BEST JUDGMENT

INT. ENTERPRISE D - BRIDGE. PICARD is seated in the captain's chair. He is flanked by RIKER and TROI. WESLEY is at his station, and assorted crew members are at the other posts. On the viewscreen is WORF, with the interior of the Shuttlecraft Hawking behind him. One redshirt is visible in the background.

PICARD
Did everything go as planned?

WORF (on viewscreen)
Yes sir. Spock and Data entered the Guardian. The dust reduced visibility to almost zero, but we observed them approaching the portal. There must have been no time for discussion once they found the correct moment to jump. (WORF glances at his control panel) We are approaching the shuttle bay.

PICARD
Thank you, Worf. Picard out.

WESLEY turns to look at PICARD. He debates voicing a concern, then thinks the better of it and turns back to the viewscreen.

INT. KIRK'S ENTERPRISE - KIRK'S QUARTERS. Kirk is pacing back and forth, slightly agitated.

KIRK
Captain's personal log. I recently "discovered" the fate of our ship. She is apparently destroyed during this mission. The fact that we have jumped through time is enough evidence for me that the timeline is in question. I am attempting, without much success, to convince Captain Picard that we may live to fight another day.

INT. ENTERPRISE-D - BRIDGE. The turbolift doors open and LA FORGE enters. He approaches the captain's chair.

LA FORGE
Captain, a word, please? In private?

PICARD
Of course.

PICARD rises and the two step a few feet away. The bridge crew watch them curiously.

LA FORGE, guiltily, in a murmur
...Captain, I don't know how to tell you this.

PICARD
What is it, Geordi?

LA FORGE
It's Mr. Scott, sir. I think he took advantage of the access I gave him to pull the records of what happened to his Enterprise and her crew.

PICARD, shaking his head
Kirk. I should have known he'd put someone up to this. Thank you for coming to me, Geordi. You bear no guilt for placing your trust in a legend. After all, history is rarely the impartial judge of character that we expect it to be.

PICARD, to the communications officer on duty
Contact Kirk and let him know I'd like to see him and his chief engineer immediately.

INT. KIRK'S ENTERPRISE - BRIDGE. KIRK is in the captain's chair, and MCCOY is standing at his side. They are regarding an image of the Enterprise-D on the viewscreen.

MCCOY
So we're all toast, huh?

KIRK
That's what their records say, yes.

MCCOY
Well, what are we going to do about it?

KIRK, smiling
I'm not sure yet, but we'll think of something. We always do.

INT. ENTERPRISE D - CONFERENCE ROOM. KIRK, MCCOY and SCOTTY are seated on one side of the table. PICARD, RIKER, and LA FORGE are seated on the other.

LA FORGE, to SCOTTY
I trusted you.

SCOTTY, without remorse
Aye, that you did.

PICARD
Captain, you appear to be under the impression that all ships named Enterprise are yours to command.

KIRK
I just wanted to know how it all turned out. Haven't you ever skipped to the end of a book, to see whether the hero got the girl?

PICARD
This isn't a Dixon Hill novel, Kirk. You accessed protected information under the temporal prime directive. You should know better than that. Starfleet regulations exist for a reason.

KIRK
Sure they do, but there's also a reason the captain has the leeway to do what he thinks is right. And if my reputation precedes me, YOU should know better than to think I'd just sit there. What if the timeline you hold so dear is wrong?

PICARD, resigned
In any case, we should start preparing a contingency plan in the event that Data and Spock are not successful in preventing the time storms.

KIRK
And make sure my ship and crew are destroyed? Not a chance. We'll come up with our own plans, thanks.

PICARD
Kirk, be reasonable.

KIRK, rising to stand
Reasonable? Since when is suicide reasonable?

PICARD, also rising to stand
Allowing events to take their course is not suicide and you know it.

KIRK
I don't willingly "allow" anything to harm my ship, or her crew. (looking pointedly at RIKER and LA FORGE) No captain worth his salt would. (to MCCOY and SCOTTY) Let's get the hell out of here.

SCOTTY and MCCOY stand and the three of them stride out of the room.

EXT. GUARDIAN PLANET - BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO. OLD SPOCK and OLD DATA are nowhere to be found. YOUNG SPOCK and YOUNG DATA stroll together among the columns and spires, under a crystal sky of turquoise. HUMANOIDS in toga-style clothing converse, clustered in groups of two and three.

DATA
It is nearly time. Shall we begin?

SPOCK
Indeed.

INT. ENTERPRISE D - SICKBAY. PICARD is seated on an examination table with his legs hanging over the side. DR. CRUSHER is running a hand-held tool over him, several inches above the surface of his uniform.