[Planet Vergessen, Hypatia System. The Seven Domes 13 years ago]

(Someone is performing brain surgery on a screaming man in a Starfleet uniform. His artificial eye is pulled out and disconnected.)
WOMAN: Where's your cortical node, buddy? It's got to be in there somewhere.
(She is about to drill into his forehead where there are explosions outside.)
WOMAN: Bjayzl?
(Seven of Nine shoots the woman and her assistant.)
ICHEB: Seven?
SEVEN: It's all right. You'll be all right.
ICHEB: Go.
SEVEN: No, not without you, Icheb.
(Icheb shakes his head.)
ICHEB: No.
SEVEN: Then I'll s... I'll stay with you.
ICHEB: N... now, Seven. Please.
(She holds him close and draws her phaser.)
SEVEN: I'm so sorry, my child.
(And puts him out of his suffering. We are shown pieces of Borg hanging from hooks.)

[Stardust City, Freecloud, Alpha Doradus System, 2 weeks ago]

(A woman in a glittery dress plays the piano in a top class bar. A minder-type reptiloid walks over to another woman, in a sequinned catsuit.)
BJAYZL: What?
VUP: Bruce Maddox.
BJAYZL: Here?
VUP: Indeed.
BJAYZL: Huh. How the mighty have fallen. Kill him. Wait. New plan.
(She goes over to where a bearded man contemplates a decanter of yellow liquid.)
BJAYZL: Bruce. This is so unexpected. You've looked better.
MADDOX: I've been in hiding. They destroyed my lab, Bjayzl.
BJAYZL: Darling, I heard. Have some tranya.
(He pours himself a drink.)
MADDOX: They used some kind of molecular solvent to destroy the entire facility. There was literally nothing left. They nearly got me. I'm so sorry, Bjayzl.
BJAYZL: For what?
MADDOX: I don't know how I'm ever gonna repay your loan.
BJAYZL: Nonsense. Who do you think did this, Bruce, hmm? Who's after you?
MADDOX: I think it was the Tal Shiar.
BJAYZL: Well, that does change things a bit.
(Maddox coughs, shakes, vision goes blurry, he drops his glass and falls to the carpet, eyes staring at nothing.)
BJAYZL: Making a deal with the Tal Shiar is always such a pain in the ass.

[Holodeck - Study]

ADVERT: Welcome to Freecloud. Whether you are here for the maximum-security financial and information services or the minimal restrictions on personal liberty
(Doorbell)
PICARD: Come.
ADVERT: Freecloud keeps your secrets.
(He turns it off.)
PICARD: You're well?
SEVEN: I'm... functional.
PICARD: Something to drink? Tea? Glass of wine?
SEVEN: Bourbon. Straight up. This place is something.
PICARD: Not my idea.
SEVEN: But you like it enough to keep it. What the hell are you doing out here, Picard? Besides being in way over your head?
PICARD: I'm looking for someone. Does that surprise you?
SEVEN: I assumed it must be some kind of misguided diplomatic mission. Saving the galaxy?
PICARD: There may be a bit of that, too.
SEVEN: You're going to Freecloud.
PICARD: You know Freecloud?
SEVEN: I hate the place. But we... the Fenris Rangers keep our money there, what little of it there is.
PICARD: It's a tough time on Fenris, I hear.
SEVEN: Does that make you happy?
PICARD: I admire the Rangers' goals, their courage, their tenacity, but you are taking the law into your own hands.
SEVEN: What law?
PICARD: Point taken. Nevertheless, to appoint yourself judge and jury
SEVEN: I'm not here for a lecture. You think of me as a vigilante, fine. Ranging is my job. It's not saving the galaxy, it's helping people who have no one else to help them. It's hopeless and pointless and exhausting, and the only thing worse would be giving up.
PICARD: Hmm.
SEVEN: Freecloud works. You can drop me there. Who are you looking for?
PICARD: Someone who has no one else to help her. Someone who will likely die if I don't.
SEVEN: I'll take another one of these.

[La Sirena bridge]

(Raffi is looking at the data on Hwang, Gabriel.)
RIOS: She's in there with him.
RAFFI: Huh?
RIOS: The Ranger. She's in the chateau with Picard.
RAFFI: Ooo. What do those two have to talk about, I wonder?
RIOS: Seems like they know each other.
RAFFI: No, I don't think so. Not back when I knew him, anyway. You know, she used to be Borg, like him.
RIOS: Oh, wow.
RAFFI: Mmm hmm.
RIOS: She's that Ranger. She's notorious. Ninety nine or Eleven or
(He prepares to light a cigar.)
RAFFI: Uh-huh. She goes by Seven.
RIOS: Seven.
RAFFI: Mmm hmm.
RIOS: The ex-Borg Fenris Ranger.
RAFFI: I heard she's from the Delta Quadrant.
RIOS: Seven, the ex-Borg Fenris Ranger from the Delta Quadrant. And I somehow managed to forget that Picard used to be Borg, too. Must have happily blocked it out. This is some strange cargo you brought me this time, Raffi.
RAFFI: Tell me about it.

[Agnes' quarters]

(Watching two people laughing on a holoscreen.)
AGNES [on screen]: Okay.
MADDOX [on screen]: Ah.
AGNES [on screen]: Okay, I don't get it. You replicated the flour, the butter, the eggs, the sugar and the chocolate chips.
MADDOX [on screen]: Yes. And the baking soda.
AGNES [on screen]: Oops. Yes, baking soda. Right. And then you set them all on fire
MADDOX [on screen]: I do not set them on fire. I bake them, in my oven.
(And here are six I made earlier.)
AGNES [on screen]: Oh.
MADDOX [on screen]: Ow. Still warm.
AGNES [on screen]: Now, why don't you just replicate the cookies?
MADDOX [on screen]: Because I do not like the replicator's chocolate chip cookies. What can I say? There's an alchemy. Come here, Aggie. Taste it.
(They nibble at a cookie, then kiss. She ends the recording and wipes away a tear.)

[La Sirena bridge]

FREECLOUD [OC]: La Sirena, this is Freecloud Orbital Control, confirming transfer of conn.
RIOS: Roger that.
RED BOLIAN HOLOGRAM: Welcome, Captain Rios. I see your power conversion efficiency is only 91 percent. Remember, nobody knows their way around the Kaplan F17 Speed Freighter like the Red Bolian.
ADVERT HOLOGRAM: (to Picard) Care for a cuppa? Join the party at the Freecloud Grand Hotel's afternoon high tea.
AGNES: Help! Make it go away.
ROBOT HOLOGRAM: The Freecloud Institute of Entertainment Robotics is now hiring
RIOS: You have to punch it.
ROBOT HOLOGRAM: Submit your resume today.
AGNES: What?
RIOS: Hit it as hard as you can.
AGNES: I don't hit things.
RAFFI: Oh no, he's right, Doc. You need to knock its head clear off.
ROBOT HOLOGRAM: Submit your resume...
(So she does.)
RIOS: Oh, ho, ho! Agnes for the knockout.
(Up pops Raffi's targeted advert.)
BARKEEP HOLOGRAM: Hey, lady, you looking to get snakebit? Slither in to Feely's Venom Garden and pick your poison.
ELNOR: I didn't get one.
RAFFI: Er, I found him, JL.
PICARD: You found Maddox?
RAFFI: Yes, but... Oh, my goodness. Bruce Maddox, what did you do? I'm on a jobs board for interfacers. Essentially, go-betweens for hire. Big business for competing corporations, rival criminal gangs, thieves and their victims, especially on Freecloud. I just sent myself an invitation to join the local 'facers guild. Old Starfleet intel trick.
PICARD: Yeah.
RAFFI: Okay. Party named Bjayzl is holding him. They're looking for someone to broker a deal with the Tal Shiar.
SEVEN: Bjayzl.
RAFFI: You know him?
SEVEN: Her. She butchers ex-Borg for parts. She's been high on the Rangers' wanted list for years.
AGNES: Couldn't we outbid the Tal Shiar?
RAFFI: No, not likely. If she's prudent enough to use a 'facer, this is probably a pretty substantial deal.
PICARD: We must extract him.
RAFFI: Er, not with the security she's got. Occluded payroll shows she's got a little army of private contractors. And a Beta Annari.
AGNES: What's a Beta Annari?
RIOS: Sentient reptiloid. Nasty pieces of work.
PICARD: Without Maddox, we'll never find Dahj's sister. Options?
RIOS: Well, if we can't grab him and we can't buy him
RAFFI: We're shit out of luck, JL.
SEVEN: Not quite. We trade. Give Bjayzl something she wants in exchange for Maddox. Something she'll find irresistible.
RIOS: Like what?
SEVEN: Like me.

[Holodeck - Study]

RAFFI: Okay, I dropped a pretty foolproof ID of you into the system. You are now a 'facer. Famous but not too famous.
RIOS: Pretty foolproof?
RAFFI: We're not exactly working with a whole lot of time here.
PICARD: Raffi, are you serious, sending us down there looking like this?
RAFFI: Well, 'facers tend to dress very flamboyant, JL. It's protective colouration. You're playing go-between. You want to stand out. You don't want anyone mixing you up with the other side.
RIOS: What do you think, Agnes?
AGNES: I think you're killing it.
ELNOR: But are you really a 'facer?
RIOS: No.
RAFFI: You're licenced, paid up on your guild dues. You have a meeting with Mister Vup.
RIOS: Mister Vup. Yeah.
RAFFI: Rios, you seriously, really need to sell this. You can't do your broody, existentialist spaceman routine. Your personality needs to match your clothes. You need to show a little panache.
SEVEN: You need a feather in your hat.

[Stardust City Bar]

(Rios is scanned as he enters the bar.)
RIOS: A Temtibi Lagoon, if it's not too much bother. And a game tablet. With two umbrellas. And if you can please let Mister Vup know that I'm here. The name is Rios.
BARTENDER: Mister Vup knows.
VUP: Feeling lucky, Mister Rios?

[Holodeck - Study]

RAFFI: Try to stay away from the lizard. Beta Annari can smell when you're not telling the truth.
AGNES: Seriously?
RAFFI: Also what you had for dinner and the last person you had sex with.
RIOS: If they're not the same thing.
AGNES: Because that's not disturbing.

[Stardust City Bar]

VUP: I'm Mister Vup.
RIOS: Of course you are. Salutations. Please.
(They go to a table.)
VUP: Let us not waste time. Your references are sound. Mister Quark of Ferenginar was especially satisfied with your handling of his trouble with the Breen.
RIOS: Yes, that was quite a foofaraw.
VUP: Are you aware of the identity of the other party in this negotiation?
RIOS: Indeed.
VUP: Have you had dealings with the Tal Shiar before?
RIOS: To be honest, I've tried hard to stay out of their way. They are treacherous, violent, ruthless and subtle. Their concept of honour is rooted in their skill at deceit.
VUP: So why represent them now?
RIOS: Oh, I'm not. I'm here on behalf of another interested party. I've come to offer your employer alternative remuneration for Doctor Maddox.
VUP: Surprising. (points a weapon at Rios' head) I'm not a fan of surprises.
RIOS: I'm getting that sense.
VUP: Now, what could possibly be worth reneging on a deal with the Romulan secret police?
RIOS: I can explain.
VUP: Maybe you aren't aware, Mister Rios. We Beta Annari have 1,253 olfactory receptor genes, which means, among other things, I can smell a lie. So, Mister Rios, proceed with caution.

[Holodeck - Study]

(Agnes gives Rios an injection.)
RIOS: Ai!
AGNES: Sorry. Sorry.
RIOS: What the hell?
RAFFI: Beta-blockers, anxiolytics, benzos. Delayed release. Raffi's home cooking, honey.
RIOS: Why would you do that?
RAFFI: Just in case you do run into one of those hypersensitive reptiloids. Should kick in right about when you need it.

[Stardust City Bar]

(Rios holds out a holo-scan of Seven.)
VUP: That many implants in a living specimen. Impossible.
RIOS: How do I smell?
VUP: Truthful. You also had some sort of smoked meat for breakfast, didn't you? So many intact and functioning Borg parts in a single specimen. She would be extremely valuable.
RIOS: If you will indulge me with the smallest of transporter windows.

[Holodeck - Study]

RAFFI: Honestly, Rios isn't the one I'm really worried about here. I'm more concerned with you two.
PICARD: Oh. I thought that I looked (French accent) appropriately sinister.
(He has an eyepatch too.)
RAFFI: Mmm. No comment. Assuming Rios doesn't choke or mess everything up somehow
RIOS: Which he will not.
RAFFI: This is a transport pattern enhancer. Once you get it inside their shields, it will create a stable tunnel to transport in and out of. They won't be able to differentiate it from your implants on the scan. Er, hands, please? No offence.
SEVEN: None taken.
(Seven's hands are manacled behind her back.)
RAFFI: Why? Are you helping them, I mean.
SEVEN: When the evacuation ended and the Neutral Zone collapsed, someone needed to maintain a semblance of order. I suppose at this point, it's become habit.
RAFFI: I admire what you do out there, with the Rangers. Push in and then pull out
SEVEN: Yes. I understand.
(And releases herself from the manacles.)
RAFFI: Okay. Once you get Maddox, activate the enhancer, and the doc here will beam you out.
AGNES: Wait, wait, wait. Er...
RAFFI: Just...
AGNES: Hello? Hold on a sec.
RAFFI: Hold that thought.
(Raffi puts a hood over Seven's head.)
RAFFI: Can you breathe?
SEVEN: Yes. (and removes the hood.)
AGNES: What do you mean, I beam them out?
ELNOR: It's a lie. Everybody is behaving as if they were somebody else. Everyone except me.

[Stardust City Bar]

(Elnor is scanned.)
WOMAN: He's clear.

[Holodeck - Study]

RAFFI: And, Agnes, you're on transporter duty.
AGNES: Really? Me? Okay. How... how hard is it, really?
RIOS: Piece of cake.
(Elnor has changed into more casual clothes.)
ELNOR: Aguardiente.
RIOS: Ai.
RAFFI: Oh, man.
ELNOR: I don't know how to not be Elnor.
PICARD: Then be Elnor.
SEVEN: An Elnor who never talks.

[Stardust City Bar]

(Vup removes the hood from Seven.)
PICARD: Disgusting thing. Once they get the Borg inside them, there is no coming back, no matter what they think. Defiled is what you are. Damned. Cursed.
VUP: Quite a prize. Rare to find one with so many implants still fully operational.
PICARD: She is not one of the new ones. When the Borg entered her, she was a jeune fille. You are going to have to dice her up to get it all out. A little squeamish, are we? I can take my trade elsewhere.
VUP: No. Not squeamish. Not at all.
PICARD: Your work is done.
(Picard pays off Rios.)
RIOS: Mind if I have another drink?
PICARD: It's a free planet!
VUP: Let's see if there's a deal to be made.
PICARD: Now, that's the kind of talk that I like. But one last thing. I need proof that my bounty is alive. I need to see Maddox!

[La Sirena transporter alcove]

COMPUTER: Gabriel Hwang located. Stardust City Medical District.
RAFFI: Make sure the kid sticks to the script, and watch your back. Admiral Picard.
PICARD: Time to go.
RAFFI: You've got this.
PICARD: This is going to be very much harder without you.
RAFFI: It was almost like the old days for a minute there, huh? I... I hope you find what you came out here for.
PICARD: And I sincerely wish the same for you.
RAFFI: Do it.
(Rios beams her away.)

[Stardust City Reproductive Health Service]

ADVERT: Don't get lost in the crowd. At Freecloud Family Planning, your baby is our baby. Join our family today.
TANNOY: Doctor Partha, please report to parthenogenic chem lab three for your next procedure.
RAFFI: Hello.
GABRIEL: Wow. Here? So what, did you put a tracker in me or just hunt me down?
RAFFI: Oh. I still hear things. Maybe I hunted you down a little. You just kind of crossed my path.
GABRIEL: Path to where?
RAFFI: To Freecloud. To you. Gabe, I'm clean. Mmm hmm. I feel good. I was not there for you. Even when I was there, I wasn't there.
GABRIEL: Especially then.
RAFFI: But I'm here now, if you'll let me be. For you and for my little grand...?
GABRIEL: She's a girl. You know, there was a time when it would've meant the worldto me to hear you say that.
RAFFI: Oh. - Oh, Gabriel, honey
GABRIEL: So what, you're changed? Yeah, you're different now.
RAFFI: I'm... I'm... I'm making a start, Gabe. I'm... I'm... I'm putting my life back together. That's why I came all the way out here for you.
GABRIEL: So, er, the attack on Mars. Tell me how it wasn't really the synths.
RAFFI: Honey...
GABRIEL: Tell me about the Conclave of Eight. Tell me what was worth ignoring me and Dad until we hardly recognised you.
RAFFI: I...
GABRIEL: Why you abandoned us for some crackpot, tin hat conspiracy
RAFFI: It wasn't crackpot! That attack was not what it seemed! Baby, there is a conspiracy, and it is bigger than anybody knew. There were lives at stake.
GABRIEL: Our lives, Mom. Our lives mattered, too. Just not to you. I don't think you understand just how much it sucked to be your kid.
(A pregnant Romulan woman enters.)
GABRIEL: Hey, Pel, baby, er... this is my mother, Raffaela. She was just passing through. I guess she had a second.
PEL: Hello. It's wonderful to meet you. Will you be staying a while?
GABRIEL: No. Like I said, she's just passing by.
RAFFI: It's so nice to meet you. Good luck with the baby. Goodbye, Gabe.
GABRIEL: Bye, Mom.
(Gabriel and Pel walk away.)

[Stardust City Bar]

BJAYZI: Show me.
PICARD: As I was telling your Mister Vip..,
VUP: Vup.
PICARD: ..you will not see many more like her! When they get assimilated as kids, more of the hardware remains inside them.
VUP: Ear, eyes, neck, chest, spine, kidneys, hips, various bones.
BJAYZI: I thought it could be you. Hoped might even be the word. I always knew you were impressive. I just never knew how impressive. It is good to see you again, Annika.
(Two women and Vup draw weapons.)

[La Sirena transporter alcove]

AGNES: It's okay. It will be okay. You can do this. You have to do this.
EMH: What is the nature of your psychiatric emergency? Your pulse and blood pressure are significantly elevated.
AGNES: Be... because you scared the hell out of me.
EMH: I'd like to give you a sedative.
AGNES: I... I don't need a s... (panic attack)
RIOS [OC]: Agnes, you copy?
EMH: Are you certain? You really
AGNES: Yes, I am certain!
RIOS [OC]: Agnes.
AGNES: Er, yes. Hi.
RIOS [OC]: Who are you talking to?
AGNES: You. Not you you. No one.
EMH: Captain, Doctor Jurati's experiencing
AGNES: Deactivate EMH. I'm here.
RIOS [OC]: The operative terms are copy that and go ahead.

[Stardust City Bar]

RIOS: Something's not right. We may have to abort.

[La Sirena transporter alcove]

RIOS [OC]: Do you have a lock on them?
AGNES: Er, yes. Er, affirmative. It's, er, showing red.

[Stardust City Bar]

RIOS: They haven't activated the pattern enhancer yet. Let me know the instant they do.

[La Sirena transporter alcove]

AGNES: Yes. Copy. Affirmative. Er, whatever. What's going on down there?

[Stardust City Bar]

(Maddox is alive.)
BJAYZL: Are you still angry because I carved up your little friend for parts? Or is it because you trusted me? Oh, you were so noble then. Save the outcast. Rescue the forgotten. You were so easy.
SEVEN: Was I, Jay? Then how did I get away? How did I escape the great Bjayzl? A fortune in Borg tech and you lost it. You lost me. No one's ever been worth more to you than me, and I slipped right through your fingers. I'm the one that got away.
BJAYJL: Not anymore.
SEVEN: Wrong, Jay.
(She slips her manacles and grabs Bjayzl by the throat.)
SEVEN: Drop your weapons.
BJAYJL: Listen to her. Now!
(Weapons are lowered. Picard lifts his eyepatch and drops the accent.)
PICARD: What the hell is going on here?
SEVEN: I was not entirely candid with you.
PICARD: Really.
ELNOR: Are we still pretending?
PICARD: No, Elnor. I think everyone has finally stopped.
(Elnor takes Vup's weapon and covers the two women.)
PICARD: Bruce. How are you doing?
MADDOX: Picard?
BJAYZL: Picard? The famous Admiral Picard? Well, it appears you thought you were playing when you were being played, Admiral. I take it you had no awareness of Annika and my close personal relationship.
SEVEN: Shut up. (the pattern enhancer falls off) Take Maddox and go.
PICARD: What do you mean?
BJAYZL: She means to kill me. But hero to the end, our Annika, she will first save your lives.
SEVEN: Just go.
PICARD: You know, you were right. This is not saving the galaxy. This is just settling an old score.
SEVEN: You have no idea what this is.
PICARD: Well, tell me. What is it?
(She releases Bjayzl.)
SEVEN: When the rescues ended, some of us tried to help maintain order on the worlds the Federation left behind. We were based on Fenris. One of us was a young science officer on leave from the USS Coleman. He was out doing recon near Daimanta when his ship received a distress call. It turned out to be an ambush. He was the closest thing I will ever have to kin. Like me, Icheb was a former Borg, rescued and reclaimed by Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. That's why she wanted him. His parts were... good business. Bjayzl had his implants stripped out. Without anesthetic. Without even the minor mercy of death. I had met her on Fenris. She was posing as one of us, as someone trying to help. She knew about Icheb from me.
PICARD: But murder is not justice. There is no solace in revenge. You have had your humanity restored to you. Don't squander it now.
(Vup activates a concealed weapon, and Rios shoots him.)
RIOS: You guys ready to go yet?
SEVEN: Take them. Activate the pattern enhancer and get them the hell out of here.
(She throws the enhancer to Rios.)
RIOS: You got it. Revenge. I understand the impulse. But you do this, you put a bounty on all of us. I don't give a damn. But the kid and the old man, they don't stand a chance out here with a price on their heads.
BJAYZL: Your friend has a point, Annika. Let's make a trade. Maddox for my life.
RIOS: Hey, hey, hey, hey. Look at the math of it, is all I'm saying. You found her once. Odds are you'll do it again.
(Seven nods.)
PICARD: Five to beam up, Doctor. Come on.

[La Sirena transporter alcove]

AGNES: I did it. Oh, my God. Bruce.
PICARD: He's in bad shape. Exposure, dehydration. Maybe other things. Best to get him to sickbay quickly.
AGNES: I'll take care of him.
(Agnes and Elnor help Maddox.)
MADDOX: Aggie. Aggie.
PICARD: Captain Rios.
RIOS: Getting us the hell out of here, sir.
PICARD: I'm glad of the choice you made. It seems that a lift is the least I can offer you.
SEVEN: The Rangers already sent a corsair for me. It should be here by now.
PICARD: Ah.
SEVEN: But I will take two of your phasers, if that's all right. A vigilante could always use a couple more.
PICARD: Of course.
SEVEN: And in case you ever need a vigilante.
(She hands him a comms chip.)
PICARD: Thank you.
SEVEN: After they brought you back from your time in the Collective, do you honestly feel that you regained your humanity?
PICARD: Yes.
SEVEN: All of it?
PICARD: No. But we're both working on it, aren't we?
SEVEN: Every damn day of my life.
(Seven beams out.)

[Stardust City Bar]

SEVEN: Hi.
(And shoots the bodyguards. Patrons run, screaming. The pianist and bartender beam away.)
BJAYZL: Well. Frankly, I was surprised when you left. I thought you'd bet on shooting your way out.
SEVEN: I am.
BJAYZL: How sentimental of you, then. Risking your revenge while saving their lives. Almost reminds me of the Annika of old.
SEVEN: Me, too. Picard still thinks there's a place in the galaxy for mercy. I didn't want to disillusion him. Somebody out here ought to have a little hope.
BJAYZL: Like you used to have before I took it away from you.
SEVEN: Something like that. You're stalling, Jay. Your second security wave will be here in less than five seconds.
BJAYZL: Annika...
SEVEN: He was a son to me, Jay. This is for him.
(Bjayzl is phasered to atoms with the rifles Seven took from La Sirena. Security arrive.)
GUARD: Put it down!
(Seven walks towards them, firing.)

[La Sirena sickbay]

(Agnes hasa her back to them, listening.)
COMPUTER: Massive abdominal hemorrhaging. Increase clotting factor by 12 percent.
PICARD: They really worked you over.
MADDOX: Dahj is dead, isn't she?
PICARD: She found me, and then I lost her. I'm profoundly sorry.
MADDOX: When the Tal Shiar came for me... blew up my lab... I knew. Her embedded Mom AI wouldn't have activated her unless she was in grave danger.
PICARD: Bruce. Bruce. I have to know. Does she have a sister?
MADDOX: Yes. Soji.
PICARD: Soji? Where is she?
MADDOX: She's on the Artifact.
PICARD: The Artifact? You mean... Not the captured Borg cube? Why?
MADDOX: Same reason I sent her sister to Earth. To find the truth.
PICARD: The truth about what?
MADDOX: The ban. There are lies upon lies. They're hiding something.
PICARD: Who?
MADDOX: I don't know. It's the same ones who are hunting her.
PICARD: The Romulans?
MADDOX: Not just them. I think the Federation are involved. That's what I sent them to find out.
AGNES: Admiral, he's barely stable. He needs to rest.
PICARD: Understood. I'll leave you to it.

[La Sirena bridge]

RIOS: The Artifact? That's in Romulan space.
PICARD: Ah ha.
RIOS: Flying into Romulan space doubles my fee. Okay, jefe.
PICARD: Old man indeed. So are we gonna talk about our stowaway?
(Picard knocks on a door.)
PICARD: Raffi?
RAFFI [OC]: Leave me alone.
PICARD: Welcome back.

[Sickbay]

MADDOX: Aggie. I thought I was dreaming.
AGNES: It's me. I never thought I'd see you again.
MADDOX: Did... you did you see her? Did you get to meet Dahj?
AGNES: No.
MADDOX: They're perfect. Perfectly imperfect. We did it, Aggie. Soong and I. And you. Your contribution was essential.
AGNES: One more thing I have to atone for.
MADDOX: What do you mean?
(She turns off his life support.)
EMH: What is the nature of your psychiatric emergency? Your blood pressure and cortisol levels...
(Alarm sounds.)
EMH: What is the nature of your medical emergency? There's a high risk of critical organ failure unless haematic microrepair treatment is resumed
AGNES: Deactivate EMH.
MADDOX: (gasping) Aggie.
AGNES: I wish you knew what I know. I wish I didn't know what I know. I wish they hadn't shown me. I'm so sorry.
(Maddox flatlines with black veins standing out on his face.)