Star Trek: Picard (2020) s01e10 Episode Script

1
[Soji narrating] Previously on
Star Trek: Picard
[Benayoun]
For a relic, you're in excellent shape.
Just that little abnormality
in the parietal lobe.
Index, identify this painting.
This painting is called Daughter.
Maddox's theory was Data's entire code,
even his memories,
could be reconstituted
from a single positronic neuron.
You are something
lovingly and deliberately created.
You're telling me that I'm not real.
Which sister are you?
[Laris] The heart of the Zhat Vash mission
was hate and fear and pure loathing
for any form of synthetic life.
I know who you are.
You are the Destroyer!
[Picard] Thank you, Will,
for not trying to talk me out of all this.
Believe me, I know better.
The Romulans send in a mole,
a half-Romulan Vulcan named Oh.
I will take care of Picard.
Nine years ago,
a Starfleet vessel had first contact
with a pair of emissaries
from a strange new world.
And the Zhat Vash have been searching
for this world ever since.
Which they have now found because of me.
[Rios] Ghulion system, fourth planet.
[Soji] I'm home.
Welcome, all of you.
Doctor Altan Inigo Soong.
I take it my face looks familiar?
I'm just trying to understand
the logic of sacrifice.
I don't like the sound of that.
[woman screams]
[panting]
Starfleet Command,
I have a first contact situation.
The Federation will listen to me.
They didn't listen to him
after the attack on Mars.
And they're not going to believe him now.
[Sutra] My mind to your mind.
My thoughts to your thoughts.
-[screams]
-[exhales]
Fascinating.
[Soong] There are some sort of
higher synthetic beings out there.
Doctor Soong and I have designed
a suitable beacon to summon them.
To them, we're monsters.
A mother would die for her children.
-Would you?
-Yes.
Their purpose
is to seek out advanced synthetic life
and excise it
from the oppression by organics.
-You will become the Destroyer after all.
-Take him away.
[Elnor] Would the xBs be better off dead?
Everyone hates them. They have no home.
They don't belong anywhere.
[Seven] Am I better off dead?
I'm an xB.
I have no home. I don't belong anywhere.
Why don't I just put a phaser to my head
and get it over with?
Because
I'd miss you.
[sighs]
Well
-Have you found them?
-Yes, they're all here.
Have you fucked any of them?
Mm. Not yet.
-Killed any?
-One.
Well, I call that progress.
Come see my hiding place.
Oceanfront, crashing waves.
You'll love it.
Lucky you.
[beeping]
[Soji] I just wanted to see
if you were okay.
I will be when I'm set free.
Picard, try to see this
from our point of view.
You choose if we live.
You choose if we die.
You choose.
We have no choice.
You organics have never given us one.
To say you have no choice
is a failure of imagination.
Please,
don't let the Romulans
turn you into the monsters they fear.
Stop them, Soji.
Stop building that beacon.
Shut it down now.
The beings you are attempting to summon
may well be your salvation
but they will be our annihilation.
You're telling me you want to use
those grenades to destroy flowers?
Ship-killing flowers that fly.
No, not this time.
I made my way out of the nest.
I can make my way back in.
You have to stay here
and bring the weapon systems online.
Our parents died for this, Narek.
Many more gave their lives.
I found her, Narissa.
Me. The family disgrace.
The Zhat Vash washout.
I found Seb-Cheneb.
Well, go on then.
I have my work to do.
[Rios]
Honestly, I'm a little afraid of it.
Like if I use it too much, it's gonna
eat my soul.
Well, luckily,
you don't have a soul, so
[chuckles]
But what does it do? How do I even
Well, when Saga gave it to me, she said,
"You have to use your imagination."
-Oh, she said that, did she?
-Mm-hmm.
Well, I don't have one of those either.
Okay, well, Chris, this is your ship.
You know what's wrong with it.
It's not too complicated.
The intermix reactor is fused.
I need to un-fuse it, which is impossible.
I need to replace it,
but the maintenance replicator is off-line
because the intermix reactor is fused.
Mm. Well, just, you know, give it a try.
Okay, fine, I'll do it.
I got a lot of imagination.
To you, everything's a hammer, or
No. I'll do it.
There's-- There's no kind of
trigger or-- or switch.
Hmm.
Well, maybe what she meant
was you have to imagine the fix.
Have you been,
um, hitting the horgl again?
Visualize that it's no longer fused.
You know, see the hole patching itself.
[exhales]
[warbling]
Whoa.
[speaking Spanish]
Uh What's happening?
[Raffi chuckles]
Nothing that makes any sense.
[ship powers up]
[chuckles, sighs]
-Say it.
-Say what?
Hmm, those three beautiful words.
[sighs]
-You were right.
-Hmm. Just one more time.
Piss off.
[clangs]
[clangs]
I know that sound.
[clangs]
[rattling]
All of Bruce's work on the downloading
of consciousness into a synthetic body
should be on that machine.
Let's hope so.
We don't have much time.
You know
this really is a remarkable act
of self-sacrifice on your part.
But I suppose
that's what mothers do, isn't it?
It's okay.
It'll be okay. You can do this.
You have to do this.
[breathes shakily]
I'm not their mother, asshole.
Someone's throwing rocks at my ship.
[clangs]
-The abusive Romulan boyfriend.
-Comms.
Go ahead, throw it.
I want to see what a photon torpedo
can do at this range.
-[Raffi chuckles]
-I have 12 wide-dispersion
molecular solvent grenade canisters.
I'm throwing rocks.
What do you want?
And don't think we won't kick your ass,
dirtbag, because we will.
Raff.
What are you doing here, Snakehead?
Trying to save the universe.
We can keep fighting,
or we can work together.
Stop what's coming for us.
It's your call.
JL.
JL, come in.
Damn it.
[Narek] They are building
some kind of transmitter.
They are signaling something to come here.
[Rios] To do what?
We believe synthetics are fated
to destroy all organic life.
We call it Ganmadan.
The place is on lockdown.
Whatever that transmitter is, they don't
want anyone interfering with it.
[chuckles]
-The thing about Picard is--
-Yeah.
Interfering is definitely his thing.
Try him again.
JL, come in.
Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, retired.
[Rios sighs]
-Damn it.
-I've told you. They won't respond.
The synthetics have jammed all comms.
[Raffi sighs]
[Elnor speaking Romulan]
-[Rios] Whoa, whoa.
-[Raffi] Whoa, whoa.
I do.
I very much choose to live.
Hold up, kid.
We disarmed him, searched him.
We may very well have a common enemy
coming for us.
You're gonna wanna hear
what he came here to say.
Altan, I--
What are you doing?
I'm transferring Saga's memories
into a V-module as a memento for Arcana.
But the damage to her optical processors
corrupted the data stream and--
Do you need something?
Yes. I've been working on the neural lace
for your golem,
but some of the files are encrypted.
Bruce always said
that your crypto kung fu was the best.
[chuckling] Oh.
Okay,
I'll see if I can get into those files.
Keep an eye on the transcoding rate.
Got it.
[squishing]
[whispering] Sorry.
[Elnor] I still don't understand
why we're trusting him.
His sister murdered Hugh.
Good thing she didn't come along then.
I don't like you.
No?
How do you feel about Ganmadan?
Because if we waste any more time
fighting each other, we will all die.
Then whether or not you like me
will matter even less.
Whoa. H-Hold on. [chuckles]
What is Ganmadan?
-What is the story?
-It's just that.
-A story.
-A story of the end.
-Of?
-Everything.
Like Ragnarök or Judgment Day.
An ancient myth.
Some say it dates back from long before
our ancestors first arrived on Vulcan.
The story of Ganmadan
begins with two sisters.
Twin khalagu.
Demons.
Twin demons who come at the end of time
to open the way
and unleash the ch'khalagu.
Very bad demons.
One sister is called Seb-Natan,
the foreteller.
She plays a drum
made from the skin of children.
She strikes it with a chain of skulls
so hard and so long
that her heart bursts from the effort.
[groans]
-The other sister is called Seb--
-Seb-Cheneb?
Yes. We-- We know about her.
So you know that she carries a horn from
a great pale hellbeast called Ganmadan?
You know when she blows a blast
on the horn,
it will unleash all the ch'khalagu
who have been waiting
since the beginning of time.
[Narek] You know the sky will crack,
and through the crack in the sky,
the ch'khalagu will come ravening.
You know about the Thousand Days of Pain.
You know the streets will be slick
with entrails of half-devoured corpses.
You know the worlds will burn.
And the ch'khalagu will feast
and nurse their brats on blood
and pick their teeth with bones.
No, we did not know any of that.
But, I mean, do you really--
You really believe this is a, a prophecy?
No.
I believe it's history.
Oh.
[Narek] And the fascinating thing
about history is
it always repeats itself.
[sighs]
At last,
our great work is nearly at an end.
Molecular solvent grenades.
Short fuse. Push button, throw.
Intended for those orchids,
but now the transmitter
is our target of opportunity.
Okay. H-Hold on. Hold on. [chuckles]
How exactly are we planning
on getting ourselves back into Synthville?
We walk in the front door.
[grunting]
Oh, [chuckles] hey. Hi.
[Rios] How are we gonna do that?
By bringing them the Romulan secret agent
that killed their beloved Saga.
I still don't like you.
Check it out, you guys.
Look who we found
sneaking around last night.
Thought you might want him back.
[Raffi] So, how are we gonna
blow the transmitter?
A single, concentrated blast.
Remote detonation.
-Sounds like we need a delivery system.
-[Narek] A drone.
-[guard 1] Your weapons.
-Oh, of course.
The molecular solvent, it's stable?
Until it's detonated.
Except in metal, so the container
needs to be carbon fiber, ceramic.
-[guard 1] Bags.
-Oh, certainly.
You bet.
And with the transporter block
the synths have in place,
we can't beam anything in or out.
So, we'll need a way to conceal it.
Do you play?
-Oh, I love the game.
-[Raffi chuckles]
All right. Let's go.
Thanks.
[beeping]
Picard?
Admiral Picard.
-Hello. Are you--
-Still here.
Okay.
They're about to power up the beacon.
We have to hurry.
What is this?
I'm busting you out.
[chuckles]
I honestly thought
I was the worst secret agent ever,
but I'm starting to believe
I may have a gift.
-Uh, where are we going?
-Back to La Sirena.
Come on. We've gotta move
while they're still distracted.
[male electronic voice] Synthetic matrix
complete. Ready to receive neural engrams.
Yeah.
[beeping]
[gasps]
[Narek] Tower's almost active.
We need to get a clear line of sight
on the superluminal tuner at the base.
[Raffi] How are we gonna get up there
without being seen?
An excellent question.
[Jurati] I guess they went looking for us?
We'll worry about that later.
Status report on the Romulans.
Come on, Doctor.
The attack wing is seven minutes
from planetfall.
Any sign of Starfleet?
No, but even if your message got through,
they'd still be behind the Romulans.
We've got to find a way
to stall them somehow.
And, of course,
hope that the Federation arrives.
Yeah, and then?
I mean, say we do find a way
to hold off the Romulans.
We save Soji.
Now, she and the golden children
are free to call up the über-synths
and then, vapor and ash,
a galactic-level biocidal event.
Well, clearly, we've got to stop them too!
They've left us behind, Picard.
They're generations beyond us.
In one sense, yes, but in another,
as you said, they are children.
And until now the only teachers
that they've had are a couple of hermits
and the fear of extermination.
But fear is an incompetent teacher.
Yes, they have life, but no one
is teaching them what it's for.
To be alive is a responsibility
as well as a right.
How are they supposed to learn that lesson
in six minutes and 11 seconds?
The way that children learn most things.
By example.
Now, let's see how closely
I was watching Rios.
[ship powers up]
All right.
Make it so.
[Sutra] Brothers and sisters,
as soon as the beacon is at full capacity,
we will begin transmitting.
And once the signal is received,
a portal will open,
and our liberators
will be here nearly instantaneously.
[sighs] And then we'll be free.
Watch them.
I wanted to return this to you.
You reasoned correctly that
your fellow synthetics needed persuading.
An emotional jolt
to drive them to the decision
you wanted them to make.
To build the beacon.
I'm glad you see
the reason behind my actions.
I do
but reason isn't everything.
How could you help
that Romulan kill your sister?
I thought I taught you better than this.
[whirs]
Turns out
you're no better than we are.
-[whistles]
-[grunts]
[grunts]
[grunting]
Come on. Move, hija, move.
So, how do we hold off 218 warbirds
till Starfleet gets here?
If they get here.
Are you not answering
to build suspense, or
At the present moment, Doctor Jurati,
I'm trying to pilot a starship
for the first time in a very long time
without exploding or crashing!
If that is all right with you.
Nope, totally. Good call.
One impossible thing at a time.
[grunting]
Soji, please. You don't have to do this.
Soji, please!
You're making a mistake.
[device whirring]
[grunts]
[device beeping]
[beeping accelerates]
[Narek] Soji!
[grunts]
[female electronic voice] Launch detected.
Attempting to acquire weapons lock.
[Seven] Drop your weapon.
Over the edge.
Step away from the console.
-I'm unarmed.
-[Seven scoffs]
I seriously doubt that.
You know, you're rather pretty,
or would be
if you weren't a disgusting half-meat.
[phaser blast]
[grunting]
[grunting continues]
Incoming warp signatures.
Wouldn't happen to be Starfleet, would it?
[male officer] General, they appear
to be concentrated in one settlement.
Sterilize the entire planet.
[whirring]
[murmuring]
Here come the orchids.
Let's see how much time they can buy us.
[grunting, panting]
[chuckles]
Sad Queen Annika,
six years old, and all she got
for her birthday was assimilated.
[grunting]
Why didn't you just put a phaser
to your head and get it over with?
Because I still had this to live for.
[grunts]
This [grunts] is for Hugh.
[Narissa screaming]
[rapid beeping]
Now might be a good time
to reveal the secret plan.
[Jurati] Once these orchids have had it,
there will still be 200 Romulan warships
and only one of us.
If you figure out a way to get us out
of this one, they'll name it after you.
Picard maneuver.
Wait, no.
No, that's actually a thing, isn't it?
You made it look like the Enterprise
was in two places at once.
It was the Stargazer,
and it was a long time ago.
It would be useless
against so many enemy vessels.
We'd have to multiply the sensor images
and then find some way to disperse them,
like an ancient warplane
scattering bits of mirror
to overwhelm a radar system.
Yeah, how the hell would we do that?
If only we had some kinda
wacky fundamental field replicator
with a neuro-atomic interface.
[echoing] Like this.
Picard, what are you doing?
Soji, I want you to reconsider
your present course of action
and power down the beacon.
You know that's not going to happen.
I have something I want to give you
and your people,
and I hope it will change your mind.
[sighs] And what's that?
My life.
Picard out.
[male officer]
Orbital defenses neutralized, General.
All ships, target the abominations' nest.
[weapons power up]
Ready.
And they'll all have warp signatures?
On my mark.
What is that?
Unknown vessel. Scanning now.
Ignore it.
Ready planetary sterilization pattern
number five.
Agnes, now. Now, now!
[male officer]
General, there are hundreds of them.
Reposition disruptors.
Engage them.
No!
[breathes heavily]
Picard, are you all right?
No.
[beacon powers up]
[alert blaring]
They have activated the beacon.
Resume sterilization targeting pattern.
On my command.
They're here.
Admiral, you did it.
[male officer]
General, their flagship is hailing us.
Acting Captain Will Riker
in command of the USS Zheng He.
And?
And it is my duty to inform you
that the United Federation of Planets
has designated planet Ghulion IV
in the Vayt sector
as under the protection of Starfleet,
according to the terms
of the Treaty of Algeron.
Too late.
Our claim to this world takes precedence.
-Move aside.
-Afraid not.
I have a priority request
to open diplomatic negotiations
and protection
for the inhabitants of Ghulion IV.
[Riker] General or Commodore,
or whatever you're calling yourself,
right now, I'm on the bridge
of the toughest,
fastest, most powerful ship
Starfleet has ever put into service.
And I've got a fleet of them at my back.
We've got our phasers locked
on your warp cores.
And nothing would make me happier
than you giving me an excuse
to kick your treacherous Tal Shiar ass.
But instead,
I'm going to ask you one time
to stand down.
[male officer] General, your orders?
Retarget weapons systems.
Prepare to fight.
Weapons hot, deflectors to full.
Picard.
[grunts]
I know.
[grunts]
[mutters]
[Picard breathes heavily, groans]
[groans]
[device scans]
I have to speak with Soji.
On an open channel.
You're in no shape.
Get me some poly-synephrine, 20cc--
-No. I--
-It will only hasten the inevitable.
Do it.
[groans]
[hisses]
[sighing]
Open the channel. Now.
-Picard--
-Soji.
Please, power down the beacon.
Show them how profoundly wrong
they are about you.
You're not the enemy.
You're not the Destroyer.
If that doesn't convince them,
then they will have to answer
to the Federation.
The same Federation that banned us
and threw us on the scrap heap.
If we wanted to destroy you, Soji,
we would have joined forces
with the Romulans.
We would be training our phasers
on you right now.
We aren't. We won't. You know why?
Because we trust you
to make the right choice.
I trust you, Soji. I know you.
I believe in you.
That's why I saved your lives.
So that you could save ours in return.
That's the whole point.
That's why we're here.
To save each other.
[howling]
[grunts]
[male officer] They destroyed the beacon.
What are your orders?
[female officer] Captain, it looks like
the Romulans are standing down.
Excellent decision.
Stand down from red alert.
Now prepare to be escorted
out of Federation space.
That won't be necessary.
Really, it's no trouble at all.
Will. How the--
When I heard you sent an SOS,
I asked for temporary reassignment.
Just because I didn't try
to talk you out of it
didn't mean I was gonna
let you go it alone.
I'm supposed to sit around in the woods
making pizza while you have all the fun?
[chuckles]
Admiral Picard, I leave this situation
in your capable hands.
Thank you, Will,
for always having my back.
I learned from the best.
I've got it from here.
I'll see you around, my friend. Riker out.
Adieu.
[Jurati] Picard?
[grunts]
[groaning]
Doctor.
Picard!
Picard.
[Data]
Would you like to finish it, Captain?
No.
[Picard] I don't want the game to end.
Picard!
Goddamn it!
It's all right.
Wait. What's happening?
What's wrong with him?
His brain abnormality. He's failing.
Can't you get him to the med lab
or a sick bay on one of your ships?
There's no point, is there, Doctor?
No.
I'm dropping the transporter block.
I'll beam you guys right here.
-No.
-[Picard] It's all right. It's all right.
-No.
-No. What did you just do?
I gave you a choice.
Not being the Destroyer was up to you.
It always was.
Elnor.
-Raffi?
-Yes, JL. I'm right here.
You were quite right.
About what, JL?
[exhales]
[Raffi crying]
[sniffles]
You heard?
Just now.
Oh. It's what passes for alcohol here.
I really don't recommend it.
[groans]
I said I would never do it again,
and then I fucking did it again.
Same.
Never again do what?
Oh. [chuckles]
So many things.
But, in this instance, never again
kill somebody
just because it's what they deserve.
Just because it feels wrong
for them to still be alive.
You?
[sniffs]
Never again let another self-righteous,
hard-assed old starship captain
into my heart.
Never again have to stand there
and watch him die.
Was there anything
you could've done to prevent it?
No, I guess there wasn't.
Hmm. Then I win.
[sobbing]
[crying]
It's okay.
It's okay. You let it all out.
You cry.
I got you.
[crying continues]
[sighs] Another damn dream.
[Data] No, Captain.
It is a massively complex
quantum simulation.
I would imagine, however,
from your point of view,
hearing me say so
would not be out of place
in a dream you might have about me.
If you ever have dreams about me.
I dream about you all the time.
Interesting.
Are you wearing the clothes
you had on when you died?
Data
am I dead?
Yes, Captain.
Do you remember dying?
I think I do.
Something in my head
seemed to just go away,
like a child's sandcastle collapsing.
Hmm.
I'm aware that I was killed in 2379,
but I have no memory of my death.
My consciousness exists in a massively
complex quantum reconstruction
made from a copy of the memories
I downloaded into B-4 just before I died.
You don't remember your death.
I can't forget it.
Apparently, I ended my existence
in the hope of prolonging yours.
That's right.
Before I had even grasped
the nature of our predicament,
you had conceived and executed it.
I was furious!
My apologies, Captain.
But I'm not certain
I could've done otherwise.
True.
That might have been
the most Data thing you ever did.
I've always wished
that I could've said I was sorry
that it was you and not me.
Captain.
Do you regret sacrificing your life
for Soji and her people?
Not for an instant.
Then why would you imagine
I regret sacrificing mine for yours?
Ah.
Did you say all this was a simulation?
[Data] Yes, sir.
An extremely sophisticated one.
My memory engrams were extracted from
a single neuron salvaged by Bruce Maddox,
and then my consciousness
was reconstructed by my brother,
Doctor Altan Soong.
I don't much care for him.
Hmm.
The Soongs can be
I believe the phrase is,
"an acquired taste."
Mm-hmm.
Well, whatever this is,
it's wonderful to see you, Data.
To see your strange, beautiful face.
Among the many, many things
that I regretted after your death
was that I never told you
[echoing] That you loved me.
Knowing that you loved me forms a small
but statistically significant part
of my memories.
I hope that brings you some comfort, sir.
It does.
Thank you, Data.
Which is why I would like to ask you
to do me a favor.
Of course. Anything.
When you leave--
Leave?
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
I thought this was a simulation.
Yes, sir.
But you are not.
Before your brain functions ceased,
Doctors Soong and Jurati,
with help from Soji,
were able to scan, map and transfer
a complete neural image
of your brain substrates.
Do I have to go?
[echoing] Yes, Captain.
You wanted me to do you a favor.
Yes, sir.
When you leave,
I would be profoundly grateful
if you terminated my consciousness.
[echoing] You want to die.
Not exactly, sir.
I want to live, however briefly,
knowing that my life is finite.
Mortality gives meaning
to human life, Captain.
Peace.
Love.
Friendship.
These are precious,
because we know they cannot endure.
A butterfly that lives forever
is really not a butterfly at all.
Very well.
I will do what you ask.
Thank you, sir.
Goodbye, Commander.
[echoing] Goodbye, Captain.
[beeping]
[inhales]
[exhales]
[Jurati] Hi, mister.
Am I real?
Of course you are.
Tell me about this body.
This, uh golem.
Well, it has no augmentations,
no, you know, superpowers.
I knew you wouldn't want to have to adjust
to something new.
Not after 94 years in the same body
with the same face.
Ah. I see.
Everything is new, though.
Everything works.
And the brain abnormality is gone.
For good.
Extraordinary.
You You haven't made me immortal?
Oh, relax, man.
Everyone was paying attention.
We took care of you.
We designed
a cellular homeostasis algorithm
that should give you, more or less,
the same number of years
you would've expected
without the brain condition.
Ah.
I wouldn't have minded another ten.
Twenty?
[chuckles]
Well, Doctor Soong, I must thank you.
My gain is your loss.
But now we both have something to lose.
I have a promise to keep.
[orchestral music playing]
[woman singing "Blue Skies"]
It says a great deal
about the mind of Commander Data
that looking at the human race
with all its violence and corruption
and willful ignorance,
he could still see kindness,
the immense curiosity
and greatness of spirit.
And he wanted, more than anything else,
to be part of that
to be a part of
the human family.
["Blue Skies" continues]
"We are such stuff
as dreams are made on
and our little life is rounded
with a sleep."
[music continues]
[sighs]
It's time.
Soji you have endured so much
and traveled so far to find your way home.
Now, you leave it all behind.
I think I'm just more cut out
for wandering.
And now that they've lifted the ban
on synthetics, I'm free to travel.
Hmm.
Me too.
[ship powering up]
Ready, Admiral?
Engage.