Stay Where Thou Art

Captain's log, stardate 41153.7. 

Our Destination is Planet Deneb Four, 

beyond which lies the great 

unexplored mass of The Galaxy. 

My Orders are to examine Farpoint, 

a starbase built there 

by the inhabitants of that world. 

Meanwhile, I am becoming 

better acquainted 

with my new command, this 

Galaxy Class USS Enterprise. 

I am still somewhat in awe 

of its size and complexity. 

As for my crew, 

we are short in several 

key positions, 

most notably a first officer, 

but I am informed that 

a highly experienced man, 

one Commander William Riker, 

will be waiting to join Our Ship 

at our Deneb Four destination.

[Bridge]

PICARD: 

You will agree, Data, that 

Starfleet's orders are... difficult? 

DATA: 

Difficult? Simply, 

'Solve The Mystery 

of Farpoint Station.' 

PICARD: 

As simple as that. 

TROI: 

Farpoint Station. Even The Name 

sounds mysterious. 

PICARD: 

It's hardly simple, Data, 

to negotiate a friendly agreement 

for Starfleet to use The Base 

while at the same time snoop around 

finding how and why the life form there built it. 

DATA: 

Inquiry. The word 'snoop?' 

PICARD: 

Data, how can you be programmed 

as a virtual encyclopedia of human information 

without knowing a simple word like 'snoop'? 

DATA: 

A Possibility : A Kind of Human Behaviour 

I was not designed to emulate. 

PICARD: 

It means 'to Spy', 'to Sneak'. 

DATA: 

Ah! To seek covertly, to go stealthily, 

to slink, slither --

PICARD: 

Exactly, yes. 

DATA: 

Glide, creep, skulk, 

pussyfoot, gumshoe. 

TROI: 

Captain, I'm sensing a powerful mind. 

(Collision alert sounds) 

TORRES: 

Something strange on the detector circuits. 

(A massive barrier appears in front of them in space) 

DATA: 

It registers as solid, Captain. 

TROI: 

Or an incredibly powerful forcefield. 

But if we collide with either it could be very -- 

PICARD: 

Shut off that damned noise. 

Go to Yellow Alert. 

WORF: 

Shields and deflectors up, sir. 

(The barrier ripples like chain mail) 

PICARD: 

Reverse power, full stop. 

TORRES: 

Controls to full stop, sir. 

Now reading full stop, sir. 

(There's a flash of light, and an Elizabethan era soldier appears, complete with breast plate and plumed hat) 

Q.: 

Thou are notified that Thy Kind 

hath infiltrated The Galaxy too far already. 

Thou art directed to return 

to Thine Own Solar System immediately. 

PICARD: 

That's quite a directive. 

Would you mind identifying 

What You Are? 

Q.: 

We call ourselves The Q. 

Or Thou Mayst Call Me That. 

It's all much the same thing. 

(The same force barrier stops two people exiting the turbolift) 

Q .: 

I Present My Self to Thee as a fellow Ship's Captain, 

that Thou Mayst better understand me.

 

Go Back whence Thou camest. 

(to Helmsman) 

Stay Where Thou art! 

(And the helmsman is frozen solid, phaser in hand)

PICARD: 

Data, call medics. 

TROI: 

He's frozen! 

PICARD: 

He would not have injured You -- 

Do You recognise this, the stun setting? 

Q: 

Knowing Humans as Thou Dost, Captain, 

wouldst Thou be captured helpless by Them? 

Now, Go Back 

or Thou Shalt 

Most Certainly Die.

Captain's log, supplementary -- 

The frozen form of Lieutenant Torres 

has been rushed to sickbay. 

The Question, Now, is 

The Incredible Power 

of The Q.-Being. 

Do We Dare Oppose It?

[Bridge]

Q. : 

Captain, thy little centuries go by so rapidly. 

Perhaps thou will better understand this. 

(A flash of light and he is wearing a 20th century US military uniform, with a cigarette in his hand) 

Q. : 

Actually, The Issue at stake is Patriotism --

You must return to Your World 

and put an end to The Commies. 

All it takes is A Few Good Men. 

PICARD : 

What? That nonsense 

is centuries behind Us. 

Q. : 

But You can't deny that 

You're still a dangerous, 

Savage, Child-Race. 

PICARD: 

Most certainly I deny it. 

I agree we still were 

when humans wore costumes like
that, four hundred years ago. 

Q. : 

At which time you slaughtered millions 

in silly arguments about 

How to Divide The Resources 

of Your Little World. 

And four hundred years before that, 

You were murdering each other 

in quarrels over tribal God-Images. 

Since then,there are no indications 

that Humans will ever change. 

PICARD: 

But even when we wore costumes 

like that we'd already started 

to make rapid progress. 

Q: 

Oh yeah? You want to review your rapid progress? 

(Flash, and a change into a padded suit) 

Q. : 

Rapid progress, to where Humans learned 

to Control Their Military with drugs. 

WORF: 

Sir, sickbay reports 

Lieutenant Torres's 

condition is better. 

Q.: 

Oh, concern for one's fellow comrade --

How touching. 

WORF: 

And now a personal request, sir. 

Permission to clean up the bridge. 

TASHA: 

Lieutenant Worf is right, sir. 

As Security Chief I can't just stand here and let --

PICARD: 

Yes you can, Lieutenant Yar. 

Q. : 

(taking a snort of something) 

Oh, better. And later, on finally 

reaching Deep Space, 

Humans of course found Enemies 

to fight Out There, too. 

And to broaden those struggles 

You again found allies for still more murdering. 

The Same Old Story, 

all over again. 

PICARD: 

No. The Same Old Story is The One 

We're meeting now. 

Self-righteous life forms 

who are eager not to learn, 

but to Prosecute, 

to Judge anything 

They don't understand 

or can't tolerate. 

Q. : 

What an interesting idea : 

Prosecute and Judge. 

Suppose it turns out we understand 

You Humans only too well. 

PICARD: 

We've no fear of what the true facts about us will reveal. 

Q. : 

Facts about You? Splendid, splendid, Captain! 

You're a veritable 

Fountain of Good Ideas. 

There are preparations to make, 

but when we next meet, Captain, 

We'll proceed exactly 

as You suggest. 

(A flash and He is gone) 

WORF: 

Sir, respectfully submit, 

Our only Choice is to Fight. 

TASHA: 

Fight, or Try to Escape. 

PICARD: 

Sense anything, Commander? 

TROI: 

It's Mind is much Too Powerful. 

Recommend, We Avoid Contact. 

PICARD: 

From This Point, 

No Station aboard, 

repeat No Station, 

for any reason will 

make use of 

transmitted signals 

or intercom. 

We'll Try and Take Them 

by Surprise. 

Let's see what this 

Galaxy-class Starship can Do. 

(to Worf) 

Lieutenant, inform Engine Room 

to prepare for maximum acceleration. 

WORF: 

Aye, sir. 

PICARD: 

Records search, Data -- 

Results of detaching saucer-section 

at high-warp velocity. 

DATA: 

Inadvisable at any 

Warp Speed, sir. 

PICARD: 

Search Theoretical. 

DATA: 

It is possible, sir. 

But absolutely no 

margin for error. 

PICARD: 

Using print-out only, notify all decks 

to prepare for maximum acceleration. 

Now hear this, Maximum, 

You're entitled to know, 

means that We'll be 

pushing Our Engines 

well beyond safety limits. 

Our Hope is to surprise 

whatever That is Out There, 

try and outrun it. 

Our only other option is to 

tuck tail between our legs and 

Return to Earth as They demand. 

(Worf makes his trip to Engineering and back) 

WORF: 

Engine Room ready, sir. 

TROI: 

The Board shows Green, Captain. All Go. 

PICARD: 

Stand by -- Engage. 

(They swoop along and past The Barrier, which then turns into a ball and chases them) 

WORF: 

Velocity, Warp 9.2. 

DATA: 

Heading 351 mark 11, sir. 

PICARD: 

Steady on that. 

TASHA: 

The Hostile is now Giving Chase, sir. 

Accelerating fast. 

WORF: 

We're now at Warp 9.3, sir, 

which Takes Us past 

The Red Line, sir. 

PICARD: 

Continue accelerating. 

Counsellor, at This Point, 

I'm open to guesses about 

What We've just met. 

TROI: 

It it felt Like Something Beyond 

what We'd consider A Life Form. 

PICARD: 

Beyond? 

TROI: 

Very, very advanced, sir, 

or certainly very, very different. 

WORF: 

We're at 9.4, sir. 

TASHA: 

Hostile is now beginning 

to overtake Us, sir. 

PICARD: 

Are You Sure? 

DATA: 

Hostile's velocity is already 

Warp 9.6, sir. 

Shall I put Them on the main viewer? 

PICARD: 

Reverse angle. 

DATA: 

Magnifying viewer image. 

TASHA: 

Hostile's velocity is 9.7, sir. 

PICARD: 

Worf, inform The Engine Room 

We need more. 

DATA: 

Engine Room attempting 

to comply, sir, 

but They caution Us... 

PICARD: 

Go to Yellow Alert. 

Arm aft photon torpedoes. 

Place them on ready status. 

TASHA: 

Torpedoes to ready, sir. 

TASHA: 

Hostile now at Warp 9.8, sir. 

WORF: 

Our Velocity is only 9.5, sir. 

DATA: 

Projection, sir -- We may be able 

to match Hostile's 9.8, sir. 

But at extreme risk. 

TASHA: 

Now reading The Hostile 

at Warp 9.9, sir. 

PICARD: 

Now hear this. 

Print-out message, urgent, 

all stations on all decks. 

Prepare for emergency saucer sever. 

You will command the saucer section, Lieutenant. 

WORF: 

I am a Klingon, sir. 

For me to seek escape when 

My Captain goes into battle —

PICARD: 

You are a Starfleet officer, Lieutenant. 

WORF: 

Aye, sir. 

PICARD: 

Make The Mark, Data. 

Note in Ship's log 

that at this StarTime, 

I'm Transferring Command to 

The Battle Bridge. 

(Picard, Data, Yar and Troi 

leave the Bridge to unnamed crew)

Captain's log, StarDate 41153.7. 

Preparing to detach saucer section. so that families and the majority of the ship's company can seek relative safety while the vessel's stardrive, containing The Battle Bridge and main armaments, 

will turn back and confront the mystery that is threatening us.

[Battle Bridge]

(Families of various races make their way along corridors as the bridge crew settle into a more compact Bridge)

PICARD: 

Lieutenant, Your Torpedoes must detonate 

close enough to the hostile 

to blind it at the moment we separate. 

TASHA: 

Understood, sir. 

TROI: 

All decks acknowledging, sir. 
PICARD: 

Worf, this is the Captain.

[Bridge]

PICARD : 

At the moment of separation, 

we will reverse power just enough 

to get your saucer section out ahead and clear of us. 

WORF: 

Understood, Captain.

[Battle Bridge]

TASHA: 

Torpedoes away, sir. 

(Eight red dots shoot out from the stern) 

PICARD: 

Begin Countdown. Mark. 

DATA: 

Starship separation in six, five, 

four, three, two, one. 

(Gracefully, the huge saucer lifts away from the body of the ship) 

DATA: 

Separation is Successful, sir. 

(The main body does a hand-brake turn and heads back to their pursuer. The torpedoes detonate.) 

TASHA: 

Torpedoes have detonated, sir. 

PICARD: 

Let's come to a stop. 

Reverse power. 

DATA: 

Reverse power. 

Decelerating. 

PICARD: 

Dead Stop. 

We'll hold this position 

and wait for Them. 

TROI: 

That will bring them here in just minutes, sir. 

TASHA: 

Will we make A Fight of it, Captain? 

If We can at least damage Their Ship 

we'll have a chance 

PICARD: 

Lieutenant, are You recommending 

we fight a life form that can do 

all those things? 

I'd Like to Hear Your Advice. 

TASHA : 

I Spoke before I Thought, sir. 

We should look for some way 

to distract Them from 

going after The Saucer. 

O'BRIEN: 

All forward motion stopped, sir. 

PICARD: 

Thank you, Conn. 

Commander, Signal The Following, 

in All Languages 

and on All Frequencies. 

We Surrender. 

State that We are not asking 

for any terms or conditions. 

TROI: 

Aye, sir. 

All language forms and frequencies.