Too Short a Season
Admiral Mark Jameson, once confined by a crippling disease, takes an experimental rejuvenation drug to regain strength and lead a critical hostage rescue on Mordan IV, but his rapidly de-aging body threatens to unravel the mission and his life.
The USS Enterprise orbits the war-torn planet Mordan IV, where an urgent crisis has erupted: a dissident terrorist faction holds Federation Ambassador Hawkins and his staff hostage, demanding a Federation negotiator. Admiral Mark Jameson, a legendary Starfleet officer once thought dead and now physically debilitated by Iverson's Disease, is summoned to lead the rescue. Jameson arrives aboard the Enterprise confined to a support chair, but soon reveals he has secretly taken a potent, alien rejuvenation therapy from Cerberus II that reverses his aging, restoring his youth and vitality—though at a dangerous and unstable cost.
Despite skepticism from Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, and Doctor Crusher, Jameson insists on commanding the away team personally. As the Enterprise approaches Mordan IV, Jameson demands an accelerated warp jump to gain tactical advantage. He distrusts Karnas, the planet's governor who initially requested his aid, suspecting deception behind the hostage situation. The away team materializes in the ancient tunnel network beneath Mordan's capital, where Jameson leads a reconnaissance and attempted rescue despite Data's conflicting schematics. A firefight erupts with Mordanite soldiers, forcing a hasty retreat and leaving Jameson weakened by violent physical attacks that plague his body as the rejuvenation process spirals out of control.
Back on the Enterprise, Doctor Crusher reveals the rejuvenation drug is causing Jameson's cells to regenerate too rapidly, destabilizing his DNA and straining his body's limits. His physical decline is severe and irreversible. Meanwhile, communications from Karnas intensify, threatening immediate execution of hostages unless Jameson is delivered alive within minutes. In a desperate gambit, Picard beams down with a drastically younger Jameson, who now appears as a teenager but retains his seasoned mind and authority.
Confrontations unfold in Karnas's office as he wrestles with the stark evidence of Jameson's transformation and his own deep-seated desire for vengeance. Jameson admits his dark past: decades earlier, in a similar hostage crisis, he provoked a forty-year civil war by supplying weapons to rival Mordanite factions under the guise of the Prime Directive. Karnas's hatred is fueled by the devastation wrought since. Yet Jameson's current mission is redemption—he intends to end the conflict and rescue the hostages by force if necessary.
As Jameson's body continues to deteriorate under the relentless stress of the rejuvenation, Karnas lowers his weapon, realizing that prolonging Jameson's suffering is punishment enough. Jameson dies in the embrace of his wife Anne, who has also undergone partial rejuvenation but remains older, embodying the painful gulf between regained youth and lost time. Karnas agrees to release the hostages unharmed, acknowledging the complex legacy of war, revenge, and the limits of human ambition.
Captain Picard closes his log reflecting on the futility of chasing youth at the expense of wisdom and acceptance, as the Enterprise sets course for their next destination. The story explores themes of aging, redemption, and the moral consequences of intervention, wrapped in a tense, character-driven Star Trek drama where the cost of second chances becomes tragically clear.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The USS Enterprise orbits Persephone V, a tranquil backdrop to the impending crisis. Captain Picard's log establishes the urgent mission: a volatile hostage situation on Mordan IV, where Governor Karnas, a figure from Jameson's past, specifically demands Admiral Mark Jameson as the Federation negotiator. Jameson, a legendary Starfleet officer, beams aboard, his eighty-year-old body visibly ravaged by Iverson's Disease, confined to a debilitating support chair. His physical frailty immediately clashes with his formidable reputation. Yet, with unwavering resolve, Jameson wastes no time asserting his authority, unilaterally declaring himself Senior Mission Officer and demanding absolute command over the away team and all mission actions. This audacious power grab stuns both Captain Picard and Commander Riker, who are left nonplussed by the Admiral's unexpected and total usurpation of their operational control. This opening sequence masterfully sets the stage for a high-stakes, character-driven drama, introducing the central conflict of the Mordan IV crisis, while simultaneously hinting at the profound mysteries surrounding Jameson's past, his true capabilities, and the dangerous implications of his sudden, absolute command. Picard's reluctant acknowledgement of Jameson's authority establishes a tense dynamic that will drive the narrative forward.
Captain Picard logs the USS Enterprise's position near the planet Persephone and briefs Admiral Mark Jameson on a critical hostage situation unfolding on Mordan IV. A subspace transmission from Governor …
Aboard the Enterprise in orbit around Persephone, Captain Picard formally briefs Admiral Mark Jameson on the hostage crisis unfolding on Mordan IV. The transmission from Governor Karnas reveals a desperate …
Captain Picard and his senior officers on the Enterprise bridge receive a tense subspace transmission from Governor Karnas of Mordan IV, reporting a hostage crisis that demands Admiral Jameson's unique …
On the USS Enterprise bridge, a tense communication from Governor Karnas of Mordan IV demands a personal negotiation exclusively with Admiral Mark Jameson, bypassing all others. Karnas ominously warns that …
On the Enterprise bridge, the crew receives a tense communication from Governor Karnas demanding a face-to-face negotiation with Admiral Jameson, rejecting his intermediary status. Jameson coldly accepts the ultimatum, underscoring …
On the Enterprise bridge, the tense communication with Governor Karnas deepens the hostage crisis's complexity, revealing both strategic urgency and hidden motives. As the terrorists demand face-to-face talks solely with …
On the Main Bridge, a tense subspace communication unfolds as Governor Karnas addresses Admiral Jameson, his words laced with a pointed remark about Jameson's aged appearance, immediately signaling a complex, troubled history between the two men. Jameson, ever the seasoned negotiator, deftly deflects Karnas's barbs, pressing for specific details on the terrorists' demands, though Karnas remains evasive. Counselor Troi, with her empathic insight, senses a profound "holding back" from Karnas, fueling Captain Picard's growing suspicion of hidden agendas and underlying deceptions. Meanwhile, Jameson attempts to circumvent a routine medical check-up, presenting Doctor Crusher with outdated medical records. Crusher, with her sharp medical acumen, quickly uncovers this deception, raising immediate and serious concerns for Picard regarding the Admiral's true health and motives. The mystery deepens when Jameson suffers a sudden, agonizing pain attack in his quarters, a violent convulsion he desperately tries to conceal from his wife, Anne, dismissing it as mere "body changes." The act culminates in a stunning, dramatic reveal on the bridge: Jameson, now visibly rejuvenated, rises from his support chair and walks unaided, a feat previously deemed impossible. He casually attributes this miraculous recovery to a "new therapy," leaving the entire crew, especially Picard and Crusher, in a state of profound shock and disbelief, fundamentally altering their understanding of the mission and Jameson's role within it.
In the Captain's ready room, Riker confronts Admiral Jameson with skepticism over how Governor Karnas could have known Jameson was alive, given his presumed death. Jameson firmly asserts his survival, …
In the Captain’s Ready Room, Picard, Riker, Data, Troi, and Admiral Jameson dissect the opaque political undercurrents behind the Mordan IV hostage crisis. Riker challenges Jameson on Karnas’s knowledge of …
In the Captain's Ready Room, Admiral Jameson, alongside Picard and the senior staff, dissects the Mordan IV crisis’s underlying political tensions. Jameson reveals his intimate knowledge of Governor Karnas’s rigid …
In the Captain's Ready Room, Admiral Jameson asserts his expert understanding of Governor Karnas’s rigid warrior code and the complex political tensions underlying the hostage crisis on Mordan IV. As …
Anne warmly teases Admiral Jameson upon his late return to their quarters, noting his surprising physical improvement as he rises unaided from his support chair. Their tender exchange underscores their …
In the quiet intimacy of their quarters, Anne and Admiral Jameson share a tender moment marked by nostalgia and deep mutual affection. As Anne reflects regretfully on lost decades they …
In the quiet intimacy of their quarters, Anne notices Jameson’s apparent improvement but soon witnesses his concealed agony as a painful spasm overtakes him. Despite his desperate attempt to downplay …
On the Enterprise's main bridge, Admiral Jameson shocks the crew by rising unaided from his support chair and walking steadily for the first time in what seems like ages. His …
On the Enterprise's main bridge, Captain Picard tentatively offers Admiral Jameson temporary command as they approach the Idini Star Cluster, signaling a cautious transfer of authority amid rising tensions. Jameson …
Doctor Crusher, after rigorous analysis, confirms Jameson's miraculous recovery is medically impossible, emphatically stating that Iverson's Disease has no known cure or remission, intensifying Captain Picard's urgent investigation into the Admiral's mysterious and rapid transformation. In the privacy of his quarters, Jameson's rejuvenation accelerates at an alarming rate, shocking his wife Anne as he rapidly de-ages, appearing suddenly twenty years younger. He confesses to Anne and Picard that he secretly acquired a dangerous, experimental alien rejuvenation therapy from Cerberus II, admitting he took an intentional overdose to rapidly regain his youth and vitality specifically for this mission. Anne, heartbroken and furious, bitterly condemns his selfishness and secrecy, highlighting the profound personal cost of his ambition. Now visibly younger, more vital, and aggressively driven, Jameson initiates a secured communication with Karnas. During this tense and revealing exchange, Karnas drops the pretense, exposing the stunning truth: there are no terrorists; he, Governor Karnas, holds the hostages himself, demanding Jameson's presence on Mordan IV for a "very high price," confirming his true motive is deeply rooted, decades-old revenge. Enraged by this profound betrayal and fueled by his renewed physical prowess, Jameson immediately orders the Enterprise to execute an accelerated warp jump to Mordan IV, planning a direct, armed rescue mission, thereby completely abandoning the initial negotiation premise and dramatically escalating the entire conflict into a high-stakes confrontation.
In the privacy of the Captain's Ready Room, Picard pulls Dr. Beverly Crusher aside to confront the bewildering truth behind Admiral Jameson's rapid recovery from the incurable Iverson's Disease. Beverly …
In the solemn privacy of the Captain's Ready Room, Picard confronts Doctor Beverly Crusher with the baffling reality of Admiral Jameson's rapid recovery from the incurable Iverson's Disease. Crusher confirms …
In the privacy of her office, Dr. Beverly Crusher presents Captain Picard with alarming medical findings about Admiral Jameson's rapid physical transformation. Despite exhaustive tests, she uncovers alien chemical substances …
In the tense confines of Dr. Crusher's office, Captain Picard demands concrete explanations for Admiral Jameson's baffling rejuvenation, pressing for urgent clarity amid mounting uncertainty. Beverly reveals disturbing medical anomalies—alien …
In the tense confines of her office, Dr. Beverly Crusher grapples with the baffling medical enigma of Admiral Jameson's rapid healing and bodily transformation. As Captain Picard presses her for …
Captain Picard confronts Admiral Jameson in the intimate confines of the Jamesons' quarters, uncovering the shocking truth behind the admiral’s medically impossible recovery from Iverson’s Disease. Jameson admits to secretly …
Captain Picard confronts Admiral Jameson in his quarters about the radical and secret experimental rejuvenation therapy that has restored Jameson's youth and vitality. Jameson reveals the high-risk alien procedure he …
In the intimate confines of the Jamesons' quarters, Captain Picard confronts Admiral Jameson about his secretive and dangerous use of an experimental rejuvenation treatment to regain youth and strength. Jameson …
On the bridge, Jameson, now commanding with renewed vigor, presents outdated tunnel schematics for an armed rescue mission on Mordan IV, dismissing Picard's concerns about escalating the situation and Karnas's true intentions. Picard, Troi, and Beverly discuss Jameson's condition; Crusher confirms his physical health is excellent, like a "forty-five-year-old," but Troi notes his "harder, more forceful attitude" and "ambition," linking it to his regained youth and past glory, suggesting a dangerous overconfidence. Anne, distraught by Jameson's accelerating de-aging and his renewed focus on his career, expresses her anguish to Beverly and Troi, who reveal Jameson's condition is not stabilizing and he "may not have that life to live over," foreshadowing his impending death. In a pivotal confession in the Observation Lounge, Jameson reveals his dark secret to Picard: forty-five years ago, he secretly supplied weapons to both sides of a Mordanite conflict, inadvertently sparking a brutal forty-year civil war. He now seeks redemption by forcibly rescuing the hostages, driven by guilt. The act culminates in a tense standoff in the Transporter Room where Picard, despite Jameson's authority, asserts his own command by joining the away team, ensuring he is present for the dangerous mission Jameson insists upon, signifying Picard's direct involvement in the unfolding crisis.
On the Enterprise bridge, Admiral Jameson commands Data to project the long-forgotten tunnel schematics beneath Mordan IV’s rebuilt city, revealing the labyrinthine subterranean terrain where the hostages are believed to …
On the Enterprise bridge, Admiral Jameson asserts command over the hostage rescue mission on Mordan IV by presenting outdated tunnel schematics to justify an imminent armed raid. His unwavering conviction …
The away team materializes in the M-4 tunnel on Mordan IV, where Jameson confidently leads, relying on his forty-five-year-old memories, despite Data's tricorder readings showing the tunnel is a dead end, highlighting Jameson's increasingly unreliable judgment. They quickly encounter a sealed-off section, confirming Data's accurate, updated schematics. As they proceed through a newly cut opening, they are ambushed by Mordanite soldiers firing kill-set phasers. During the chaotic firefight, Jameson is suddenly wracked by another agonizing pain attack, collapsing and forcing Picard to order an emergency beam-out. Back in Sickbay, Dr. Crusher reveals the rejuvenation compound is causing Jameson's cells to regenerate and die simultaneously, an irreversible process that will eventually lead to his body's collapse, sealing his fate. Karnas then issues an urgent ultimatum: deliver Jameson within minutes or a hostage will be executed, followed by others, intensifying the pressure. In a desperate gambit, Jameson, now drastically de-aged to a teenager, insists on being delivered to Karnas, believing his life is the only bargaining chip left to save the hostages. Picard, despite Jameson's rapidly deteriorating condition and the certain danger, agrees and beams down with him and Beverly, confronting Karnas with the shocking sight of the transformed Admiral, setting the stage for the final confrontation.
In the captain’s ready room, Picard convenes with Dr. Beverly Crusher and Counselor Troi to evaluate the extraordinary effects of Admiral Jameson’s experimental rejuvenation. While medically Jameson’s body has physically …
In the intimate confines of the Captain's Ready Room, Picard consults both Dr. Beverly Crusher and Counselor Troi to assess Admiral Jameson's startling physical rejuvenation and its effects on his …
In the intimate confines of Crusher’s office, Anne Jameson confronts the devastating emotional gulf growing between her and her husband Mark, whose rapid physical de-aging strips away the shared future …
In the intimate confines of Crusher's office, Anne Jameson grapples with the devastating emotional toll of her husband's rapid de-aging. Despite reassurances from Dr. Beverly Crusher and Counselor Troi that …
In the dim quiet of the Observation Lounge, Admiral Mark Jameson reveals to Captain Picard the profound burden haunting him. Once a revered negotiator, Jameson confesses his moral failure: violating …
In the quiet, dim Observation Lounge late at night, Admiral Jameson reveals to Captain Picard the devastating truth behind the Mordan IV conflict and his own past actions. Stripped of …
In the quiet of the observation lounge late at night, Admiral Jameson and Captain Picard confront the devastating legacy of Mordan IV. Jameson reveals the dark truth behind his past …
Karnas, enraged, initially dismisses the teenage Jameson as a "charade," demanding the "old man." Jameson, despite his youthful appearance, asserts his identity and authority, forcing Karnas to acknowledge his presence. Picard explains Jameson's self-administered overdose and the rapid de-aging process, while Jameson suffers another agonizing attack, providing undeniable evidence of his condition. Karnas, still consumed by revenge, demands to show the "old man" the devastation of Mordan IV, blaming him for forty years of civil war, but Picard counters, reminding Karnas of his own role in perpetuating the conflict. As Jameson's condition rapidly worsens, Beverly beams down Anne, who witnesses her husband's terrible decline. Jameson, in a desperate attempt to prove his identity and atone, reveals intimate details of their original, secret weapon deal, including a hidden scar, finally convincing Karnas of his true identity. Karnas raises a weapon to kill Jameson, but lowers it, realizing that Jameson's agonizing, public disintegration is a more profound revenge than death. Jameson dies in Anne's arms, his final words a tender memory of her youth, bringing a tragic end to his quest for redemption. Karnas, witnessing Jameson's suffering and death, agrees to release the hostages, acknowledging the complex, shared burden of their past. Picard's final log reflects on the futility of chasing youth and the enduring value of wisdom and acceptance, as the Enterprise departs Mordan IV, leaving behind a legacy of complex moral choices.
In the transporter room's tense standoff, Admiral Jameson's desperation to lead the critical hostage rescue manifests as he orders the team to transport despite his compromised condition. Captain Picard intervenes, …
In the transporter room, the fragile command hierarchy fractures under pressure as Admiral Jameson asserts his authority to lead the mission, despite his compromised physical and mental state. Captain Picard …
In the transporter room, a tense power struggle unfolds between Admiral Jameson and Captain Picard just before the away team's critical mission phase. Jameson insists on asserting his authority as …
As the Enterprise holds orbit, the away team materializes within the ancient, neglected M-4 tunnel beneath Governor Karnas's residence. Immediately shifting into tactical readiness, Admiral Jameson asserts confident command, relying …
Within the shadowed M-4 tunnel beneath Governor Karnas’s residence on Mordan IV, Admiral Mark Jameson asserts authoritative command based on his intimate, decades-old knowledge of the labyrinthine passages. His confident …
Upon beaming down into the neglected M-4 tunnel beneath the governor’s residence on Mordan IV, Admiral Jameson confidently asserts his intimate knowledge of the subterranean network, ordering the away team …
In a tense moment of the Mordan IV hostage rescue, the away team encounters a freshly sealed steelplast barrier blocking their most direct path. Geordi's scans confirm the material's recent …
Confronted with a newly sealed steelplast barrier blocking the most direct tunnel route, Admiral Jameson orders the team to breach it manually rather than risk an uncertain beam-in. Despite Tasha …
In the tense tunnel beneath Mordan IV, the away team’s intrusion triggers a deadly ambush by Mordanite soldiers, forcing a chaotic firefight. Despite his frail, rapidly de-aging state, Admiral Jameson …
In a harrowing confrontation beneath Mordan IV, a rapidly de-aged Admiral Jameson faces Governor Karnas, whose decades-old vendetta drives the hostage crisis. Despite his youthful appearance, painful physical deterioration betrays …
In the shadowed tunnels beneath Mordan IV, a tense confrontation unfolds as Karnas violently rejects the youthful, de-aged Admiral Jameson, accusing him of being an imposter. Despite Karnas's rage and …
In the tense depths of Mordan IV's tunnels, Admiral Mark Jameson suffers a brutal physical decline caused by an experimental rejuvenation drug that simultaneously restores youth and destroys his body. …
Amidst a deadly confrontation in the tunnels beneath Mordan IV, Admiral Jameson’s body deteriorates rapidly due to the experimental rejuvenation drug, transforming him into a painfully de-aged youth. Despite his …
In the tense tunnels beneath Mordan IV, the away team under Admiral Jameson faces an ambush by Mordanite soldiers with lethal intent. Jameson's reckless charge leads to a sudden collapse, …