1. Bring the stasis units in here
and have them online.Copy !req
2. - Yes, doctor.
- Tell Dr. Selar she can use Ward 3Copy !req
3. for the ambulatory patients
and I'll stay here.Copy !req
4. Transporter Room 4 to Sickbay.Copy !req
5. They're coming in now.Copy !req
6. Acknowledged.
Stand clear and be ready.Copy !req
7. - All right.
- Let's go. Let's go.Copy !req
8. Get him up here.Copy !req
9. What happened?Copy !req
10. The Lenarians attacked us
outside of the conference room.Copy !req
11. He's in cardiac arrest.
Connect the pulmonary support unit.Copy !req
12. He's got internal hemorrhaging.Copy !req
13. The bioregulator of his artificial heart
has been fused.Copy !req
14. He's got liver and spleen damage.Copy !req
15. What kind of weapon caused this?Copy !req
16. A compressed teryon beam.Copy !req
17. Forty eds inoprovaline.Copy !req
18. The activity in the isocortex is falling.
Cortical stimulators.Copy !req
19. Now.Copy !req
20. Again.Copy !req
21. His respiratory system
is shutting down.Copy !req
22. The levels in the isocortex
are still falling.Copy !req
23. Damn.Copy !req
24. Prepare for...Copy !req
25. Welcome to the afterlife, Jean-Luc.
You're dead.Copy !req
26. Space, the final frontier.Copy !req
27. These are the voyages
of the starship Enterprise.Copy !req
28. To explore strange new worlds,Copy !req
29. to seek out new life
and new civilizations,Copy !req
30. to boldly go where no one
has gone before.Copy !req
31. Q, what is going on?Copy !req
32. I told you.
You're dead, this is the afterlife.Copy !req
33. And I'm God.Copy !req
34. You are not God.Copy !req
35. Blasphemy.Copy !req
36. You're lucky I don't cast you out
or smite you or something.Copy !req
37. The bottom line is,
your life ended about five minutes agoCopy !req
38. under the inept ministrations
of Dr. Beverly Crusher.Copy !req
39. No.Copy !req
40. I am not dead.Copy !req
41. Because I refuse to believe
that the afterlife is run by you.Copy !req
42. The universe
is not so badly designed.Copy !req
43. Very well.Copy !req
44. If you really require more evidence
for your postmortem status,Copy !req
45. I guess I'll just have
to provide you some.Copy !req
46. Jean-Luc, I told you not to go
running off to that academy.Copy !req
47. Father.Copy !req
48. I told you that Starfleet
would bring you to a bad end.Copy !req
49. But you wouldn't listen.Copy !req
50. Now look at you,
dead before your time.Copy !req
51. Q, enough of this.Copy !req
52. Enough what?Copy !req
53. Why couldn't you have listened?Copy !req
54. Didn't you know that I was
working for your best interests?Copy !req
55. Q, stop this.Copy !req
56. And after all these years,Copy !req
57. even now, you manage
to disappoint me, Jean-Luc.Copy !req
58. He's not the only one who would
like to have a word with you.Copy !req
59. Why, Jean-Luc? Why did you do it?Copy !req
60. There are still people
down there. We can't abandon them.Copy !req
61. There must be some
other choice than firing...Copy !req
62. I'm warning you,
if you continue on this course...Copy !req
63. Direct hit. The ship is destroyed.Copy !req
64. Lieutenant Picard to the Bridge.Copy !req
65. These are the voices of all the people
you've killed throughout the years.Copy !req
66. Whom I've killed?
What do you mean?Copy !req
67. Death has made you a little dim,
Jean-Luc.Copy !req
68. These are the voices of all the people
who have died through your actionsCopy !req
69. or your inactions.Copy !req
70. Now, if you have any words
of apology or regret,Copy !req
71. I believe they're all listening.Copy !req
72. They're a surly bunch, actually,
so I wouldn't drag this on too long.Copy !req
73. I have no intention of performing
for your amusement.Copy !req
74. This is not for me,
this is for you, Jean-Luc.Copy !req
75. This is your opportunity
to make peace with your sordid past.Copy !req
76. I find it hard to believe that you are
doing this for the benefit of my soul.Copy !req
77. Well, now that you've shuffled off
the mortal coil,Copy !req
78. we're free to spend
a little time together.Copy !req
79. A little time together? How much?Copy !req
80. Eternity.Copy !req
81. Now,
you're sure you have no regretsCopy !req
82. or feelings of guilt
about your former life?Copy !req
83. I mean, I can't have you whining
and complaining through time.Copy !req
84. If I'm really dead,Copy !req
85. then my only regret
is dying and finding you here.Copy !req
86. You wound me, Jean-Luc.Copy !req
87. After all,
I was not the cause of your death.Copy !req
88. This was.Copy !req
89. - Is that...?
- Your artificial heart.Copy !req
90. You might have lived
if you had a real oneCopy !req
91. instead of this unreliable
piece of technology.Copy !req
92. By the way,
how did you lose yours anyway?Copy !req
93. A mistake.Copy !req
94. Is that a regret I hear'?Copy !req
95. I regret many things
from those days.Copy !req
96. Really?Copy !req
97. It wasn't very smart of you
to take on three Nausicaans, was it?Copy !req
98. No, it wasn't.Copy !req
99. And did I hear a laugh?Copy !req
100. It's so unlike you, Jean-Luc,
to have a sense of humor.Copy !req
101. Especially about
getting stabbed through the back.Copy !req
102. I was a different person
in those days.Copy !req
103. Arrogant, undisciplined,Copy !req
104. with far too much ego,
far too little wisdom.Copy !req
105. I was more like you.Copy !req
106. Then you must have been
far more interesting.Copy !req
107. Pity you had to change.Copy !req
108. The pity is that I had to be impaled
through the backCopy !req
109. before I learned that lesson.Copy !req
110. I started that fight
with those Nausicaans.Copy !req
111. I started it because...Copy !req
112. Because I was young and cocky.Copy !req
113. If I'd been more responsible
in those days,Copy !req
114. I wouldn't have needed this heart.Copy !req
115. And I wouldn't have died from
a random energy surge 30 years later.Copy !req
116. So if you had to do it all over again?Copy !req
117. Things would be different.Copy !req
118. Bravo, bravo.Copy !req
119. Nicely done.Copy !req
120. Cortin. Cortin Zweller.Copy !req
121. Yes. Heh.Copy !req
122. Boy, she must have hit you
pretty hard.Copy !req
123. Of course, you deserved it.Copy !req
124. Slowing down there, Johnny.
You should've seen that one coming.Copy !req
125. Marta Batanides.Copy !req
126. Are you okay?Copy !req
127. Yes, I'm fine. I'm, uh...Copy !req
128. I'm just a little disoriented, that's all.Copy !req
129. Come on,
he's just playing for sympathy now.Copy !req
130. Look, I'm gonna get something to eatCopy !req
131. and head over to the casino
at Bonestell.Copy !req
132. - You coming?
- Uh...Copy !req
133. I'll catch up with you there.Copy !req
134. You sure you're okay?Copy !req
135. Yes, I'm fine. Really, Marta, I'm fine.Copy !req
136. Come on, Marty.
I bet he's got another date.Copy !req
137. That's it, isn't it? Heh.
You are incorrigible.Copy !req
138. Attention on deck, Ensign Picard.Copy !req
139. Q.Copy !req
140. That's "Captain Q" to you,
young man.Copy !req
141. What is the point
of creating this fantasy?Copy !req
142. This is no fantasy, I assure you.
It's all very real.Copy !req
143. You're 21 years old again,Copy !req
144. a brash young man
fresh out of the academy.Copy !req
145. I certainly don't look it.Copy !req
146. Well, to everyone else, you do.Copy !req
147. So, Q, I thought
you told me that I was dead.Copy !req
148. Now it seems that I'm alive.Copy !req
149. Oh, you mortals are so obtuse.Copy !req
150. Why do you persist in believing
that life and deathCopy !req
151. are such static and rigid concepts?Copy !req
152. Why, I can take your life
and give it back to you againCopy !req
153. with a snap of a finger.Copy !req
154. Let's say for the moment
that may be true.Copy !req
155. What is the purpose
in bringing me here?Copy !req
156. You said you regretted
a great many things in your life.Copy !req
157. Well, here's a chance
to change some of them.Copy !req
158. Change them?
Do you mean change the past?Copy !req
159. Q, even if you have been able
to bring me back in time somehow,Copy !req
160. surely you must realize
that any alteration in this time lineCopy !req
161. will have a profound impact
on the future.Copy !req
162. Please,Copy !req
163. spare me your egotistical musings
on your pivotal role in history.Copy !req
164. Nothing you do here
will cause the FederationCopy !req
165. to collapse or galaxies to explode.Copy !req
166. To be blunt,
you're not that important.Copy !req
167. I won't do it. I won't alter history.Copy !req
168. Ah!Copy !req
169. Very well.Copy !req
170. Since you attach so much importance
to the continuity of time,Copy !req
171. I will give you
my personal guaranteeCopy !req
172. that nothing you do here
will end up hurting anyoneCopy !req
173. or have an adverse effect
on what you know of as history.Copy !req
174. The only thing at stake here
is your life and your peace of mind.Copy !req
175. But now,
whether you believe me or not,Copy !req
176. you are here
and you have a second chance.Copy !req
177. What you choose to do with it
is entirely up to you.Copy !req
178. Do you know where you are?Copy !req
179. Starbase Earhart.Copy !req
180. We came here right after graduationCopy !req
181. to await our first
deep-space assignments.Copy !req
182. That's right.Copy !req
183. It's two days before your unfortunate
encounter with a Nausicaan sword.Copy !req
184. You have that long to make
whatever changes you wish.Copy !req
185. If you can avoid getting stabbedCopy !req
186. through the heart this time,
which I doubt,Copy !req
187. I will take you back
to what you think of as the presentCopy !req
188. and you will go on with your life
with a real heart.Copy !req
189. Then I won't die?Copy !req
190. Of course you'll die.
It'll just be at a later time.Copy !req
191. What if I don't avoid the fight?
What if I won't make the changes?Copy !req
192. Then you die on the table
and we spend eternity together.Copy !req
193. Wonderful.Copy !req
194. I'm glad you think so.Copy !req
195. I'm curious about one thing, Johnny.Copy !req
196. Why did that rather
attractive woman strike you just now?Copy !req
197. Is it something you said?Copy !req
198. Her name was Corlina
and I'd arranged to take her out today.Copy !req
199. And then she discoveredCopy !req
200. that I had already made a second date
with another woman called, um,Copy !req
201. Penny.Copy !req
202. And Corlina was naturally upset.Copy !req
203. I had no idea you were such a cad.
I'm impressed.Copy !req
204. Computer,
what is the time right now?Copy !req
205. 1611 hours.Copy !req
206. In fact, Penny is waiting for me.Copy !req
207. Right now.Copy !req
208. Well, carry on.Copy !req
209. Well, you're awfully quiet today.Copy !req
210. What happened to that dashing
young ensign from last night, hmm?Copy !req
211. The one with the winning smile
and the smooth talk about my eyes?Copy !req
212. I'm just a little more contemplative.Copy !req
213. Mm.
And what are you contemplating?Copy !req
214. Penny, urn, do you think
we could just talk for a while?Copy !req
215. I hardly know anything about you.Copy !req
216. Where you're from,
what your interests are,Copy !req
217. your last name.Copy !req
218. I come from Rigel,
my last name is MurocCopy !req
219. and I like men in uniform.Copy !req
220. I think that's enough talking.Copy !req
221. What's wrong?Copy !req
222. I don't look as attractive to you
as I did last night?Copy !req
223. No, no. Uh, not at all.Copy !req
224. I think you're a very
handsome woman.Copy !req
225. Handsome?
That's something you say to old ladies.Copy !req
226. You're certainly not an old lady.Copy !req
227. I didn't want your pity.Copy !req
228. Penny for your thoughts.Copy !req
229. You never told me
you were such a ladies' man.Copy !req
230. I wasn't.Copy !req
231. I was a puerile adolescentCopy !req
232. who allowed himself to be led
by his hormones instead of his head.Copy !req
233. Looks like your friends know
how to have fun.Copy !req
234. You ought to take lessons.Copy !req
235. Excuse me.Copy !req
236. He's winning.Copy !req
237. Of course.Copy !req
238. I thought you had a date.Copy !req
239. She decided to leave.Copy !req
240. You're getting old, Johnny.Copy !req
241. Thank you. Thank you all.Copy !req
242. Thank you.Copy !req
243. Very, very nice.Copy !req
244. I think you should forget
about StarfleetCopy !req
245. and play Dom-jot for a living.Copy !req
246. No, this is nothing.Copy !req
247. A little, uh, trigonometry,
some minor wrist action.Copy !req
248. Now, Barokie, there's a game.Copy !req
249. Human.Copy !req
250. Play Dom-jot, human?Copy !req
251. I think I could be persuaded
to play one more game.Copy !req
252. - Corey, don't play him.
- Why?Copy !req
253. It'll cause trouble.Copy !req
254. He's a Nausicaan.Copy !req
255. They can get very ill-tempered
if they lose.Copy !req
256. So can I.Copy !req
257. No, Corey, listen to me.Copy !req
258. This is a big mistake. Don't play him.Copy !req
259. What's gotten into you?Copy !req
260. Let's go.Copy !req
261. I see you've found
your Nausicaan friend.Copy !req
262. You seem unimpaled so far.Copy !req
263. I'm sorry to disappoint you.Copy !req
264. Get them, Corey. That's good.Copy !req
265. Look at that.Copy !req
266. Ensign Zweller
seems to be doing well.Copy !req
267. He's gonna lose.
The Nausicaan is cheating.Copy !req
268. Really?Copy !req
269. I'm beginning
to like these Nausicaans.Copy !req
270. If history repeats itself,
Corey will figure it out later tonight.Copy !req
271. And then he'll want revenge.Copy !req
272. And will you help your best friend
avenge this injustice?Copy !req
273. I did last time.Copy !req
274. I rigged the table
so that he would win in a rematch.Copy !req
275. Picard, you cheated?Copy !req
276. I'm impressed.Copy !req
277. It was a stupid mistake.Copy !req
278. The Nausicaan didn't take kindly
to losing, nor his friends.Copy !req
279. They were outraged.
They wanted a fight.Copy !req
280. I gave them one.Copy !req
281. That's a beautiful story.Copy !req
282. It gets you right here, doesn't it?Copy !req
283. Dom-jot. Ten.Copy !req
284. Dom-jot. Human play Dom-jot.Copy !req
285. I've played a lot of Dom-jot
in a lot of places,Copy !req
286. and I've never seen balls roll
that well for anyone.Copy !req
287. So he was cheating?Copy !req
288. I'll bet you that he had some sort
of magnetic device in his belt.Copy !req
289. It was controlling the balls.Copy !req
290. That's terrible.Copy !req
291. We've gotta get even.Copy !req
292. What'd you have in mind?Copy !req
293. Well, we can do to him
what he did to us, cheat.Copy !req
294. Only this time, we rig the table
so his device will backfire on him.Copy !req
295. Corey, that won't solve anything.Copy !req
296. It'll teach him that he can't
go around cheating Starfleet officers.Copy !req
297. All it'll do is provoke him.Copy !req
298. And provoking a Nausicaan
is not a good idea.Copy !req
299. - I can handle him.
- What if he's not alone?Copy !req
300. What if he brings some
of his Nausicaan friends with him?Copy !req
301. Well, then, I guess that's when
I'm gonna have to dependCopy !req
302. on my friends to help me out.Copy !req
303. Corey, there's gotta be a better way
to handle this.Copy !req
304. When did you start
backing away from a good fight?Copy !req
305. Look, Corey,
we're not cadets anymore.Copy !req
306. We're officers.Copy !req
307. We should start to set
a higher standard for ourselves.Copy !req
308. It was a good idea,
but let's just forget it, okay?Copy !req
309. He'll get over it.Copy !req
310. I hope so.Copy !req
311. What?Copy !req
312. Nothing.Copy !req
313. It's just you'd usually
be the one plotting revenge.Copy !req
314. Ah. Yes.Copy !req
315. That would be more in character,
wouldn't it?Copy !req
316. Much.Copy !req
317. But I always suspectedCopy !req
318. you had a hidden streak
of responsibility somewhere.Copy !req
319. Perhaps it's just that
I'm getting older.Copy !req
320. Maybe these bars are just starting
to feel a little heavy, ensign.Copy !req
321. Ensign Picard
and Ensign Batanides.Copy !req
322. Sounds weird, doesn't it'?Copy !req
323. It's gonna take some getting used to.Copy !req
324. It's too bad we can't get
used to it together.Copy !req
325. Well, the three of us, I mean.Copy !req
326. Oh, of course.Copy !req
327. Come.Copy !req
328. Flowers.Copy !req
329. Is there a Jean-Luc Picard here?Copy !req
330. From one of your conquests,
no doubt.Copy !req
331. I guess some things
aren't going to change.Copy !req
332. Did I interrupt anything sordid,
I hope?Copy !req
333. No, Q, you did not.Copy !req
334. Pity. She's quite attractive.Copy !req
335. We were friends, nothing more.Copy !req
336. Is that another regret I hear?Copy !req
337. MY, my...Copy !req
338. We're simply riddled with regrets
about our youth, now, aren't we?Copy !req
339. My friendship with Marta
is not something that I regret.Copy !req
340. But you wish it had been more
than just a friendship, now, don't you?Copy !req
341. Well, maybe you can change all that.Copy !req
342. Q, what is it you want'?Copy !req
343. I thought you'd like to know
that Mr. Zweller's decidedCopy !req
344. not to take your advice.Copy !req
345. He's in the Bonestell Facility right now,
rigging the table to beat the Nausicaan.Copy !req
346. I guess you weren't that persuasive.Copy !req
347. - Corey.
- Ah.Copy !req
348. Johnny,
don't sneak up on me like that.Copy !req
349. I thought you were
the gambling foreman.Copy !req
350. I'm sorry.Copy !req
351. I'm glad you're here.
Hand me that magnaspanner, huh?Copy !req
352. Corey, I'm not here to help you.Copy !req
353. I'm here to stop you
from making a serious mistake.Copy !req
354. You sound like my mother.Copy !req
355. Cheating the Nausicaans could have
serious consequences for all of us.Copy !req
356. It's a risk we can't afford to take.Copy !req
357. You are my mother.Copy !req
358. Well, gee, Mom,Copy !req
359. I guess I'll just have to go
tell those NausicaansCopy !req
360. I don't mind if they cheat me.Copy !req
361. This is not a joke, Corey.Copy !req
362. It better be.Copy !req
363. Now, I'm gonna finish my work here.
If you wanna help me, fine.Copy !req
364. If not,
I'll see you back at the starbase.Copy !req
365. I said you're not doing this.Copy !req
366. Are you gonna hit me, Johnny?Copy !req
367. No.Copy !req
368. But I'll tell the gambling foremanCopy !req
369. somebody has been tampering
with his Dom-jot table.Copy !req
370. All right.Copy !req
371. Have it your way, Ensign Picard.Copy !req
372. I just couldn't make him understand.Copy !req
373. At least he did finally give it up.Copy !req
374. Yes, but he didn't take it very well.Copy !req
375. Oh, you know Corey.
He'll forget all about it by tomorrow.Copy !req
376. I hope you're rightCopy !req
377. because he and I were friends
for years after this.Copy !req
378. I mean, um, I hope that we will be.Copy !req
379. You know...Copy !req
380. You keep smiling at me.Copy !req
381. Well, I've just never seen you
like this before.Copy !req
382. You're so serious.Copy !req
383. Do I really seem that different?Copy !req
384. Maybe I'm just not used to seeing you
in your officer's uniform.Copy !req
385. No, it's more than that.Copy !req
386. You do seem different.Copy !req
387. Well, I'm not complaining
or anything.Copy !req
388. I think it suits you.Copy !req
389. Really?Copy !req
390. Yes.Copy !req
391. It's very attractive.Copy !req
392. Johnny...Copy !req
393. Haven't you ever thought
about us getting together?Copy !req
394. Yes, I have, actually.Copy !req
395. I've thought about it for a long time.Copy !req
396. Why didn't you ever say so?Copy !req
397. I don't know.Copy !req
398. And at this moment,Copy !req
399. I really have no idea why not.Copy !req
400. You've said so now.Copy !req
401. Morning, darling.Copy !req
402. Feeling a little jumpy this morning?Copy !req
403. Are we guilty perhaps?Copy !req
404. I don't feel guilty about anything, Q.Copy !req
405. No?Copy !req
406. "We were just friends, Q,
nothing more."Copy !req
407. And we're still friends.Copy !req
408. So?Copy !req
409. What's next?Copy !req
410. I don't know.Copy !req
411. What I do know is,Copy !req
412. things will be different.Copy !req
413. I'm sure.Copy !req
414. Good morning.Copy !req
415. Johnny.Copy !req
416. What's wrong?Copy !req
417. Well, this is the morning after, huh?Copy !req
418. Look...Copy !req
419. I don't regret anything
that happened last night.Copy !req
420. I hope you don't regret it either.Copy !req
421. I don't... I don't know.Copy !req
422. We've been friends for a long time,
and...Copy !req
423. And now...Copy !req
424. I'm afraid
we've ruined that friendship.Copy !req
425. Then perhaps we shouldCopy !req
426. forget about what happened
and, uh...Copy !req
427. - And try to...
- I wish I could.Copy !req
428. It would make it much easier
to say goodbye tomorrow.Copy !req
429. Um...Copy !req
430. We're all supposed
to, urn, get together laterCopy !req
431. for our last big night out on the town
before we all ship out.Copy !req
432. I don't want you to do anything
that would make you uncomfortable.Copy !req
433. We planned it. I'll be there.Copy !req
434. Well, let's see.Copy !req
435. You've managed
to get slapped by one woman,Copy !req
436. a drink thrown in your face by another,
and alienate your two best friends.Copy !req
437. Doing pretty well so far.Copy !req
438. The only thing left to avoid
is getting stabbed through the heart.Copy !req
439. I think you'll like serving
on board the Ajax.Copy !req
440. I hear that Captain Narth
is an excellent officer.Copy !req
441. So I hear.Copy !req
442. Well, here's to the class of '27.Copy !req
443. Play Dom-jot, human?Copy !req
444. Give you a better chance.Copy !req
445. Give you a bigger stick maybe.Copy !req
446. I don't think we're interested.Copy !req
447. They are Undari. Cowards.Copy !req
448. What did you say?Copy !req
449. Coward.Copy !req
450. Like all Starfleet, you talk and you talk,
but you have no guramba.Copy !req
451. Why don't we find out?Copy !req
452. Hey, don't be a fool, Corey.Copy !req
453. Look, there are plenty of other people
to play Dom-jot with.Copy !req
454. Now, just go about your business.Copy !req
455. Maybe I play with her,
give her a good time.Copy !req
456. Starfleet.Copy !req
457. I'm sorry, Corey.
He was reaching for a weapon.Copy !req
458. I don't know who you are anymore,Copy !req
459. but you're not my friend.Copy !req
460. Goodbye, Johnny.Copy !req
461. Congratulations, mon capitaine.
You did it.Copy !req
462. Can I help you?Copy !req
463. Can I help you, Mr. Picard?Copy !req
464. Mr. Worf?Copy !req
465. This is not for me.Copy !req
466. You should take it to
Commander La Forge in Engineering.Copy !req
467. What's happened?Copy !req
468. Is something wrong?Copy !req
469. I'm not sure.Copy !req
470. Mr. Worf,
what is my rank and position?Copy !req
471. You are lieutenant junior grade,
assistant Astrophysics officer.Copy !req
472. Are you feeling all right?Copy !req
473. Who is the captain of this ship?Copy !req
474. Captain Thomas Halloway.Copy !req
475. Perhaps I should escort you
to Sickbay.Copy !req
476. No. I can find my own way there.Copy !req
477. Thank you, commander.Copy !req
478. Beverly, something has
happened to me. I'm not sure...Copy !req
479. Well, well, well.Copy !req
480. What seems to be the trouble,
Lieutenant Picard?Copy !req
481. Q, what have you done?Copy !req
482. I've done exactly as I promised.Copy !req
483. I've returned you to the present.Copy !req
484. But this is not the present
I remember.Copy !req
485. You said nothing would change.Copy !req
486. Nothing has changed, Jean-Luc.Copy !req
487. Except for you.Copy !req
488. But then again,
that's what you wanted, wasn't it?Copy !req
489. To change the man
you were in your youth.Copy !req
490. Well, you did it.Copy !req
491. This is the man you are today.
And you should be happy.Copy !req
492. You have a real heart
beating in your chestCopy !req
493. and you get to live out
the rest of your life in safety.Copy !req
494. Running tests, making analyses
and carrying reports to your superiors.Copy !req
495. Excuse me. Am I interrupting?Copy !req
496. No, not at all. Have a seat.Copy !req
497. Thank you.Copy !req
498. I'd like to talk to you for a moment
about my future on the Enterprise.Copy !req
499. Of course, lieutenant.Copy !req
500. Jean-Luc, isn't it?Copy !req
501. - Maybe I should go.
- No, please, counselor.Copy !req
502. I would very much
like to hear your thoughts.Copy !req
503. First of all...Copy !req
504. And I would like you to be
absolutely straightforward with me.Copy !req
505. How would you evaluate me
as an officer?Copy !req
506. Well, um, your performance records
have always been good.Copy !req
507. You're thorough, dedicated.Copy !req
508. Steady, reliable...Copy !req
509. Punctual.Copy !req
510. I see.Copy !req
511. What would you say
if I told you that I believeCopy !req
512. that I was capable of being
very much more?Copy !req
513. Perhaps we should discuss this
at your next evaluation.Copy !req
514. I would appreciate it
if we could discuss it now.Copy !req
515. You see, I feel that I would
like to move beyond AstrophysicsCopy !req
516. to Engineering or Security.Copy !req
517. Something that might even lead
to command.Copy !req
518. Frankly, lieutenant,Copy !req
519. I don't think that's realistic.Copy !req
520. Why?Copy !req
521. I really don't think this is the place
to be discussing this.Copy !req
522. Please, this is very important to me.Copy !req
523. I believe that I can do more.Copy !req
524. Hasn't that been the problem
all along?Copy !req
525. Throughout your career,
you've had lofty goals,Copy !req
526. but you've never been willing to do
what's necessary to attain them.Copy !req
527. Would that be your evaluation as well,
commander?Copy !req
528. I think I have to agree
with the counselor.Copy !req
529. If you wanna get ahead,
you have to take chances,Copy !req
530. stand out in a crowd, get noticed.Copy !req
531. I see.Copy !req
532. Now, we don't wanna lose you.
You're a very good officer.Copy !req
533. Just not one who stands out.Copy !req
534. Why don't I talk to
Commander La Forge in EngineeringCopy !req
535. and see what we can do?Copy !req
536. But command?Copy !req
537. Well...Copy !req
538. We'll see.Copy !req
539. Senior officers, please reportCopy !req
540. to the captain's Ready Room.Copy !req
541. Acknowledged.Copy !req
542. We should talk about this later.Copy !req
543. All right, Q, that's enough.
You've made your point.Copy !req
544. Q?Copy !req
545. La Forge to Lieutenant Picard.Copy !req
546. I'm still waiting
for that statistical analysis.Copy !req
547. I'm on my way, sir.Copy !req
548. Main Engineering.Copy !req
549. Are you having a good laugh now,
Q?Copy !req
550. Does it amuse you to think of me
living out the rest of my lifeCopy !req
551. as a dreary man in a tedious job?Copy !req
552. I gave you something
most mortals never experience.Copy !req
553. A second chance at life.Copy !req
554. And now all you can do is complain?Copy !req
555. I can't live out my days
as that person.Copy !req
556. That man is bereft of passion
and imagination.Copy !req
557. That is not who I am.Copy !req
558. Au contraire,
he is the person you wanted to be.Copy !req
559. One who was less arrogant
and undisciplined in his youth.Copy !req
560. One who was less like me.Copy !req
561. The Jean-Luc Picard
you wanted to be,Copy !req
562. the one who did not fight
the Nausicaan,Copy !req
563. had quite a different career
from the one you remember.Copy !req
564. That Picard never had
a brush with death,Copy !req
565. never came face-to-face
with his own mortality,Copy !req
566. never realized how fragile life isCopy !req
567. or how important
each moment must be.Copy !req
568. So his life never came into focus.Copy !req
569. He drifted through much of his career
with no plan or agenda,Copy !req
570. going from one assignment
to the next,Copy !req
571. never seizing the opportunities
that presented themselves.Copy !req
572. He never led the away team
on Milika IIICopy !req
573. to save the ambassador.Copy !req
574. Or take charge
of the Stargazer's BridgeCopy !req
575. when its captain was killed.Copy !req
576. And no one ever offered him
a command.Copy !req
577. He learned to play it safe.Copy !req
578. And he never,
ever got noticed by anyone.Copy !req
579. You're right, Q.Copy !req
580. You gave me the chance to change
and I took the opportunity.Copy !req
581. But I admit now, it was a mistake.Copy !req
582. Are you asking me for something,
Jean-Luc?Copy !req
583. Give me a chance to put things
back the way they were before.Copy !req
584. Before, you died in Sickbay.
Is that what you want?Copy !req
585. I would rather die as the man I was
than live the life I just saw.Copy !req
586. Coward.Copy !req
587. Like all Starfleet, you talk and you talk,
but you have no guramba.Copy !req
588. What did you say?Copy !req
589. I said you are a coward.Copy !req
590. That's what I thought you said.Copy !req
591. His vital signs are stable.Copy !req
592. Captain.Copy !req
593. Jean-Luc.Copy !req
594. You were injured,Copy !req
595. but I think you're going to be all right.Copy !req
596. I still don't know what to make of it.Copy !req
597. Was it a dream?Copy !req
598. Or was it one of Q's
elaborate tricks?Copy !req
599. A lot of people who are near death
have strange experiences,Copy !req
600. but I have never heard one
so detailed.Copy !req
601. And, you know, there's still part of me
that cannot acceptCopy !req
602. that Q would give me
a second chance.Copy !req
603. Or that he would demonstrate
so much compassion.Copy !req
604. And if it was Q,Copy !req
605. I owe him a debt of gratitude.Copy !req
606. In what sense?
It sounds like he put you through hell.Copy !req
607. There are many parts of my youth
that I'm not proud of.Copy !req
608. They were loose threads,Copy !req
609. untidy parts of me
that I would like to remove.Copy !req
610. But when I pulled on
one of those threads,Copy !req
611. it unraveled the tapestry of my life.Copy !req
612. I was just trying to imagine
a hell-bent-for-leather young officerCopy !req
613. insulting a Nausicaan twice his size.Copy !req
614. I wish I had a chance to know
that Jean-Luc Picard.Copy !req
615. Oh, well, to tell the truth,Copy !req
616. that wasn't the first run-in that I had
with a couple of surly Nausicaans.Copy !req
617. Really?Copy !req
618. Oh, yes.Copy !req
619. During my sophomore year,Copy !req
620. I was assigned to training
on Morikin VII.Copy !req
621. Well, there was a Nausicaan outpost
on one of the outlying asteroids,Copy !req
622. and one day...Copy !req