Relics

The Enterprise encounters a Dyson sphere, and finds on the outer surface a crashed Federation transport vessel, the USS Jenolan. Strangely, its transporter is active, locked in a diagnostic cycle, with a pattern in the buffer. When La Forge re-materializes the pattern, Montgomery Scott stands before them, having been locked in the transporter for seventy-five years.

Scott has difficulty adjusting to being nearly a century out of his time. In order to help him feel useful, La Forge takes Scott back over to the Jenolan to assist in extracting information from the computer.

While La Forge and Scott are away, the Enterprise accidentally activates an automated system that draws them into the Dyson sphere. The Enterprise is damaged and in danger of falling into the star at the center of the sphere, and is just able to enter orbit around the star. The danger is not past, however: the ship's shields will only protect it for about three hours, and they have no way to get back out of the sphere.

La Forge and Scott manage to get the Jenolan back in flight, and wedge it into the entrance of the Dyson sphere, holding the hatch open long enough for the Enterprise to escape.

Finally, Scott is given a shuttlecraft, the Goddard on 'an extended loan' to replace the Jenolan, which was destroyed in the Enterprise's escape, and Scott departs.

Notes

This episode marks the fourth time characters from TOS appear in TNG: Leonard McCoy made an appearance in Encounter at Farpoint, Sarek appeared in the episode inventively titled Sarek as well as Unification: Part One, and Spock appeared in the two-parter Unification: Part One and Unification: Part Two.

Like Too Short a Season or The Deadly Years, this episode deals with aging, and more effectively, I think. The B-plot with the Enterprise being trapped in the Dyson sphere is a little simple, but the focus is really on Scotty adjusting to being out of his time, and it works well. It's a good episode for fans of TOS, with a number of references throughout, but works fine for those unfamiliar with what came before. Data's description of the unknown drink with "it is green" is great, even if you don't know it comes from By Any Other Name.

Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages has several pages about the making of this episode.