02x01 - The Star Gazer

[bunniefuu]

[ALARM WAILING]

COMPUTER: Intruder
alert. Intruder alert.

Life support failure on Deck .

Move it, move it, move it!

COMPUTER: Power grid failure on Deck .

MAN: All security teams report
to the bridge immediately.

- Let's move, cadets!
- Alpha Team to the bridge!

Beta Team, secure the warp core!

- COMPUTER: Inertial dampeners off-line.
- Come on!

[GRUNTING]

Malfunction...

We got to go.

Hurry up! Come on!

COMPUTER: Warp field collapse imminent.

- [BEEPS]
- Bridge...

Ship systems rebooting.

[ALARM BLARING]

Sys-Sys-System-system online.

[GRUNTING]

[GRUNTS]

[SCREAMS]

PICARD: Status.

♪ ♪

Stop f*ring!

Picard?

[GRUNTS]

COMPUTER: Bridge control transfer %.

- What's happening?
- All systems are redirected.

She's gaining complete access...

weapons, navigation, everything.

Computer, activate
auto-destruct sequence!

Auto-destruct activated.

Nine, eight...

BORG QUEEN: Picard.

... seven, six,

five, four,

three, two,

one.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[STATIC CRACKLING]

["TIME IS ON MY SIDE"
BY IRMA THOMAS PLAYING]

- ♪ Time is on my side ♪
- _

♪ Yes, it is ♪

♪ Time is on my side ♪

- ♪ Yes, it is ♪
- [NUMBER ONE BARKS]

♪ Now you always say ♪

♪ That you want to be free ♪

♪ You'll come running back ♪

♪ Just like I hoped you would ♪

- ♪ Baby ♪
- ♪ You'll come ♪

- ♪ Running back ♪
- ♪ I won't have to cry no more ♪

♪ You'll come running back ♪

- ♪ Uh-huh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
- ♪ To me ♪

♪ Time is on my side ♪

- ♪ Yes, it is, yeah ♪
- ♪ Yes, yes ♪

♪ Time is on my side ♪

- [SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
- ♪ Mm-hmm ♪

♪ I know that you're searching
for good times ♪

♪ But just wait and see ♪

- ♪ You'll come running back ♪
- ♪ One of these days, baby ♪

- ♪ You'll come running back ♪
- ♪ Oh, and it won't be long ♪

- ♪ You'll come running back ♪
- ♪ Oh, all my worries will be over ♪

- ♪ To me ♪
- ♪ 'Cause I'll have my baby home ♪

♪ Go right ahead, baby ♪

♪ Go ahead and light up the town ♪

- ♪ And, baby... ♪
- L'chaim.

Slainte.

[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]

Na zdorowie.

Santé.

Cheers, big ears.

[CHUCKLING]

Mmm.

[GRUNTS]

You know,

as days on Earth go,

this is reliably one of my favorites.

Oh, and why's that?

A celebration of...

the end of the season,

a conformation of hard work well done.

That's certainly one way
of looking at it, I suppose.

And what would be your way?

I don't know.

Um...

Sab khut hafeth.

Frazhannempal was qailefeth.

"Seize...

today, for we know nothing of tomorrow".

- Yes.
- [LAUGHS]

[GRUNTS SOFTLY]

Today is...

glorious.

And none of our tomorrows
are guaranteed.

To Zhaban.

- To Zhaban.
- [CLINKS]

You must miss him.

I do.

Even now, after a year and a half.

Did you know that we were
promised to each other at birth?

I had no idea.

Well, as is our custom.

But we did learn to love each other.

Truly.

Remember that Romulans
don't suffer loss as humans do.

We love deeply, and then we
honor that love by loving again,

even more deeply still.

When I first came to work here,

I saw you as a man who chose the stars.

And, after all this time,

I've come to wonder,

have you been seeking

or running?

Am I being too personal?

No.

Please, go on.

Why have you chosen to be alone?

I'm hardly alone.

You know what I mean.

As you say, I've...

spent my life in the stars.

And is that what you really want?

All...

you really want?

The part of me that really wants...

... is the part that
has to wait in line.

Behind what?

Duty, I suppose.

The need to keep on moving.

And where is the heart

after all this constant motion?

What might you find
if you were to just...

stop?

[WHISPERING]: Here?

Now?

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

Yeah, it's very late, and
you've got that speech tomorrow.

♪ ♪

WOMAN: Jean-Luc!

[HEAVY BREATHING]

♪ ♪

[CREAKING]

LARIS: Why have you chosen to be alone?

♪ ♪

Jean-Luc.

My little Magellan.

Slipping away like that.

Might as well have sailed
straight off the edge

of the world.

[CHUCKLES] Aren't we dramatic?

Paris is just a transport away.

[GLASS CRUNCHING]

And you've never seen skies
like this at night,

I promise you.

There's magic here.

Your father

can root around out there in the dirt

while your brother toils away at school.

This can be our place,

yours and mine.

We'll clear out the vines.

We can even paint on these windows.

[ECHOING]: Our own world.

What do you think?

Will you fight less here?

♪ ♪

[CRIES OUT]

MAURICE: Yvette.

Come find me.

[SCREAMS]

- [GLASS SHATTERS]
- [SCREAMING]

Of course we will.

But if we should shout
at each other now and then,

I want you to look up

and imagine how tiny
our voices are out there.

So tiny you can't even hear them.

Look up at the stars, Jean-Luc.

Look up.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

MAN: Starfleet Command,
this is USS Avalon.

We've detected a spatial
anomaly. Please advise.

♪ ♪

[CLOCK CHIMING]

[GRUNTS SOFTLY]

There you are.

I've been looking everywhere for you

with a cup of what is now definitely...

Earl Grey, cold.

I'm sorry. Yes.

Thank you. [EXHALES]

I've been, uh...

Yes?

Uh, a book.

I've been trying to find it.

Um, it's a first edition.

Green cover and, uh, gold lettering.

It's got to be somewhere
in these shelves.

Oh.

Thank you.

Laris.

Last night...

I was...

You.

You were you.

[SIGHS]

[WHISPERS]: Yeah.

Nothing has to change.

It's too late for that, Jean-Luc.

That's been clear to both of us
for some time now, I imagine.

Going forward, it would all be too...

awkward.

And I'm too old for awkward.

Now, have you any idea how hard it is

to be late in the age of transporters?

And yet, somehow, you manage.

PICARD: We often refer to space

as the final frontier.

But the older I get,

the more I come to believe...

- ... that the true final frontier
- _

is time.

In command,

as in life...

... what we do in crisis

often weighs upon us less heavily

than what we wish we had done,

what...

could have been.

Time offers many opportunities,

but it rarely offers

second chances.

And as steps forward go...

I would like to acknowledge
your classmate...

the first fully Romulan cadet

at Starfleet Academy... Elnor.

[APPLAUSE]

May you all go boldly into a future

freed from the shackles of the past.

I stand before you

the last Picard.

My ancestor captained

the second ship,

behind Jacques Cartier.

A great-great cousin Renee Picard

was instrumental in early exploration

of this solar system.

Yet I choose to leave you

with the words of my mother,

who was no explorer at all.

When I was a boy...

... she would point
to the night sky and say,

"Look up, Jean-Luc,

and let's see

what's out there".

[TONE SOUNDING RHYTHMICALLY]

[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

- [GRUNTS]
- Psst.

_

I'm a little occupied at the moment.

_

PIRATE: Come on out, freak.

Show me your ugly Borg face.

[GRUNTING]

Let's try this another way.

The medical supplies
you're attempting to steal

are the property of the Fenris Rangers.

If you leave now...

Emmet, a little help here, please.

[YAWNS]

[GRUNTING]

_

Computer, disengage hologram
safety protocols.

COMPUTER: Safety protocols deactivated.

[GRUNTING]

[SIGHS]

Ah...

Thanks.

_

_

[GRUNTS]

_

No.

_

_

_

_

Stop talking.

_

I never should have merged the holos.

There's got to be a way to disable

your therapeutic plug-ins.

_

There it is.

You were saying, about outside?

_

_

Show me.

[DISTORTED NOISE]

What the hell is that?

[CHOPIN'S "NOCTURNE NO.
IN B MAJOR, OP. " PLAYING]

SOJI: If I may, I'd like
to make a toast.

_

_

_

_

_

We've been touring the galaxy
for over a year

since the Federation
ended the ban on synthetics,

and in that time I've learned one thing:

you can't ask for trust
through an interpreter.

It needs to come from here,
through here.

_

_

[LAUGHTER]

[APPLAUSE]

She runs one sub-routine on toasts

and she's the belle of the ball.

[LAUGHS]

She certainly is impressive.

Wow. Bright.

May I?

I don't bite.

I just wanted to see
what hands could create

such a wonder.

[CLEARS THROAT]

You're flirting, right?

This is how really
pretty people flirt, isn't it?

Oh.

[SLURPING]

You know, look, I'm half
in the bag anyway,

so I'm gonna give you a little advice.

Uh, my longest lasting
intimate relationship,

including the one that I just ended,

is less than a year.

I was recently cleared of
murdering my previous boyfriend

due to alien-induced temporary insanity,

so I'm not exactly dating material.

You know?

[COMMUNICATOR CHIRPS]

Oh, thank God.

RIOS [OVER COMM]: Confused.

"Never talk to me again" was literally

the last thing you ever said to me.

SOJI: In the nick of time.

I thought I was going
to have to break into

a medley of Deltan folk songs.

A hard-to-replace opportunity
to be sure, but...

I know. Rios called. You're going.

I'm staying here to continue
being charmingly diplomatic.

If, by "heard", you mean
you eavesdropped

on my private comms link
using your super robot hearing.

Well, you did ask me to monitor you

for any potential
drunk hailing incidents,

so I extended the caution
to drunk answering.

I feel like that's an
exploitation of a technicality.

I'll call as soon as I know
when we'll be back.

I have a feeling you're gonna
be just fine without me.

And what about you and, you know?

Yeah, I have to confess, the whole

"we can totally still
work together" thing

made a lot more sense back on Earth.

I would never say I told you so,

but his new job does come
with a lot of pressure.

Please. How hard can it be?

One to beam up.

So, what's the big hurry, Captain.

Shelve that. There's no time.

Give me a sec. Kemi, get us there

as fast as you can short of
flying us through a sun.

- Comms, anything yet?
- Nothing, Captain.

Keep trying.

Lieutenant Urtern, I'll need
offensive and defensive

strategy reports. I don't
want to get there without

a possible engagement plan.

- You good?
- Yes, sir.

Always on point. Thank you.

Sorry, some kind of subspace anomaly.

Starfleet's ordered us to investigate.

I could use you on this one.

Your... your brain, I mean.

Well, that's kind of kind.

KEMI: Course set, Captain.

Dale.

"Make it so".

Oh, the pressure of legacy.

It's your own fault, you know.

No one told you to accept
a command with baggage.

OFFICER: Bri'onn Raul.
Assignment: the Hikaru Sulu.

Cadet Maxwell Nagata.
Assignment: the Grissom.

Please report to your designated
transport berths.

RAFFI: So, how are things?

I'm considering an update

- to the Kobayashi Maru.
- Good.

I hate that test.

Well, I am very happy to be

chancellor of the Academy,
thank you very much.

Mm-hmm. Sure.

It forces you to focus on Starfleet

instead of, you know, you.

And how is Seven these days?

[CHUCKLES] Touché.

You know Seven.

There's always folks
out there in trouble.

What kind of assh*le needs to be
more important than that?

But you would like to be. To her.

Well, I guess she has me hoping

for something more.

You wouldn't understand.

I-I mean, of course,
of course you'd understand.

It's just that, at the end of the day,

you two are so damn self-sufficient,

happy to travel the stars.

Hell, I wonder if either of you
even get lonely.

FEMALE VOICE: Cadet Elnor.
Assignment: the Excelsior.

Elnor.

Admiral Picard.

I'd hoped to see you
before my departure.

- Exciting time.
- Yes.

I'm very excited.

But I'm also worried my excitement

may be distracting me from my studies.

It's paradoxical.

You know, there's a quote in this book

that would be very appropriate.

This is written by Spock himself,

and it's a memoir of the
challenges that he faced

when he was one of the first
Vulcan cadets in Starfleet.

"Exhilaration enhances

the absorption of knowledge".

In other words, live a little.

[CHUCKLES]

I will cherish it.

Thank you for the book, Admiral.

Better get moving, cadet.
We ship out in ten.

OFFICER [OVER P.A.]: Commander Musiker,

please report to the
Excelsior for departure.

Same ship.

Keeping him under your wing.

That boy's absolute candor
can get his ass kicked.

- [CHUCKLES]
- So I'm protective of him.

Frankly, I find it very pleasing.

OFFICER [OVER P.A.]: All officers

and cadets to their ship for departure.

Mmm, they're playing my song.

Safe journeys.

- Admiral.
- Commander.

[DISTORTED NOISE]

Lieutenant Urtern, what am I looking at?

Spatial anomaly, Captain.

Minor tachyon levels,
but nothing critical.

For the moment it appears stable.

The fabric of space-time rending

does not really shout stability.

- Captain Rios, we're being hailed.
- On screen.

What are you doing here?

I was about to ask the same.

What the hell did you do to my ship?

Correction, my ship.

Look after her, I said.

Instead, I used her
to take care of others,

which, in my line of work,
can occasionally be violent.

Besides, a few dents look good on her.

Hi, Seven.

[LOUD STATIC]

Lieutenant Sing?

Signal is originating
inside the anomaly, Captain.

A message of some kind?

SING: Running it through
the universal translator.

Coming back inconclusive, sir.

A peculiar way of saying hello.

Let me deal with this.

[GRUNTS]

Oh, sorry.

[CLEARS THROAT] Captain, may I?

Captain?

Lieutenant, trust me, you'll find it

much easier to just defer.

Displaying the signal as a waveform.

Scattered, chaotic.

Analyzing.

Not language. Languages. Plural.

Dozens of them, all overlaid.

All asking... no, pleading.

Agnes... what does it say?

It says, "Help us".

"Help us, Picard".

DISTORTED VOICE: Help us, Picard.

Help us, Picard.

[INDISTINCT CITY NOISE]

["GUILTY AS CHARGED"
BY ARCHIE THOMPSON PLAYING]

♪ This road is paved ♪

♪ With good intentions ♪

♪ There's something 'bout me
I forgot to mention ♪

♪ Got a cheating heart... ♪

I'm gonna need some tea.

Earl Grey, piping hot.

PICARD: Perhaps something stronger.

[CHUCKLES]

Captain Picard.

[QUIETLY]: Admiral.

Oh, excuse me. Admiral.

But you'll always be Captain to me.

Hello, Guinan.

It's so good to see you.

And you.

Um, this is for your private reserve.

Oh, well, with you pushing a century,

and me pushing several,
I, I don't really think,

at our age, we should be
reserving anything.

Well, El-Aurians age

so very slowly.

Yes, but only if we choose to.

Now, I noticed that humans
don't like to be

reminded of their mortality,

so I, I try to keep up.

[CHUCKLES] Well, thank you.

I don't think you're here to reminisce

about the old days.

Seems like the new ones are
what's troubling you now.

What's wrong?

- I can't just miss a dear old friend?
- You can.

But I've held your hand
while you've navigated

Federation diplomacy disasters.

I've seen you face down
some new galactic thr*at.

We have jumped universes together.

I've got to say,

I don't remember ever

seeing you look quite like...

Oh, oh.

I'm gonna take that back.

I have seen you look like this.

And it's serious.

So this, as lovely as it is,
is not gonna cut it.

So, top shelf or hooch?

Hooch, I think.

Saurian brandy it is.

Come on.

It's not as if I haven't loved before.

I have.

Sometimes quite deeply.

Yes, but always with those
who would only be temporary.

That's not entirely true.

So that you'd never have to fear

any of them taking root.

You think I'm the fearful sort?

Oh, no. I think you've done
a great many,

many brave things, of a kind.

It's too late.

That particular ship has sailed.

I watched it go.

Jean-Luc, you're being ridiculous.

- Excuse me?
- Yeah, it's not too late.

The problem isn't time. It's you.

You always talk about love
as if you ever

took it seriously.

And you know the only things
you've ever put out there

to break were your bones.

And the only thing you ever
risked losing was your life.

That's not an insignificant loss.

There are worse things than being dead.

You know that better than anybody.

You've been on your own
for, what, nearly a century?

Why? What's holding you back?

Okay, why did you decide

to go to the stars in the first place?

We've discussed this so many times.

To explore, to meet new civilizations...

Jean-Luc, since I've known you,

the only place you have ever
been afraid to explore,

be it flesh and blood,
or an artificial synthetic,

is in here.

[SIGHS]

What happened in there

that you and I have never talked about?

[SIGHS]

[GUINAN SIGHS SHARPLY]

You know what? I understand.

I think your answers

are not in the stars,
and they never have been.

Also, I suggest that we drink.

Because I think there's
one final frontier

yet to come.

[LAUGHS]

[PICARD EXHALES]

WHITLEY: Sorry to drop
in on you like this, Jean-Luc,

but it's a sensitive matter.

What is it, Sally?

Please make yourself comfortable.

We've encountered something
unique in space.

We'd like to get
your eyes on it in person.

Oh. With all due respect, Admiral,

there must be dozens
of better qualified people

than myself.

Its event horizon caused a massive spike

in Adler-Lasky temporal radiation.

And then it began...

well, to broadcast.

[OVERLAPPING DISTORTED VOICES]

This is how it begins.

Help us, Picard.

Help us, Picard.

Help us, Picard.

You said how it began?

The balance of the message is
the entirety of Article .

Article . An entreaty
to join the Federation.

An unknown entity that can
open and close

a hole in space-time

wants to join the Federation,
and apparently

will only talk to you about it.

♪ ♪

Jean-Luc?

[SHUTTLE DEPARTING]

Well, this is an unexpected encounter.

Indeed. Dr. Jurati's here as well.

Oh.

CREWMAN [QUIETLY]: It's Admiral Picard.

Your reputation precedes you.

Well, the Stargazer was
my first command.

Uh, not this Stargazer, of course.

But being here...

... it feels like

my life has come full circle.

She is quite a ship.

You don't agree?

[SEVEN OF NINE SIGHS]

The Stargazer is the first
of a new class of ship

that utilizes components
derived from research

on the Borg cube artifact.

Yes, of course. That's right.

There are so many in Starfleet
who fear the Borg,

and I sense that my
presence is increasing

historic tensions and paranoia.

Admiral on the bridge!

[BOATSWAIN'S WHISTLE SOUNDS]

Chris.

- It's so good to see you.
- You, too.

Welcome to the Stargazer.

Oh, thank you.

Oh, please, as you were.

Well...

... this is certainly sleeker
than my Stargazer.

The older these refits get,
the younger they look.

Unlike myself.

Well, mister, I think you look
absolutely positronic.

Agnes, I'm delighted to see you.

Circumstances notwithstanding.

- Status.
- Tactical, enhance.

Well, let's see if they have
anything else

to say to me personally.

Uh, if I may, Captain?

Knock yourself out.

Lieutenant, all hailing frequencies.

This is Admiral Jean-Luc Picard

responding to your request.

I repeat, this is Admiral Jean-Luc...

LEGION: Picard!

[STATIC WHOOSHING]

Picard!

Energy spiking across the board.

- Something's coming through.
- I can see that.

Red alert! Helm, back off.

Give us some distance.

[ALARM BLARING]

[GRUNTS]

Seven?

Yes, Admiral.

That ship is Borg.

[ALARM BLARING]

Stargazer, this is Commander Musiker.

Excelsior is standing by,
ready to assist.

RIOS: Good to know you're there, Raf.

Well, Admiral, right now
we're the tip of the spear,

you're the ranking officer,

and the devil is calling your name.

I'm fairly certain that
if we don't act, they will. So,

what do we do?

I don't know.

That out there

could be the very point

at which history turns.

SEVEN OF NINE: Picard.

The Borg consume.

They assimilate.

They don't ask to be assimilated.

Dr. Jurati?

I think caution is warranted,

b-but everything about this is unique.

The Borg we know have been

effectively decimated,
functionally hobbled.

So wouldn't it stand to reason

- that they'd change tactics?
- SEVEN OF NINE: Absolutely.

Victory through
whatever means necessary.

And in the absence of strength,

deception.

JURATI: But we could be putting a b*llet

into the greatest ally
the Federation may ever know.

PICARD: Precisely.

[CHUCKLES]: I don't believe
what I'm hearing.

The Borg have wiped out entire races.

k*lled tens of millions,
including my parents.

Subjugated exponentially more.

Yes, I understand.

SEVEN OF NINE: I know this
sounds cold, but just hear me out.

If I'm wrong, we destroy a Borg ship.

But if I'm right and we do nothing,

then today is the beginning
of the end of the Federation.

MOSHE [OVER COMM]:
Captain Rios to the bridge.

SING: Sir, they're hailing us.

Let's hear it.

LEGION: There is no more time.

We will begin negotiation

with Picard alone.

And how do you propose to do that?

We will send an emissary.

We will offer our queen.

There's no way in hell

I'm letting them on board this ship.

Broadcast fleetwide:

- Shields up.
- SING: Aye, Captain.

Sir, we have
an incoming transport signal.

Signal scans indicate
a single life-form.

Organic-synthetic components
consistent with the Borg.

Captain, do we fire?

Not yet. They can't transport
through our shields.

The queen is actually coming.

Rios, don't wait
until it's too late. Fire.

Open a channel.

- SING: Channel open, Captain.
- Borg vessel,

cease transport attempt,

or you will be fired upon.

MOSHE: Sir, her transport signal

is penetrating our shields.

- What deck?
- Here, sir. The bridge.

Hand phasers at the ready. Moshe,

do not engage prematurely.

Yes, sir.

Security team to the bridge.

MAN [OVER P.A.]:
All security teams, report

to the bridge immediately.

[ALARM BLARING]

That's new.

BORG QUEEN: We wish for peace.

But first,

we require...

What?

What do you require?

BORG QUEEN: Power.

[GRUNTS]

Cease fire!

Stop f*ring!

The queen is stunning them,
not k*lling them.

Stop f*ring!

COMPUTER: Isolinear
fragmentation detected.

Command node corruption.

Bridge controls redirecting.

[GRUNTS]

Bridge control transfer %.

[GRUNTS]

Bridge control transfer %.

What's happening?

JURATI: She's accessing the
board modifications in the ship.

She's gaining complete access. Weapons,

navigation, everything.

She's assimilating the ship.

JURATI: Not just our ship.

The entire fleet.
She's using us as a hub.

She's getting the command
codes for all our ships.

Broadcast to the fleet: All ships

- open fire on the Borg vessel.
- JURATI: I can't.

She's locked out comms.
She's assimilated

... no, % of the ship.

- We're gonna get locked out.
- SEVEN OF NINE: Picard,

we cannot give her an armada.
You know that.

[SHOUTS]

JURATI: % assimilated.

She's getting faster.

BORG QUEEN: You're out of time.

- [SCREAMS]
- [GASPS]

JURATI: %.

- RIOS: We're out of options!
- Computer,

activate auto-destruct sequence.

COMPUTER: Auto-destruct
activated. Awaiting final command.

♪ Non ♪

♪ Rien de rien... ♪

JURATI: She's at %.

If it gets to ,
we can't self-destruct.

Picard!

Authorization: Picard,
zero-zero-zero-destruct-zero.

COMPUTER: The emergency
destruct sequence

is now activated.

Destruction in ten. Nine.

- BORG QUEEN: Picard.
- Eight.

Seven.

Six. Five.

- BORG QUEEN: Look up.
- Four.

Three. Two.

One.

♪ ♪

[GASPS]

[DOOR OPENS]

♪ ♪

Laris?!

Sir. Would you prefer your
morning beverage on the veranda?

The solar shields are
holding well this morning.

The sky is delightfully clear.

Who the hell are you?

Harvey, sir. Are you feeling all right?

No. Where's Laris?

Laris. A Romulan name.

In colloquial English,

translates roughly to "a new day".

Would you like me to check
the migrant rosters

- for such a name?
- What is happening here?

MAN: An excellent question, Jean-Luc.

Mon capitaine.

How I've missed you.

No. No, no. No, no, no. No.

MAN: Oh, dear.

You're a bit older than I imagined.

Let me catch up.

There. Now we're even.

Q.

g*dd*mn Q.

Do you recall what I said

to you when last we parted ways?

The trial never ends.

What the hell are you doing here?

You've been talking a lot
about second chances.

Well, my friend, welcome to the very end

of the road not taken.