"The Next Phase" is the 124th episode of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 24th episode of the fifth season.In this episode, the Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Romulan science ship. Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge and Ensign Ro Laren are lost in a transporter accident when returning to the Enterprise with a faulty generator from the Romulan ship.