'Descent' (Part I) (Story Code 252) by Ronald D. More Story by Jeri Taylor

Lieutenant Commander Data’s game of poker with holodeck simulations of Professor Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, and Sir Isaac Newton is interrupted when the U.S.S. Enterprise receives a distress call from an outpost on Ohniaka III. When the starship arrives in orbit around the planet the crew encounters a huge alien vessel of unknown design; after attempts at communication prove fruitless, Commander Riker, Lieutenant Worf and Data beam down to the science station, but find only dead bodies - and several Borg. The cybernetic aliens open fire on the officers, but this time the Borg seem different from previous encounters: they are vicious, use energy weapons and show concern for their fellows, and when Riker manages to kill one of their number, his comrade responds in the first person. Data is attacked by a Borg, but he becomes enraged and violently beats the alien to death. The remainder of the Borg note Data’s presence and then beam back to their ship, which then vanishes with a blinding flash of light. Realising that he somehow became angry - and enjoyed it - Data recreates the fight with the Borg on the Holodeck, but cannot recapture the strong emotions he felt. Captain Picard and the rest of the senior staff discuss the change in the Borg, speculating that Hugh, the Borg they helped become an individual, may somehow be involved. Tension on the ship mounts, and it is not long before they receive word that the Borg are attacking the MS 1 Colony; arriving on the scene, they again encounter the mysterious alien vessel; it escapes into the subspace distortion, but this time the Enterprise is also drawn in. When the two vessels return to normal space, the Enterprise comes under fire and two Borg beam onto the Bridge; Worf kills one and wounds the other, but the other vessel has vanished in the confusion. Picard learns that the surviving Borg is called Crosis, a name given to him by ‘The One’; Data confronts Crosis, but the Borg soon persuades him to admit that he will do anything to feel an emotion again, even if it means killing his friend Geordi. Meanwhile, LaForge determines that the Borg are using subspace conduits triggered by tachyon pulses to travel great distances. Then a shuttlecraft is detected leaving the ship and vanishes into a subspace distortion - and its passengers are Crosis and Data…

Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Thomas Riker), LeVar Burton (Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Security Chief Lieutenant Worf), Gates McFadden (Doctor Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Councelor Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Lieutenant Commander Data / Lore), John Neville (Isaac Newton), Jim Norton (Albert Einstein), Natalija Nogulich (Admiral Nechayev), Brian J. Cousins (Crosis), Professor Stephen Hawking (Himself), Richard Gilbert-Hill (Bosus), Stephen James Carver (Tayar)

Directed by Alexander Singer
Produced by Peter Lauritson
Co-Produced by Ronald D. Moore
Co-Executive Producer Jeri Taylor
Executive Producers Michael Piller and Rick Berman

TX:
21st June, 1993

Notes:
*Featuring Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander William Thomas Riker, Chief Engineer Lieutenant Geordi La Forge, Security Chief Lieutenant Worf, Doctor Beverly Crusher, Councelor Deanna Troi and Lieutenant Commander Data