All language subtitles for 0003

RIKER: Geordi, have you found it yet?
- Not yet.

I'm starting to get some fumes.

Ammonia.

Chlorine. Potassium chloride.

[COUGHING]

Well, I can feel the heat from here.

There it is.

RlKER: How far?
- About ten meters up the ODN line.

Boy, it's hot.

I'd say over 2,000 degrees.

I'm going in.

[ALARM BEEPING]

We're okay. l've activated
the emergency suppression system.

All his vital functions
are completely normal.

The interface unit is operating
within expected parameters.

Why did he start coughing
when he went through the gases?

Psychosomatic response.

I feel like I'm actually here.

I mean, there, in the Jefferies tube.

It's funny, when I saw the smoke
I couldn't help but cough.

No one has ever reported
so complete a sensory experience.

The interface is perfect for Geordi

because his VISOR inputs
allow the probe

to transmit information
directly into his cerebral cortex.

It looks like this is going to work.

Geordi, I'd like to get the probe
out of the Jefferies tube,

onto the launch bay
before we reach Marijne VlI.

Will do.

Wait a minute.

Something's wrong.
I can't get my left leg to work.

What is it?

The probe is designed to respond

to any movement
Geordi intends to make.

When his brain sends a message
to move his leg,

the interface should move
the probe instead.

Apparently,
the tactile sensors are too low.

I will increase the input.

There it goes.

I'm on my way down.

Why the body suit?

It provides tactile sensations

so that Geordi can feel he's in
the same environment as the probe.

Geordi, what's wrong?

Nothing.

I'm seeing my reflection in a panel.

Forgot what a handsome guy I am.

PICARD:
Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages
ofthe 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.

PICARD:
Captain's log, stardate 4721 5.5.

We are responding to a distress call
from the science vessel Raman,

which is apparently trapped inside
the turbulent atmosphere

of an unusual gas giant planet.

We will use
an experimental interface probe

in our attempt to rescue it.

I have reviewed
the vessel's mission plans.

The Raman was to descend
to the lower atmosphere,

1 1 ,000 kilometers
below its current position.

The crew was to sample
the atmosphere at that level,

and then return to a safer orbit.

Something must have happened
down there.

Maybe the shields failed,

or they had some kind
of an inversion reaction in the nacelles.

Any life signs?

LA FORGE:
Our biosensors are useless.

Too much interference
in the atmosphere.

Their crew might still be alive.

There's no way we can tell
from up here.

Will the probe be able to transmit
through that interference?

The probe sends information
via a focused particle beam.

It should be able to cut through
the interference.

But we may have to operate the probe
at close-to-tolerance levels.

Hm. Will your nervous system
be able to handle

that much sensory input?

We've already tested the interface
at about 70 percent tolerance.

We shouldn't have any trouble
going higher.

The safety override will kick in
at about 98 percent tolerance,

and that will disengage the interface.

Captain, l am receiving a transmission
from Starfleet Command.

Admiral Holt.

In my Ready Room.

The seven people on that ship
are our first priority.

- Is the probe ready for launch?
- Yes, sir.

Send it directly
to the aft section of the Raman

through the secondary airlock.

That should put it just
one bulkhead away from the Bridge.

I'll interface with the probe
as soon as it's ready.

- Take it the rest of the way from there.
- Make it so.

Hello, Marcus.

- Jean-Luc.
- How's life on DS Three?

We're hosting this year's palio.

The, uh, Ferengi
have already been accused

of trying to bribe the Breen pilot
into throwing the race.

Well, there's nothing unusual
about that.

Nothing at all.

I wish l could say that l was calling
just to catch up on things.

Nine days ago, the Hera left here
on a routine courier mission.

We were in contact with it
for five of those days.

Then the ship disappeared
without a trace.

- The Hera?
- I'm afraid so.

The Excelsior and the Nobel
have been retracing its course

for the last 72 hours.

Nothing. l'm going to keep them at it
for another 72.

But to be honest,

I don't think another week
would make any difference.

I'll inform Commander La Forge.

Mr. Data, I'd like a word
with Commander La Forge.

Aye, sir. I will be on the Bridge.

Geordi,
I've just spoken with Starfleet.

The Hera is missing.

Missing?

My mother?

Captain La Forge has disappeared,
along with the rest of her crew.

SILVA:
I saw your father last week,

and your sister
about ten days before that.

- I decided l missed my favorite son.
- Your only son, Mom.

You're going to have to see
the Hera again.

We have a lot of new faces
onboard.

Including a chief engineer

who juices up the nacelles
every chance she gets.

I think she's the best technician
in the fleet.

Okay, second best.

[DOOR CHIMES]

Come in.

- I'm sorry, l didn't know you were--
- Don't worry about it.

Maybe you should meet her.

We're going to be
in the same sector next week.

Take a shuttle over
and l'll introduce you.

My mother's
always trying to find me a wife.

SILVA:
--at your father's birthday party.

Remember, if you talk to him,
it's a surprise.

This came in about three weeks ago.

I never got back to her.

Geordi, the probe has entered
the planet's atmosphere,

and I'm ready to take it onto the ship.

If you would like to take
a couple of days off,

I'll run the interface.

The interface is calibrated specifically
to my VISOR's inputs.

It would take you at least ten hours
to convert it,

and those crewmen down there
can't wait.

The interface doesn't have to be
fully compatible.

I could run it right now.

I wouldn't have
the same control that you have,

but it would still work.

Forget it.

I'm the best person for the job.

There's no reason why
we shouldn't proceed as planned.

- The Hera is reason enough.
- The Hera is missing, that's all.

Until I hear something different,
my mother just might as well

have taken the crew
on an unscheduled holiday.

Let's go.

Captain,
the probe is through the airlock

and in position aboard the Raman.

Picard to Commander Data. Report.

We are ready
to bring the interface online, sir.

PICARD:
Proceed.

Activating the remote sensors.

Initiating interface, now.

Vital signs are normal.
Geordi, how do you feel?

Fine.

DATA: Do you have visual contact?
- Not yet.

Data, turn up the input sensors.
I'm not seeing anything.

DATA:
Acknowledged.

Okay, I can see. But no colors.

Increasing signal strength
to 75 percent of tolerance.

LA FORGE:
Ah.

- That's better.
CRUSHER: Your pulse has gone up.

Your nervous system probably
has to get used to the input levels.

I'm excited, that's all, doctor.
This is like being on a roller coaster.

[CHUCKLES]

Or a first date. I'm all right.

I'll be the judge of that.

If your heart rate gets too high,
we're gonna disconnect you.

Understood.

It's a mess in here.

There must be a breach in the hull
someplace.

I'm picking up atmospheric gases
in the corridor.

Methane and ammonia, primarily.

That break in the hull
might even be on the Bridge itself.

I'm heading towards the Bridge.

I've found someone.

DATA:
What is your position?

About 12 meters
up the main corridor.

He's trapped under some conduit
from the bulkhead.

I can't move it.

I'm gonna need more power
to the tractor beam.

CRUSHER: Go to 80 percent
of tolerance, Data. No higher.

[GRUNTS]

He's dead.

Data,

that door at the end of this corridor.

- What's it lead to?
DATA: A magnetic storage bay.

If there was a break in the Bridge,
that'd be the safest place to go.

[GRUNTING]

Data, give me a phaser burst.

Narrow focus, level-four intensity.

I've found them.

They're dead.

All of them.

There's a fire in here.

- Aah!
- Data, disconnect.

What happened? Geordi.

I don't know. My hands...

CRUSHER:
They're burned.

PICARD:
How did this happen?

CRUSHER: There was some kind of
energy discharge in the interface suit.

But shouldn't the safety overrides
have prevented that?

Yes, but I have a theory
why they didn't.

The tolerance levels of the interface
were set extremely high.

I think Geordi's neural response
to the input was so strong

that it created a feedback loop.

The sensors that were transmitting
the sensation of heat to my hands

must have overloaded.

The crew of the Raman are dead.

I would like to retrieve them
and their vessel,

but not if it means
putting Geordi's safety at risk.

If we turn down the sensory input
on the probe, I should be fine.

Seven people lost their lives
down there, captain.

We should at least retrieve
the information they were collecting.

Doctor?

If we operate the interface
at lower input levels,

I'd say the risk is acceptable.

- Picard to Riker.
RlKER: Riker here.

We will proceed with the probe.

We'll have to take it into
the Raman's auxiliary control room.

Their Bridge is too badly damaged.

How long
before you have it in position?

A couple of hours.
We have to cut through the bulkhead.

Acknowledged.

Well, it looks like
you'll have time to recuperate.

Yeah.

There's something
I've got to do anyway.

How are you, Dad?

As well as could be expected,
under the circumstances.

- Are you okay?
- Yeah.

I spoke with your sister this morning.

She said she'll be in touch with you
in a few days.

Right now, she's pretty upset.

The service for the Hera
will probably be on Vulcan.

Most of the crew were from there.

But your sister and I
want to have a private ceremony.

Dad...

Don't you think
everybody's jumping the gun here?

Last I heard, there were still two
starships out there looking for them.

They found no debris,
no residual warp distortion.

And no ship.

Not yet,
but that doesn't mean they won't.

Starfleet is considering
the Hera lost.

The search isn't much more
than a formality at this point.

Geordi,

your mother's gone.

Yeah, well, you can think that
if you want.

But until I see some hard evidence,
I'm not gonna give up hope.

All right, Geordi.

Call me if you need anything.

[DOOR CHIMES]

Come in.

Hey, Data.

- Still working?
- No.

I have completed the adjustments
to the interface.

I am now waiting
for Commander Riker

to finish moving the probe.

- Do you need to be comforted?
- No.

I was just passing by.
I was wondering what you were up to.

I am using the time
to catch up on my study of poetry.

LA FORGE:
Data, there's nothing on the screen.

That is not entirely correct.

While it is true
the display is currently blank,

this emptiness
has a poetic meaning.

Therefore it cannot be considered
nothing as such.

- Says who?
- The ancient Doosodarians.

Much of their poetry contained
such lacunae or empty spaces.

Often these pauses
measured several days in length,

during which poet and audience
were encouraged

to fully acknowledge
the emptiness of the experience.

I remember a few lectures
from Starfleet Academy

that seemed that way.

Are you certain you do not wish
to talk about your mother?

Why would you say that?

You are no doubt
feeling emotional distress

as a result of her disappearance.

While you claim to be
just passing by,

that is most likely an excuse
to start a conversation

about this uncomfortable subject.

- Am l correct?
- No, Data.

Sometimes just passing by
means just passing by.

Hm. Then l apologize
for my premature assumption.

This particular poem
has a lacunae of 47 minutes.

You may experience
the emptiness with me if you wish.

Thanks.

You know, Data,

maybe you gave up a little too easily.

I do not understand.

Well, when I said
just passing by means just passing by,

I really didn't mean it.

Then my initial assumption
was correct.

You do wish to speak
of your mother.

Am I crazy to think
that she's still alive?

Your sanity is not in question.

However, your evaluation
of the available information is biased.

She's a starship captain.

She's gotten herself into and out of
impossible situations before.

Why should this be any different?

Disappearances
fitting the profile of the Hera

have rarely ended with
the safe recovery of ship and crew.

Well, that makes me feel
much better.

[SIGHS

Look, I'm sorry, Data.
I didn't mean to snap at you.

I am not offended.

You are upset.
Your reactions are not surprising.

It's just that if she really is dead,

I don't know what l'm gonna do.

We're receiving
the probe's telemetry.

The input levels are currently
at 53 percent of tolerance.

That's too low, Data,

I won't be able
to do anything down there.

I wanna start with as wide a margin
of safety as possible.

We can adjust upward later.

- Ready?
- Go ahead.

Initiating interface.

I can't see anything.

DATA:
I am increasing the input now.

LA FORGE:
Yeah.

Yeah, that's better, but I need more.

DATA:
ls this level sufficient?

Geordi?

Geordi, do you hear me?

Mom?

- Mom, is it you?
- Is it you?

Oh, I forgot,
all you can see is this probe.

Yes, it's me.
I'm actually on the Enterprise.

I'm interfaced with this probe.

Geordi.

Who are you speaking to?
What are you seeing?

But is it really you?

Yes, Geordi. lt's Mom.

But how can that be?
I mean, how is this possible?

There's no time to explain.
We have to go down.

- Down where?
- The surface.

- Geordi, report.
- Hang on, doctor.

Why? Why do we have to go down
to the surface?

- We're dying.
- We?

The Hera?
You mean the Hera is down there?

CRUSHER:
We're disconnecting you right now.

- No, wait.
- We need your help. I need your help.

- Geordi--
- Mom-- Ah!

The cutoff has been
automatically activated.

He's in neural shock.

The sensory overload didn't cause
any permanent damage,

but I wouldn't want to expose his brain
to that kind of stimulus again.

Is there any indication
what caused this hallucination?

- His brain functions are normal.
- I told you, l wasn't hallucinating.

Geordi, I have analyzed
the probe sensor logs.

There are no records to indicate

the presence of a living human
onboard the Raman.

Well, she wasn't exactly there.
Her ship is down on the surface.

So you believe that what you saw
was some kind of transmission?

Somehow she has managed
to communicate with me.

We have no indication
of a transmission of any kind.

Maybe I'm the only one
who can detect it

because I'm interfaced
with the probe.

The probe does allow Geordi
to sense quantum fluctuations,

subspace anomalies,
and other phenomenon

not perceptible
by any other kind of sensor.

Granted, but how could he perceive
his mother visually

as if she were standing there
in the room?

I'm not sure, but I do know
that our brains weren't designed

to process the kind of sensory
information Geordi was getting.

When the brain receives something
it doesn't understand,

it interprets the input as best it can.

Sometimes as a smell or a sound,
sometimes visually.

- You see?
CRUSHER: But, Geordi,

I'm not saying that your mother
was really communicating with you.

I'm just trying to give you a reason why
you might have thought that she was.

Look, I'm telling you,

my mother's ship
is trapped down there.

And we've got to help them.

Geordi, the Hera's last reported
position was 300 light-years away.

How could it end up here?

If the Hera is on the surface,

its hull could not possibly withstand
the pressure of the atmosphere.

Well, at least let me go back
down there just to be sure.

I do not recommend
that he use the interface again.

The sensory overload
almost killed you.

I'll be all right.

No, no, l'm sorry Geordi,
I'm not prepared to risk your life.

Data, find another way
of salvaging the Raman.

I want an alternate plan in two hours.

Geordi.

I'd like you to talk to Counselor Troi.
She's expecting you.

What's your mother like, Geordi?

If you think I'm gonna start
talking about my childhood, counselor,

you're way off.

That's not what I asked.

Well, she's...

She's brilliant.

Funny.

She's incredibly perceptive.

She knows people.

Knows what they're all about
even before they open their mouths.

She's always been that way,

she's a real good judge of character.

When was the last time
you saw her?

About seven months ago,

when she first took command
of the Hera.

I went to a party
she had for her crew.

She wanted me to come over
and see her

but I was really busy at the time.

I mean, I suppose
I could have made the time

to go and see her but,
you know, I just didn't think that...

I mean, you know,
I didn't think that...

You didn't think
it would be your last chance to see her.

That's not what I was gonna say.

I want to suggest something.

Call it a theory, all right?

All right.

You're worried about
the disappearance of your mother.

Guilty that you didn't see her
when you had the chance.

So you're unwilling to consider
that she might be dead.

Your need to believe she's alive
is so strong

that it manifests itself
as a physical image.

Yeah, but she told me
she's trapped on that planet,

that she's in danger.

Now, if this were some sort
of wish fulfillment,

don't you think I'd be fantasizing her
safe and sound?

No.

Because that would be the end
of your fantasy.

You'd know it wasn't true.

The more involved and complicated

and unending your story is,

the longer you can believe
your mother's still alive.

Yeah, well, that's your theory,
counselor.

I've got one of my own.

I have been exploring the possibility
of using a tractor beam

to pull the Raman
from the atmosphere.

However, the high level of interference
prevents a positive lock.

If we set up
some sort of relay system?

That is my conclusion as well,
commander.

Two shuttlecrafts staggered between
the Enterprise and the Raman,

with their shields adjusted
to re-focus the tractor beam.

Can we get the shuttles close enough
without danger?

- Mr. La Forge?
- Sure. Um...

Yeah, as long as we keep them both
above the troposphere,

that will be all right.

- Then in that case--
LA FORGE: But what about the Hera?

We'd be leaving my mother
and her crew stranded on the planet.

- Commander--
- I've been thinking about this.

A couple of weeks ago,
I got a message from my mother.

She said she had
a new chief engineer

who had been experimenting
with the warp drive.

Now, l've seen the Hera.

It uses trionic initiators
in the warp coil.

They have a reputation
for strange side effects,

especially when you
play around with them.

There have been reports
of warp bubbles

and other subspace deformations.

So, what if that's what happened?

Not a warp bubble,
but a subspace funnel.

Connecting two points
through subspace.

Well, the Hera could have
accidentally created a distortion

that emptied out right here
on Marijne VII.

Why here?

Well, the Hera passed by this planet
just ten days ago.

Now, there's an awful lot of subspace
disturbance in the atmosphere.

The ship could have accidentally
picked up some residual traces

that directed the funnel
right back here.

So the Hera's in one piece,
somewhere out there?

Well, maybe it's being surrounded
by some kind of warp field,

but who knows for how long?

Mr. La Forge,
do you have any evidence

to support this hypothesis?

I did pick up some
strange subspace readings

when I was interfaced
with the probe.

That could have been anything.

LA FORGE:
But l talked to her, commander.

She asked me to bring the Raman
closer to the planet.

Mr. Data, is any of this possible?

Yes, sir.
However, it is highly unlikely.

How unlikely?

Nearly impossible, sir.

Let's proceed with the shuttle plan.

- Captain--
- Dismissed.

Mr. La Forge.

I want you to know
that I am not unsympathetic

to what you're going through.

Your mother's disappearance
is tragic,

but I cannot risk your safety
on the basis of a dubious hypothesis.

Captain, if I'm right,

and there's just one chance in a million
that she's alive--

I'm sorry, Geordi.
My decision is made.

I understand, sir.

We'll be in position
to use the tractor beam

in less than an hour.

You didn't come all the way down here
to tell me that.

No, I didn't.

Geordi.

I may have seemed a little harsh
about the situation aboard the Raman.

I just don't like the idea
of one of my best officers

putting himself
in unnecessary danger.

I guess l feel like
I should be the one to decide

whether it's unnecessary or not.

My mother died when I was a baby.

All l had was pictures,

and the stories that my father
used to tell me about her.

I begged him to tell those stories
over and over.

When I was 5
and I went to school,

I started to tell my new friends
those same stories.

Pretending that she was alive.

Then I started believing
that she was alive,

that she'd just gone away.

But that she was coming back.

The teacher got wind of this.

She and my father
had this talk with me.

They told me
it was important to accept the fact

that my mother was dead.

And that she wasn't coming back,

and all the hoping in the world
wouldn't make it so.

In my mind, that was the day
that my mother actually died.

I cried all that night,

but after that, it started feeling better.

Your mother was dead.

There was proof.
There was a body and a funeral.

- It was a reality.
- Geordi--

If I could see a body,
if there were wreckage,

I could accept it,
but my mother has just disappeared.

And now,
there's a possibility that she is alive.

And I'm not gonna quit.

Not yet.

I suspected you would attempt
to operate the interface alone.

Did you?

I am familiar enough
with your behavior patterns

to predict certain decisions.

Well, I guess
you know me pretty well.

You are disobeying the captain.

I can't just sit back and do nothing

when I know that my mother
may be down on that planet.

I cannot allow you
to endanger your well-being.

Data, if I leave
without knowing for sure,

then I'll have to live with that
for the rest of my life.

Wondering if I left her to die.

I couldn't do that.

That's why l've got to do this.

I could have you confined to quarters
for the duration of the mission.

If that's what you need to do, Data,
do it because nothing short of that

is gonna stop me
from trying to save my mother.

What are you doing?

I will monitor the interface
and attempt to keep you safe.

I cannot have you confined to quarters
for something you have not yet done.

You know we could both get
in a lot of trouble for this.

There is a high degree of probability
that you are correct.

Thanks, Data.

However, I do have a request.

Yeah? What's that?

I would ask you
to consider the possibility

that what you see is not real.

I will.

I promise.

I am establishing the interface.

LA FORGE:
Mom?

Mom?

SILVA: Hello, Geordi.
- Mom.

How did you get here?

I'm not really with you, Geordi.

I'm on my ship, on the surface.
We were pulled into a warp funnel.

That's just what I thought.
How are we communicating?

We found a way
to send a subspace signal

that could cut through
the atmospheric interference.

DATA: Geordi, are you seeing
the image of your mother?

Yes.

And she's just confirmed
everything I've been saying.

I am reading unusual
subspace energy in your vicinity.

Similar to what
the probe sensor recorded

the first time
you encountered your mother.

That's how
she's communicating with me.

It's the only kind of signal
they could send

that could cut through
the interference.

We need your help.

I've been thinking about this.

I'm going to take the Raman
into a low stationary orbit

and initiate an inverse
warp cascade.

Why?

The subspace distortion
from the cascade

should reverse the warp funnel.

Your ship will end up
right back where it started.

Geordi, the atmosphere becomes
increasingly turbulent

the farther down you go.

You may not be able
to bring the Raman

close enough to the Hera
before being destroyed.

I have to try, Data.

We're running out of time.

Shields back online.

We're starting our descent.

Oh, thank God.

- Thank God?
- That you're alive.

That I was right about all of this.

I can't wait to call Dad.
He and Ariana had given up.

- We're going home.
- Well, eventually, yeah.

Data, everything's fading in and out.

I'm losing the interface.

The probe is descending
out of range.

You'll have to turn up the input gain
to maintain my connection.

We are already at 75 percent
of tolerance.

Data, you can turn it
all the way up to a hundred

if you do it slowly enough.

Give my nervous system
a chance to adjust.

That is theoretically true.

But even at this level of input,

you are already experiencing
dangerous neural feedback.

There are over 300 people
onboard the Hera, Data.

You and l
are the only chance they've got.

I will increase the gain incrementally
as you descend.

It's working.

When we are ready
to disconnect the interface,

we must allow enough time
to lower the input levels.

Otherwise, your nervous system
will go into shock

from the sudden drop in input.

Well, once I initiate the warp cascade,
we can start dropping the gain.

DATA:
Understood.

We'll be within sensor range
of the Hera in a few minutes.

Mom.

I'm really sorry I didn't get by
to see you a couple of weeks ago.

You were too busy with work.

Yeah, well, l'm sorry.

It won't happen again.

Captain, the Raman is descending
toward the planet.

Geordi.

We are at 90 percent of tolerance.

My calculations show you will reach
1 00 percent of tolerance

before you are in range of the Hera.

Then we're gonna have to go
beyond tolerance.

That would not be advisable.
You must cease your descent.

No, Geordi, don't. Please.

Data, I'm taking this ship down.

Now, if you don't boost the gain
past tolerance levels,

I'll lose the interface
when we go out of range

and my system will go into shock.

Geordi, you are putting me
in a difficult position.

Please, cease your descent.

I won't do it, Data.

You're gonna have to increase
the tolerance.

Disengaging safety systems.

Going to full tolerance levels now.

Thank you, Data.

- We're getting close.
- Thank God.

PICARD: Commander La Forge.
- Yes, captain?

Stop your descent.
Prepare to disengage the interface.

Sorry, captain, but I can't do that.

Damn it, Geordi,
you're gonna kill yourself.

If I come back now,
my mother and her entire crew will die.

I'm scanning for your ship.

I'm not getting anything.

- We're still too far away.
- No, not really.

I should be picking
something up by now.

I'm not finding anything.

There's no warp funnel.

No ship.

There's nothing there.

PICARD:
Doctor, report.

His neural synapses are overloading.
He can't survive this.

Geordi, what's happening to you?

Reverse tractor beam.

DATA:
Reversing tractor beam.

What are you?

You're killing us. We must go down.

PICARD:
Geordi.

What's happening? Report.

You're trapped?

Is there any way
that we can disconnect him?

If we take him off too abruptly,
he'll go into neural shock.

Caught on the ship?

Reduce the input gradually
and still get him out before it's too late.

Are you saying
that you killed the Raman's crew?

Perhaps we could deceive
his neural receptors.

- Deceive them?
- By feeding them sensory information

recorded from his earlier experiences
with the probe.

We could disconnect the interface
and still maintain the input levels.

We could then lower them
in a controlled manner.

What do you want?

- Like a decompression tank. Let's try.
LA FORGE: Then it was an accident?

Captain, l have to take the ship
into the lower atmosphere.

Explain.

As I understand it,

when the Raman
got close to the planet,

it accidentally picked up
some life forms

that live in the lower atmosphere.

Subspace beings of some kind.
Intelligent.

When the ship went back
into a higher orbit,

the beings were trapped.

How do you know all this?

One of them
can communicate with me.

It must have read my thoughts
through the probe interface

and took the form of my mother.

To try to talk me into taking the ship
closer to the surface.

Are these beings responsible
for the deaths of the Raman's crew?

LA FORGE: Yes,
but I don't think it was on purpose.

They probably tried
communicating with them

the same way
they're communicating with me,

by directly accessing their thoughts.

It must have been fatal to the crew.

I guess the interface
is what protected me.

I have to take them back, captain.

They can't survive
so far up in the atmosphere.

I'll turn the ship around
and come back just as soon as I--

[GRUNTS]

Geordi, what's happening?

LA FORGE: The atmosphere
is getting more turbulent.

It's overloading the systems.

[ALARM WAILlNG

I'm having difficulty
keeping the shields up.

SILVA:
Geordi.

We're safe now.

Goodbye.

[ALARM WAILlNG

I'm losing power.

Total shield failure in eight seconds.

- Can we switch the inputs?
- Almost.

Shields are failing.

Switching inputs.

[GROANING

Is it working?

His vital signs are stabilizing.
He's going to make it.

PICARD:
Captain's log, supplemental.

We have succeeded in disengaging
Mr. La Forge from the interface

and are en route to Starbase 495.

You disobeyed my direct order.

You put yourself in grave danger.
I am not happy.

Yes, sir.

I take complete responsibility.
Data was only--

I will deal with Mr. Data
at another time.

Meanwhile,
I will have to write this incident

into your permanent record.

- Yes, sir.
- Dismissed.

Geordi?

I'm very sorry
that you didn't find your mother.

Thank you, sir.

You know, it's funny,
when I was down there,

it was so real.

I felt like
I had a chance to say goodbye.