Star Trek: The Next Generation/Recap/S6 E4 Relics

The Enterprise finds the USS Jenolen, a ship that was missing for 75 years, crashed on the surface of a Dyson Sphere. An away team of La Forge, Riker, and Worf beam over to the transport ship, which amazingly still has power. Although life support is working, the ship seems deserted. Just then, La Forge notices that the transporters on-board have been modified somehow and that there's still a pattern stored in them. The teleporter is activated, and who else materializes on the pad but Scotty himself!

After Scott thanks La Forge for re-materializing him, he runs over to the transporter console and attempts to retrieve a second pattern, that of Ensign Matt Franklin, but unfortunately, one of the phase inducers has failed and the transporters cannot compensate – Franklin's pattern has degraded too much for him to be rematerialized. Riker offers his condolences and introduces La Forge and himself to Scott. When Riker explains that they came from the starship Enterprise, Scott reacts understandably, believing he was saved by a crew led by Jim Kirk, and asks how long he was in the pattern buffers. Worf interrupts the conversation and Riker introduces the security officer to Scott. Learning that there is a Klingon serving in Starfleet, Scott realizes that he has been in the buffer for an extremely long time. When asked why he used the transporters to place himself and Franklin in such a state, Scott explains that although only he and Franklin survived the crash, there were too few supplies to survive long enough to be rescued.

After transporting back to the Enterprise, La Forge escorts Scott to sickbay while discussing some of the advances in technology over the past seventy-five years and the events leading to the Jenolan's crash. La Forge tells Scott that he is very impressed with his use of the transporter to survive, but Scott acts modestly, due to the fact that he lost his friend. In sickbay, Scott is diagnosed with only minor injuries. Captain Picard greets Scott in sickbay and is surprised that he was on board the Jenolan, as the engineer wasn't listed in the crew manifest. However, Scott explains that he was traveling aboard the Jenolan as a passenger to the Norpin colony on Norpin V to enjoy his retirement. When La Forge is ordered to study the Dyson sphere, Scott is eager to help, but Dr. Crusher advises him to rest. When Scott is escorted to his quarters by Ensign Kane, he is awe-struck at the luxury that he is entitled to, compared with starships of his time period. Scott, with much enthusiasm, reminisces to Kane about his years in Starfleet, but Kane has little interest in Scott's nostalgia and returns to duty, leaving Scott alone, feeling much less enthusiastic and somewhat pensive about life in the 24th century.

As La Forge and his team are working on their spectrographic analysis of the sphere, Scott interrupts, insisting on offering La Forge his assistance. La Forge skeptically accepts Scott's offer and the team begin their duties. Meanwhile, on the bridge, Data reports to Captain Picard that the sphere was built around a G-type star and that its interior surface provides an environment much like that of an M-Class planet, but there are no apparent signs of inhabitants. Picard orders for probes to be launched to speed up the scans of the sphere. Back in engineering, Scott finds further advances and changes in technology that in his era were dangerous. La Forge is quietly becoming irritated until Scott offers advice on how to deal with Starfleet captains. When La Forge finally voices his frustration and tells Scott that he is in the way, the older officer leaves engineering in a disgruntled state.

Later, Scott arrives in Ten Forward and orders a drink of Scotch whisky. He is repulsed when he tastes the drink, realizing that it is not "real" Scotch. Data approaches and tells Scott about the use of synthehol instead of alcohol and offers him a "real" alcoholic drink of Aldebaran whiskey from Guinan's personal supply. The engineer's reaction to this drink is much more pleasant.

In a slightly drunken state, Scott arrives outside one of the holodecks and requests a simulation of the bridge of his ship. The computer states that his request is insufficient, so Scott angrily says he wants to see the bridge of the Enterprise. The computer then tells Scott that there have been five Federation starships with that name and asks Scott to specify by registry number. Scott then states in annoyance ->"NCC one seven O one. No bloody A, B, C, or D." The computer accepts his instructions and creates an authentic replica of the bridge of the ship he served on for the longest duration. Scott fondly remembers his time aboard his former ship, even drinking a toast to his absent comrades. He sits down at his old engineering station and gives a deep, dejected sigh just as Captain Picard walks in after coming off duty and excuses himself for interrupting. Scott perks up and welcomes him into the simulation, offering Picard a drink, which he happily accepts. Just as Scott is about to warn Picard of the drinks' strength, Picard downs a glassful, which he instantly recognizes as Aldebaran whiskey and tells Scott he gave it to Guinan. Picard recognizes the bridge as that of a Constitution-class starship and explains that there's one in the fleet museum. Picard then recognizes the bridge as that of Scott's Enterprise. Scott then says he served on two, but this is the first one and the first ship he ever served on as chief engineer. Scott mentions that he served on eleven ships of varying class, but that Enterprise is the only one he misses or thinks about. Picard then recalls his first command on the USS Stargazer. Picard describes the Stargazer as overworked, underpowered and always on the verge of flying apart at the seams. Picard says that while his Enterprise is far superior, there are days when he'd give almost anything to command the Stargazer again. Scott compares their feelings as to the first time a man falls in love and that he never loves a woman quite the same way. They then share a toast to the original Enterprise and to the Stargazer, Scott calling them "old girlfriends we'll never meet again." Picard then asks Scott what he thinks of the Enterprise-D. Scotty calls her a beauty, but laments that when he was on his Enterprise he could tell the speed of the ship by the feel of the deck plates. He then begins to feel gloomy and opines that he is in the way and obsolete in the 24th century. When Picard offers to let Scott peruse the updated technical manuals, Scotty refuses, saying that he can't start out again like a raw cadet. He says there is a time when a man knows it's time to quit and time to stop living in the past. He then shuts off the bridge simulation and leaves the holodeck feeling dejected but determined to start acting his age. Picard can only look on sadly as the legendary engineer exits, clearly feeling for the man.

The following day, Picard asks La Forge about recovering the logs of the Jenolan, but the engineer says that all efforts so far have yielded very little as the ship's computer core was heavily damaged when it crashed. Picard suggests having Scott assist in trying to recover the ship's logs; La Forge agrees that Scott would be of great help as he knows the Jenolan's systems better than anybody on the Enterprise and says that he'll send Lt. Bartel with Scott over to the Jenolan. At this point, the captain asks that La Forge personally accompany Scott back to the Jenolan to recover the ship's logs, hoping to make Scott feel useful again. While Picard makes it clear that this is a request, not an order, La Forge understands the captain's motive and gladly accepts.

In the morning, La Forge waits in the transporter room for Scott, who is late. He finally arrives and apologizes as they immediately enter the transporter, mentioning that he has a bit of a hangover. As La Forge and Scott transport over to the Jenolan, Data discovers a communications array in close proximity to the Enterprise's current location, and the crew set a course for it. As the Enterprise arrives at the array, the crew discovers a large hatch in the Dyson sphere, which they presume is a front door. As they open hailing frequencies, the hatch opens and a series of powerful tractor beams pull the Enterprise inside the sphere, easily overpowering it.

Due to the fact that the resonance frequency of the tractor beams used to pull the Enterprise inside is incompatible with the starship's power systems, the relays for the warp and impulse drive overload and are rendered inoperable. The Enterprise has now lost primary and auxiliary systems and the ship is soon released from the tractor beams. However, because the Enterprise is still moving under the inertia of being towed in, it is heading directly for the star at the center of the sphere.

Back on board the Jenolan, Scott is having trouble with recovering the ship's log, calling it "garbage." La Forge realizes that Scott is referring to both himself and the ship and tries to console him by saying that the basics of technology haven't changed a great deal in seventy-five years, the transporters of the Jenolan are virtually identical to those of the Enterprise, subspace radio and sensors work on the same basic principles and that impulse engine design has changed little in two centuries – long before Scott's time. La Forge adds that the Jenolan would probably still be in service had the vessel's structural damage not been so extensive. Scott is dismissive and retorts that nobody would want something as old as the Jenolan (and again hints at himself as well) but La Forge disagrees, saying that if the ship were in service, it could still run circles around the Enterprise at impulse speeds -->"just because something's old, doesn't mean you throw it away." Scott feels much more welcome and a bond begins to form between him and La Forge. However, the moment breaks as Scott moves back to the console he was working on. He asks La Forge to retrieve a dynamic mode converter from the Enterprise, a tool which may help to recover the Jenolan's log entries. La Forge suggests using something similar but his call to the Enterprise goes unanswered.

Back on board the Enterprise, the ship is three minutes from being destroyed by the star. However, Commander Riker has managed to restore thirty percent power to the maneuvering thrusters, although they will still not be enough to save the ship from destruction. It is not until power is diverted from the auxiliary relay systems to the thrusters that the starship manages to achieve a stable orbit in the photosphere of the star. Picard demands to know why the Enterprise was towed in and orders a scan of the sphere's interior for lifeforms. When La Forge and Scotty fail to locate the Enterprise, they realize that the starship must be inside the sphere. Although it seems impossible to repair the Jenolan's flight capability, the two engineers still try restoring power to the ship's engines.

On board the Enterprise, Data reports to Picard that the star is highly unstable, expelling matter and severe bursts of radiation. This explains why the inhabitants of the sphere abandoned it. The android postulates that the Enterprise may have unintentionally triggered an automated series of tractor beams which would guide a starship inside the sphere – this would explain why the Enterprise was pulled inside without anyone occupying the sphere. When the star emits a solar flare, the Enterprise raises her shields accordingly but the vessel's shields are only operating at 23%. To worsen matters, the solar flares are becoming larger and within three hours, the Enterprise's shields will no longer protect the starship.

La Forge and Scott work on repairing the Jenolan's engines by jury-rigging the ship's supply of deuterium - La Forge initially insists that Scott's suggestion to send it through the auxiliary tank can't be done, but when he cites impulse engine specifications, Scott laughs, claims authorship of the regulation in question, and assures him that, while he knew the tank could handle the pressure, on paper a good engineer should be more cautious than in the field. Eventually, they are successful as power is restored. When Scott offers La Forge the command chair, La Forge is surprised as Scott is the senior officer. However, Scott tells La Forge that, while he holds the rank of captain, all he ever wanted to be was an engineer, and insists that La Forge take command of the Jenolan. La Forge finally accepts and Scott moves to the engineering console. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is heavily damaged by the star's solar flares, but Riker reports that partial impulse power has been restored. Picard asks Worf if the ship's phasers could be used to cut a hole through the shell of the sphere, allowing the Enterprise to escape, but the sphere is composed of carbon-neutronium and phasers (or any other of the ship's weapons) would be completely ineffective.

As the Jenolan slowly orbits the sphere, La Forge and Scott trace the impulse ion trail from the Enterprise to the hatch that the starship was pulled into. The ion trail's momentum distribution around the hatch suggests that the Enterprise's impulse engines were at full reverse and that the starship was dragged into the sphere unwillingly. La Forge and Scott realize that the hatches are access terminals (and not communications arrays), which are triggered by certain subspace frequencies, such as hailing frequencies. When the Jenolan opened hailing frequencies seventy-five years ago, the tractor beams locked on to the ship, severely damaging it and causing the vessel to crash on the surface of the sphere. Scott suggests positioning the Jenolan 500,000 kilometers, far enough away from the hatch, then opening hailing frequencies so that the hatch will open but the tractor beams will miss the ship. As the hatch would begin to close, the Jenolan would enter a gap between the doors and use the vessel's shields to hold the doors open for the Enterprise to exit the sphere. La Forge dismisses the idea as suicidal, but Scott pleads to him that the theory will work. Eventually, La Forge makes the decision to go ahead with Scott's plan.

The engineers wedge the Jenolan between the doors, the shields hold and La Forge manages to open a communications channel to the Enterprise. The starship receives the hail and sets a course for the hatch. The Jenolan suffers heavy damage while the craft is wedged in the hatch and La Forge tells Picard that the Enterprise will have to destroy the ship to escape. When the Enterprise is in transporter range of the Jenolan, Picard gives the order to beam La Forge and Scott back on board (with the Jenolan's shields still raised) and fire photon torpedoes, destroying the Jenolan. The doors continue to close, but the Enterprise manages to exit the sphere. As La Forge and Scott walk off the transporter pad, Scott is cheerfully relieved to be returned to safety.

Later, La Forge tells Scott about the Enterprise's encounter with a newborn life-form It is obvious that a strong bond has formed between the two engineers. Scott was expecting La Forge to take him for a drink, but La Forge had different intentions. As they walk through the doors to Enterprise's shuttlebay, the senior staff is revealed, standing in front of a shuttlecraft, the Goddard. Picard offers Scott the craft on "an extended loan" basis in thanks for sacrificing the Jenolan to save the Enterprise. Scott says that he won't be going to the Norpin colony as he had first planned. The senior staff bids Scott farewell. Scott reveals his approval of the Enterprise-D and the starship's engineer. After shaking La Forge's hand, he departs the ship in his new shuttlecraft.

This episode contains examples of:

 * Call Back: Data's "it is green" line in Ten Forward is almost the same as a line Scotty uses in the TOS episode "By Any Other Name".
 * Scotty also mentions events from the episodes "The Naked Time" and "Elaan of Troyius".
 * Gadgeteer Genius: both La Forge and Scotty for their respective eras