Original subtitles

Captain, I have identified the signal.

It is from the u. S. S. Jenolen,

a federation transport ship reported missing in this sector 75 years ago.

Code, one Alpha zero. Ship in distress.

Take us out of warp, ensign. All stop.

Aye, sir.

Picard: Report.

We have entered a massive gravitational field, captain.

There are no stars or other stellar bodies

listed on our navigational charts.

However, sensors indicate the presence

of an extremely strong gravitational source in this vicinity.

Can you localize the source of the gravitational field?

Riker: Sensors?

Data: I am having difficulty scanning the object.

It appears to be approximately 200 million kilometers in diameter.

That's nearly as large as the earth's orbit around the sun.

Why didn't we detect this before now?

The object's enormous mass

is causing a great deal of gravimetric interference.

That might have prevented our sensors from detecting it

before we dropped out of warp.

Mr. Data,

could this be a Dyson sphere?

The object does fit the general parameters of Dyson's theory.

A Dyson sphere?

It's a very old theory, number one.

I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of it.

In the 20th century, a physicist called Freeman Dyson

postulated the theory that an enormous hollow sphere

could be constructed around a star.

This would have the advantage of harnessing

all the radiant energy of that star,

and any population living on the interior surface

would have virtually inexhaustible sources of power.

Are you saying you think there are people living in there?

Possibly a great number of people, commander.

The interior surface area of a sphere this size

is the equivalent of more than 250 million class-m planets.

Sir, I have located the distress signal.

It is coming from a point in the northern hemisphere.

Ensign rager, put us into synchronous orbit above that position.

Rager: Aye, sir.

I have located the jenolen, sir.

It has impacted on the surface of the sphere.

Picard: Magnify.

Data: There are no life signs.

However, there are several small power emanations,

and life support is still functioning on minimal levels.

Riker to engineering. Geordi, join us in transporter room 3.

Mr. Worf.

This air's pretty stale.

Life support is barely operating.

See if you can increase the oxygen level.

Aye, sir.

Commander, the transporter is still online.

It's being fed power from the auxiliary systems.

The rematerialization subroutine has been disabled.

Yeah, and that's not all.

The phase inducers are connected to the emitter array.

The override is completely gone,

and the pattern buffer's been locked into a continuous diagnostic cycle.

This doesn't make any sense.

Locking the unit into a diagnostic mode

just sends the matter array through the pattern buffer.

- Why would anyone want to...? - There's a pattern in the buffer still.

It's completely intact.

There's less than 0.003 percent signal degradation.

- How is that possible? - I don't know.

I've never seen a transporter jury-rigged like this before.

Could someone survive inside a transporter buffer for 75 years?

I know a way to find out.

Picard: Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship enterprise.

Its continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Well, thank you, lads.

Oh, my word. We've got to get Franklin out of there.

Someone else's pattern is still in the buffer?

Aye, Matt Franklin. We went in together.

Something's wrong.

One of the inducers has failed.

Boost the gain on the matter stream.

Come on, Franklin. I know you're still in there.

It's no use.

His pattern's degraded 53 percent.

He's gone.

- I'm sorry. - So am I.

He was a good lad.

I'm commander William riker, starship enterprise.

Lieutenant commander geordi la forge.

The enterprise. I should have known.

I bet Jim kirk himself

hauled the old gal out of mothballs to come looking for me.

Captain Montgomery Scott.

Tell me, how long have I been missing?

Well... worf: Sir.

I have restored life support.

The oxygen levels will return to normal shortly.

Captain Scott, lieutenant worf.

Lieutenant?

Captain, perhaps there are a few things we should talk about.

We should probably get you to sickbay.

- Dr. Crusher will want to have... - You've changed the resonator array.

Geordi, I think our guest is going to have a lot of engineering questions.

Not to worry, commander, I'll take care of him.

What have you done with the duotronic enhancers?

Well, those were replaced with isolinear chips about 40 years ago.

It's a lot more efficient now. Oh, that's an eps power tap there.

So you were saying a little earlier

that you were on your way to the norpin colony

when you experienced warp-engine failure?

Aye, that's right.

See, we had an overload in one of the plasma transfer conduits,

and the captain brought us out of warp,

and we hit some gravimetric interference,

and there it was, as big as life.

- Oh, is that a conduit interface? - La forge: Yeah, it is.

You were saying it's as big as life.

- You mean the Dyson sphere? - Aye, an actual Dyson sphere.

Can you imagine the engineering skills

needed to even design such a structure?

Yeah, I know, it's pretty amazing.

So, what happened when you first approached it?

Well, we began our standard survey of the surface,

and we were just completing the initial orbital scan

when our aft power coil suddenly exploded.

La forge:

The ship got caught in the sphere's gravity well,

and down we went.

Franklin and I were the only ones to survive the crash.

Can I ask you a question?

What in the world made you think

of using the transporter pattern buffer to survive?

Well, we didn't have enough supplies to wait for the rescue,

so we had to think of something.

Yeah, but locking it into a diagnostic cycle

so that the pattern wouldn't degrade

and then cross-connecting it with the phase inducers

to provide a regenerative power source,

that's absolutely brilliant.

Well, I think it was only 50 percent brilliant.

Franklin deserves better.

You know, I think you're gonna enjoy the 24th century, Mr. Scott.

We've made some pretty incredible advances these last 80 years.

Scotty: Well, from what I've seen, you've got a fine ship, Mr. La forge.

A real beauty here.

I must admit to being a bit ovenrvhelmed.

Mm. Wait till you see the holodeck.

Crusher: You have a hairline fracture of the humerus.

It will ache for a couple of days, but it should be fine.

Oh, thank you.

Well, I'll say this about your enterprise:

The doctors are a fair sight prettier.

I'm Jean-Luc picard.

Welcome aboard the enterprise, captain Scott.

Thank you, sir, and call me Scotty.

- How are you feeling? - Scotty: I don't know.

How am I feeling?

Other than a few bumps and bruises,

I'd say you feel fine for a man of 147.

And I don't feel a day over 120.

I must say, I was a little surprised

when commander riker told me that you were on board the jenolen.

Our records didn't show you listed as a member of the crew.

Well, I was never actually a member of the crew.

I was just a passenger.

I was heading for norpin v

to settle down and enjoy my retirement.

I see.

Well, I would very much enjoy the opportunity

of hearing you talk about your career.

I'm sure you would have some fascinating insights

into the events of your time.

I'd be happy to.

Good, I'll look fonnard to it. Excuse me.

Commander, we need to begin

a full spectrograph analysis of the Dyson sphere.

- I'll get right on it, sir. - Good.

- Once again, welcome on board. - Sir.

I need to get to engineering and begin that analysis.

Engineering? I thought you'd never ask.

Captain, the first thing you need to get is some rest.

Now, this has been a shock to your system,

and I want you to not push yourself.

We're pretty busy down there anyway, captain Scott.

I promise, I'd be happy to give you a tour

just as soon as the doctor says it's okay.

I'll find someone to show you your quarters.

This is the food replicator and your computer terminal.

Good lord, man. Where have you put me?

These are standard guest quarters, sir.

I can try and find something bigger if you want.

Bigger?

In my day,

even an admiral wouldn't have had such quarters on a starship.

You know, I remember a time we had to transport the dohlman of elas.

You never heard anyone

whine and complain so much about quarters as she did.

The holodecks, ten-forward,

and the gymnasium are all at your disposal.

The computer can tell you how to find them.

Until we issue you a combadge,

just use one of these panels if you need anything.

You know, these quarters remind me of a hotel room in argelius.

Oh, now, there is a planet.

Everything a man wants, right at his fingertips.

Of course, on the first visit, I got into a wee bit of trouble...

Excuse me, sir, but I have to return to duty.

Well, then,

thank you.

I want you to shut down the warp engines

and recalibrate the aft sensors while I work on the lateral array.

Aye, sir.

Can I help you, sir?

Scotty: Oh, I don't think so, Lassie, but I'll let you know if you can.

Bartel: Sir, this area's restricted to authorized personnel.

Bartel, it's okay. I'll handle it.

- Captain Scott, this really isn't... - We're in engineering.

- Call me Scotty. - Scotty.

This really isn't a good time for a tour.

We're running a phase seven survey of the Dyson sphere.

I'm not here for a tour, laddie.

I'm here to help.

That's very kind, but I'm sure we can handle it.

I was a starfleet engineer for 52 years, Mr. La forge.

I think I'm still useful.

You're right.

We'd be grateful for any help you could give us.

Good. Let's get to work.

Sensors indicate the presence of a g-type star

at the center of the sphere.

There also appears to be a class-m atmosphere

clinging to the interior surface.

Is there any indication that the sphere is inhabited?

Not as yet, sir.

Our preliminary data suggests it is still capable of supporting life.

We have been unable to find any definite signs of current habitation.

Mr. Data, send out a series of class-four probes

to survey the far side of the sphere.

Perhaps we'll have more luck with them.

Aye, sir.

Adjust the frequency stabilization of the main deflector dish.

- It's out of sync... - Laddie, you need to phase-lock

the warp fields within 3 percent or they'll become unstable.

- What? - Well, look, here's the...

We use a multiphase auto-containment field now.

It's meant to operate above 3 percent.

Oh, well.

That would make the difference.

Bartel: We can restart the engines in 10 minutes.

Thank you, lieutenant.

I remember a time when the old enterprise

was spiraling towards psi 2000.

Yeah. Thank you.

And the captain wanted to try a cold start of the warp engines.

And I told him that without a proper phase-lock,

it would take at least 30 minutes.

You cannot change the laws of physics, I told him.

But he wouldn't believe me.

So I had to come up with a whole new engine start-up routine.

Do you know that your dilithium crystals are going to fracture?

We recomposite the crystals

while they're still inside the articulation frame.

Look, Mr. Scott, I'd love to explain everything to you,

but the captain wants this spectrographic analysis done

by 1300 hours.

Do you mind a little advice?

Starfleet captains are like children.

They want everything right now, and they want it their way.

But the secret is to give them only what they need, not what they want.

Yeah, well, I told the captain I'd have this analysis done in an hour.

How long would it really take?

An hour.

Oh, you didn't tell him how long it would really take, did you?

Well, of course I did.

Oh, laddie, you've got a lot to learn

if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker.

- Now, listen... - Captain Scott.

I've tried to be patient, I've tried to be polite.

But I've got a job to do here, and quite frankly, you're in the way.

I was driving starships

while your great-grandfather was still in diapers.

I'd think you'd be a little grateful for some help.

I'll leave you to work, Mr. La forge.

- May I help you, sir? - Scotty: Aye, lad.

Scotch, neat.

Bartender: There you go, sir.

Thank you.

What in blazes is this?

Didn't you order scotch?

Laddie, I was drinking scotch a hundred years before you were born,

and I can tell you that whatever this is, it is definitely not scotch.

I believe I may be of some assistance.

Captain Scott is unaware of the existence of synthehol.

- Synthehol? - Yes, sir.

It is an alcohol substitute now being served aboard starships.

It simulates the appearance, taste and smell of alcohol,

but the intoxicating effects can be easily dismissed.

You're not quite human, are you?

No, sir. I am an Android.

Lieutenant commander data.

Synthetic scotch. Synthetic commanders.

I believe guinan does keep a limited supply

of non-syntheholic products.

Perhaps one of them would be to your liking.

- What is it? - It is...

It is green.

Computer: Please enter program.

The Android at the bar said you could show me my old ship.

Let me see it.

Computer: Insufficient data. Please specify parameters.

The enterprise.

Show me the bridge of the enterprise, you chattering piece of...

Computer: There have been five federation ships with that name.

Please specify by registry number.

Nco-1701.

No bloody a, b, c or d.

Computer: Program complete. Enter when ready.

Here's to you, lads.

Picard: I hope I'm not interrupting.

I was just coming off duty,

and I wanted to see how you were doing.

Oh. Not at all, not at all.

Would you have a drink with me, captain?

Thank you.

I don't know what it is exactly, but I would be real careful. It's real...

Aldebaran whiskey.

Who do you think gave it to guinan?

- Constitution class. - Aye.

- You're familiar with them? - There's one in the fleet museum.

But then, of course, this is your enterprise.

I actually served on two. This was the first.

She was also the first ship I ever served on as chief engineer.

You know, I served aboard 11 ships.

Freighters, cruisers, starships, but this is the only one I think of.

The only one I miss.

The first vessel that I served on as captain

was called the stargazer.

It was an ovennorked, underpowered vessel,

always on the verge of flying apart at the seams.

In every measurable sense, my enterprise is far superior.

But there are times when I would give almost anything

to command the stargazer again.

Oh, it's like the first time you fall in love.

You don't ever love a woman quite like that again.

Well, to the enterprise, and the stargazer.

Old girlfriends we'll never meet again.

What do you think of the enterprise-d?

- She's a beauty, with a good crew. - — but?

When I was here,

I could tell you the speed that we were traveling

by the feel of the deck plates.

But on your ship, I feel like I'm just in the way.

Well, 75 years is a long time.

If you would care to study some technical schematics or...

I'm not 18, and I can't start out like a raw cadet.

No, there comes a time

when a man finds that he can't fall in love again.

He knows that it's time to stop.

I don't belong on your ship.

I belong on this one.

This was my home.

This is where I had a purpose.

But it's not real.

It's just a computer-generated fantasy.

And I'm just an old man who's trying to hide in it.

Computer, shut this bloody thing off.

It's time I acted my age.

Come.

Mr. La forge, I understand that before the jenolen crashed,

it had conducted an extensive survey of the Dyson sphere.

Have we been able to access any of those records?

We did try to download their memory core,

but it was pretty heavily damaged in the crash.

We actually haven't been able to get much out of it.

Mm. Perhaps captain Scott could be of use in accessing that material.

It's possible.

He does know those systems better than any of us.

I'll have lieutenant bartel beam down with him.

Mr. La forge.

I would like you to accompany captain Scott.

- Me, sir? - Yes.

Look, this is not an order.

It's a request,

and it's one that you must feel perfectly free to decline.

You see, one of the most important things in a person's life

is to feel useful.

Now, Mr. Scott is a starfleet officer,

and I would like him to feel useful again.

I'll go with him, sir.

Thank you.

Commander.

I believe I have found something on the sphere

which could be a communications device.

There's an antenna array

approximately 400,000 kilometers south of our present position.

It is emitting low-intensity subspace signals.

Can you open a channel?

No, sir, not from our present orbit.

The array is currently directed away from us.

Ensign, prepare to put us in orbit above those coordinates.

Captain picard, to the bridge, please.

Are you feeling all right?

Well, never get drunk unless you're willing to pay for it the next day.

I'll manage.

Okay.

Energize.

Sensors indicate that the large circle is a portal or airlock,

possibly leading to the interior of the sphere.

This looks like the front door. Should we ring the bell?

Mr. Worf, open a channel to that communications array.

Aye, sir.

Some kind of tractor beam has locked on to us.

Helm, get us out of here.

We've lost main power. Auxiliary power down to 20 percent.

We're being pulled inside.

Rager: Auxiliary power failing.

The resonance frequency of the tractor beams

is incompatible with our power systems.

Warp and impulse engine relays have been overloaded.

I am attempting to compensate.

Rager: The tractor beams have released us, sir.

Hold position here until we can get our bearing.

Full sensor sweep, Mr. Data. Where are we?

Approximately 90 million kilometers from the star's photosphere.

I am reading a great deal of surface instability.

It may be... rager: Sir.

The inertial motion from the tractor beams

is still carrying us fonnard.

Impulse engines are off-line, and I can't stop our momentum.

We're falling directly into the star.

The primary computer database should be online now.

- Give it a try. - Okay.

I've got three access lines to the central core.

Still nothing.

Bunch of old, useless garbage.

- — Huh? - I say it's old, Mr. La forge.

It can't handle the interface of your power converter.

This equipment was designed for a different era.

Now it's just a piece ofjunk.

Oh, I don't know, it seems like some of it's held together pretty well.

Century out of date. It's just obsolete.

Well, you know, that's interesting, because I was just thinking

that a lot of these systems haven't changed much

in the last 75 years.

This transporter is basically

the same system we use on the enterprise.

Subspace radio and sensors

still operate under the same basic principle.

Impulse engine design hasn't changed much in the last 200 years.

If it wasn't for all the structural damage,

this ship still might be in service today.

Maybe so.

But when they can build ships like your enterprise,

who'd want to pilot an old bucket like this?

I don't know.

If this ship were operational,

I bet she'd run circles around the enterprise at impulse speeds.

Just because something's old doesn't mean you throw it away.

You know, we used to have something called a dynamic mode converter.

You wouldn't have something like that on your enterprise, would you?

I haven't seen anything like that in a long time.

But I bet I might be able to come up with something similar.

La forge to enterprise.

La forge to enterprise. Come in, please.

- Interference? - No, they're gone.

Data: We will enter the sun's photosphere in three minutes.

Picard: Maneuvering thrusters.

I've got 30 percent power. It won't be enough to stop us.

No, but it may be enough to turn us into orbit

and hold our distance from the photosphere.

Ensign, port thrusters ahead full. Starboard thrusters back full.

Our flight path is changing. Right, 10.7 degrees, sir.

Insufficient to clear the photosphere.

Riker: Lieutenant bartel,

divert all power from the auxiliary relay systems

to the maneuvering thrusters.

Bartel: Aye, sir.

Rager: We're in orbit, captain.

Our altitude is 150,000 kilometers.

I'll see about getting main power back online.

Very well.

Mr. Data, begin a scan of the interior surface for life forms.

I want to know who brought us in here, and why.

Aye, sir.

I can't find them anywhere in orbit.

Well, they could have crashed into the sphere like the jenolen,

no, we'd be picking up background radiation if they'd gone down.

There's another possibility. They could be inside the sphere.

Maybe. Whatever happened, we've got to find them.

You know, if we could get these engines back online,

we could track them with their impulse ion trail.

What, are you daft? The main drive assembly's shot,

the inducers have melted, the power couplings are wrecked.

We'd need a week just to get started.

But we don't have a week, so we've no sense in crying about it.

Come on, we'll see what we can do with your power converter.

The sphere appears to be abandoned, captain.

Sensors show that the star is extremely unstable.

It is experiencing severe bursts of radiation and matter expulsions.

Then that would explain why they abandoned it.

But if there's no one still living there, how were we brought inside?

I believe we have triggered a series of automatic piloting beams

designed to guide ships into the sphere.

Sir, sensors show a large magnetic disturbance

on the star's surface.

Data: It is a solar flare, captain. Magnitude 12, class b.

Shields are up, but only at 23 percent.

Data: The star has entered a period of increased activity.

Sensors indicate that the solar flares will continue to grow.

In three hours,

our shields will no longer be sufficient to protect us, sir.

Scotty: Shunt the deuterium from the main cryo-pump

to the auxiliary tank.

La forge: The tank can't withstand that kind of pressure.

Where'd you get that idea?

What do you mean where did I get that idea?

It's in the impulse engine specifications.

Regulation 42/15.

Pressure variances on the irc tank storage?

- Yeah. - Forget it. I wrote it.

A good engineer is always a wee bit conservative, at least on paper.

Just bypass the secondary cut-off valve and boost the flow.

It'll work.

Okay.

If we've done our jobs properly,

the engines should be coming back online about now.

Hey, you were right. The auxiliary tank is holding.

Take the bridge, commander.

Oh, no. You're the senior officer here.

Oh, I may be captain by rank,

but I never wanted to be anything else but an engineer.

All right.

Shields still holding, sir. But they are down another 15 percent.

Mr. Worf, can we use the phasers to open a hole in the sphere?

No, sir. The exterior shell is composed of carbon-neutronium.

Our weapons would be ineffective.

Mr. Data, we have to find some way out of here.

Begin scanning for another hatch or portal that might still be open.

The interior surface area is over 10 to the 16th square kilometers.

It will take seven hours to completely scan the surface, sir.

I will endeavor to speed up the process, sir.

The enterprise ion trail leads right to this point.

La forge: It looks like some kind of doonnay.

Oh, I bet you two bottles of scotch that they're inside the sphere.

And that they went in right through that hatch.

Yeah, no bet here. Question is how?

Look at that momentum distribution of the ions.

It would take an impulse engine full reverse

to put out a signature like that.

So they didn't go in willingly.

This looks like some kind of communications array.

Aye, we found hundreds of them

when we did our initial survey 75 years ago.

- Did you try hailing them? - Aye.

That was standard procedure at the time,

and we did it right before we crashed.

Yeah, hailing is standard procedure today too.

Scotty.

What if those aren't communications arrays?

What if they're access terminals

which are triggered by subspace signals on certain frequencies?

Frequencies like our standard ship's hail.

Exactly.

The enterprise, when they saw that terminal,

they probably did the same thing you did 75 years ago.

Open a channel.

Only this time, they triggered something

that activated that hatch and pulled the ship inside the sphere.

A very nice piece of reasoning, laddie, nice indeed.

Yeah, well, we could probably trigger the hatch ourselves,

only we'd get pulled in just like they were.

Maybe all we need to do is to get our foot in the door.

No, we might not be pulled inside when the hatch opens

if we keep our distance from the sphere.

Say, half a million kilometers.

Then when the hatch starts to close,

we move in and we use the jenolen to jam the hatch open,

hoping that the enterprise will escape.

You can't be serious. That hatch is huge.

It'll crush this ship like an egg.

Geordi, the shields will hold. Don't worry about that.

And I can get a few extra gigawatts out of these babies.

- Oh, Scotty, it's crazy... - Geordi,

I have spent my whole life

trying to figure out crazy ways of doing things.

I'm telling you,

as one engineer to another, I can do this.

- All right. Let's do it. - Oh. Aye.

We're at 500,000 kilometers.

Engines are ready.

Okay, here we go.

Come on, there's nothing out here.

Give it up.

That's it. Let's go, full impulse.

Sir, there's an audio message from commander la forge.

La forge: La forge to enterprise. Do you read me?

Go ahead, commander, we read you.

We're using the jenolen to hold open the hatch that you came through,

but our shields aren't gonna hold out much longer.

Understood. Ensign, set a course.

The plasma intercooler's gone. The engines are overheating.

I've lost helm control. La forge to enterprise.

We're not gonna be able to move this ship out of the way when you get here.

You're gonna have to destroy it in order to escape.

How much longer before we reach them?

With impulse engines operating at 60 percent power,

it will take one minute 40 seconds.

Bridge to transporter room 3.

Prepare to beam two from the jenolen as soon as we're within range.

It's coming apart, lad. I can't do anything else.

Photon torpedoes armed and ready, sir.

We are within transporter range.

Bridge to transporter room. Energize.

O'brien: Aye, sir.

Fire torpedoes.

There, now. That wasn't so bad, was it?

Picard: Captain's log, stardate 46125.3.

Starfleet has dispatched two science vessels

to study the Dyson sphere, while we proceed to starbase 55.

So this alien space baby,

which was about the size of a four-story building,

really thought the enterprise was its mother.

- Oh, you're pulling an old man's leg. - No, really.

It was suckling power directly from the ship's fusion reactors.

So Dr. Brahms and I changed the power frequency

from 21 centimeters to 0.02 centimeters.

- So you soured the milk. - That's right.

Oh, enjoy these times, geordi.

You're the chief engineer of a starship,

and it's a time of your life that will never come again.

When it's gone, it's gone.

Now, lad, I thought you were going to buy me a drink in ten-fonnard.

La forge: Actually, I had a better idea.

Scotty: You're giving me one of your shuttles?

Well, call it an extended loan.

Since you lost your ship saving ours, it seemed only fair.

She's not much to look at.

Laddie, every woman has her own charm.

You just have to know where to look for it.

Well, she's a little slow,

but she'll certainly get you to the norpin colony,

if that's really where you wanna go.

The norpin colony is for old men to retire.

Maybe someday I'll end up there, but not yet.

Well, bon voyage, Mr. Scott.

Scotty: Thank you, sir, for everything.

Mr. Scott.

- Goodbye. - Bye-bye.

Riker: Scotty. Scotty: Thank you.

Crusher: Bye. Be well. Scotty: Mm.

- A good crew. - Yeah, they are.

And a fine ship. A credit to her name.

But I've always found

that a ship is only as good as the engineer who takes care of her,

and from what I can see, the enterprise is in good hands.

La forge: You take care of yourself out there.