“Yesterday’s Enterprise” is episode fifteen of season three of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Guinan brings Worf a drink in Ten Forward. He tries it and likes it; it’s prune juice. Which Worf decides is a warrior’s drink. Guinan says Worf is always alone and it wouldn’t hurt him to seek companionship. Worf requires a Klingon woman for that; Earth females are too fragile. Guinan tells him not all of them; there are a few on the ship who would find him tame. Worf thinks that’s funny. Guinan tells him he will never know until he tries. Then he will never know. Guinan suggests cowardice. No; he’s just concerned about the safety of his crewmates. A space anomaly can be seen out of the port and Riker calls Worf to the bridge. Guinan looks at the anomaly; it seems to disturb her.
Worf arrives on the bridge as they are trying to figure out what the anomaly is. A damaged starship, Federation by the looks of it, comes out and the bridge of the Enterprise changes. It’s darker with a different configuration, the crew are wearing different uniforms and phasors, Counsellor Troi has vanished – and Worf has been replaced by Tasha Yar, who died in “Skin of Evil”. Guinan in Ten Forward looks around and says it isn’t right; it’s changed. Tasha confirms that it’s a Federation ship. NCC 1701-C. The USS Enterprise.
According to Captain Picard’s military log – yes, military – this is the immediate predecessor to this battleship – yes, battleship. Wesley, now wearing a Starfleet uniform, says the Enterprise-C was destroyed with all hands 20 years ago. Presumed destroyed, according to Data. Last seen near the Klingon outpost as Narendra III, 22 years ago. Data says the anomaly could be a temporal rift, but it isn’t stable. The ship has suffered heavy damage, but there are lifesigns. Riker contacts sickbay, but the captain belays the order. He’s concerned about history. The Enterprise-C contacts with a distress call from Captain Garrett; they were attacked by Romulan warships and need immediate assistance. Picard hails the ship, but doesn’t give his own’s name. Emergency crews are to avoid discussions of where and when they are. There are also Klingon battlecruisers incoming.
The Enterprise-C’s bridge is a mess and the crew look dead. Garrett is alive but badly injured; Dr Crusher wants to beam her back to the Enterprise. Garrett heard that and wants an explanation. They find another alive; Lieutenant Castillo, helmsman. Riker reports to the Enterprise that there are 125 survivors. They’d hate to scrap the ship; Starfleet could use another ship, even one 22 years old. That does not sound good. Picard gives him 9 hours to get underway or scuttle the ship. Then Guinan arrives on the bridge. She tells Picard they need to talk; this is all wrong.
In the ready room – and there’s a strategic map on the wall – Guinan says she looks at things and they aren’t right. Picard, his uniform, the bridge; it’s not right. The captain says it’s the same bridge; nothing has changed. Yes, Guinan knows that. It’s also wrong. There should be children on the ship. They are at war is the captain’s response. They’re not supposed to be. This isn’t a ship of war; it’s a ship of peace. The Enterprise-C isn’t supposed to be here; it needs to go back.
Picard heads to sickbay and speaks to Garrett, about what she remembers. Answering a distress call which Picard must have heard. Only he didn’t. Garrett has never seen a sickbay this advanced, and the uniform is clearly different. What ship is this? She insists Picard tell her. The USS Enterprise, NCC 1701-D. 22 years in the future. Picard is concerned if Garrett’s people return with knowledge of the future. If they return, they will be destroyed. There is no record of the battle. Four Warbirds attacked and the outpost was destroyed. The captain thinks it’s regrettable they did not succeed. If a Federation starship had rescued a Klingon outpost, it might have averted 20 years of war.
If the Enterprise-C heads back to its own time, it will be destroyed. Sending them back is a death sentence. It’s been a long war, though. Tasha is getting on well with Castille; she explains that the Federation has lost half of Starfleet to the Klingons. When Castille left, they were negotiating a treaty.
Captain Picard has to decide whether to send the Enterprise-C back on little more than Guinan’s word and with no real knowledge whether it will change anything. But the Federation is fighting a war, and losing. 40 billion dead and Starfleet is in so much trouble that a 22-year-old badly damaged ship would be a welcome addition. It may well be worth the risk.