Vashti is a hotbed for the Romulan Rebirth movement.
But you're just gonna drop in and pick yourself up a nun.
O-Okay, well, now somebody has to tell me what we're talking about.
JL wants to hire an assassin.
They are not assassins, and you can't hire them.
The Qowat Milat have to choose you.
Romulan warrior nuns.
That's a real thing? How bizarre.
I know knew some Qowat Milat.
On Vashti alone, they helped Raffi and me relocate more than a quarter of a million refugees.
And they're the most skilled single-combat fighters that I have ever seen and the most feared enemies of the Tal Shiar.
Sounds like you already owe them more than they owe you.
What-what makes you think they're gonna help you now?
They have their own criteria whether to give or withhold their assistance to a cause.
And what is that?
Let's just say that I am confident that they will find ours
Worthy, and if they don't,
The Way of Absolute Candor
means that They won't hesitate to tell us.
What's the Way of Absolute Candor?
It's their Primary Teaching: Total Communication of Emotion withoutanyfilter between Thought and Word.
And it runs entirely counter to everything that The Romulans hold Dear.
We do what we can to maintain Peace.
Half the Sisters serve as qalankhan, free-blades patrolling Roads and Waterways, Helping Travellers,
defending Romulan and Terran alike.
Do the Qowat Milat still bind their blades to A Singular Cause?
If The Cause is judged Worthy.
Uh, no, Thank You, Elnor.
[ getting the brush-off, and being rejected once more by the former object of all his Hero Worshipping, the frustration, bitterness, sadness and rage expands in him and overflows, bursting forth like and exploding damn, and he rush to the dooTr and out of The Room, once more. ]
Elnor?
You feel Shame, seeing Elnor.
I always imagined that you had found a Suitable Place for him.
So many things we imagined back then never came to be.
But it's not just Elnor.
It's everything here, The Poverty,
The Degradation, The Ethnic Strife --
When I left here, there was none of this.
Because You Could Not Save Everyone,
You Chose to Save No-One.
Yes.
I allowed The Perfect to become The Enemy of The Good.
You have not spoken of Your Purpose yet.
I infer that you have come to obtain the services of a qalankhkai.
Why?
I am taking on the Tal Shiar, alone.
So Your Cause is A Desperate One.
It is to me.
Another Rescue?
If I'm not too late.
You're not too late to Rescue Elnor.
He does not belong here.
Once the evacuation ended, we simply never found a Better Home for him.
He completed his training?
Last spring.
So he really is a Qowat Milat?
No.
And as A Man, he never can be.
But he is Open-Hearted, and apart from this display of the reticence you always seemed to inspire in him, forthright.
And his fighting skills are truly formidable.
And you would send him away?
He might find himself in Serious Danger.
He Might Die.
He Will.
Before that comes to pass, it would gladden my heart to see him Live.
When you bind your sword to a cause, is there some kind of Protocol?
A Ritual?
Do-do I go on my knees?
Oh, I do hope not.
Between the two of us, my knees are not what they used to be.
You Tell A Story, I Listen.
Simple.
I had a Friend called Data.
(wearily resigned)
....it's usually A Sad Story.....
He Died.
He Gave His Life to Save Mine,
and I have missed him ever since.
(Hope-filled and Brightening)
Did you ever miss me?
Of course I did.
( He takes a moment - and becalms himself)
Continue.
Well, recently, I've learned that Data -
This is complicated -
That Data had Two Offspring.
And one of them her name was "Dahj" was murdered in front of me.
The other one, I believe, is in serious danger.
And I have to find her before the Tal Shiar do.
- The Tal Shiar? - Yes.
And this other sister is she an android? Mm-hmm.
You told me stories about Data.
He had an orange cat named Spot.
That's right.
I've still never seen a cat.
Well, if you come with us, you might just run across one or two of them.
Why do you need me? Because I failed to protect her sister.
But you don't know where she is or if she's even alive.
- No.
- What about the man who built her? - It's just a guess.
- Are you being pursued? Likely.
Anticipated, actually.
All that is why you need someone.
Why do you need me? Because I'm an old man and you're a young one, and you're strong.
Zani told me that you are one of the best fighters that she has ever seen.
It seems to me that my quest has the appropriate criteria.
Will you come with me? Will you bind your sword to my quest? Now that you have use for me? Now that I have value to you? You left me - on my own, old man.
- I never meant to I see no reason not to do the same.
Elnor, it! Rios, it's Picard.
I'm ready for transport.
Copy that.
Next window opens in seven minutes.
You may call me Tenqem Adrev.
We met before.
Once.
Have we? Forgive me.
I, uh Oh, it was in another lifetime, when I was another man.
A Romulan senator, if you can believe it.
I had the honor of being present the day you addressed the Hall of State, the very embodiment of Starfleet, making such eloquent and generous promises on behalf of the magnanimous Federation.
The great Saint Picard.
Senator I found it extremely moving.
How very touched we all were.
There were tears in my eyes.
Thank you.
And then you went away.
And when you returned, you brought the ships.
Those great big Wallenberg-class transports.
We all packed and boarded the Nightingale, five generations of parents and grandparents, siblings and spouses and children.
And the Nightingale brought us here, to Vashti.
We had so little time.
There were so many of you to save.
And so little to be expected from Starfleet.
I did everything I could.
And then you gave up.
Skantal! Bidran! No one asked for your pity, Picard.
Just as no one asked for your help.
You and Starfleet had no understanding of Romulan ingenuity, resolve, self-sufficiency.
You took advantage of us at the very moment where we doubted ourselves, enticed us with your empty promises, and did everything in your power to scatter, confuse and divide us.
That is not so! I promise you You promise?! You promise? Give him your sword.
No.
Come on.
No! Please, my friend.
Choose to live.
I regret your choice.
Enough, Elnor.
The Federation has failed you all.
I failed you all.
I broke faith with you, and the result was terrible pain and loss for you all.
And I am sorry.
Picard, ready for transport.
A tan qalanq is no match for a disruptor, sisterboy.
JL?
Yes! Now!
* They beam up *
That man did not deserve to die.
Yet he CHOSE it.
Fight a Qowat Milat, and the outcome is not in Doubt.
Now, you listen to me, carefully.
I will benefit by your skill and your courage, but if you bind yourself to my cause, I will tell you when to fight and when to refrain.
Is that understood?
Yes.
Swear it.
I swear.
PICARD :
Dr.Jurati, Raffi, this is Elnor.
RAFFI :
A Boy with a Stick.
PICARD :
I have to ask you -
What made you decide to bind yourself to My Cause?
ELNOR :
It met the requirements for Worthiness.
And it seemed like You Needed Me after all.
Dr. JURATI :
What is the requirement for Worthiness?
PICARD :
A qalankhkai would only bind herself - himself - to a Lost Cause.
I need to know if I can change it. LANGLY'S GHOST:
Change it? FROHIKE'S GHOST:
For crying out loud --
All you're going to do is get yourself killed. From behind him, SCULLY got out of the car to look for MULDER. SCULLY:
Mulder! What are you doing? MULDER:
I'll be right with you, Scully.
They both get back into the car.
CUT TO:
Day. The road they're driving on will soon end at a hidden pueblo carved into the side of a mountain.
MULDER stops the car.
They both get out.
SCULLY looks around.
SCULLY:
What are they?
MULDER:
Pueblos. Anasazi Indian.
Abandoned 2,000 years ago.
Nobody knows why.
SCULLY:
Yeah, Mulder, but what are we doing here?
MULDER points high to the window of a ruin along the way. There's smoking coming out from the window. Someone is there.
MULDER heads off in that direction. SCULLY follows.
They both begin to climb up to meet the Keeper of the Truth.
CUT TO:
Inside on of the pueblos. An old Indian woman tends to the fire. MULDER and SCULLY enter the area where she lives.
MULDER:
Hello. My name is Fox Mulder.
Do you understand me? The old woman looks at MULDER. Without a word, she rises from her chair and pushes the cloth curtain back and disappears behind it.
SCULLY moves up from behind MULDER and passes him bringing her closer to the curtain.
She turns around to look at MULDER.
SCULLY:
Mulder, what is it?
MULDER:
I was sent A Message
and
A Key to The Government Facility at Mount Weather.
The Indians said it was from
A Wise Man Who Lived in The Ruins:
A Keeper of the Truth.
CUT TO: (REYES and DOGGETT are traveling by helicopter above, doing a visual search for MULDER and SCULLY based upon the information given to them by GIBSON PRAISE.)
REYES:
Do you see anything at all?
(DOGGETT shakes his head and continues to scan the grounds below.)
CUT TO: SCENE 24
Cave entrance. MULDER and SCULLY make their way through the narrow passageway at the mouth of the cave.
They're led there by the old Indian Woman.
At the end where it opens up into a living space, a
n old white-haired man sits there waiting for them.
MULDER enters first followed by SCULLY.
CSM:
What's the matter, Agent Mulder?
CSM / C.G.B. SPENDER takes a drag of the cigarette through the hole in his trachea.
CSM:
You come to see The Wise Man
but you look as if you've seen A Ghost.
MULDER:
You're no Wise Man.
You're a Dead Man.
Just like Krycek and X.
CSM:
You see A Dead Man, Agent Scully?
SCULLY:
I hoped and prayed you were dead
you chain-smoking, son of a bitch.
MULDER looks more than a little shocked to see CSM still alive.
CSM:
You waste your time. Ask Mulder.
He knows the futility of Hopes and Prayers.
He knows The Truth now.
SCULLY looks confused at what CSM'S saying.
CSMzeroes in on this immediately and begins to exploit it as he's done so many times before.
CSM:
You have told her The Truth haven't you, Fox?
I helped you find it.
MULDER:
You didn't help me.
You sent me to that Government Facility
knowing exactly What I'd Find.
CSM:
And now you refuse to Speak It.
Not to Scully, not to anyone.
You've even refused to testify
What You Learned ...
Even though it would have
Saved Your Life.
You damned me for My Secrets ...
But you're afraid to Speak The Truth.
CSM takes another drag from his cigarette.
MULDER:
You call me afraid?
Look at you sitting here Alone in The Dark like a fossil.
CSM exhales a puff of smoke around him.
CSM:
It's The Final Refuge.
The last place to hide from
Those Who are Insidiously Taking Power Now.
SCULLY:
Who?
CSM:
The Aliens....!
They fear This Place ... its Geology. Magnetite.
Like that which brought down
The Original UFO in Roswell.
Indian wise men realised this
over 2,000 years ago.
They hid here and
watched Their Own Culture die.
The Original Shadow Government.
CUT TO: SCENE 26
Back inside the pueblo, CSM takes a drag from his cigarette.
CSM:
It leaves me to tell you
What Mulder's Afraid to, Agent Scully.
MULDER:
Come on, let's go.
SCULLY doesn't budge
CSM:
It's a Scary Story.
You want to come sit on my lap?
SCULLY:
You don't scare me.
CSM:
My Story's scared every President
since Truman in '47.
( Old Smokey fans The Flames of Conflict )
MULDER:
(Trying, with one hand to usher her out)
You don't have to hear this.
SCULLY:
(resolute)
No, I want to hear it, Mulder.
CSM:
Ten centuries ago The Mayans
were so afraid that their calendar stopped
on the exact date that My Story begins.
December 22,
The Year 2012.
The Date of
The Final Alien Invasion.
Mulder can confirm the date.
He saw it at Mount Weather ...
...where our own "Secret Government" will be,
hiding when it all comes down.
SCULLY looks at MULDER.
He doesn't take his eyes off of CSM.
CSM has a wild glint in his eye - almost a crazed look. MULDER:
Yeah, you smile ... feeling Drunk with Power.
The Power to Do Nothing. CSM:
My Power comes from Telling You.
Seeing Your Powerlessness, Hearing it.
They wanted to kill you, Fox.
I protected you all these years ...
Waiting for This Moment ...
To see you broken. Afraid.
(MULDER lifts his head and schools his features to reveal nothing.)
CSM: Now you can Die.
CUT TO:
SCENE 27
Two heavily armed black ops helicopters are flying low along the roadway head to the Anasazi Pueblos.
MULDER:
Agent Doggett!
Both MULDER and SCULLY appear outside the second level doorway.
DOGGETT:
Mulder, get out of there!
REYES:
They know where you are!
CUT TO: The two black helicopters continue their path to the ruins.
We see they are both very heavily armed.
CUT BACK TO:
DOGGETT and REYES climb into MULDER and SCULLY'S vehicle and drive it closer to MULDER and SCULLY as they make their way down the ruins.
MULDER runs alongside their vehicle as they approach. DOGGETT stops the car.
MULDER:
Get out of here!
DOGGETT:
Get in the car.
MULDER:
No!
DOGGETT looks a little confused. They don't have much time. MULDER tells them again to leave.
MULDER: (insistent)
Go! Go!
MULDER and SCULLY both run to the other vehicle at the site.
The vehicle left behind by KNOWLE ROHRER.
DOGGETT takes off.
CUT TO:
The Helicopters are rapidly approaching the site. They're still not in view of the ruins.
CUT BACK TO:
MULDER and SCULLY get in the abandoned vehicle and take off in a different direction from DOGGETT and REYES.
They disappear from their view around the hill.
CUT TO: The Helicopters round the mountain side. MULDER and SCULLY barely escape detection. The helicopters position themselves across the ruins.
CUT TO: The old Indian Woman inside the pueblo panics as her pots and pans rattle at the disturbance. The helicopters hover just outside her window.
They fire missile after missile aimed at the ruins, destroying them whole sections at a time in fiery explosions.
The Old Indian Woman screams.
CUT TO: CSM sits inside his final "refuge", a cigarette in his hand.
The pueblos explode with each missile fired.
The ancient stones crumble to the ground.
Fire burns what little there is to burn.
The black helicopters swing around and hover just outside the old Indian Woman's windows.
A dreamcatcher hangs from the window with the black helicopter in its sites.
Another missile is fired and another portion of the ruins destroyed.
Inside, CSM takes a last drag from his cigarette.
He throws the remainder on the ground.
Outside, in perfect positions, the black helicopter hovers. A final missile is fired finding its intended target. The corridor and the cave fill with fire consuming the once-powerful man within.
The pueblos explode. Missiles upon missiles are fired until the entire mountainside is decimated. Their mission complete, the helicopters turn around and fly off into the horizon.
