The
Enterprise investigates a
T Tauri class star system with a single
Class M planet that was picked up on a long-range sensor scan near the Ngame Nebula. As they approach the planet, the ship encounters a
wormhole and everyone except Lt. Commander Data briefly loses consciousness. When the crew regains their senses, Data states they were unconscious for only thirty seconds. Following Data's suggestion, Captain
Picard decides to send a probe into the system to avoid further harm to the ship. The probe reports only the presence of a frozen
gas giant instead of the Class M planet from before; again, Data attributes this to the effects of the wormhole. As the ship moves away from the system, the crew begin to find evidence that does not support Data's claims that they were unconscious for only 30 seconds. For example, Chief Medical Officer Dr.
Crusher observes that her moss samples have shown a full day of growth that morning, and finds that
Worf, complaining of a sore wrist, actually had his wrist broken and reset by a medical professional. Picard begins to suspect Data's claims; when he confronts Data on the issue, Data states that he cannot provide an answer. Further studies of the crew by Dr. Crusher show that Data's explanations are impossible; they have lost a day from the wormhole encounter, and there is evidence that Data tampered with the probe's readings to mask the Class M planet. Picard recognizes that Data's actions may be for the protection of the
Enterprise, but orders the ship to return to the system. When they near the Class M planet, Ship's Counselor
Troi is taken over by a mysterious energy pulse from the system, and starts to speak to the crew with a different voice. The entity that has taken over Troi informs Data that the plan has failed, and that their people will prepare to destroy the
Enterprise. Picard learns from Data and the entity that they are in the space of the Paxans, a highly advanced but very
xenophobic race who have kept themselves hidden by firing a stun beam at any ship that nears their system and then moving it away; crews of such ships normally associate it with the effects of a wormhole and leave without incident. However, in the case of the
Enterprise, the stun beam did not affect Data; Data had revived the crew as the Paxans were attempting to move the ship, forcing a physical encounter that led to Worf's wrist being broken. Picard was able to offer the Paxans a deal as to attempt to conceal their previous meeting, using memory-wiping technology from the Paxans to forget their encounters with them, and ordered Data to behave as he did to protect the ship. Picard is able to convince the Paxan in control of Troi that the previous plan failed because they left too many clues on the
Enterprise that piqued human curiosity to solve the mystery, and that if the
Enterprise vanishes, it will cause others to come and investigate. The crew of the
Enterprise, with the help of the Paxans, work together to completely eradicate any possible clues; once completed, the crew is stunned again, and the ship moves away from Paxan space. When the crew revives this time, they accept Data's explanations without question and continue on their mission. ==Reception==