985 – Best of Both Worlds Pt 1 S3 E26 | Snore Trek The Next Generation

Episode 985 – Best of Both Worlds Pt 1 S3 E26 | Snore Trek The Next Generation

 

[START OF RECORDING]

 

SCOOTER:    Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and my patron peeps, what up, my patron peeps?  It’s time for Sleep With Me, the podcast you make possible, that your rebellious act of supporting something you get a lot out of because you understand free is a whatever word, you know.  You say yeah, well, it’s free because of me.  I’m keeping it free by paying for something that’s free.  I don’t know if there’s irony in there but I appreciate it.  Thanks, patrons.

 

INTRO:    [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing?  Trouble getting to sleep?  Trouble staying asleep?  Well, welcome.  This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep.  We do it with a bedtime story.  Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press play.  I’m gonna do the rest.  What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake whether it’s thoughts you’re thinking about from the past, the present, or the future, feelings, anything emotionally coming up for you, physical sensations, changes in schedule or time, schedule…changes in schedule or time or temperature, routine, somebody could be…could have…whatever’s going on, whatever’s keeping you awake, I’d like to take your mind off of that and help you fall asleep.

 

What I’m gonna…what I plan to or attempt to do is create a safe place.  I’m gonna smooth it, I’m gonna pat it, I’m gonna rub it down, I’m gonna say safe place.  I’m gonna try to send my voice across the deep, dark night here, use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, superfluous tangents, I’m gonna go off-topic, I’m gonna get mixed up, then I’m gonna go back.  I’m gonna say wait a second, as I…all to take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep.  Now, if you’re a regular listener, I’m so glad you’re here again.  I’m so happy to keep you company, be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-cuz, your bore-sib, your bore-bestie.  If you surf those tasty waves…don’t taste the waves, by the way.  I learned that the hard way.

 

But if you surf those tasty waves, I could be your bore-bruh ‘cause you say, well, I taste the wave not when I was…I wasn’t surfing in the tasty wave.  The wave kinda came up and said hey, let me give you a kiss.  Then I said oh, actually, I like the…here’s the thing, waves; I like how you taste but probably not the best idea to be tasting you on a regular basis.  If you’re new, I’m glad you’re here.  Let me give you some information because this podcast is very different and the first time, the second time, even the third time you listen to it, it could really throw you off because it’s so different.  So, a couple things to know; one, this is a podcast you don’t really listen to.  You just kinda barely observe it kinda like waves coming in.  Like, sometimes you’re at the beach or you’re watching a wave-based video.

 

Wave-based video…wave…WBV or wave-centric video or just a video of waves, VOW, man.  Or a video with waves.  Whatever waves…however you consume your waves, most of the time it’s a passive or somewhat passive consumption.  There’s people out there…if you’re swimming or in the waves, that’s different, or if you’re in some sort of profession, science-based or ecology-based or bio-based because that’s science; those are sciences, but…or you work on the shoreline or your boat…yeah, of course, everybody working in the sea, you may be observing this…the waves in a different way.  If you just happen to be a sentient breakwater, you say Scoots, yeah, I…my relationship with waves is much different.  I say well, it’s…by the way, it’s great to have a sentient breakwater listening to the show.

 

I think I’ve achieved my life’s purpose keeping you…I mean, you’re breaking the water.  It doesn’t get tougher than that, but…oh, so just kinda…just like if you’re watching the waves; sometimes you’re watching them pretty closely but a lot of times you’re just chilling.  You know what I’m saying.  This podcast is like that.  You say well, I’m kinda bare…I’m kinda paying attention to what Scoots is saying but I’m also not really paying attention.  So, that’s one thing.  This is also a podcast that doesn’t really put you to sleep.  It keeps you company while you fall asleep.  What I mean by that is that I’m here to take your mind off of stuff and barely keep you engaged while you fall asleep.  That’s why the shows are over an hour, to give you plenty of time to drift off.

 

But if you can’t sleep or you wake up in the middle of the night or whatever it is, I’m gonna be here to the very end.  If you have some sort of reason you can’t fall asleep, I’ll be here to keep you company whether you’re awake or asleep.  You don’t need to listen; you just could listen if you need to, right?  It’s kind of a reverse…don’t need to listen but if you need to, I’ll be here.  So, those are two new things for new listeners.  Regular listeners, hello again.  All the fishes out there…how about a shout out to sentient breakwaters?  If there’s any sentient docks or pylons, other things in the water…light…I’d love to hear from you.  Sentient lighthouses, send me a message unless you’re a sentient lighthouse from a Jeff VanderMeer novel; then don’t reach out to me, please.  Definitely don’t.

 

Or buoys…holy cow, would I love to hear from some buoys ‘cause then I could say…then I could do a…I guess that could be a segment if I had a sentient pod…this is a podcast for sentient objects in the sea.  What would we call that?  It wouldn’t be Sea Cast.  Scriptnotes, the podcast about screenwriting and things interesting to screenwriters.  Buoy Cast would be the podcast about being a buoy and things interesting to buoys or buoy workers.  But then I could say buoy, buoy, oh buoy, how many ways could I say I love thee?  Even though that doesn’t exactly go with the song.  I’d say oh buoy, buoy.  I love saying that.  Has there ever been a cartoon about someone who lives in a buoy under the sea?  I mean, you’d say well, I was…I’m not a buoy anymore.  I’m a artificial reef now.  Oh, okay.

 

Sorry, new listeners; this is where I go…new listeners or nude listeners; either way.  I say I have a tendency to go off-topic.  Oh, I was trying to tell you…so, the other things that could throw people off…so, it’s a podcast you don’t really listen to, doesn’t really put you to sleep.  Give us the good news.  Oh, the structure’s also very different.  Show starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so hopefully buoys and sentient sea beings, inanimate objects that have become animate in my mind…I just got…so you feel seen and welcome.  Then there’s support for listeners, then there’s support for the show for Patreon and our sponsors.  Then there’s the intro, so around eight minutes into the show, the intro starts.  The intro goes around ten, twelve, fifteen, twenty minutes.

 

It just depends on how long it takes me to introduce the concept of the podcast.  But it’s basically a show within a show.  Sometimes…this is not about you, new listener, but some new listeners give up on it too early or they fast-forward through it because it is so different.  I’d say, kinda ride it out just like a buoy rides out…whether it’s calm or…or try to because what you might discover is that only 3% of regular listeners skip the intro, and then a few thousand regular listeners that support the show on Patreon, they listen in different ways all night; playlists or story-only playlists, or all-intro playlists.  But the rest of listeners are happy to just kinda listen as it unfolds because one, they can…they get to listen for free whenever they want, but two, because the structure of the show eases you into bedtime instead of just putting you to sleep right away.

 

Just like a lighthouse; ideally, you see it far out.  You say okay, that’s a lighthouse so I know that’s coming up eventually.  That’s what this podcast does, is…the intro goes on and on and on.  So, most regular listeners — though there’s no right or wrong way to do it — they might be in bed getting comfortable, doing something relaxing, or they might be getting ready for bed, or they might just be in their room or another room doing something to unwind and is playing it on their phone speaker or their smart speaker or their headphones or whatever.  That just gives you some distance between the daytime and when you’re going to sleep, ‘cause for me there’s never been an instant sleep solution.

 

What I found from feedback is that most people, [00:10:00] yeah, it takes fifteen, twenty minutes for us to get wound down and ready…the last part of getting ready for bed, to drift off.  Or you could just be cozy in bed listening for fifteen or twenty minutes.  Hopefully that’s a lot less than whatever you were dealing with before this show.  For me, I’d say wow, if I could just lie in bed and listen to something nice for fifteen minutes to thirty minutes, that’s way better than what it was like before.  So, that’s the intro.  Then there’s business between the intro and the story.  That’s just how we keep it free and…podcast structure works.  Then there’s our story.  Tonight, it’ll be a look at a Star Trek TNG, The Next Generation, episode.  But you don’t need to have listened or seen Star Trek to be familiar.

 

I’ll tell you it in a nice bedtime story way.  So, that’s…what else do you need to know?  Structure of the show…oh, the reason I make the show.  The reason I make the show is twofold.  One is I’ve been there tossing, turning, mind racing, trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep.  I know how it feels.  It’s not pleasant.  If I can help you with something I know how it feels that doesn’t feel good, that’s nice.  But what’s even nicer is the fact that you deserve a good night’s sleep.  If I can help with that, that would be my honor, right?  Because our world will be a better place.  If you’re rested tomorrow, your life is better.  Even if it’s incrementally better or…then if you could start to get rest on a regular basis, the rest you need and deserve, maybe you could be out there flourishing.

 

But even a little bit rested, our world’s gonna be a better place to live in, because I want you to get the rest you need.  Whether it’s through this show or you find out Sleep With Me doesn’t work for you, you could check out our sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou, but I mean, that’s my main message.  I’m really glad you’re here.  Give the show a few tries.  That’s what hundreds of thousands of people have said; hey, it takes two or three tries to get used to, so give it a few tries.  I really hope it can help.  I really appreciate you coming by and checking out the podcast.  I really hope, I yearn and I strive.  I really want to help you fall asleep.  Thanks again for coming by, and here’s a couple ways I’m able to be here for you free on a regular basis.  Thanks.

 

Alright everybody, it’s Scooter here.  We’re talking about Best of Both Worlds, the Season 3 exciting end episode, Best of Both…The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1.  Wasn’t there an album, Best of Both Worlds or something?  Was that a Van Halen album?  Like, a Sammy Hagar Van Halen album?  I could kinda see a Golden Globe with VH on it.  I don’t know.  But they start off; Captain’s Log 43989.1.  Jouret Four; alouette, Jouret alouette.  Jouret Four, I’ll be there.  There’s a call.  They send out the away team.  I call it the A Team ‘cause it’s…again, we’ve talked about this and probably many funnier people than me have said what the heck you doing sending your best crew down there?  But they send Data, Worf, Geordi, and Riker down.  Safe for transport.

 

Oh, O’Brien does a really smooth…he would be good at touch…what are those called, touch pads or touch screens?  He uses…I’ve never been able to figure out those multi-finger touches on my phone or iPad.  But O’Brien is good at that, holy cow, ‘cause he just does this smooth three or four-finger slide.  Smooth O’Brien.  Rocky planet, accurate something.  Whoosh…town, weak, crater.  Whoosh…fade and open.  Let’s see what the dialogue says.  They’re at the edge of a crater.  They say they’re at the center of town but then they’re at the edge of the crater where the town once was.  I don’t mean to quibble.  I guess I didn’t have the…what do you call it on there?  Oh, I guess I do have the subtitles.  Coordinates verified.  You’re at the center of town.

 

Riker looks back at the crew, pulls out his remote control and they go to the edge of the crater.  You see some pipes and some metal and you say, center of town?  Where is the town, then?  It’s just a crater.  In this case, they didn’t pave paradise and put up a parking lot; they pulled out…I don’t know if it was a town called Paradise.  There’s a story for you; A Town Called Paradise.  You could name any kind of book that, huh?  Then we get another…this is a really good episode not just for the plot but for the acting and the interpersonal stuff.  43992.6.  Admiral Hanson and Lieutenant Shelby, is that what it is?  Are there.  Hanson and Shelby, Lieutenant Commander Shelby.  Star Fleet Tactical.

 

Review the disappearance of the New Providence colony, nine hundred people…then it’s basically saying you’re not ready.  We…known…Borg’s on their way.  Put everything into it, but are we convinced it’s the Borg?  Yeah, this keeps happening.  Riker agrees with you.  Commander Shelby took over Borg tactical analysis a while back, six months ago.  She’s got wide latitude to get things done.  That’s how I intend to operate here.  This is from Hanson; nods.  Shelby said I’m trying to figure out a strategy, obviously.  They say, nothing stopped him such far.  Her and Riker are going back and forth.  Hanson says I was hoping for more lead time, but the Borg would indicate they have a superior power source, clearly.  Everybody’s got serious looks.  Shelby says, I’d like to go down there.

 

Riker said it’s gonna be dark.  We could go in the morning.  They say, show Commander Shelby to her quarters.  Riker says hey, admiral, we’re playing poker tonight.  Open seat for you, admiral.  He says, another time.  I gotta talk to Picard.  Rumor has it Shelby’s played a hand of poker or two if you want some subtext and whatever you call it.  Then…this is a little…at first I had a strong reaction to this Hanson ‘cause he makes a comment about Shelby, but I think seeing it in the secondary context…well, maybe not, no.  But he does say she’s…when she came into Tactical, everybody had this take on the Borg business but she’s really gotten us back on track.  Then they have some Earl Grey out of a cone, a cone thing.  She’s gonna be a great first officer for you.  He goes, what do you mean, first officer?

 

I got Riker.  They go, what’s…Riker’s not gonna be taking the Melbourne?  No.  Is it open?  Riker hasn’t taken it?  I say man, good thing I never got into this military stuff.  They go, why didn’t he tell…?  He didn’t tell you he turned it down, turned the job down?  Well, one day he’ll be a good captain.  You may want to tell him that.  We’re still waiting for him to decide.  Third time we’ve tried to get him.  Pulled out the captain’s chair for Riker and he just won’t sit down.  Let me tell you something, Jean-Luc; a lot of hotshots like Shelby on the way up.  Riker could suddenly look like he’s standing still next to them.  He’s hurting his career staying put.  Kick him in the rear end for his own good.  This is foreshadowing in a different, unexpected way.

 

Then we go back to Shelby’s corners to talk about the Borg footprint.  They want to see the magnetic renesence where it was damaged.  I got a theory.  I’ve reviewed personnel.  I’ll be assigning LaForge and Data to accompany me away.  Riker says, I’ve already done that.  I’ll be with you as well, commander.  Riker’s got a little brow furrowing.  She says, I appreciate any assistance you can offer.  Tell me, is serving the…now they have this kinda breathless Shelby scene.  It’s interesting that there’s this theme…like oh, so great to work in the Enterprise, which seems like it.  She goes, as good as I’ve heard?  Riker says, every bit.  She goes good, ‘cause I convinced…I’m gonna convince Picard that I’m the right choice for the job.  He goes, which job?  She goes, your job.  Riker leans back.  She goes, sorry about that.

 

I heard you were leaving.  Riker kinda smiles.  He goes oh, you’d be first to know, obviously, since we just met.  Then he says poker, 1700 hours, my quarters, Deck 8; be there.  Then she kinda looks after him [00:20:00] kind of like, huh.  Then, let’s see.  Oh, here’s the layout of poker; Shelby, Riker…going in clockwise order; Shelby, Riker, Troi, Data, Geordi, then a space, then Wes.  It looks like they’re playing a game I don’t really play a lot of, like some sort of…I don’t know what you call it, even.  Oh, Stud.  That’s what they’re playing, some sort of 7-Card Stud?  How many cards do they have?  Right now they have four and they get…I guess they’re playing 5-Card Stud.  I don’t know.  Or like, where you get…you have one hole card?  I don’t know.  I’ll watch it play out here.  I got it paused now.

 

Wes is a youngster.  Oh yeah, he kinda…even Troi compliments him and he’s really showing his youth.  Riker bluffs.  He pushes Wes out.  He pushes Wes out; now, this is one thing I find frustrating.  I mean, I didn’t do the math ‘cause I’m not good at math, but there’s this idea of poker with pot odds, you know, where you say okay, if I have to…if the pot’s $300 and I have to put $10 in, then it’s almost always worth it.  It would be harder to bluff someone out with that kinda pot odds because you say well, that’s pretty good odds.  I kinda feel like the pot was big enough.  I don’t know, I didn’t really pay attention, though.  But I say come on, Wes.  Then Geordi burns Wes, then she calls…Shelby calls Riker’s bluff.  It’s a bluff.  Wes is crushed.  Let’s turn through my notes for a little while.

 

Let’s see, we get a space shot of the two trips.  O’Brien is doing some extra prep…well, I thought it was extra prep work but then it ends up being something else.  Riker’s steamy.  Planet…Riker, walk with me.  Body language is awkward.  Classic Data.  She erred; Riker v Shelby.  No doubt it is the Borg.  43995?  Question mark.  Overhead Enterprise.  Riker and Parker…Picard covered all the bases.  Let’s talk about you via…oh, Picard does this thing…let’s talk about you by talking about Shelby.  Picard does a tsk, tsk, tsk sound which is gold.  He says, Will…he sits down to really get parental with Will.  What the double hockey sticks?  Riker taken aback.  Also a nautilus shell, I noticed.  I don’t know if I’ve ever noticed the nautilus.  Have you noticed the nautilus?

 

Is it a nautilus to have noticed on Picard’s desk or behind it or something?  Holy foreshadowing.  Then there’s this amazing cut.  This is one of the best cuts I’ve ever seen in Star Trek, especially for revealing…I mean, what you’re supposed to do, right?  Reveal a character.  This is really one of the best scenes, small moments.  This cut is just so amazing.  So, you have the father-son kinda thing going with Riker, and then it cuts to Riker and Troi at, whatever, Nine Forward or whatever the club’s called.  Riker’s totally kinda venting, or Riker, Deanna.  I put wow.  I’ve never seen such a good cut.  I mean, it wasn’t…I’m not talking about editing; I’m talking about story cut.  So, she listens, mouth a little bit open.  What do you think?  Not fear??  Double question mark.  Drive something.

 

Influence something…taking risks.  I lost something.  I’ll go through the dialogue; don’t worry.  Seasoned.  Seasoned, coming to grips with age…oh, coming to grips with age.  I’m not sure what that is.  Then we have Shelby and the squad problem-solving.  Blue…ten looks on.  Riker looks on.  Blue ten.  78% incompatible or inoperable.  Eighteen to twenty-four months.  Or incomplete.  I don’t know.  My mind clay…oh, everybody’s trying to think of something.  Their mind is…Geordi’s mind is like clay.  Let’s call it a night.  Riker raises his voice.  Dismorg music…slow walk?  Dismissed; that’s what that says.  Enterprise head on.  Conference in the conference room.  Dispersed as cube-shaped…described as cube-shaped.  Cube-shaped?  I’d say, cube-shaped?

 

It’s a giant friggen square…cube…cube-shaped; it’s actually a cube.  Cube-shaped…it’s not cube-shaped.  I guess it is, technically, but described as cube-shaped.  I’d say no, it’s a friggen cube.  It’s a fricking cube spaceship.  Obviously it’s not good if it can fly through space.  Make it so.  Close out…help six days AM?  I don’t know what that says but we’ll get to it.  Hanson out.  That made me think of…you know, some reason…so, there’s this band Hanson.  I think it was in the 90s.  Three siblings and they had this famous song but I always…if you’re ever looking for fun and you hear that song, change the lyrics from…to tube top.  That’s what I…if we…if I ever open Tube Town, that’s what…like, Tube Top will be my top song there.  Hanson out.  Geordi sighs out loud.  Dismissed.

 

Enterprise raising on the left.  String music, Picard pacing, 210 mark 151.  Hail them.  No response.  Move to intercept.  Intercept us…9.3 on screen.  More string music.  We have engaged the Borg.  Then there’s this Borg theme, I think, chanting music, and a Picard close-up.  They cut to commercial, so let’s run through it up here.  Let’s see, they say afraid I can’t do it.  You’re a newcomer to the game.  This is the poker game.  Oh, Wesley says something about Data’s card.  Data buys another card.  I don’t know, it says Omaha.  There’s two hole cards so you get a…oh no, it’s a…not a hole card.  So, five, pair of deuces, stands…Riker has a possible flush, straight flush.

 

Wesley has three Jacks which in a 5-Card…in for ten which is just not a good bet because of the pot odds, but Riker…oh, he raises a hundred.  So, that’s kinda sensible.  So, maybe Riker does know what he’s doing ‘cause that’s…maybe the pot is like a hundred, so that’s good.  Wesley folds and Geordi says Wesley, man, you got a lot to learn.  Riker’s bluffing.  Riker’s trombone’s behind him too, over his shoulder.  Shelby’s willing to pay to see his card and he’s bluffing.  Geordi laughs and Shelby takes that pot.  Wes looks down…yeah, then we have the exterior shot here, O’Brien working.  Riker comes in; he’s like, where is everybody?  They’re late?  Riker and Geordi, they say no, no, they’re already on the…tardy, he says.  They’re already on the planet.  Whoa, whoa, what?  On whose authority?  On hers.

 

She outranks me, O’Brien says.  Geordi’s carrying a briefcase.  He was carrying it last time down, too.  So, they beam down.  Data and Shelby are already doing soil samples.  They say the human footprints…everywhere.  They say yeah, ‘cause we were here yesterday.  Interesting results.  These humans walked around and stood at the edge.  Then Riker says walk with me, commander.  She takes a deep breath and kinda makes a face.  Data says, what’s up with that?  The early bird gets the worm.  I believe Shelby erred; there’s no avifaunal, vermicular lifeforms on Jouret Four.  So, a pretty good joke, but…and Geordi’s like yeah, she erred for sure.  Messing with Riker…she goes yeah, a weather…she goes Riker, a weather front was moving in.  I needed soil readings.  He goes, what about the risk?  She goes, risk?

 

I’m doing my job.  Three hours to investigate the planet.  Now only two hours and you’re still yapping, Riker.  I don’t see a problem.  Riker says I expect to be notified when there’s a change in my orders.  She goes, noted.  Should we share my report, sir?  Go ahead.  Yeah, we got…it’s Borg.  That’s their footprint, Borg footprint.  No doubt about it.  Then we…that’s their first break there, maybe, I don’t know, or second.  Then we get the overhead left shot of the Enterprise.  [00:30:00] Borgs in space.  Admiral Hanson went back to Star Base 324.  Lieutenant Shelby on board to help with the tactical prep.  Yellow Alert; that’s what Picard says.  All outposts are ready.  Long-range sensors monitored.  Data, LaForge, and Crusher are gonna work with Shelby.  Good job, Will.  Covered all the bases.

 

What’s your impression of Shelby?  She knows her stuff.  Full confidence?  Well, she needs some supervision, though.  Takes the initiative too quick, with risks.  Picard tsks.  Sounds like somebody I used to know.  First officer maybe, perhaps.  He says Will, what up with…what are you doing here, man?  He goes, sir?  Could be captain of the Melbourne.  Yeah, I’m not pursuing that commission.  Fine ship, Will.  Yeah, not the Enterprise, captain.  With all due respect, you need me now and I need to be needed.  Indeed.  But Starfleet needs good captains; foreshadowing.  Reconsider your decision.  Riker’s taken aback.  You telling me to leave?  I say, look at it objectively, son.  Will, you’re ready to work without a net.  Positive foreshadowing.  You’re ready to take command.

 

As you know, the Enterprise will go along fine without you.  Then that’s when the cut is.  He says what am I doing?  I push myself hard, Deanna.  Why am I turning these things down?  Sacrificed a lot.  I don’t know why I’m doing this.  What’s holding me back?  She goes, what do you think?  Very counsellor…he says, oh, huh.  Maybe I’m afraid of the big chair.  She goes nah, not that.  He goes, captain says Shelby’s like I used to be, brash, and he’s right.  Drive, ambition, impatient, risky.  What happened to all that with me?  I liked that when I was like that.  I’ve lost something.  She goes well, you’re older, more experienced, seasoned.  That’s when he says seasoned?  You can’t say seasoned.  That means I have grey hair or whatever.  She goes, give me a break, dude.  Goes, you haven’t lost a thing, Will.

 

You’ve gained more than you realize, more than words.  More comfortable…maybe I’m too comfortable then, he says.  She goes, you’re happy here, happier than I’ve ever known you to be.  Takes a drink and she goes, a simple question; what do you want, Will Riker?  He says huh, good question.  Then they’re…this is when they’re brainstorming plans for the Borg.  Shelby and her crew of Geordi, Data, and Will.  Decentralized, redundant power sources, yeah, reasonable conclusion.  Each member can interface and function collectively.  Their ship’s made the same way.  You take one out, another one comes in.  This ship could…oh yeah, 78% inoperable; it could still operate.  Geordi says I don’t think these new weapons can even be ready in eighteen months.  She says, twenty-four months.

 

They say, anything, Geordi?  He says I don’t know, I gotta look through these specs, but my mind’s clay right now.  Will says mine, too.  It’s past my bedtime.  Shelby’s like, come on.  That’s when Riker says call it a night.  That’s an order.  We need to rest.  She says well, I could work with Data.  He doesn’t require rest.  He goes, you require rest.  They say what about the Borg?  He goes, I don’t want a crew fighting the Borg that are fatigued.  Dismissed.  They have a showdown.  She does a slow walk off.  Everybody’s making faces.  Then we see a head-on Enterprise.  Then we have a meeting, the phone call with Hanson.  Sentinel Minor Four, freight run, twenty-two hours and twelve minutes.  Star Base 157 sent out a signal.  Then the [inaudible] something said cube-shaped object.

 

Stress signal ended and hasn’t been heard from since.  Cube-shaped…they say Data, how far is that?  Warp 9; one hour, seventeen minutes.  Make it so.  They say, we got every starship coming but six days out, so good luck with everything.  Picard says we’ll keep them occupied until you arrive.  I know you will.  Hanson out.  Battle stations.  What’s the status of our preparations?  LaForge got an idea of a shield modulation, ion-based emitting frequencies, subspace fields.  It’s worth a shot.  I don’t know if it’s gonna work, but it’s the best we could do.  He says alright, dismissed, everybody.  Picard sits alone, thinking.  Got a decent long shot, then the Enterprise is flying.  Picard’s on the bridge pacing; arms are stiff.  That’s when the council…they go, identifying a unidentified object.  Sensor range 210151.

 

Hail them.  No response.  Intercept them.  Aye, sir.  It’s already changed course to intercept us.  It’s already been broadened to 9.3.  Enter visual range; on screen.  We see a space cube, what could only be described as a space cube, a Borg magnified.  Picard says dispatch a message to Hanson; we’ve engaged the Borg.  Bum, bum, bum, bum.  Then we have kind of a face-off, a hailed…and we get a call in; is it the same ship?  These are all good questions.  All Borg speak as one.  Picard raises his voice.  They say captain, you’re being hailed.  I am?  Yeah, by name.  Is it the same ship from J-25, Data?  Uncertain, commander.  Dimensions are the same, though.  He says yo, I’m Captain Jean-Luc.  They interrupt him; Jean-Luc, Enterprise, commander.  This is all the Borg.

 

Lower your shields and prepare to transport yourself aboard our vessel.  If you don’t cooperate, we’re gonna be not happy.  Then Picard raises his voice.  Withdraw immediately yo, or…and they say you surrender yourself, Picard.  We got you outmatched.  Picard says hang up on him.  He turns around to Worf.  He says hang up on him.  They say what the heck?  What are they doing?  Then he goes back; he says by the way, we got new capabilities and you better withdraw.  Geordi says they’re probing us, man.  I’m trying to block it but…and at first the block works but Worf says they’re locking onto us with their tractor beam.  So, they go into full action mode.  Shield status?  Holding.  Working so far, but they can adapt, you know.  Then things start to get rocky.  Shield modulation failed; they’ve locked on.

 

Shields are being drained.  90%, 80%, gotta recalibrate.  Darn it, Geordi says.  Shields have failed.  They say fire everything you got at the Borg, and nothing works.  Then they say new frequencies did not work.  Try to go in reverse, full reverse.  Geordi says we’re stuck.  Picard says send more stuff their way.  Try that phaser spread thing.  Still not working.  Then the Borg send a laser to the thing.  Outer hull breach in Engineering, of course.  Geordi does a total roll move out of Engineering which is pretty cool.  He gets everybody out first.  He’s the last to go, seals Main Engineering…then they say before you fluctuate the things, try…don’t give them time to adapt.  That actually ends up working.  Data takes out the tractor beam and they…Picard says hit it; Warp 9, 151330.  Engage.

 

They head towards the Borg and then peel off to the right.  The Borg are pursuing.  Geordi comes up on the bridge, [00:40:00] gets back to work.  Maintain course.  Damage report.  Yeah, we got…they busted the hull.  It’s not good.  Yeah, like nineteen out.  Repair…let’s get that repaired.  Geordi says, I can work on it now.  Then we see a pulson nebula.  Picard goes okay, interesting; drop to impulse.  He steps up to the front; he even says step aside.  He goes, take us into that pulson, then.  They go into this purple-blue nebula which is pretty cool.  Field is dense.  Picard says steady as she goes.  Cool clouds.  Analysis of nebula clouds, Data?  Dilithium hydroxyls, magnesium, chronium.  Should be a good hideout place.  Our sensors can detect them but they can’t detect us for some reason.

 

So, they’re in this cloud.  Really good effects.  They’re…whatever it is; I don’t know if it was a painting or what, but really looks good.  Enterprise does…oh no, that was already…they’re trying to find us.  Picard says good, because while they’re looking for us, they can’t bother anybody else, so let’s hide out for a while.  Then they do…then they have to…they do a review of the battle, then they say okay, what worked and what didn’t?  Let’s watch it in slow-mo.  2% drop in their power for an instant, system-wide and high-band.  Data says maybe they’re vulnerable to that.  They said well, we gotta generate a burst of power in that same frequency, and I mean a lot, Geordi says.  They say, how do we do that?  Will says main deflector dish.  It could do that but one slight downside; it would also mess up the Enterprise.

 

Will says what if we could do it from a distance or something?  Shelby says maybe, but let’s retune the phasers for the time being.  Will says I’ll take care…I’ll talk to the captain.  Shelby says maybe we should split the ship up.  Riker says too much of a risk.  She goes well, I’d like to talk to the captain.  He goes, I talk to the captain.  He goes, that will be all.  He goes a little bit too far I think, there.  Shelby and Data walk off.  He says Geordi, you gotta work on that deflector.  Gonna take a day or two.  They say well, she’s a formidable presence but I’m convinced she can help us, Geordi says.  Riker says don’t worry about it, okay?  Then Will rings Riker’s…or Picard’s door.  Shelby’s already in there.  Says come on in, Number One.

 

Captain, Commander Shelby was telling me of her…your concerns about her plan.  He goes, sorry about that.  I told her chain of command.  He goes yeah, I agree.  Not the time to discuss that.  But maybe it’s an idea.  We may be required to take greater risks down the road.  So, maybe fall back to that plan.  He goes, make the preparations.  Now Riker’s not happy at all.  I mean, he hasn’t been happy all this episode.  They go into the pulsor lift.  He gets…he says halt.  He goes, we have to have a conversation here.  She goes, you never ordered me not to tell the commander.  He goes, disagree with me, fine.  Take it to the captain, fine, but through me.  He goes, you run around me and I’ll snap things like a rubber band on a first-year cadet.  She goes, can I speak frankly?  You’re in my way.

 

He goes, really?  That’s tough.  She goes, you just play it safe and I suppose that’s why you’re comfortable being in the shadow of a great man.  She goes, take me to Deck 8.  Will says when it comes to this ship and crew, you’re darned right I play it safe.  Then she says if you can’t make the big decisions, make room for someone who can.  He kinda glares at her but she walks off.  Then we see a zoom on stressed-out Will.  Then we’re at…back in the dust cloud.  433996.2; Borg in position, waiting for them.  No explanation of their interest in me.  Still working on it.  Special interest…tonight I’m…maybe our defense…no defense could be adequate against them.  Picard’s walking the decks, goes into Nine Forward or Ten Forward, whatever it is.

 

This is a great scene too ‘cause Guinan’s kicking back in the back, kinda waiting for him.  She goes, can’t sleep, buddy?  He goes, kind of.  It’s my tradition, patrolling the ship before the big day.  She goes, I thought that was a tradition with lost causes, and…if I remember it correctly.  He goes, not all of them.  Admiral Nelson or somebody, Trafalgar.  She goes yeah, but what about Nelson?  He big-farmed it, right?  Picard goes yeah, but the larger goal…she goes well, what about the larger goal here?  Picard goes, I don’t know.  It’s conceit but I think we could do it, maybe…healthy one.  She goes, what about…all these things fall, you know, Romans, the lighthouse at Alexandria.  He goes, do they…knew it was a time before the end of their thing?  Just another page in history?  He goes, or is this it?

 

Turn the page.  He starts singing that song.  She goes, this isn’t the end.  She starts singing that one.  He goes, you’re pretty assured.  She goes, I got experience.  She goes, we had to deal with the Borg.  We spread out and did our best.  She goes, you’ll get through it as long as there’s a handful of you to keep the spirit alive.  You’ll prevail even if it takes a millennium.  Picard isn’t exactly comforted by that.  Then the ship starts rocking.  They call him back to the bridge.  We actually see something that looks like an AirDoctor with the 3D-chess on top or the 4D-chess.  They get back.  Guinan’s face at the end is really good.  There’s a three or four-second shot of her reaction.  They go, we got some sort of meteorology going here, magnometric-guided charges from the cloud, maybe.  Status of shields?

 

40%.  He says LaForge, you’re gonna have to take us out of the nebula.  Engines are ready.  Engage.  Adjust shield harmonics.  Acknowledged.  Deck 9 took a hit.  Damage report?  Our latching system’s messed up.  They go, get us outta here.  Fire up the engines.  Half-impulse and then get ready.  Punch it to nine once we’re out of the cloud and get ready.  Engage.  They head out of the cloud; Borg pursues.  Tractor beam is trying to lock on.  Fire at will.  Work on that rotating thing.  They get the rocking and back and forth.  Tractor beam’s locked on, then a Borg comes on board.  Total thing he does…he’s got his moving things, but Worf takes him out no problem.  Then another one appears.  Worf tries to take that one out but it’s got a shield, so they’ve already adapted.  Will goes up to it; it throws Will.

 

Worf jumps…the bridge…takes Worf out.  Then they say hey, Captain Picard, can you just come with us?  Let me give you a little hand-holding and fly back to the ship with us, which they do.  Everyone transports off and then Riker and Worf wake up.  Captain’s gone.  Worf says some things…Borg ship’s disengaging, leaving at warp speed.  Riker’s…he’s got bedhead.  He says maintain pursuit.  It’s flying like, 9.6.  They say okay, well, keep it going, man.  Stay with him.  They say O’Brien, can you find the captain on that ship?  Nope; some kind of interference.  They say that…okay everybody, let’s talk.  Direct course, sector…they’re headed towards the Terran system, Sector 001, Earth.  There’s a zoom on Riker.  Then we see Picard on board the Borg ship.

 

He’s walking with a couple Borg, just getting a little [00:50:00] tour-poo and saying hey, every Borg’s a little bit different, eh?  Picard says huh, interesting.  Then he stands in front of the Borg hall.  They say Jean-Luc Picard, you lead the strongest ship in Federation.  You speak for your people.  He goes no, I don’t.  I’m resisting you.  They say strength is irrelevant.  Resistance is futile.  We’re improving ourselves with your distinctiveness and you’re gonna have to adapt.  Picard goes, impossible.  We believe in self-determination.  They say, freedom is irrelevant.  Determination is irrelevant.  Comply.  Picard goes, we don’t comply.  We big farm it.  They go, big farm is irrelevant.  Archaic culture is authority-driven.

 

We’re gonna introduce you to our society and you’re gonna be the human voice that speaks for us in all communications, just like S-I-R-I or A-L-E-X-A.  Then we see the Enterprise racing after the Borg ship.  They’re headed into our defenses and…but we won’t be able to keep up for much longer.  We got about three hours we can keep up with them; two hours, forty second…forty minutes and three seconds.  Deflector’s almost ready.  I’ll get it done, Geordi says, but we’re gonna have to slow them down to do it and we won’t be able to use warp.  Then Riker says well, I’m gonna go over there and get the captain back.  Crusher, you…he goes, you and Geordi work on it.  Shelby, you’re in charge of the ship.  Data, Worf, doctor, you’re with me.  Shelby goes well, I should go.

 

Picard goes…or Riker goes, that’s my orders.  Then Troi says um, actually, no.  It’s inappropriate.  Beverly’s watching the whole time in the back.  She goes, you’re in command of the Enterprise; that’s too risky.  Your place is on the bridge, Will, William Riker.  So, Riker gruffs it, says Commander Shelby, you’ll lead the away team, I guess.  Make it so.  She goes, you’re darn tooting.  So, she heads off with the away team.  Riker kinda sits in a grouch.  There’s a close-up on him.  Then we get a First Officer’s Log; yeah, we’re pursuing the Borg, core of the Federation.  This is not good.  Worf is like, I got the phasers tuned up.  So, it’s Worf, Data, Beverly Crusher, and…I keep wanting to say Pulaski, but Shelby.  They say what are we gonna expect?  Data goes well, it’s different.

 

They ignored us when we were there last time, so I don’t know.  I don’t think they care about us.  They don’t consider us anything.  Shelby goes, until we start interfering.  Then we’ll see.  They head out to energize out.  Beverly puts her hands behind her back; I thought that was cool.  Not the whole time, though.  They get fifty-eight minutes.  You gotta slow them down somehow.  No unnecessary risks.  You got that?  Then they say okay, we’re ready for transport.  Shelby out.  They go into the Borg ship, they do some scanning; it’s inconclusive.  There’s a lot of lights pulsing up and down.  Cloud walking…we see a lot of the different Borg beings.  They’re kinda trying to find what they could do and just getting the lay of the ship, looking up at the lights, walking tentatively.

 

They got tricorders, they got beamers.  A couple Borg walk by.  They look at them…I mean, Beverly Crusher’s like, what in the heck?  She says would you believe it?  Oh, she goes wait a second, there’s these nodes up on the ceiling.  They say yeah, those are wave guide conduits.  That’s what allows them to work collectively and perform the ship functions; not wireless.  They go, if we could take some of these out…then Crusher goes, what if we see this from the furry friends’ point of view?  Data says, interesting metaphor.  He goes yeah, if you have to…you got some fur?  You gotta comb it.  Everyone says, what?  They say, to slow them down.  Oh, okay.  If they have to comb their fur, they’ll have to slow down the ship.

 

So, they keep looking, they find more…the nodes that are distribution nodes which are green versus the other nodes which are red.  Then Worf finds the captain’s communicator.  They try to call him; he doesn’t answer.  Worf says I think I can locate it this way.  Then we go back to…Riker’s on the call with Hanson.  They go, we got everybody at Wolf 359, podcast shout out right there.  Check out Wolf 359 podcast.  But they say yeah, twenty-two minutes; bring them out of warp.  We’ll do as…we’ll do what we can before we disengage.  What about Picard?  No idea.  Nothing.  Then we go back to the ship; they’re tracking it down and they find this giant drawer in the…Worf says in here.  The only thing in the drawers is his shirt and his communicator, maybe his pants.  I don’t know; I didn’t look.

 

It’s coming up right now.  Let’s see.  Maybe his pants are folded underneath it.  No, just his shirt and his communicator.  They say oh, boy.  Shelby to Enterprise.  We found the uniform and the communicator.  We’re gonna keep looking.  Geordi and Will come up; we got it.  We’re ready.  They go, we’re gonna have to clear out parts of the ship.  This is really good teamwork.  Troi says I’ll handle that.  They say, seventeen minutes, get him out of warp, to the away team.  Shelby out.  She says okay, let’s get rid of these nodes, which are just transmission hubs or something.  They’re pyramidical.  Data takes a shot at it, needs Worf’s help, kinda like Ghostbusters.  It takes two of them.  They take one out; lights go out.

 

They go back on but then some of the Borg…then they take another one out and the Borg have to leave their work stations to go work on it, I guess.  So, let’s see, they took two out, then three out.  Very dramatic.  The three…the ship has to go to impulse.  They get ready.  They start diverting the power.  Get us within 40,000 kilometers.  Match velocity.  Arm the sequences and stuff.  Get ready, get your modulations.  Then we’re back on the Borg ship and get a little action sequence.  Data has to say goodbye to one Borg, then another Borg.  Worf goes…then three, then four.  Shelby says we’re encountering resistance.  Five, six, seven Borg, and then they adjust to get the shields.  So, a pretty long action sequence.

 

Then we see, after they take out the seventh one…oh, the one has the shield, so they start approaching with shields.  They say okay, they’re adapting.  We’re gonna have to get outta here.  Beverly sees Jean-Luc Picard’s profile.  He turns.  Shelby gasps.  Worf has a pet voice almost; like, he says captain.  Oh, then that’s when Shelby gasps.  He turns from profile.  He’s a little pale but then he has a laser eye pointer, Batman abs on, and a black turtleneck, and motorcycle gear.  Worf goes to talk to him and he gets…he bumps into his shield.  Then they say get us off the ship.  They beam them back.  They go to the bridge and they say the captain, we were unable to retrieve him.  He’s been altered by the Borg.  Riker says, altered?  Then Worf says he is a Borg.  Shelby goes, we can go back with more people.

 

We’ll get him outta there.  Geordi goes, we’re ready and they’re getting ready to start the ship again.  They’re restoring power.  Riker has to sit.  He goes, is it ready?  They go, it’s ready.  They go, but Picard’s on the ship.  We might be able to get back.  He goes, this is our only chance.  If they go back into warp, we can’t do anything.  Even Shelby’s like, what about the captain?  He goes, we don’t have time.  Prepare to fire.  She goes, call Hanson.  He goes, belay that order.  He goes, there’s no time.  They go sir, we’re being hailed by the Borg.  He says, on screen.  He goes to the front [01:00:00] and who’s there but Locutus of Borg, AKA Picard.  He walks a slow walk towards the camera with his abs, his turtleneck, and his laser pointer, stiff…I am Locutus of Borg.  Resistance is futile.

 

He goes, this is it; you’re toast.  He goes, from this time forward, you’re gonna work for the Borg.  He even uses his laser pointer, points his laser…there’s a series of great reactions.  I mean, really good.  First Worf, then Troi.  Before that there was a couple other reaction shots; Riker, Shelby.  Riker takes a breath.  We see steely eyes.  He goes Mr. Worf, laser it up.  The episode comes to a close but don’t worry, we know…I mean, I’ll just tell you, it’s gonna be fine.  So, don’t worry at all.  Picture…plus, Locutus is a cute little thing.  So, then everybody took a little break and got cozy, went…they had a sleepover in Ten Forward where they had…what are those called?  Not simones.  What are those things called that you make with the marshmallows and the…?  Samosas?  No.  Why can’t I even think of those?

 

You have them…whatever those things are called that you have.  I don’t like them, so that’s why I can’t remember the name of them.  I don’t know; why don’t I like them?  ‘Cause graham crackers are a little dry for me.  I don’t eat a lot of chocolate.  So, what are those called?  They’re not called samosas.  S’mores; that’s what they’re called.  So, we’ll be back soon with some more of this two-parter.  Goodnight.

 

[END OF RECORDING]

(www.leahtranscribes.com)

Notable Language:

• Buoy
• Pot Odds
• Wave Guide Conduits

Notable Culture:

• Jeff Vandermeer
• Van Halen
• “Mmmbop” – Hanson

Notable Talking Points:

• Shoutout to Sentient Lighthouses, unless they’re from a Jeff Vandermeer Novel
• Playing Some Kind of Stud
• Something that looks like an Air Doctor