consider the heavens” by will sjorensen · 2015-09-29 · renaissance: "consider the...

"Consider the Heavens”

By

Will Sjorensen

Episode #: 3x12 Published March 30, 2004

This teleplay is originally from www.startrekrenaissance.com "Star Trek" and related names are registered trademarks of Paramount Pictures, Inc. This original work of fiction is written solely for non-profit purposes. Copyright 2003 by The Renaissance Group. All Rights Reserved.

RENAISSANCE: "Consider the Heavens" - TEASER 1.

TEASER

FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE

The stars, bright and numerous, and the bulk of the MilkyWay galaxy behind them. An awe-inspiring sight. We watchin silence for a moment until, very gradually, a sound beginsto fade in. The sound of a dozen voices chanting in somealien language.

The chanting continues as we watch the stars... then stopsabruptly. A pause, then a single voice begins to speak.

VOICEMedieval theologians believed in theimpossibility of an actual spatialor temporal infinity; they devisedall sorts of arguments for this,mostly intuitive, and used it toargue for the existence of a personaldeity -- for if the universe did notalways exist, it must have come fromsomewhere.

(beat)We now know that spatial and temporalinfinities can and do exist, and itis only in light of this knowledgethat we can look back and witnessthe damage that the theologians ofold did to theism. In theirzealousness to act in accordancewith their -- often barbaric --notions of salvation, they cast asidethe one thing which should never becast aside: Truth!

The voice continues as, slowly, we begin panning across thestarfield, away from the bow of the Milky Way.

VOICE (CONT'D)Not only do infinities exist in spaceand time, but they exist in wayswhich, though natural, we cannoteven begin to conceptualize. Onlythe Transcendent, the One in whosethought all the universes aresustained and nourished, can see theentire picture. Would I say that weare to the Transcendent as ants areto us? I would not say that, unlessI wished to pay the ultimate insultto ants.

(MORE)


VOICE (CONT'D)Particularly when one considers thatthere are an infinite number ofdegrees of infinity itself, whichcan be found in the physical worldas well as mathematical, does oneunderstand that the Transcendent andhis realm defy all of our concepts,all of our vain attempts tounderstand.

The panning stops, and we can see, far in the distance,something slowly approaching us -- a ship, perhaps? Thevoice continues, but fading out now.

VOICE (CONT'D)This is not to say we should not tryto understand; the Order has alwaysmaintained that Truth is knowable towithin our limitations. But now yousee the necessity of the Transcendent,for who else can observe andunderstand all of the natural realm,with all its grandeur and all its...

The voice fades out to incomprehensibility now, and beginsto overlap with another voice, more familiar. As the firstvoice dies away and the second grows in strength, the shipapproaching is now recognizable: it is the Enterprise, sailingthrough the heavens at a leisurely impulse speed.

CROSS (V.O.)...and although some historiansconsider it apocryphal, it isnonetheless an honored tradition inStarfleet that Captains have sharedthis happy privilege with ourpredecessors of the first woodensailing ships...

The Enterprise is now almost upon us. We FLY right throughthe large windows into...

INT. ENTERPRISE -- REC LOUNGE -- CONTINUOUS

We see, at first, only CAPT. NEIL CROSS, wearing his dressuniform, a small smile on his face.

CROSS...that of joining two people in thebonds of matrimony.

He pauses, looks at the people in front of him, and takes adeep breath.


CROSS (CONT'D)And so now it is my honor to uniteyou...

We pan away from Cross to see, standing in front of him,NATHANIEL STOLT and MICHELLE KAPLAN, a young woman with therank insignia of a Chief Petty Officer and ears that suggestsome Vulcan ancestry. He wears his dress uniform; she wearsa lovely bridal dress.

Sitting in arranged seats nearby are several dozen crewmembers, including JENNIFER QUINLAN, ERIK GREY, ELRIS LEA,TORAN NOA, BRIAN CALE, HAL the bartender, and many otherfamiliar and semi-familiar faces. Everyone is smiling. Afew eyes are wet.

CROSS (CONT'D)...Michelle T'nara Kaplan, and you,Nathaniel Lionel Stolt, together inmarriage here in the sight of yourfriends and comrades.

(beat)Ensign Stolt and Chief Kaplan haveserved under my command for somemonths now. During that time I havewatched their relationship grow,develop and flourish. I personallybelieve that today's ceremony couldnot be more appropriate. Therelationship of marriage is based onlove and mutual respect, freely givenand received; although these thingsare a part of our everyday living,they are no less extraordinary forit.

He pauses again, and smiles down at the happy couple. Inthe crowd, Toran reaches for Elris's hand and squeezes it. Hal surreptitiously hands Quinlan a napkin to wipe away hertears.

CROSS (CONT'D)Ensign Stolt and Chief Kaplan -- Natand Michelle -- are two complete andunique persons who now choose tocommit to a life-long union, apartnership in the truest sense ofthe word.

The camera, still watching the proceedings continuously,flies OUT of the windows into...

EXT. SPACE -- CONTINUOUS

Cross's voice continues as we watch the ceremony for a momentlonger through the Rec


Lounge windows, then begins to fade as our POV starts tomove down and across the hull of the ship.

CROSS (V.O.)In devoting themselves to one another,they affirm their own aspirations topersonal fulfillment -- and theirresponsibility to the greater goodof sentient beings throughout theUniverse...

Cross's voice fades out completely now as we silently moveacross the hull of the ship. Eventually we stop at a singlewindow and look inside for a moment before ZOOMING throughthe window into...

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- Y'LAN'S LAB -- CONTINUOUS

Y'LAN and GRIL DOJAR are sitting in front of the complexequipment that defines Y'lan's workspace. They are silentfor a long moment, looking at one another. Suddenly...

DOJARDamn it! I can't do this; I justcan't talk to you like thistelepathically.

Y'LANYou are communicating sufficientlywell.

DOJARI can send and receive messages; theproblem is knowing what they say. You keep sending me these images,but I have no idea what they are; nobasis in my experience -- in ourshared experiences -- of determiningwhat you're talking about. That'sthe problem with sending messagestelepathically; it assumes a commonframe of reference that, too often,you and I don't have.

Y'LANAs I explained to you before, theword "send" is inaccurate when itcomes to the sharing of--

DOJARNot that argument again, please. Iwould feel better if we vocalizedour thoughts for a while, got themout into the open. Is that all rightwith you?


Beat pause.

Y'LANAs you wish.

DOJARThank you. Now what are you tryingto say?

Y'LANUnfortunately, it is difficult tocommunicate even verbally, as I myselflack a frame of reference for what Iam undergoing.

DOJARSo you're having a unique experience. Can you describe it?

Y'LANPerhaps... but only by making use ofa humanoid frame of reference.

Dojar raises his eyebrows, his interest piqued.

DOJARWell, there's something we don'thear often. You almost never admitto needing humanoids, or humanoidthings, for anything at all.

Y'LANI remind you that this is entirelyfor your benefit; you asked aboutit.

DOJARAll right, all right. So in humanoidterms, then, what are you goingthrough?

Y'lan looks away for a moment, and appears to think. Thenhe looks back at Dojar.

Y'LANA crisis of faith.

On Dojar's surprised reaction, we...

FADE OUT.

END OF TEASER

RENAISSANCE: "Consider the Heavens" - ACT ONE 6.

ACT ONE

FADE IN:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- BRIDGE

Seated in the command chair is TALORA, studying a consolereadout on her armrest. She stands as the turbolift doors open and Cross and Quinlan, still in their dress uniforms, enter. Quinlan walks to her station as Cross walks up to Talora.

CROSSReport.

TALORAWe just received a priority twodistress call, bearing 147 mark 12.

CROSSSource?

TALORAA Bolian passenger ship. The signalis automated; I can't get anyspecifics. There are no hostilevessels in the area, however.

CROSSLet's check it out. Helm, set acourse to intercept the freighter. Cross to Engine Room. Have youfinished the slipstream emissioncalibrations yet, Miss Boyle?

BOYLE'S COMM VOICESorry, Captain, not for another hour. You have warp speed, though, wheneveryou want it.

CROSSRight now will do nicely, thank you. Cross out. Helm, what's our ETA atwarp eight?

OFFICER AT HELMNine minutes, ten seconds.

CROSSWarp eight, then. Engage.

He sits down in his chair, Talora sitting next to him, asthe sound of the warp engines engaging can be heard.

TALORAHow was the wedding, Captain?


CROSSSplendid. It was exactly as Ipictured my first time officiatingat a wedding would be -- full ofjoy, tears, hugs and kisses,celebration, even some rice, courtesyof Mr. Cale. It was certainly awelcome boost for morale.

QUINLANWe missed most of the reception,though. I didn't get to eat anycake.

CROSSAnd I didn't get to dance with thebride. Oh well. Hopefully thisdistress signal won't turn out to bevery serious, so that we can giveEnsign Stolt a decent honeymoon.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- Y'LAN'S LAB

Dojar and Y'lan are as before.

DOJARSo let me get this straight. Thereligion, so to speak, of the Q'tamiis that you are destined to becomegods?

Y'LAN"Destined" is not the correct termfor it; it implies that forces otherthan natural are at work in promotingour ascendancy. The Q'tami will notbecome gods because matters havebeen thus arranged. We see it as aninevitable historical, or rather,psychohistorical outcome.

DOJAROkay, so you are... I mean, you willinevitably becomes gods.

Y'LAN"Gods" is also an imprecise term todescribe the state of events. Asyou know, the Q'tami concept ofpersonal identity is very fluid. Let us say that the Q'tami race willbecome godlike.


DOJARWhatever. And so it follows fromthat whatever the Q'tami says isright is right, and whatever theQ'tami says is moral is moral, andthat applies to now as well as thefuture, because a race that can layclaim to deity can justifiably do soin all times?

Y'LANThat is an accurate enoughdescription. It would be moreaccurate to ascribe identity whereyou now see a simple connection; forQ'tami, the right way is synonymouswith the Q'tami way; we do notrecognize a difference in meaning.

DOJARAnd so I should just get down on myknees and worship you now.

Y'LANNo. We do not call for your worshipof our species. We do expect,however, that all sentient beingswill do what is right and moral, andwill be what they should be.

DOJARAs determined by the Q'tami.

Y'LANYes.

DOJAR(blinking)

Whoa. That must be a nice faith tohave.

Y'LANAs I tried to explain earlier, "faith"is not correct. We see it as acertainty, a simple fact.

DOJAR"A crisis of faith." Your words, notmine.

Y'LANIt is a simple matter to extrapolatefrom the past and present state ofaffairs. The ascendancy of Q'tamito godhood is, as I have stated,inevitable.


DOJARGiven certain axioms and assumptions,of course.

Y'LANOf course.

DOJARSo what's the problem?

Y'LANThe problem is what the humans callcognitive dissonance. I have beenobserving that humanoids act in wayswhich they consider right and moral,but which the Q'tami would considerwrong and immoral.

DOJARWell, that should be resolved easilyenough. Humanoids aren't futuregods, so they're the ones who arewrong.

Y'lan stands and begins to slowly pace around the room.

Y'LANI fear that matters are no longer sosimple for me.

DOJARYou have doubts about the Q'tamiascendency?

Y'LANNo; the inevitability of ourascendency is based on axioms andassumptions which I see no reason tocall into serious question as ofnow. However, I am wondering if themorality of the Q'tami standardnecessarily follows from that. Toput it another way, I am wonderingif the right way may mean somethingother than the Q'tami way.

DOJARIn other words, it's possible thatthe Q'tami sense of morality isflawed, at least in places.

Y'lan stops pacing. He is quiet for a long moment.

Y'LANAs far as the Hegemony is concerned,admitting even the possibility of

(MORE)


Y'LAN (CONT'D)that is heretical; it is evenindicative of what you would considera severe mental disorder. And yet...

DOJARAnd yet, you admit that it ispossible.

Another long pause.

Y'LANIt is possible.

(beat)The Hegemony would no doubt associatethese thoughts with the time I havespent aboard the Enterprise, observingand working with humanoids. Theywould take as further justificationthe fact that I did not very seriouslyentertain these thoughts until mylink to the Hegemony was severed.

DOJARBut?

Y'LANBut these thoughts had begun tomanifest even before the link wassevered. You must understand, Dojar,that making these admissions to youis tantamount to admitting that I amdemonic, supremely malevolent, inmost humanoid religions. In fact,even admitting that the belief systemI have outlined is a religion iscontrary to the Q'tami way -- we seeit, not as a religion, but simply asour relationship to the universe.

DOJARAre you sure the Q'tami aren't simplytrying to avoid the negativeconnotations of the word "religion?"

Beat.

Y'LANOf course not. The Q'tami consider--

There is a loud POP sound, as of an electrical circuitshorting, and all of the complex machines in the roomdeactivate at once. The room is silent. Dojar and Y'lanstare at the dead equipment for a time, then look at eachother.


DOJARThat was random.

Y'LANIndeed. My equipment contains anumber of safeguards to prevent suchan occurrence as this; there hasnever been such a catastrophicbreakdown of my equipment before.

DOJARMaybe it's a sign that you reallyare demonic.

Y'lan looks at him.

DOJAR (CONT'D)Never mind. Let's check the equipmentout.

CUT TO:


Cross and Talora are standing now, looking at the mainviewscreen.

Displayed on it is a Bolian passenger ship, adrift in space. There are no lights glowing, and in a few places gas can beseen venting into space. Cross and Talora look at oneanother.

CROSSSensors?

QUINLANAll systems on the ship have beendeactivated; life support itself isoperational in only a couple ofcompartments. But Captain... I'mnot reading any actual damage to thehull.

TALORAThen it couldn't have been afirefight.

CROSSLife signs?

QUINLANYes, sir. Fourteen, humanoid, allinside the pressurized compartments.

CROSSPerhaps a communicator is working. Hail them, Lieutenant.


Quinlan taps buttons.

QUINLANWe're receiving a signal, Captain. Audio only.

CROSSOn speakers.

There is a crackling of static, then a voice comes on -- werecognize it as the same voice that was heard in the teaser.

BARUUKA'S COMM VOICEHello, can you hear me? This isBaruuka-bey of the Xapori, aboardthe Bolian vessel Kesok. Pleaserespond.

CROSSThis is Captain Neil Cross of theFederation starship Enterprise. What is your condition?

BARUUKA'S COMM VOICEPraise the Transcendent! Bless youfor finding us, my friend. Thereare fourteen of us, stranded insidetwo of the crew quarters. We thinkwe may have no more than a few hoursof life support remaining; most ofour fuel has been purged, and mostof our air with it.

CROSSDo any of you require medicalassistance?

BARUUKA'S COMM VOICEThere are a few injuries, but nothingserious.

CROSSStand by, sir. We'll get you out ofthere momentarily.

(to Quinlan)Lieutenant, lock on to the survivorsand beam them directly to Sickbay. We won't take any chances.

QUINLANAye, sir.

CROSSTalora, once we've talked to thisBaruuka-bey, I'd like you to breakout the environment suits and lead

(MORE)


CROSS (CONT'D)an away team over to the Kesok. Tryto find out what happened. This isa peculiar situation, and I'dappreciate some answers.

TALORAUnderstood, sir.

QUINLANTransport complete, Captain. We gotall fourteen of them, no problems.

CROSSExcellent. You have the Bridge,Lieutenant. I'll be in Sickbay.

He turns to leave the Bridge, Talora following close behind.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- SICKBAY

The Sickbay is crowded with doctors, nurses, and Xaporisurvivors. The Xapori are humanoid beings who all wear longwhite robes and small amulet pouches around their necks. They appear a bit shaken up, but are otherwise in goodspirits, and chat lively with the medical personnel.

One Xapori, sitting on a biobed with a woman and a girl ofabout ten years, looks up as Cross enters the Sickbay. Abroad smile appearing on his face, he stands and moves toshake the Captain's hand. We recognize him by his voice asBARUUKA.

BARUUKACaptain Cross, I would presume! Such a pleasure to meet you in person.

He acts as though greeting an old friend. Cross, a bitsurprised but pleased, shakes the Xapori's hand.

CROSSMister Baruuka-bey. It was mypleasure to be of service.

BARUUKAFor which you have my undying attitude --and, I have no doubt, the blessingsof the Transcendent.

CROSSAh... Thank you.

Baruuka indicates the woman and girl who were sitting withhim. They step forward to greet the Captain.


BARUUKAMay I present my wife, Ankhe-bey,and my daughter, Lusa-bey.

Cross shakes ANKHE's hand, then LUSA's. Lusa looks at Crossshyly, then turns her attention to all the equipment inSickbay.

CROSSI trust you are all in good condition?

ELRISThey're all fine, Captain. The worstinjury was a broken arm which I'vehad to reset -- it should be good asnew in a couple hours.

ANKHEThat would be Elora-bey. Poor dear,she tripped and fell on a bulkheadas we were racing toward an emergencyshelter. Fallor-bey tried his bestto repair the arm, but without amedkit...

CROSSI understand.

BARUUKAAnd then there's Tanee-bey in thecorner. She and Yornala-bey were--

CROSSOne moment. Are all of these peoplemembers of the Bey family?

Baruuka blinks, and looks confused for an instant. Then,understanding fills his face, and he laughs loudly.

BARUUKAOh no, my dear Captain! Youmisunderstand. That is somethingeach person has voluntarily added totheir names. One might say that weare all members of a family, but itis a family of spirit rather thanblood.

ELRISI've read a bit about the Xaporireligion, the Order of theTranscendent. The -bey suffix denotesthose who have formally joined theorder.

BARUUKAPrecisely.


CROSS(somewhat blankly)

Fascinating. You must tell me moresometime. In the meantime, let meexpress my condolences for the lossof your kinsmen. I have a crew overon the Kesok now, investigating whathappened, and I assure you we willget to the bottom of this.

BARUUKACaptain, I'm afraid I can tell youwhat happened in one word: sin.

Beat pause.

CROSSSin?

ANKHEOr, if you prefer, insanity -- tous, the words are synonymous. Webelieve that any sane person followsthe Path of the Transcendent, whetherthey are aware of it or not. In thecase of the Second Officer aboardthe Kesok, however, the Path was nowhere to be found.

CROSSWhat happened?

BARUUKAThe man lost his mind. We shouldhave seen it coming but... Well, twodays ago, he suddenly took controlof the Bridge, and disabled as manysystems as he could. Propulsion,communications, he even took outlife support in most of the ship. Some of us made it to Engineeringand the emergency shelters in time. Many did not.

CROSSAnd then?

BARUUKAAnd then he tried to make his way toEngineering, to finish the job andcompletely destroy the vessel.

ANKHEHe had a phaser with him. Hestarted... shooting people, whoeverhe saw.

(MORE)


ANKHE (CONT'D)When he reached Engineering, he triedto deactivate the antimattercontainment fields.

BARUUKAAnd when we prevented him from doingso, he turned the phaser on himself. Afterwards, we tried to patch thingsup, and managed to send out anautomated distress signal.

Cross lets this sink in for a moment.

CROSSThe second officer... He was Bolian?

BARUUKAHe was.

CROSSBolians have sometimes been known tobe eccentric, but insane? A servingofficer in the Bolian fleet? I havea difficult time believing that.

Baruuka nods somberly.

BARUUKAAs you say, Captain, you have a crewon the Kesok investigating. Theywill confirm that I am telling thetruth.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- TALORA'S OFFICE

Talora is sitting at her desk, typing onto her terminal. Cross stands in front of her.

CROSSAnd?

TALORAAnd, as far as we can tell, he'stelling the truth. Second OfficerV'ton himself disabled most of theKesok's systems from the Bridge. Healso activated the air and fuel purgesystems.

CROSSThat would explain the venting wesaw. It must have made his jobfaster.


TALORAWe then traced his steps from theBridge to the Engineering. He killedat least two dozen people on theway, including the Kesok's Captain. His body was in Engineering. We'vetransported it to the Enterprise foran autopsy, but based on my personalobservations of the phaser wound, heprobably did commit suicide.

Cross shakes his head and paces slowly in front of Talora.

CROSSWhat a tragedy.

Talora leans forward, hesitates, then looks up at Cross.

TALORACaptain, this may be no more than agut feeling on my part, but I believethat something isn't right here. Something is very out of place.

CROSSI'm not surprised you feel that way. There is nothing right about insanity --by its very nature, it defies rationaldescription. With all our medicaladvances, we may like to think thatour society has evolved past shovingall the undesirables into the broomcloset, out of sight and out of mind--

TALORABut V'ton wasn't out of sight. That'sthe point, Captain. He was a highlyrespected officer who showed no signsof mental illness before a few daysago.

CROSSFrom what I know of mental illness,it can remain latent for years, evendecades, before surfacing.

TALORABut that's why we have screenings,protocol scans--

CROSSTalora, this doesn't feel right tobe either. A part of me feels thatthere simply must be a rationalexplanation for this other than therandom destructiveness of one man.

(MORE)


CROSS (CONT'D)But did you find anything that wouldconclusively rule out insanity?

Talora thinks for a moment.

TALORANo, sir. I think that only Dr. Elriscan do that, and we'll have herresults in a few hours. As for me,all I have is a gut feeling.

Cross nods, and smiles a little.

CROSSPersonally, I feel safer knowingthat you have those gut feelings ofyours. Don't ever let go of them. But don't ever forget to take themwith a grain of salt, either. Sometimes things really are as theyappear.

Talora sighs, leans back in her chair.

TALORAUnderstood, sir.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- GUEST QUARTERS

A spacious apartment with a nice view of the heavens throughthe picture windows. Cross enters, followed by Baruuka,Ankhe and Lusa.

CROSSI trust that you will be comfortablein these quarters until we reachStarbase 84. Starfleet has alreadyarranged transportation from thereto Geshel II.

The Xapori are examining their new surroundings, impressed. Ankhe examines the furnishings while Lusa goes over to thewindows and stares out at the stars contemplatively.

BARUUKAReally, Captain, this is much morethan we could have asked for. Ionly hope you didn't uproot somepoor crew member and his family forour sake.


CROSSNot at all; these are guest quarterswe reserve for ambassadors,dignitaries, special guests and thelike.

BARUUKA(chuckling)

Again, Captain, you give us too muchcredit -- we are but humble servantsof the Transcendent.

Beat pause.

CROSSOf course. Anyway, there are twobedrooms through that door, and overhere is your food dispenser. Do youknow how to use it?

ANKHE(with a smile)

After where we've been, Captain, wecan use just about any standardreplicator in the Quadrant.

She turns to Baruuka and says something in gibberish. Baruukareplies similarly. Ankhe nods and walks over to the foodslot. As she quietly gives it instructions, Baruuka looksat Cross's confused look and chuckles again.

BARUUKAThe Xapori language is incompatiblewith the universal translator.

CROSSEvidently. And right here is a commpanel which you can use to contactmyself or another officer if youhave any problems. Of course, theRec Lounge and Gymnasium are at yourdisposal during your stay. At themoment, we're preparing to getunderway again, so unless there'sanything else I can do for you...

BARUUKACaptain, there's something I'd liketo do for you.

Before Cross can protest, Baruuka opens the small pouchhanging around his neck and removes an amulet: a small crystalsphere, with a tiny blue gem at its center. The gem sparklesand shimmers in the lights of the room.


BARUUKA ( (CONT'D)This is an Icon, the symbol of ourdevotion to the Transcendent. Allmembers of the Order keep this ontheir person at all times. I wouldlike you to have mine.

He places the amulet in Cross's hand. Cross looksuncomfortable.

CROSSReally, I wouldn't feel comfortableaccepting a valued possession ofyours.

BARUUKAOh, no need to worry about that.

He retrieves a large bag from the one suitcase he managed tobring on board with him, and opens it. It is full of amulets,dozens if not hundreds of them. He chooses one, more orless at random, and replaces it in his own pouch.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)When you have been Called, as wehave, it helps to be prepared.

CROSSEvidently.

He looks at the small Icon in his hand, then, with a somewhatresigned look on his face, slips it into his pocket.

CROSS (CONT'D)I appreciate the gift, Baruuka. Andnow, if you'll excuse me...

BARUUKAOf course, of course. You have aship to run, and we have a meal toprepare. Once more, my thanks foryour hospitality.

CROSSMy pleasure.

The two men shake hands. Then, without warning, Baruukaplaces his hands on Cross's shoulders, leans forward andkisses him on both cheeks.

BARUUKABlessings of the Transcendent.

Cross blinks and pauses for a long beat.

CROSSThank you.


He nods at Ankhe, then executes a hasty retreat from theroom. Baruuka chuckles as Ankhe carries several plates ofexotic-looking food to the table.

ANKHEReally, my husband, there was noneed to cause him discomfort. Heseems like a good man.

BARUUKAOf course he's a good man -- I sawit in his eyes. But there's also agreat sadness about him. He couldbenefit from knowing about thepresence of the One in his life.

ANKHEYou say that about everyone.

BARUUKAAnd I mean it. But the Captain isan exceptional case. At the sametime his soul cries out for thehealing power of the Transcendent,it also stubbornly rebels against itwith all of its might. I suspect hewill pose an interesting challenge. I suspect that many of these peoplewill.

ANKHEI know that look, Baruuka. You'realready planning strategy in thathead of yours. But may I suggest itat least wait until after dinner.

BARUUKA(smiling)

Of course, my wife.

Ankhe finishes setting the table for their meal. Baruukaand Ankhe sit down opposite each other.

ANKHEDinner, Lusa.

The young girl turns away from the window and joins herparents at the table. Once everyone is seated, Baruuka andAnkhe join hands across the table and begin to chant togetherin the Xapori language. Lusa watches them, the contemplativelook still on her face. We focus in on her expression aswe...

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT ONE

RENAISSANCE: "Consider the Heavens" - ACT TWO 22.

ACT TWO

FADE IN:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- CROSS'S READY ROOM

Cross, alone in his ready room, takes the Icon out of hispocket, looks at it curiously for a moment, then sets itdown on his desk. He then walks over to the food dispenser.

CROSSHot chocolate, touch of mint.

He thinks for a second, then quickly:

CROSS (CONT'D)Computer, cancel that. I'm feelinga little bit adventurous today. Let's try a hot chocolate, touch ofSaurian brandy.

The food slot chirps and hums, then a cup of hot chocolatematerializes. He takes it over to his desk and sits down. Behind him, through the window, we can see that the Enterpriseis at warp. Cross picks up a padd and begins to read it. As he is about to sip the hot chocolate, the door chimes. He puts the cup down.

CROSS (CONT'D)Come in.

Grey enters the room. He holds up a padd of his own.

GREYMy report on the slipstream emissioncalibrations, Captain.

CROSSBottom line?

GREYThe slipstream initiator hasaccumulated more baryon particlesthan we calculated -- I didn't thinkwe'd reach these levels for anotherthree or four years. I guess SCE'scalculations were off.

CROSSSo the initiator needs a baryon sweep?

GREYYes, sir. Until then, I don't feelsafe going into slipstream.

(MORE)


GREY (CONT'D)The quantum interference with thebaryon particles could cause a cascadeoverload which would destroy boththe induction core and the ship. I'm just glad we caught this when wedid -- another month of running aswe were, and it would have been almosta certainty.

CROSSWell, we're in luck. Starbase 84 isonly eight days away by warp, andthey have a miniature array we canuse. That should work, yes?

GREYThat would be perfect sir.

CROSSRight, then. I'll contact theStarbase and make the arrangements.

He pauses a moment, thinking, then sighs.

CROSS (CONT'D)I suppose you had better contact theLeviathan as well, in case theyhaven't caught the problem in theirown quantum core.

GREYUnderstood, sir.

CROSSThanks, Erik. Dismissed.

Grey nods, places his padd on Cross's desk, and leaves. Cross turns back to his own padd, and picks up the cup ofchocolate to sip again. Before he can, the door chimes. Cross groans, sets down the cup.

CROSS (CONT'D)Come in.

The door opens, and Quinlan enters, holding a padd of herown. She sets it on the desk next to Grey's.

QUINLANSecurity roster assignments for thenext week, sir.

CROSSVery well. Thank you, Jen.

She looks down at the Icon sitting on Cross's desk. Hereyes light up.


QUINLANThat's a beautiful ornament, sir. Ihaven't seen it before.

Cross glances at the Icon, disinterested, then turns back tohis padd.

CROSSThe leader of the Xapori gave it tome. A thank-you gift. It's an Icon,a symbol of their faith.

Quinlan picks up the small crystal sphere and examines itreflectively for a long moment.

QUINLANDo you know much about the Xaporireligion, Captain?

CROSSNot a lot.

QUINLANLea was trying to tell me about itearlier, but she was too busy to gointo detail. Their god, what dothey call it? The Transcendent? Isuppose it's like the boundaries ofthe crystal transcends the littleblue gem and contains it within.

Cross grunts, disinterested.

QUINLAN (CONT'D)Yeah, I get it. The sphere is thewhole, and the little gem is us, apart of the whole. But the centralpart -- is that just because theTranscendent loves conscious beings?

(beat)Or maybe I've got it wrong. Maybethe sphere is supposed to representeach one of us. The inner gem isour soul, or maybe -- what did theycall it? -- the Divine Spark withineach of us. But the shell containingit is transparent, baring our soulsto... the Transcendent? Each other,maybe? Or maybe it's a combinationof the two: our souls contained withinthe Transcendent, resulting in athing of beauty, a whole out of...

She trails off, looking at Cross. The Captain is looking ather, jaw half-agape. She laughs a little, embarrassed, andsets the Icon back down on the desk.


QUINLAN (CONT'D)Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to waxphilosophical like that. Just oneof those days, I guess.

CROSSWas there anything else you wanted,Lieutenant?

QUINLANNo. Thank you, Captain, I... I'lljust leave now.

CROSSGood idea.

Quinlan leaves quickly. Cross looks after her for a moment,then turns back to his own padd. He reaches for his cup of chocolate. The door chimes.

CROSS (CONT'D)What is it!?

The door opens, admitting Y'lan.

Y'LANIs this a bad time, Captain?

Cross sighs and puts down the cup.

CROSSIt's all right. What can I do foryou, Y'lan?

Y'LANMy lab equipment suffered a breakdowntwo hours ago.

CROSS(frowning)

What kind of breakdown?

Y'LANComplete.

CROSSCan you be more specific?

Y'LANNo.

Beat.

CROSSI can't tell you how much I enjoythese little talks of ours.

(MORE)


CROSS (CONT'D)Could you elaborate on what the hellyou're talking about?

Y'LANCertainly. At 1552 hours today,every piece of equipment that I hadconstructed in my laboratory ceasedto function. Dojar and I have spentthe time since trying to determine acause for the breakdown. We havebeen unsuccessful.

CROSSHmm. Well, Commander Grey and hismerry men are probably going to bebored without the quantum slipstreamon-line, so if you ask the Commandernicely I'm sure they'll be able tospare a detachment to help you out.

Y'LANThat is unlikely to be productive. I have the most knowledge of myequipment of anyone aboard, and Ihave been unable to diagnose theproblem.

CROSS(shrugging)

Couldn't hurt, could it?

Y'LANNo. I will do as you suggest,Captain. In the meantime, I haveprepared a complete report of thebreakdown for your perusal.

Y'lan holds up a padd. Cross rolls his eyes.

CROSSToss it on the pile and go on toEngineering.

Y'lan tosses the padd under-tentacle onto the desk, landingit neatly on the other two, and leaves the ready room. Crossshakes his head and taps a button on his panel.

CROSS (CONT'D)Cross to Bridge.

CALE'S COMM VOICECale here, sir.


CROSSShort of a life support failure or aBorg attack, I'd like to beundisturbed until further notice. Please see to it.

CALE'S COMM VOICEYes, sir. Bridge out.

Cross exhales, leans back in his chair, turns back to hispadd, picks up his cup of hot chocolate and sips. Beat pause. Cross makes a face and almost spits out the chocolate.

CROSSDamn it, Cross, why do you have tobe so adventurous?

CUT TO:

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise at warp.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- TALORA'S OFFICE

Talora and Grey are sitting opposite a Xapori, FALLOR,interviewing him. They are taking notes on their padds asFallor speaks.

FALLOR...and the next thing I remember, Iwas being dragged out of theEngineering compartment and into anearby crew quarters. That's wherewe stayed until you came and rescuedus.

TALORAFallor, I'd like to go back to wherethe trouble began. You say therewas a security alert that V'ton hadstarting shooting people on theBridge?

FALLORYes... but actually, the troublebegan before that. V'ton had startedto act erratically.

TALORAIn what way?

Fallor considers.


FALLORIt's hard to explain. But he wasacting belligerently, pickingarguments with both crew andpassengers, sometimes shouting. Wenever really thought he would becomeviolent, though.

GREYHow long before the violence begandid V'ton start acting strangely?

FALLOROh, at least four or five days.

Talora and Grey look at one another.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- REC LOUNGE

Talora and Grey sitting at a table, looking reading theirpadds and talking over drinks. Behind them we can see theusual Enterprise crowd in the Rec Lounge, with a few Xaporimingling among them.

(Screenwriter's Note: this scene, and every scene in thisepisode which takes place in the Rec Lounge until furthernotice, will consist of a single, continuous shot; at notime during these scenes will the camera cut away.)

GREYHis statement agrees with the others. None of it really contradicts whatwe found on the Bolian ship.

TALORAI agree.

Pause, as Grey regards Talora thoughtfully.

GREYBut you aren't satisfied.

TALORAI am not.

GREYWhy?

Talora leans back, a contemplative look on her face. She isquiet for a long moment.

TALORAHonestly, I don't know. It's purelyinstinct, or intuition.

(MORE)


TALORA (CONT'D)I have no factual or evidential basisfor suspecting foul play, and Irealize we must therefore accept theevidence we have on hand. But mymind -- my very spirit -- rebelsagainst the idea. I have no ideawhy.

Beat pause.

GREYI can hazard a guess.

Talora looks at him, eyebrow raised.

TALORAOh?

GREYIt's the same reason why I don'twant to believe it's true either. Arespected officer goes insane and --what's worse -- betrays the trust ofhis passengers and colleagues. Iknow that for a Starfleet crew,accepting that would be acceptingthe unthinkable.

TALORAAs is the case with any Romulan crew. Perhaps you're right.

Beat pause.

GREYBut?

TALORABut I find it odd that this happeningshould coincide with the ship carryinga number of religious zealots from arace we know comparatively littleabout.

Grey sighs and drinks from the cup in front of him.

GREYFirst of all, Commander, they're notzealots. They're devout, but they'reby no means the most religious raceI've ever seen.


TALORA(smiling thinly)

Religious evangelists, then, from arace we know comparatively littleabout.

GREYIs that a crime? I can tell you itisn't in the Federation; the FourthGuarantee grants all citizens andvisitors complete freedom of religiousbelief and expression, short only ofinjury to another's person orproperty.

TALORAIt seems odd for such a paramountprinciple to be held in such a secularsociety.

Now Grey raises his eyebrow.

GREYWe're not all atheists, if that'swhat you mean.

TALORAYet religion is by no means thrivingin the Federation. From what I knowof your history, the major religionsdied out in the late twenty-firstand early twenty-second centuries.

GREYThere are still scattered sects ofHinduism and Christianity.

TALORASmall, playing no role in policymaking or the shaping of moral ethics. And yet, freedom of religion remainsa prime principle of the Federation.

GREYI can't explain it either, but itseems like a good idea. Almost anextension of the Prime Directive: donot interfere in the natural evolutionof a religion, since that is a largepart of many cultures. Includingmost Earth cultures up until a fewcenturies ago. Imagine if the Vulcanshad come along and stamped outChristianity in its formative years.

(MORE)


GREY (CONT'D)The Federation would probably noteven exist today, in its currentform, and the shape of the entireGalaxy would have been changed.

Talora thinks a moment.

TALORAI see your point. But if preservingthe sanctity of religion is soimportant, why did it all but dieout on Earth?

GREYI honestly don't know. I supposeFirst Contact may have had somethingto do with it -- the "logic" of theVulcans made us realize that we didn'treally need God anymore.

TALORAYou sound regretful. Do you believein a deity?

Grey shrugs.

GREYNot really. I suppose I believe inSomething, with a capital S, butthat doesn't make me a theist.

Talora nods. A silence, which draws out for a long moment,then they look at each other.

GREY (CONT'D)What were we talking about?

TALORA(raising an eyebrow)

We seem to have been sidetracked.

GREYUgh. Back to work.

They pick up their padds and start reading them again.

TALORAThe Kesok has been sealed, and alertbeacons placed, correct?

GREYRight. The Bolian government willbe out to collect it in a few days. I've spoken to--


Quinlan suddenly appears at the table, smiling brightly. Her hand is clenched around something we can't see.

QUINLANCommander. Erik, do you want tohave a drink with me? I havesomething I want to show you.

GREY(smiling)

Maybe later, Jen. We have some workto finish up here first.

QUINLANOkay, well, find me when you're done.

She nods at both of them, then walks away from the table. We follow her as she reaches the bar, and takes a stool nextto where Elris and Toran are huddled together, having a drink. They look at her.

ELRISHey, Jen. Did you enjoy the wedding?

QUINLANOh, it was beautiful! I only wishthe Xapori were here to see it; Ankhetold me about their wedding ceremony,and it puts our Starfleet ceremonyto shame. No offense to the Captain.

She turns to a bartender and quietly places a drink order asToran nods.

TORANI think Captain Cross did a fantasticjob of it.

ELRISYeah, and I think he enjoyed it. Itfinally gave him something positiveto do.

QUINLAN(lowering her voice)

Speaking of the Captain, does heknow about you two yet?

Beat pause.

ELRISDidn't I tell you? I talked to Neilabout it last week.

Quinlan takes her drink from the bartender with one hand andsips, her other hand still clenched around something.


QUINLANHow did he take it?

Elris and Toran exchange looks.

ELRISHe wasn't surprised.

QUINLAN(grinning)

I told you so.

TORANI tried to tell her as well. I knewthat Captain Cross would understand.

ELRISYou hoped he would. You didn't knowany more than I did.

TORANCall it educated wishful thinking.

QUINLANWhatever it was, I'm glad it workedout. And I'm very glad that you twoare finally together; you deserveeach other.

She raises her glass in a toast to them. Toran smiles andtakes Elris's hand in his.

TORANSo are we, believe me.

QUINLANSo when's your wedding?

Elris and Toran blink, look at each other, and back atQuinlan.

ELRISJen, it's only been a few weeks!

QUINLANSo? It's never too early to startplanning. I remember back in gradeschool, I had a crush on this oneguy who I was so sure I was going tomarry, I began planning the weddingright then--

ELRISWell we're not in grade school, andNoa and I agreed that we're not goingto rush things.

(MORE)


ELRIS (CONT'D)Let's talk about something else. Like, what's that in your hand?

Quinlan looks at her clenched fist.

QUINLANOh! I almost forgot about this --this is actually the reason I cameto see you guys.

She opens her fist, revealing an Icon, identical to the oneCross received from Baruuka. Elris and Toran ooh and ahhover it.

TORANIs that what the Xapori wear in thosepouches around their necks?

QUINLANYep. It's called an Icon; it's thecentral symbol of their faith.

ELRISWhere did you get that?

QUINLANAnkhe gave me one. Isn't itmagnificent?

TORANWhat does it mean?

QUINLANThat's what I asked Ankhe. She saidthere's no one explanation for it;it means many different things, andeach person and take from it whatevermeaning they wish.

ELRISNo wonder the Order of theTranscendent has been so successfulin recent years; they've giventhemselves a flexible, universalappeal.

TORANDifferent people find different thingsin it.

QUINLANSee, but it's really the same thing:the thing that they need!

TORANWhich is?


QUINLANIt's different for each person. Butthat's what Ankhe told me: theTranscendent appeals to people on anindividual basis because theTranscendent is the embodiment ofeverything that people need or wantin this universe.

ELRISAmong other things, of course.

QUINLANOf course.

ELRISJen, you're starting to sound likean apologist for the Order.

Quinlan blinks, surprised, then shakes her head.

QUINLANNo no no, not at all. I'm just sayingthat the Order does have theologicalmerits. That is, if you're intothat kind of thing--

ELRIS(smiling)

Relax, Jen, I'm riding you. If you'reenthusiastic about this, then that'sfine with me. Heck, I might evenlearn more about it myself.

TORAN(eyebrows raised)

Funny. I know that you're notreligious, Lea, and I wouldn't havefigured you as the religious typeeither, Jen.

Quinlan and Elris look at him, then at each other.

QUINLANWe're not.

ELRISNot at all.

QUINLANNope.

ELRISWe just see this as an interesting...

QUINLANUm, intellectual...


ELRISExercise.

QUINLANYeah.

Now it's Toran's turn to smile.

TORANIt's okay, I think I understand. Soout of curiosity, what else did Ankhetell you about this religion?

QUINLANWell, she said that the Transcendentgoes beyond what we would normallythink of as a deity; it's actuallymore like...

Her voice trails off we move away from them, looking aroundthe Rec Lounge. We spot Ankhe and Fallor talking to a fewStarfleet crewmen, although we are not close enough to hearthe dialogue.

We then pan over and head toward the large windows, whereY'lan is standing by himself, looking out at the stars. Heis alone, silent, looking almost brooding. We watch for amoment in solitude, until Baruuka comes up and stands nextto him, looking out the window himself. Y'lan does not turnhis head. Baruuka is smiling a little as he looks out thewindow.

BARUUKA"When I consider the heavens, thework of Your fingers, the moon andthe stars which You have ordained;what is a man, that You are mindfulof him?"

Y'lan turns to look at him.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)I'm sorry -- I didn't mean to startleyou.

Y'LANYou did not. Was that poetry?

BARUUKAIt was actually a verse from anancient Earth religious text -- theQur'an, I think. I've had theopportunity to study some of them inmy time aboard the Enterprise.

Y'LANI see.


There is a moment of silence as they both gaze out thewindows.

BARUUKAIt seems that we're both a long wayfrom home.

Y'LANThat is not so. Insofar as I can besaid to have a home, the Enterpriseis it.

BARUUKAI see. But surely there are timeswhen you must miss your own kind.

Beat pause.

Y'LANThe situation is complicated.

BARUUKAI understand.

Another moment of silence.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)You don't speak very much, do you?

Y'lan looks at him again.

Y'LANMy unwillingness to take initiativein conversation with you is notindicative of my speaking habits,but of my desire to be undisturbedat present.

BARUUKAAh... Well, perhaps you wish to beleft alone. Or, if I may so venture,perhaps you are too alone.

Y'LANI repeat that the situation iscomplicated -- and, with respect,not something I wish to discuss.

BARUUKAYou know what my uncle once told me? The people who ask for another'sopinion and advice are the peoplewho don't really need it... and viceversa.


Y'LANI cannot account for the veracity ofwhat your uncle told you. I canaccount only for myself.

Y'lan moves a little ways away. Baruuka, undaunted, followshim.

BARUUKAI've been doing this for a long time,my friend, and it's obvious to methat you need the Transcendent inyour life.

Y'lan wheels to look at him, eyes almost glaring, althoughhis voice remains even.

Y'LANBy "this," I assume you mean religiousevangelism. It would not be in yourbest interest to meet someone whomyou did not consider an ideal target.

BARUUKA(laughing dryly)

You make it sound like witnessing tothe blessings of the One is actuallya war!

Y'LANThe goal of your evangelism is togain converts, is it not? Even atthe expense of other religions?

Baruuka blinks.

BARUUKAMy friend, it is no crime to sharethe good news of the Transcendent toall who would hear.

Y'LANIt might be considered ethicallydubious to spread a falsehoood.

Baruuka reacts as though kicked in the stomach. He looks atY'lan wide-eyed, as Y'lan returns his gaze evenly.

BARUUKAOh my... I knew of course that thereare those who disbelieve in the One,but outspoken atheism is by no meansthe norm in the Federation. You area unique creature, Mr. Y'lan.


Y'LANIn that statement you mischaracterizeme in two different ways; I am not a"mister," and I am not a professedatheist.

BARUUKAIf you're not an atheist, then whatare you?

Y'LANI am a Q'tami, who knows that thetheology of the Transcendent isincorrect.

BARUUKA(scoffing)

You make it sound so simple.

Y'LANIt is so simple.

BARUUKAIt can't be. Look out there!

He indicates the manifold of stars beyond the Rec Loungewindows, passing by as the Enterprise travels through warp.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)Can you honestly look at the universe,with all of its order, and complexity,and majesty, and tell me that aCreator such as the Transcendentdoes not exist?

Y'LANYes.

Baruuka is taken aback once more. He regains his footingquickly, however.

BARUUKAVery well; kindly explain the originof the universe absent a Creator.

Y'lan looks from Baruuka to the window, and back to Baruuka.

Y'LANI can give you only one honest answer:I don't know. Neither my sciencenor my theology provides an adequateexplanation.

BARUUKAThen how is it irrational to believein the One who creates and sustainsall of us?


Y'LANBecause of the methodologicalprinciple known as parsimony.

BARUUKAParsimony?

Y'LANAmong humans, it is better known asOccam's Razor. One way of statingit is that, all things being equal,the simplest explanation is mostlikely to be correct, where simplicityis defined in terms of the number ofentities and factors involved. Now,if the existence of the Universemust be explained, how is that done? If we say that it is explained bythe existence of a "Creator," thenwe posit a being who is necessarilymuch more complex and, to use yourterm, "majestic" than the Universeitself. We therefore do not solvethe original problem; we more thandouble it. We also initiate aninfinite regress, an ultimateviolation of parsimony. Therefore,while the existence of a Creator maynot be logically disprovable, toposit its existence is unnecessaryand irrational.

He turns back to the window. There is a pause as Baruukadigests all this. Then, slowly, he chuckles.

BARUUKAMy mentor at the Seminary would haveloved to converse with you. He alwayscomplained that my mind wasn't asphilosophical as he would have liked. But I believe I see your problem.

Y'LANOh?

BARUUKAYou believe that it's all about logic.

Y'lan turns back to look at Baruuka.

Y'LANI do not know how to respond to suchan ambiguous statement.

BARUUKALet me clarify, then.

(MORE)


BARUUKA (CONT'D)You believe that logic is the lastword in your thinking and feelingprocesses.

Y'LANIt is, in the sense that nothingthat defies the laws of logic canexist.

BARUUKAAh, but you said it yourself: theTranscendent is not logicallydisprovable!

Y'LANI said it may not be.

Baruuka takes a step closer to the Q'tami.

BARUUKAWhat if it isn't? What if, in spiteof all you just said, the Transcendentis a live possibility? And what if,once you've reached your mortal limitand taken the transcending journeyyourself, you discover that you werewrong? Where would that leave you?

Y'lan looks at the Xapori a moment longer, then turns backto the window.

Y'LANIt would leave me in a state of beingincorrect. That is all. I do notfear what theists call Judgment,since a just deity would not punishme for using my reason honestly,whereas an unjust deity might punishyou simply out of capriciousness.

BARUUKAOh, come, come! Do you think I amso petty that I must appeal to theprospect of reward and punishment? Our theology does not work like that. We believe that everyone will becomeone with the Transcendent, whetherthey like it or not. What I amtalking about is you, friend Y'lan.

Y'LANI would not have you consider me afriend.


BARUUKAThat's your problem. I come to youin friendship, offering the greatestmessage a mortal can ever hear, andyet you will not listen! The problemis not that your mind rejects theOne; the problem is that your heartis reluctant. This is the paradoxof the mortal condition: even as weache for something outside ofourselves, something greater that wecan look up to and take comfort fromas we suffer the pains and indignitiesof being alive, we reject the Onewho is standing outside the doorwayto our souls. We all yearn for theTranscendent. Even you, Y'lan, thoughyou may protest all you wish. Youhave the same desire as we all have:the desire to be bathed in the spiritof the One to be embraced in a lovebeyond words, beyond form. The desireto belong to the greatness that liesbeyond the materialistic plane, andto never again be alone, in any senseof the word. I know you have it,because I have it too. Everyone hasit. The question is not whether youhave it; the question is what youwill do about it. I wish only tohelp you answer that question.

Y'lan looks out the window, saying nothing. The silencestretches out for what seems like forever. Finally, Y'lanspeaks slowly.

Y'LANI see no need to address yourargument, as its central premise,that all mortals desire your theology,is unverifiable.

BARUUKA(quietly)

Nonetheless, it is true. It is alsotrue that the deepest part of yourbeing, a part you probably don'tadmit exists, even to yourself, hasalready accepted this truth. Whenthe rest of you catches up... thenyou know where to find me.

He stands there a moment longer, looking at Y'lan with aserene, knowing look. Then he turns away and walks backtoward the crowd. We remain focused on Y'lan as he standsat the window, looking at the stars, unmoving. His eyes areunreadable.


He says nothing, and his gaze remains fixed on the heavens.

Behind him, we focus on where Baruuka has joined Ankhe andFallor. They have gathered a rather sizable crowd aroundthem, and are taking turns addressing them; their words areindistinct, but we can guess the substance of what they aresaying.

The crowd listens to the Xapori, their faces intent,occasionally nodding.

On this sight, we...

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT TWO

RENAISSANCE: "Consider the Heavens" - ACT THREE 44.

ACT THREE

FADE IN:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- CORRIDOR

Cross is walking down the corridor, passing an occasionalcrewman, nodding his greetings as he goes. A frown is slowlydeveloping on his face.

AS WE PAN AROUND TO SEE HIS POV, we see why: several of the crewmen he passes are wearing Icon pouches.

He looks at them curiously. None of the pouch-laden crewmenseem otherwise any different; a couple of them notice Cross'sodd look, and look nervous themselves before scurrying awayquickly. Cross shakes his head slightly and wears a what-the-hell-is-all-this-about? Expression.

Just ahead of Cross, Ensign Nat Stolt and Chief MichelleKaplan come around a corner and nearly collide with Cross,stopping themselves just in time. They are both wearinguniforms, and Icon pouches.

STOLTWhoa! Excuse us, Captain.

CROSSQuite all right, Ensign, Chief. Say, I'm surprised to see the two ofyou here. I thought you had anothertwo days of leave.

KAPLANYes sir, we do. We simply like to,er, come up for air every now andthen.

CROSSI understand.

He casts his eye deliberately down on the pouch that theyare wearing. Stolt looks down at the pouches himself, andlaughs, a little embarrassedly.

STOLTMichelle's idea, sir. I mean, weboth decided to wear them while ourXapori guests are on the Enterprise.

KAPLANYes, sir, I thought it would makethem feel welcome, especially afterwhat happened to their ship. Youknow, sir, diplomacy and all that.

Cross nods slowly.


CROSSI see. Quite thoughtful of you two.

KAPLANYes, sir. We were trying to be.

Beat pause.

CROSSWell, carry on, folks. Your honeymoonisn't getting any longer.

STOLTNo, sir. Thank you, Captain.

They nod respectfully and walk away. Cross watches them go,then shakes his a little, a slight smile on his face, andcontinues along the corridor.

CROSS(to himself)

Being nice to our visitors, that'sall it is. You did something right,Cross, because our crew is gettinginto the spirit of diplomacy. See? Nothing to worry about.

He stops at a turbolift and waits. A moment later, the doorsopen, and a female crewman steps out, wearing an Icon pouch. She smiles dazzlingly at Cross.

CREWMANBlessings of the One, Captain.

CROSS(nodding)

Ensign Taylor.

She walks away. Cross steps into the turbolift, and heavesa sigh, making a face.

CROSS (CONT'D)You were saying, Cross?

The doors close.

CUT TO:


Cross exits the turbolift to find Quinlan and Cale at theirstations. As they both turn around to nod at him, Crosssees that they are both wearing icon pouches. Cross's eyeswiden. His lips clench. He marches up to Quinlan.

CROSSLieutenant!


Quinlan flinches.

QUINLANUh... Yes, Captain?

CROSSKindly explain the violation of dresscode hanging around your neck.

She looks down at the Icon pouch and back at Cross, whocontinues to glare at her.

QUINLANSir, I thought... That is, I wasunder the impression that theStarfleet dress code recently madeexceptions for religious ornaments,such as Bajoran earrings and thelike.

CROSSOnly insofar as the crew member whowishes to wear the ornament is apracticing member of the religionwhich it represents. Are you apracticing member of the Order ofthe Transcendnet, Lieutenant?

Beat pause.

QUINLANNo, sir. Not formally, that is. Imean, I agree with a lot of their--

CROSSThe pouch comes off, Quinlan. Now.

Quinlan looks at her feet, downcast, and pauses a momentbefore nodding.

QUINLANUnderstood, sir.

She reaches up and takes off the pouch. Cross directs hisglare down at Cale.

CROSSAnd you, Mr. Cale? What's yourexcuse?

Cale stands up, and comes to attention facing Cross.

CALECaptain, I must report that I haveofficially logged my intention toformally join the Order of theTranscendent.


CROSSYou what!?

CALEI am to be formally initiated in theOrder tomorrow.

Cross walks down and stands in front of Cale, whose faceremains even and defiant.

CROSSPlease, Lieutenant, tell me this isa practical joke.

CALENo, sir.

Beat pause.

CROSSYou're serious.

CALEYes, sir. May I ask why the Captainobjects? It is not the norm for astarship crewman to be a practicing religionist, but Starfleet recognizes that the Fourth Guarantee--

CROSSThe Captain does not object!

(beat)The Captain is just surprised.

CALEMay I ask why?

Cross hesitates.

CROSSBrian Cale-bey. It doesn't reallysuit you.

Cale finally manages a smile.

CALEI agree, sir. Happily, the namingis a voluntary part of the initiation. I will not be taking the -bey suffix.

CROSS(dryly)

Well, then, I'm relieved. As youwere.

He stomps off. We follow him into...


CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- CROSS'S READY ROOM -- CONTINUOUS

The door close behind him. Cross's face is a mixture offrustration and disgust as he paces in front of his desk.

CROSSMy ship is turning into a bunch oflunatics! Why? Why?

He clutches his forehead as he paces, trying to think. Aftera moment of this he stops, exhales, and looks off at nothing.

CROSS (CONT'D)Okay, stay calm and think about this. They're being influenced by theXapori, they have to be. How?

(beat)The Xapori came on board, and broughtwith them...

He trails off, then looks down at his desk. We zoom in onthe Icon that is sitting there. Cross picks it up and quicklywalks to the door.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- SICKBAY

Cross and Elris are standing at one of the medicalworkstations, Elris scanning the Icon with a medicaltricorder.

CROSSWhat I'd like to do is order allthose pouches taken off and thrownout the airlock. The trouble is,Cale's right -- both the Xapori andthe crewmen are protected under theFederation Bill of Rights. So withoutsome proof that something is causingthis, my hands are tied.

ELRISWell, I don't think you'll find anyproof here. The sphere is simplecrystal, nothing strange about it. No different from any other crystalI've seen. I can give you a preciseprintout of its molecular structureif you'd like.

CROSSWhat about the blue gem?


ELRISA proto-sapphire. Easily replicable,just as ordinary. I'm pretty surethat the entire purpose of this Iconis decorative.

CROSSDoctor, in the last forty-eight hours,this ship has experienced a rash ofreligious conversions, formal andotherwise, that so far as I know isunprecedented in the history of anyStarfleet vessel. I won't besatisfied with the explanation thatthe Xapori are just very convincingspeakers. Is there some way thatthis thing might be causing it? Might it have some property thatyour tricorder scans wouldn't pickup?

Elris considers for a moment.

ELRISThe only thing that comes to mind isif the Icon is a poly-neuron focus. It's a phenomenon we discovered onBajor II, where certain mineralsreacted with brain signatures insuch a way that--

CROSSSpare me the technical details. Would a poly-neuron focus be apossible cause for brainwashing peopleinto this belief of theirs?

ELRISIt's possible. But even if this isa poly-neuron focus, I can't ruleout other possible causes.

CROSSHow can you find out if it is?

ELRISThis way.

She takes the Icon and leads Cross to another workstation. She prepares a piece of equipment, programs instructions,and sets the Icon underneath it. She turns the machine on.

ELRIS (CONT'D)The scan will take a couple minutesto complete.


CROSSFine.

They stand there, leaning against the workstation, armsfolded, sharing silence for a moment. Elris looks at Cross.

ELRISHow have you been, Neil?

CROSS(chuckling dryly)

Irritated. Very irritated. It seemslike this entire ship has turnedinto a madhouse since the Xaporihave come on board.

ELRISThat's not what I meant.

Cross looks at her, sees her serious look, hesitates, thenshrugs a little.

CROSSI'm fine. You know, it's... takingsome getting used to. But I'm fine.

Elris smiles a little.

ELRISI suppose it's hard for you. I can'ttell you how much it means to me, toboth of us, to have your understandingabout this.

CROSSOf course I understand. He's a goodman. You could do much, much worse.

He doesn't sound very convincing. Elris's smile fades away.

ELRISYou haven't really accepted it, haveyou?

CROSS(dryly)

Of course I've accepted it. In fact,I've been thinking about branchingout a bit myself. That Ensign Tayloris quite lovely.

ELRISNeil...

CROSSSorry.

(MORE)


CROSS (CONT'D)(beat)

Well, my mind has accepted it ifnothing else. You love him, he lovesyou, not much I can do about it. The facts of life and all that.

Pause.

ELRISIf it really makes you uncomfortable,Neil, I suppose that Noa and I couldapply for--

CROSSDon't even think about it. Betweenyou and Dr. Toran, I have the bestmedical staff in Starfleet. There'sno way in hell I'm handing you overto some other Captain.

Elris smiles again.

ELRISThank you.

CROSSBesides, not long ago I helped youface your past. It's only fair thatI now help you face your future.

ELRIS(chuckling)

Well, when you put it like that.

They share silence for another moment. Behind them, themachine continues to hum as it scans the Icon.

ELRIS (CONT'D)I just don't want you to have anyfalse expectations, Neil. I mean, Ihonestly don't know if you're stillholding out hope for us, but--

CROSSLea, the fact is that you're happywith him, and your being happy makesme happy. Whatever I may be feelingfor myself is my own burden to bear;it shouldn't have anything to dowith your new relationship.

(beat)Besides, if I was holding out hopefor us, then there would be no reasonto feel guilty about it. After all,who knows?


They look at each other for a long moment. Before eitherone can speak, the machine on the workstation beeps. Elristurns and studies the readout.

ELRISNo detectable poly-neurons in theIcon. It's not a focus. I'm tellingyou, Neil, this is not what you'relooking for.

Cross exhales through clenched teeth.

CROSSWell I'm looking for something, damnit.

ELRISWhy not ask Y'lan for help? He hasmuch more advanced equipment.

CROSSAnd it's still broken down for whoknows what reason. I talked to Dojara few minutes ago; he's working onit.

(beat)There must be something...

His commbadge chirps.

TALORA'S COMM VOICETalora to Cross.

CROSSGo ahead, Commander.

TALORA'S COMM VOICEI need to see you at once, Captain. It's about the Kesok. I've discoveredsomething you need to know.

CROSSMy ready room. I'll be there in aminute.

TALORA'S COMM VOICEAye sir.

Cross taps his commbadge off and raises an eyebrow at Elris.

CROSSMaybe we just found it.


CUT TO:


Cross enters the Bridge, where Talora is waiting in front ofhis Ready Room, holding a padd, and Quinlan and Grey aretalking in hushed tones at one of the Engineering stations.

They are both wearing Icon pouches.

Cross looks at them sharply. They look up at Cross's glare,looking a little bit guilty. No one says anything. Finally,Cross merely grunts in disgust and walks to his Ready Room,motioning for Talora to follow him in.

CUT TO:


The door closes behind them as they enter.

CROSSReport.

TALORACaptain, I downloaded the sensor andcrew logs from the Kesok before wegot underway. Much of them werescrambled due to the powerfluctuations in the memory core, butwe have been able to piece togetherenough of the fragments to get abetter picture of what happened.

CROSSAnd?

TALORAAnd, it turns out that Baruuka wastelling the truth. V'ton "sinned."

Cross blinks.

CROSSExplain.

TALORAIt turns out that most of the peopleon the Kesok, passengers and crewalike, were active members of theOrder of the Transcendent at thetime of the accident.

CROSSI knew it!

He punches his desk, his teeth clenched.


TALORAYes, sir, it appears to have been asimilar phenomenon to what is nowgoing on aboard the Enterprise. V'ton himself became outspoken abouthis views on Transcendent theology. It turns out he had a difference ofopinion with the others -- the natureof which I haven't been able todetermine, but it was something thatthe Xapori consider heretical.

CROSSGo on.

TALORAV'ton did act as the Xapori indicated:killed off the Bridge crew, made hisway to Engineering, and attempted todisable the safety systems. Whatthey left out, however, was whathappened just before that.

CROSSWhat happened?

TALORAA theological argument in the MessHall, from which we've been able toretrieve some dialogue from theinterior sensor logs. Again, Iemphasize that this is onlyfragmentary information--

CROSSCut to the chase, Talora. Whathappened?

Talora pauses, looks down at her padd.

TALORAV'ton declared that he was the onlyrighteous person aboard the Kesok,and that the Transcendent hadpronounced a judgment of "guilty"upon all the others.

Cross lets out a long, slow sigh.

CROSSThose bastards. They come aboard myship, they spread their poison to mycrew--


TALORACaptain, this doesn't necessarilychange anything. V'ton may actuallyhave gone insane, and it simplymanifested itself as an abuse of theXapori faith.

CROSSOr maybe whatever it was thatbrainwashed their crew had too strongan effect on him.

TALORACaptain, we still don't have anyproof that "brainwashing" is takingplace.

CROSSLook around you! More than half thecrew are wearing those pouches! Youthink that's an accident?

TALORAI think it's too early to--

The door chimes.

CROSSCome in!

The door opens, admitting LEWIS CARTER. He looksuncharacteristically humble, and he is clutching a small boxof isolinear chips. Cross groans softly.

CROSS (CONT'D)This isn't a good time, Carter. Isthis earth-shatteringly important?

CARTERI'm sorry to interrupt, Captain; Iwon't take up your time. I justwanted to give this to you, and toapologize.

He hands the box to Cross, who looks at it, and back toCarter, confused.

CROSSApologize for what? What is this?

CARTERIt's a collection of unauthorizedfootage I've been gathering of thecrew over the last few weeks.

(MORE)


CARTER (CONT'D)I was planning to make a candiddocumentary of the social lives ofthe Enterprise crew, but I neglectedto ask your permission first. Itwas wrong, Captain, and I ask foryour forgiveness in the name of theOne.

He bows his head, ashamed.

Cross looks at him, then at the box, then at Talora. A longmoment passes. Finally, he slams the box down on his desk.

CROSSThat's it!

Carter flinches, preparing himself for the worst. Crossstomps right past him, and out the room. Carter stares atthe closed door, puzzled.

CARTERI don't get it. Isn't he angry withme for what I've done?

TALORAI wouldn't take it personally.

CUT TO:


Cross enters the Rec Lounge, to find Baruuka presiding over a large gathering. At least a hundred people, Xapori and crewmen, are sitting in arranged seats near the bar, facing Baruuka and hanging on his every word. Most of the crewmen are wearing Icon pouches.

Standing near the windows, well apart from the crowd, isY'lan. He is silent, watching the proceedings from adistance, his expression unreadable.

BARUUKA...again, this is part of what Icall the mortal condition. Everyonehas transgressions; no on is exemptfrom--

He breaks off, noticing Cross march toward him at the front.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)Captain Cross! This is an unexpectedpleasure, my friend. Won't you joinus?

Cross reaches the front and, ignoring Baruuka, turns to theassembled crowd.


CROSSThis gathering is over, as of rightnow. All Starfleet personnel willreturn to their duty stations ortheir quarters at once.

Nobody moves. Everyone looks at Cross, or at each other. There are murmurs of surprise. Baruuka laughs a little,confusion on his face.

BARUUKACaptain! This is a civil gathering,and these good people are here ontheir own--

Cross whirls on him.

CROSSAs for you, you and all the otherXapori are confined to quarters untilwe reach Starbase 84. We'll letthem decide what to do with you.

The murmurs of surprise and protest grow louder. Baruukasignals for quiet.

BARUUKAConfined to quarters, you say? Onwhat grounds?

CROSSOn the grounds that you arebrainwashing my people! You'realtering their minds somehow in orderto convert them to your religion!

BARUUKAI see. What evidence do you have ofthis?

Baruuka's tone is not confrontational, only curious, and alittle concerned. Cross looks at him, and at the crowd, wholook back at him expectantly.

CROSSWhat's wrong with you people!? Can'tyou see what's going on? How do youthink they've gained so many"converts" in such a short time? Not only here, but on the Kesok aswell! How do you explain this?

Nobody looks impressed.


BARUUKA(calmly)

I, for one, explain it as a spiritualrenaissance. People are thirsting,now more than ever, for the healingpower of the Transcendent in theirlives. I believe that you thirstfor it most of all, Captain.

CROSSDon't try your voodoo magic on me,sir. It may have worked on them,but it doesn't work on me!

BARUUKA(shaking his head)

One does not need to be a mystic inorder to sense a great deal of angerin you, Captain.

CROSSYou're damned right I'm angry!

BARUUKAI can only imagine what it is liketo be a professed atheist.

There is a pause. Quite suddenly, and very subtly, Crossand Baruuka have exchanged positions. Cross is now on thedefensive, and Baruuka is calmly challenging.

CROSSI never said that I was an atheist. In any case, this isn't about me. This is about the people whose mindsyou are influencing, their free will.

BARUUKAWe would not dream to interfere withfree will. That is a virtue thatthe Transcendent considers paramount.

CROSSYeah, right. That's why he needspeople like you to brainwashinnocents.

BARUUKAThere is no brainwashing. It isonly your professed atheism that hasmade you angry--

CROSSThere you go again! You speak ofatheism in such a way that it isundesirable, a taboo, a moral crime.

(MORE)


CROSS (CONT'D)They tried that in the early twenty-first century.

BARUUKAI do not consider atheism to beundesirable, or criminal. I considerit to be nonexistent.

CROSSUnbelievable. That must be the oldestrhetorical trick in the book: takinga position you don't like, anddefining it out of existence.

BARUUKAYou profess atheism because you don'twant to acknowledge a higher power. You want to be completely autonomous,with no god to worship but yourself.

CROSSI profess atheism because yourreligion is a crock of shit!

Cross stops suddenly, realizing the outburst he has justmade. Everyone in the audience is staring at him. Baruukaremains unmoved. Cross gathers himself quickly and continues:

CROSS (CONT'D)And if you want to practice yourreligion in your temples, or in theprivacy of your own homes, you won'thave any problem with me. It's yourright as a sentient being. But whenyou come out and try to force yourmysticism upon my crew, upon me--

BARUUKAAgain I must ask: what evidence doyou have of this?

CROSSThe Kesok. We discovered whathappened there. V'ton went insanebecause of your conversion power.

BARUUKAV'ton was never a member of our faith.

CROSSThere you go again! Defining youropponents out of existence!

BARUUKAI speak the truth.

(MORE)


BARUUKA (CONT'D)It is one of our central tenets thatthe Transcendent does not pronouncejudgment upon sentient beings; thatwe should share his presence withothers simply because it is ineveryone's best interests to have afulfilled life. V'ton, however,believed that the Transcendent --and, by proxy, himself -- judgedeveryone. He was a heretic.

CROSSI'll bet he was just fine before youcame on board.

BARUUKASome people do strange things whenconfronted with the truth. Look atyourself, for instance.

Pause.

CROSSI'm not going to dignify that with aresponse. And I'm not going to standmeekly by while you corrupt the crewof the Enterprise. I'm going tocontact Starfleet Command and theFederation Council, right now. I'mgoing to get their permission to puta stop to this.

BARUUKAThis is your right. In the meantime,I assume we are free to continue?

Cross glares at him, his eyes full of something like hatred. Then, without a word, he turns and walks toward the exit.Wefollow him as Baruuka, his face still impassive as ever,turns back to the assembled crowd.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)As I was saying, everyone, at somepoint in their life has committed atransgression; no one is exempt. But we are all sinners; we are allequal in the eyes of the Transcendent,whether we are guilty of a littlewhite lie, or of the atrocity of themass murder of innocents...

Cross hesitates. His step falters. He then resumes walkingpast the crowd and toward the exit, but a little bit slower. Just a little. Baruuka is now out of our sight, but we stillhear his voice.


BARUUKA (V.O.) (CONT'D)...we all feel the guilt of ourtransgressions. It weighs upon us. It burdens us with its memory. Itseems that we can never be rid ofit, however far we move on.

Cross's pace slows further. He nears the exit.

BARUUKA (V.O.) (CONT'D)It seems that we can never fullyunderstand our burden. Even whenyears have passed, and the persongrows and changes, the burdens ofour transgressions remain with us. How can you carry this burden? Howcan you carry your past with you?

At the back of the crowd, almost at the exit, Cross stops. Slowly, he turns to look at Baruuka.

BARUUKA (V.O.) (CONT'D)There are the sins that we havecommitted, and there are the sinscommitted against us. Whether youhave full responsibility, or jointresponsibility, or whether you haveno responsibility -- sometimes it ishard to tell which is the case --these sins are a part of our past. Our past, in the form of our memoriesand the world around us we have helpedto create, is always with us. Itburdens us. But there is theTranscendent, the One to whomeveryone, saint and sinner alike,can turn to in their time of need.

We slowly zoom in on Cross's intent face as he listens toBaruuka's voice.

BARUUKA (V.O.) (CONT'D)The bad news is that the One cannotrelieve us of this burden. But thegood news -- the best news of all,in fact -- is that he can help uscarry it. Understand: with theTranscendent in your life, you arenever alone. The One can be the windat your back, if you would only openyour heart. The Transcendent lovesyou. You can feel this love, andthis forgiveness, if you want to. You can find meaning, and guidancein your life.

(MORE)


BARUUKA (V.O.) (CONT'D)You can truly make right your wrongs,and make the Universe new again. You need only open yourself. Openyour heart...

Extreme close-up of Cross's face as Baruuka's voice fadesaway into indistinctness. Cross's face remains intent as hestands there, not moving, not blinking. He stands there, atthe back of the crowd, and he listens.

He listens.

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT THREE

RENAISSANCE: "Consider the Heavens" - ACT FOUR 63.

ACT FOUR

FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise, at warp.

CUT TO:


Dojar is fiddling with a scanner-like tool over the deadequipment in the lab as Y'lan enters. Dojar does not lookup.

Y'LANWhat did you want me to look at?

DOJARThis.

He shows the scanner readout to Y'lan.

DOJAR (CONT'D)A residual energy pattern in thepower distribution nodes. It's theclosest I've yet to an explanationfor the breakdown, but the patternsignature is unlike anything I'veever seen before. Can you makesomething out of it?

Y'LANYes. It is a field generated by astanding energy wave buildup withinthe tertiary sub-processors in thedistribution nodes. Well done; youhave found the cause of the breakdown.

DOJARNot exactly; we still don't knowwhat caused the energy buildup inthe sub-processors.

Y'LANTheir design schematic, coupled withthe standing wave output, constrictsthe possible causes to one: omicronwaves.

DOJAROmicron waves? Are those like omicronparticles?


Y'LANNo, they are completely differentphenomena. While omicron particlesare caused by certain interactionsbetween matter and antimatter, omicronwaves are a form of neural energygenerated by every sentient being. In most cases, the effect is solocalized that it does not penetratethe cranium; but in rare cases thefield is much more intense.

(beat)I've never known someone's omicronfield to encompass a space the sizeof a starship. Such a person musthave profound mental abilities.

DOJARYou're saying that someone's braincaused your equipment to break down? That someone is willing themalfunction?

Y'LANNo; omicron waves cannot be directlyor indirectly controlled by the beingitself. This breakdown is more likelyan incidental circumstance of anomicron generator of enormous powercoming onto the ship.

Pause.

DOJARThe Xapori! The omicron generatormust be one of them -- your equipmentdied just as we approached theirship.

Y'LANThat is the logical conclusion. Itmay also explain the recent outbreakof religious behavior aboard theEnterprise.

DOJARYou're saying that the omicrongenerator is brainwashing the crew?

Y'LANI repeat: an omicron generator cannotdirectly or indirectly control itsoutput. However...

DOJARYes?


Y'LANBecause of the extremely localizedeffects of omicron waves,experimentation on the infringementof one wave signature onto anotheris impractical. I do not know ofsuch an experiment being conducted. I therefore have insufficientinformation as to the effects ofsuch a phenomenon.

(beat)Come.

He starts toward the exit.

DOJARWhere are we going?

Y'LANWe require access to the ship'scomputer; my interface does notfunction.

Y'lan leads Dojar out of the lab.

CUT TO:


It's fairly quiet on the Bridge; nondescript crewmen -- mostwearing Icon pouches -- are manning the stations as Y'lanand Dojar are sitting at two of the Science stations. Y'lanis typing furiously, intent on his screen, while Dojar pokesaround. They study for a moment in silence.

DOJARY'lan, look at this. I've pulled upsome information about the Xapori --it's hard to come by, because theirrace is nomadic and relativelyreclusive.

Y'LAN(not looking away)

What have you discovered?

DOJARTheir religion, the whole Order ofthe Transcendent thing? It seemsthat for most of recorded Xaporihistory, the religion was defunct. Most Xapori didn't even practice it,and those that did regarded it assimply a cultural folkway, somethingsymbolic and literal rather than anactual faith.


Y'LANInteresting. When and how did itbecome widespread?

DOJAREight years ago, on Tempest IV, whichholds the highest concentration ofXapori in the Quadrant. A rejuvenatedinterest in the Order was kindled,and spread like wildfire in a veryshort time. It seems this happenedunder an initially small movement ofdevotees, spearheaded by -- wait forit!

Y'LANBaruuka.

DOJARBaruuka!

Y'LANThat is useful information. I myselfhave made an informative discovery:the reports of a Romulan scientistwho conducted experiments with omicronwaves a half century ago. He madestartling discoveries about theireffects on the human brain.

Dojar looks over at Y'lan's screen, which is filled withtechnical words, formulae and diagrams. He blinks.

DOJARThat's all gibberish to me. Whatdoes it mean?

Y'LANIt means we must see the Captain atonce. Computer, location of CaptainCross?

COMPUTER (V.O.)Captain Cross is in his Ready Room.

Y'lan stands and leads Dojar across the bridge to the ReadyRoom door. The doorbell chirps as they approach.

CROSS'S COMM VOICECome in, please.

The doors open, and they step into...


CUT TO:


Stepping into the room, Y'lan and Dojar see Cross sittingbehind his desk, and Talora sitting opposite him in a chair,looking at a padd. They look up as Y'lan and Dojar stare atthem.

Cross and Talora are both wearing Icon pouches.

A long pause.

CROSSCan I help you gentlemen?

Y'LANNo.

He abruptly turns and leaves. Dojar looks between him andCross, then shrugs apologetically and follows Y'lan out. The doors close. Cross and Talora look at each other.

TALORAWhat was that about?

CROSSI have no idea; I stopped guessingabout his quirks a long time ago. You were saying?

TALORAI was saying that total repair timeto the Slipstream initiator, includingremoval and re-installation, shouldnot exceed eight hours.

CROSSThat's good news. Oh, I got a messagefrom Admiral Jacobs on Starbase 84. He has invited both of us to dinnerwhen we arrive.

TALORAJacobs... Is he the one with thecollection of desiccated Ferengiremains?

CROSSThat's the one.

TALORA(raising an eyebrow)

It should be an interesting dinner.


CUT TO:


Y'lan and Dojar enter once more.

DOJARSo they were wearing the pouches. It doesn't mean--

Y'LANIt changes the circumstances. CaptainCross will be unlikely to help us inhis current condition. We must acton our own initiative.

DOJARWonderful. Well, at least we knowthat your equipment breakdown andthe crew's odd behavior are connected;they have a common cause, anyway. What do we do about it?

Y'LANTheoretically, both equipment andcrew should be restored to normalfunctioning once the omicron generatoris removed from the Enterprise.

Dojar peers at Y'lan, his expression growing concerned.

DOJARY'lan... You're not talking aboutkilling one of the Xapori...

Y'LANThat should not be necessary. Weneed only suppress his or her omicronwave output to a more localizedcapacity.

DOJARAnd how do we do that?

Y'lan starts going through his equipment, laying out smalltools after testing their functionality or lack thereof.

Y'LANWe need a device for the task, ofcourse. The Enterprise would not becarrying such a device, since omicronwave generation is an almost unheard-of phenomenon. We must thereforeconstruct it ourselves. But we musthurry.


DOJARWhat's the rush?

Y'LANRecall what happened aboard the Kesok. The omicron waves, or a relatedeffect, caused a crew member to goinsane. It is possible that a similarevent could occur here on theEnterprise.

Dojar leans over the workbench and begins to help Y'lanassemble components.

DOJARWell if this is about to become aship of madmen -- madder men, thatis -- let's just hope it hasn'talready started.

SMASH CUT TO:


The Rec Lounge is one massive argument. Several dozen peopleare gathered, including most of the Xapori , all wearingIcon pouches, and everyone is arguing, shouting to be heardover the clamor. Several people are getting right into eachothers' faces, and although the situation has not yet cometo blows, there is a tension in the air, a definite feelingthat this could happen at any second.

Baruuka and several other of the Xapori move among the people,trying to calm them down and separate them, but their voicesare unheard in the din.

Cross and Talora arrive in the Rec Lounge. From the edge ofthe crowd, Quinlan, nervously fingering her phaser, walksover to them. They speak loudly to hear one another overthe noise.

CROSSReport!

QUINLANI have no idea how it got to this! I was talking with Stolt and Kaplanabout the Transcendent, whether heis more inclined to faith or to gooddeeds -- Stolt and Kaplan startedarguing, and shouting at each other! Then several people came over tojoin the argument, and...

CROSSAnd one thing led to another?


QUINLANPretty much, yeah.

CROSSUnbelievable. Your phaser,Lieutenant.

Quinlan hands Cross her phaser. He adjusts the setting,aims at the ceiling and fires. There is a loud BOOM sound,and a flurry of sparks, but no actual damage. He does haveeveryone's attention now, however. A stunned silence.

CROSS (CONT'D)This is a far, far cry from thebehavior that is expected of Starfleetofficers! Would someone mindexplaining the reason for this chaos?

A pause then everyone starts talking at once, then shoutingto be heard. Everyone is trying to explain to the Captainwhat happened, who started it, etc. Cross and Talora exchangeglances.

TALORACaptain, I don't like where this isgoing.

CROSSMaybe this is a good chance to putyour famous mediation skills to workonce more.

TALORAIn this situation, I think I'll needhelp. I suggest we summon Baruuka.

Speak of the devil; Baruuka arrives and rushes up to Cross,Talora and Quinlan.

Behind him, the Rec Lounge doors start to close, then openagain to admit Y'lan and Dojar, both carrying modifiedtricorders. Unnoticed by anyone, they slip into the roomand start to move among the crowd, scanning individual peoplewith their tricorders. We stay focused on Cross and company.

BARUUKAI heard, and I came as soon as Icould.

CROSSWe need your help, Baruuka-bey.

BARUUKAI can see the problem clearly; Iwill do what I can.

He steps forward, and addresses the crowd.


BARUUKA (CONT'D)My friends! Hear me, I beg of you!

The crowd quiets down somewhat, and most of the people turnto look at Baruuka, although some angry murmuring can stillbe heard.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)I implore, think about what you aredoing! These are not--

Dojar appears out of nowhere, steps up to Baruuka, and holdshis tricorder up to the Xapori's head. Baruuka looks at himin confusion. After a moment of scanning, Dojar shakes hishead and withdraws the tricorder.

DOJARExcuse me.

He walks away. Baruuka blinks in confusion, then shakes hishead and turns back to the crowd, holding up his arms.

BARUUKAThese are not the actions of sentientbeings, but of animals! To walk thePath of the Transcendent means tosettle your differences peaceably,not through angry words and deeds!

CREWMAN #1Baruuka-bey, that's exactly what I'mtrying to tell these people! TheTranscendent smiles upon deeds andwords, not upon metaphysical belief! A non-Transcendentalist can still bea moral person, beloved of the One!

CREWMAN #2That's a load of crap! You have tobelieve in the Transcendent in orderto receive his blessing!

CREWMAN #1Oh, come on! There are moralatheists, and there are immoralTranscendentalists!

CREWMAN #2How can you walk the Path if youdon't even know it's there!

The general argument breaks out once more in the crowd. Finally, Stolt steps up to the forefront and waves his handsfor silence.


STOLTFolks, there's a way we can settlethis, okay? Baruuka is here; he, asmuch as anyone, is familiar with theWay of the One. He can tell us whichis more important to the One, whetherit be faith, or good works.

He turns and looks at Baruuka, expectantly. Baruukahesitates.

BARUUKAThat's a very old theologicalquestion, and one which fewtheologians have settled upon. Personally, I believe that the Onesmiles upon both those who hold hisName and those who walk his Path--

CREWMAN #2But how can you walk the Path if youdon't speak his Name?

The shouting begins again, louder than ever, and Baruuka ishelpless to stop it this time. He steps up to the crowd andtries to calm them down, but to no avail. The tension nearsthe breaking point; at any second, someone might throw thefirst punch.

Meanwhile, we focus on Y'lan, who is moving through the crowd. After scanning several of the Xapori, he looks off to oneside.

Standing there past the edge of the crowd, no doubt placedout of harm's way, is the little girl, Lusa. She is lookingat Y'lan curiously.

Y'lan returns the look. He then moves over to her, and scansher head with the tricorder. Lusa watches him the wholetime. After scanning for a moment, Y'lan nods to himself,takes out another device -- unfamiliar looking, but with anobvious appearance of being home-fashioned -- holds it toLusa's head, and presses a button. Lusa doesn't even blinkas the end of the device glows orange for a moment, thenshuts down.

The Rec Lounge is silent.

Dead silent.

It is as though somebody has pushed the mute button; everyonehas stopped talking at the same moment, and everyone islooking around, as though something very important justhappened, but nothing seems to have just happened. There isnothing but an eerie silence.


CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- CORRIDOR -- CONTINUOUS

Several people walking down the corridor stop in mid-step,and look around in confusion, as though something justhappened.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- BRIDGE -- CONTINUOUS

The crewmen at their stations -- some wearing Icon pouches,some not -- look up from their tasks. They are all silent. They are all confused.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- MAIN ENGINEERING -- CONTINUOUS

Several people in Engineering, including Grey and Boyle,stop what they're doing and look up. All is silent. Greystands up from his chair and looks around.

GREY(quietly)

What the hell...?

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- REC LOUNGE -- CONTINUOUS

(Screenwriter's note: From this point on, the Rec Loungescene is no longer a single, continuous shot; the cameracuts away as normal.)

All is still quiet. Finally...

QUINLANUm. Would someone mind explainingwhat just happened?

CROSSI have no idea.

Y'LANI can explain, Captain. The omicrongenerator on this ship has beensuppressed. Your mental functioninghas been returned to normal.

A long pause. Everyone stares at Y'lan and Lusa in disbelief.

QUINLANYou're saying someone was interferingwith our mental functioning?


Y'LANYes. Lusa, here, was generatingwhat are called omicron waves. Theeffect has been re-localized.

Cross's eyes widen.

CROSSI knew it! I knew that the Xaporiwere brainwashing us somehow!

DOJARThat is not precisely correct,Captain.

BARUUKAI assure you, Captain, we would neverturn someone to the Transcendentagainst their will. I have no moreidea about this than you do.

(to Y'lan)What does my daughter have to dowith all this?

Y'LANHer mind was generating a field ofomicron waves large enough toencompass this entire vessel. Atthe same time that these wavesinterfered with the functioning ofmy laboratory equipment, they alsointerfered with the normal mentalfunctions of everyone aboard.

STOLTInterfered how?

Y'LANIt was discovered by the Romulansthat omicron waves tend to make aperson's thought patterns similar tothat of the generator's. You werenot coerced into believing one thingover another; you were simply moreinclined to believe in the Xaporideity; you found such belief morefavorable than you otherwise wouldhave.

QUINLANIf we weren't brainwashed, then howdid we all become members of theOrder?


DOJARThere was a part of you, howeversmall, that wanted to be a part ofit. The omicron waves simply removedmost of whatever mental resistanceyou might have had to that particularbelief.

Lusa tugs at Y'lan's tentacle. Y'lan looks down at her. She reaches for the tricorder that Y'lan is holding. Aftera beat pause, Y'lan gives it to her. She holds it and studiesits functions, a look of intense concentration on her face.

Y'LANAs you can see, Lusa has an innatelycurious mind. Her curiosities tendedto spread, somewhat amplified, tothe rest of the crew; thisamplification is a side effect ofintensely strong omicron waves, whichI believe Lusa started to generateas she entered puberty. That is whyan argument was breaking out hereamong the Enterprise crew as towhether the Xapori deity favors deedsor faith.

TALORAAnd on the Kesok, the argument waswhether or not the Transcendent judgesmortals, directly or through others.

Y'LANIn both cases, these were likelyquestions that Lusa had been ponderingin her mind. I surmise that V'tonwas particularly susceptible to theeffect of the waves, and was overcome. He went insane.

Lusa holds the tricorder up to Y'lan and scans him. Baruukalooks at the two of them sadly.

BARUUKAIt makes sense. I was not Calledinto the faith until shortly afterLusa was born. And my decision tofollow the Path... It was never reallymy choice at all, was it?

Y'lan peers at him.

Y'LANI repeat: there was no coercioninvolved.

(MORE)


Y'LAN (CONT'D)The ideas involved in the Order weresimply more favorable to your minds,and encountered less resistance. Ultimately, the decision was yoursto make. Ultimately, it waseveryone's to make.

There is a long silence as the assembled crowd look at oneanother and take this in.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. SPACE

The Enterprise at impulse power, moving toward a dockingport of a large space station.

STOLT'S COMM VOICEEnterprise to Starbase 84, requestdocking clearance.

WOMAN'S COMM VOICEYou are cleared to dock, Enterprise. Welcome to Starbase 84. The baryonarray has been prepared for yourarrival. Oh... and I'm told thatyou're bringing us some interestingvisitors.

STOLT'S COMM VOICEYou could say that, Starbase. Youcould say that.

CUT TO:

INT. ENTERPRISE -- CORRIDOR

Cross and Baruuka are strolling down the corridor together,the latter with a packed bag -- and still wearing his Iconpouch.

CROSSFrom what Y'lan has told me, yourdaughter has extraordinary mentalabilities. I suspect that she'll gofar in life.

BARUUKAI myself has suspected as much sinceshe was two years old. Captain, Iwant to thank you again for rescuingus from the Kesok. In spite of whathappened...


CROSSThere was no way you could haveprevented it.

BARUUKAI feel responsible nonetheless.

CROSSYou need not. And may I say, it wasa pleasure having you and your peopleaboard -- yes, in spite of what'shappened. I'm sorry we can't takeyou all the way to Geshel II.

BARUUKAIt's just as well; your slipstreamdrive would get us there all tooquickly. I suppose we could all usethe time to think, and reflect.

They arrive at a hatchway where the Enterprise is connectedto the Starbase's docking port; people can be seen comingand going from the station. Cross turns to Baruuka.

CROSSWhat will you do from there?

Baruuka thinks a moment, his expression somber.

BARUUKAHonestly, Captain, I don't know. Istill have my family -- and, as youcan see, I still have my faith. Butit feels like my entire universe hasbeen pulled out from under my feet. I feel as though the last decade ofmy life has been a lie.

CROSSI wouldn't jump to conclusions. Remember what Y'lan said about theomicron waves: they make you moreinclined toward a certain belief,but they don't choose that belieffor you. You make that decision.

(beat)And for all I know, your theologycould very well be correct. Whoknows?

BARUUKAWho knows indeed.

He pauses again.


BARUUKA (CONT'D)Last night I tucked my daughter intobed, kissed her goodnight, went outto have a cup of grendo tea -- thisis all my habit in the evenings, youunderstand. Then I got into bednext to my wife, we talked for awhile, and then I extinguished thelights and, as I have always done,closed my eyes in a silent prayer tothe One.

(beat)But, for the first time in eightyears, I did not feel his presence.

He looks at Cross sadly. Cross looks back at him, not knowingwhat to say. Finally, Baruuka composes himself.

BARUUKA (CONT'D)My family awaits me.

CROSSOf course.

Baruuka shakes Cross's hand, bows formally with hands clasped,then takes his bag down the corridor, disappearing from sightinto the Starbase. Cross stands there for a moment, thenstarts back down the corridor.

Behind him, Cale comes around a corner and catches up toCross. He is still wearing an Icon pouch.

CALECaptain? Engineering reports thatthe slipstream initiator has beenprepared for the baryon sweep. Wecan move it into the Starbase at anytime.

CROSSVery good, Lieutenant. Proceed atyour convenience.

He looks at Cale's Icon pouch, and raises an eyebrow. Calelooks at the pouch, then back at Cross, smiling a little.

CALEThe Order made sense to me when theXapori first introduced it to me. It still does.

Cross pauses.

CROSSIf that's what you really want, Cale,I'll be the last one to try to talk

(MORE)


CROSS (CONT'D)you out of it. But are you sureyou've thought this through?

CALEI'm positive, Captain. I know whathappened, and I know what probablycaused me to feel this way in thefirst place. But sir... Nothing'schanged. This...

He looks down at the pouch again, and clasps it in his hand.

CALE (CONT'D)...this is what I've been lookingfor all my life, and I didn't evenknow it. This is something to whichI belong. I can't help that. I'velooked at every consideration,Captain, and the Order is what Iwant.

Cross looks at Cale for a long moment, sees the seriousnessin his eyes, and finally nods.

CROSSVery well. Carry on, Lieutenant.

CALEAye, sir.

Cale walks back the way he came, disappearing around a corner. Cross looks after him for a moment, then continues down thecorridor.

CUT TO:


All of the complicated equipment is up and running once more. Y'lan is alone in the lab, working on another device connectedto a small pad. He is putting the finishing touches on itwhen the door chimes.

Y'LANEnter.

The doors open, and Cross enters the room, looking at theequipment as he walks up to Y'lan.

CROSSJust wanted to make sure everythingwas up and running once again.

Y'LANIndeed it is, Captain. Thank you.


Cross looks at the device curiously.

CROSSWhat are you working on here?

Y'LANThis is a prototype quantum dispersalunit, which I have been developingfor some time. This seemed like agood time to finish it.

CROSSI see. And it does what, exactly?

Y'LANIt reduces an object down to itsconstituent virtual particles, whichthen disperse naturally into thequantum foam -- effectively renderingthe object nonexistent. Like adisintegrator, but much moreeffective.

CROSSSounds like it could be quite aweapon.

Y'LANAt present, its power consumptionmakes it impractical for use as aweapon. But it is good for taking athing and, as a human might say,getting rid of it once and for all.

CROSSInteresting. In any case, I alsowanted to thank you for solving theproblem with the Xapori.

Y'LANNot at all; it was in our mutualbest interests to do so.

Cross nods, smiles, and turns to leave. Halfway to the doorhe stops, pauses, and looks back at Y'lan.

CROSSIt's not a bad thing, is it?

Y'lan turns to look at him.

Y'LANI beg your pardon?


CROSSBaruuka said that I was an atheist,several times. And he was right. That in itself doesn't bother me,but the way that he said it... Imean, to me, metaphysical naturalismis just a fact of life, just likedoors and chairs. But the way theXapori say it, it's such an uglyword.

(beat)There's no reason for me to be ashamedof it, is there? Or am I reallymissing something here?

Y'lan considers for a moment.

Y'LANDo you know of that which might becalled the Q'tami theology?

CROSSOnly in broad strokes; Dojar told meabout it the other day.

Y'LANIt is a part of that theology that,at present, no gods exist. In thatsense, all Q'tami might be consideredatheists. Yet it would be false tosay that they lack any beliefs whichmight be called sacred.

(beat)Perhaps that is a justifiablemeasuring rod by which we mayascertain the value of a person. Perhaps it is not. In either case,Captain, I would say that you havenothing to worry about.

Cross smiles.

CROSSYou know, Y'lan, I think that's thehighest compliment you've ever paidme.

Y'LANYou're welcome. In any case, themeasure of a man goes far beyondwhether or not he holds a particularreligious belief. If a system arguesthat lack of such a belief is a moraldefect in the two of us, I wouldargue that that system is itselfdefective.


CROSSYou'll get no argument from me. Andyou know, most humans are perfectlyhappy living in a secular societywith strong values. There areexceptions, of course -- I saw oneof them just a moment ago. But thosepeople manage to find a path thatworks for them. Just as I have done.

Y'LANAnd just as I will do. I do notknow yet whether it will be the pathof the Q'tami... But I do know thatit will be the path of Y'lan.

Cross nods, still smiling. They share a look for a moment.

CROSSGood day, Y'lan.

Y'LANGood day, Captain.

Cross leaves the room. Y'lan turns back to his device andinstalls the final component. He tests the device; it chirpsand glows, indicating an operational status. Y'lan thenreaches down to a small, concealed compartment under theworkbench, opens it, and brings something out.

It is an Icon.

He holds it up and stares at it for a long, long moment. Welook closely at his eyes and see something there that wedon't often see in the eyes of Y'lan: an emotion. A wave ofsadness, of regret.

He then places the Icon on the device pad and activates thedevice. There is a chirp, a brief pause, then the Icon glowsa bright white and disappears into nothingness. We focus onthe empty pad as we...

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT FOUR

THE END

consider the heavens” by will sjorensen · 2015-09-29 · renaissance: "consider the...

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