“The Neutral Zone” is episode twenty-six of season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the season finale.
The Enterprise is waiting for Captain Picard who was summoned to an emergency conference at Starbase 718 to return. They are monitoring an ancient capsule floating in their vicinity that appears to be from Earth. Worf tells Commander Riker that the capsule is heading into a star system and will be destroyed. They could tractor it aboard. Riker says to let it be. The captain is still a few hours out and Data wants to investigate the capsule. It’s a piece of history and the opportunity to examine such does not come along very often. Besides, as Riker said, they have time. Riker agrees and tells Data to take Worf with him.
The capsule still has some power and some systems are still operating. The computer has ceased to function but Data thinks he can download the information back to the Enterprise. Worf, on finding a door that doesn’t open, decides it’s jammed and is about to use his phasor on it until Data opens it with a handle. In the chamber beyond are a number of pods. In two are remains in poor shape, their seals having broken. A third is empty. The remaining three are occupied.
Data doesn’t think they were frozen for an extended journey; the purpose appears to solely be refrigeration. The captain’s shuttle is now approaching and Picard wants them underway as soon as he is aboard. Riker contacts Data, who explains the situation. Data wants the occupants to be beamed over, as the capsule has suffered severe damage.
When Picard arrives on the bridge, he orders Geordi to set a course. For the Neutral Zone. He speaks to Riker, Data, Worf and Troi in the observation lounge. Federation outposts have been destroyed and communications have been lost with several starbases on the border of the Neutral Zone. Romulans is the assumption, though nothing has been heard from them in 50 years. The strategic decision was to send one ship, but this could be a setup. Picard wants force to be a last resort, but it is one they will use. The Romulans may want to test themselves in battle against a Federation starship to see how far the Federation has advanced.
Picard’s next stop is sickbay where Dr Crusher tells him about the people from the capsule. The captain knew of neither the capsule nor the people. They were frozen and the doctor has thawed them. She didn’t know what else to do as their crypts were falling apart. Each needed minor medical treatment; minor know, but terminal when they had it. Because they were all frozen after they died. Cryonics was kind of a fad; people were frozen waiting to be revived when they could be cured. In this case, it worked.
The captain contacts Data and asks him to report to sickbay. He feels Data’s timing could be better. Data says they couldn’t leave them on the deteriorating capsule. The captain says they were already dead; it’s not like anything else could have happened to them. Now they are alive, they need to treat them as such. Before any are revived, he wants Worf present. The first, a woman, is revived. She sees the captain, then the doctor. Then Worf, and faints.
Data has to their details from the capsule’s computer. The woman is Claire Raymond, a homemaker. Possibly in construction. Ralph Offenhouse is a financier. The last, L.Q. ‘Sonny’ Clemmons, was something to do with music. Picard decides to leave the situation with the doctor. On the bridge, he tells Riker to take charge of them and keep them out of his way.
Riker briefs the three on various things and says they are now all in excellent health. On a question, he says that Data is an android. Not exactly a robot. Worf; he’s a Klingon. That’s a longer story. Clare doesn’t know what happened. According to Offenhouse, the capsule was placed in orbit. Less chance of brownouts. So, how did a satellite sent into Earth orbit almost four centuries ago wind up so many light years away and still functioning to a degree? No explanation is made. Clare thinks her husband must have done it. If it was new and foolish, he popped for it. This is the first thing he’s bought that worked. Offenhouse wants to make a phone call to speak to his bank about his portfolio.
Troi briefs the captain on the Romulans. Creatures of extremes. Related to the Vulcans, but the differences have grown wide. They have a belief in their superiority that’s beyond arrogance and a fascination with humans. That’s what’s kept the peace. The Romulans will not initiate anything, but will wait for Picard to commit.
Of the 20th century humans, Offenhouse is causing the most problems. He really wants to speak to the captain, and sometimes seems to think he’s on a cruise ship. To be fair, the attitudes of the crew of the Enterprise to three people suddenly displaced close to four centuries in time is rather poor.
Then there are the Romulans, and several outposts have completely disappeared from the borders of the Neutral Zone. As if scooped off their planets.