The Redoubtable Commander Riker (Whom I Noticed, Before.)

PICARD: 

You're no Starfleet Admiral, Q!

Q. : 

Neither am I an Aldebaran serpent, 

Captain, but you accepted me as such.

RIKER: 

He's got Us there, Captain.

Q: 

Ah! The redoubtable Commander Riker, 

whom I noticed before —

You seem to find this 

all very amusing.

PICARD: 

You interfered with our Farpoint mission. 

You threatened to convict us as ignorant savages, if, 

while dealing with a powerful and complex life form, 

we made the slightest mistake, and 

when that didn't happen --

Q : 

The Q became interested in You. 

Does no one here understand 

your incredible good fortune? 

'Seized my vessel'. These are the complaints of 

a closed mind too accustomed 

to military privileges. 

But you, Riker, and 

I remember you well -- 

What Do You Make 

of My Offer?

RIKER : 

We don't have time for these games.

Q : 

Games? Did someone say 'games'? 

And perchance, for interest's sake, 

a deadly Game? To The Game --

redoubtable (adj.)

late 14c., of persons, "worthy of honor, venerable" (a sense now obsolete); late 15c., "that is to be dreaded or feared, formidable, terrible," also often "valiant," from Old French redoutable (12c.), from redouter "to dread," from re-, intensive prefix, + douter "be afraid of" (see doubt (v.)).

The verb also was in Middle English, redouten, "to fear, dread; stand in awe or apprehension of; honor" (late 14c., from Old French) and was used through 19c., though OED marks it "now rhetorical."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to redoubtable

doubt (v.)

c. 1200, douten, duten, "to dread, fear, be afraid" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French doter "doubt, be doubtful; be afraid," from Latin dubitare "to doubt, question, hesitate, waver in opinion" (related to dubius "uncertain"), from duo "two" (from PIE root *dwo- "two"), with a sense of "of two minds, undecided between two things." Compare dubious. Etymologically, "to have to choose between two things."

The sense of "fear" developed in Old French and was passed on to English. Meaning "to be uncertain, hesitate or waver in opinion" is attested in English from c. 1300. The transitive senses of "be uncertain as to the truth or fact of" and "distrust, be uncertain with regard to" are from c. 1300.

The -b- was restored 14c.-16c. in French and English by scribes in imitation of Latin. French dropped it again in 17c., but English has retained it.

It replaced Old English tweogan (noun twynung), from tweon "two," on notion of "of two minds" or the choice between two implied in Latin dubitare. Compare German Zweifel "doubt," from zwei "two."

*dwo- 

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "two."

It forms all or part of: anadiplosis; balance; barouche; between; betwixt; bezel; bi-; binary; bis-; biscuit; combination; combine; deuce; deuterium; Deuteronomy; di- (1) "two, double, twice;" dia-; dichotomy; digraph; dimity; diode; diphthong; diploid; diploma; diplomacy; diplomat; diplomatic; diplodocus; double; doublet; doubloon; doubt; dozen; dual; dubious; duet; duo; duodecimal; duplex; duplicate; duplicity; dyad; epididymis; hendiadys; pinochle; praseodymium; redoubtable; twain; twelfth; twelve; twenty; twi-; twice; twig; twilight; twill; twin; twine; twist; 'twixt; two; twofold; zwieback.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit dvau, Avestan dva, Greek duo, Latin duo, Old Welsh dou, Lithuanian dvi, Old Church Slavonic duva, Old English twa, twegen, German zwei, Gothic twai "two;" first element in Hittite ta-ugash "two years old."

redoubt (n.)

also redout, "small, enclosed military work," c. 1600, from French redoute (17c.), from Italian ridotto, earlier ridotta, "place of retreat," from Medieval Latin reductus "place of refuge, retreat," noun use of past participle of reducere "to lead or bring back" (see reduce). The unetymological -b- was added by influence of unrelated and now obsolete English verb redoubt "to dread, fear" (see redoubtable). As an adjective, Latin reductus meant "withdrawn, retired; remote, distant."

(Riker is sitting on a rock, laughing --

Q suddenly now has Three Commanders' 

pips on the collar of his fake uniform. )

Q. : 

Something amuses you? 

Perhaps you'll share 

The Joke with me?

RIKER: 

The Joke is You.

Q. : 

Strange gratitude, from one who has been granted 

a gift beyond any human dream. 

How can you not appreciate being able to 

send your friends back to their ship, or 

sending the soldiers back to the nothingness 

from which they came? 

Certainly, you must understand that 

at this moment you can send yourself 

back to the ship or to Earth, or change your shape 

and become anything else you want to be.

RIKER: 

What do you need, Q?

Q. : 

Need?

RIKER: 

You want something from Us, 

desperately. What is it?

Q. : 

Want something from you 

foolish, fragile, non-entities? 

Oh come, Riker. You're beginning 

to sound like your Captain.

RIKER: 

Now that's a compliment, Q. 

But that's not An Answer.

Q. : 

Riker, we have offered you 

a gift beyond all other gifts!

RIKER: 

Out of the goodness of your heart.

Q. : 

After Farpoint, I returned to 

Where We Exist. The Q Continuum.

RIKER: 

Which means exactly what?

Q. : 

The limitless dimensions of 

The Galaxy in which we exist.

RIKER: 

I don't understand.

Q. : 

Of course you don't, and you never will 

until you become One of Us.

RIKER: 

Until? Would you mind going over that again?

Q. : 

Well if you'll stop interrupting me. 

This is hardly a time to be teaching you 

the true nature of the universe. 

However, at Farpoint we saw you as savages only. 

We discovered instead that you are 

unusual creatures in your own limited ways. 

Ways which in time will not be so limited.

RIKER: 

We're growing. Something about Us 

compels Us to learn, explore.

Q. : 

Yes, the human compulsion. 

And unfortunately for Us, it is a power 

which will grow stronger century 

after century, aeon after aeon.

RIKER: 

Aeons. Have you any idea 

how far we'll advance?

Q. : 

Perhaps in a future that you cannot 

yet conceive, even beyond Us. 

So you see, we must know more 

about this human condition. 

That's why We've selected You, Riker, 

to become part of The Q, 

so that You can bring to Us 

this human need and hunger, 

that We may understand it.

RIKER: 

I suppose you mean that as a compliment, Q. 

Or maybe it's my limited mind. 

But to become a part of you? 

I don't even like you.

Q. : 

(grins) ......You're going to miss Me!

Paul’s Son’s Nebula


(mute) 


RIKER: 

What the hell do they 

want with you? 


SHELBY: 

I thought they weren't interested 

in human life forms, only 

Our Technology. 


PICARD: 

Their priorities seem to have changed. Open. 


WORF: 

Channel Open. 


PICARD: 

We have developed 

new defence capabilities 

since our last meeting and 

we are prepared to use them 

if you do not withdraw 

from Federation space. 


LAFORGE [OC]: 

Captain.

[Engineering]

LAFORGE: 

The shields are being probed. 

I'm modulating nutation.

[Bridge]

WORF: 

Captain, The Borg are attempting 

to lock on to us with 

their tractor beam. 


PICARD: 

Load torpedo bays. 

Arm phasers. Lock coordinates on the source of the tractor beam. 


RIKER: 

Shield status? 


DATA: 

Holding, sir. 


SHELBY: 

The nutation modulation 

has them confused. 


RIKER: 

They have The Ability to Analyse 

and Adapt, Commander. 


(The Ship shakes)

[Engineering]

LAFORGE: 

Shield modulation has failed. 

They've locked on.

[Bridge]

WORF: 

Shields are being drained. 

Ninety percent. Eighty.

[Engineering]

LAFORGE: 

Trying to recalibrate nutation. 

Damn.

[Bridge]

WORF: 

Shields have failed. 


PICARD: 

Fire all weapons.

[Engineering]

LAFORGE: 

Their subspace field is intact. 

New phaser frequencies 

had no impact.

[Bridge]

RIKER: Reverse engines. 
LAFORGE [OC]: Full reverse.

[Engineering]

LAFORGE: We're not moving.

[Bridge]

PICARD: Fire at will. 


WORF: 

Launching torpedoes. 

Phaser spread continuing. 


DATA: 

Still no damage 

to The Borg vessel, sir. 


(The Borg weapon cuts through the Enterprise like a hot knife through butter, almost.) 


COMPUTER: 

Warning. Outer hull breach.


WORF: 

They're cutting into The Hull. 

Engineering section. 


RIKER: 

Geordi, evacuate Engineering.

[Engineering]

LAFORGE: 

Computer. Evacuation sequence. 


COMPUTER: 

Sealing doors to core chamber. 


LAFORGE: 

Come on, move it, people! 

Let's go! Let's go! 


COMPUTER: 

Decompression danger, 

deck thirty six, section four.

[Bridge]

COMPUTER: 

Sealing Main Engineering. 


SHELBY: 

Data, fluctuate phaser 

resonance frequencies. 

Random settings. 

Keep them changing. 

Don't give them time to adapt. 


(Finally, boom and judder) 


WORF: 

The tractor beam has been released. 


PICARD: 

Warp nine. Course, one five one mark three three zero. Engage. 
(La Forge enters the Bridge)


WORF: 

They are in pursuit, Captain. 


PICARD: 

Maintain course. 


RIKER: 

Damage report, Geordi? 


LAFORGE: 

Hull rupture in main Engineering. The damage is pretty heavy. We lost a lot of good people down there. 


DATA: 

Eleven dead, eight more unaccounted for, Captain. 


RIKER: 

Repair teams to Engineering. 

Seal hull breach. 


LAFORGE: 

They didn't get to the core, 

I can control functions 

from here. 


WESLEY: 

Now approaching 

The Paulson Nebula, sir. 


PICARD: 

Drop to impulse. 

Take us in, Ensign. 


(Enterprise glides into the purple fog) 


WESLEY: 

The field is getting too dense, sir. 


PICARD: 

Steady. Analysis of the 

nebula cloud, Mister Data. 


DATA: 

82% DiLithium Hydroxyls. 

Magnesium, Chromium. 

It should provide an effective screen against their sensors, Captain. 


PICARD: 

Mister La Forge, prepare 

to reverse engines. Full Stop. 


(The Enterprise vanishes, 

and The Borg Cube halts) 


WORF: 

The Borg Ship is continuing scans, 

attempting to locate Us. 


PICARD: 

Good. As long as 

They're looking for Us, 

They won't Hurt 

anyone else.

Cubical

RIKER: 

We've picked up a vessel 

on the long range scanners, 

headed this way.

PICARD: 

Analysis.

DATA: 

The Vessel is traveling 

at Warp 7.6. 

Mass : 2.5 million metric tons. 

Configuration : Cubical.

The Exorcist :

Where’s Reagan?

Pazuzu :

In Here - with Us.

cubicle (n.)

mid-15c., "bedroom, bedchamber," from Latin cubiculum "bedroom," from cubare "to lie down," which is perhaps from a PIE *kub-, with cognates in Middle Welsh kyscu, Middle Cornish koska, Middle Breton cousquet "to sleep," but de Vaan regards the PIE origin of the Latin word as "uncertain." Compare cubit.

 

Obsolete from 16c. but revived by 1858 for "dormitory sleeping compartment," especially in an English public school. The sense of "any partitioned space" (such as a library carrel or, later, office work station) is attested by 1926. 

Related: Cubicular.

Entries linking to cubicle

cubit (n.)

ancient unit of measure (usually from 18 to 22 inches) based on the forearm from elbow to fingertip, early 14c., from Latin cubitum, cubitus "the elbow, the forearm," generally regarded as a derivative of PIE *keu(b)- "to bend," but de Vaan finds this dubious based on the sense of the proposed cognates and the sound changes involved. 

Also compare cubicle.

It seems much safer to assume that cubitus 'elbow' is a specific instance of the ppp. cubitus of the verb cubare 'to lie down'. People lie down on their elbow if they sleep on their side, and the Romans even reclined when dining. It matters little whether the original meaning was 'forearm' or 'the elbow joint'. One may even suggest that the verb cubitare 'to lie down' ... is not (only) a frequentative to cubare, but (also) arose as a denominative 'to rest on the elbow' to cubitus. [de Vaan]

Such a measure, known by a word meaning "forearm" or the like, was known to many peoples (compare Greek pekhys, Hebrew ammah, English ell).

The word also was used in English in the "forearm, part of the arm from the elbow downward" sense (early 15c.); hence cubital "as long as a cubit" (mid-15c.), also "pertaining to the forearm" (1610s).

concubine (n.)

c. 1300, "a paramour, a woman who cohabits with a man without being married to him;" also, in reference to Hebrew, Greek, Roman and other civilisations where the position was recognized by law, "a wife of inferior condition, a secondary wife," from Latin concubina (fem.), concubinus (masc.) "one who lives unmarried with a married man or woman." 

Usually the concubine was of a lower social order, but the institution, though below matrimonium, was less reproachful than adulterium or stuprum. The word itself is from concumbere "to lie with, to lie together, to cohabit," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + cubare "to lie down" (see cubicle).

Such concubines were allowed by the Greek and Roman laws, and for many centuries they were more or less tolerated by the church, for both priests and laymen. The concubine of a priest was sometimes called a priestess. [Century Dictionary]

In Middle English, as in Latin, sometimes used of a man who cohabits with a woman without marriage. Related: Concubinary; concubinal.

PICARD: 

Mister Worf, dispatch 

a subspace message 

to Admiral Hanson :

We have engaged 

The Borg. 


WORF: 

Captain — YOU are being hailed. 


PICARD: 

I am? 


WORF: 

Yes, Captain :

 By Name. 


RIKER: 

Data, is it the same ship 

we faced at J two five? 


DATA: 

Uncertain, Commander, 

but the dimensions are 

precisely the same. 


PICARD: 

On screen. I am Jean Luc -


(The viewscreen just shows the inside of The Cube. The voice is made up of many speaking as one) 


BORG [OC]:

 Jean Luc Picard, captain of the Starship Enterprise, registry NCC 1701D, you will lower shields and prepare to transport yourself aboard our vessel. If you do not cooperate, we will destroy your ship. 


PICARD: 

You have committed acts of aggression 

against the United Federation of Planets. 

If you do not withdraw immediately 
—

BORG: 

You will surrender yourself or we will destroy your ship. 

Your defensive capabilities are unable to withstand us. 


(mute) 


RIKER:

 What the hell do They 

want with you? 


SHELBY: 

I thought they weren't interested 

in human life forms, 

only Our Technology. 


PICARD: 

Their priorities seem 

to have changed. 

Stay Where Thou Art

Captain's log, stardate 41153.7. 

Our Destination is Planet Deneb Four, 

beyond which lies the great 

unexplored mass of The Galaxy. 

My Orders are to examine Farpoint, 

a starbase built there 

by the inhabitants of that world. 

Meanwhile, I am becoming 

better acquainted 

with my new command, this 

Galaxy Class USS Enterprise. 

I am still somewhat in awe 

of its size and complexity. 

As for my crew, 

we are short in several 

key positions, 

most notably a first officer, 

but I am informed that 

a highly experienced man, 

one Commander William Riker, 

will be waiting to join Our Ship 

at our Deneb Four destination.

[Bridge]

PICARD: 

You will agree, Data, that 

Starfleet's orders are... difficult? 

DATA: 

Difficult? Simply, 

'Solve The Mystery 

of Farpoint Station.' 

PICARD: 

As simple as that. 

TROI: 

Farpoint Station. Even The Name 

sounds mysterious. 

PICARD: 

It's hardly simple, Data, 

to negotiate a friendly agreement 

for Starfleet to use The Base 

while at the same time snoop around 

finding how and why the life form there built it. 

DATA: 

Inquiry. The word 'snoop?' 

PICARD: 

Data, how can you be programmed 

as a virtual encyclopedia of human information 

without knowing a simple word like 'snoop'? 

DATA: 

A Possibility : A Kind of Human Behaviour 

I was not designed to emulate. 

PICARD: 

It means 'to Spy', 'to Sneak'. 

DATA: 

Ah! To seek covertly, to go stealthily, 

to slink, slither --

PICARD: 

Exactly, yes. 

DATA: 

Glide, creep, skulk, 

pussyfoot, gumshoe. 

TROI: 

Captain, I'm sensing a powerful mind. 

(Collision alert sounds) 

TORRES: 

Something strange on the detector circuits. 

(A massive barrier appears in front of them in space) 

DATA: 

It registers as solid, Captain. 

TROI: 

Or an incredibly powerful forcefield. 

But if we collide with either it could be very -- 

PICARD: 

Shut off that damned noise. 

Go to Yellow Alert. 

WORF: 

Shields and deflectors up, sir. 

(The barrier ripples like chain mail) 

PICARD: 

Reverse power, full stop. 

TORRES: 

Controls to full stop, sir. 

Now reading full stop, sir. 

(There's a flash of light, and an Elizabethan era soldier appears, complete with breast plate and plumed hat) 

Q.: 

Thou are notified that Thy Kind 

hath infiltrated The Galaxy too far already. 

Thou art directed to return 

to Thine Own Solar System immediately. 

PICARD: 

That's quite a directive. 

Would you mind identifying 

What You Are? 

Q.: 

We call ourselves The Q. 

Or Thou Mayst Call Me That. 

It's all much the same thing. 

(The same force barrier stops two people exiting the turbolift) 

Q .: 

I Present My Self to Thee as a fellow Ship's Captain, 

that Thou Mayst better understand me.

 

Go Back whence Thou camest. 

(to Helmsman) 

Stay Where Thou art! 

(And the helmsman is frozen solid, phaser in hand)

PICARD: 

Data, call medics. 

TROI: 

He's frozen! 

PICARD: 

He would not have injured You -- 

Do You recognise this, the stun setting? 

Q: 

Knowing Humans as Thou Dost, Captain, 

wouldst Thou be captured helpless by Them? 

Now, Go Back 

or Thou Shalt 

Most Certainly Die.

Captain's log, supplementary -- 

The frozen form of Lieutenant Torres 

has been rushed to sickbay. 

The Question, Now, is 

The Incredible Power 

of The Q.-Being. 

Do We Dare Oppose It?

[Bridge]

Q. : 

Captain, thy little centuries go by so rapidly. 

Perhaps thou will better understand this. 

(A flash of light and he is wearing a 20th century US military uniform, with a cigarette in his hand) 

Q. : 

Actually, The Issue at stake is Patriotism --

You must return to Your World 

and put an end to The Commies. 

All it takes is A Few Good Men. 

PICARD : 

What? That nonsense 

is centuries behind Us. 

Q. : 

But You can't deny that 

You're still a dangerous, 

Savage, Child-Race. 

PICARD: 

Most certainly I deny it. 

I agree we still were 

when humans wore costumes like
that, four hundred years ago. 

Q. : 

At which time you slaughtered millions 

in silly arguments about 

How to Divide The Resources 

of Your Little World. 

And four hundred years before that, 

You were murdering each other 

in quarrels over tribal God-Images. 

Since then,there are no indications 

that Humans will ever change. 

PICARD: 

But even when we wore costumes 

like that we'd already started 

to make rapid progress. 

Q: 

Oh yeah? You want to review your rapid progress? 

(Flash, and a change into a padded suit) 

Q. : 

Rapid progress, to where Humans learned 

to Control Their Military with drugs. 

WORF: 

Sir, sickbay reports 

Lieutenant Torres's 

condition is better. 

Q.: 

Oh, concern for one's fellow comrade --

How touching. 

WORF: 

And now a personal request, sir. 

Permission to clean up the bridge. 

TASHA: 

Lieutenant Worf is right, sir. 

As Security Chief I can't just stand here and let --

PICARD: 

Yes you can, Lieutenant Yar. 

Q. : 

(taking a snort of something) 

Oh, better. And later, on finally 

reaching Deep Space, 

Humans of course found Enemies 

to fight Out There, too. 

And to broaden those struggles 

You again found allies for still more murdering. 

The Same Old Story, 

all over again. 

PICARD: 

No. The Same Old Story is The One 

We're meeting now. 

Self-righteous life forms 

who are eager not to learn, 

but to Prosecute, 

to Judge anything 

They don't understand 

or can't tolerate. 

Q. : 

What an interesting idea : 

Prosecute and Judge. 

Suppose it turns out we understand 

You Humans only too well. 

PICARD: 

We've no fear of what the true facts about us will reveal. 

Q. : 

Facts about You? Splendid, splendid, Captain! 

You're a veritable 

Fountain of Good Ideas. 

There are preparations to make, 

but when we next meet, Captain, 

We'll proceed exactly 

as You suggest. 

(A flash and He is gone) 

WORF: 

Sir, respectfully submit, 

Our only Choice is to Fight. 

TASHA: 

Fight, or Try to Escape. 

PICARD: 

Sense anything, Commander? 

TROI: 

It's Mind is much Too Powerful. 

Recommend, We Avoid Contact. 

PICARD: 

From This Point, 

No Station aboard, 

repeat No Station, 

for any reason will 

make use of 

transmitted signals 

or intercom. 

We'll Try and Take Them 

by Surprise. 

Let's see what this 

Galaxy-class Starship can Do. 

(to Worf) 

Lieutenant, inform Engine Room 

to prepare for maximum acceleration. 

WORF: 

Aye, sir. 

PICARD: 

Records search, Data -- 

Results of detaching saucer-section 

at high-warp velocity. 

DATA: 

Inadvisable at any 

Warp Speed, sir. 

PICARD: 

Search Theoretical. 

DATA: 

It is possible, sir. 

But absolutely no 

margin for error. 

PICARD: 

Using print-out only, notify all decks 

to prepare for maximum acceleration. 

Now hear this, Maximum, 

You're entitled to know, 

means that We'll be 

pushing Our Engines 

well beyond safety limits. 

Our Hope is to surprise 

whatever That is Out There, 

try and outrun it. 

Our only other option is to 

tuck tail between our legs and 

Return to Earth as They demand. 

(Worf makes his trip to Engineering and back) 

WORF: 

Engine Room ready, sir. 

TROI: 

The Board shows Green, Captain. All Go. 

PICARD: 

Stand by -- Engage. 

(They swoop along and past The Barrier, which then turns into a ball and chases them) 

WORF: 

Velocity, Warp 9.2. 

DATA: 

Heading 351 mark 11, sir. 

PICARD: 

Steady on that. 

TASHA: 

The Hostile is now Giving Chase, sir. 

Accelerating fast. 

WORF: 

We're now at Warp 9.3, sir, 

which Takes Us past 

The Red Line, sir. 

PICARD: 

Continue accelerating. 

Counsellor, at This Point, 

I'm open to guesses about 

What We've just met. 

TROI: 

It it felt Like Something Beyond 

what We'd consider A Life Form. 

PICARD: 

Beyond? 

TROI: 

Very, very advanced, sir, 

or certainly very, very different. 

WORF: 

We're at 9.4, sir. 

TASHA: 

Hostile is now beginning 

to overtake Us, sir. 

PICARD: 

Are You Sure? 

DATA: 

Hostile's velocity is already 

Warp 9.6, sir. 

Shall I put Them on the main viewer? 

PICARD: 

Reverse angle. 

DATA: 

Magnifying viewer image. 

TASHA: 

Hostile's velocity is 9.7, sir. 

PICARD: 

Worf, inform The Engine Room 

We need more. 

DATA: 

Engine Room attempting 

to comply, sir, 

but They caution Us... 

PICARD: 

Go to Yellow Alert. 

Arm aft photon torpedoes. 

Place them on ready status. 

TASHA: 

Torpedoes to ready, sir. 

TASHA: 

Hostile now at Warp 9.8, sir. 

WORF: 

Our Velocity is only 9.5, sir. 

DATA: 

Projection, sir -- We may be able 

to match Hostile's 9.8, sir. 

But at extreme risk. 

TASHA: 

Now reading The Hostile 

at Warp 9.9, sir. 

PICARD: 

Now hear this. 

Print-out message, urgent, 

all stations on all decks. 

Prepare for emergency saucer sever. 

You will command the saucer section, Lieutenant. 

WORF: 

I am a Klingon, sir. 

For me to seek escape when 

My Captain goes into battle —

PICARD: 

You are a Starfleet officer, Lieutenant. 

WORF: 

Aye, sir. 

PICARD: 

Make The Mark, Data. 

Note in Ship's log 

that at this StarTime, 

I'm Transferring Command to 

The Battle Bridge. 

(Picard, Data, Yar and Troi 

leave the Bridge to unnamed crew)

Captain's log, StarDate 41153.7. 

Preparing to detach saucer section. so that families and the majority of the ship's company can seek relative safety while the vessel's stardrive, containing The Battle Bridge and main armaments, 

will turn back and confront the mystery that is threatening us.

[Battle Bridge]

(Families of various races make their way along corridors as the bridge crew settle into a more compact Bridge)

PICARD: 

Lieutenant, Your Torpedoes must detonate 

close enough to the hostile 

to blind it at the moment we separate. 

TASHA: 

Understood, sir. 

TROI: 

All decks acknowledging, sir. 
PICARD: 

Worf, this is the Captain.

[Bridge]

PICARD : 

At the moment of separation, 

we will reverse power just enough 

to get your saucer section out ahead and clear of us. 

WORF: 

Understood, Captain.

[Battle Bridge]

TASHA: 

Torpedoes away, sir. 

(Eight red dots shoot out from the stern) 

PICARD: 

Begin Countdown. Mark. 

DATA: 

Starship separation in six, five, 

four, three, two, one. 

(Gracefully, the huge saucer lifts away from the body of the ship) 

DATA: 

Separation is Successful, sir. 

(The main body does a hand-brake turn and heads back to their pursuer. The torpedoes detonate.) 

TASHA: 

Torpedoes have detonated, sir. 

PICARD: 

Let's come to a stop. 

Reverse power. 

DATA: 

Reverse power. 

Decelerating. 

PICARD: 

Dead Stop. 

We'll hold this position 

and wait for Them. 

TROI: 

That will bring them here in just minutes, sir. 

TASHA: 

Will we make A Fight of it, Captain? 

If We can at least damage Their Ship 

we'll have a chance 

PICARD: 

Lieutenant, are You recommending 

we fight a life form that can do 

all those things? 

I'd Like to Hear Your Advice. 

TASHA : 

I Spoke before I Thought, sir. 

We should look for some way 

to distract Them from 

going after The Saucer. 

O'BRIEN: 

All forward motion stopped, sir. 

PICARD: 

Thank you, Conn. 

Commander, Signal The Following, 

in All Languages 

and on All Frequencies. 

We Surrender. 

State that We are not asking 

for any terms or conditions. 

TROI: 

Aye, sir. 

All language forms and frequencies.