the wait is over. standby. not yet -- not like this. not how we left. this is our chance. to serve our people. we owe it to them -- to do what no other romulan could ever do. welcome back. spock. prepare the red matter. tell me when we reach core depth. destroy it, too. wait!!! the hull -- magnify -- hello. i am called nero. i do not speak for the empire. we stand apart. as does your vulcan crew member. isn't that right? spock? no, we're not. not yet. i would like you to see something. spock. captain pike-- your transporter capability is disabled. you will man a shuttle and come aboard the narada for negotiations. that is all. launch the red matter. now. retract the drill, let's move out! you are only the second human i have ever met, face to face. you must have so many questions for me. i only have one for you. i need the subspace frequencies of starfleet's border detection grids. specifically those surrounding earth. christopher. answer my question. i prevented genocide. where i come from, christopher. this ship is just a mining vessel. i chose a life of honest labor to provide for myself. and the wife who was carrying my child. i sit here now. knowing you as enemies. not just of today. but of tomorrow. i watched as your federation did nothing. they let us burn to death. as our planet broke in half. it did happen. i remember it. i. felt it. when i lost her. i promised myself i would not speak another word until the day of my retribution. in twenty five years i forgot the sound of my own voice. but i didn't forget the pain. that feeling cannot be erased. a feeling that every surviving vulcan now shares. -- yes, which is a gift i won't waste on mercy. my purpose, christopher, is not simply to avoid the destruction of the home i love. . but to create a romulus which exists, free of the federation. only then will she be saved. it's not the fault of the human race that starfleet chose earth as its center. you're a more noble race than my fallen cousins. i'll take no pleasure in your extinction. the frequencies, please. as you wish. there is no need, ayel. to threaten me. i understand. i understand. but you are wrong. we will return to romulus when the federation lies in ruins and not a moment before. when those who watched our people burn at last understand our pain, our loss. i refuse to return as a slave! we will return as conquerors! deploy the drill. good. let's begin. how?!! restore power! engage auxiliary systems! -- who's responsible for this?! open a channel -- spock -- i should've killed you when i had the chance. you can't cheat me again, spock. i know you better than you know yourself. fire at will. i want spock dead! fire! full reverse!!! now, now!! load weapons and raise shields!!! i would rather suffer the death of romulus a thousand times than accept assistance from you. forgive me. romulus.