In this part of this article on Star Trek X, I am going to look at ideas which I have had that would, in my opinion result in an interesting movie.

I've already stated that I think that this is going to be the last Next Generation feature and it makes sense to tie up all the loose ends that have hung around the crew since the beginning of the show really.

Maybe we could see Picard getting married to Beverly finally, although it has been a mute point since the transition to the movie screen there was always the romance thing between them during the show. It would at least give Gates McFadden something to do, considering how ignored she has been in each of the three Next Generation features. I also though this would make an interesting open sequence to the film - their marriage and then at some point Beverly is killed (perhaps by the new Data that they find?), this pushes Picard over the edge and we see him take the fight to the enemy who killed his wife.

There is scope there for some interesting acting from Patrick Stewart, which we all know he has easily the ability to pull off. Aside from that I though the film should also show that Picard had been promoted (just by the pips on his collar, a big deal wouldn't be made out of it - two ceremonies in one film would just be a bit too much) and that Riker was now Captain of the Enterprise. Would would then be set up for some gritty argument scenes as they argue about who is really in command.

The threat to the Federation has to be big, much bigger that the Borg were in First Contact - what if the master race that had populated the universe (helping the case for the humanoid look of every species) decided to come back? They didn't like what their creations had turned into and therefore have decided to destroy everything and reclaim the galaxy as their own.

It would make an exciting teaser (the bit before the credits) if the film showed a huge ship, very large - I'm talking planet size in scale entering Borg space and around fifty Borg cubes zipping around it (looking very small in comparison) all attempting to assimilate the vessel. The action then cuts to inside the massive ship where we see the aliens, the "Creators", standing still each with there head tilled back and their eyes closed, with energy emanating from there bodies which is accumulating in a large pool about them. Eventually this reaches a critical mass and the action cuts outside again and we see a violent energy wave emanate from the ship, destroying all the Borg vessels around it. The ship continues on its way, moving through the debris field and then we get the opening credits.

This section would at last rid Star Trek of one of Voyager's only contributions to the franchise - the ruining of the Borg threat. By having the new baddies destroy the collective (as would come apparent later in the film) we need never again have to see that awful Borg Queen.

Although the Enterprise would appear to have found Data's brother first, it would become clear that an advanced scouting group of the Creators reached the planet before and reprogrammed the android some 50 years earlier before he turned on them and they were forced to shut him down. When the Enterprise finally makes contact with the big ship, the android feels the presence of such a large population of his reprogrammers and since he is unable to overcome the empathic abilities of the whole population as he was with the few scouts, his programming reverts to the Creator version. He promptly goes mad, killing Beverly before escaping in a Shuttle Craft.

The Enterprise follows the ship as it progresses, eventually learning of the alien plans. A big fleet of Starships is organised, of which the Enterprise is part, and they face the Creator ship. The fleet is mostly destroyed in the battle and the ship heads toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. The Enterprise follows and they somehow manage to reprogram Data so that they think he is the other android, he beams over to the big ship and manages eventually to destroy it and kill himself. The blast wave partially destroys the Enterprise and everyone is forced to the escape pods.

The final scene is of the remaining crew looking out of the escape pod window, back towards the burning Enterprise - maybe Picard makes one of his famous speeches and we know that things are never going to be the same again.

Obviously there are a lot of holes in what I've said, but as an outline it would make for a good story - certainly more epic than any of the previous Next Generation features. The remaining crew are free to reappear in future films but not necessarily as part of the Enterprise crew. Brent Spiner can reappear as the escaped android and well, we get rid of the mess that the Borg have become and there's not a joystick in sight...

//agi. [agi@fsmail.net]