07x07 - Dark Page

[bunniefuu]

Captain's log, stardate 47254.1 .

A delegation of the Cairn have just come onboard.

This telepathic species has
no concept of spoken language

and is being instructed in
its use by an old friend.

I don't know what they have done without me.

First, I had to learn how they communicate.

- It was an exhausting process.
- It must have been.

Quite different from Betazoid telepathy.

We transmit words.

With the Cairn, it's, uh-- It's images.
Uh, a flood of them.

All at the same time.

- It's overwhelming.
- I can imagine.

Actually, it's a very efficient
way of communicating.

If two Cairn were having this conversation,

it would have been over minutes ago.

Really?

Of course they realize that they'll
want to communicate verbally

if they join the Federation.

Do me a favor.

Introduce yourself to one of them.
Engage them in conversation.

- They need the practice.
- I'd be happy to.

It's called a VISOR.

It enables me to see.

Like my vocal enhancer.

It helps me make sounds.

Well, I see you've already met my star pupil.

Hedril's picked up spoken language
much faster than the others.

It is often the case that children learn languages

more easily than adults.

Deanna was quite good at
languages when she was little.

- Uh, where is Deanna?
- Well, she must be here somewhere.

Hedril, darling...

What?

Um, go find your father, dear.

I wanna talk to him.

Mrs. Troi?

Oh, I'm just a little tired. Heh.

This constant telepathy with the Cairn, um...

No, I'm-- I'm fine, really.

MAN 1 : Thank you. MAN 2: Go ahead, sir.

Aren't you going to mingle, Mr. Worf?

I do not care for telepaths.

They make me uneasy.

Oh, don't worry.

The Cairn couldn't read your
thoughts even if they wanted to.

Your brain isn't sophisticated enough.

Neither is yours, dear.

They can only communicate with other telepaths.

Have either of you seen Deanna?

She was working, but she said she would be--

Speak of the devil.

Sorry I'm late. I lost track of the time.

Deanna, dear, come with me.

I want you to meet the senior
diplomat of the Cairn delegation.

Maques, this is the beautiful daughter
I've been telling you about, Deanna.

Pleased to...

Hello.

Pleased to meet you.

Yes.

That is it. Pleased to meet you, Deanna.

Good. Well, l'll just let you young people chat.

Well, Maques, what do you think of the Enterprise?

Oh. Um...

It is beautiful.

Comfortable also.

- I'm glad you think so.
- Um...

There is another word that describes it. Mm...

Agh.

But l cannot remember.

You've learned a great deal in a very short time.

I'm sure it won't be long
before your words do justice

to your thoughts.

Your mother told me of your need.

Need?

Um, heh.

A moment.

Husband.

You need a husband.

I need a wife.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages ofthe starship Enterprise.

to explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Oh, Deanna.

Good morning. So, what did you think of Maques?

Why did you do that,
Mother? You embarrassed both of us.

Oh, he's really very sweet and lonely.

Poor man. A widower.

- Raising a child alone.
- Mother, don't start.

I just think it's time for you to settle down.

And if your father were still alive,
I'm sure he'd say the same thing.

Deck 8.

But you'll do exactly what you want.

- Just like always.
- Mother, stop it.

Are you coming?

What's wrong?

You are so precious to me.

You're all I've got.

Oh, if something happened to you,
I don't know what l'd do.

Nothing's going to happen to me.

Heh. You better go.

My first appointment isn't for a few minutes.

Why don't we talk for a while?

No, I'm fine.

I'm just tired from working with the Cairn.

It's making me emotional.

Are you sure?

Mm-hm.

Go on.

I'll see you later.

Go on.

Maques.

I must apologize for yesterday.

- You don't have to.
- My words...

They were confused.

It wasn't your fault.

Please.

My mother misled you.

Not in everything.

She has an image of you

in her mind.

She shared it with me.

You are even more beautiful.

The way my people communicate,

it is direct.

Nothing is hidden.

Yes?

Your mother is the first to learn our telepathy.

You mean, you've never had telepathy
with someone who wasn't Cairn?

No.

To communicate with her is very different.

In what way?

Always, there is a part of her that, um...

A part of her that is dark.

- Dark?
- Um--

A part of her that...

Cannot be seen.

Do you understand?

I'm not sure.

Have you asked my mother about this?

Um, she called it...

A moment.

Um...

"Privacy."

Of course.

You said among the Cairn, nothing is hidden.

We value honesty, but we
don't always share everything

we're thinking and feeling.

This is privacy?

Yes.

It is normal?

For us, yes.

If this is your way,

I am relieved.

It is our way.

I will leave now.

I'm glad you stopped by.

I'm glad to have stopped also.

I was all set for another round of arguing

when all of a sudden, she just fell apart.

She's under a lot of stress.

She's preparing the Cairn to
meet with the Federation Council.

It's more than that.

I'm sensing some very erratic emotions from her.

Even the clothes she's wearing are unusual.

They're so subdued.

Maybe you just need to sit and
talk with her for a minute.

Commander.

Take your hands off her.

- Mrs. Troi.
- Don't you "Mrs. Troi" me.

- Mother.
- Why don't you leave her alone?

If it weren't for you, she'd be married by now.

- That's enough.
- Now, I am warning you!

Stay away from my daughter!

- You're coming with me.
- No.

Oh, I don't know what got into me.

Oh.

Please, tell Will how sorry l am.

You're fine, but your psilosynine
levels are a little low.

- Psilo-what? Hmm?
- It's a neurotransmitter

- involved in telepathy.
- Oh.

It's been depleted by your work with the Cairn.

You're going to have to try to avoid
telepathic communication for a while.

- I can't.
- Why?

Well, we only have three days left, and, oh, well,

the Cairn have so much to learn.

Lwaxana, I'm sorry,

but you're going to have
to take some time and rest.

Maybe I can help with the Cairn.

No. You're only half Betazoid, dear.

And you have no experience
with their form of telepathy.

Then I won't use telepathy.

We'll work verbally.

I suppose we could do that.

If they don't understand something,
I'll explain it to them telepathically.

No. You'll work verbally too.

The point is for you to get some rest, Mother.

Besides, it will do them good to
have to figure things out with words.

Heh.

I suppose you're right.

This is the ship's arboretum.

Arbor means "tree."

Very good, Hedril.

This is where people come to relax.

Enjoy themselves in a natural setting.

Flowers of all hue And without thorn the rose

It's an old Earth poem by John Milton.

Please, what is a poem?

Poetry is an art form that uses words

put together in new and unexpected ways.

Sometimes in rhyme.

Milton was speculating that in heaven,
roses wouldn't have thorns.

Heaven?

Oh.

Oh, um-- Heaven is...

Well, it's, um...

How can I put it?

Yes.

I see, thank you. Heaven.

Mother, you're supposed to be avoiding telepathy.

Ah. l'm only trying to help, dear.

You don't look well.

I'm just tired.

Maybe I'll sit down.

Don't worry. She'll be fine.

This is something I think you'll find interesting.

It's a jewel plant from Folar lII.

The plant secretes a resin which
is collected within the blossom.

By the time the bloom has faded,
the resin has hardened

into a rare and beautiful gem.

Whoa!

Mother.

Troi to Sickbay. Medical
emergency in the arboretum.

She's not responding to cortical stimulation.

I'm not sure what else I can do.

I don't understand.

She was fine just yesterday.

It's so strange.

It's almost as if her brain has shut itself down.

Is there a physiological cause?

I'm running a sub-neural scan.

As far as I can see, there's no tissue damage,

no neurochemical imbalance,
no sign of infection, nothing.

Yet her neural activity is practically nonexistent.

The only exception is in the paracortex.

Activity there is almost off the scale.

The paracortex is the Betazoid telepathic lobe.

She communicated with Maques
telepathically just before she fell.

Might there be some side effects of Cairn telepathy

of which we are unaware?

It's a possibility.

I think it's time that you
and I had a talk with Maques.

I am very...

...apologetic for what has happened to your mother.

Maques, is it possible that
your telepathic communications

with Mrs. Troi harmed her in some way?

No.

I tried to...

To explain before.

Bad thoughts, they hurt her.

What thoughts?

Take your time.

Inside her.

The dark place.

I don't understand.

She is...

Um...

What are the words?

I don't have the words.

Counselor.

Stop it.

It's all right.

I'm fine.

He was just trying to communicate
with me telepathically.

Do you understand now?

I'm not sure.

He communicated so much to me

that at first, it was just a jumble of images.

Have you been able to sort any of it out?

I think so.

During his telepathic contact with my mother,

Maques sensed what he calls "a dark place."

He tried to tell me about it before
in my office, and I misunderstood.

I thought he was talking about thoughts

my mother was keeping private.

But what he meant was that
there was something happening

in her meta-conscious mind.

Meta-conscious?

It's part of the Betazoid psyche.

It's a kind of filtering mechanism
that protects us from psychic trauma.

Is Maques suggesting that
your mother's meta-conscious

has been somehow damaged?

He feels that whatever is wrong
with her is centered there.

If he's right, it may mean that
she's suffered some kind of trauma

that her meta-conscious just can't tolerate.

Has your mother mentioned anything
that happened to her lately?

Something that might have been traumatic for her?

No, nothing.

Maques could be wrong about this.

There's still a chance that a sub-neural scan

might be able to pinpoint a physiological cause

for your mother's condition.

Something that I might be able to treat.

The results won't be in until morning.

Maybe we should all try and get some rest.

I'd like to stay here with her.

I'm going to try and contact her telepathically.

All right.

Mother, can you hear me?

Please come back to me.

Please.

Help me.

Mother?

Help me.

How? How can l help you?

Tell me, Mother. Please.

Computer, lights.

What are you doing?

Maques, what were you doing in Sickbay?

Helping.

Trying to help Lwaxana.

How? What were you trying to do?

I was...

She was...

You, Deanna.

- Maybe you.
- Yes?

You must...

How can I explain?

Tell me telepathically.

Maques believes my mother's
psyche has collapsed in on itself.

That for some reason, she has retreated

into her meta-conscious mind.

Was he trying to contact her telepathically?

Yes. He was able to access images

being generated by her meta-conscious,

but he couldn't make any sense of them.

I did not understand.

He saw faces he didn't recognize,
events he couldn't interpret.

If we could decipher these images,
we might be able to determine

whether or not your mother's condition
was induced by a traumatic event.

Maques feels he can provide a telepathic bridge

that would allow me to access
my mother's meta-conscious.

If he can, l might be able to
find out what happened to her.

And if you succeed, can you use that
information to help your mother?

I'm not sure.

But l do know that there's a part
of her that wants to be helped.

When I tried to contact her telepathically,

I heard a voice calling out to me.

If your mother's psyche has collapsed in on itself,

could accessing her mind pose any danger to you?

There's no way to know.

I'd like to try.

I'll be monitoring her
throughout the entire procedure.

If anything goes wrong,
Maques can break the telepathic link.

Your mother,

part of her is very frightened.

She may resist you.

I understand.

Help me.

Help me.

Mother?

Help me.

Counselor?

Can you hear me?

Captain?

Deanna, Dr. Crusher has become concerned

that your paracortical
readings have become erratic.

Are you talking to me from Sickbay?

Yes. l want you to sever your
connection to your mother.

Why don't you ask Maques to do it?

I'm asking you.

That is an order, counselor.

You're not Captain Picard.

Leave me alone.

Please.

This isn't real.

None of this is real.

Deanna.

Daddy?

Look at you.

You've become a beautiful woman.

Don't do this.

I'm sorry I had to go away when you were so little.

I didn't want to.

You're not my father.

You're part of my mother's mind.

What is this place?

This is our house near Lake El-Nar on Betazed.

We used to live here.

Deanna, let's not waste this chance.

I wanna hear everything about you.

Did I live here?

For a while when you were a baby.

You were such a beautiful baby.

Your mother and I loved you so much.

I don't remember these toys.

I bet you don't remember me singing
you to sleep at night either.

But l did.

I do remember.

I always felt safe when you sang to me.

There was one song you always asked me to sing.

You couldn't fall asleep unless you heard it.

- "Down in the Valley."
- Yes.

Down in the valley

Valley so low

Hang your head over

Hear the wind blow

No. You're just trying to keep me here.

Keep me from finding something.

Your mother doesn't wanna see you, Deanna.

I have to help her.

If you wanna help her, leave.

Let her have peace.

She called out to me.

She does want me to help.

Stay with me just a little while.

Deanna, it's been so long.

We'll never have this chance again.

Goodbye, Daddy.

Hedril.

Mother.

Get away from her.

No.

Hedril, I asked your father to bring you here

because I wanted to talk to you about something.

You know that Lwaxana's sick, don't you?

Yes.

Is it my fault?

No, not at all.

But l believe that she's been thinking about you.

Do you know why?

I make her sad.

Why do you say that?

Because it's true.

Do you have any idea why Hedril
would make my mother sad?

No.

Well, thank you for coming to talk to us.

I'll see you later, all right?

Counselor, I hope your mother gets better.

Thank you, Hedril. So do I.

I just don't understand how she fits into all this.

And I haven't found a physiological cause

for what's happened to your mother.

Which makes me feel that Maques was right

when he said your mother's condition
was precipitated by a traumatic event.

Could this event have involved Hedril?

I don't think so. My mother never mentioned her.

Does your mother keep personal logs or a journal?

Yes, she does.

I'll contact Mr. Homn on Betazed
and ask him to transmit a copy

as soon as possible.

There may be some clues there.

Perhaps we are being too literal.

I have recently learned in
my study of dream analysis

that people who appear in a
dream can sometimes represent

different aspects of the person who is dreaming.

That's right. A child might
represent vulnerability.

Hedril may depict some fragile part of my mother.

A part that she's protecting.

You said that everything you encountered

when you were in her mind was a
barrier of one kind or another.

Yes. You, the wolf, my father.

It was as though she were summoning
all her defenses to keep me away.

But keep me away from what? What is she protecting?

Come in.

Counselor?

Hello, captain.

I've just come from Sickbay.

Dr. Crusher feels that your
mother's condition is worsening.

Her neural foundations are getting weaker.

Have you had any luck here?

No, nothing.

I've gone through all her belongings.

I've read her journal for the last five years.

And other than the fact that I'm not married yet,

nothing bad seems to have happened to her.

This your father?

Yes.

He had a kind face.

I remember when he d*ed,
my mother had to go through all his things

and pack them away.

I was 7.

I remember thinking how mad
he'd be when he came home

and saw what she'd done.

I didn't understand he wasn't coming back.

Deanna, your mother might still come out of this.

If we can't figure out what's
wrong with her, captain,

I don't think she will.

But l don't know what else to do.

I've talked with Mr. Homn,
who's known her for years.

I've checked her medical records.

I've made inquiries to the government on Betazed.

I've contacted her closest friends.

If she's been through some kind of psychic trauma,

there's just no evidence of it.

You say that you've reviewed her
journals for the past five years.

Maybe we should go further back.

That's a lot to review.

My mother's kept a journal
since before she was married.

Then let's start at the beginning.

First entry seems to be stardate 30620.1 .

That's the year they were married.

Ah, that's odd.

There's a seven-year gap.

It starts about a year after the wedding.

If I'm not mistaken, it ends a
few months after your birth.

My mother's so diligent about her journal.

Why would she have stopped
making entries for so long?

She didn't.

The files were deleted by your mother.

Almost 30 years ago.

I don't understand any of this.

Captain, l have to go back inside my mother's mind.

It's the only way we're ever
going to get any answers.

Thank you.

Deanna, you understand

that if your paracortical
readings get too high again,

I'm going to tell Maques to sever the connection.

I know.

Hedril, be careful.

Who is Hedril?

Wait. l want to talk to you.

Help me.

Help me.

- Go.
- Mother?

Go away.

No. I want to help you.

Why did you delete parts of your journal?

Did something happen to you you
don't want me to know about?

Leave me alone, please.

Who's Hedril, Mother?

Why is she here?

- Is Hedril me when l was a little girl?
- No.

Oh, no, I'd never let
anything happen to you. Never.

Did you let something happen to someone?

Was it here at El-Nar?

You were just a baby.

Tell me.

Whatever it is, we can face it together.

I can't. l can't.

You can.

We can.

Help me.

- Help me, Papa.
- Here.

Please, don't make me go through this again.

Now, hold on to him. Don't let him run off.

I won't.

Mommy, can we go play by the water?

No, Kestra. Stay here with us.

Please?

Kestra.

Oh, Kestra, you've made the baby cry. Oh, ha, ha.

Kestra?

No, don't cry, Deanna.

Don't cry. Mommy's here.

Mommy, please?

No, Kestra. We're gonna eat in just a few minutes.

Here. What's wrong?

What's wrong, little one?

Tell Mommy what's wrong.

Ian, I think she's teething. Now, where's her ring?

No.

No, I don't wanna see this again.

I can't.

What happened, Mother?

What happened next?

I don't remember.

You have to.

You can't hold it back. It's k*lling you.

The dog got away.

She ran after him.

We didn't notice.

Why?

Why did I look away?

Why wasn't I paying attention?

You have to forgive yourself, Mother.

You have to let it go.

How can I?

I let her die.

It was a terrible tragedy.

The worst thing that can happen to any parent.

I know you feel responsible,
but it was an accident.

And what you're doing isn't fair to Kestra.

I saw a little girl who was sweet and happy.

She must have brought a great
deal ofjoy to your lives.

Every morning, she woke up with a smile.

Isn't it better to remember her like that?

I just found out I had a sister I never knew.

I'd like to learn what was
good and joyous about her.

To celebrate her life, not mourn it.

How?

How can I do that?

Kestra was here a few moments ago.

Talk to her.

No, no.

Do it, Mother.

Tell her how you feel.

I'll be here with you. I'll help you.

Mommy.

Kestra.

Oh, Kestra.

My precious one.

I'm so sorry.

I have to go now.

I know.

I remember the day l took this.

Mr. Homn said he saved it in case
someday you wanted to remember her.

I wish you could have known her, Deanna.

I wish you two could have grown up together.

Tell me about her.

I want to know everything.