“Descent” is episode twenty-six of season six of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the season finale.
Data is playing poker with Einstein, Newton and Stephen Hawking and is explaining to Newton why they are playing when Riker announces red alert and everyone to stations. Data ends the program.
On the bridge, Riker tells the captain that they received a distress call from Ohniaka III who said they were under attack. They couldn’t identify the attacker and the Enterprise hasn’t been able to raise them since. Worf reports there is one ship orbiting the third planet, of unknown configuration It doesn’t respond to hails, or do anything. It’s impossible to determine if there are any lifeforms at the outpost due to interference.
Riker, Worf, Data and another crewman beam down. There are dead in the outpost, killed by weapons similar to a Ferengi hand phasor. They still can’t scan for life, so start searching the outpost. Data opens a stuck door. On the other side is a Borg drone.
It attacks, as do more, and the ship in orbit fires on the Enterprise. Riker shoots one of the drones and one of the others says he will make Riker suffer for that. This is not normal Borg behaviour. The accompanying crewman gets killed and Data is fighting one Borg when he gets angry. Also not normal behaviour. One of the Borg has been identifying the species of the others, but recognises Data by name. The bodies and the living Borg beam away and the ship in orbit leaves, entering a subspace distortion. On the planet, Riker asks Data if he’s alright and what happened. Data says he got angry.
Because of this, Data asks to be temporarily relieved of duty. The rest of the senior staff discuss the Borg. Riker reports they were fast, aggressive, almost vicious. It was almost like fighting Klingons, not Borg. No offence. They seemed to be acting as individuals, not as part of the Collective. One referred to himself as ‘I’ and called a fallen comrade by name. Troi says the only Borg with a name was Hugh, and they gave it to him in “I, Borg”. There were also no suggestions the Borg wanted to assimilate them. The captain says the Borg must have a new objective. They need to find out what it is.
Geordi and Data are trying to work out why Data had an emotion. Neither can find anything, nor does Data have a frame of reference to confirm it was an emotion. And Geordi can’t describe being angry without referring to other emotions.
Admiral Nechayev arrives to take command of the sector and she is speaking to Captain Picard in his ready room. And is trying to figure out why he let Hugh go when the Borg could have been destroyed once and for all. The captain is well aware of the dangers of the Borg, and explains that Hugh became a person and he was bound by conscience and oath to uphold certain principles. The admiral tells him the next time an opportunity like that arises, he is ordered to take advantage of it.
Data is talking to Troi about trying to feel emotions, none of which are anger. Troi asks him why he is ignoring the one emotion experienced. Data wants to feel something more positive. Troi says that emotions simply exist; what you do with them defines good or bad. Data is worried he might become a bad person. Troi reassures him he won’t, but is clearly troubled when Data admits he thinks he felt pleasure killing the Borg.
The colonies in the sector are feeling jumpy and are reporting everything as Borg. Captain Picard may be second guessing the release of Hugh. Data is trying to feel emotions. And then there are the Borg themselves. They are not behaving normally and seem to have some sort of fixation with Data. Those are connected.
The story continues in season seven and “Descent, Part II”.