The cosmic entity's unknown lifecyle threatens the Enterprise—its conception in Troi accelerates while the plasma plague it unknowingly sustains approaches containment breach

In the hushed artificial night of the Enterprise, a radiant orb—sentient, purposeful—glides through bulkheads with the patience of a hunter who has already won. It hesitates over lesser souls, discarding …

After a birth that unfolded without pain and with unnerving speed, the sickbay still bristles with phasers: Worf’s security cordon stands between Troi and her own wonder. Riker steps forward—not …

In the bleached maternity alcove of Sickbay, Dr. Pulaski methodically passes her tricorder over the newborn Ian Andrew. The device shudders—the readings spike far beyond normal human parameters then flatline …