Previously on Star Trek: Picard...
When you first learned that the Romulan sun was going to explode,
you left the Enterprise to command the rescue armada.
A mission to relocate nine hundred million Romulan citizens
to worlds outside the blast of a supernova.
The decision to call off the rescue
and to abandon those people we had sworn to save,
was not just dishonorable, it was downright criminal!
The daughter of the man whose death I have been mourning for two decades,
comes to me for help and assistance.
And then she is assassinated by a Romulan death squad,
who will then go and try and find and destroy her twin sister.
I have to find Bruce Maddox.
I found Maddox.
Bruce Maddox is on Freecloud. And once we get there, you're on your own.
Why do you wanna go to Freecloud?
Have we met?
Agnes Jurati.
Doctor Jurati is the Earth's leading expert on synthetic life.
My name is Soji.
I'm working with Hugh on the Reclamation Project.
I know who you are! You are Seb-Cheneb. You are the Destroyer.
Run, sisterboy!
Bite me!
Hello, hello.
How good to see you all again.
Yes, yes. I am. I know you're all worried,
but the Federation and Starfleet are here to help you settle.
You have my word.
He's coming!
Greetings, sisters.
Let yourself be seen.
You haven't stopped talking about Admiral Picard since he left.
Can't you find something to say to him?
What did you bring me?
What did I bring you? Well... Now, let me see.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas!
Enjoy.
You're making the admiral uncomfortable, Elnor.
He dislikes displays of emotion and he's not overly fond of children.
Not at all.
Someday I may get used to the Way of Absolute Candor.
Why don't you like children?
Because they're demanding,
distracting and interfere with duty and pleasure alike.
My feelings are hurt.
I actually did think you were fond of me.
Correct.
I like you very much.
The sisters in Southeast Station tell us things went well there.
Ten thousand new refugees. The help of the sisters was invaluable.
The Federation owes a debt to the Qowat Milat.
How long can you stay?
As always, our house and our hearts are open to you.
Can we read the book?
Yes, of course.
But in three days I have to be in Central Station to meet the next convoy.
Because last time you promised that--
A promise is a prison, Elnor.
Do not make yourself another's jailer.
And that reminds me, Zani, last time, I made you a promise
that I would try and find some sweet hanifak.
But I totally forgot that promises were prisons so...
Uh. Uh-uh.
It can't be easy being the only boy in a house of women.
You must get lonely sometimes.
Yes. He is loved, but he does not belong with us.
I understand.
It's so good of you to have taken him in the way that you have.
I will find him a more suitable place. Soon.
En garde!
D'Artagnan, who, though wanting in practice, had a profound theory,
redoubled his agility.
Jussac, anxious to put an end to this, springing forward,
aimed a terrible thrust at his adversary,
-but the latter parried it, and while-- -What does "parried" mean?
I'll show you tomorrow.
And while Jussac was recovering himself,
D'Artagnan glided like a serpent beneath his blade
and passed his sword through his body.
Jussac fell in a heap.
D'Artagnan then cast an anxious and rapid glance over the field of battle.
I'm busy, Raffi.
What do you mean "synths have attacked Mars"?
What will this mean for our mission? Will it continue?
Of course. It must.
Tell Elnor I'm sorry we didn't finish our fencing lesson, but--
Well, I'll be back soon.
Picard. Ready for transport.
Hi.
Oh, you're reading. I won't--
Be my guest.
So, space turns out to be super boring. Go figure.
What were you expecting?
I don't know.
It's so empty. I mean, of course, right? It's right there in the name, "space."
It's not like it's called "vast quantities of stuff."
Although, come to think of it, there are over three billion stars
in our galaxy alone and ours is one of two trillion.
There are a septillion known planets
so maybe it should be called "vast quantities of stuff."
Like, why focus on the negative?
I caught up on two years of back issues of the
Journal of Theoretical Cybernetics including the Festschrift
for Professor Kwok.
I watered your plants, you're welcome.
I was gonna watch a holo but weirdly all you have on board is Klingon opera.
Long story.
I used to live with a guy who liked paper books. I bothered him too.
What did he used to do about it?
He was my dad.
He had to put up with it.
What's your book about?
The existential pain of living with the consciousness of death
and how it defines us as human beings.
That's not a conversation killer at all.
I totally wanna talk about
the existential pain of living with the consciousness of death.
- Rios! - Oh, thank God.
I just checked the nav log.
Where the hell are we going?
Says he needs to make a stop.
-He needs to? -Picard?
What stop?
Vashti, in the Qiris sector.
Vashti. Man can't even take a guilt trip without using a starship.
-Hold! -Holomatrix paused.
Is it inaccurate?
Everything seems absolutely correct in every particular.
We rebuilt your study to the exact specifications.
I see that.
Your "Mr. Zhaban" supplied me with the holoscans.
He thought you might feel more at home.
It seems a little odd that a working ship should have a hospitality hologram.
I came with the basic installation, sir.
But you're right,
hospitality emergencies are rare on this vessel.
In general, the captain keeps his own company.
Come!
You wanna go to Vashti?
Are you out of your goddamn mind?
I hate that fucking Hospitality Hologram.
That you even suggest it makes me, seriously, question your mental state.
The idea of going there isn't just a bad idea. It's-- It's bizarre.
Look! Dahj's sister is in grave danger. She may already be dead.
I am as eager to get to Freecloud as you.
Uh, did I ever say I was eager to get to Freeclou--
Do-- Do I seem eager to you?
I would say more apprehensive.
Look. I-- I'm gonna be straight with you.
Oh, well, that will make a refreshing change.
Come!
Uh...
Is this a, a secret meeting? Or? Am I technically part of the crew now?
Please, Doctor Jurati, join us.
Raffi here was questioning my sanity.
You know what? Fine. Let's go to Vashti.
Check out that big statue of you.
I mean, they must've put up at least one.
If they did, somebody's probably stolen it by now.
Qiris sector's sketchy nowadays. Serious power vacuum.
Smugglers and petty warlords like Kar Kantar basically run the show.
Kantar got hold of an antique bird of prey somewhere
and has been running wild from Vashti to Daimanta.
You didn't already tell him this?
He said, "Lay in a course for Vashti, Rios."
And what? You just obeyed like a good Starfleet officer?
I assumed he knew.
But the Qiris sector is in the Fenris Rangers territory.
Was.
The Rangers just do not have the resources
to keep up with the chaos out there anymore.
Also, 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 are 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
on 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 without any filter between thought and word.
And it runs entirely counter to everything that the Romulans hold dear.
Resume.
JL, losing Dahj has you thinkin' about Vashti and the kid?
-Elnor. -Okay.
But you remember what we used to say back then?
One impossible thing at a time.
We have to stick to the plan.
Freecloud.
I may never pass this way again.
I'll be in my quarters.
Anyone else think the Way of Absolute Candor sounds potentially annoying?
Professor Ramdha, what can you tell us about Ganmadan?
Ganmadan is what our ancestors called the Day of Annihilation.
When you say "annihilation"...
Of everything.
All life, everywhere.
When all the shackled demons break their chains,
and answer the call of
The Destroyer.
Used to be home?
Of a sort. For a moment.
Security!
Standard Romulan planetary defense system. Bought secondhand.
The Fenris Rangers helped them to install it.
It's primitive but effective.
Your basic impenetrable shield of orbital-killer drones.
Every 30 minutes a transit zone opens up in a random spot in the network.
If the system clears you, you have a minute to pass through.
Try to come and go without clearance and you're met with immediate kill-fire.
Do we have clearance?
I'm working several angles. But so far, no.
Call Central Station. Tell them it's me.
That was the first thing we did.
Frankly, they were not impressed.
Very well.
Suggestions?
A cash gift is always appropriate.
Hello.
Jolan tru, Qowat Milat.
- Jolan tru. - Jolan tru.
You got old, Admiral Picard.
You didn't.
I remind you this is a house of truth.
I thought we would never see you again.
I don't have the right.
But I need your help one last time.
Sorry.
Poor Ramdha.
She's always been a bit of a tormented soul.
You know her?
I'm not surprised she tried to take her own life.
I don't know why I feel so drawn to her. But it's my fault.
Something about me set her off.
Don't blame yourself.
She is disordered.
When she looked at me, I felt seen.
Even though she didn't like what she saw.
I see you, Soji.
I'm a trusting person, Narek. That's my default. But I don't know.
You kind of challenge my paradigm.
Give me another chance?
How did you know I was going to the disordered ward just now?
I didn't.
Have you been watching me?
Not in the way that you mean it.
No uniform, no insignia, no rank.
You go anywhere you like on the Artifact. And you know things.
Are you Tal Shiar?
No.
If you were Tal Shiar, would you also answer "no"?
Yes.
Do you know what happened to Ramdha's ship, to the Shaenor?
No.
Who does?
I don't know. I...
I would imagine there are some kind of records on the Borg databases here.
Those are classified.
Do you have access to them?
No.
But I might know someone who does.
How's the paradigm?
Paradigmatic.
Come on. I wanna show you something.
Where are we going?
I'm gonna teach you an ancient Borg ritual.
-The Borg didn't have rituals. -That's what everyone thinks.
This program you watched, the one with Ramdha. It was in Romulan?
A talk show called Yrrh Mnrrh.
Who taught you such excellent Romulan?
An old friend of my father's.
A professor at the U.
Seattle. Sometime before May 12, 2396,
when you shipped out for the Beta Quadrant aboard the Ellison.
So, you have been watching me.
Here we are.
The ventilation return. Take off your shoes.
What? Why?
Borg ritual. Shoes off.
Now, watch this.
Yeah!
Terran passenger lists are a matter of public record.
Which is shocking to a Romulan sensibility.
But strangely, there's no record that you were a passenger on the Ellison that day.
Well, I was.
Are you calling me a liar?
To hell with you.
What about the Borg data files?
The ones that might explain what happened on the Shaenor. To hell with them too?
What are you doing, Narek?
The same thing you're doing.
Feeding an insatiable curiosity.
-Damn. -What?
Somebody ID'd him.
He's blowing up on personal com traffic down there.
Good blowing up or bad blowing up?
Bad. Catastrophically bad.
We should get him out of there.
No, not now, Raffi. I need more time.
These aren't love letters, JL. There's a lot of anger.
I am quite safe here.
I'm picking up an incoming ship.
Just at the limit of the scanner range.
Moving kind of slow. Looks like that old bird of prey.
I'm glad you're safe.
We're about to get a visit from Kar Kantar.
Well, you do what you have to do. And I need more time. Picard out.
We do what we can to maintain peace.
Half the sisters serve as qalankhkan, freeblades patrolling roads and waterways.
Helping travelers, 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.
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.
Yeah, 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 openhearted.
And apart from this display
of the reticence you always seem 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 or-- 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.
-It's usually a sad story. -He died.
He gave his life to save mine. And I have missed him ever since.
Did you ever miss me?
Of course I did.
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 criterion.
Will you come with me? Will you bind your sword to my quest?
Now that you have a 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.
Hello.
Waiter.
Waiter!
You may call me gTenqem Adrev. We've met before. Once.
Have we? Forgive me, I--
Oh, it was in another lifetime and 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.
I was 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.
My friends.
I grieve.
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.
I have bound myself to Picard as qalankhkai.
Anyone who threatens him
will be choosing to die.
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 galang is no match for a disruptor, sisterboy.
- JL. - Yes, now!
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.
Doctor Jurati, Raffi... This is Elnor.
A boy with a stick.
I have to ask you, what made you decide to bind yourself to my cause?
It met the requirements for worthiness.
And it seemed like you needed me after all.
What is the requirement for worthiness?
A qalankhkai will only bind herself, himself, to a lost cause.
Light!
What? Did you think it was your little robot friend?
I take it she's anatomically correct.
Makes perfect sense.
You've been studying her kind your whole adult life.
Waiting for her. Planning for her.
Wondering what it would be like when you finally saw her.
Now, here she is.
Why is she obsessed with Ramdha?
What happened when the Cube assimilated the Shaenor?
Why did its crew and passengers lose their minds?
Who were they?
What have you accomplished on my behalf?
I've planted the first seed of doubt.
Really?
One whole seed. Impressive--
I know how to handle her.
If I press her too hard, it might activate her.
Then we'll have another situation like on Earth.
And then they'll both be dead.
That is the goal, you know. To kill them.
Yes, all of them.
Which is something I can't do until we find out where she came from
and where the rest of them are.
And in the meantime, you slide ever deeper into your own obsession.
Have you entertained for even a moment that she might be the one handling you?
She was sent to this Cube for a reason.
Your little robot girl has a plan. Don't forget that.
I know full well--
Who is she, Narek?
Who is she?
Seb-Cheneb, the Destroyer.
I'll give you and your seed one more week.
After that if I don't have the location, we go back to good old pain and violence.
That's Kantar. Near miss. Hold on.
Engaging auto-evasion protocols.
That old heap's targeting system is primitive,
but the planetary security net worries me.
Just get us the hell out of here.
- Shield strength at 89%. - Can you go faster than that bird of prey?
Maybe not outrun him but I can definitely outfly him.
We should be...
Emmet, I could use a little help!
You fly, I'll shoot.
Weapons online.
They're pushing us into the security net.
You gotta be kidding me.
You'll come within range of the drones in nine point four seconds.
What happened to shooting them?
Hold on.
Routing additional power to thrusters.
Routing additional power to inertial dampeners.
Too close to the net.
Where did that come from?
Trying to get a read.
No ID. No transponder. Great timing though.
Hideous ship.
Magnificent pilot.
Bastard.
That pilot's hailing us, JL.
Open a channel.
Oh--
Open the channel. Put him on.
He's asking permission to beam over. His ship's breaking up.
-Nah. Too risky. -His shields are failing.
-Raffi, beam him in. Directly here. -Do it.
Elnor.
Got him.
Seven of Nine?
You owe me a ship, Picard.