anomalies.
With due respect, sir, it would help
if we knew what we were looking for.
Noted. Counsellor, do you sense
anything unusual on board?
Perhaps an alien presence
that doesn't belong here,
maybe operating on a level of
intelligence superior to our own?
No, sir. I'm only aware of the crew
and the families on board the ship.
Mr Worf, initiate a level-two
security alert, all decks,
until further notice.
With respect, sir,
I'm the Security Chief on this ship.
Unless you're planning
to make a change.
No, of course not.
Lieutenant, security alert two.
Aye, sir.
- Capt Picard to the bridge.
- On our way, Chief.
Sir, Starfleet just issued an alert.
A number of vessels are moving
toward the Neutral Zone.
What kind of vessels?
Freighters, transports.
All civilians. No Starfleet ships.
This says that a large spatial
anomaly has appeared
in the Neutral Zone,
in the Devron system.
Captain, it could be a Romulan trick
to lure us into the Neutral Zone
as an excuse for a military strike.
Our mission to Farpoint is cancelled
and we're to go to the Neutral Zone.
- No, we'll proceed to Farpoint.
- Sir?
You heard me.
Captain, the security of
the Federation could be at stake.
- Mr Worf, man your station.
- Aye, sir.
Captain, perhaps if we understood
your thinking. If you explained...
I have no intention of explaining.
We proceed to Farpoint as planned.
Chief, are you having a problem
with the warp plasma inducers?
- That's right.
- I know how to get them on line.
We'll be in Main Engineering.
Mr O'Brien,
use these specifications to bypass
the secondary plasma inducer.
This isn't exactly
my area of expertise.
The Chief Engineer should make
these modifications.
But he isn't on board. Mr O'Brien,
trust me. I know you can do it.
All those years you spent as a child
building model starship engines?
They were worth it.
- How did you know that, sir?
- From your Starfleet records.
Yes, sir. I'll get right to it.
Fletcher, tell Munoz and Lee
to get up here right away.
- Aye, sir.
- We have to realign the power grid.
We'll be burning the midnight oil.
- That would be inadvisable.
- Excuse me?
If you attempt to ignite petroleum
on this ship at 0000 hours,
you will activate
the fire-suppression system.
- That was just an expression.
- Expression of what?
A figure of speech.
I was trying to tell him
that we'd be working late.
"To burn the midnight oil"
implies late work?
That's right.
I am curious.
What is the etymology of that idiom?
How did it come to be used
in contemporary language?
I don't know, sir.
Cmdr Data, welcome on board.
It's so very good to see you.
It is good to see you, too, sir.
I could use your help
with the infuser array.
Certainly.
We're having problems
with the plasma conduits.
This will need a completely new
field-induction subprocessor.
It appears we will be required to
ignite the midnight petroleum, sir.
Jean-Luc, what's going on?
- It happened again.
- A time shift?
Yes.
What happened?
It's still a little vague,
but I can remember more this time.
It seems that
every time I shift periods,
I can retain more memory.
At first, it appeared that I was
in the future, years from now,
and then I was in the past
just before our first mission.
What is it?
I scanned his temporal lobe
and compared it with a scan
I performed a few minutes before.
There's a 13-percent increase in
the acetylcholine of the hippocampus.
Within minutes, you've accumulated
two days' worth of memories.
You remember when I first
came on board the Enterprise?
Yes.
What happened
after the welcoming ceremony?
There was a reception in ten-forward.
I introduced the senior officers.
Do you have any memory
of my calling red alert?
Do you remember us being diverted
from Farpoint to the Neutral Zone?
- To investigate a spatial anomaly?
- No.
There is a discontinuity between
the time periods you described.
Events in one time period
have no