Stardate not given: After a diplomatic meeting with aliens goes drastically wrong and ends in an exchange of fire, an away team is beamed into sick bay with a dying Picard. As Dr. Crusher tries desperately to resuscitate Picard, a near-death vision begins in Picard’s mind…or so he thinks, until Q is revealed to be behind it. Q informs Picard that his artificial heart – which Picard gained after, as a newly-commissioned ensign 30 years before, he instigated a brawl with three huge Nausicaans and got stabbed through the heart – is the cause of his death in the present. Q tempts Picard with the opportunity to change his personal history by depositing Picard’s current consciousness in the body of Ensign Picard within a few days of his fateful encounter with the Nausicaans. Picard must weigh the moral implications of changing the past to ensure his present survival against adhering to the tragic dictates of his destiny.
written by Ronald D. Moore
directed by Les Landau
music by Dennis McCarthyCast: Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), John de Lancie (Q), Ned Vaughn (Corey), J.C. Brandy (Marta), Clint Carmichael (Nausicaan #1), Rae Norman (Penny), Clive Church (Maurice Picard), Marcus Nash (Young Picard), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)
LogBook entry by Earl Green