Editors Note: Over the next ten to twelve months we will be running installments of a television script graciously given to us by our own member John Comeaux. I hope you enjoy Part I and will look forward to each subsequent installment.

About the author: John Comeaux, a member of the Fearless, is an amateur wanna-be writer. He wrote this Star Trek: The Next Generation episode in 1991 in hopes of being part of the Star Trek "canon." His agent liked the episode and sent it to Paramount Studios, where it was read by Eric Stilwell, script coordinator. Although the script was not accepted, John was encouraged, and continues to write, most recently a family movie called "The Troll Movie" which is being reviewed by Disney and others. John is an engineer at Chevron in Midland, and is married and has three children. His other interests are music, computers, and stamp collecting.

Author's preface: This episode occurs about two years after the episode "Pen Pals" and is a sequel to it. Thus, it fits in about the fourth season. That's all you need to know to enjoy the story.

Scene: CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM

Picard is looking at his incoming mail on the computer. He selects an item from Wesley Crusher, and the video/voice mail begins.

WESLEY CRUSHER - (On Video) Hello, Captain Picard. I received your last letter, and I appreciate the time you took to answer mine. I hope you're doing well, and I expect you are. This is kind of a more serious request. Would you please send me some of the ship's logs? I've included the Stardates in the list shown. Most of these have to do with the Traveler and his experiences on board the Enterprise. I need these for a paper I'm doing at the Academy. Things are really hectic here. I'm learning a lot, and studying harder than ever. (without conviction) Everything is fine, though. Thanks a lot if you could get me these logs. I can't tell you how much they mean to me. Well, so long for now. Please give my regards to everyone.

The viewscreen again shows list of incoming mail items. Picard considers the video, and his expression shows concern. Breaking his concentration is the intercom. Worf's voice is heard.

WORF - Captain, incoming communication from Starfleet Command on priority channel.

PICARD - Thank you, Mr. Worf, I will receive it now.

Scene: BRIDGE OF THE ENTERPRISE

Riker, Troi, Data, Worf and attending personnel. Picard calls his senior staff on the intercom.

PICARD (V/O) - Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, and Mr. Data, report to the conference room.

Riker glances to Worf, and he, Troi, and Data leave the bridge. Worf takes the command chair.

Scene: CONFERENCE ROOM

Riker, Troi, and Data take their seats. Picard is standing, and looks at Data a long time before speaking. Data glances at the others but they are not aware of any trouble.

PICARD - Mr. Data, you have really done it this time.

DATA - Done it, sir?

PICARD (Almost beside himself.) - Had I foreseen this much trouble... If I had known what the complications would be... If it weren't for that girl...

TROI - Captain!

RIKER - What are you talking about ...(stops himself) ... Sir?

DATA - I wonder if you are referring to Sarjenka?

PICARD - Yes, that's her.

TROI - Sarjenka -- the little girl you contacted from the planet ...

DATA - Drema Four.

RIKER - I remember the mission. The planet was breaking up because of ...

DATA - Dilithium de-crystallization, caused by heat and tectonic stresses in the lattice structure within the planet's core.

RIKER - Ensign Crusher and Lt. Cmdr. LaForge fashioned a probe to emit harmonic vibrations to stop the effect.

PICARD - Yes, yes, all that is true, but we still have the problem.

DATA - Perhaps if you told us of the problem, sir.

PICARD (Takes a long, loud breath.) - Your pen pal apparently remembers you, Mr. Data.

RIKER - Uh Oh.

TROI - I thought Dr. Pulaski was able to isolate her memory cells and erase her visit to the Enterprise.

PICARD - That may have been true, but what I have just learned from Starfleet Command causes me to think otherwise. Klingon intelligence reports that our visit was recorded automatically by a Dreman observatory. The appearance of a ship in orbit over the planet has apparently had a profound effect on the people of Drema Four. The Klingon monitoring has been under cloaking, so further sightings would not cause even more disruption.

DATA - Sir, in Earth's space age infancy, unidentified flying objects were commonly reported. Would not our visit be just another occurrence, unexplainable and unrepeatable?

PICARD - There's more. Sarjenka's planet is close to civil war -- a war that we may have unintentionally started.

Scene: BRIDGE

Picard, Riker, Worf, and attending personnel. The viewscreen shows a Federation vessel.

PICARD (V/O) - Captain's Log: Stardate 12345. We are meeting the Federation vessel Heritage to pick up Ambassador Kitsman. Starfleet has assigned him to be the liaison for this mission to Drema Four. My feeling is that he is being sent to chaperone our investigations on the planet.

PICARD - Open a channel, Mr. Worf.

WORF - Hailing frequencies open, sir.

PICARD - This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

The viewscreen shows Captain Burk.

BURK - Captain Picard, I am Captain Burk, here to transport Ambassador Kitsman, and his luggage, to you.

PICARD (briefly puzzled, regains his composure.) - At your signal, Captain. (To Riker) Number One, will you please greet our visitor ... and his luggage.

RIKER - Yes sir!

Riker leaves the bridge.

Scene: TRANSPORTER ROOM.

O'Brien and two uniformed officers are present. Riker enters.

RIKER - Energize.

O'BRIEN - Here it comes.

RIKER - What do you mean, "Here it comes?"

O'Brien does not answer, but nods at the transporter pods. Materializing on the pods are Kitsman and lots and lots of luggage. Boxes and crates of every size and shape. Riker and O'Brien exchange glances, and then Riker approaches Kitsman.

RIKER - Ambassador Kitsman, I am Commander Riker, First Officer. Welcome aboard.

Kitsman comes across as cocky, arrogant, self-righteous, and superior. He is actually worse than that.

KITSMAN - Where's Captain Picard?

RIKER - He's on the bridge. I'll be happy to show you to your quarters so you can get settled before we ...

KITSMAN (Impatiently) - Doesn't Picard know the seriousness of this mission? Wasn't he briefed by Starfleet on the urgency of my part in this? It's no wonder his job is on the line.

RIKER - Excuse me, Ambassador?

KITSMAN - Well, it's obvious that you are totally in the dark. Go ahead and get your people to put my belongings into my quarters. Make sure I'm close to the Captain's quarters, so they won't have so far to move next time.

Kitsman exits.

Scene: READY ROOM

Picard, Kitsman, Riker

KITSMAN - I'll get right to the point. Our mission is to try and return Drema Four back to its original peaceful state. The same state that existed before a certain Starship Captain started meddling with the planet and its population.

RIKER - Just a minute...

PICARD - Ambassador, if you have a problem with our performance, I suggest you state it plainly.

KITSMAN - Ah, you're not so slow after all, are you? I suppose the rumors aren't true. Good. I'm here to watch the end, Picard. You've made a mess down on Drema Four. The religious fanaticsare claiming that God saved them and their planet from destruction. And the scientists are saying it was beings from outer space. It's about to break into a full-scale war at the very base of their society. Brother against brother. Nasty. All thanks to Picard lending a helping hand.

PICARD - If you have read the record, Ambassador, then you know...

Picard and Kitsman talk at the same time.

PICARD - ... that the actions we took were to ensure that the lives of these people would not be wasted.

KITSMAN - I saw the logs, Picard. I saw yours, Data's, Pulaski's, "acting" Ensign Crusher's, and the ship's own visual log.

KITSMAN - You broke every rule in the book. You went out of your WAY to find these people and "fix" their planet. You even gave Little Miss Longnails a tour of the good ship Enterprise, complete with home movies from 600,000 kilometers in space! Ooh, it was beautiful. My mission now is to make it right. I'll make First Contact with these people, and stop this civil war. Then I can make a smooth transition to the Captain's chair, while they court martial you all the way to Siberius 12.

PICARD - Could we please get off the subject of the Chair and talk about the conditions on Drema Four.

KITSMAN - Ooh, sorry. I suppose you're a bit touchy about that. Very well. Drema Four, fourth planet in the Selcundi Star system, Class M, typical mix of humanoid, flora, and fauna. Peacefully ignorant of the mad rush of beings zipping about the galaxy trying to help poor savage races that haven't made First Contact ...

RIKER - Ambassador!

KITSMAN - Then comes disaster. Happens to planets all the time. Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, meteorites. It's nature's way of keeping every one humble. "Does not the rain fall on the good and the bad also?"

PICARD - The useless extinction of life is an abhorrence to all beings with feelings.

KITSMAN - The Prime Directive does not have feelings. It is Rule Number One, and you broke it.

PICARD - That is the problem with living by rules. They soon rule your existence.

KITSMAN - All the better, Picard.

PICARD - If you had heard her voice. (At once regrets that he said it.)

KITSMAN - Gotcha, Picard. I did hear her voice. It's in every one of those logs. I heard it, and I didn't rush out to soothe her planet's labor pains. You can't squirm your way out this time. Kitsman's here, and I'm not going to let the chair slip by me.

PICARD - You will never sit in that Chair.

KITSMAN - Or else? How about it, Picard? Care to follow up on that threat?

PICARD - Oh, it's not a threat, Ambassador. It's a fact.

-- to be continued