duty.
a starship captain's life is filled with solemn duty. i have commanded men in battle. i have negotiated peace treaties between implacable enemies. i have represented the federation in first contact with twenty-seven alien species. but none of this compares to my solemn duty as.  best man.
now, i know that on an occasion such as this: it is expected that i be gracious and fulsome with praise on the wonders of this blessed union.  but have you two considered what you're doing to? this is all a damned inconvenience.  while you're happily settling in on the titan, i'll have to train a new first officer; no doubt a stern martinet who'll quote the rule book at me and never.  ever.  allow me to go on away missions. .  then there's the matter of my new counselor. undoubtedly some soft-spoken, willowy thing who'll be probing into my darkest psyche as she nods her head and coos sympathetically. isn't that right, deanna?
i notice dr. crusher laughing along with the rest of you. as most of you know, the doctor will also soon be leaving the enterprise, to assume command of starfleet medical. again, i'm forced to ask, beverly, have you considered what you're doing to little ole' me?! i'll probably get some old battle- axe of a doctor who'll tell me to eat my vegetables and put me on report if i don't show up for my physical on time!
really, it's not too late to reconsider. no? very well then.
will riker, you have been my trusted right arm for fourteen years; you have helped keep my course true and steady. deanna troi, you have been my conscience and best guide, the touchstone to the better parts of myself. you are my family. and in proper maritime tradition i wish you full sails and a clear horizon.  my friends, make it so.
please, beverly, this is hard enough.
the least i could do for you, deanna. besides, you know me.  i'm a talking head.
the hell you will. you know too much about me as it is.  now you promised there are no speeches during the ceremony on betazed.
may i have this dance?
i've been saving this. chateau picard 2267. batten down the hatches.
they say a vintner's history is in every glass. the soil he came from. his past as well as his hopes for the future.
so.  to happy endings.
i understand why it would seem confusing. certain human rituals -- like weddings, birthdays or funerals evoke strong and very complex emotions. these rites carry great weight with us because they denote the passage of time.
will and deanna joining the titan. dr. crusher going to starfleet medical.
well. i suppose it does a bit. i'm very happy for them, of course, but i'm going to miss them. the ship will seem.  incomplete without them.
yes. and, frankly, i envy them as well. they've made important choices; they're going to have great challenges ahead of them. new worlds to conquer.
seeing will and deanna today made me think about some of the choices i've made in my own life. devoting myself to starfleet.  not marrying or having children.  all the choices that led me here.
you never know what's over the horizon, data. before too long you'll be offered a command of your own. data looks at him; he has never really considered this.
now, you make a toast.
new worlds. yes data, brave new worlds.
won't do what, mister worf?
come now, a big, strapping fellow like you? what are you afraid of?
what sort of signature?
what do we know about the planet?
theories?
still well on our side.
i think it's worth a look. don't worry, number one, we'll get you to betazed with time to spare.
where we will all honor the betazoid traditions. no cold feet, or any other parts of our anatomy. now, if you'll excuse me. i'll be in the gym.
what do we know about the population?
understood. data, worf, you're with me.
i appreciate your concern, number one, but i've been itching to try out the argo.
captain's prerogative, will. there's no foreseeable danger.  and your wife would never forgive me if anything happened to you.
you have the bridge, mister troi!
thank you, data. let's see what she can do.
mister worf, if you please.
mister worf, accompany data please.
if you don't mind.
i can see that.
shall we try some "unsafe velocities?"
data!
mister data. let's make like the wind.
be-nign. dr. soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
keep me informed, number one, and, please, put him back together.
earl grey, hot.
come. counselor.
of course, sit down.
you're speaking of emotional investment?
as much as we care for him, deanna.  we have to remember that data isn't capable of disappointment.
i'm going to miss you.
acknowledged.  .  i'll talk to data
admiral janeway. good to see you.
with or without the rest of the fleet?
new praetor?
understood.
not with the romulans.
just lucky, admiral.
lay in a new course.  take us to romulus. warp eight.
i'm afraid the opal sea will have to wait, number one.  engage.
cannon fodder.
a coup d'etat?
what have you learned about shinzon?
well.  it seems we're truly sailing into the unknown. keep at it. anything you can give me would be appreciated. dismissed.
captain's log. stardate 47844.9. the enterprise has arrived at romulus and is waiting at the designated coordinates. all our hails have gone unanswered. we've been waiting for seventeen hours.
it's an old psychological strategy, number one. to put him in a position of dominance and make us uneasy.
counselor?
not yet, mister worf.
patience. diplomacy is a very exacting occupation. we can wait.
no!
tactical analysis, mister worf.
she's a predator.
on screen.
praetor shinzon, i'm pleased to --
away team. transporter room four.
praetor shinzon?
and you're not as we imagined you.
why have you asked for our presence here?
praetor?
praetor, we've come to romulus on a matter we were -- assured was of great importance. if you have anything to say to us as representatives of the federation, i suggest you do so now.
praetor shinzon. we're not here to discuss your lack of a social life.
i would be interested to know what we are talking about.
and the senate supports you?
yes.
yes.
you know i do.
we need to talk, just you and i.
you know i need to verify this.
picard to enterprise. five to beam out.
when was he.  created?
i think a skin cell's the more likely of the two.
believe me, number one; i'm going to find out. contact starfleet command and inform them of the situation. i need to know where the hell he came from. deanna.
is he sincere about wanting peace?
how could i not?
i not only know him, deanna, i am him.  and he is me!
what happened?
you'll acquire a taste for it.
not quite. i envy the hairline.
yes. the eyes have it.
how did you end up on remus?
you're doing this to liberate the remans?
i have no reason to.
and if you had lived my life you would understand that there is a great responsibility in representing the federation. i can't let my personal feelings unduly influence my decisions.
there's so much, and so much of it is dull.
yes.
new worlds.
after you, praetor.
so i'm not as tall as you expected?
with a full head of hair.
shinzon.  i'm trying to believe you.
if there's one ideal the federation holds most dear it's that all men, all races, can be united. from the first time the vulcans came to earth we've sought a future of peace. nothing would make me more proud than to take your hand in friendship. in time. when trust has been earned.
in time.
who was it?
what programs were accessed?
set up a security program to detect any unusual data stream rerouting. if it happens again, we want to be ready.
 i thought thalaron radiation was theoretical.
as i remember, thalaron research was banned in the federation because of its bioqenic properties.
understood. keep on it. i need to know what he has and how to neutralize any threat. give me options.
come.  .  beverly, come in.
remember him?
he was a damn fool. selfish and ambitious. very much in need of seasoning.
i so wanted to believe shinzon. but the thalaron radiation can't be explained away. whatever he's after, it's not peace.
yes.
on my way.
i wish i could believe that, doctor.
can you describe it, deanna?
permission denied. if you can possibly endure any more of these assaults. i need you at my side. now more than ever i.
why am i here?
what are you doing?
all of this so you could capture me?
what's this all about?
you're not reman.
i see a young man trying desperately to deny who he is.
i won't defend my life to you.
if your issues are with me.  this has nothing to do with my ship and nothing to do with the federation.
think about what you're doing, shinzon. are you ready to plunge the entire quadrant into war to satisfy your own personal demons?
i'm incapable of such an act, and so are you.
it's a mirror for you as well.
what are you doing to counsellor troi?
that will never happen.
there'll be another after me. and another after that. you'll find we're a resilient species.
be careful of over-playing your part, commander!
good work. the download?
a bit less florid, data.
a weapon.
it'll only work for one of us.
we'll find a way off together. recommendations?
alacrity would be appreciated, commander.
while i find that fascinating, data, we really need that goddamned door open!
what do you imagine this is?
can you open the shuttlebay doors?
well then.  only one way to go.
we're about to find out.  power up disruptors and fire on my mark.
fire!
number one, emergency warp!
but the romulans abandoned the plan.
dying?
then he'll come for me as a donor.
and that's exactly what he's going to do.
his hatred of the federation is apparent. he would have built a weapon of that scope for one reason. he is going after earth.
and the romulans invade.
i know how he thinks.
i'm counting on it.  we've been ordered to head to sector 3274. starfleet is diverting the fleet to meet us there.
we can only hope so.
he can't be allowed to use that weapon. all other concerns are secondary. do you understand me?
all hands. battle stations.
captain's personal log. supplemental. we're heading toward federation space at maximum warp. the crew has responded with the dedication i've come to expect of them. and like a thousand other commanders on a thousand other battlefields throughout history, i wait for the dawn.
to seek out new life and new civilizations. zephyr cochran's own words. when charles darwin set out on the h.m.s. beagle, on his journey into the unknown.  he sailed without a single musket.
how far we've come. let me know if you need anything.
what makes us who we are, doctor? can you tell me that?
show me our current position.
how long until we reach the fleet?
"for now we see but through a glass darkly" he said he's a mirror.
yes.
but so much is the same. on a biological level he is.  and i will not accept the idea that there is nothing i can do. i have a responsibility to try to make a human connection with him.
he may have already rejected my humanity, but you also have a twin.
how can you be sure?
we'll never know what shinzon might have been. had he stood where i did as a child? and looked up at the stars.
it's interfering with our uplink from starfleet cartography?
commander riker, evasive maneuvers!
report.
worf, prepare a full phaser spread, zero elevation. all banks on my mark. scan for shield impacts and stand by photon torpedoes.
fire!
full axis rotation to port! fire all ventral phasers!
counselor troi, report to the bridge.
on screen.
we are.
why are you here?
and what of the enterprise?
you know that's not possible.
look at me, shinzon! do you feel the blood pumping inside you? your hands, your eyes, your nature, are the same as mine. buried deep inside you beneath the years of pain and anger is a capacity you've forgotten. it's the one way our mirror can reflect the two of us exactly because it's the very thing that truly defines us. to be human is to try to make yourself better than you are.
i know you as well as i know myself, shinzon. there was a time you looked at the stars and dreamed of what might be.
not so long.
i see more than what you are.
i see what you could be.
the man who is jean luc picard and shinzon of remus won't exterminate the population of an entire planet! he is better than that!
and what will he do with that life?
if i were to beam to your ship.  let you complete your medical procedure, give you a full life.  what would you do with the time?
you once asked me about your past. your history. when i was your age, i burned with ambition. i was very proud and my pride often hurt people. i made every wrong choice a young man can.  but one thing saved me.  i had a father who believed in me. who took the time to teach me a better way. you have the same father.
so if i gave you my life, what would you do with it? would you spend the years in a blaze of hatred as you are now? or could you change? could you try to remember a mother's touch you never felt? a father's words you never heard? could you do that?
but you want to.
let me tell you about our father.
please.
you can still make a choice! make the right one now!
on screen.
your timing is impeccable, commander.
when this is over, i owe you a drink.
you heard the lady. get to work. move your ass!
coordinate our attack with the valdore's tactical officer. triangulate fire on any shield impacts.
do you have life support?
understood --
counselor?
make it so.
savage them!
divert power and compensate --
what if we target all phasers in a concentrated attack?
he wants to look me in the eye.
he thinks he knows exactly what i'm going to do.
we've got him!
deanna, stand by. open a channel.
i am.
i never told you about my first academy evaluation, did i? i received very high marks for my studies. but i was found lacking in certain other areas. personality traits, you might say. in particular i was thought to be extremely.  .  over-confident.
geordi, put 211 power to the engines. take it from life support if you have to -- everything you can give me.
deanna, on my mark.
all hands, brace for impact!
data, i need you.
computer. auto-destruct sequence omega. zero time delay. recognize voice pattern jean luc picard. authorization alpha alpha three zero five --
how long until he can fire?
this isn't about me anymore.
prepare for a site-to-site transport.
that's an order, commander.
negative.
you have the bridge, commander. use all available power to move away from the scimitar. now, mister la forge.
on screen.  .  open a channel.
thank you, commander.
geordi.  prepare the shuttlebay for arrivals. they don't know our procedures so just.  open the doors.
number one. you have the bridge.
to absent friends.  o family.
i don't know if all this has made sense to you, but i wanted you to know what kind of man he was. in his quest to be more like us, he helped show us what it means to be human.
no, he wasn't.  but his wonder and his curiosity about every facet of human life helped all of us see the best parts of ourselves. he embraced change.  because he always wanted to be more than he was.
well, i hope someday you will.
on my way. please notify commander riker.  .  we'll talk later?
i'm sorry you won't be here for the re-fit, but i know the titan needs you immediately.
the titan's a fine ship, will. and she's getting a captain worthy of her.
i promise you in time, she'll become your home.  if i could offer you one piece of advice?
when your first officer insists that you can't go on away missions.  ignore him --
the honor was mine. captain riker.
reminds me of a young doctor i used to know.
not tonight, i have work here.
welcome aboard, commander. i hope, your transfer didn't come as too much of a surprise.
i needed you immediately to help oversee the re-fit.  .  your service record on the talos is exemplary, but there are a few things i would like to discuss with you regarding my requirements for a first officer. shall we say dinner in my quarters at 1900 hours?
commander, i don't know how they did it on the talos, but we have door chimes on the enterprise. we use them.
what's this?
let's give it a try.
feels good.
it's about time.
commander, please sit down.
 we've received our first assignment. we're going to be exploring the denab system. it should be exciting. it's a place.  where no one has gone before.