In Theory

Lt Jenna D'Sora, just out of a relationship, finds herself drawn to Data, and when she kisses him he decides to try romance, writing a new subroutine for the purpose. He gathers advice from Picard, Guinan and others, and earnestly plays the attentive partner, with mixed results. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is studying a dark matter nebula, and strange things start happening around the ship: objects move or vanish, the observation lounge briefly loses its window, and a crew member is found dead, fused into a deck. The cause proves to be pockets of distortion that the sensors cannot detect in time. Picard flies a shuttle ahead to guide the ship out, and O'Brien beams him back just before the shuttle is destroyed. Jenna, touched by Data's efforts, realises she has once again chosen someone who cannot truly return her feelings. She ends the relationship, and Data calmly deletes his romance program.