Tarchannen III investigation, stardate 40164.7.
Ensign Anthony Brevelle recording.
Lieutenant Susanna Leijten in command.
- You up and running, Brevelle? - Yes, lieutenant.
I've checked Buildings 4 and 5.
Just like all the others. No phaser hits, no sign of a fight.
It's like the whole outpost just vanished.
Lieutenant Leijten, you'd better come see this.
No footprints, no vehicle tracks. The wind probably erased them.
- But look. - Freeze visual.
That's Hickman on the right, Mendez on the left.
And as already noted,
the recording was made by Ensign Brevelle five years ago.
Commander Leijten, you said
that before Brevelle deserted Starbase 112 last week,
he'd been ill for several days. What about Mendez?
Mendez was seen on the Aries an hour before she disappeared.
According to witnesses, she seemed completely normal.
And Hickman?
He just passed a routine physical on Alia IV with flying colors.
No, no, wait a minute. I know Paul Hickman.
He's a family man. He's got two kids.
He wouldn't steal a shuttle and desert.
But, Geordi, he was spotted by a Federation supply ship yesterday,
on course to Tarchannen III.
The original Tarchannen disappearances
- were never solved, were they? - No.
We never learned what happened or why.
Forty-nine people, gone.
And five years later, the away team
that was investigating their disappearances
have started to disappear themselves.
Geordi and I are the only two left.
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.
Captain's log, stardate 44664.5.
We've set a course
to intercept Lieutenant Hickman's stolen shuttlecraft,
and hopefully, to discover the whereabouts
of the other missing officers.
And then I almost married Paul Bogrow.
Bogrow? Bogrow. Now, which one was he?
You remember.
The one with the thin mustache.
- Oh, not Bogrow. - I know.
The one who always used to drive you crazy?
You always thought he was so full of himself.
Yeah, well, I decided that I had prejudged him unfairly.
And then I decided that I'd been right in the first place.
Oh, Bogrow...
Well, what about you?
Hmm, I enjoy the bachelor's life too much.
That doesn't sound like my little brother who always wanted advice on women.
Yeah, obviously you were a...
A great advisor.
Well, Suz...
What do you think?
I don't know.
But I'm not ashamed to tell you I'm a little scared, you know?
Yeah.
I know.
Well, if anyone's gonna figure this out,
it'll be the Leijten and La Forge show, right?
- Yeah. - We always made a good team.
A hell of a team.
Commander La Forge,
Commander Leijten, report to the Bridge.
We have a fix on the missing shuttle.
On our way, commander.
Entering the Tarchannen system, sir.
Slow to impulse power.
Mr. Worf?
Long-range sensors are holding on the shuttlecraft.
Bearing 010 mark 271.
Hail the vessel.
Lieutenant Hickman does not respond, sir.
Put a repeating message on all subspace channels.
Order the lieutenant to come about and stand to.
Make it a Priority One communique.
Still no response, sir.
The craft is now within visual range.
On-screen.
The shuttle's acceleration is increasing.
Its trajectory is moving directly into the planet's atmosphere.
He will reach an atmospheric interface at an altitude of 210 kilometers.
If he stays at that speed, he'll self-destruct.
- That is correct, commander. - How soon, Mr. Data?
Fifty-three seconds, sir.
Options?
He's out of transporter range.
He's still too far away to get a positive lock
with the tractor beam, captain.
- Open a channel. - Open.
Lieutenant Hickman, listen carefully.
This is Captain Picard of the Enterprise.
You are in danger.
You must slow your rate of approach.
The shuttle is approaching the outer thermosphere, captain.
He's panicking.
At the current rate of acceleration,
the shuttle will be destroyed in 28 seconds.
Sixteen seconds to impact.
Lieutenant Hickman, you must do what I tell you.
Reduce your velocity
and bring your craft to a positive pitch of 20 degrees. Now!
The shuttle is entering the lower ionosphere, sir.
Captain, sensors detect two more Federation shuttlecraft
on the planet's surface.
No life signs.
Number One, prepare your away team.
Worf, Data, Geordi.
I'd like to volunteer to join you, sir.
Commander.
Commander Leijten, Geordi, check out the shuttle.
Data, Worf, you've got the perimeter.
It's the shuttlepod Mendez stole from the Aries.
Mm-hm.
No life signs, commander.
Sir, I am certain we are being watched.
Commander Riker.
Found it in the shuttle.
Where's Commander Leijten?
Riker to Susanna, report.
Fan out. Let's find her.
Susanna!
La Forge to Leijten.
Over here.
Where have you been?
Mendez and Brevelle are alive.
- You saw the footprints? - Yeah.
- But they're not human. - They're here.
Just stand still and listen.
You can feel it. They're here.
I'm not picking up anything.
Wait a minute. Where are you going?
- Susanna? - Aah!
Stay away.
Suz...
La Forge to Enterprise, medical emergency.
Two to Sickbay.
Do I look as bad as I feel?
You look fine... now.
What happened?
Your blood chemistry is way off.
You had a histamine response. To what, I don't know.
I'm going to run a complete blood and tissue analysis.
I need to get back to the surface.
Uh-uh.
Until I have some answers, I don't want you to leave the Enterprise.
- I have work to do. - Look, commander,
you may have just had an anxiety reaction down there.
But I've got to know for sure.
Might not be such a bad idea to take it easy for a while.
I'm not gonna stay locked up on the ship
while the investigation's going on.
Your devotion to duty is admirable, commander, but Dr. Crusher's right.
You'll remain on board the Enterprise until we know
whether or not this is connected with the disappearance of the others.
- Captain— - We have completed
our survey of the surface.
Analyzing all that data will keep us busy for a while.
Yes, sir, I understand.
Data's got a preliminary report, if you're up to it.
Sure. Let's get going.
What about La Forge?
I gave him a complete bioscan.
The results say he's in perfect shape.
That's what all the reports said about Mendez and Hickman
before they disappeared.
Captain Picard's wrong.
The way to handle this is to get back down there
with a dozen away teams. Fan out from the shuttle.
We could cover a lot of ground in a hurry.
Use proximity detectors, infrared sensors—
Susanna...
Oh, Geordi, it's started.
What if what happened to the others is happening to me?
You don't know that.
Suz,
I'm here,
and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, okay?
Okay.
Come on.
During microscopic examination of the torn uniform,
I discovered these alien skin cells.
Source?
Undetermined.
Without something else to cross-reference,
it would take us weeks to try and identify them.
Fortunately, we have more evidence.
We were able to determine
that these footprints found near the shuttle
were not made by any known Tarchannen life-form.
Well, if we're pursuing a theory
that somehow unknown aliens are involved,
I think I should tell you that we didn't find tracks like that
during the original investigation.
The planet is subject to frequent sandstorms.
Footprints might have been obliterated prior to your arrival.
Dr. Crusher and I will begin to search the medical database
in an attempt to match these with some known life-form.
Aliens or no aliens,
why would our people start returning after five years to be abducted?
Some sort of compulsion, like, uh... Like a post-hypnotic command.
Something that happened while we were down there the first time?
We can go back to the mission record,
construct a log of everyone's movements.
Look for some sort of commonality.
Something we all touched. Um...
Maybe... a plant or the sand.
Or even something we ingested.
Could even be in the air itself.
The parameters are pretty broad, Data.
Any match we make is going to be inconclusive at best.
I am aware of that, doctor.
However, I can see no other course of investigation available to us.
We may not have much time.
You're worried about Geordi, aren't you?
I am an android.
- It is not possible for me— - For you to feel anxiety.
Starfleet personnel have vanished.
Others may be at risk.
We must do the best we can to find out why.
However, I am
strongly motivated to solve this mystery.
Ensign Hickman.
Freeze visual.
We're wasting our time.
That's not how you felt before.
It was your idea to look for some sort of commonality.
Yeah, well, I was wrong.
We're not gonna find anything this way.
We should go back to the planet.
It's all down there. Everything we need to know.
Well, that's just not an option.
At least, not until Captain Picard says it is.
Computer, resume.
I can't look at that anymore.
It hurts my eyes.
I can't think. My mind feels like it's wrapped up in a blanket.
Take a break. All right? I'll work on this.
I don't need a break.
I need to get off this ship.
Susanna, why don't we, uh, go and see Dr. Crusher?
Forget Crusher, and forget your logs.
Tarchannen's down there, Geordi.
It's waiting for us.
That's where we should go.
Susanna...
You can't leave.
Susanna.
Susanna!
Geordi?
Her blood pressure's still falling.
Apply the T-cell stimulator.
We have got to stabilize her immune system.
She has developed an extreme sensitivity to light.
We're trying to make her as comfortable as we can.
Oh, God...
Geordi?
Susanna...
Hold on.
Okay?
Dr. Crusher will help you, so just hold on.
It's inside of me, Geordi.
I can't fight it.
It's winning.
Don't give up.
Do you hear me?
You can't give up, Suz.
This is one of Susanna's altered skin cells,
and this is one of the alien cells Data found.
They're almost identical. How do you explain that?
Jean-Luc, I think the people from Tarchannen III
who disappeared weren't abducted.
I think they were transformed into another species.
Can you stop it, doctor?
The T-cell stimulator will slow down the rate of change.
But until I find the cause—
- Is the Enterprise at risk? - No.
I checked the cell-wall integrity. Its viability is extremely low.
I don't think it's possible for Susanna to transmit it.
Then how did she get it?
I wish I knew.
The only thing I do know, Geordi,
is that it's very possible that you will be next.
But
I had two full bioscans today.
You said I was fine.
I gave Susanna a bioscan too.
I didn't find anything wrong with her either.
How long?
Brevelle was sick for days before he left.
Mendez was normal an hour before she disappeared.
You may have weeks or very few hours.
Then there's not much time to waste.
- I should get back to work. - Geordi,
until I know what we're dealing with,
I think you should stay here in Sickbay.
Doctor, you said that it would help if you knew the source of this.
If I could continue my analysis of the mission records,
- I might find an answer. - Mr. La Forge,
what if you begin to change? What if you feel compelled
to go down to the planet like the others?
Program the computer to monitor my movements.
That way we can be sure that I don't leave the ship.
What would you do, captain?
Would you sit it out here in Sickbay or try to learn what it is that's got you?
Maybe stop it?
Very well, Mr. La Forge.
You proceed with your investigation, but I want you to report to Dr. Crusher
for a bioscan at the start of the day watch.
- Aye, sir. - And, Geordi,
if you have symptoms of any kind, I want to know immediately.
Understood.
One to transport.
I wanna make another sweep of the perimeter.
La Forge, you start at Building 4. Mendez and Brevelle, begin at 2.
I'll take 5.
All right, computer,
analyze audio elements from time index 1447
to 1558.
List all anomalies.
No audio anomalies present.
Any subspace projections?
Z-particle emissions? Interferometric frequencies?
No subspace projections present.
No Z-particle emissions present.
No interferometric patterns present.
Damn.
Geordi.
May I inquire how your investigation is proceeding?
It's not.
Have you attempted an audio analysis?
Yes, Data.
And a spectrographic analysis and a screen for ionizing radiation.
I even ran an enhancement for micro-seismic disturbances.
I've tried it all, okay?
I'm sorry.
There is no need for an apology.
Perhaps if you indulged in a brief rest period,
you would be able to approach this problem with a fresh point of view.
Yeah, you're probably right, Data,
but I've gotta keep scanning these records while I can.
May I assist you?
If I knew what I was looking for.
Really, Data,
I think it's just a matter of me going over it,
maybe finding something I forgot.
I'll let you know if I come across anything, all right?
All right, computer.
One more time.
Sorry to disturb you, doctor.
That's all right. What's happened?
I thought you should see this.
Her skin is simulating the light.
A radiant reaction.
Some sort of mimetic ability?
That's not all. Her body temperature is dropping.
It's as if she's generating a disruptive field.
I can barely get any readings off of her now.
What's her rate of transformation?
It's increasing.
That's not possible. It should have been inhibited by the T-cell stimulator.
Unless...
If there's a foreign body inside her that's producing these changes.
Something like a viral crèche.
A very small one if our scans haven't found it.
I want a full genetic analysis.
We're going to examine any abnormality we find,
no matter how insignificant it seems.
One to transport.
- I wanna— - Computer, delete the audio.
Wait a minute.
Freeze visual.
Whose shadow is that?
Please restate question.
Computer,
the shadow currently displayed in section B-3.
What is its source?
Unknown.
Come on, it's gotta belong to somebody.
Computer, replay a visual of the last time index.
No audio.
And slow to 50 percent.
Okay.
Brevelle's behind the camera. Susanna and I head off
in that direction. Mendez moves off that way.
Freeze visual.
Now magnify four times.
And spectrally enhance those shadows.
Computer, do you have sufficient data
to compile a holographic simulation of this visual record?
A simulation would be limited to areas scanned
by the visual recording device.
Good, fine.
Scan the entire record and then re-create it on Holodeck 3.
Computer,
is the Tarchannen simulation ready?
Affirmative. Program complete.
Enter when ready.
Computer,
scan Starfleet records and create a simulation of Brevelle.
Place him where he was while recording this.
Okay.
Good.
Computer,
based on their speed and direction,
can you extrapolate each officer's movements
as they walk out of the recording device's field of view?
Affirmative.
With an increasing probability of error reaching 95 percent after 10 seconds.
Understood. Run simulation.
I wanna make another sweep of the perimeter.
La Forge, you start at Building 4.
Mendez and Brevelle, you begin at 2.
I'll take 5.
Computer, freeze.
It's all happening too fast.
Computer, reverse simulation.
Run it back to time index 1472.
Freeze program.
Computer, remove La Forge.
And
now remove Leijten.
And now remove Mendez.
Computer, using vector analysis, identify the source of this shadow.
There is no object in the program
which could generate the shadow.
Ahh. There, uh...
There has to be something
between the camera light and this wall.
Computer,
given the distance between the light and the wall,
can you determine the most likely shape and position
of the object causing this shadow?
There is insufficient data
to reconstruct the requested object.
Ugh. All right. Um...
Let's say that...
That my friend and I here are about the same size, say
1.7 meters.
Now can you extrapolate its shape and its position?
- Affirmative. - Do it.
There, in the thymus.
Some sort of parasite.
It's using Susanna's immune system
to spread genetic instructions.
But how did it get there?
She could have become infected during the original mission.
It's small enough to have entered through the mucous membranes.
But it certainly isn't behaving like a typical parasite.
It isn't feeding off of her.
It's transforming her DNA to match its own.
There's not much of her original DNA left.
And we're going to need unaltered genes.
Or we're never gonna get her back.
We've gotta get that thing out of her now.
- Any luck? - Negative, commander.
Nothing in our survey suggests the source of a parasitic infection.
Crusher to Bridge.
Go ahead, doctor.
The surgery was successful.
It's going to be a few more hours before we know
whether her regenerative systems are responding.
In the meantime, we better get Commander La Forge down here.
Very well, doctor. Keep us informed.
Crusher to La Forge.
Computer, locate Commander La Forge.
Commander La Forge is not on board the Enterprise.
Bridge.
The computer says Commander La Forge is no longer on board.
Is that correct?
I am showing no transporter activity.
All shuttles are secure.
Negative. There's no indication that he's left the ship.
Computer, what was the last known location of Commander La Forge?
Holodeck 3.
Captain, if Geordi has transformed,
he may be virtually a chameleon.
The skin develops mimetic capabilities.
He may still be on board but undetectable to our sensors.
You search the structure. I will take the perimeter.
Commander.
Geordi's uniform.
Security, we have an intruder in Transporter Room 6—
Captain, the security lockout on Transporter Room 6 has been broken.
Re-engage. Now.
I cannot, sir. The transporter cycle has already begun.
Captain's log, stardate 44668.1.
Dr. Crusher's research indicates that we have less than an hour
before Commander La Forge's transformation becomes irreversible.
However, all attempts to locate him on the surface have failed.
I do not read any life signs on the surface.
Our sensor array is useless.
We must find some other way of locating him.
Captain, if we can get close enough to Geordi,
we can read his absorption spectrum with an ultraviolet light.
Can you modify an emergency beacon to operate on UV?
- Yes, sir. - Make it so.
Number One, as soon as Data is ready,
I want you to lead an away team.
Aye, sir.
How long, Data?
I must replace the emitter module and reconnect the power supply.
It will take approximately two minutes to complete the modification, sir.
Hendrick to Riker.
Go ahead.
I've been able to determine La Forge's transport coordinates.
He beamed down next to the Aries shuttle.
Acknowledged.
He's on foot. Couldn't have gotten too far.
Let's assume a radius of
10 kilometers.
That still leaves a search area of more than 300 square kilometers.
We've gotta narrow that down.
What's happening with the enhanced sensor arrays?
All scans are still negative.
We've gotta find a way to track him.
What about the high resolution EM scan?
We are adjusting sensors to read La Forge's absorption spectrum,
but it will take several hours.
Geordi doesn't have several hours.
I have completed modifications, commander.
Excellent. Dr. Crusher, meet us in Transporter Room 6 immediately.
He's gonna need a sedative. Give me 10 cc's of kayolane.
Dr. Crusher.
Hey, you look a lot better than you did an hour ago.
What did you do?
We've removed some kind of parasite from your thymus.
No, no, no, it's not a parasite, doctor.
It was their method of reproduction.
To plant a DNA strand in a living host
that causes metamorphosis.
Geordi?
- He's gone? - Yes.
- Gone to the planet? - Stay calm.
No, but we have to find him.
An away team is preparing to search for him.
You'll never be able to find him.
I'm the only one who can.
No, you must turn them off. The light frightens them.
- What about the ultraviolet? - That's beyond their visual spectrum.
They won't run away from it.
He could be several kilometers away by now.
No, he's here. They're all here.
There.
Geordi?
Geordi, stop!
No, wait.
Geordi?
Geordi, my voice is familiar. Listen to it.
You can feel that we share this.
You know I'm not a threat.
The others, Mendez, Brevelle...
They don't exist as humans anymore.
But a part of you still does.
You're not one of them yet, Geordi.
I can help you if you'll just trust me.
I know what's going on inside of you.
The war you're fighting with yourself,
your humanity slipping away,
the instinct to run.
It's overpowering.
But they know how to beat it now, Geordi.
Look at me!
I've come back, Geordi.
Let me take you back too.
Just take my hand.
Please.
Crusher to Enterprise. Lock on to Commander Leijten's signal.
Prepare to beam two directly to Sickbay.
We're going home, Geordi.
Is there no hope for Brevelle or Mendez?
None.
- Susanna. - I'm right here, Geordi.
And so are Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard.
Here's your VISOR, Geordi.
Lieutenant Commander La Forge reporting for duty, captain.
Welcome back, Mr. La Forge.
Geordi, this species...
- Can you communicate with it? - No.
They act on instinct alone.
In another few minutes, I wouldn't have
responded to you, Susanna.
Then we will leave them be.
I'll order warning beacons placed in orbit and on the surface.
Hopefully, no one else will have to go through what you did.
You know, down there, I...
I didn't know who you were, and yet,
somehow,
I believed you.
I trusted you.
That must have been because of all the good advice I used to give you.
Thanks.