textfiles/sf/STARTREK/intempor

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From: mark@omnifest.uwm.edu (Mark Hopkins)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: The Final Episode ST:TNG -- In Temporal Order
Date: 8 Feb 1995 07:13:55 -0600
Organization: Omnifest
Lines: 492
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Message-ID: <3hag2j$1sd@omnifest.uwm.edu>
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This is what the story looks like when told in the order of the actual events
in time.

   Stardate 41153.4.  The starship Enterprise is about to engage on its first
mission, being placed under the new captain to be: Jean-Luc Picard.
 
   Picard suddenly finds himself in a shuttle with Tasha en route to take
command of the Enterprise, thinking he had just been talking to a starship
engineer named Geordi.
   "Captain?", Tasha calls out.
   "Sorry.  I was distracted.  Go on."
   "Did I do something wrong?", she asks as she's marvelling at the new ship.
   "No, it's just that you look very familiar."
The shuttle reaches the Enterprise, and Picard is taking a good first look
at his new ship.
   Suddenly, he finds himself in the shuttle bay of the Enterprise, about
to formally assume command, and with a curious feeling of deja vu.  He
hesitates in reciting the text before him, seeing a host of rabble appear
behind the crew (strangely reminiscent of something he saw elsewhere).  Soon
enough the distraction becomes too great and he calls for a red alert.
Completely suprised by the action, nobody initially does anything until
Tasha gets them going: "you heard him!  MOVE!"
   A staff meeting is held and the Captain, without telling anyone of his
strange experiences, enquires about any signs of any alien presence on board
(especially one of intelligence far in advance of theirs, he specifically
notes to Troi), but no signs are found and no security problems.  So, he
orders Worf to start a security alert, only to have Tasha point out that Worf
is not the security chief, SHE is.
   Starfleet has just ordered the Enterprise to cancel its mission to Farpoint
and head straight on to Devron in order to investigate a spatial anomaly,
but as Picard is coming onto the bridge, he is convinced that something is
awaiting them at Farpoint and (to everyone's suprise) orders the ship to
continue on its present mission.
   He then orders chief O'Brien to join him down in Engineering to work on
the plasma inducers.  Somewhat confused at the high expectations being
suddenly heaped on him, O'Brien hesitates, but the Captain assures him of
his (future) compatibility, as if he knew the chief for years.
   So, O'Brien rounds up a group of personnel to get the work done, noting
that they'll be "burning the midnight oil.", only to have an overly literal
android step in with, "That would be inappropriate,".  It takes a while for
O'Brien and Data to get their signals uncrossed and Picard (on hearing the
familiar voice in the commotion) steps over to enthusiastically greet Data
and assigns him some work.
   Another time lapse occurs, and Picard finds himself right back on the
bridge, thinking that he had just left the turbolift of some other ship named
the Pasteur.  The Enterprise is approaching Farpoint, but contrary to the
Captain's apparent foreknowledge, no Q appears and no barrier is erected.
Suprised by the no-show, he orders the ship to stay put and goes into the
ready room, only when he goes inside he finds that he's stepped into some
other place and time...
   Again, after another lapse, he finds himself right back on the bridge,
thinking he's just issued an order to his crew some years in the future.
"Engage to where, sir?" O'Brien enquires.  Picard saves the situation and
acts like he was giving an order all along and clarifies by indicating
that they will be going to the Devron system, after all, to investigate the
anomaly.
   The danger of the order (and the Captain's inconsistency) is readily
apparent to all, especially considering that the Devron system is in the
Romulan Neutral Zone.  So Troi requests to talk to the Captain in private,
and tells him that he's got the crew not knowing which way is up because of
his bizarre orders up to now.  Picard notes the incongruity, but says
that at the moment he can't further explain what he's doing.
   Commander Riker is contacted over subspace by Picard to be informed that
the Enterprise has been diverted.  After this, Troi indicates that she and
Riker had a thing going in the past, but the Captain assures her that she'll
be able to handle it.
   After she's gone, he orders a cup of Earl Grey tea.  Unfortunately, there
is no such thing as Earl Grey tea (yet) according to the computer.  The
Captain just smiles with his foreknowledge and lapses and has more visions
of the future, especially concerning this anomaly they're about to
investigate.
   Upon arriving at the Devron system, the Enterprise scans the anomaly.  The
Captain notices that it is much larger than he could have sworn it was in his
visions of the future.
   Another lapse occurs and Picard is convinced he's talking to Data in the
future about Data's anti-time speculation.  "Anti-time, sir?" Data asks.
Picard simply tells Data to set up the tachyon pulse, even going as far as
to tell him what the pulse will find, and then orders him to theorize about
the possible causes of this anomaly.  It turns out that the discontinuum is
twice as large as he saw in the future, which puzzles the Captain.  So he
heads for his ready room.
   After another discontinuity, he find himself back with Data asking him
to find out how the Anomaly was formed.  Data points out that only a
tomographic imaging scanner can penetrate the interference around the center,
but that such a device is only theoretical at this time.  But this is just
perfect for the Captain who is now convinced he can take this knowledge with
him directly to the future and come back with the answers.
   The Captain returns from the future finding himself on the bridge giving an
order to take the Enterprise into the anomaly.  This time, Tasha, O'Brien and
others are wary of the order and demand some kind of explanation.  But Picard
says he can't give one.  As if that weren't bad enough, he goes on to tell
them he doubt they'll even survive.  However, he assures them that it's for a
higher purpose with unimaginable stakes at hand, that doubts about his
competence and about the competence of the ship and each other may exist, but
that this is the finest crew in the fleet (even though they haven't been
together long enough for him to know that).  He indicates that he would even
trust his own life with the crew and so  "I am asking you for a leap of faith;
and to trust me.".  So, the Enterprise heads into the anomaly.
   The Captain lapses briefly again.  Now the Enterprise is inside the
anomaly, and Picard's time-jumping experiences are verified as two other ships
identical to the Enterprise in appearance come within view, all three reaching
the center at the same time.  This Enterprise starts experiencing major system
fluctuations.  A static warp shell is initiated to dampen the anomaly, and
even begins to work -- but the temporal battering on the ship is too much and
the warp core breaches.  The Enterprise loses antimatter containment and goes
up in a blaze of glory.  And so ends its one and only mission.
 
   Picard ends up right in Q's court, where the Judge smugly notes the former
Captain's belated arrival.  He won't "connect the dots", but will allow him to
play a game of ten questions on the condition that they all be yes or no
questions only.  The same rabble Picard thought he saw in the bridge of the
Enterprise is here in the court's cheering section.
   "Are you putting mankind on trial again?"  "No."
   "Is there any connection with the trial seven years ago and what's
    happening now?"  "I'd have to say yes."
   "The spatial anomaly in the Neutral Zone ... is it related to what's going
    on?"  "Most DEFINITELY yes."
   "Is it part of a Romulan plot -- a ploy to start a war?"  "No and no."
   Q notes that that's five questions now and has to point out that the last
one was two questions, not one.
   "Did you create the anomaly?", laughing at the naivete, Q answers, "No, no,
no!  You're going to be so surprised when you find out where it came from --
if you ever figure it out."
   "Are you responsible for my shifting through time?", now Q is serious:
"I'll answer that question if you promise you won't tell anyone." and he
bends over to loudly whisper in his ear, "YES."
   The Captain jumps on the answer, "Why?"  "Sorry!  That's not a yes or a no
question; you forfeit the rest of your questions!"
   Nevertheless, Q goes on to note that the trial never ended, that is, until
now.  The judgement rendered by the Continuum is that humanity has been found
guilty "of being inferior".  He goes on to deliver the typical pre-sentencing
lecture about where the accused had gone wrong, saying that with seven years
at their disposal to show a potential for expansion, they've squandered all
that time instead on concerns for Riker's career, Data's quest for humanity,
and "Troi's pedantic psychobabble."
   He relishes in telling the former Captain further than the end is at hand
for "your trek through the stars".  Picard still doesn't get it, though, so
Q has to point out the actual sentence: humanity is to be denied existence.
Picard is shocked and starts railing against Q, but Q stops him dead in his
tracks noting that the Continuum IS in the position to be rendering such
judgements, but they won't even be the one carrying out the sentence.  The
one who destroys humanity is none other than PICARD.
   "May whatever god you believe in have mercy on your soul," Q says, and
Picard lapses in time.
 
   Stardate 47988, most of the crew is asleep, except for a pair exploring
their own new frontiers.  Troi and Worf have just existed the holodeck
following an evening of romance, and Worf is expressing some concern of
honor about Riker's feelings.  But almost sounding like a Counselor, she
diverts his attention back to her mouth noting that it would be more
appropriate for them to explore THEIR feelings.  Worf obliges and bends
over and is just about to kiss her (and a crowd of vagabonds from Q's
court can barely be seen in the background doing a bleacher stomp in
synchrony with their chants "KISS! KISS! KISS!")
   But the imminent liplock is broken up as Picard rushes out into the
corridor in his bathrobe, urgently asking about the date.  Worf notes that
it's stardate 47988, and Picard is confused.  Troi pushes for answers, but
all the Captain can say is, "I don't know how or why, but I'm moving back and
forth ... through time."
   He can't quite say just where he's been moving to and from, but that it
apparently involved both times in the past and the future, and by a number of
years at that.  It was probably just a dream, Troi notes, but Picard is
insistent that it was real and felt real.  He also indicates that each time
just before a switch took place, he would briefly feel disoriented.  But
after the switch, it's like he became locked in that time as though he
BELONGED there.  Almost on cue, he lapses yet again, just as he's about to
say something else.
   Now he's back in his quarters, convinced that he had just jumped in time,
and Troi is looking on in concern, especially after he starts to tell her
where he was.  He's worried about losing his mind and apparently she's not
inclined to disagree.A
   In the sickbay, no evidence is found of any hallucination activity in
Picard.  At the same time, though, the evidence suggests that he's not left
the ship in quite a while.  Beverly jokes that maybe Picard just likes waking
everyone up in the middle of the night, and she gets Troi to leave so she
can be alone with him.
   In privacy, she tells Picard that even though he had Irumodic Syndrome in
his vision of the future, she did not find anything but a small defect in his
parietal lobe.  Though that makes him susceptible, she assures him (somewhat
unconvincingly) that it's only a mere possibility.  But her look says
something else entirely.  With a little foreknowledge, Picard ends up being
the one doing the reassuring, noting that she's going to have to put up with
him for a long time.
   Worf calls in about a priority message from Admiral Nakamura, breaking
the conversation, and Picard takes the call in Beverly's office.  The
Admiral is ordering the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone where thirty Romulan
warbirds have been seen heading.  There is an anomaly in the Devron system,
and both the Romulans and the Federation are arriving to take a look at it.
The Enterprise is ordered to wait on the border, and ONLY waiy: not to cross.
As the Admiral signs off and Picard is about to leave, he lapses again.
   "Jean-Luc, what's going on?", Beverly asks, snapping Picard back to the
here and now.  He tells her he's had another time-shift, and this time it's
confirmed when a scan shows that he just picked up an extra two days of
memories!
   That pretty much convinces everyone of the reality of his experience, but
still nobody know why or how and nobody even recalls having lived the altered
past that Picard is supposedly living.  With the meeting over, Riker asks
Deanna to dinner with him and is suprised when she turns him down indicating
that she and Worf already have plans.
   On the bridge, Picard tells a preoccupied Riker to take over if he starts
losing it again and then exits the bridge into his ready room.  Beverly
follows right behind and once inside orders some warm milk.  It's a
prescription and he's ordered to get some rest.  But she's also somewhat
saddened by his certainty concerning his future disease, especially now
that the time-travel experience seems for real.  But Picard reminds her
that a lot can happen in twenty-five years and the future can change.
Thinking that over, she leans down to kiss him likewise noting that a lot
can happen.  At that, she leaves and Picard sits back for a while with a
small grin on his face ... and then becomes disoriented.
   When he regains his senses he's on the bridge with an additional
foreknowledge and a newfound awareness that he had just seen Q.  Departing
from the bridge, he calls for red alert and a senior staff conference.  At
the conference, Picard cuts through the general skepticism about Q's
sincerity, convinced that Q is for dead serious this time.  After going
through the same rigamarole about not second-guessing everything they do,
they begin to reason that maybe Q's giving Picard a chance to undo whatever
it is he did.
   The Captain returns to the bridge with the rest of the crew, as the ship
arrives in the Neutral Zone.  Several Warbirds are on the Romulan side, and
Picard hails the flagship.  As they respond, the Captain briefly loses
himself again.  Again, he finds himself in a somewhat embarrasing situation
when he regains his lucidity: smiling at Tomalak, who is glaring at him from
across the Neutral Zone.  But with the newfound knowledge accquired from the
temporal leap, Picard offers that each side send one ship to investigate the
anomaly, and Tomalak agrees.  Once they reach the system they see that the
anomaly is already very large.  The Enterprise starts scanning it.
   After another leap, Picard gets the results.  The Anomaly is 200 million
kilometers long and a major source of temporal energy.  The Enterprise can't
penetrate the sun-like brilliance with its sensors, so with his knowledge of
what Data will come up with in the future, Picard orders the tachyon pulse,
completely to Data's astonishment.  So Data and Geordi get to work on
initiating the pulse.  However, Geordi starts to experience a sudden pain
in his visor and is taken to sickbay.  There, the doctor finds out that he
is starting to grow new eyes.
   Apparently, this is not an isolated occurrence, as other reports start
coming in about old scars healing and the like.  Data theorizes about a
connection to the Anomaly, concluding that they are witnessing a pocket of
"anti-time" colliding with normal time and causing the disruption that are
looking at.  Picard asks, "what might have caused this eruption of time and
anti-time?"
   Convinced he had just been sedated on some ship called the Pasteur, Picard
falls just as he regains lucidity as to his whereabouts and picks himself up
in a corridor on his way to the sickbay.  He gets there only to find out
that Nurse Ogawa's fetus has just devolved and reverted back to less
developed tissue because of the temporal anomaly.  Beverly goes on to note
similar kinds of things are happening all over the ship and that before long,
this effect might just kill them all.
   Picard calls in a conference again and orders Data to start looking for a
was to safely get this Anomaly to collapse.  After the meeting is finished
and everyone is gone, Q arrives to remind Picard of the stakes at hand with
his decision.  So, in order to offer him a difference perspective, he takes
him off to another time and place: Earth at the dawn of time, and so Picard
shifts again.
   After having a vision of having talked to Data on the Enterprise seven
years ago about the lack of availability of a certain key piece of technology,
he regains his wits, realises that it exists, and promptly orders its use.
At the center, they then find three tachyon beams converging at a single
point, and all three bear the same features, as if all were sent by the same
ship!
   He blacks out and returns to find himself on the bridge just about to
order the ship into the anomaly based on the finding of the Data from the
future, just as Data is about to suggest the same course of action.
"Mr. Data, you are a clever man -- in any time period," grins Picard.
   The Enterprise enters the Anomaly, and experiences major system
fluctuations.  Upon reading the center, the other two Enterprises can be
seen, thus lending solid credence to Picard's visions.  The static warp shells
on all three ships are initiated, and are actually starting to have some
effect.  However, the battering going on inside the anomaly is too much and
the warp cores start to go.
   Just as one of the other two ships explodes, the Enterprise rapidly follows
suit and ceases to exist.
 
   From what seemed to be the Enterprise, Picard was whisked away to the dawn
of life on Earth by Q, where they could see the primeval state of the world
they
are gazing over and the slime in a pool of water below where they were standing
that would be destined to become life.  As Q pointed up into the sky, Picard
was taken aback by what he saw.  The Anomaly was so huge that it practically
looked like a sun in the sky.  Q informed Picard that it was filling an entire
quadrant of the galaxy at this point in time and that with its presence, the
slime below them would never be able to evolve into life on Earth.  Thus,
humanity would simply never exist in the first place.  Picard quickly came
to this conclusion himself, Q congratulating him for it, and then he suddenly
found himself at another time and place just as he curiously and inexplicably
lets out a "Bah! Humbug!"
 
   Thinking he was still on the Enterprise from twenty-five years ago, talking
to Troi and Worf, Picard now finds himself in a vineyard as an old man, where
he is tying up some vines.  He hears Geordi's voice calling to him, as Geordi
strides onto the scene, complete with both a mustache and regular, functioning
eyes.  "Captain, we've got a problem with the warp core, or the phase
inducers, or some other damned thing," he laughs.  The two haven't seen each
other in nine years (much less the time since they were all on the
Enterprise), and catch up on old times for a short while.  Then, Picard gets
down to basics: "So what brings you here?"
   Geordi claims to have just dropped by for a visit, but Picard is skeptical
-- it's too long a trip.  "So," he muses, "you've heard."  Geordi agrees:
"Leah has some friends at Starfleet Medical ... word gets around."  Picard has
recently come down with Irumodic Syndrome, a neurological disorder, but is
adamant that he is *not* an invalid.  He and Geordi walk and talk, discussing
both cooking styles and Geordi's recent novel, but then Picard sees something
out of the corner of his eye and turns to look.  He sees vagabonds in the
field jumping up and down, pointing at him and taunting him.  He stands
transfixed, as Geordi tries to get his attention.  "Captain, are you all
right?"  Apparently not.  He lapses.
   -- and finds himself back in the vineyard with Geordi, stumbling and
convinced he had just come back from the Enterprise of the past.  "This is not
my time," he mumbles to himself: "I don't belong here."  Geordi is now
extremely worried, but Picard scoffs at any suggestion that he's wrong:  "I'm
not senile, dammit!  It *did* happen!"  However, when pressed, he admits that
the details are extremely hazy and growing hazier by the minute.  He remains
convinced that his situation is real, however, and is convinced that they
must go see Data to find out what's happening.  Geordi grudgingly agrees, and
they set off for Cambridge (though not before Picard again sees a vision of
the vagabonds he saw earlier, and discovers that Geordi sees none of this.)
   In Cambridge, Picard explains the situation to Data, who now holds the
Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the university, uses contractions fluently,
seems more human than ever, and has recently put a touch of grey into some
of his hair to lend "an air of distinction."  Data listens patiently to
everything Picard has to say, but inquires about Picard's recent doctors'
visits and confesses that the possibility of this all being a delusion has
occurred to him.  However, with no proof that Picard's memories are not real,
Data is willing to buy into the story, and begins to make preparations to use
the biometrics lab on campus to do some tests.  Picard stands to thank
Data -- and apparently falls asleep and dreams of having been in the past
again.
   He is woken by Geordi.  The lab is ready for Data's tests, but Picard is no
longer interested in them convinced that his experiences were real.  Rather,
he insists that they must go to the Neutral Zone (completely losing track of
what timeline he's in) and look for the anomaly in the Devron system.  Since
it's in two timelines, it must be in this one as well, he reasons, and
important.  Geordi is willing to play along, but reminds Picard that there
currently *is* no Neutral Zone: the Klingons took over the Romulan Empire
and have abolished the Zone, becoming less than enchanted with the Federation
in the process.  Picard acknowledges this, but wants to go anyway, and
decides to call Admiral Riker to get a ship.
   Riker, however, is less than forthcoming: the borders are closed, and
scans have shown no sign of an anomaly.  He bluntly says he can't help and
closes the connection.  Picard gripes about Riker's current desk mentality,
and wonders where they go from here.  When Data suggests hitching a lift with
a medical ship (as they are currently allowed to cross over to treat a plague
on Romulus), however, Picard cheers up, and asks Data to locate the USS
Pasteur.  "I have some pull with the captain ... at least, I used to have."
   The Pasteur soon arrives, commanded by Beverly:  Beverly *Picard*,
Jean-Luc's ex-wife.  She says his idea is absurd, "but then I never could say
no to you," and agrees to take him to the Devron system.  Geordi suggests
contacting Worf, one-time member of the High Council, to get permission to
cross the border, and Picard enthusiastically seconds the idea.  Picard
leaves for his quarters to rest (after a great deal of coaxing), and Bev
inquires to the others about his state of mind.  She's no more sure she
believes him than the rest of his old crew, "but he's Jean-Luc Picard, and if
he wants to go on one last mission, that's what we're going to do."
   Picard suddenly gets a vision of having been in Q's court at the Farpoint
mission (only with a completely different turn of events) and back on the
Enterprise from twenty-five years past talking to Worf.  Only now it's the
present Worf that the aged Picard sees on the viewscreen.   Worf is
sympathetic to their needs, but has to deny the request for their own safety,
grumbling all the while that it wouldn't be a problem had Admiral Riker given
them a cloaked ship.  Picard, however, manipulates Worf's sense of honor to
shame Worf into giving them permission.  Worf complains about this, but
grudgingly gives that permission -- as long as he is allowed to come along.
   Beverly makes it clear that if major opposition arrives to challenge their
presence in the Zone, the Pasteur is *leaving*, no doubt about it.  They head
for the Devron system, but Beverly asks Picard to give the order, which he
does.  "Engage."
   Another lapse occurs, and having apparently just received reports of a
large spacetime anomaly from two different points in time, he completely
forgets where he is and suddenly blurts out "On screen, on screen!  Let's see
it!".  Unfortunately, there's nothing to be seen.  "As you can see, Captain,"
says Data, "there's nothing there."
   Repeated scans and alternate ideas prove equally fruitless, and with word
coming of Klingon cruisers en route to expel this "intruder", time is running
out.  Data suggests that an inverse tachyon pulse *might* help locate any
temporal disturbances, but notes that modifying the deflector dish and
scanning the entire system would take fourteen hours.  Bev allows six, much
to Picard's chagrin -- but when he tries to protest, Bev virtually drags him
into her ready room and informs him *never* to question her authority on her
own bridge.  Once he apologizes, she acknowledges what is at stake, but also
asks Picard to acknowledge the possibility that all of this *might* simply be
a delusion created by Irumodic Syndrome.  Bev leaves, and Picard tries to,
but hears a voice behind him.
   It's Q, seemingly as old as this Picard is, and playing the "old and
feeble" role to the hilt until Picard becomes enraged.  He then tells Picard
that there *is* an answer for everything that's been going on, but that
Picard has to find it himself.  He also assures Picard that he has help:
"what you were and what you are to become will always be with you."  With a
final taunt, however, Q again reminds Picard that he destroys humanity.
   At that, he suddenly gets another vision from the past.  It's something
about this weird notion of anti-time.  Just as he's about to enquire what
it's all about, he regains his lucidity on the bridge of the Pasteur,
just as it's coming under heavy fire from two Klingon cruisers.
   They attempt to flee and then to surrender, but neither works.  The ship
is heavily damaged, when the Enterprise decloaks and comes to save the day,
commanded by Riker himself.  "We'll see if we can get the Klingons'
attention," he says with understatement, as the Enterprise comes up from
*under* the Klingon ships and punches half a dozen holes in one until it
explodes.  The other ship disengages, and the Pasteur crew is beamed off their
ship as a warp-core breach becomes imminent.
   Riker grumbles that he knew Picard wouldn't listen, and harshly upbraids
Worf for allowing them to cross the border in the first place.  Worf will have
none of it, however, insisting that had Riker given them a good ship in the
first place and acted with honor, all would be fine.  Riker prepares to leave
for Federation space, but Picard insists that they stay and investigate.
When Riker proves adamant, Picard's demands turn to raves, and Bev sedates
him.  He sags -- and has more visions about the past: this time coming up
with some kind of answer about tachyon beams converging from the Enterprise
at three different time periods, including the present one.
   Picard wakes and heads for Ten-Forward to find Riker.  In Ten-Forward, the
old crew are relaxing and thinking about old times -- except for Worf, who is
sulking at a distant seat.  Beverly and Geordi urge Riker to heal this rift
with Worf, which began because Riker could not accept that he would never get
back together with Deanna (who died a while back).
   Picard reaches Ten-Forward and tells Riker agitatedly that they must go
back to the Devron system, because he now knows that *they* caused the Anomaly
in the first place, with the tachyon pulses.  "We set everything in motion ...
it's like the chicken and the egg, Will!"  Riker is incredulous, but Data
sees what Picard is talking about, and discusses the paradox of their having
created the very thing they were searching for -- the three pulses in three
time-frames converged and tore a rift in subspace, creating this pocket of
anti-time, the effects of which move *backward* in time rather than forward.
Riker now agrees that they must go back and orders a course -- and asks Worf
to lend a hand to boot...
   The future Enterprise reaches the Anomaly and sees it this time, in the
very early stages of forming.  The first order of business is to stop the
other two pulses that are sustaining it, and Picard's time-jumping allows him
to do so in very short order.  However, nothing has changed, and Geordi
realizes that the rupture must be *repaired*, and that this involves entering
the rift itself and creating a static warp-shell around it, thus collapsing it
and hopefully returning things to normal.  However, it has to be done in all
three times, and as Picard notes the difficulty of this, but finds himself
lapsing to the past where he orders each of the other ships to do the same.
   The Enterprise enters the Anomaly and experiences major system
fluctuations upon doing so.  As it reaches the center, the other two
Enterprises come into full view, thus proving Picard's sanity.  The static
shells on each ship are initiated, and begin to work -- but the temporal
battering the ships are getting takes its toll on the warp cores, especially
on the other two with their having entered the anomaly at times where it was
far larger.
   One by one, each of the other two Enterprises loses containment and
explodes.  "Two down, one to go," Q suddenly appears and says.  The Anomaly is
almost completely collapsed, but the last Enterprise is about go.  "Goodbye,
Jean-Luc; I'm going to miss you," muses Q.  "You had such potential.  But then
again, all good things must come to an end."
   The Anomaly collapses, and the Enterprise explodes -- simultaneously and
it too ceases to exist.
 
   -- and Picard finds himself back in the courtroom, his head in his hands.
"The Continuum didn't think you had it in you," he hears Q say, "but I knew
you did."
   When Picard presses Q, Q admits that it worked, and that humanity is saved
once again.  Picard in turn thanks Q for giving him the chance to get
humanity out of this fix, but Q notes that it was the Continuum that got him
into it in the first place.
   Q continues, however, reminding Picard that "the trial never ends.  We
wanted to see if you had the ability to expand your mind and your horizons ...
and for one brief moment you *did*."
   "When I realized the paradox."
   "Exactly.  For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you
had never considered.  THAT is the exploration that awaits you: not mapping
stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of
existence."
   Picard presses Q for more information, and Q nearly tells him, but then
smirks as he begins to depart.  "You'll find out.  In any case, I'll be
watching; and if you're very lucky, I'll drop by to say hello from time to
time.  See you -- out there..."
 
   Troi and Worf are leaving the holodeck after a romantic evening, and Worf
is becoming concerned that he may be hurting Riker's feelings.  Troi reassures
him that it's more appropriate just now to deal with _their_ feelings, and
Worf bends to kiss her --
  -- only to be interrupted as Picard rushes on scene in his bathrobe,
urgently asking what the date is.  When Worf replies that it's stardate 47988,
Picard seems very puzzled.  When pressed, he tells Troi, "I don't know how or
why, but I'm moving back and forth ... through time."
   Almost on cue, a lapse occurs and Picard literally goes through a lengthy
purgatory in which he's convinced he's jumping between three different points
in time.
   Picard finds himself out from Q's court and back in the corridor near Worf
and Troi, back where he always was, and back in his bathrobe.  All is well,
but he's the only one that remembers any of what apparently happened.
   Later, the poker game is assembled, with all but Picard and Troi present.
Everyone wonders why Picard told them as much about the future as he did,
given the cautions they've always had about mucking with time.  Since the
temporal nature of this crisis has already altered the future, however, Data
speculates that the future is very changeable here -- and Riker suggests that
this time they can change it "so that some things never happen."
   Troi arrives for the game, and then Picard does as well, much to everyone's
surprise.  "I should have done this a long time ago," he muses, as Troi
assures him that he was always welcome.
   "Well," he continues on, "five-card stud, nothing wild -- and the sky's the
limit..."  And as the game goes ever onward, so does the Enterprise among the
stars.