Time Squared

This time loop was apparently initiated by some form of intelligence which was interested in the USS Enterprise-D and its Captain, Jean-Luc Picard. While travelling to Ennan VI the Enterprise encountered a Starfleet shuttle craft damaged and adrift; on recovering the craft they found it to carry the markings of one of the ships own support vessels, which was still located in a shuttle bay. Within the craft was an unconscious Captain Picard.


Initial attempts to activate the shuttles onboard systems failed due to an odd inverted phase effect; a similar effect gave the Enterprise's CMO difficulty in treating the unconscious duplicate of the Captain. However, Chief Engineer La Forge was eventually able to recover part of the shuttles log which showed the craft departing from the Enterprise, which was apparently trapped in some form of vortex. As the shuttle broke free and left the scene, the Enterprise was destroyed by an energy discharge within the vortex.


The Enterprise continued on its way to Ennan VI while investigations proceeded; as they approached the time of the event the phase difference within the shuttle and the duplicate Picard began to slowly diminish, although little more was learned from either. Some three hours after first discovering the problem the vortex opened beneath the ship, dragging it out of warp. Despite seriously over stressing the engines, the ship was slowly dragged into the vortex. With the Enterprise unable to break free, Councillor Troi reported that she sensed an intelligence from within the vortex and that this intelligence was focused on Captain Picard rather than the ship itself. Picard determined that the logical course of action was for him to leave the ship in hopes of distracting the entity from its harassment of the Enterprise; but convinced that his duplicate self had taken this course of action and failed, Picard determined to prevent the loop from repeating. He attempted to reason with the duplicate as it began to repeat its earlier actions, but failed to do so. As the duplicate boarded the shuttle Picard drew a phaser and killed him. Returning to the bridge, Picard ordered the ship to cease all efforts to escape and set a course directly ahead into the vortex. The ship passed through and escaped undamaged.


With the loop broken, the body of the duplicate Picard and the shuttle were both erased from the timeline. Extensive investigation has revealed no further effects due to this incident and the case remains open. [1]

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