Descent, Part I

TNG Season 6 Episode 26
Air Date: June 21st, 1993

In the season finale, the Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Starfleet Outpost. When they arrive they find all the people aboard killed, and they encounter the Borg. Only these Borg act oddly, specifically they use pronouns like I and seem to show emotion when their comrades are killed. During the phaser battle on the outpost, Lt. Cmdr. Data experiences his first emotion (excluding the laugh that Q gave as a gift), but the emotion was anger and pleasure once he killed the Borg. This was the first time we ever see Data kill anything.

After the crew beam back, they have a minor fight with the Borg vessel that retreats into a transwarp conduit, something the Federation has never seen before. During the battle, a few Borg transport to the Enterprise and one survives. They hold him in the brig, but somehow he is able to give Data emotions, disable his ethics chip and use him to escape.

The Enterprise tracks Data's shuttle to a planet and start a hunt. Captain Picard, Lt. Cmdr. La Forge and a security officer get captured by none other then Lore.

Red Shirts

During the initial fight with the Borg, two security officers get killed and at the end the security officer that is with Captain Picard is also killed. They all wear gold uniforms.

Quotes

"Data, are you all right?"- Cmdr. Riker
"Yes, sir." - Lt. Cmdr. Data
"What happened?" - Cmdr. Riker
"I got angry." - Lt. Cmdr. Data

"I don't think that an exploration of anger need necessarily lead to hatred or malice." - Counselor Troi
"But what if it does, Counselor? What if those are the only emotions I am capable of experiencing? Would that not make me a bad person?" - Lt. Cmdr. Data
"We've served together for a long time; and I think I've come to know you pretty well. I have to believe, if you ever reach your goal of becoming human, you won't become a bad one." - Counselor Troi

"Stop it! Stop! Stop, Stop, Stop, Stop!" - Lt. Cmdr. Data

"Data? Do you have a friend?" - Crosis
"Yes. His name is Geordi." - Lt. Cmdr. Data
"If it meant that you could feel emotions again, the way you did on Ohniaka III, would you kill your friend? Would you kill Geordi?" - Crosis
"Yes, I would." - Lt. Cmdr. Data