History Recap / AFinalUnity

Picard finds a door that opens before him, and enters a large room. As he steps inside, the room goes dark, and a mirror image of himself appears before him. The image speaks with Picard's own voice. It introduces itself as [[MyFutureSelfAndMe Picard from shortly in the near future]], who is using the Unity Device to go back in time [[SetRightWhatOnceWasWrong to warn himself not to trust Pentara and Brodnack]], claiming they will betray Picard. "Future Picard" offers Picard an artifact that would help him win the Unity Device for the Federation. The image then disappears, and Picard finds himself standing next to Pentara and Brodnack.\\

With the negotiations concluded, Aramut transports Iydia and leaves. The ''Enterprise'' crew analyze his shipping manifests, concluding that the animals previously thought to come from Romulan space had indeed come from an uncharted planet in Federation space close to the Neutral Zone: Shonoisho Epsilon VI, also known as Frigis.

Riker suggests that Aramut may have altered his records, but Data points out that Aramut's ship was covered in particles that are only emitted by the Shonoisho Epsilon star, indicating that he had been there recently. Troi concurs, saying she can feel some sort of life somewhere out in the system, but cannot be specific. She argues that because the Followers had fled their home world, [[HiddenElfVillage they might be trying to hide]]. She then suggests asking the Garidian passengers whether they can think of a particular message that could be broadcasted to get the Followers' attention.\\

Picard consults with T'Bak, who suggests [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay quoting directly from the Lawgiver's teachings]]. Picard patches T'Bak into the comms system. He broadcasts the Lawgiver's final written words before fleeing Garidia, in which he accused the Garidian ruling council of subverting his philosophy.\\

Geordi accesses the station's power flow controls and shuts down all energy flowing through the main conduits. The probe, having lost its energy feeding point, simply flies out and jumps to warp. This clears the way to the core control room. In the room is [[InsufferableGenius the previously-mentioned Dr. Griems]]. He had prevented the core from being jettisoned automatically, and [[SealTheBreach has apparently been fighting to stave off the breach]]. Griems explains that the core is ''inherently'' unstable, but has simply been knocked out of its operating parameters during the attack. Geordi impresses Griems with his understanding of the theoretical physics behind singularity-powered cores, and the two men finally bring the core back to alignment.\\

With the tractor beam in place, the ''Enterprise'' cannot contact the scout ship nor beam out its occupants. Picard orders the ''Enterprise'' to fly between the Warbird and scout ship, briefly cutting off the tractor and rescuing the crew. He then confronts the Garidian captain, Pentara, about her violation of the Neutral Zone. During the conversation, Pentara reveals that one of the refugees is her own son, but explains that all three refugees are criminals and that she would do anything to fulfill her duty and bring them home to trial. Using his signature subtly-aggressive language, Picard convinces Pentara to withdraw.\\

T'Bak believes that the Lawgiver and his Followers found a new home somewhere in what is now Federation space. He implores Picard to help him find a Vulcan archaeologist named Shanok, who has been studying Garidian history and might know where the Followers ended up. Picard agrees to take the refugees to Shanok, currently excavating ruins on the planet Horst III.

The ship turns out to be a small scout belonging to a race known as the [[RubberForeheadAliens Garidians]]. While not much is known about this race, they are known to be close allies of the Romulans. The ship's occupants hail the ''Enterprise'' and request political asylum. As soon as the scout ship crosses into Federation space, a Garidian warbird de-cloaks and captures it in a tractor beam. Picard confronts the Garidian captain, Pentara, about her violation of the Neutral Zone. Using his signature subtly-aggressive language, he convinces her to withdraw.\\

The Garidian refugees are beamed over from the scout ship. Their leader, T'Bak, is a scholar studying ancient Garidian history. He explains that Garid's [[FantasticCasteSystem two-class society]], in which one class has been oppressing the other for the last thousand years, is entirely based on the philosophy contained in [[SacredScripture four ancient scrolls]] that were passed down from the "Lawgiver" - a mysterious figure ShroudedInMyth. According to T'Bak, the Lawgiver and his Followers were driven from Garid before they could reveal the final Fifth Scroll, which supposedly contains a missing part of his philosophy that outlines the rights and privileges of the lower class. Finding this scroll might therefore put an end to their oppression. \\

Before they can do so, however, the Unity Device warns them that it has detected an incoming fleet of Borg ships that is going to destroy their civilizations within the next 1.2 years. It asks them to select the appropriate response to this information. Brodnack argues that the Borg fleet should be destroyed in order to convince the Borg to call off their invasion and agree to negotiate - as per Picard's insistance that the Unity Device should be used for the good of ''all'' species. Pentara once again interjects, pointing out that the Borg ''never'' negotiate with anyone under any circumstances, urging Picard to eradicate their race from the galaxy altogether.\\

Picard, instead, he decides not to use the Unity Device at all, since the Prime Directive prevents him from taking such actions. Brodnack begins to protest, but the Unity Device says that Picard has chosen wisely. It explains that this was just the final test: The Chodak scientists who stole the Unity Device did so explicitly to prevent its use a political or military tool, and do not appreciate either action against the Borg.\\

With that, the image of a Chodak appears. It explains that the voice belongs to the scientists who took the Unity Device, and have since melded with it. They explain that each of them is responsible for anchoring the device to the space-time continuum, preventing it from tearing the universe apart. They ask for a volunteer to join them and anchor the Unity Device to this point in time. Brodnack volunteers immediately, but Pentara protests - still believing that this means Brodnack will receive control of the Device. The voices explain that the device would never have served anyone's purpose at all; This whole ordeal was designed to prepare one of the Chodak to the task at hand - to join the device and help it mend the space-time rifts it had created back when its power was abused by the Chodak Empire.\\

Picard is teleported into a closed container near the surface of the Unity Device. He is immediately contacted by Riker, who tells him that the away-team had reappeared on the Enterprise hours ago and that they have been looking for him ever since. He says that the Unity Device has begun phasing out of time.\\

The ''Enterprise'' attempts to lock on Picard's signal for a beam-up, but is struggling to locate him. Distortion waves begin to hit the ship as the Unity Device starts disappearing from our universe. The ''Enterprise'' begins to withdraw, while still trying to lock on Picard. It barely manages to get out of range when the Unity Device disappears in a blinding explosion.\\
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Beyond the room is another huge chamber, with a chasm splitting it in half. Just on the other side of the chasm is a large key on a pedestal, which Brodnack recognizes as matching a door he had seen earlier. At that moment, Picard's image from the future speaks to him again, telling him to use the artifact it gave him earlier. Picard uses the artifact and is instantly teleported to the other side of the chasm. Instead of taking the key for himself, however, he uses the artifact again to teleport Pentara and Brodnack to him. Brodnack is surprised, saying he thought Picard only agreed to cooperate earlier because his position was weak and he needed allies. Picard's action here [[ThePowerOfTrust causes him to ponder the concept of mutual trust]].\\

At first it appears that Brodnack will be able to withstand this double assault. [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath Picard attempts to convince him]] to abandon the idea of restoring the Chodak Empire, but Brodnack laughs it off and shocks both of his opponents. As the test continues and Brodnack is repeatedly shocked by both Picard and Pentara, his resolve begins to waver and finally he admits to losing the test. Expecting them to kill him, he only asks that they promise to use the Unity Device wisely. Picard argues that Brodnack is but one Chodak, and that a solution must be found to work together with their entire race. He describes a [[FictionialUnitedNations council of races]] that will control the Unity Device together to protect them all from its misuse. This finally convinces Brodnack to change his mind about his dreams of Chodak supremacy.\\

Now the matter turns to finding a way out of the room without anyone getting killed. Picard examines the forcefield emitter, and realizes that inserting the blocks from the endurance test into the emitter will cause it to short out - but he needs all three sets of blocks, one from each contestant, in order to do so. Fortunately, the others trust Picard enough by now [[WithOutSwordsScene to hand him their blocks]], and he manages to disable the force-field. All three contestants leave the room together.\\

Picard finds a door that opens before him, and enters a large room. As he steps inside, the room goes dark, and a mirror image of himself appears before him. The image speaks with Picard's own voice. It introduces itself as Picard from shortly in the near future, using the Unity Device to go back in time to warn himself not to trust Pentara and Brodnack. The image claims they will betray Picard. It offers Picard an artifact that would help him win the Unity Device for the Federation. The image then disappears, and Picard finds himself standing next to Pentara and Brodnack.\\

Picard describes his vision to the other captains, but for now he does not mention the artifact he received. Pentara suggests that it might be a trick, designed to make them suspicious of each other. The captains look around the room, and realize that they are surrounded by force-fields. Brodnack says that the force-fields will only lower once they pass a test.\\

Spotting a large pedestal standing in the center of the room, Brodnack says that this is called the "Second Challenge" - a traditional Chodak test used to cull the weak so that they cease being a burden on society. When asked how the test works, Brodnack refuses to answer, saying that his lifetime of practice and study in these Chodak tests have rightfully bestowed this advantage to him alone. Picard counters that if Brodnack is truly worthy, he would not need such an advantage to win at all.\\

This convinces Brodnack to explain the test. It is a simple test of endurance, which works by placing blocks on the pedestal to tell it which other contestant should receive a powerful shock. The last man standing wins the test. Picard attempts to convince Brodnack that this test is foolish, and that it would be better to just find another way to leave the room, but Brodnack is certain that he is going to win and thus refuses to cooperate. Pentara and Picard, realizing that Brodnack is the main candidate to win this test, decide to join forces and only shock Brodnack.\\

At first it appears that Brodnack will be able to withstand this double assault. Picard attempts to convince him to abandon the idea of restoring the Chodak Empire, but Brodnack laughs it off and shocks both of his opponents. As the test continues and Brodnack is repeatedly shocked by both Picard and Pentara, his resolve begins to waver and finally he admits to losing the test. Expecting them to kill him, he only asks that they promise to use the Unity Device wisely. Picard argues that Brodnack is but one Chodak, and that a solution must be found to work together with their race. He describing a council of races that will control the Unity Device together to protect them all from its misuse. This finally convinces Brodnack to change his mind about his dreams of Chodak supremacy.\\

Now the matter turns to finding a way out of the room without anyone getting killed. Picard examines the forcefield emitter, and realizes that inserting the blocks from the endurance test into the emitter will cause it to short out - but he needs all three sets of blocks, one from each contestant, in order to do so. Fortunately, the others trust Picard enough by now to hand him their blocks, and he manages to disable the force-field. All three contestants leave the room together.\\

Beyond the room is another huge chamber, with a chasm splitting it in half. Just on the other side of the chasm is a large key on a pedestal, which Brodnack recognizes as matching a door he had seen earlier. At that moment, Picard's image from the future speaks to him again, telling him to use the artifact it gave him earlier. Picard uses the artifact and is instantly teleported to the other side of the chasm. Instead of taking the key for himself, however, he uses the artifact again to teleport Pentara and Brodnack to him. Brodnack is surprised, saying he thought Picard only agreed to cooperate earlier because his position was weak and he needed allies. Picard's action here causes him to ponder the concept of mutual trust.\\

With the key in hand, Picard and the others return to the door they spotted earlier. Using the key, they pass through. In the next chamber they come across a strange creature frozen in stasis behind glass. It appears similar to a creature that appeared earlier in the Unity Device advertisement, and Brodnack claims that the Chodak actually created this race. Picard disables the statis, and the creature immediately begins to speak, saying that it is their judge. Before it will let the team move on, each of them must explain why they deserve the device.\\

Picard says he is only here to make sure that the Unity Device is used for the good of ''all'' species. This surprises the judge, who asks Picard what he would actually do with the device - what he thinks would be the ultimate ''good'' for all species. Picard argues for individualism - that each culture and each individual has their own definition of "good", and should be allowed to make that determination for themselves. This prompts the judge to probe into Picard's own life and deficiencies, bringing up his rocky relationship father and brother, his disgraceful behavior as a Starfleet cadet, and even the love of his life whom he left on Earth for fear of commitment.\\

When Picard attributes his past mistakes to the follies of youth, the judge turns to more recent mistakes such as the incident that destroyed the Stargazer - allowing his crew to die. He then accuses Picard of betraying the Federation as Locutus of Borg, and of handing over Federation secrets to the Cardassian Gul Madred. Picard protests that he never betrayed anyone willingly, and that he accepts his faults as a human and has done his best to learn to live with his failures.\\

The judge turns to Brodnack and asks him what he thinks of failure. Brodnack says he has never failed - but admits he did today. The judge accuses him of always playing it safe, which Brodnack says he takes pride in. The judge condemns him for destroying the lives of others who failed, to which Brodnack replies that Chodak are not allowed to fail. When the judge tells Brodnack that his people have failed to improve themselves, instead only learning to master the challenges they knew they would have to face, Brodnack fails to provide an adequate answer.\\

On the ''Enterprise'', Worf says that the Chodak ship had already left sensor range and cannot be pursued. Picard sends its last heading to Starfleet in the hope that another Federation ship might be able to intercept it. While they do so, Worf picks up traces of a cloaked ship approaching the ''Enterprise''. Picard orders the ship to return to Federation space immediately.\\

Deep within the nebula, the ''Enterprise'' encounters the Unity Device - a gigantic structure with a diameter of 314 million kilometers, roughly the size of an average red giant star, orbited by several small planetoids. Data's analysis predicts that the device is probably hollow, like a Dyson Sphere. A scan reveals that the device is surrounded by a large quantity of debris and radiation, indicating that the Romulan and Chodak fleets had both already arrived there, but destroyed each other.\\

While they are discussing these findings, the Garidian warbird Asiram - Pentara's ship - decloaks nearby. She hails the ''Enterprise'' and explains that the fleets did attack one another, but the fighting triggered the Unity Device's defenses, which annihilated both fleets.\\

The conversation is interrupted by yet another ship entering the system - a Chodak vessel commanded by Brodnack. Brodnack broadcasts a threat and arms his weapons, hoping the ''Enterprise'' would shoot first and trigger retaliation from the Unity Device, but Picard does not fall into this trap. Instead of firing, Brodnack sends a signal to the Unity Device, which opens a small access port on its surface. Brodnack's ship dispatches a small shuttle which flies towards this doorway. The Garidians take the opportunity to launch their own shuttle there, so Picard decides to do the same. He takes Data, Worf, and junior Engineering officer Butler along with him down to the surface.

When Picard reappears at the transporter's destination, deep inside the Unity Device, he finds himself alone and without his tricorder or phaser. The transporter appears to have been one-way, and cannot be used to return to the surface. As he searches the chamber, a voice out of nowhere welcomes him by name, calling him the "chosen representative of the United Federation of Planets", and announcing that he will now go through tests designed to prove his worthiness of controling the Unity Device.\\

As they fly through the vast distances within the device and marvel at its {{Bizarrchitecture}}, Brodnack says that while he does not know what the tests may entail, he feels uniquely prepared as Chodak society is built around the concept of tests and challenges to acquire status. When asked how powerful the Unity Device is, Brodnack says that it is potentially powerful enough to unmake the galaxy itself. Even a well-meaning master, he says, could wreak havoc with it. Brodnack says that if he wins the device, he will use it to restore the Chodak Empire. Picard counters that the device is too powerful for any one race to control, and that it must be used for the common good - to establish peace between the species of the galaxy. Brodnack scoffs at this "fantasy".\\

At their destination, the three captains are confronted with several doors. As Brodnack goes to check on one of the doors, Pentara turns to Picard and says that they should work together against Brodnack, since his vision of the future necessarily entails the subjugation of both their species under the Chodak Empire. Picard agrees with this assessment.\\

Picard finds a door that opens before him, and enters a large room. As he steps inside, the room goes dark, and a mirror image of himself appears before him. The image speaks with Picard's own voice. It introducing itself as Picard from shortly in the near future, using the Unity Device to go back in time to warn himself not to trust Pentara and Brodnack. The image claims they will betray Picard. He offers Picard an artifact that would help him win the Unity Device for the Federation. The image then disappears, and Picard finds himself standing next to Pentara and Brodnack.\\

While waiting for the ''Enterprise'' computer to finish its analysis, Picard receives an urgent message from Starfleet. Admiral Williams explains that an unknown alien race has crossed the Neutral Zone into Federation space, in hot pursuit of the Romulans. They've refused to communicate, and have been attacking any Federation and Romulan asset in their path. Outpost Delta-08 in the Yajj system lies directly in the path of this new alien force, and the ''Enterprise'' is sent to intercept them before they can destroy it.\\

Beyond the grille the team finds a large cavern containing an atmospheric processing facility. Data accesses a nearby computer terminal, discovering an automatic log that chronicled the catastrophic failure of the facility during the war, as well as the much-later arrival of the Romulans (who've apparantly also sabotaged parts of the facility to prevent future access to it). Data tries to access the main computer banks, but only receives multiple errors.\\

The Chodak asks what the Federation team is doing on Allanor, to which Picard replies that they are on an archaeological expedition. The Chodak says that a Romulan delegation had also visited the planet recently claiming they were on an archaeological expedition, but were driven off after they turned hostile. Picard promises that his mission is of a strictly-peaceful nature, to which the Chodak replies that Picard might be able to help him locate an isolinear rod to help access the computer in the "Hall of Records". Picard senses that there is something wrong here, with the Chodak claiming to be natives of the planet and yet asking outsiders for help with operating its machinery. He hides the existence of the isolinear rod in his possession, and says that they should probably go search the "Hall of Records" for one. After some convincing, the Chodak permits the away-team to proceed without an escort.\\

Brodnack orders the computer to play an old advertisement for the Unity Device, explaining in broad terms how it works and how the Chodak Empire used its power. He confirms that Chodak rebels did indeed send the device into the future, and says that the device is about to return to reality soon. He facetiously expresses fondness of humans, and says the Federation might even qualify for second-class citizenship in the new Chodak Empire. With that, the Chodak take the isolinear rod and leave.\\

One record contains a statement by one of the scientists who created the Unity Device, accusing the Chodak government of abusing its power for conquest, and warning that continued irresponsible use could tear the space-time continuum apart. Another record plays the last message sent from the device - the final words of the scientists who kidnapped it and sent it to the future. In it, they once again condemn the Chodak government for its actions, and insist that they are only acting to save the Chodak race from itself. They say that the Chodak race could reclaim the device only once it has gained the necessary wisdom to wield it.

As the away-team leaves the Hall of Records, they discover that the Chodak had used their own (non-programmable) isolinear rod on a security panel to open an accessway out of the facility - but the rod became stuck in the panel and they decided to leave it there. Geordi notices that the panel has a small hole for manually ejecting the rod, similar to the one used by 20th-century [=CD-ROM=] drives. The team scours the facility for something that could slip into the hole, eventually finding the Chodak equivalent of a paperclip. They eject the isolinear rod, and make their way back to the antechamber to beam back to the ''Enterprise''.\\