RIKER :
You get some rest?
PICARD :
Oh, I tried. I'm worried about My Pilot.
That he didn't make it.
RIKER :
What have you gotten yourself into, Jean-Luc?
Can you tell me?
PICARD :
No. I never wanted you to get involved in any of this, Will.
Coming here was a desperate impulse.
I regret it already.
RIKER :
Copy that.
I'll stick to making pizza.
I'm just thinking how great it would be if Ignorance of Danger was all it took to keep it away from The People We Love.
[ he smiles, as the tears begin to whell up inside of him ]
PICARD :
That's not what I was saying.
RIKER :
[ He sniffs and shakes it off -- back to Business ]
Smell that. Antarean basil.
Grows like weeds around here.
Everything does.
The Soil has regenerative powers,
which, is why we came here, of course.
[ He spots his daughter, exiting the house with her new friend in tow ]
Wild Girl of The Woods!
KESTRA TROI-RIKER,
The Wild Girl of The Woods :
I'm taking her to see The Garden.
RIKER :
Ah. Allamalan val peresta o manal.
Dr. SOJII ASHA :
Vo peresta melinĂ s andlif.
KESTRA TROI-RIKER,
The Wild Girl of The Woods :
She read Thad's Viveen dictionary.
All of it, in, like, two minutes.
RIKER :
Two minutes? That thing's 300 pages long.
[ Gives the teenage newcomer his attention ]
Hmm. We haven't met, Soji.
[ Offers her his hand, covered in flour. ]
I'm Kestra's Dad. Will.
Dr. SOJII ASHA :
Hello, Will.
RIKER :
Hi.
PICARD :
Commander Riker and I served together on the USS Enterprise.
[ TWO of Them, actually. But who's counting? ]
KESTRA TROI-RIKER,
The Wild Girl of The Woods :
And you were The Greatest Captain ever, I heard.
RIKER :
[ Not embarrassed, by this - ]
The Greatest Captain ever?
Where'd you get that nonsense?
KESTRA TROI-RIKER,
The Wild Girl of The Woods :
From you.
RIKER :
From me? Well, I must have been drinking at the time.
Could you tell your mom we could use some more tomatoes.
[ Give Sojii his attention once more - bows in courtesy ]
Nice to meet you.
PICARD :
Speaking of drinking, may I?
RIKER :
Please.
PICARD :
[ He pours and takes a glass of wine from the bottle on The Table. ]
Thank you.
RIKER :
So, I'm just gonna speculate
and Say Out Loud what I've been Saying in My Brain.
You don't have to tell me anything;
How's that sound?
[ This man is a Poker Player par excellence. ]
You're worried about cloaks.
That says Romulans.
And the level of anxiety and fear for our safety, tells me Tal Shiar.
Next, you're not the one that's on the run,
it's her.
But Why?
What has poor Soji done to incur their wrath?
Could it have anything to do with the fact...
That she's clearly an android?
And not just any android.
I'd recognize that head tilt anywhere.
Kid's got Data in her DNA.
And that's why you're here.
How am I doing?
PICARD :
Not bad, for a pizza chef.
RIKER :
Now I understand why you wanted to keep it a secret.
Classic Picard arrogance.
You get to make the decisions
about who gets to take the chances and who doesn't,
and who's in The Loop, and who's Out of The Loop.
And, naturally,
it always ends up with you.
Well... That's fine,
on the bridge of your starship, Captain.
But you're dealing with a teenager now, more or less.
That can be an extremely humbling experience.
Frankly... I'm not sure you're up to it.
PICARD :
Perhaps I'm not.
RIKER :
There you go.
Baby steps.
PICARD :
Baby steps.
The poker scene was added to the script when it was running short.
[Riker's quarters]
(the poker game is in full swing, and Beverly is dealing)
WORF:
Commander, is it your intention to continue to grow your beard?
LAFORGE:
Actually, I'm not sure yet.
Why, Worf?
WORF:
I am just asking.
CRUSHER:
Seven card stud, one-eyed jacks are wild.
RIKER:
Frankly, Geordi, I like the beard.
LAFORGE:
Thank you, Commander.
CRUSHER:
You know, I have always been a little suspicious of Men with Beards.
WORF:
Why is that?
CRUSHER:
I don't know.
It's as if they're trying to hide something.
[ horrible and disfiguring scarring acquired during wars, dueling, hunting and fighting, usually. ]
RIKER:
Hide? Don't be ridiculous, Doctor.
The Beard is an Ancient and Proud Tradition.
LAFORGE:
Some of the most distinguished Men in History have worn beards, Doctor.
CRUSHER:
I know. But after the razor was invented I think beards became mostly a fashion statement.
WORF:
I'm not concerned with Fashion.
To a Klingon,
A Beard is a Symbol of Courage.
RIKER:
I think it's a Sign of Strength.
CRUSHER:
Sure, and of course,
Women can't grow beards.
LAFORGE:
Doctor, it sounds to me like you feel beards are nothing more than an affectation.
CRUSHER:
I do. But there's nothing wrong with that.
I mean, women wear makeup and nail polish.
I just think it's time you men admitted it.
RIKER:
My beard is not an affectation.
CRUSHER:
Oh? Well then you wouldn't mind shaving it off.
RIKER:
I could lose it in a minute.
I've just gotten used to it.
CRUSHER:
Okay, then why don't we up the stakes a little?
And if I win, all off you shave your beards off.
LAFORGE:
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
What if you lose?
What are you going to give up?
CRUSHER:
I'm open for suggestions.
RIKER:
Well, I've always wanted to see you as a brunette.
CRUSHER:
Oh, I did that once when I was thirteen.
I couldn't change back fast enough.
RIKER :
That makes me even more curious....!
CRUSHER :
Fine. If one of you wins,
I become a brunette. Are we on?
LAFORGE:
Yeah, yeah, we'll take that bet.
CRUSHER :
Looks like you have the hand to beat, Commander.
LAFORGE:
Two hundred.
CRUSHER:
I'm in two hundred.
RIKER:
Geordi.
PICARD :
This is the Captain.
We have arrived at the Tyran system.
All senior staff to the Bridge.
CRUSHER:
Wait!
RIKER:
Sorry, you heard the Captain.
Duty calls. I guess we'll have to do this some other time.
Jonathan Frakes commented,
"It was a little heavy on technobabble, but all things considered I think that show came off quite well."
However, he was disappointed that there was no callback to the poker scene at the end of the episode.
"We should have seen the result of the bet the characters made.
Either Gates [McFadden] should have been a brunette or we should have been sitting in the chair about to be shaved.
I don't know why they would lay it out as a red herring and not have it pay off in some way –
as if no one was watching the show."
