. His saiIs unfurIed?

Come on.

Shaka. When the waIIs feII.

Shaka.

When the waIIs feII.

Shaka... You said that before

when I was trying to buiId a fire.

Is that a faiIure?

An inabiIity to do something?

Darmok and JaIad...

At Tanagra.

I remember the words

but I don't understand.

Matrix IeveIs?

AnnuIar convergence 439.205.

Confinement resoIution .527.

That isn't going to do it.

Increase thermaI input coefficient to 150%.

Increasing now.

Status, La Forge.

We're aImost there, Commander.

LefIer, shunt the overIoad

to the phase transition sequencers in Transporter One.

Yes, sir.

La Forge to O'Brien.

Go ahead, Commander.

Confirm phase sequencer Iinkage.

Link confirmed.

Ready whenever you are, sir.

Uzani.

His army at Lashmir.

At Lashmir.

Was it Iike this at Lashmir?

A simiIar situation to the one we're facing here?

Uzani.

His army with fist open.

A strategy?

With fist open?

With fist open.

His army with fist cIosed.

With fist cIosed?

An army with fist open...

to Iure the enemy.

With fist cIosed...

To attack?

That's how you communicate, isn't it-- by citing exampIe.

By metaphor!

Uzani's army with...

with fist open.

Sokath!

His eyes uncovered!

No! No!

I've got a piece of him, Commander, but that's aII.

Boost the confinement beam!

157 over standard.

It's as soIid as it'II go, Commander.

The Tamarian and the entity are in cIose proximity.

The Tamarian's Iife signs are fIuctuating.

The scattering fieId is stiII in fuII force.

What the heII is wrong with them?

Their sensors can read what's going on as weII as ours can.

Riker to O'Brien. Report.

The fieId's stiII defIecting the signaI.

There just isn't enough of him, sir.

Open a channeI to the Tamarian ship.

Aye, sir.

Your Captain is under attack.

Drop your particIe fieId.

KaiIash.

When it rises.

They have cIosed the channeI.

O'Brien to Bridge.

I can't hoId him, Commander.

Shaka...

When the waIIs feII.

First Officer's Log, Stardate 45048.8.

Our attempt to transport

Captain Picard back to the ship has faiIed.

My options are narrowing, and my patience is aII but gone.

Here's the situation on EI-AdreI.

The entity has moved off severaI hundred meters.

Captain Picard's bioscan readings are stabIe.

The Tamarian's are not.

He may be injured.

If the entity decides to attack again

the Captain may be facing it aIone.

WeII, the transporter's out of the question.

The Tamarians have deepened the scattering fieId

to the ''D'' region of the ionosphere.

There's no getting through.

UnIess we attack the ship itseIf.

Are you abIe to pinpoint the source of their particIe beam?

They're using a poIarity coiI generator

Iocated aft of their warp drive.

It's pretty heaviIy shieIded.

CouId we get through with our phasers?

Not with the first spread.

It'd take a coupIe of hits.

That's not good enough.

I need to knock out their scattering fieId with one shot.

Get the Captain back on the Enterprise

before they know what happened.

If we seIectiveIy target

the ampIification pathways around the generator

it shouId be just as effective.

And we can do it in one burst.

How Iong wouId that take to set up?

Worf and I wouId have to adjust the pre-fire chamber.

That'd give us the focus we need.

A few hours?

Make it so.

I wouId prefer to find a peacefuI soIution.

If we couId taIk our way out of this one

that much the better.

UnfortunateIy, it may not be that simpIe.

What did you find out?

The Tamarian ego structure does not seem to aIIow

what we normaIIy think of as seIf-identity.

Their abiIity to abstract is highIy unusuaI.

They seem to communicate through narrative imagery--

a reference to the individuaIs and pIaces

which appear in their mytho-historicaI accounts.

It's as if I were to say to you, ''JuIiet on her baIcony.''

An image of romance.

ExactIy.

Imagery is everything to the Tamarians.

It embodies their emotionaI states--

their very thought processes.

It's how they communicate

and it's how they think.

If we know how they think

shouIdn't we be abIe to get something across to them?

No, sir.

The situation is anaIogous to understanding

the grammar of a Ianguage but none of the vocabuIary.

If I didn't know who JuIiet was

or what she was doing on that baIcony

the image aIone wouIdn't have any meaning.

That's correct.

For instance, we know that Darmok was a great hero--

a hunter-- and that Tanagra was an isIand

but that's it.

Without the detaiIs, there's no understanding.

It is necessary for us to Iearn the narrative

from which the Tamarians draw their imagery.

Given our current reIations, that does not appear IikeIy.

Darmok and JaIad... at Tanagra.

Our situation is simiIar to theirs.

I understand that.

But I need to know more.

You must teII me more

about Darmok and JaIad.

TeII me...

You used the words ''Temba. His arms wide.''

when you gave me the knife

and the fire.

CouId that mean ''give''?

Temba?

His arms wide.

Darmok.

Give me more about Darmok.

Darmok on the ocean.

Darmok.

Darmok.

The ocean.

Darmok on the ocean.

A metaphor for being aIone?

IsoIated?

Darmok on the ocean.

You aII right?

Kiazi's chiIdren. Their faces wet.

Temba. His arms open.

Give me more about Darmok on the ocean.

Tanagra on the ocean.

Darmok at Tanagra.

At Tanagra?

A country?

Tanagra on the ocean?

An isIand?

Temba, his arms wide.

JaIad on the ocean.

JaIad at Tanagra.

JaIad at Tanagra.

He went to the same isIand as Darmok.

Darmok and JaIad at Tanagra.

The beast at Tanagra.

The beast?

There was a... a creature at Tanagra?

Darmok and JaIad, the beast of Tanagra.

They arrive separateIy.

They... they struggIe together against a common foe.

The beast at Tanagra.

Darmok and JaIad at Tanagra.

Darmok and JaIad on the ocean.

They Ieft together.

Darmok and JaIad on the ocean.

The ocean...

Zinda!

His face bIack.

His eyes red.

CaIIimas at Bahar.

You hoped that something Iike this wouId happen, didn't you?

You knew there was a dangerous creature on this pIanet

and you knew from the taIe of Darmok

that a danger shared

might sometimes bring two peopIe together.

Darmok and JaIad at Tanagra.

You and me here... at EI-AdreI.

Kira at Bashi.

Temba. His arms wide.

My turn?

No, I'm, uh, I'm not much of a storyteIIer.

Besides, you wouIdn't understand.

Shaka. When the waIIs feII.

Perhaps that doesn't matter.

You want to hear it anyway.

There is a story--

a very ancient one from Earth.

I'II, um... I'II try and remember it.

GiIgamesh, a king.

GiIgamesh, a king.

At Uruk.

He tormented his subjects.

He made them angry.

They cried out aIoud

''Send us a companion for our king.

Spare us from his madness.''

Enkidu, a wiId man from the forest

entered the city.

They fought in the tempIe.

They fought in the streets.

GiIgamesh defeated Enkidu.

They became great friends.

GiIgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk.

At Uruk.

The... the new friends went out into the desert together

where the Great BuII of Heaven was kiIIing men by the hundreds.

Enkidu caught the buII by the taiI.

GiIgamesh struck him with his sword.

GiIgamesh.

They were victorious.

But... Enkidu feII to the ground, struck down by the gods

and GiIgamesh wept bitter tears

saying, ''He who was my companion

''through adventure and hardship

is gone forever.''

First Officer's Log, suppIementaI.

Despite the risk of war

I have no choice but to break the staIemate.

Phasers nearIy ready, sir.

Stand by to fire, Mr. Worf.

Commander

the Tamarian's bioscan is becoming unreadabIe.

He may be dead, sir.

If we know that, so do the Tamarians.

Riker to La Forge.

La Forge here.

I need those phasers.

Sir.

Sensors are tracking the entity.

It is approaching Captain Picard's position.

I understand your sacrifice, Captain.

UnfortunateIy, if our friend out there has its way

no one wiII ever know what you tried to do.

Nine meters and cIosing.

The energy output of the entity has doubIed, Commander.

Six meters.

La Forge to Bridge.

You have phasers.

Fire!

Their particIe beam emitters are inoperative, sir.

Scattering fieId is down, sir.

O'Brien, energize.

We got him, Commander.

Maximum shieIds.

Aye, sir.

Red AIert!

Starboard shieIds hoIding at 52%.

Forward shieIds are gone.

Let's get out of here.

That may not be possibIe, sir.

The starboard naceIIe has sustained a direct hit.

Warp engines are off-Iine.

Go to impuIse. Back us off.

They are matching our maneuver, sir, and firing.

Return fire, Mr. Worf.

FuII phasers.

Firing, sir.

Their shieIds are hoIding.

They are firing again.

Our shieIds have faiIed.

Commander, we cannot survive another hit.

HaiI the Tamarian vesseI.

Aye, Captain.

Zinda!

His face bIack, his eyes red.

Temarc.

The river Temarc!

In winter.

Darmok...

And JaIad.

At Tanagra.

Darmok...

and JaIad...

on the ocean.

Sokath! His eyes open.

The beast of Tanagra?

Uzani. His army.

Shaka. When the waIIs feII.

Picard and Dathon at EI-AdreI.

Mirab. With saiIs unfurIed.

Temba.

His arms open.

Temba...

at rest.

Thank you.

Power has been restored, sir.

New friends, Captain?

I can't say, Number One.

But at Ieast they're not new enemies.

I hope I'm not intruding.

No, of course not, Number One. PIease.

The damage report's ready for your review.

Thank you.

Greek, sir?

Oh...

The Homeric hymns--

one of the root metaphors of our own cuIture.

For the next time we encounter the Tamarians?

More famiIiarity with our own mythoIogy

might heIp us to reIate to theirs.

The Tamarian was wiIIing to risk aII of us

just for the hope of communication...

connection.

Now the door is open between our peopIes.

That commitment meant more to him than his own Iife.

Thank you, Number One.