The Prime Directive is not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy... and a very correct one. History has proven again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous.

I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise.

Engage!

Make it so!

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

If you'd earned that uniform you're wearing, you know it's the unknown that brings us out here!

Data, they were already dead. I mean, what more could have happened to them?

Cluck cluck cluck, Number One! You're being a mother hen.

We should be seeing stars by now!

Reports of my assimilation are greatly exaggerated.

I will not sacrifice the Enterprise. We've made too many compromises already; too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further! And I will make them pay for what they've done!

Mr. Worf, do you remember your zero G combat training?

Data, I'm sure it's a fascinating experience, but perhaps you should deactivate your emotion chip for now.

It is our mission to seek out life in all forms. We're privileged to have been present at the emergence of a new species.

This little nuisance is beginning to lose its fascination.

I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you service us.

Let's make sure that history never forgets the name Enterprise.

You wanted to frighten us. We are frightened. You wanted to show us that we are inadequate. For the moment, I cry that! You wanted me to say, "I need you." I need you!!

We have engaged...the Borg.

I'd be delighted to offer any advice I have on understanding women. When I have some, I'll let you know.

Seize the time... Live now! Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.

I was a different person in those days - arrogant, undisciplined... with far too much ego, but too little wisdom. I was more like you.

There are many parts of my youth that I'm not proud of. There were... loose threads - untidy parts of me that I would like to remove. But when I... pulled on one of those threads - it unraveled the tapestry of my life.

Starfleet is not an organization that ignores its own regulations when they become inconvenient.

Now, the decision you reach here today will determine how we will regard this... creation of our genius. It will reveal the kind of a people we are, what he is destined to be; it will reach far beyond this courtroom and this... one android. It could significantly redefine the boundaries of personal liberty and freedom - expanding them for some... savagely curtailing them for others. Are you prepared to condemn him and all who come after him, to servitude and slavery? Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life; well, there it sits! - Waiting.

If there is one thing I have learned over the years is never underestimate a Klingon.

I trust, Ambassador, that this cargo is in no way dangerous?

I'll look forward to your report, Mr Broccoli. Barclay.

I shall appoint you my executive officer in charge of radishes.

There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle; it's just a matter of finding it.

Mr. Worf, villains who twirl their moustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well-camouflaged.

We are what we are, and we're doing the best we can. It is not for you to set the standards by which we should be judged!

He's my number one Dad.

I refuse to believe that the afterlife is run by you, Q. The universe is not so badly designed!

You want to run away and blow up the ship, you COWARD!

Get off my bridge!

Perhaps we should just knock?

I must warn you I've always been attracted to older women.

Does anyone remember when we were explorers?

I wonder which of us will be facing that court-martial.

My collar size is the same as it was in the academy.

You have a duty! You're a Star Fleet Officer!

Dismissed.

If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are.

No being is so important that he can usurp the rights of another.

It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.

Being first at any cost is not always the point.

Six years ago, they assimiated me into their collective. I had their cybernetic devices implanted throughout my body. I was linked to the hive mind. Every trace of individuality erased. I was one of them. So you can imagine, my dear, I have a somewhat unique perspective on the Borg, and I know how to fight them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.

There are times, sir, when men of good conscience cannot blindly follow orders. You acknowledge their sentience, but ignore their personal liberties and freedom. Order a man to turn his child over to the state? Not while I'm his captain.

You may test that assumption at your convenience.

Imprisonment is an injury, regardless of how you justify it.

I think it's time to try some unsafe velocities.

I think of myself as an explorer.

The road from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter than we think.

We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, is all ancient history. Then, before you can blink an eye, suddenly, it threatens to start all over again.

This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Destruct sequence: Alpha 1. 15 minutes, silent countdown. Enable

The Borg won't stay on deck sixteen.

The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century. The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity. Actually, we're all like yourself and Dr. Cochrane.

Legends...are the spice of the universe, Mr. Data, because they have a way of sometimes coming true.

We do exactly what we would do if this Q never existed. If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for who we really are.

Q might have done the right thing for the wrong reason, perhaps we need a good kick in our complacency to get us ready for what's ahead.

And if you had lived my life, you would understand my responsibility to the Federation.

Now, this will put the ship at risk. Quite frankly, we may not survive. But I want you to believe that I am doing this for a greater purpose, and that what is at stake here is more than any of you can possibly imagine. I know you have your doubts about me, about each other, about this ship.All I can say is that although we have only been together for a short time, I know that you are the finest crew in the fleet. And I would trust each of you with my life. So, I am asking you for a leap of faith — and to trust me.

Q Let us pray for understanding and compassion. Picard Let us do no such damn thing!

Five card stud, nothing wild. And the sky's the limit.

Klingon: Federation Starship Enterprise. Surrender and prepare to be boarded. Picard: That'll be the day!

Under the circumstances, I thought that it would help if I... if I learned more about you.

Nothing. Nothing lies beneath! I'm... I'm really... quite dull. I fall asleep each night with an old book in my hands.

A wise man once said: "There is a sucker born every minute."

Goodness had nothing to do with it.

Let's get the hell out of here!

Captain's personal log, supplemental - I have just witnessed the total destruction of the USS Enterprise, with the loss of all hands, save one - me.

Enterprise, prepare to beam the away team back.

Data... your whisper from the dark has now become a plea.

A person's life, their future, hinges on each of a thousand choices. Living is *making* choices! Now, you ask me to believe that if I make a choice other than the one that appears in your history books, then your past will be irrevocably altered. Well... you know, Professor, perhaps I don't give a damn about your past, because your past is my future, and as far as I'm concerned, it hasn't been written yet!

It's a mystery. Who is this man? Who killed him? Where is the money he was talking about? It's... it's a mystery. Now we have to go search for clues.

Clues were left behind that suggested a mystery. And to many humans, a mystery is irresistible. It must be solved.

You reminded us that there are obligations that go beyond duty.

A simple 'yes' would have sufficed, Number One.

I think it is perhaps best to be ignorant of certain elements of Klingon psyche.

What have they done to my ship now?

Admiral. What you're doing here... is unethical. It's immoral. I'll fight it.

Ensign, put us back on course, warp 3.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

Have we become so... fearful, have we become so cowardly... that we must extinguish a man? Because he carries the blood of a current enemy?

Attention all decks, all divisions. Effective immediately, I have handed over control of this vessel to Acting Captain Wesley Crusher.

You know, there are some words I've known since I was a schoolboy: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today...

Mr. Crusher, take us out of orbit.

How many people does it take before it becomes wrong? Hmm? A thousand? Fifty thousand? A million? How many people does it take, Admiral!?

Lieutenant... lower the shields.

Enough.

Beverly, the Prime Directive is not just a set of rules. It is a philosophy, and a very correct one. History has proved again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous.

We're losing our professional detachment, Doctor.

I'll accept the judgment of history.

Yes, it can be. But I have never subscribed to the theory that political power flows from the barrel of a gun.

Commander, have you been able to determine the cause of the warp breach?

How will you keep us secret, when so many have seen and heard so much?

Professor, I ask you to believe me. If you step out of that door, you will cease to exist.

It is at the heart of our nature to feel pain - and joy. It is an essential part of what makes us what we are.

Rubbish!

Curiouser and curiouser...

You have the bridge, Number One.

Is that an order, Doctor?

Seems we are becoming detectives, Number One.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Your... arrogant pretense at being the moral guardians of the universe strikes me as being hollow, Q. I see no evidence that you're guided by a superior moral code or any code whatsoever. You may be nearly omnipotent, and I don't deny that your... parlor tricks are very impressive. But morality, I don't see it. I don't acknowledge it, Q! I would put human morality against the Q's any day. And perhaps that's the reason that we fascinate you so - because our puny behavior shows you a glimmer of the one thing that evades your omnipotence: a moral center. And if so, I can think of no crueler irony than that you should destroy this young woman, whose only crime is that she's too human. Q: Jean-Luc... Sometimes I think the only reason I come here is to listen to these wonderful speeches of yours.

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