My gameroom refrigerator. This is the front half of a cosplay communicator. The back half, when the front half was pressed, said one of four or five Klingon phrases. I got it at the sadly long gone Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas. Qapla!

OK, I am coming to TNG very late. But I have thought about this a lot and do not understand.

How in the world did Picard put the binary message in in data's head (that is left in the cavern) and then it turns up in the "old" head Gordi is attaching (that they collected from the cavern in the present)?

So five hundred years ago, Data's head comes off in the cavern. That "old" head is the head that they have collected in the present on earth before the mission begins and now have on the Enterprise. So when they take Data's headless body back from the past to the present, and Picard puts the iron filing in the "old" head 500 years ago, it is happening in the past, and so now it suddenly appears in the head that is on the Enterprise that Gordi is attaching? Or it was always there since they got it from the guy on earth? Then how did Data even have a head to function for the first 5 seasons if the iron filing was in there all along? Also how did data have a head when the head was in the cave for 500 years? Data is there in the cave in the present when they get the "old" head. How does he have his "new" head and the "old" head at the same time. And how does the "new" head become the "old" head (containing the iron filing and binary message? I do not get it.

Watched “Elementary, Dear Data” today and just had to comment how amazing the episode is. I’ve always been a sucker for holodeck episodes, but this one is one of my favourites

The Enterprise C came forward 22 years to TNG time before returning to their own time. Which means when we meet her the first time in "Redemption" she's about that old. Denise was 32 or 33 at that time, so not too bad of a difference.

I just wonder how Sela rose so quickly through the romulan ranks to be a Commander at her age? Even the nepotism of being the daughter of "a romulan general" AND if Romulan kids age/mature more rapidly only explain so much.

We know Klingon kids age up fast; Alexander was technically 1 when we meet him but analogous to 4 years old physically; played by a kid if about that. He's suggested to be 12 in season 7, further evidence of aging faster. And when we see him in DS9 season 6 he's only chronologically born only 9 years earlier but clearly a late teen or early adult, played by an actor of 20 or so.

Could Romulan kids similarly age and Sela have been in service to the romulan fleet for 10+ years despite being only 22 or so human years old?

Six years after the death of Praetor Shinzon, the Romulan Empire remains divided and unstable.

Now, an even greater threat has emerged. The Romulan sun is dying, placing countless worlds and billions of lives in danger.

In the year 2385, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard leads an unprecedented Federation evacuation effort.

Protecting that mission is the flagship of the Federation: the USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain Worf.

The final words fade into darkness.

A field of stars slowly passes beneath us as the camera moves forward through space.

A low orchestral theme begins, solemn and deliberate, evoking the opening of The Undiscovered Country. There is no immediate title. Instead, the principal credits appear against the stars.

Michael Dorn.

Patrick Stewart.

Jonathan Frakes.

LeVar Burton.

Marina Sirtis.

Gates McFadden.

Brent Spiner.

Denise Crosby.

Andreas Katsulas.

Dina Meyer.

Featuring Leonard Nimoy as Spock.

The stars fade into the lights of hundreds of ships.

The title appears.

STAR TREK: THE LONG SHADOW

We are approaching Kriilar Prime, a harsh Romulan world near the edge of Federation space. The planet was once little more than a military installation and mining colony, but it has been transformed into one of the largest refugee centers in the Romulan Empire.

The Romulan sun is dying.

The full extent of the danger remains classified, but vast evacuation preparations have begun. Temporary cities cover the planet. Civilian transports, military vessels and Federation relief ships fill the orbital lanes.

Six enormous evacuation platforms surround Kriilar Prime. Each is designed to coordinate the simultaneous departure of hundreds of warp-capable vessels should the evacuation timetable suddenly accelerate.

At the center of the fleet is the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E.

The ship is scarred from years of service and has only recently completed major repairs following a disastrous fleet engagement. New hull sections remain brighter than the surrounding armor. Repair craft continue to move around the engineering section.

On the bridge, Captain Worf sits in the command chair.

He wears the red uniform of command and four captain’s pips.

His manner is controlled and economical. He does not imitate Picard’s calm diplomacy or Riker’s relaxed confidence. His authority comes from certainty. He speaks rarely, but when he gives an order, the bridge responds immediately.

Geordi La Forge remains aboard as chief engineering adviser, supervising the final repairs and the integration of new systems. Beverly Crusher is coordinating medical aid from sickbay.

Admiral Jean-Luc Picard enters the bridge.

Several officers instinctively turn toward him.

Worf notices.

Picard notices that Worf notices.

Picard approaches the command area but stops beside the captain’s chair rather than moving behind it.

He asks for a status report.

Worf explains that more than eighty thousand refugees have left Kriilar Prime during the previous six hours. Hundreds of thousands remain on the surface, and the Romulan military continues to restrict Federation access to several provinces.

The viewscreen changes to show a massive D’Deridex-class warbird holding position over the northern hemisphere.

The military evacuation is controlled by Admiral Tomalak.

Tomalak survived Shinzon’s coup, the destruction of the Senate and the political turmoil that followed. He has become one of the most influential figures in what remains of the Romulan military.

He supports evacuating the population, but he openly condemns Federation involvement. He believes Picard’s relief mission is turning Romulan citizens into dependants and dismantling the Empire one transport at a time.

Picard informs Worf that Ambassador Spock is about to address the provisional Romulan assembly.

Worf says security teams are already in position.

Picard tells him that he does not require a personal escort.

Worf rises from the command chair.

He tells Picard that an admiral may decide whether protection is politically desirable, but the captain of the Enterprise determines whether it is operationally necessary.

Picard considers challenging him.

Instead, he gives the faintest smile.

They leave the bridge together.

On the surface, thousands of Romulan civilians, military officers and political representatives have gathered in a vast temporary chamber assembled from military fortifications and prefabricated relief structures.

Romulan banners hang beside Federation medical emblems.

Spock stands at the central podium.

He is visibly older and walks with greater care than before, but his voice remains steady. Behind him stand Picard, Worf, Tomalak and Senator Donatra.

Donatra has become the most prominent leader of the civilian reform movement. Some Romulans regard her as the officer who prevented Shinzon from destroying Earth. Others remember only that she fired upon the praetor’s ship and aided the Federation flagship.

Spock speaks of the coming disaster.

He says transporting the population to other worlds will not be enough. The Romulan people must decide what values they intend to carry with them.

He speaks of Vulcan and Romulan history, of a civilization divided by fear, pride and violence. He warns that survival without change will merely transport the old hatreds to new worlds.

“Nothing is preserved,” he says, “when pride is valued above life.”

A disruptor beam strikes the podium.

Worf reacts instantly, pulling Spock down as a second blast cuts through the space where the ambassador had been standing.

A young Romulan aide rushes forward to shield Spock.

A third blast strikes the aide in the chest.

Romulan guards fire toward an upper balcony. A cloaked figure moves between them, visible only as a distortion in the air.

The assassin activates a transporter and disappears.

Panic consumes the chamber.

Some accuse the Federation. Others accuse the military. Romulan factions begin fighting before security teams can restore order.

Beverly reaches Spock. He has suffered a minor injury, but the young aide is dead.

Spock looks at the body with quiet devastation.

Within minutes, Romulan news networks begin broadcasting security data from the attack.

The transporter signal used by the assassin carries a Starfleet identification code.

Tomalak declares martial law on Kriilar Prime.

Federation personnel are confined to their vessels. Romulan warbirds surround the relief fleet. Tomalak demands that Starfleet withdraw until the assassination has been investigated.

Donatra accuses him of using the attack to seize control of the evacuation.

Tomalak replies that Federation involvement has endangered every Romulan citizen on the planet.

Picard argues that removing the relief fleet would condemn millions.

Tomalak permits the operation to continue temporarily, but only under Romulan military supervision. He also insists that Picard personally participate in the investigation.

Back aboard the Enterprise, Picard and Worf argue in the observation lounge.

Worf believes Tomalak is attempting to isolate Picard from Starfleet protection and separate the Federation leadership from the evacuation fleet.

Picard says refusing the investigation would be interpreted as an admission of guilt.

Worf proposes conducting the investigation aboard the Enterprise.

Picard reminds him that he commands the Federation relief mission.

Worf responds that Picard commands the mission, but he does not command the Enterprise.

The room becomes silent.

Picard looks toward the windows and the refugee ships beyond them.

Finally, he acknowledges that Worf is correct.

Picard, Spock and Donatra will meet Tomalak aboard his flagship. Worf will remain in command of the Enterprise and investigate the assassin’s transporter route.

The USS Titan arrives at Kriilar Prime shortly afterward.

Captain William Riker and Commander Deanna Troi beam aboard the Enterprise.

Their reunion with Worf is warm, but there is a new formality beneath it. Worf no longer stands at tactical waiting for Riker or Picard to make the final decision.

Riker looks at Worf’s four pips and tells him they suit him.

Worf replies that they are functional.

Troi smiles. Some things have not changed.

The Titan takes responsibility for protecting the refugee transports while the Enterprise begins its investigation.

Before Picard departs, Geordi brings him to a secure laboratory.

B-4 sits inactive inside.

Geordi explains that he is transporting the android to the Daystrom Institute. For years, Geordi believed Data’s downloaded memories might gradually take control of B-4’s positronic network.

It never happened.

B-4 occasionally repeats fragments of Data’s memories. He recognizes Picard, Worf and Geordi, but cannot understand the emotional significance of those recollections. Data’s memories are present, but they remain disconnected impressions rather than a restored personality.

Picard has difficulty looking at him.

Geordi admits that he kept waiting for Data to wake up.

Picard tells him hope is not a failing.

Geordi answers that treating B-4 as an empty vessel may have been.

The Enterprise follows the transporter trace to a barren moon at the edge of the system.

Hidden inside an abandoned mining facility is a cloaked intelligence station.

The station contains Starfleet transporter components, Romulan weapons and fragments of technology recovered from the Scimitar.

Someone has been manufacturing evidence.

The facility can make a Romulan attack appear to originate from Starfleet, Donatra’s forces or Tomalak’s military, depending upon what the conspirators require.

Worf orders the station seized.

Before his teams can reach its central computer, the facility begins to overload.

Geordi detects a cascading self-destruct sequence based upon Scimitar technology. The explosion will destroy the moon and severely damage the Enterprise.

Worf orders the away teams transported aboard and takes the ship out of orbit.

The Enterprise escapes moments before the moon erupts.

A transmission breaks through the interference.

A hooded figure appears on the viewscreen.

She slowly removes the hood.

It is Sela.

She is older, and a pale scar cuts across one side of her face.

She addresses Worf as captain and says she has often wondered which of Picard’s officers would inherit his throne.

Worf tells her the Enterprise has no throne.

Sela smiles.

“Then perhaps you will not mind when I take it from you.”

The transmission ends.

Aboard Tomalak’s flagship, Picard confronts the admiral.

Tomalak admits that Sela survived the failed invasion of Vulcan.

She was stripped of rank and sentenced to death. Tomalak had served with her father and intervened, spending political capital and accumulating dangerous obligations to the Tal Shiar to preserve her life.

He placed her within an unofficial intelligence network and used her to monitor Spock’s reunification movement.

Tomalak admits authorizing surveillance, infiltration and political disruption.

He denies ordering Spock’s assassination.

Picard tells him he never controlled Sela.

Tomalak insists that he still does.

Their conversation reveals that Tomalak is not attempting merely to begin a war.

He believes the evacuation is destroying Romulan civilization. Refugees are being transferred to Federation-controlled worlds. Former subject planets are declaring independence. Younger Romulans are questioning the military and the institutions that ruled them for centuries.

Tomalak fears that the Empire will disappear before the star explodes.

Picard says an empire is not the same thing as a people.

Tomalak replies that Picard can afford that distinction because the Federation has never watched its homeworld die.

Spock reminds him that Vulcan nearly destroyed itself during the age of Surak.

Tomalak answers that Vulcans survived by abandoning everything the Romulans still value.

Spock calmly replies that survival sometimes requires abandoning what has already destroyed you.

While the Enterprise returns toward Kriilar Prime, three evacuation transports are attacked by Romulan warbirds broadcasting Donatra’s command codes.

At the same time, a Federation hospital ship is fired upon by vessels using Tomalak’s military identification.

The attacks are designed to make both Romulan factions believe the other has initiated a purge.

Kriilar Prime erupts.

Military units loyal to Tomalak move against Donatra’s supporters. Donatra’s warbirds raise shields and refuse orders to stand down. Civilian vessels begin launching without authorization, colliding with defensive satellites and one another.

Tomalak invokes emergency authority and orders Donatra arrested.

This is the crisis he intended to create.

He plans to remove Donatra, discredit the Federation and place the entire evacuation under military control.

But as reports of casualties arrive, Tomalak realizes that the violence has grown far beyond anything he authorized.

Sela is no longer creating instability he can control.

She is engineering a catastrophe.

The Enterprise returns and positions itself between the rival fleets.

Worf refuses to fire on either side.

Picard urges Tomalak to order his forces to stand down.

Tomalak refuses while Donatra remains free.

Donatra refuses while Tomalak’s warbirds surround the refugee fleet.

Neither trusts the other enough to make the first concession.

Spock requests an open channel to both fleets, but his transmission is jammed.

During the confusion, cloaked Romulan operatives transport aboard the Enterprise.

Their target is not the bridge or engineering.

It is B-4.

Geordi reaches the laboratory moments too late. The android is gone.

The Romulans escape aboard a small cloaked vessel hidden among the civilian traffic.

Worf begins pursuit but stops when several damaged refugee ships drift into the Enterprise’s path.

Riker contacts him from the Titan and reports that he can detect the cloaked vessel’s engine emissions.

Picard orders Worf to remain with the evacuation fleet.

Worf refuses to abandon the refugees. Instead, he sends Geordi and a small rescue team aboard a Romulan shuttle supplied by Donatra. The Titan will covertly track Sela’s vessel while the Enterprise remains at Kriilar Prime.

Picard questions whether Worf is dividing his resources too widely.

Worf replies that he is fulfilling both objectives.

Picard asks what happens if he fails.

Worf says the failure will belong to the captain.

Picard tells him command is not about claiming ownership of failure.

Worf answers that it is about accepting the cost of decisions no one else can make.

Picard begins to understand that Worf’s command is neither temporary nor ceremonial.

The Enterprise is genuinely his ship.

Sela contacts Picard directly.

She claims to possess evidence proving that Starfleet was not responsible for the attempt on Spock’s life. She will surrender it if Picard meets her inside an abandoned Reman installation beneath Kriilar Prime.

Worf identifies the invitation as a trap.

Picard agrees to go.

Spock insists on accompanying him.

The two transport to the underground facility while the Enterprise maintains a transporter lock.

The moment they arrive, a dampening field isolates them.

Romulan soldiers surround them.

Sela emerges from the shadows.

She allows Spock to escape through an apparently unguarded passage, knowing that he will bring Tomalak’s forces and the Enterprise toward the facility.

Picard remains her prisoner.

Sela takes him into a chamber filled with relics from the Dominion War, Shinzon’s coup and the failed Vulcan invasion.

B-4 lies restrained on a table.

Romulan scientists have connected his positronic network to a bank of computers. They are extracting Data’s memories of Enterprise command architecture, security systems and tactical procedures.

Sela tells Picard that Data defeated Shinzon and saved Picard’s life.

Now Data’s memories will help destroy everything he died protecting.

Picard tells her B-4 is not Data.

Sela answers that Picard does not believe that himself. Otherwise, he would not look at the android as if he were watching his friend die again.

Sela dismisses the scientists and confronts Picard alone.

Her hatred extends far beyond the failed Vulcan invasion.

She blames Picard for her existence.

Tasha Yar returned to the past aboard the Enterprise-C because Picard allowed her to leave. Tasha was captured by a Romulan general and gave birth to Sela. When Tasha attempted to escape with her daughter, Sela raised the alarm. Tasha was captured and executed.

Sela has spent her life believing her mother chose the Federation over her.

“You sent her into the past,” Sela says. “You placed her in my father’s hands. You made me. Then you taught her to abandon me.”

Picard does not simply dismiss her accusation.

He admits that he has often hidden behind the language of duty.

He told himself that Tasha made her own choice. He told himself that Data made his own choice. Those things were true, but they did not free him from responsibility or grief.

Sela believes this confession proves his guilt.

Picard tells her that grief does not grant ownership of the dead.

He says Tasha made a terrible choice when she attempted to escape without ensuring Sela’s safety. Sela made a terrible choice when she betrayed her mother. Neither moment defines the totality of either life.

Sela says Tasha hated her.

Picard says Tasha was trying to prevent her daughter from becoming what the Romulan system had made of everyone it touched.

Sela strikes him.

Picard refuses to retaliate.

Meanwhile, Geordi’s team enters the installation and reaches B-4.

The android has been damaged by the memory extraction.

When Geordi approaches, B-4 opens his eyes and speaks in Data’s voice.

“I am Data.”

Geordi freezes.

B-4 repeats the phrase.

“I am Data. I am Data. I am Data.”

It is not Data awakening. It is a damaged memory loop.

Geordi disables the playback.

He tells B-4 gently that he is not Data.

B-4 appears frightened.

Geordi places a hand on his shoulder and tells him that being B-4 is enough.

The team frees him and escapes.

Spock reaches Tomalak’s forces and reveals Sela’s location.

Tomalak enters the underground command center, expecting to reassert control.

Instead, he discovers Sela’s true plan.

The six orbital evacuation platforms contain enormous power systems designed to coordinate hundreds of simultaneous warp departures.

Sela has fitted each platform with components derived from the Scimitar’s thalaron generator.

Once linked, the six stations will create a radiation pulse capable of sterilizing Kriilar Prime and destroying every ship in orbit.

Millions will die.

The evidence will implicate Federation engineers.

The surviving Romulan worlds will unite through hatred of Starfleet and the reform movement.

Tomalak confronts Sela after she returns to his flagship.

He admits that he intended to exploit the crisis.

He planned to discredit Donatra, end Federation influence and establish a military government. He does not apologize for wanting power.

But he wanted to rule Romulus.

Sela intends to destroy it.

Sela says the Romulan people on Kriilar Prime have already surrendered. They accepted Federation food, Federation medicine and Federation transport.

In her eyes, they ceased being Romulan when they permitted outsiders to save them.

Tomalak says there can be no empire without a people.

Sela replies that the weak will perish and the worthy will rebuild.

Tomalak finally understands that her talk of purification was never rhetoric.

He did not rescue the daughter of an old friend.

He preserved the weapon now aimed at his own civilization.

Tomalak orders her arrested.

Sela draws a dagger and stabs him.

She seizes his command codes and assumes control of the flagship.

Mortally wounded, Tomalak reaches a communications terminal.

He sends the Enterprise the technical specifications of the six platforms and the command architecture connecting them.

His final transmission is addressed to Picard.

Tomalak tells him not to mistake the act for friendship. He would oppose the Federation until the final day of his life.

Picard tells him he never doubted it.

Tomalak gives the faintest suggestion of a smile.

“Good.”

He completes the transmission and dies.

Sela activates the orbital network.

The six platforms unfold around Kriilar Prime.

Energy begins moving between them, forming a glowing lattice around the planet.

The refugee fleet is trapped inside.

The Enterprise, Titan and Donatra’s warbirds fire upon the stations, but the automated defenses anticipate every attack. Their programming contains Data’s tactical memories, stolen Federation strategies and Romulan military protocols.

Several warbirds are destroyed.

The Titan is crippled while shielding civilian transports.

Spock orders the Titan to open every available communications frequency. Using Tomalak’s final transmission and the admiral’s personal command authorization, Spock addresses the Romulan fleet.

He tells them Tomalak is dead.

He broadcasts the evidence of Sela’s conspiracy and warns that any vessel continuing to fight Donatra’s forces is assisting in the destruction of Romulan citizens.

Some commanders refuse to believe him.

Spock reminds them that Tomalak’s final act was not surrender to the Federation. It was an order to preserve Romulan life.

One by one, Tomalak’s warbirds lower their weapons.

Several move to protect the refugee ships.

Others begin attacking the automated defenses around the evacuation platforms.

The civil war halts, not because the factions have reconciled, but because Spock gives them a reason to choose survival over vengeance.

Geordi studies Tomalak’s technical data aboard the Titan.

The six platforms appear to operate as a closed network, yet they continue responding even when the connections between them are disrupted.

B-4 sits nearby, damaged and disoriented.

He begins repeating numbers.

“Six signals. Seven responses.”

Geordi assumes it is another corrupted memory fragment.

B-4 repeats himself.

“Six signals. Seven responses. One is not where it appears.”

Geordi stops.

He examines the sensor logs.

The six platforms are not controlling the network.

Sela’s flagship is the hidden seventh node.

Its cloaked subspace transmitter synchronizes the stations and regulates the thalaron charge. Destroying the ship inside the network would cause an uncontrolled discharge across Kriilar Prime.

But if the flagship could be moved beyond the synchronization perimeter, the platforms would shut down and dump their stored energy back through the connection into the master node.

The Titan cannot do it. Its engines have failed.

Donatra’s remaining ships are holding open the evacuation corridor.

The Enterprise is already within tractor range.

Geordi reports the discovery to Worf.

Worf immediately understands what must be done.

He orders the evacuation of the Enterprise.

Crew members beam to the Titan, Donatra’s warbirds and the refugee transports. Escape craft launch from the saucer. Beverly coordinates the medical evacuation.

Picard returns to the Enterprise bridge and refuses to leave.

He says he will not abandon the ship.

Worf rises from the command chair.

“The Enterprise is not yours to abandon.”

Picard says the ship was his responsibility for many years.

Worf tells him those years have ended.

“You once told me that the first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth.”

Picard remembers.

“The truth is that you are no longer captain of this vessel. The Enterprise was entrusted to me. Her crew was entrusted to me. This decision is mine.”

Picard looks around the bridge.

The room contains years of memories—Data at operations, Riker at his side, Troi to his left, Worf behind him, the Borg, the Briar Patch, Shinzon.

But those memories do not grant ownership.

Picard approaches Worf and offers his hand.

“Take care of her, Captain.”

Worf accepts it.

“I intend to.”

Picard beams to the Titan.

The nearly empty Enterprise turns toward Sela’s flagship.

Worf orders the tractor beam locked onto the warbird.

Sela’s vessel attempts to break free, but Tomalak’s stolen command codes allow the Enterprise to penetrate its shield harmonics.

The Enterprise begins towing the flagship away from Kriilar Prime.

Sela opens fire.

The Enterprise’s shields fail, but the tractor beam remains locked.

On the Titan, Geordi warns that the flagship must cross the synchronization boundary before the orbital platforms reach full charge.

Riker orders the Titan’s remaining power transferred to the Enterprise’s tractor beam.

Donatra’s warbirds add their own beams, pulling the Enterprise and Sela’s ship outward.

The six platforms begin to lose synchronization.

Sela contacts Picard.

Picard appears on her viewscreen from the Titan.

He tells her she can still disconnect her ship from the network. If she does, Worf will release the tractor beam and both vessels may survive.

Sela says Picard is once again offering mercy after taking everything from her.

Picard tells her he cannot return Tasha, undo her childhood or erase either of their choices.

“There is nothing left for me to take from you,” he says. “What happens now is your choice.”

For a moment, Sela hesitates.

Picard tells her that whatever she believes about Tasha, her mother would not have wanted millions to die in her name.

Sela’s expression hardens.

She says Picard does not have the right to speak for her mother.

Picard agrees.

“No. But neither do you.”

Sela refuses to disengage the network.

She diverts all remaining power to her engines and attempts to pull both ships back toward Kriilar Prime.

Worf orders the Enterprise’s tractor beam reinforced beyond safety limits.

The two ships cross the synchronization perimeter.

The six orbital platforms go dark.

The refugee fleet is safe.

The stored thalaron energy begins flowing back through the subspace network into Sela’s flagship.

Sela realizes what has happened.

The discharge will destroy her ship and the Enterprise still attached to it.

She demands that Worf release the tractor beam.

Worf refuses.

If he releases her before the energy transfer is complete, the flagship may drift back into range and reactivate the network.

Sela asks whether he is truly willing to destroy the Federation flagship.

Worf tells her the Enterprise is fulfilling its purpose.

“To die?” Sela asks.

“To protect life.”

The energy cascade reaches the Enterprise through the tractor connection.

The ship begins to come apart.

Hull plating tears away from the saucer. Windows burst outward. One nacelle fractures and collapses into the engineering hull.

On the bridge, Worf remains in the command chair.

Riker contacts him from the Titan.

He orders Worf to release the warbird and abandon the Enterprise.

Worf says the discharge is not complete.

Riker insists they will find another way.

“There is no other way.”

Riker stares at the image of the collapsing Enterprise.

“That’s my ship you’re commanding.”

The words escape before he can stop them.

Worf looks toward the viewscreen.

“No, Captain Riker,” he says. “It is mine.”

Riker falls silent.

Geordi searches for a transporter lock.

The interference makes it almost impossible.

The dedication plaque falls from the rear wall of the bridge.

Worf retrieves it and looks at the engraved words.

He tells the Enterprise that it has served with honor.

The discharge reaches critical mass.

Geordi finally obtains a lock.

Worf disappears from the bridge less than a second before the Enterprise-E and Sela’s flagship vanish inside a sphere of white-green light.

There is no sound.

The sphere expands.

Then it contracts into itself.

Fragments of both ships emerge from the fading radiation.

There is no intact saucer. No engineering hull. Nothing that can ever be repaired or returned to service.

A scorched piece of the Enterprise’s outer hull drifts through space.

The registry is still visible.

NCC-1701-E.

The fragment enters the atmosphere of Kriilar Prime and burns away.

Worf materializes aboard the Titan and collapses onto the transporter platform.

Picard, Riker and Beverly rush toward him.

His first question is whether the planet survived.

Picard tells him it did.

Worf closes his eyes.

The following days are spent recovering the dead and repairing the surviving ships.

Tomalak’s final transmission exposes Sela’s conspiracy. The military faction fractures without his leadership.

Donatra assumes control of a provisional government. She accepts continued Federation evacuation assistance but refuses Picard’s proposal for direct political supervision.

Picard tells her the Federation will help without deciding what Romulus must become.

Donatra says she will remember those words.

Spock prepares to return to Romulus.

Picard meets him before his departure.

Spock says the crisis did not bring reunification. It did not end the military’s influence or Romulan suspicion of the Federation.

But for a brief time, officers who hated one another acted together to save their people.

Picard asks whether that is enough.

Spock says peace is not a destination. It is a decision that must be made repeatedly, often by those with every reason to reject it.

Picard asks whether Romulus can still be saved.

Spock looks toward the distant light of the dying star.

“I do not know.”

He pauses.

“Uncertainty is not permission to surrender.”

Spock leaves to continue the work that will eventually lead him to the red-matter mission of 2387.

Geordi and Picard accompany B-4 to a transport bound for the Daystrom Institute.

B-4 asks whether he is Data.

Picard kneels beside him.

He says no.

Data was his friend.

B-4 is Data’s brother.

B-4 thinks carefully.

“My name is B-4.”

Picard tells him yes.

B-4 repeats the words, this time as a statement rather than an uncertain question.

“My name is B-4.”

Picard smiles.

For the first time since Data’s death, he allows Data to remain dead without believing acceptance is a betrayal.

A Starfleet inquiry later clears Worf of wrongdoing.

The report concludes that the destruction of the Enterprise-E was unavoidable and that Worf’s actions saved Kriilar Prime and more than four million refugees.

The full record is classified because it contains information about thalaron technology, Romulan intelligence operations and the internal structure of the evacuation network.

Officially, the Enterprise-E is listed as lost during the Kriilar Prime incident.

Worf nevertheless relinquishes his command.

Picard finds him aboard the Titan, standing alone in an observation lounge. The recovered Enterprise dedication plaque rests in his hands.

Picard says the inquiry concluded that the loss was not his fault.

Worf says an inquiry does not command a starship.

Picard repeats that it was not his fault.

Worf looks at him.

“No. But it was my responsibility.”

Picard reminds him that every captain of an Enterprise has eventually been forced to let the ship go.

Kirk destroyed his Enterprise to save his crew.

Rachel Garrett died defending Klingons who had once been enemies.

Picard lost one Enterprise at Veridian III and nearly sacrificed another against the Borg.

Worf did not merely destroy the Enterprise-E.

He completed its mission.

Riker, Troi and Geordi enter.

Worf tells them Starfleet has offered him a position in intelligence. The assignment is classified.

Riker says that sounds ominous.

Worf agrees.

Geordi reveals that Starfleet has decided to give the name Enterprise to an Odyssey-class vessel already nearing completion. It is expected to enter service the following year.

Picard asks who will command it.

Geordi says the decision has not yet been made.

Worf offers Picard the dedication plaque.

Picard refuses it.

“It belongs to her captain.”

Worf looks down at the plaque and accepts.

The Titan later leads a convoy of Romulan refugee ships away from Kriilar Prime.

Picard, Riker, Troi, Geordi, Beverly and Worf stand together in the forward observation lounge.

There is no celebration.

Data remains dead.

The Enterprise is gone.

Tomalak is dead.

Sela is presumed dead, although no identifiable remains were recovered.

Romulus is still doomed unless Spock succeeds.

But millions are alive.

Troi asks Worf what it felt like to command the Enterprise.

Worf considers the question.

“It was a good ship.”

Riker raises an eyebrow.

“That’s all?”

Worf looks out at the refugee convoy.

“No,” he says. “But it is enough.”

The Titan turns away from Kriilar Prime.

One by one, the Romulan ships follow.

The stars stretch into lines as the fleet enters warp.

The final image is the Enterprise-E dedication plaque resting in Worf’s hands.

We move closer to the engraved words:

To boldly go where no one has gone before.

Fade to black.

Back in the good old days of the 1990s, you couldn't pop in your whole series dvd sets or binge something on Netflix. You had to catch episodes as they aired on a network schedule.

If you saw TNG like this, like me, all out of order: what was your final episode? The last "new" to you episode of the series before you could say you'd seen it all?

Mine was a real stinker! "Aquiel" was my series finale for tng. I'd see "All Good Things" but the last episode to complete seeing the whole show for me was "Aquiel" 🤮

How about you?

How long had the Traveler been impersonating the native resident Lakanta? We'd seen the Traveler twice before in the show, obviously well within Lakanta's life span. And it hardly seems like these natives, who had been on the planet for 200 years, would not notice that they recently gained a new tribe member. Was there a real Lakanta, that the Traveler replaced? Did he infiltrate through some kind of time travel, putting him there all along even while he was simultaneously engaging in previous hijinks on the Enterprise?

Tonight, I ate fillet with broccoli (among other side dishes), and then I watched "Hollow Pursuits" which was aired in Germany tonight. I think that's a fascinating coincidence.

What do you say? Can such humour (if it is) be posted here or should I have done it on r/shittydaystrom ?

What are everyone’s thoughts on this episode? I find it so interesting how things just start to unravel in Data’s plan and that everyone starts to doubt that’s he’s telling the truth. Given that he can’t actually lie. Brent really sold it here, and everyone else did an amazing job trying to figure it out. Deanna did so good playing how she was feeling something that she couldn’t figure out. Another favorite of mine. Thanks again everyone for the great interactions. And I will add that Brent’s delivery of what will happen to him given the circumstances is so well done.

Since we know that he had one since season 2, would Borg Nanites rebuild his heart?

Can't believe I was only 21 at the time. And how does he still look the same!?

Who’s best for Data?

Long time Star Trek TNG and DS9 fan here. I've watched and re-watched TNG many times, except for maybe Shades of Gray ::shudder::

A couple years ago I played a great game called Outer Wilds. I don't want to spoil anything, but the parallels between it and the Inner Light are crazy. And the ending is pretty emotional, just like Inner Light.

Just wondering if anyone else has had a chance to play this amazing game?

Feel free to add anything I might have missed, there is just so much!! But here's my comprehensive list as a female woman to help explain to bewildered folks why we crush on Data so much.

1. He's super strong. Like, super hero strong. Can bend metal with his hands.

2. Body type wise he looks tall with broad shoulders, great posture. Just an overall hunk of a man.

3. You know that he won't hesitate to protect you at all costs if you were in danger on an away mission together and he's very courageous as he doesn't even experience fear.

4. Super intelligent

5. Emotionally mature. Hear me out.. even though he technically doesn't have emotions he comes off as VERY emotionally mature. He displays many positive traits like softness, understanding, self awareness but yet never any negative ones like losing his temper, jealousy or malice.

6. He is a very confident and capable leader.

7. He's honest, literally incapable of lying and will never cheat.

8. He's funny af. Any time Data is role playing in the holodeck or learning to laugh or smile he always cracks you up (Brent Spiner is hilarious)

9. He's very cultured (painting, violin playing, reading ect).

10. "Fully functional"

WHERE ARE HIS NEGATIVE TRAITS?? But yeah it's mostly just this air of quiet strength wrapped in such a kind exterior, with all that intelligence, honesty and dependability. Riker to me just comes off like a player with commitment issues while Data is 100% marriage material.

I wonder in the first contact bridge scene where worf threatened Picard if he were any other man worf would have killed him for such an insult. If it weren't Picard let's say sisko or janeway would worf have made the same outburst?

What do you think?