“Force of Nature”
Written by Naren Shankar
Directed by Robert Lederman
Season 7, Episode 9
Production episode 40276-261
Original air date: November 15, 1993
Stardate: 47310.2
Captain’s Log: La Forge has borrowed Spot, Data’s cat, to see if he wants a cat of his own. It proves something of a disaster, as Spot breaks a vase, ruins a chair by using it as a scratching post, and coughs hairballs all over the carpet. Data points out, rightly, that this is normal cat behavior. La Forge feels that Data should consider trying to train the cat, which proves he’s never had one....
The Enterprise is searching for the Fleming, a medical transport that was lost in a region of space littered with tetryons. The only way to navigate the region is through the Hekaras Corridor—a narrow band of space free of tetryons. The Hekarans have reported only a Ferengi ship in the region. Since the Fleming was carrying bio-mimetic gel—which is valuable—it’s possible the Ferengi are engaged in some piracy.
[This is down. Down is good. This is up. Up is no.]