Personal log, stardate 47391.2.
I am returning from the bat'leth competition on Forcas III.
The conditions were difficult.
Several contestants were maimed.
But I was triumphant.
I won champion standing.
I am looking forward to resuming my duties aboard the Enterprise.
However, I am anticipating a troubling situation.
We'll have to go into the Argus Array.
It's the third time this year it's stopped relaying data.
Starfleet is beginning to think it's more than a simple malfunction.
I want you to start a long-range scan...
Lieutenant? Are you listening to me?
Yes, sir.
You seem awfully tense for a man who just came back from vacation.
Today is my birthday.
What's the matter with you?
Because it is my birthday,
I assumed that you or one of the others
would try to mount an unexpected social gathering.
A surprise party? Mr Worf, I hate surprise parties.
- I would never do that to you. - I am sorry, Commander.
- I'll meet you on the bridge. - Aye, sir.
Surprise!
I love surprise parties.
**- That was not a Klingon song. - It wasn't easy to translate.
There isn't a Klingon word for "jolly".
It's traditional for the birthday boy to cut the cake.
Capt Picard sends birthday wishes. He's on the bridge.
- Happy birthday, Worf. - Thank you.
A painting.
Yes. I have entered my Expressionist phase.
This is my interpretation of the Battle of HarOs.
- The Battle of HarOs? - I think it's wonderful.
And I know just where to put it.
- What are you doing? - This room could use more colour.
Nice. The Battle of HarOs, right?
Are you alright?
Yes. I think Data's painting is making me dizzy.
- Some cake? - Thank you, Doctor.
- I thought the cake was chocolate. - Don't I wish?
Alexander gave this to me before he left to visit your parents.
Thank you.
What is it, Worf?
It's a cast of Alexander's forehead.
The ridges of a warrior.
He wished he could be here when you got back from shore leave.
He stayed up all night talking about how proud he was of his father.
- Thank you for watching him. - It was my pleasure.
So, how old are you?
Captain. I was told you could not attend.
I wouldn't miss this for the world. How old are you?
I am...
...old enough.
Report.
The array appears to be functioning normally.
That can't be right. We were told the array stopped relaying data.
The array is still transmitting data
but is not sending it to the Federation.
It appears someone has redirected its imaging systems.
Where is the information being sent now?
Sector 19658. I cannot access its main computer.
It is impossible to determine its exact location.
- What's in that sector? - It is uninhabited.
But there could be a ship or a station receiving the data.
Captain, I suggest we beam a repair team aboard.
We could download their imaging logs, find out what they've been observing.
- Make it so. - Mr Data?
Excuse me. Do you have a moment?
Of course.
I have been meaning to speak with you about Alexander.
It has never been easy for me having Alexander on board.
I have tried to give him guidance, but he has his own mind about things.
Most children do.
I could not have come this far without you.
Alexander looks up to you.
At times, you are like a mother to him.
That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me.
One time when I thought I was going to die,
I asked you to watch over Alexander.
I was wondering if you would consider formalising that arrangement.
I want you to be Alexander's Soh-chlm.
His Soh-chlm?
You would become his surrogate mother.
In case anything happened to me, you would be responsible for him.
I don't know what to say. It's a great honour.
So, that would make me your...?
The closest analogy is stepsister.
That would make my mother your stepmother.
I had not considered that.
- It is a risk I am willing to take. - I accept.
Lt Worf, please report to Engineering.
I am on my way.
We have analysed the imaging logs.
It appears the array was programmed to observe several Federation sites.
This is Deep Space Five, Starbase 47,
the ladara Colony, and the Utopia Planitia Shipyards.
They're responsible for starship development.
Someone is using the array for covert surveillance of the Federation.
That is our theory.
We believe unauthorised access was made six days ago.
The imaging logs show a ship approaching the array.
That is a Cardassian ship, Galor-class.
We're only three light years from Cardassian space.
Mr Worf, start a long-range scan for any Cardassian ships nearby.
Aye, sir.
Here's a proportional analysis of the Cardassian vessel.
Scan for its energy configuration.
Lieutenant. Are you alright?
I feel dizzy.
You don't look so good. You ought to go to sickbay.
Yes, perhaps I will.
Any nausea or blurred vision?
No.
However, I did experience some dizziness earlier today
at my birthday celebration.
Sounds like side effects from the concussion.
I can give you some vertazine, but I'd like you to rest.
You are thinking of another patient. I have no concussion.
Worf, you came in this morning complaining of ringing in your ears.
I scanned you, you had a concussion.
- You don't remember any of this? - No.
Temporary memory loss is common for this kind of injury.
Do you remember telling me about the bat'leth tournament?
You said a competitor hit you over the head.
That's why you lost the match.
I won that tournament. And I can prove it to you!
What's wrong?
It says ninth place.
This is not the same trophy. Someone is playing a trick on me.
Worf, try to stay calm.
Memory loss can be very disorienting.
Log.
I recorded a personal log on my way back to the Enterprise.
Computer, access personal logs on Shuttlecraft Curie.
Show my log entry for stardate 47391.2.
Personal log, stardate 47391.2.
I am returning from the "bat'leth" competition on Forcas III.
The conditions were difficult.
Several contenders were maimed.
One contender used an illegal "T'gha" manoeuvre on me.
The judges chose to ignore it.
I was robbed of my rightful standing.
I was awarded ninth place.
I look forward to resuming my duties...
I do not understand.
Worf, I'm sure this is very disturbing for you.
But don't worry, your memories will return.
The best thing right now is to settle back into your routine, but slowly.
Thank you, Doctor.
Let me know if you have any more dizziness.
I'll give you a hypospray.
Lieutenant, have you completed the metallurgical scan of the array?
Sir?
The metallurgical scan. Have you completed it?
I do not remember you asking...
Captain, there's a Cardassian ship approaching. Galor-class.
- Open a channel. - On screen.
This is Capt Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise.
You are in Federation territory. Please explain your presence.
We were wondering the same thing about you.
Why would Starfleet's flagship venture so close to our border?
We are repairing one of our subspace telescopes.
I see.
May we offer our assistance?
No, thank you. Everything is under control.
If you don't mind my asking,
what exactly is this telescope of yours designed to do?
It is a long-range subspace array.
We use it for gathering data on astronomical phenomena.
I'm certain it would never be used to observe a neighbouring species.
Certainly not.
Well, then, best of luck with your repairs.
Just try to make certain that your studies
are limited to astronomical phenomena.
Charming fella.
Captain, that ship was responsible for reprogramming the array.
What are you saying?
It's the same class as the ship we saw in the imaging logs.
The imaging logs?
Are you suggesting the Cardassians have tampered with the array?
They're using it as a surveillance device. You saw the logs.
- I haven't heard this. - Neither have I.
Cmdr Data, show them the logs you downloaded.
I know of no such logs.
- Mr Worf, are you alright? - Yes.
Mr Data, re-examine the array.
See if you can find any evidence to support Mr Worf's claims.
Dr Crusher says I have memory loss but it is more than that.
I remember those imaging logs, every detail, every word!
Let's assume you're right, that things did happen as you remember.
Are you saying that everyone's memory has been altered but yours?
Enter.
Counsellor.
I wanted you to know that we re-examined the logs.
They don't show a Cardassian ship or any evidence of reprogramming.
From what we can tell, the array suffered a simple mechanical failure.
That is not right. I was certain...
What's wrong?
Counsellor, the painting that Cmdr Data gave me...
- It has moved. - I hung that painting there.
- At your birthday party, remember? - No.
The painting has changed. Don't you see it?
Your hair and your clothing. They have changed as well.
Worf, come with me to sickbay.
Now, Mr Worf.
Now.
What are you waiting for? Raise the shields.
This panel configuration has been altered. I do not know how.
Direct hit. Engineering section and deck 42.
Shield generators are overloading.
Number One.
Firing photon torpedoes. Full spread.
Direct hit on their main reactor. They are returning fire.
We have sustained heavy damage to the deflector systems.
Hull breaches on decks 17 and 36.
- Ensign, take us out of here. - Aye, sir.
- Are they pursuing us? - No, sir.
They are firing on the array.
They destroyed it, sir.
Bridge to Engineering. Mr La Forge, status?
This is Ensign Hayes.
Cmdr La Forge is in sickbay with plasma burns.
There is damage to the plasma conduit but it's under control.
Acknowledged. Lay in a course to Starbase 129.
Aye, sir.
What happened back there, Mr Worf?
I believe I experienced another memory loss.
Memory loss? What are you talking about?
I do not feel well.
Request permission to be temporarily relieved of duty, sir.
Granted.
Computer, access personal logs on Shuttlecraft Curie.
Play log entry for stardate 47391.2.
There is no log entry from the Shuttlecraft Curie for that stardate.
Computer, display any log entries
concerning the bat'leth tournament on Forcas III.
Personal log, stardate 47391.2.
There has been a malfunction in the main deflector.
It will require two more days of repairs.
As a result,
I will not be able to compete in the "bat'leth" tournament.
I have asked my brother to take my place.
He does not have my prowess...
- Why did you lock the door? - Why shouldn't I?
I heard what happened on the bridge. Are you alright?
I am not sure.
- Do you want to talk? - I would rather not, Counsellor.
Very well, Lieutenant.
Hot chocolate.
Is there something I can do for you?
Actually, there is.
Come and sit down.
I just want you to relax for a minute.
There.
You are so tense.
Now, I know you don't want to talk about what happened,
but there are times when it's best to let things out.
Come on. If you can't talk to me, who can you talk to?
I do not believe this is appropriate.
- Even for your wife? - Wife?
Worf, what's wrong?
I do not know. Things are changing.
What's changed?
I do not remember us, you and I, being mates.
It is as if events, circumstances, change from moment to moment,
but I am the only one who seems to be aware of it.
Are you saying you don't remember the last three years?
You don't remember us falling in love and getting married?
I do remember the last three years.
But they were different.
We did not have this relationship. We were friends.
And the Enterprise did not have a battle with the Cardassians.
And no one believes me.
Whatever's wrong, whatever happened...
...I want you to know that I believe you.
And that I love you.
And together, we'll find out what's happening.
I am initiating a subspace scan
to search for temporal anomalies on and off the ship.
Counsellor Troi, report to sickbay.
I'm on my way. Let me know if you find anything.
Commander, how long have I been married to Counsellor Troi?
Two years, one month, 12 days.
And when did this relationship begin?
It is my understanding it began
shortly after you recovered from your spinal injury on stardate 45587.
Six months later, you asked Cmdr Riker
for formal permission to court Counsellor Troi.
You felt to do otherwise would be dishonourable.
And then we mated?
I am not privy to the details of when your first coupling took place.
- I could investigate. - No, that is alright.
I am detecting no temporal anomalies in this system.
Perhaps we should attempt to pinpoint the exact moment
when events became discontinuous.
- Do you remember the first change? - I was in sickbay.
Dr Crusher said I had a concussion, but I do not remember it.
Think back. Are you certain that was the very first change?
Before...
Yes. I was in Engineering. I felt the wave of dizziness.
When I looked up,
you and Cmdr La Forge were on the opposite side of the room.
Capt Picard was gone.
I thought I had blacked out and had not observed your movements.
At my birthday party, the cake was chocolate. Then it was yellow.
Riker told me Capt Picard would not attend.
Then suddenly he was there.
We should try to find commonalities in these events.
Who were the people you were with?
Everyone was at my birthday party.
Then I was with Counsellor Troi, then Cmdr La Forge came in.
Geordi. Geordi was present at all three locations.
And he was near me in each case as I noticed the differences.
- There has to be a connection. - It is possible.
We should speak to Cmdr La Forge.
Doctor.
Is Geordi well enough to answer a few questions?
Geordi's dead.
There do not appear to be any unusual readings.
Energy residuals from the plasma burns.
Beginnings of cellular decomposition.
I see nothing that connects these bio-readings
to your recent sense of discontinuity.
What about his visor?
I still see nothing unusual. Perhaps we should activate it.
Hook it up to the diagnostic array.
The visor is active.
Worf, are you alright?
Have you noticed another discontinuity?
Dr Crusher was not here.
- Dr Ogawa was. - Dr Ogawa?
My uniform has changed. What is my rank and position?
You're a commander and first officer.
- Are we still married? - Yes.
I am detecting a quantum flux in your cellular RNA.
- What does that mean? - I do not know.
I will have to analyse the readings.
I have found the quantum flux in Worf's cellular RNA
extends to the subatomic level.
It is asynchronous with normal matter.
In essence, Mr Worf does not belong in our universe.
What?
All matter resonates on a quantum level with a unique signature.
That signature is constant. It cannot be changed through any process.
It is the foundation of existence.
Worf's quantum signature is different from ours?
Yes, sir. I cannot explain it.
It is as if he originates from a different quantum universe.
Mr Worf, the discontinuities started
after you returned from a bat'leth tournament?
- Yes, sir. - You never attended that tournament.
No shuttlecraft has left for over a month.
I understand that,
but I clearly remember attending and returning in a shuttlecraft.
- Do you remember your route? - Yes.
Backtrack that course. Look for any unusual readings or anomalies.
If I may enquire, sir, how long have you been Captain?
Four years.
Ever since Capt Picard was killed in the incident with the Borg.
You don't remember, do you?
I do remember. I just remember differently.
Captain, I'm picking up a minor subspace disturbance.
Full stop. Analysis, Mr Data.
It appears to be a quantum fissure in the space-time continuum.
- On screen. - The anomaly cannot be seen.
I believe I can enhance it with a warp field.
- Dangerous? - Not from this distance.
I am also detecting an ion trail intersecting the phenomenon.
I believe it was left by a Starfleet type-six shuttlecraft.
So I was here.
I have an explanation, sir.
I believe the quantum fissure we discovered
is a fixed point across the space-time continuum.
A keyhole which intersects many other quantum realities.
What are quantum realities?
For any event there is an infinite number of possible outcomes.
Our choices determine which outcomes will follow.
But there is a theory in quantum physics
that all possibilities that can happen do happen
in alternate quantum realities.
Somehow I have been shifting from one reality to another?
- That is correct. - How did this happen?
When Worf's shuttlecraft came into contact with the fissure,
I believe its warp engines caused a small break between realities.
Worf was thrown into quantum flux.
He immediately shifted into other realities.
And Geordi's visor triggered that effect?
Exactly. The visor uses a subspace field pulse.
Whenever Geordi came near Worf,
the field pulse intensified the quantum flux
and pushed Worf into another reality.
How can we find my original quantum state?
We could scan the fissure, using a subspace differential pulse.
Maybe we could find the quantum state that shares Worf's signature.
An excellent idea, Lieutenant.
From what I understand...
...there's a good chance my Worf won't return.
I guess it's hard for me to accept
that there's a reality out there where you never loved me.
Deanna, I have always considered you a close friend.
Although I have never seriously considered a romantic relationship,
I would not be opposed to the possibility.
What about our children?
- Children? - You didn't know?
When the last shift occurred, we did not have any children.
We have a little girl, Shannara, she's two years old,
and a three-year-old boy, Eric-Christopher.
- What about Alexander? - Alexander?
He was my son in another reality.
I've used the pulse to analyse ten million states within the fissure
but I haven't found one with your signature.
- This may take some time, sir. - A Bajoran ship is approaching.
- Red alert. - The Bajorans?
After the Bajorans overpowered the Cardassians
they became aggressive.
They destroyed a subspace telescope because they thought we were spying.
- They're charging their weapons. - Shields.
Return fire.
They've damaged our power systems. It's caused an energy surge.
The quantum fissure is beginning to destabilise.
Can we disengage the pulse?
Too late, sir.
What is happening?
The barriers between realities are breaking down.
Other realities are emerging into our own.
The Bajoran ship is disengaging, sir.
The rate of quantum incursions is increasing exponentially.
The sector will be filled with Enterprises within three days.
Captain, we're receiving 285,000 hails.
I wish I knew what to tell them.
Mr Data, can we stop these incursions?
Perhaps, if we find the ship that matches Worf's signature.
How would that help?
It was Worf's shuttlecraft which traversed the fissure
and weakened the barriers.
If he enters the fissure in his shuttle
and emits a broad spectrum warp field,
it may seal the fissure and stop additional realities entering.
What then? How do we get the Enterprises already here back?
In theory, sealing the fissure
should restore the barriers between quantum states.
The ships would return to their own realities.
Lt Crusher, send a general hail, all ships.
Aye, sir.
This is Capt Riker of the Enterprise.
That is, the Enterprise that is indigenous to this universe.
We've all encountered a quantum anomaly.
We think we can return us all to our proper realities.
But we need that ship which exhibits a certain quantum signature.
Our Mr Data will transmit that signature to you now.
Anything?
There's too much comm traffic to isolate who is talking to who.
Wait a minute. Here it is. Someone's responding.
On screen.
Captain, we have found the quantum signature you are looking for.
Data believes that sending Worf back through the fissure
will return us to our realities.
Our Data says the same thing.
We need your Shuttlecraft Curie.
- We're launching it now. - Thank you.
It's good to see you, Captain. It's been a long time.
- Did they send the right shuttle? - Yes, sir.
It matches Worf's quantum signature precisely.
I have remodulated the engines to emit an inverse warp field.
You will need to activate it when you enter the fissure.
If it works, will I find myself near my own ship?
That is one possibility. However, the uncertainty principle
dictates that time is a variable in this equation.
You may end up several days before the event, or after.
- There is no way to tell. - I understand.
Good luck.
- Setting course for the fissure. - Acknowledged.
- The shuttlecraft is under attack. - The Bajorans again.
No, sir, one of the Enterprises. They're hailing us.
On screen.
We won't go back. You don't know what it's like.
The Federation's gone, the Borg is everywhere.
We're one of the last ships left. Please, help us.
There's no choice.
- If this works... - No, we won't go back.
Sir, they're firing.
Open fire, try to disable them.
Direct hit. Their shields have collapsed.
Their core is overloading.
What happened?
The ship had taken heavy damage.
Their warp-containment field was weak.
- Probably from fighting the Borg. - Worf is entering the fissure.
Charging primary systems.
Initiating inverse warp field.
- Worf to Enterprise. - Enterprise here.
Captain, is everything alright?
Yes, Lieutenant. Is there a problem?
No, I do not believe so, but I will explain when I arrive.
How was the "bat'leth" tournament?
It was fine, sir.
I won champion standing.
This quantum fissure is nothing to worry about?
No. The inverse warp field resealed it.
I look forward to your report.
Something wrong?
I know what you are planning. I will not be surprised.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Of course you don't.
Welcome home, Worf. I hope you don't mind, I let myself in.
I promised Alexander I'd feed his beetle while you were both away.
- So you do not live here? - What's that supposed to mean?
It is a long story.
Happy birthday, Worf.
Will wanted a surprise party, but I knew you'd hate it,
so I talked him out of it.
Thank you.
I know Klingons like to be alone on their birthdays.
You probably want to meditate or hit yourself with a painstik.
Deanna.
You do not have to leave.
I have not had dinner.
Would you care to join me?
I'd love to.
Champagne.