The Enterprise, docked at the Remmler Array, is evacuated in order to undergo a baryon sweep, a procedure that scans the ship with deadly rays in order to eliminate accumulated particles which have collected on the vessel over years of space travel.

Everyone of the crew has been transported off the ship, but with only minutes before the baryon sweep begins, Picard hurries back to the Enterprise, in order to get his saddle from his quarters. As he prepares to return to the planet, Picard notices that one of the technicians who came aboard is still there, working on a panel in a corridor. Suspicious of Picard's presence, the technician prepares to attack, but the captain gets the upper hand, striking the man and rendering him unconscious. Picard makes a run for the transporter room, but he is too late, the ship's primary power cuts off just as he steps onto the transporter pad.

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