TITLE CREDIT

ROMULAN IMPERIAL SENATE

[Romulan Senate building]

SURAN (OC): Senators, consider the opportunities for the Empire. At last the destinies of the planets, Romulus and Remus, will be united. Shinzon of Remus is offering us a chance to make ourselves stronger...

[Romulan Senate chamber]

SURAN: ...than ever before. It would be madness to resist it. I beg you to not let prejudice or politics interfere with this alliance. By joining Shinzon's forces with ours not even the Federation will be able to stand in our way.
HIREN: That's enough! The decision has been made. The military does not dictate policy on Romulus.
(a female senator, Tal'aura, looks down at a red circular box on the table in front of her)
HIREN: The Senate has considered Shinzon's proposal and rejected it. He and his followers will be met with all deliberate force and sent back to that black rock they come from. Do I make myself clear!
COMMANDER #2: Yes sir.
(the two commanders leave)
TAL'AURA: If you will excuse me, Praetor, I have an appointment with the Tholian ambassador.
HIREN: Of course. ...Senators, are there any others who wish to speak? ...Then I call for a vote on the motion to open trade negotiations with Celles Two.
(the red box begins to open)
HIREN (OC): As you know the Reman mines have not been filling their quotas for months now. I hope you will all bear in mind the trade committee's findings.
(a green spiralling double-helix column of light rises from the open red box)
HIREN: As much as we don't want...
(as everybody present watches, transfixed, the column explodes, raining dust down on them. The red box closes)
HIREN: Would someone alert security? Bring back Senator Tal'aura.
(everybody in the chamber shrivels to rocks and dust)

[Earth - Alaska pavilion]

PICARD: Duty. ...A starship captain's life is filled with solemn duty. I have commanded men in battle. I have negotiated peace treaties between implacable enemies. I have represented the Federation in first contact with twenty-seven alien species, but none of this compares to my solemn duty today ...as best man. Now, I know that on an occasion such as this it is expected that I be gracious and fulsome in my praise on the wonders of this blessed union. But have you two considered what you are doing to me? Of course you're happy, but what about my needs? This is all a damned inconvenience, and while you're happily settling in on the Titan, I will be training my new first officer. You all know him. He's a tyrannical martinet who'll never, ever allow me to go on away missions!
DATA: That is the regulation, sir. Starfleet Code. Section twelve. Paragraph four...
PICARD: Data!
DATA: Sir?
PICARD: Shut up.
DATA: Yes sir.
(general laughter)
PICARD: Fifteen years I've been waiting to say that!
(more laughter)
PICARD: No, seriously, Will, Deanna, there's still time to reconsider. ...Yes?
RIKER/TROI: No.
PICARD: No? Oh very well then. ...Will Riker, you have been my trusted right arm for fifteen years. You have kept my course true and steady. ...Deanna Troi, you've been my guide ...and my conscience. You have helped me recognise the better parts of myself. You are my family. ...And in best maritime tradition ...I wish you both clear horizons. ...My good friends, ...make it so. ...The bride and groom.
ALL: The bride and groom.
(the band starts playing and dancing starts)
LAFORGE: Did you ever think about getting married again?
GUINAN: No, twenty-three was my limit. ...Worf? Are you all right?
WORF: Romulan ale should be illegal.
LAFORGE: It is.
TROI: That was a lovely toast.
PICARD: It was from the heart.
TROI: And you needn't worry. I'm going to brief your new counselor on everything she needs to know.
PICARD: Like I know you are! You already know too much about me, ...but I take it there will be no speeches during the ceremony on Betazed?
RIKER: No, no speeches and ...no clothes.
DATA: Ladies and Gentlemen and invited transgendered species. In my study of Terran and Betazoid conjugal rites I have discovered it is traditional to present the happy couple with a gift. Given Commander Riker's affection for archaic musical forms I have elected to present the following as my gift, in honour of ...their conjugation.
DATA: 'Never saw the sun shining so bright. Never saw things going so right. Noticing the days hurrying by.'
(the band comes in)
DATA: 'When you're in love, my how they fly. Blue skies, smiling at me,'
WORF: ...Irving Berlin!
DATA: 'Nothing but blue skies do I see...'

[Enterprise-E bridge]

TROI: It's tradition, Worf! You of all people should appreciate that.
WORF: I will not do it!
PICARD: Won't do what, Mister Worf?
WORF: Captain, I do not think it is appropriate for a Starfleet officer to appear ...naked.
PICARD: Oh, come now! A big, handsome, strapping fellow like you? What can you be afraid of?
(Worf's console bleeps)
WORF: Captain, I am picking up an unusual electromagnetic signature from the Kolarin system.
PICARD: What sort of signature?
WORF: Positronic.
LAFORGE: It's very faint but I've isolated it to the third planet in the Kolarin system.
PICARD: What do we know about it?
LAFORGE: Uncharted. We'll have to get closer for a more detailed scan.
PICARD: Theories?
DATA: Since positronic signatures have only been known to emanate from androids such as myself, it is logical to theorise there is an android on Kolarus Three.
PICARD (OC): Just what I was afraid of.
RIKER: Captain, diverting to the Kolarin system takes us awfully close to the Romulan Neutral Zone.
PICARD: It's still well on our side. I think... I think it's worth taking a look. Don't worry, Number One, we'll still have you to Betazed with plenty of time to spare...
RIKER: Thank you, sir.
PICARD: ...where we will all honour the Betazoid tradition. ...Now, if you'll excuse me, ...I'll be in the gym.
RIKER: Mister Branson, lay in a course for the Kolarin system. Warp five.
LAFORGE: What do you think, Data? ...A long-lost relative?
(the Enterprise arrives in orbit above Kolarus III)
LAFORGE: I'm reading six distinct positronic signatures, spread out over a few kilometres on the planet's surface.
PICARD: What do we know about the population of Kolarus Three?
DATA: Isolated pockets of humanoids. It appears to be a pre-warp civilisation in an early stage of industrial development.
LAFORGE: Captain, I wouldn't recommend using the transporter. That ion storm doesn't look very neighbourly. It could head in our direction without much warning.
PICARD: Understood. ...Data, Mister Worf, you're with me.
RIKER: Captain, I don't have to remind you....
PICARD: I appreciate your concern, Number One, but I've been itching to try the Argo.
RIKER: I'll bet.
PICARD: Captain's prerogative. There's no foreseeable danger ...and your wife would never forgive me if anything were to happen to you.
PICARD: You have the bridge, ...Mister Troi!
(the Argo shuttlecraft heads for the surface of Kolarus III)

[Kolarus III surface]

(when the Argo lands the rear door drops down and a 'dune-buggy' shoots out with Picard at the wheel)
DATA: I will always be puzzled by the human predilection for piloting vehicles at unsafe velocities.
DATA: Over that rise, sir, ...half a kilometre.
(Picard parks the vehicle and they get out)
DATA: The radiant electromagnetic field is interfering with my tricorder, but we are within a few metres of the signal.
PICARD: Fan out. Let's search around.
(a hand comes out of the sand and grabs Worf's leg)
DATA: It appears to be a robotic arm.
WORF: Very astute!
PICARD: Mister Worf, bring it to the vehicle.
(they continue to search for the other positronic signatures, finding a leg and a torso)
PICARD: This doesn't feel right.
(the search continues)
DATA: The final signature is approximately one hundred metres to the north, sir.
(they arrive at the location and find an android's head lying on the ground)
WORF: it's you!
DATA: The resemblance is ...striking.
(the head's eyes flicker and Data picks it up)
DATA: Fascinating! Fascinating!
(they are disturbed by weapons fire from a group 'dune-buggies' coming over the hill)
PICARD: To the vehicle! ...I think it's time to try some unsafe velocities!
B-4 HEAD: Why do you have a shiny head?
DATA: This is not the appropriate time for a conversation.
B-4 HEAD: Why?
DATA: Because the Captain has to concentrate on piloting the vehicle.
B-4 HEAD: Why?
DATA: Because...
PICARD: Data!
DATA: Sorry sir.
(Data puts down the head)
B-4 HEAD: Have I said something wrong?
(local inhabitants are swarming around the Argo. Data uses a remote control to launch it. The pursuit continues)
PICARD: Data.
(Data brings the Argo ahead of the 'dune-buggy' and gets it hover beyond a precipice. The 'dune-buggy' flies off the precipice and back into the Argo. The pursuers stop on the precipice and reveal themselves to be Reman)

[Enterprise-E engineering laboratory]

CRUSHER: You know, all things considered, Data, I think you have nicer eyes.
DATA: Our eyes are identical, Doctor.
RIKER: So what have we got, Geordi?
LAFORGE: Well, I'd say he has the same internal mechanics as Data but not as much positronic development. The neural pathways aren't nearly as sophisticated. I'd say he's a ...prototype. Something Doctor Soong created prior to Data.
DATA: Do you have a name, sir?
B-4 HEAD: I am ...B-4.
PICARD: Be-four? Doctor Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
DATA: Can you tell us how you came to be on the planet where we found you?
B-4 HEAD: I do not know.
DATA: Do you remember anything of your life before you were on the planet?
B-4 HEAD: No. Why does the tall man have a furry face?
PICARD: Number One, keep me informed, and ...Geordi reassemble him.
LAFORGE: Aye sir.
DATA: B-4, Do you know who I am?
B-4 HEAD: You are me.
DATA: No. My name is Data. I am your brother.

[Enterprise-E ready room]

PICARD: Tea, Earl Grey, hot.
RIKER (on intercom): Captain, you have an alpha priority communication from Starfleet Command.
PICARD: Acknowledged.
PICARD: Admiral Janeway. How good to see you again.
JANEWAY (on viewscreen): Jean Luc, ...how'd you like a trip to Romulus?
PICARD: With or without the rest of the fleet?
JANEWAY (OC): A diplomatic mission. We've been invited, believe it or not.
JANEWAY (on viewscreen): It seems there's been some kind of internal political shake-up. The new Praetor, someone called Shinzon,...
JANEWAY (OC): ...has requested a Federation envoy.
PICARD: New Praetor?
JANEWAY (on viewscreen): There's more. ...He's Reman.
JANEWAY (OC): Believe me, we don't understand it either.
JANEWAY (on viewscreen): Your'e the closest ship so I want you to go and hear what he has to say. Get the lay of the land, If the Empire becomes unstable,...
JANEWAY (OC): ...it could mean trouble for the entire Quadrant.
PICARD: Understood.
JANEWAY (OC): We're sending you all the intelligence we have,...
JANEWAY (on viewscreen): ...but it's not much. I don't need to tell you to watch your back, Jean Luc.
PICARD: Hardly.
JANEWAY (on viewscreen): The Son'a, the Borg,...
JANEWAY (OC): ...the Romulans. ...You seem to get all the easy assignments!
PICARD: Just lucky, Admiral.
JANEWAY (OC): Let's hope...
JANEWAY (on viewscreen): ...that luck holds. Janeway out.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

PICARD: Helmsman, lay in a new course. Take us to Romulus. Warp eight.
HELM OFFICER: Aye aye, sir. Course plotted and laid in.
RIKER: Romulus?
PICARD: I'm afraid the Opal Sea will have to wait, Number One. Engage.

[Enterprise-E observation lounge]

DATA: As you can see one side of Remus always faces the sun. Due to the extreme temperatures on that half of their world, the Remans live on the dark side of the planet. ...Almost nothing is known about the Reman homeworld, although intelligence scans have proven the existence of dilithium mining and heavy weapons construction. ...The Remans themselves are considered an undesirable caste in the hierarchy of the Empire.
RIKER: But they also have the reputation of being formidable warriors. In the Dominion War, Reman troops were used as assault forces in the most violent encounters.
PICARD: Cannon fodder.
LAFORGE: Yeah, but how did a Reman get to be Praetor? I don't get it.
RIKER: We have to assume Romulan collaborators.
PICARD: Coup d'état?
RIKER: The Praetor's power's always been the Romulan fleet. They must be behind Shinzon for him to have overthrown the Senate.
PICARD: What have you learned about Shinzon?
DATA: Starfleet intelligence was only able to provide a partial account of his military record. We can infer he is relatively young and a capable commander. He fought twelve major engagements in the war. All successful. Beyond that, we know nothing.
PICARD: Well, ...it seems as though we're truly sailing into the unknown. Keep at it. Anything you can give me will be appreciated. Dismissed.

[Enterprise-E engineering laboratory]

LAFORGE: I still can't believe the Captain went along with a memory download.
DATA: Captain Picard agrees that the B-4 was probably designed with the same self-actualisation parameters as myself. If my memory engrams are successfully integrated into his positronic matrix, he should have all my abilities.
LAFORGE (OC): Yes, but he would have all your memories as well. Do you feel comfortable with that?
DATA: I feel nothing, Geordi. It is my belief that with my memory engrams he will be able to function as a more complete individual.
LAFORGE: An individual more like you, you mean.
DATA: Yes.
LAFORGE: Maybe he's not supposed to be like you, Data. Maybe he's supposed to be exactly the way he is.
DATA: That might be so, but I believe he should have the opportunity to explore his potential.
LAFORGE: Okay ...we're done.
DATA: B-4, do you know where you are?
B-4: I am in a room ...with lights.
DATA: Can you remember ...our father?
B-4: Our father?
DATA: Yes, Doctor Soong.
B-4: No.
DATA: Do you know the name of the Captain of this vessel?
B-4: Captain? ...No.
LAFORGE: Data, he's assimilating a lot of programming. Remember, he's a prototype, a lot less sophisticated than you are. We just don't know if his matrix will be able to adapt. We really need to give him some time.
DATA: Geordi, what purpose does this serve?
LAFORGE: What?
DATA: This.
LAFORGE: That's a redundant memory port. Maybe the provisional memory storage is in case his neural pathways overload? ...Do you mind if I keep him here for a while. ...Run a few diagnostics?
DATA: No, I do not mind.
B-4: Data...
DATA: No! You must remain with Commander La Forge. He is going to try to and help you.

Captain's log, stardate 56844.9. The Enterprise has arrived at Romulus and is waiting at the designated coordinates. All our hails have gone unanswered. We've been waiting for seventeen hours.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

PICARD: Counselor?
TROI: They're out there, sir.
WORF: Captain, I recommend we raise shields.
PICARD: Not yet, Mister Worf.
RIKER: Captain, with all due respect to diplomatic protocol, ...the Federation Council isn't sitting out here, we are.
PICARD: Patience. Diplomacy is a very exacting occupation. We will wait.
DATA: Captain.
(on the viewscreen the Scimitar, Shinzon's warbird, is seen to decloak)
WORF: Raising shields.
PICARD: No!
WORF: Captain!
PICARD: Tactical analysis, Mister Worf.
WORF: Fifty-two disruptor banks, twenty-seven photon torpedo bays, primary and secondary shields.
PICARD: She's a predator.
WORF: We are being hailed.
PICARD: On screen.
VICEROY (on viewscreen): Enterprise. We ...are the Reman warbird, Scimitar.
PICARD: Praetor Shinzon, I am pleased to...
VICEROY (on viewscreen): I am not Shinzon. I am his Viceroy. We are sending transport coordinates.
RIKER: Not very chatty.
PICARD: Away team to transporter room four.

[Scimitar - Praetor's chamber]

SHINZON (OC): I hope you'll forgive the darkness. ...We're not comfortable in the light.
PICARD: Praetor Shinzon?
SHINZON: Captain Picard. ...Jean Luc Picard. ...I'd always imagined you taller. Isn't that odd? ...You may scan me without subterfuge, Commander Data.
PICARD: You are not as we imagined you.
SHINZON: No?
WORF: You are human.
PICARD (OC): Why have you asked us to come here?
PICARD: Praetor?
SHINZON: I have never met a human woman.
TROI: I'm only half human.
SHINZON: Deanna Troi, ...of Betazed. Empathic, telepathic abilities, ship's counselor. All this I knew. But I didn't know you were so ...beautiful.
RIKER: You seem quite familiar with our personnel.
SHINZON: Oh I am, Commander Riker. ...May I touch your hair?
PICARD: We came to Romulus on a matter we were assured was of great importance. If you have anything to say to us as representatives of the Federation, I suggest you do it now.
SHINZON: Yes, I'm sorry, Captain. There is so much we need to talk about.
PICARD: I would be interested to know what we're talking about.
SHINZON: Unity, Captain! ...Tearing down the walls between us to recognise that we are one. ...I'm talking of the thing that makes us the same. ...Peace. We want peace. ...Right now, you're thinking this all sounds too good to be true? But you're also thinking that the chance of peace is too promising to ignore. ...Am I right?
PICARD: Yes.
SHINZON: Then perhaps it's time to add some illumination into our discussion. Computer. Raise the lighting four levels.
(Picard is astounded by Shinzon's facial appearance)
SHINZON: When I was very young I was stricken with an odd disease. I developed a hypersensitivity to sound. Even the slightest whisper caused me agony. No one could do anything about it. Finally I was taken to a doctor who had some experience of Terran illnesses and he diagnosed me with Shalaft's syndrome. ...Do you know it, Captain?
PICARD: ...Yes.
SHINZON: Then you know it's a very rare syndrome. Genetic. Apparently all the male members of a family have it. ...Eventually I was treated and now I can hear as well as you can, Captain. ...I can see as well as you can. I can feel everything you feel. ...In fact, I feel exactly ...what you feel. Don't I, Jean Luc? ...Come to dinner tomorrow on Romulus! Just the two of us. ...Or, should I say, just the one of us.
(Shinzon draws a knife, cuts his hand and hands the knife, with the blood, to Data)
SHINZON: I think you'll be wanting this. 'Til tomorrow then, Captain. We have much to discuss. ...Computer. Return lighting to previous level.

[Enterprise-E sickbay]

CRUSHER: There's no doubt, Captain, right down to your regressive strain of Shalaft's syndrome. He's a clone. ...They probably used a hair follicle or skin cell.
RIKER: Why?
PICARD: I intend to find out, Number One. Inform Starfleet of the situation. I need to know where the hell he came from. ...Counselor.

[Romulan Senate building]

SURAN (OC): We supported you, Shinzon, when you assassinated the Senate. You told us the timing was perfect for an attack on the Federation.

[Romulan Senate chamber]

SURAN (OC): I don't understand why now you delay.
SHINZON: You don't have to understand.
SURAN: And bringing the Enterprise here? What possible purpose could that serve?
SHINZON: I have a purpose.
SURAN: Then perhaps you will enlighten us?
SHINZON: Silence, Romulan! ...You really must learn patience, Commander. ...Spend eighteen
hours every day under the lash of a Romulan guard and you'll soon understand patience.
SHINZON: Now go. ...Commander Donatra, ...please remain. ...There's a word I want you to consider. ...Allegiance. It's something I demand from those who serve me.
DONATRA: Do I serve you?
SHINZON: Yes, and I think, faithfully. ...Commander Suran on the other hand gives me pause.
DONATRA: Here's another word, Praetor. ...Trust. ...Do you trust me? ...How far does that trust extend? ...How deep does it go? ...What must a commander do to prove herself faithful to you? ...What must a woman do?
(Shinzon grabs her wrist and pulls her face close to his)
SHINZON: You are not a woman. You are a Romulan! Serve me faithfully and you will be rewarded. ...Keep those lovely eyes on Commander Suran. And at the first sign of treachery...
DONATRA: ...dispose of him.
SHINZON: Then you will have proven yourself.
(Shinzon releases her)
SHINZON: Now go. ...And Commander! ...If you ever touch me again ...I'll kill you.
(Shinzon seems to have a minor seizure. Donatra turns to see the Viceroy putting his hand on Shinzon's chest.)

[Data's quarters]

(B-4 is sitting in a chair stroking Spot. The console bleeps and he goes to it and begins to type at a very fast rate)

[Romulan Senate chamber]

SHINZON: The Romulans had somehow gained possession of your DNA and I had been created, and when I was ready they were going to replace you with me. Put a Romulan agent at the heart of Starfleet. It was a bold plan.
PICARD: What happened?
SHINZON: As happens frequently here on Romulus, a new government came to power. They decided to abandon the plan. They were afraid that I might be discovered and that it would lead to war. ...Not quite the face you remember.
PICARD: Not quite.
SHINZON: A lifetime of violence will do that. They broke my nose, my jaw. ...But
so much is the same. The eyes, surely you recognise the eyes.
PICARD: Yes.
SHINZON: Our eyes reflect our lives, don't they? And yours, so confident!
PICARD: So I'm not as tall as you expected?
SHINZON: I had always hoped I would be two metres.
PICARD: As had I.
PICARD: How did you end up on Remus?
SHINZON: They sent me there to die. How could a mere human survive...

[Romulan Senate building - night ...and into the dilithium mines montage]

SHINZON (OC): ...the dilithium mines? Not that it mattered, as I was no longer part of their plans against the Federation. In those terrible depths lived only the damned. Together with the Reman slaves I was condemned to an existence of unceasing labour and starvation under the brutal heel of the Romulan guards. Only the very strongest had any hope of survival. I was only a child when they took me.

[Romulan Senate chamber]

SHINZON: ...Then I didn't see the sun or stars again for nearly ten years. The only thing the Romulan guards hated more than the Remans...

[...back to the dilithium mines montage]

SHINZON (OC): ...was me. But one man took pity on me. ...The man that became my Viceroy. He protected me from the cruelty of the guards. He taught me how to survive. And in that dark place where there was nothing of myself, I found my Reman brothers.

[Romulan Senate chamber]

SHINZON: They showed me the only true kindness I had ever known.
PICARD: You're doing this to liberate the Remans.
SHINZON: That is the single thought behind everything I have done. From building the Scimitar at a secret base to assembling my army. Finally coming to Romulus in force. I knew they would never give us our freedom. I would have to take it!
PICARD: But how many Romulans died for your freedom?
SHINZON: Too many. But the point is finally the Empire is realising there is a better way. And that way is peace. ...You don't trust me.
PICARD: I have no reason to.
SHINZON: You have every reason. If you had lived my life and experienced the suffering of my people, you'd be standing where I am.
PICARD: If you had lived my life you would understand my responsibility to the Federation. I cannot allow my personal feelings to unduly influence my decisions.
SHINZON: All I have are my personal feelings. I want to know what it means to be human. The Remans have given me a future. You can tell me about my past.
PICARD: I can tell you about my past.
SHINZON: Were we Picards always warriors?
PICARD: I think of myself as an explorer.
SHINZON: Well, were we always explorers?
PICARD: I was the first Picard to leave our solar system. It caused quite a stir in the family, but I'd spent my youth...
SHINZON: ...looking up at the stars, dreaming about what was up there, about...
PICARD: ...new worlds. ...I'm trying to believe you, Shinzon. ...If there is one ideal the Federation holds most dear is that all men, all races, can be united. ...What better example. A Starfleet captain standing in the Romulan Senate. ...Nothing would make me more proud than to take your hand in friendship. In time, ...when that trust has been earned.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

WORF: Sir, we have had an unauthorised access into the main computer.
PICARD: Source?
LAFORGE: It's going to take some time to figure that out, Captain. The data stream was rerouted through substations all over the ship.
PICARD: What programs were accessed?
LAFORGE: Well, ...that's what I can't figure out. It's mostly just basic stellar cartography, star charts, communications protocols, uplinks from colony tracking stations. It's not even restricted material.
PICARD: Nevertheless we must learn the source. Keep me informed.
LAFORGE: Captain, there is something else. I was reviewing the sensor logs. Look at this! When the Scimitar decloaked there was a momentary spike in the tertiary EM band. There! ...You're not going to believe this. It's thalaron.

[Enterprise-E sickbay]

PICARD: I thought thalaron radiation was theoretical.
LAFORGE: Which is why our initial scans didn't pick it up. He's got it.
PICARD: Thalaron research was banned in the Federation because of its bioqenic properties.
CRUSHER: It has the ability to consume organic material at the subatomic level. I can't overestimate the danger of thalaron radiation, Jean Luc. A microscopic amount could kill every living thing on this ship in a matter of seconds.
PICARD: I understand. Keep on it. I want to know what he has and how to neutralise any threat.
...I need options.

[Romulan Senate chamber]

VICEROY: This was a mistake. We're wasting time.
SHINZON: My ..time and I shall spend it how I choose.
VICEROY: Do not forget our mission, Shinzon. We must act. Now!
SHINZON: We'll return to the Scimitar. I was merely curious about him.

[Picard's quarters]

(Picard is looking at a photograph of himself as a Starfleet cadet, Shinzon's double)
PICARD: Come. ...Beverly, come in. ...Remember him?
CRUSHER: He was a bit cocky as I recall.
PICARD: He was a damn fool. Selfish, ambitious, very much in need of seasoning.
CRUSHER: He turned out all right.
PICARD: I really wanted to believe Shinzon. ...But this thalaron radiation just can't be explained away. ...Whatever he's after, it isn't peace.
CRUSHER (OC): Is he very much the way you were?
PICARD: ...Oh yes.
DATA (on intercom): Data to Captain Picard.
PICARD: Go ahead, Data.

[Enterprise-E engineering]

DATA: Captain, Geordi and I have identified the source of the unauthorised computer access. And, I believe, we have found a way to gain a tactical advantage.
PICARD (on intercom): On my way.

[The Riker's quarters]

TROI: Will, as ship's counselor I recommend you come and get some sleep.
RIKER: Some honeymoon!
TROI: Come to bed.
(they go to bed)
RIKER: Imzadi.
(Troi suddenly believes it is Shinzon, not Riker and recoils)
SHINZON: Imzadi. ...He can never know you as I can. He can never touch you as I can.
TROI: This isn't real!
SHINZON: Feel my lips.

[Romulan Senate chamber]

(Shinzon is kneeling and the Viceroy stands behind him with his hands on Shinzon's head)

[The Riker's quarters]

(Troi's perception of Shinzon morphs into the Viceroy)
VICEROY: I'm with you, Imzadi. I'll always be with you now.
TROI: This isn't real!
RIKER: What's the matter?
TROI: No!
RIKER: Deanna? ...Deanna? ...Deanna!
TROI: No!

[Romulan Senate chamber]

VICEROY: The bond has been broken.
SHINZON: Find her again.
REMAN OFFICER: Praetor, we've received the transponder signal.
(Shinzon has another turn)
VICEROY: It's accelerating. You have no more time for games.
SHINZON: Have the doctors prepare.

[Romulan Senate chamber transporter room]

SHINZON: Transport!
(B-4 materialises)
SHINZON: Begin the download.
(Reman engineers open a panel in B-4's neck and connect him to a computer using the redundant memory port)
SHINZON: Tea, ...hot.

[Enterprise-E sickbay]

CRUSHER: Aside from slightly elevated levels of adrenalin and serotonin, you're completely normal.
PICARD: Deanna, can you describe it?
TROI: It was a... It was a violation. ...Shinzon's Viceroy seems to have the ability to reach into my thoughts. I've become a liability. I request to be relieved of my duties.
PICARD: Permission denied. If you can endure more of these assaults, I need you at my side now, more than ever. The Enterprise is far from Federation space and...
(Picard is beamed out)
RIKER: Worf! Shields up!
(the Scimitar cloaks)

[Scimitar brig]

SHINZON: Hello, Jean Luc.
PICARD (OC): Why am I here? Why have you done this?
SHINZON: I was lonely.
PICARD: What are you going to do?
SHINZON: I need a sample of your blood. ...What is it your Borg friends say? Resistance is futile. ...Oh yes, The android. The bait you couldn't refuse.
PICARD: All of this so you could capture me?
SHINZON: Don't be so vain. After we found it, we had to make a few modifications. An extra memory port. A hidden transponder. I've now gained access to Starfleet's communications protocols. I now know the exact location of your entire fleet. ...You may go.
B-4: Where?
SHINZON: Out of my sight.
PICARD: What is all this about?
SHINZON: It's about destiny, Picard. It's about a Reman outcast...
PICARD: You're not Reman.
SHINZON: And I'm not quite human. So what am I? My life is meaningless as long as you're still alive. What am I while you exist? A shadow? An echo?
PICARD: If your issues are with me then deal with me. This has nothing to do with my ship. Nothing to do with the Federation.
SHINZON: Oh, but it does. We will no longer bow before anyone as slaves. Not the Romulans and not your mighty Federation. We ...are a race bred for war. And conquest.
PICARD: Are you ready to plunge the entire Quadrant into war to satisfy your own personal demons?
SHINZON: It amazes me how little you know yourself.
PICARD: I'm incapable of such an act.
SHINZON: You are me! ...The same noble Picard blood pumps through our veins. Had you lived my life, you'd be doing exactly as I am. So look in the mirror, See yourself. ...Consider that, Captain. I can think of no greater I torment for you.
PICARD: Shinzon, ...I'm a mirror for you as well.
SHINZON: Not for long, Captain. ...I'm afraid you won't survive to witness the victory of the echo over the voice.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

LAFORGE: His cloak is perfect. ...No tachyon emissions, no residual antiprotons.
RIKER: Keep at it, Geordi. Find a way in.

[Scimitar brig]

B-4: Praetor Shinzon needs the prisoner.
(B-4 disables the Reman guard)
PICARD: About time, Mister Data!
DATA: My mission was a success, sir. I have located the source of the radiation. This entire ship is essentially a thalaron generator. It's power relays lead to an activation matrix on the bridge.
PICARD: It's a weapon?
DATA: It would appear so.
PICARD: What about the download?
DATA: Shinzon believes he has our communication protocols. They will give him inaccurate locations for all Starfleet vessels.
PICARD: Good work.
DATA: Sir, ...Geordi supplied me with the prototype for the emergency transport unit. I recommend you use it, sir, to return to the Enterprise.
PICARD: It will only work for one of us.
DATA: Yes sir.
PICARD: We'll find a way off, together.

[Scimitar bridge]

VICEROY: It is time for the procedure.

[Scimitar corridor]

DATA: Move, puny human animal.
PICARD: A bit less florid, Data.

[Scimitar brig]

(Shinzon sees the stunned guard)
SHINZON: Kill him.

[Scimitar corridor]

(a klaxon begins to sound)
DATA: This way, sir! There is a shuttlebay ninety-four metres from our current position.
(they encounter some guards and a firefight develops)
DATA: There it is, sir!
PICARD: Go!
(while Data tries to access the shuttlebay, Picard attempts to hold off the attackers)
PICARD: Data!
DATA: It appears to have an encrypted security system.
PICARD: Alacrity would be appreciated, Commander.
DATA: Reman is really a most complex language with pictographs representing certain verb roots...
PICARD: While I find that fascinating, Data, we really need that door open!
(the doors open and once inside Picard uses his disruptor to weld the doors together)

[Scimitar shuttlebay]

DATA: According to the ship's manifest they are Scorpion-class attack fliers.

[Scorpion cockpit]

PICARD: Data, what do you imagine this is?
DATA: Port thruster, sir. Would you like me to drive, sir?
PICARD: Data, can you open the shuttlebay doors?
DATA: Negative, sir. They have erected a forcefield around the external portals.
PICARD: Well then, ...only one way to go.
DATA: Do you think this is a wise course of action, sir?
PICARD: We're about to find out, Data. ...Power up the disruptors.
DATA: Ready, Captain.
PICARD: Fire!
(the Scorpion's disruptors blast open the doors to the corridor and the Scorpion exits)

[Scimitar corridors]

(Picard negotiates the Scorpion through the Scimitar, smashes into the Praetor's chamber and out through the circular window)

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Tractor beam, now!

[Enterprise-E bridge]

RIKER: Worf! Lock on transporter!
WORF: I have them, sir.
(the Enterprise warps out of orbit)

[Romulan Senate chamber]

SURAN: This has gone far enough!
SHINZON (on viewscreen): I thought we'd discussed patience, Commander.

[Scimitar bridge]

SURAN (on viewscreen): Mine is wearing thin! We supported you because you promised action. And yet you delay.
SHINZON: The Enterprise is immaterial! They won't even make it out of the Neutral Zone, ...and in two days the Federation will be crippled beyond repair. Does that satisfy you?

[Romulan Senate chamber]

SURAN: For the moment.
SHINZON (on viewscreen): And when I return, you and I shall have a little talk about showing proper respect!
TAL'AURA: What's happening to his face?
DONATRA: Commander, a moment. Are you truly prepared to have your hands drenched in blood? He's not planning to defeat Earth. He's planning its annihilation. ...And his sins will mark us and our children for generations.

[Enterprise-E ready room]

CRUSHER: The more I studied his DNA the more confusing it got. Finally I could only come to one conclusion. ...Shinzon was created with temporal RNA sequencing. He was designed so that at a certain point, his aging process could be accelerated to reach your age more quickly. He was going to need to skip thirty years of his life, but when the temporal sequencing wasn't activated his cellular structure started breaking down. ...He's dying.
PICARD: Dying? ...Can anything be done for him?
CRUSHER: Nothing except a complete transfusion from the only donor with compatible DNA. ...You.
PICARD: How long does he have?
CRUSHER: Well I can't say for sure, ...but the rate of decay seems to be accelerating.
PICARD: ...Then he'll come for me.

[Data's quarters]

(B-4 is standing in a restraint. Data activates him with a jewellers screwdriver)
B-4: Brother, ...I ...cannot move.
DATA: No, I have only activated your cognitive and communication subroutines.
B-4: Why?
DATA: Because you are dangerous.
B-4: Why?
DATA: You have been programmed to gather information that can be used against this ship.
B-4: I ...do not ...understand.
DATA: I know. ...Do you know anything about Shinzon's plans against the Federation?
B-4: No.
DATA: Do you have any knowledge of the tactical abilities of his ship?
B-4: No. ...Can I move now?
DATA: No.
B-4: What are you doing?
DATA: I must deactivate you.
B-4: For how long?
DATA: ...Indefinitely.
B-4: How long is that?
DATA: ...A long time, brother.

[Enterprise-E observation lounge]

LAFORGE: It's called a cascading biogenic pulse. The unique properties of thalaron radiation allow the energy beam to expand almost without limit. Depending on the radiant intensity it could encompass a ship, ...or a planet.
PICARD: He could only have built a weapon of such scope for one reason. He's going after Earth.
TROI: How can you be certain?
PICARD: I know how he thinks.
RIKER: Destroy humanity. You cripple the Federation.
PICARD: The Romulans invade...
RIKER: No way of penetrating his cloak?
LAFORGE: No.
RIKER: So he could pass within ten metres of every ship in Starfleet and they'd never know.
CRUSHER: We do have one advantage though. He needs your blood to live. He might come after you first.
PICARD: I'm counting on it. We've been ordered to head to sector ten forty-five. Our fleet has diverted to meet us there.
RIKER: Strength in numbers?
PICARD: At least that's what we hope. ...He must not be allowed to use that weapon. All other concerns are secondary. ...You understand me?
RIKER: Yes sir.
PICARD: All hands. Battle stations!

[Enterprise-E engineering]

LAFORGE: Initiate the forcefield!

Captain's Personal log, supplemental. We're heading toward Federation space at maximum warp. The crew has responded with the dedication I've come to expect of them. And like a thousand other commanders on a thousand other battlefields, I wait for the dawn.

[Scimitar bridge]

(the Viceroy puts his hand on Shinzon's chest)
SHINZON: How long?
VICEROY: A matter of hours. We must begin the procedure now.
SHINZON: How long until we reach the Rift?
VICEROY: Seven minutes.
(the Scimitar is in immediate pursuit of the Enterprise)

[Enterprise-E Astrometrics]

PICARD: Data, what's our current position? ...How soon until we reach the fleet?
DATA: At our current velocity we will arrive at sector ten forty-five in approximately forty minutes.
PICARD: 'For now we see but through a glass darkly'
DATA: Sir?
PICARD: He said he's a mirror.
DATA (OC): Of you, sir?
PICARD: Yes.
DATA: I do not agree. Although you share the same genetic structure, the events of your life have created a unique individual.
PICARD: If I had lived his life, is it possible I would have rejected my humanity?
DATA: The B-4 is physically identical to me, although his neural pathways are not as advanced. But even if they were, he would not be me.
PICARD: How can you be sure?
DATA: I aspire, sir, to be better than I am. B-4 does not. Nor does Shinzon.
DATA: We are passing through the Bassen Rift. The projection will return when we have cleared it.
PICARD: It's interfering with our uplink from Starfleet cartography?
DATA: The Rift effects all long-range communications.
PICARD: Commander Riker! Evasive maneuvers!
(the Enterprise is hit and more photon torpedoes streak towards it)

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Target weapons systems and shields. I don't want the Enterprise destroyed.
(hits on the Enterprise take down the warp core and the Scimitar decloaks)
SHINZON: Can you learn to see in the dark, Captain?

[Enterprise-E bridge]

PICARD: Report.
RIKER: He's firing through the cloak. We can't get a lock.
LAFORGE: He hit our warp drive with his first shot. We've only got impulse, Captain.
PICARD: Mister Worf, prepare a full phaser spread, zero elevation. All banks on my mark. Scan for shield impacts. Stand by photon torpedoes.
WORF: Aye sir.
PICARD: Fire!
(the Scimitar cloaks again)

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: You're too slow, old man. Attack pattern Shinzon Theta.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

DATA: We are losing dorsal shields.
PICARD: Full axis rotation to port! Fire all ventral phasers!
WORF: Minimal damage to the Scimitar.
RIKER: Defensive pattern Kirk Epsilon. Get the shields online, Geordi.
LAFORGE: I'm already on it.
PICARD: Counselor Troi, report to the bridge.
WORF: Captain, we are being hailed.
PICARD: On screen.
SHINZON (on viewscreen): Captain Picard, will you join me in your ready room?

[Enterprise-E ready room]

SHINZON: You can't trace my holographic emitters, Captain, so don't bother. And you can't contact Starfleet. It's just the two of us now, Jean-Luc. ...As it should be.
PICARD: Why are you here?
SHINZON: To accept your surrender. I can clearly destroy you at any time. Lower your shields and I'll allow you to transport to my ship.
PICARD: And the Enterprise?
SHINZON: I have little interest in your quaint vessel, Captain.
PICARD: Look at me, Shinzon. ...Your heart, your hands, your eyes are the same as mine. The blood pumping within you, the raw material is the same. We have the same potential.
SHINZON: That's the past, Captain.
PICARD: It can be the future. Buried deep within you, beneath all the years of pain and anger there is there is something that has never been nurtured. The potential to make yourself a better man, and that is what it is to be human. To make yourself more than you are. ...Oh yes, I know you. ...There was a time you looked at the stars and dreamed of what might be.
SHINZON: Childish dreams, Captain, lost in the dilithium mines of Remus. I am what you see now.
PICARD: I see more than that. I see what you could be. ...The man who is Shinzon of Remus and Jean Luc Picard could never exterminate the population of an entire planet! He is better than that!
SHINZON: He's what his life has made him!
PICARD: And what will he do with that life? Waste it in a blaze of hatred? There is a better way.
SHINZON: It's too late.
PICARD: Never! Never! You still have a choice! Make the right one now!
SHINZON: I can't ...fight what I am!
PICARD: Yes you can!
SHINZON: I'll show you my true nature. Our nature. And as Earth dies, remember that I will always, forever, be Shinzon of Remus! And my voice shall echo through time long after yours has faded to the dim memory.

[Scimitar bridge]

REMAN OFFICER: Two ships decloaking, sir! Romulan!

[Enterprise-E bridge]

RIKER: Captain! ...Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse.
WORF (OC): We are being hailed.
PICARD: On screen.
DONATRA (on viewscreen): Captain Picard, Commander Donatra of the warbird Valdore. Might we be of assistance?
PICARD: Assistance?
DONATRA (on viewscreen): The Empire considers this a matter of internal security. We regret you've become involved.
PICARD: Commander, when this is over, I owe you a drink.
(the Valdore rocks from a blast)
DONATRA (on viewscreen) Romulan ale, Captain. Let's get to work.
PICARD: You heard the lady. Let's go to work.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

PICARD: Mister Worf, coordinate our attack with the Valdore's tactical officer. Triangulate all fire on any shield impacts.
WORF: Aye sir.
DATA: Aft shields down to forty percent.
RIKER: Keep our bow on the Scimitar. Auxiliary power to forward shields.
LAFORGE: Aye sir.

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Target the flanking warbird. All forward disruptor banks on my mark.
(one warbird is destroyed)

[Enterprise-E bridge]

DATA: Forward shields down to ten percent.
RIKER: Bring us about!

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Drop cloak on the aft port quadrant. Prepare for full emergency stop.
VICEROY: What?
SHINZON: You heard me!

[Valdore bridge]

DONATRA: He's losing his cloak! Stand by all forward disruptor banks!

[Scimitar bridge]

VICEROY: She's almost on us.
SHINZON: ...Not yet.
VICEROY: Praetor!
SHINZON: Full Stop! Fire!
(Shinzon has a turn as the Valdore takes a big hit)

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Restore the aft cloak and bring us about.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

DONATRA (on viewscreen): I'm afraid that drink will have to wait, Captain.
PICARD: Do you have life support?
DONATRA (on viewscreen): For the moment. But we're dead in the water.
PICARD: Understood.
(the Enterprise takes a series of hits)
DATA: We are losing structural integrity on decks twelve through seventeen, sections four through ten.
LAFORGE: Emergency forcefields are holding.
RIKER: Evacuate those decks and reroute field power to forward shields.
TROI: Captain, I think I may have a way to find them.

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Prepare a lateral run. All starboard disruptors.
(the Viceroy suddenly stiffens)
SHINZON: What is it? ...What is it?
VICEROY: She's here!

[Enterprise-E bridge]

(Troi's hand is on Worf's as they use the photon torpedo targeting display to beam her thoughts to the Scimitar)
TROI: He's resisting me.

[Scimitar bridge]

VICEROY: No!

[Enterprise-E bridge]

TROI: Remember ...me? ...Now!
(Worf instantly fires a full volley of photon torpedoes)
PICARD: Fire at will!

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Prepare a boarding party. ...Bring me Picard!
VICEROY: (to a Reman guard as he exits) You!
SHINZON: Get the cloak back! Target all shield coordinates beta three. All disruptors, fire!

[Enterprise-E bridge]

DATA: Captain, we've lost ventral shielding on deck twenty-nine.
PICARD: Divert all power and compensate.
WORF: Intruder alert!
PICARD: Number One.
RIKER: Let's go.
WORF: Security detail to deck twenty-nine.

[Enterprise-E corridor]

WORF: The Romulans fought with honour.
RIKER: Yes they did, Mister Worf.
(a massive firefight develops between the security detail, led by Riker and Worf, and the Viceroy and the boarding party. The Viceroy disappears into a Jeffries tube)
RIKER: Worf, cover me!

[Enterprise-E Jefferies tube]

(Riker searches for the Viceroy only to be jumped by him allowing the Viceroy to escape)

[Enterprise-E bridge]

(the bridge is devastated by another attack, the hull is breached until a forcefield seals it)
PICARD: Medical team to the bridge.
(Riker looks for the Viceroy who is striding through the ship)
PICARD: Report.
DATA: We've exhausted our complement of photon torpedoes. Phaser banks are down to four percent, sir.
PICARD: What if we targeted all phasers in a concentrated pattern?
LAFORGE: The Scimitar's shields are still at seventy percent. It would make no difference, Captain.
(they watch the Scimitar through the hull breach)
TROI: What's he doing?
PICARD: He wants to look me in the eye. ...We've got him. ...He thinks he knows exactly what I'm going to do. Geordi, divert all power to the engines. Take it from life support if you have to. Give me everything you've got.
LAFORGE: Ready Captain?
DATA: We're being hailed, sir.
PICARD: Deanna, stand by. ...Open a channel.
SHINZON (on viewscreen): I hope you're still alive, Jean Luc.
PICARD: Oh yes, I am.
SHINZON (on viewscreen) (OC): Don't you think it's time to surrender? Why should the rest of your crew have to die?
PICARD: Shinzon, I don't think I ever told you about my first Academy evaluation. In particular I was thought to be extremely ...over-confident.
SHINZON: Captain, as much as I enjoy listening to you talk, I really think...
PICARD: On my mark, Deanna. ...All hands, brace for impact! ...Engage.

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Hard to port!
(a massive collision as the Enterprise slams into the Scimitar. Meanwhile Riker waylays the Viceroy)

[Scimitar bridge]

SHINZON: Divert all power to engines! ...Full reverse.
(as the ships disengage Riker and the Viceroy fight and with them eventually hanging in a vertical access tunnel Riker kicks the Viceroy free who falls to his death)

[Enterprise-E bridge]

PICARD: Computer. Stand by. Auto-destruct sequence omega. Recognise voice pattern Jean Luc Picard. Authorisation alpha alpha three zero five.
COMPUTER VOICE: Auto-destruct is off-line.

[Scimitar bridge]

REMAN OFFICER: Disruptors are not functional, sir.
SHINZON: Deploy the weapon. Kill everything on that ship. Then set a course for Earth. We must complete our mission.
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Matrix initiated. ...Sequencing procedure for thalaron radiation transfer activated.
SHINZON: Some ideals are worth dying for, aren't they, Jean Luc?
(the thalaron radiation is the same spiralling double-helix column of light as Senator Tal'aura's red box in the Senate chamber)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Thalaron intermix procedure initiated. ...Deployment of targeting arms commencing.

[Enterprise-E bridge]

PICARD: How long until he can fire?
LAFORGE: The targeting sequence should take about seven minutes, Captain. When the targeting arms are fully deployed the matrix on the bridge will relay the thalaron radiation to the firing points at the tips. No one on the Enterprise will survive.
TROI: How can he? He'll kill you.
PICARD: It's not about me anymore.
PICARD: Prepare for a site-to-site transport.
LAFORGE: Captain, I don't think there's a transporter...
PICARD: That's an order, Commander.
DATA: Sir, allow me to go.
PICARD: Data, this is something I have to do.
DATA: Sir.
TROI: Let him go.
PICARD: You have the bridge, Commander. Try and put some distance between you and the Scimitar. Now, Mister La Forge.
LAFORGE: Aye sir.
(Picard takes a phaser rifle and transports to the Scimitar)
LAFORGE: That's it! Transporters are down.
DATA: Counselor Troi, please assume command. Geordi, come with me.
(while Picard fights the Remans aboard the Scimitar, Data leaps from a hull breach to the Scimitar after Geordi has momentarily disabled the forcefield)

[Scimitar activation matrix]

SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Thalaron intermix level thirty percent.
(Data is climbing on the outside of the Scimitar)

[Scimitar bridge]

SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Four minutes to firing sequence.
(Data opens an access panel)

[Scimitar bridge]

(Picard bursts onto the Scimitar bridge and a firefight starts. Shinzon staggers, the veins swelling on his forehead)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Thalaron intermix level fifty percent.
(Picard downs three more Remans)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Three minutes to firing sequence.
(as Picard attempts to get to the matrix controls Shinzon wrestles him down but Picard breaks free)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Thalaron intermix level sixty percent.
(Picard realises he's lost his hand phaser and Shinzon comes at him with a knife. They wrestle again and Picard knocks the knife clear)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Two minutes to firing sequence.
(as Shinzon rushes at Picard with another knife, Picard rips a bar off the wall and impales Shinzon on it)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Thalaron intermix level eighty percent.
(Shinzon forces himself further onto the bar until he is face-to-face with Picard and can put his hands around Picard's throat)
SHINZON: I'm glad we're together now. ...Our destiny is complete.
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: One minute to firing sequence.
(Data enters)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Thalaron intermix level completed.
(Data pushes the dead Shinzon aside)
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Thirty seconds to firing sequence.
(Data puts the emergency transport unit onto Picard's tunic and activates it)
DATA: Goodbye.
SCIMITAR COMPUTER VOICE: Ten, ...nine, ...eight, ...seven, ...six, ...five, ...four, ...three...
(Data fires his phaser at the matrix and the Scimitar explodes

[Enterprise-E bridge]

(Picard has rematerialised)
TROI: Data?
(Riker comes onto the bridge and Troi runs into his arms)
RIKER: Captain?
TROI: It's Data.
LAFORGE: Captain, we're being hailed.
PICARD: On screen. ...Open a channel.
DONATRA (on viewscreen) (OC): This is Commander Donatra of the Valdore. We're dispatching shuttles with medical personnel and supplies.
PICARD: Thank you, Commander.
DONATRA (on viewscreen) (OC): ...You've earned a friend in the Romulan Empire today, Captain. ...I hope, the first of many. Valdore out.
PICARD: Geordi, ...prepare the shuttlebay for arrivals. They... They don't know our procedures. ...Just open the doors.
LAFORGE: I'll take care of it, Captain.
PICARD: You have the bridge, Number One.

[Enterprise-E crew lounge]

(Picard is handing out glasses of Chateau Picard)
TROI: Thank you.
RIKER: Thank you, sir.
PICARD: To absent friends. ...To family.
TROI: Data.
LAFORGE (OC): Data.
RIKER: The first time I saw Data, he was leaning against a tree in the holodeck ...trying to whistle. ...Funniest thing I ever saw. ...No matter what he did he couldn't get the tune right.
RIKER (OC): What was that song? I can't remember the song.
(Transcriber's note - the tune is 'Pop Goes the Weasel')

(the Enterprise is being rebuilt in Spacedock)

[Enterprise-E ready room]

PICARD: Come. ...Will!
RIKER: Permission to disembark, sir.
PICARD: Granted. ...So, where's the Titan off to?
RIKER: The Neutral Zone, sir. We're heading up the new task force. Apparently the Romulans are interested in talking.
PICARD: Well I can't think of a better man for the job. ...If I may, just a word of advice about your first command.
RIKER: Anything.
PICARD: When your first officer insists that you can't go on away missions,...
RIKER: ...ignore him. I intend to. ...Serving with you has been an honour.
PICARD: The honour was mine, Captain.

[Picard's quarters]

PICARD: I don't know if all this has made any sense. I wanted you to know what kind of man he was. In his quest to be more like us ...he helped us to see what it means to be human.
B-4: My... my brother was not human.
PICARD: No, he wasn't. But his wonder, his curiosity about every facet of human nature ...allowed all of us to see the best parts of ourselves. He evolved. He embraced change because he always wanted to be better than he was.
B-4: I...I do not understand.
PICARD: Well, I hope someday you will.
WORF (on intercom): Captain, the warp engines are ready to go on line.
PICARD: I'm on my way. Please inform Commander La Forge.
(B-4 is examining something off Picard's desk)
PICARD: We'll talk later.
B-4: 'Never saw the sun...' 'Never saw the sun...' 'Never saw the sun...'
PICARD: '...shining so bright'
B-4: '...shining so bright. Never saw things...'
PICARD: '...going so right.'
B-4: '...going so right.'