Season 1
Episode
TEASER
EXT. A DENSE WOODLAND ATOP ROLLING HILLS
The hot afternoon sun beats down on dense, rolling woodlands. Oaks and maples stand covered in full summer foliage, leaves rustling in the muggy breeze. Deep green ferns and last year's leaf decay carpet the shaded forest floor.
A lean, determined boy of no more than thirteen nimbly darts between the trees as if running an obstacle course. Rivulets of sweat glisten across his body as he works to outrun his pursuers. He is wearing only a simple tanned leather loincloth stained with dirt and grime, it looks to be the dress of a young warrior of a North American Indian, circa the 1870's. His long raven hair flows wildly behind him.
HOOTS and something akin to WAR CRIES can be heard in the distance, though they are getting closer.
The boy cuts to his left and with graceful ease leaps over several felled trees in the hope it will slow down those of the chase.
He is a handsome boy in a coming of age sort of way, though currently he is covered in a not so subtle mixture of muddy sweat and dried leaves. He is neither tall nor short for his age, his physique is lean and just this side of being muscular. He has high, chiseled cheekbones and emerald green eyes with dark lashes, a hint of mischief and calm seems to radiate whenever he looks directly at you. To accent his body he is adorned with various colors of war paint on his bare chest and wicked-looking zigzag markings have been brushed on his face.
The WAR CALLS are louder now as the boy ducks and dodges through the forest. He never looks back at his pursuers, only forward. Occasionally he checks the path to ensure nothing will cause him to stumble.
Speaking Cherokee: ENGLISH SUBTITLES run at the bottom of the screen.
BOY 1:
We are coming for you little one!
BOY 2:
You will hurt yourself out here away from your tee pee! It is dangerous for one such as you. End your running and we will take you home to your mother's teat!
The boy doesn't consider their offer, but does suggest a rather rude offer of his own, though only under his labored breath as he pushes on, willing himself to run even faster.
The chase continues for several minutes as we see three groups of boys moving in from different directions. Each group is comprised of five or six Indian boys, all of which are at least one or two years older than the lone runner. They are slowly catching up to their quarry.
The LOUD CRIES and YELLS turn from that of the hunter to the victor as they work their way into cornering the younger boy up against the thick trunk of an elm tree. All are out of breath, their spears and arrows point menacingly at the trapped prey.
BOY 1:
You have lost. We have victory and you are nothing!
The Running Boy stands motionless, his captors hurling insults at him, most of which question his manhood. He slowly looks around at the twenty or so boys grinning triumphantly at his capture and humiliation. He does not look angry or defeated, it is more like... amused.
RUNNING BOY:
It is true you have caught me, but only because I have allowed it! I offer you a chance to save yourselves from my superior tactics.
There is a sudden pause of shock as all of the boys go silent. Certainly this is not the way their hunt was intended to go.
BOY 2:
Perhaps this young pup is touched in the head.
BOY 3:
He has drank bad water. He is sick. It is all the same, we have captured this idiot. Drag him by his heels back to our camp!
Two boys closest to their victim move in to knock him off his feet and are surprised as he becomes a blinding cyclone of motion. Kicking the nearest boy in the stomach, the Running Boy reaches behind him and grasps a thin line of twined sinew held taught against the tree trunk. A quick glance up and the boy yanks the cord free from its hold. Spinning to his left, he kicks the feet out from under the second teen before lunging himself backward and forcefully dropping onto his back. Scrambling for a handhold on the leaves under him, we see that a brown blanket had previously been secreted under the dried foliage.
There is a CRACKING sound as several grayish sacks are falling from the branches high above. As they land, the stiff cocoons erupt into swarms of angry red and black bodied hornets. With blanket in his right hand the boy keeps his body straight as he rolls to one side thereby wrapping himself into his own protective cocoon.
Chaos erupts in the forest as the older boys' bravado turns to panic. They SCREAM and SHOUT, swatting at the relentless swarm descending upon them. The angry hornets sting any exposed skin, sending the boys fleeing in all directions. They crash blindly through the underbrush, vows of revenge replaced by cries of pain.
Soon, an eerie calm settles over the woods. The victorious insects have chased their own quarry far into the forest. Left behind lies the Running Boy, safely cocooned in his tightly woven blanket. He emerges unscathed and looks around, making a quick survey of the now-peaceful surroundings. A slight smile tugs at his lips. He takes a moment to shake the debris from his wild, dark hair. Satisfied he has cleared the worst of the debris, the boy secures his hair into a single ponytail. This pulls back the hair from his angular features, fully exposing his arched, UPSWEPT BROWS and POINTED EARS.
FADE.
SCENE 1
INT. BRIDGE, THE LA SIRENA – Day
The CHIRPPING sound is just enough of a distraction to cause RAFFAELLA "RAFFI" MUSIKER to look up from the padd she is reading. Annoyed, she gives a casual glance toward the upper left corner of the holographic display situated next to her at the LA SIRENA's navigation console. It's a comm announcement on a channel reserved for mundane bulletins within occupied solar systems. Generally one would find things like routing information, zones closed to certain types of ships or space travel, local advertisements, or planetary information for visitors. After a few moments of staring at the unwelcome message her brow furrows.
RAFFI:
JL, I'm getting a message on the CINET.
CAST NOTE
RAFFAELLA "RAFFI" MUSIKER (Michelle Hurd) appears as the actor did at the end of Season One of PICARD. The character has all of the memories and experiences as reflected in canon up until that point. Anything after that time stamp in the official chronology to include released series, films, published novels, or fan fiction does not appear in this work and therefore, with no knowledge of future events, the character will act and react to new situations accordingly.
JEAN-LUC PICARD who had been napping in the chair at Systems and Life Support sits up with a confused look. He blinks several times in an effort to get his bearings. In previous times naps had never been a normal part of his day.
CAST NOTE
JEAN-LUC PICARD (Patrick Stewart) appears as the actor did at the end of Season One of PICARD. The character has all of the memories and experiences as reflected in canon up until that point. Anything after that time stamp in the official chronology to include released series, films, published novels, or fan fiction does not appear in this work and therefore, with no knowledge of future events, the character will act and react to new situations accordingly.
PICARD:
CINET? Who would be sending me a message on a local channel? I don't ever remember traveling to this system before, and certainly no one would have known we'd be coming here. We didn't know ourselves until last night when the air filtration system...
A HOLOGRAPH of the La Sirena's chief (and only) engineer instantly appears. He's wearing a pair of gray overalls, covered in what looks like a mixture of hydraulic oil and translucent cotton candy. Looking suspiciously like a disheveled RIOS, his muddy Scottish accent is on full display if not slightly over exaggerated.
HOLO ENGINEER RIOS:
( demanding )
Don't be sayin' it! The air quality be just fine and I'll thank ye not to dispute the matter.
Picard gives the engineer a pained look. Pretty much every conversation with this particular holographic doppelganger turns out to be a battle of semantics.
PICARD:
You said that if we didn't replace the habrondater we'd all be dead within a few days. I find that sort of information to be a clear indicator that something is wrong.
The holograph provides both Raffi and Picard a stern look, much like a teacher unhappy with his students who had not completed a homework assignment.
HOLO ENGINEER RIOS:
I said that if we didn't fix it there was a very good chance you would die a horrible death, slowly asphyxiating on your own expelled gasses. Since I do not breath, I won't be affected in the slightest. My declaration was that the (correcting) hadronator might need to be replaced. Sooner rather than later would be much more beneficial to you, not me.
Just as suddenly as it had appeared the holographic image winks out of existence. Picard was in the process of raising a finger to point emphatically at the engineer, but since it is no longer present, he loses interest. He turns back towards Raffi.
PICARD:
What sort of message?
Already busy at the console it takes the woman a full minute to answer. While the message itself is quite clear, its origin and content are not at all expected.
RAFFI:
This is very strange. First, the message is not really a message. It's a replicator coding.
PICARD:
A replicator coding? A coding for what? And who would be sending me a replicator coding?
RAFFI:
One thing at a time. It's a food replicator coding. A sandwich I think. Something called a BLT on dassi bread.
Picard's eyebrows shoot up.
PICARD:
That's odd. BLTs are usually made on white or wheat, but dassi bread?
Raffi all but rolls her eyes. She is not concerned with the makeup of the sandwich, but rather the message itself.
RAFFI:
The question is: Who and why is someone sending, very specifically this ship, a replicator coding or anything else for that matter. This is a CINET channel.
Picard leans forward to get a better look at Raffi’s display. He had received some strange messages from practically every corner of the Alpha Quadrant and beyond, but at least he understood why they were strange. This one simply makes no sense.
PICARD:
I don't know. Free samples? (a beat) No indication at all who it's from?
RAFFI:
We're both clueless. The only thing I can tell you is that the communication is not a part of the local CINET. Someone hijacked the system net and as soon as it saw us come out of warp, the message automatically trigged. It's not like an advert or update. Our eyes only, no one else is getting this.
PICARD:
Taste buds.
RAFFI:
( perplexed )
What?
PICARD:
( smiling )
Taste buds. It's a sandwich. For our taste buds only.
Not for the first time, Raffi asks herself how Riker and crew didn't mutiny or at the very least tie Picard up in a maintenance locker for a few hours a day.
Picard leans back and stares out the front display of the ship. While his body is motionless, it is easy to see his brain is moving in multiple directions. Raffi brakes the silence.
RAFFI:
One more thing. I never said the message was for you.
Picard is genuinely surprised if not a bit embarrassed. For so many years he had, by and large, been at the heart of all ship's operations and the focus of any communications either directly or indirectly.
PICARD:
Really? (a beat) Who is this sandwich, or message, or whatever it is addressed to?
Folding her arms across her chest, Raffi swivels to face the former captain, turned admiral, turned retired admiral, turned captain. Very matter of factly she says:
RAFFI:
Elnor.
FADE.
SCENE 2
INT. SHIP'S GALLEY - SOME MINUTES LATER
The humanoid crew and two versions of the holographic Rios stand in the galley, surrounding the food replicator. Their expressions range from excitement (Elnor) to curiosity (most everyone else save for the Rios version of the Emergency Medical Hologram who can barely manage to hide his abject boredom). AGNES JURATI is a different story. The last few weeks have been something of a shock to her neat and orderly world.
AGNES:
Are we sure this thing is safe?
She tries to sound brave while making a poor attempt to conceal the fact that she is standing as far away from the replicator as possible and hoping no one would notice. Everyone notices.
AGNES:
What if someone is trying to send us a bomb or infect the ship's computer? I think we should...
The holographic engineer clears his throat in an overly noisy fashion in order to take control of the conversation.
HOLO ENGINEER RIOS:
It's entirely safe, I assure you. The coding is only read and produced by the replicator itself. It is not tied in directly to the ship's computer network. In addition, the replicator's safety protocols will kick in if there is anything present that can be of harm or contains any sort of coding above and beyond food replication. This contains only the chemical makeup for a plastic plate, a napkin, color blue, and the compounds for this thing called a BLT sandwich. I would like to point out that the ingredient list sounds absolutely disgusting and is most probably extremely dangerous. Do you know what actually goes into dassi bread?
ELNOR:
I love dassi bread. I think it is a surprise gift from the Sisters.
CAST NOTE
ELNOR (Evan Avagora) appears as the actor did at the end of Season One of PICARD. The character has all of the memories and experiences as reflected in canon up until that point. Anything after that time stamp in the official chronology to include released series, films, published novels, or fan fiction does not appear in this work and therefore, with no knowledge of future events, the character will act and react to new situations accordingly.
Elnor is like a kid before attending a festival, the anticipation of a treat only adding to the excitement of his first interstellar communique.
Picard regards the innocent looking replicator for a few more moments and then looks to his left at Elnor.
PICARD:
Well, I don't see any other course of action than to create Elnor's sandwich. Would you like to do the honor?
Elnor grins and Agnes winces as he speaks the magic words.
ELNOR:
Computer, one BLT on dassi bread.
There is a slight HUM as the replicator comes to life. A wink of light and a shimmer later, a white plastic plate appears adorned with a rather impressive looking Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato between two thick slabs of forest green dassi bread. Next to it is a perfectly folded light blue napkin.
No one moves as they regard the sandwich, waiting for something unexpected to happen. Nothing.
RAFFI:
( through with it all )
Well, Elnor, take the damn thing!
PICARD:
( sharply )
No!
Elnor freezes in mid-reach. Without moving his body he slowly turns his head to look at Picard.
PICARD:
Stand back my boy.
Her worst fears are realized Agnes confirms. She suspected all along something was wrong and now they were all going to die. She resigns herself to imminent destruction.
AGNES:
( whispering mostly to herself )
I knew it!
Picard brushes past Elnor and, reaching into the replicator's small service bay, goes for the napkin instead of the plated sandwich. Carefully he unfolds the quartered cloth and smiles. It is a message after all.
Turning the napkin so all can see, they quickly come to the same conclusion. On the napkin is the clear, distinctive lettering of Romulan script. Each letter is carefully handwritten in black ink and at the bottom there is what looks like a hand-drawn bit of intricate artwork. It very much resembles a crest or coat-of-arms. Drawn inside the seal is a figure wearing a hooded cloak.
Since the message has been sent to Elnor, and given the fact that no one else could read Romulan, Picard passes the napkin to Elnor.
PICARD:
I believe this belongs to you.
Without giving it a second thought, Elnor begins to read aloud. Regardless of what the message says, these are his shipmates and there will be no secrets as far as he is concerned.
Jolan Tru, Elnor, Qalankhkan of the Qowat Milat, Sworn Sword to Jean-Luc Picard, and trusted friend to those who travel with him.
I greet you with this letter, however unorthodox its form or method of delivery. It is as urgent as it is imperative for you and Admiral Picard to travel immediately to the coordinates I have provided. The admiral will know what to do once he arrives, assuming he remembers a young ensign once under his command. The seal rendered below should speak for my authenticity and then hopeful acceptance of my plea for assistance.
SOS.
After the listed coordinates is a post script written at the bottom of the napkin, just above the neatly sewn hem.
Admiral Picard does not read Romulan and, when attempting to speak the language, over one third of the words will be tragically mispronounced. Please tell him it is safe for you to eat the sandwich. I spent considerable time in the kitchen and after four attempts, I believe I was able to get the proper proportions of meat, leafy green, and red fruit correct.
No one says a word as they collectively huddle around Elnor, looking over his shoulder as he reads. Only the boy and the engineer could read the Romulan print, but for some inexplicable reason they had all tried to follow along as the young qalankhkan read aloud.
RAFFI:
What the hell was that? And who is sending Elnor an 'SOS'?
When Picard does not answer she looks over at him and suddenly becomes worried. The man has gone white in the face and looks as if he might pass out.
RAFFI:
JL, what is it?
Picard needs to sit down, but not because he might pass out. Thankfully the galley is full of comfortable aluminum and plastiform chairs. He finds the closest one and drops heavily onto the gray, crushed velvet cushion.
RIOS:
( equally concerned )
Picard, what's going on?
AGNES:
I'll get some water!
Picard holds up a hand to stay their questions. He isn't certain, but he has a pretty good idea he knows exactly who has sent the message. The only problem, the sender is a ghost. Eventually he speaks in a slow and measured tone.
PICARD:
The coat-of-arms. It's meaningless. A ruse to divert attention away from the author's true identity. It is not an "SOS". The letters stand for something else completely. (several beats) Son of Sarak. This is a message from Ambassador Spock.
The galley again becomes silent as everyone contemplates Picard's announcement. They all know the name as well as the long and storied role Spock had played as a member of Starfleet, as well as the years of work he accomplished for the Romulan people.
A clearly exhausted SEVEN OF NINE enters the galley dressed in red and blue pinstriped pajamas. Her hair is something of a mess as are her mental faculties. She does her best to chase away the fog.
SEVEN:
Did I miss something?
CAST NOTE
SEVEN OF NINE (Jeri Ryan) appears as the actor did at the end of Season One of PICARD. The character has all of the memories and experiences as reflected in canon up until that point. Anything after that time stamp in the official chronology to include released series, films, published novels, or fan fiction does not appear in this work and therefore, with no knowledge of future events, the character will act and react to new situations accordingly.
Elnor cannot wait any longer as he stares at his prize.
ELNOR:
May I eat the sandwich?
FADE.
