[SS Eleos XII]

(Dr Beverly Crusher is listening to old Enterprise logs.)
PICARD [OC] Stardate 43996.2. The Enterprise remains concealed in the dust cloud. And to my surprise, the Borg have maintained their position, waiting for us to come out of hiding. I have no explanation for their special interest in me or this ship. We continue to prepare our defences for the inevitable confrontation.
(Everything on the vessel shakes.)
COMPUTER: Warning. Security breach. Hull damage. Unauthorised docking.
CRUSHER: They found us. Eleos, activate warp drive.
COMPUTER: Stand by. Warp drive charging. Attempting power-up.
CREW: How did they find us? That's impossible.
(She seals the crewman in a small area.)
CREW [OC]: No! No, I can help!
CRUSHER: Eleos, divert all power to the warp core.
COMPUTER: Working.
CREW: Let me out! No!
CRUSHER: Get us the hell out of here.
(She arms herself.)
COMPUTER: Unauthorised docking complete. Intruder alert.
(Two aliens enter the cargo area, Crusher shoots at them.)
RIFLE: Power cell... Power cell depleted.
(The aliens flank Crusher and she gets injured. Then she makes a grab for another weapon and blasts one to atoms. She blasts a pipe and steam blinds the second. It fires wildly, then she takes it out and atomises it.)
CREW [OC]: Let me out!
CRUSHER: Eleos, update warp status.
COMPUTER: One minute, seven seconds remaining until power-up. Incoming vessel detected.
CRUSHER: More of them. Eleos, prepare to send a transmission. Subspace frequency, Myriad codec.
COMPUTER: System prepared to transmit. State your recipient.
CRUSHER: This message is for Admiral Jean-Luc Picard.
(More spaceships appear, then Eleos jumps to warp, ditching the one that had docked.)

[Chateau Picard]

(Looking at the painting of Enterprise-D over the mantlepiece.)
LARIS: First love is always the sweetest, isn't it?
PICARD: Well, she wasn't the first, but she was certainly my favourite.
LARIS: I hope she won't be offended if I send her away for a cleaning.
PICARD: You know, I didn't think they had spring-cleaning on Romulus.
LARIS: We don't. That is entirely unique to humans and their belongings.
PICARD: I want to give it to Geordi.
LARIS: Give it away? No. I was... I was just teasing you.
PICARD: Well, I know that, but he is running the Fleet Museum. He will love it! Take this painting down and pack it up, please.
MAN: Okay, sir.
LARIS: Don't you dare. You're gonna miss these things by coming with me to Chaltok IV. I feel I'm asking a lot of you.
PICARD: No, I am looking forward to it. Because while you're running around setting up diplomatic security, I'm going to sip Saurian brandy and think about writing my memoir.
LARIS: Jean-Luc, you don't need to prove to me how ready you are for this. How in-the-present you are. The past matters and that's okay.
PICARD: Laris, these things from my past... they are so dear to me. They're mementos of... dear friends, old and new. But they're memories.
LARIS: A point comes in a man's life when he looks to the past to define himself. Not just his future.
PICARD: Well, I hope that's not going to be me. I'm not a man who needs a legacy. I want a new adventure.
(Later, at night, during a storm, he hears a faint chirp.)
PICARD: Computer, do you hear that alert?
COMPUTER: Yes.
PICARD: Where is it?
COMPUTER: Unable to determine location.
PICARD: Thanks for your help. (he searches and find it) Computer, analyse.
COMPUTER: Communicator badge belonging to Jean-Luc Picard, Captain, USS Enterprise, Stardate 411...
PICARD: Yes, yes. But what could it possibly be receiving?
COMPUTER: Detecting encrypted long-range transmission via a subspace frequency. It contains an uncommon codec.
PICARD: Codec?
COMPUTER: A codec is a programme that compresses data and...
PICARD: Yes, yes. I know what a codec is. But tell me about this one.
COMPUTER: It requires a passcode.
PICARD: Why would anyone send a coded message to a more-than-20-year-old Enterprise-D communicator?
COMPUTER: Unknown.
PICARD: Myriad. Computer, try codec Myriad. Authorisation, Picard-four-seven-Alpha-Tango.
COMPUTER: Accessing. It is a recorded message.
PICARD: Here.
COMPUTER: Decrypted.
CRUSHER [on screen]: Admiral Picard, I'm encoding this transmission with coordinates.
PICARD: Beverly.
CRUSHER [on screen]: Listen to me very carefully. Hellbird. Repeat. Hellbird.
PICARD: Hellbird...
CRUSHER: And Jean-Luc, no Starfleet. Trust no one.
(Later, by the fire.)
LARIS: She's terrified. Clearly injured. You said she was a doctor, right?
PICARD: And a good one. But I haven't spoken with her for... over 20 years. And neither has any other member of the old crew. She just cut us off. So, why contact me now?
LARIS: Well, you were close once. And when you were on the Enterprise, you trusted each other with your lives. And you even tried to be lovers, didn't you?
PICARD: Tried is the operative word.
LARIS: But maybe you're the one person she still feels she can trust.
PICARD: But to say no Starfleet...?
LARIS: Okay. So, as a former intelligence operative, here's what I'm seeing. This isn't paranoia. Her fear is genuine. This is a woman out of options, and she is asking you to help. Only you. Damn it. You have to go.
PICARD: I'll be back in a few days. Maybe even less.
LARIS: Maybe even more. These are the lives we chose. There is this great bar on Chaltok IV. You can watch the sunset from it. I'll save you a seat. You mind yourself.

[10 Forward Avenue]

(Lots of model starships on display.)
RIKER: Guinan's hawking souvenirs now?
BARTENDER: It's for Frontier Day.
RIKER: How come you have so many Enterprise-Ds?
BARTENDER: Oh, the fat ones? No one wants those.
RIKER: You'd better leave the bottle. You hear that, Jean-Luc? No one wants the fat ones. That's Galaxy-class to you, young lady.
PICARD: Good to see you, Will. Look at you, a handsome elder statesman of Starfleet.
RIKER: I gotta make a speech at that Frontier thing next week. It's like a parade through space. Who wants to hear some old fart drone on about going boldly for the last 250 years?
PICARD: Yeah, I'm giving a speech too.
RIKER: And that's gonna be great.
PICARD: Yeah.
RIKER: Are you all right?
PICARD: I wouldn't have asked to meet you like this if it hadn't been very important.And I really appreciate you giving up your family time...
RIKER: Actually, Deanna and Kestra will appreciate the time away from me. How can I help?
(At a table, finishing the bottle.)
RIKER: Myriad codec. Hadn't thought about that since the good old days when we thought our comms were compromised back on Rigel VI.
PICARD: Seven. Beverly's message references these coordinates. And to trust no one with them. Plus, the word Hellbird.
RIKER: What's out there?
PICARD: Nothing at all as far as I can see. But this word, Hellbird. I have no idea what it means.
RIKER: Of course not. It was a computer virus on the Enterprise when you were incapacitated.
PICARD: Incapacitated? Locutus. The Borg, of course.
RIKER: They scrambled our navigational system and arbitrarily added 3 to every digit.
PICARD: I knew that I called you for a reason.
RIKER: And adding to every digit gives us these new coordinates. The Ryton system.
PICARD: Ryton system? That's outside Federation space.
RIKER: Perfect place to hide. But from what? What the hell has Beverly gotten herself into?
PICARD: In all the years I have known her, I've never seen her so frightened. No, terrified.
RIKER: Jean-Luc, why did she cut everyone off? Me, Deanna and Geordi. There had to be a reason.
PICARD: Will, I need to find a ship.
RIKER: We need to find a ship. And we can't charter one. Too far, too dangerous.
PICARD: No. I can't ask you to put yourself in danger.
RIKER: Since when? Besides, aren't we a little overdue for a good old-fashioned road trip?
PICARD: Well, we can't go to Starfleet. She made that clear.
RIKER: I think I may have a work-around. Come on.
(Their exit is observed.)

[M'Talas Prime, District Six]

(Very Bladerunner.)
TOUT: We got it. Come get it here. Our guest...
CLUBBER Over here, huh, daddy?
GAMBLER: Hit me again.
MAN: Hey. Watch it, freak. I'm not your dealer.
PERSON: Come on over here, baby.
DEALER: I got your various drugs. What do you want?
(A cloaked figure sits at a bar.)
ORION: Two days in a row? I'd tell you to get your life together...
COMPUTER: Transaction complete! Thank you for your patronage!
ORION: ..but then I'd lose my best customer.
(His customer injects the substance.)
RAFFI: Listen. You can help me. You hear things, huh? You're like the all-knowing oracle of the underworld and shit, right? I know... I'm a little strung out, yeah. My girlfriend left me. I fell off. Again. Now... I'm out. I'm out of Starfleet. I know I could get back in. Look, I hear things too. Like shit stolen from Daystrom off-site station. Experimental quantum tunneling tech that in the wrong hands could be a weapon. I'm talking world-ending shit. Now if... if I could bring Starfleet a tip on that... I know I could get back in. You hear anything like that?
ORION: You're crazier than I thought. Beat it.
RAFFI: But if I could bring something to Starfleet... Ow!
ORION: Not that.
RAFFI: All right, thanks.
COMPUTER: Additional funds available!
ORION: Where'd you get all this coin?
RAFFI: I'm all in, man. It's all I got.
ORION: Guess I can't expect a junkie to know when to quit.
COMPUTER: Transaction complete! Thank you for your patronage!
ORION: I heard something's going down with the Red Lady. That's all I got.
RAFFI: The Red Lady? Okay. Okay. Yeah. Is that, like, a buyer or... Ah!
ORION: Stop asking questions, or we're both gonna end up dead. Now go. And I don't want to see your face around here again.
(She leaves.)
RAFFI: Starfleet Intelligence Officer Commander Raffi Musiker on a secure channel. Requesting a debriefing, and more money.

[Travel pod]

PICARD: I'm not sure about this plan.
RIKER: Because it's not really a plan. It's a ruse.
PICARD: Yeah. That's the part I don't like.
RIKER: You and I are two highly ranked members of Starfleet doing a routine surprise inspection.
PICARD: We could be court-martialed for this. You could lose everything you've worked for. RIKER Only if we get caught. You gotta sell this. Come on, Admiral. Show me your inspection face. Give me one of those rigid, disapproving, sour expressions you're famous for. There it is.
SPACEDOCK OFFICER [OC]: Captain Riker, you are cleared for approach in the starboard bay.
RIKER: Hello, beautiful.
TITAN OFFICER [OC]: Admiral Picard, Captain Riker. Welcome to the Titan. Initiate docking sequence.
PICARD: We're going on the Titan, your old command.
RIKER: It's the only sway I've got. It's the new refit. Neo-Constitution-class. Now, the fleet's gonna be dispersing for exercises in preparation for Frontier Day, and that should give us a little freedom to operate. The captain, Shaw, he's gonna need some convincing.
PICARD: Of what?
RIKER: Beverly's coordinates are just outside Federation space, so we've gotta con him into changing course and take us to the border.
PICARD: Then we'll take a shuttle from there?
RIKER: Captain Shaw's not going to like that either.
TITAN OFFICER 2 [OC]: Captain, you're clear to land on Pad 6.
PICARD: I don't know him.
RIKER: Yeah, he's not a friendly face. The first officer, on the other hand, I think you'll recognise.

[Corridor]

PICARD: Permission to come aboard, Commander.
SEVEN: Permission granted, sirs.
TANNOY: Ensign Brookes, report to phaser auxiliary...
PICARD: This is Captain William Riker. Will, this is Seven of Nine...
SEVEN: Commander Annika Hansen, sir. Captain Shaw prefers that I use Hansen, Admiral. Welcome to the Titan.
TANNOY: All hands, prepare to leave Spacedock at 1930 hours.
(Picard adjusts the angle of one of the guard of honour's comm-badges.)
TANNOY: Starboard sensor array will reinitialise in ten minutes.
SEVEN: Your visit came as quite a surprise, but I'm sure you'll find everything up to inspection standards. Captain Shaw is catching up on some logs at the moment, but he's requested your presence for dinner tonight.
RIKER: Terrific.
SEVEN: If I were you, I'd lower my expectations.

[Titan bridge]

SEVEN: Admiral on the bridge.
RIKER: Ahem.
SEVEN: And captain on the bridge.
PICARD: At ease.
RIKER: Mmm-mmm. It's got that new ship smell.
(One officer is wearing a broad grin.)
PICARD: Is there something wrong with that ensign?
SEVEN: Ensign LaForge, eyes on your station.
PICARD: LaForge? Sidney LaForge.
LAFORGE: It's been a long time, sirs.
RIKER: Geordi said you always wanted to be a pilot. Said you were a bit of a speed demon. Didn't you have a nickname at the Academy?
PICARD: Will.
LAFORGE: Er, I can't recall.
RIKER: Crash LaForge. Because you crashed a shuttle.
LAFORGE: Er, I... I was a cadet.
RIKER: Twice.
LAFORGE: Oh...
PICARD: Well, it's good to see you again, Ensign.
SEVEN: Comms, get me the dock master.
COMMS: Control tower reading, Commander.
SEVEN: Spacedock, this is Titan. Requesting permission to depart.
SPACEDOCK OFFICER 2 [OC]: Permission granted. Opening starboard doors.
SEVEN: All hands, prepare to leave Spacedock.
TANNOY: All hands, to your stations.
SEVEN: Sir, I'm awaiting your orders to take us out.
PICARD: Why don't you do us the honour, Commander Hansen?
SEVEN: Aye, sir. Helm, you may clear all moorings.
LAFORGE: All moorings cleared. Readings looking good. Green across the board.
SEVEN: Aft thrusters, one quarter impulse power.
LAFORGE: Aye, Commander. Aft thrusters, one quarter impulse power.
(They glide out of Spacedock.)
SEVEN: All stations, prepare for maximum warp.
MURA: All engines online. Priming deflector shields for warp.
PICARD: Er, don't you think you should alert engineering that we're going to warp 9.99?
SEVEN: That's no longer protocol on the newer models of the fleet. It's all automated now.
PICARD: Ah, of course. You're gonna be a captain before you know it, Commander Hansen.
RIKER: Excellent recovery, Admiral.
PICARD: Shut it, Will.
MURA: Metaphasic shields at the ready.
LAFORGE: Sensors optimal and standing by for warp.
SEVEN: Engage.

[Captain's dining room]

(Shaw is already eating and drinking.)
SEVEN: Captain Shaw, sir. May I present Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and Captain William Riker.
SHAW: Gentlemen, please. Come join. And, Hansen, there really is no need for intros.
PICARD: I apologise, Captain. Are we late?
SHAW: Hardly. It's just your reputation preceded you so far into the room that I started early.
PICARD: Ah. Well, as a token of appreciation for your hospitality, please accept...
SHAW: Oh, Chateau Picard. That is... That is terrific. I'm much more of a Malbec man myself. Captain Riker, I take you for somewhat of a bourbon-ista.
RIKER: I enjoy the occasional old-fashioned. What gave you that idea? All the bebop that I had to purge from the system when I took the chair. Speaks to your freewheeling, loosey-goosey Kentucky mash kind of style.
RIKER: Not a fan of jazz.
SHAW: Mmm. No, I am not. I like structure. I like meter. I like keeping tempo and time, which is why you will probably find this inspection boring for the likes of you two.
RIKER: It's just all in advance of the fleet exercises for Frontier Day.
SHAW: Oh.
PICARD: Ensuring the condition of our starships would be boring?
SHAW: Well, we won't be blowing things up, taking or engaging in fire, crash-landing expectedly or unexpectedly. You know, the usual for you boys. Nope. You will find our engines pristine, our hull intact. And you run your finger on pretty much any given surface here, you're gonna find it dust-free.
PICARD: No doubt. Indeed. Which is why Captain Riker and I would like to change course.
SHAW: Where?
RIKER: The Ryton system.
SHAW: That's at the edge of Federation space in the opposite direction of our intended course. Twice the time.
RIKER: At half warp. Double the speed, it's an even split.
SHAW: And why would we do that?
RIKER: Bragging rights. You'd show the efficiency of the new Titan. It's a great story for Frontier Day. It's the current, former captain, putting it through the paces. Run a little coal through the engine...
SHAW: Yeah.
PICARD: And then final engineering inspection at Deep Space 4.
SHAW: DS4 has been shut down for a year.
SEVEN: I believe the admiral means DS11. Correct?
PICARD: Mmm, ah. Yes, of course. Eleven, yes.
SHAW: No.
PICARD: No?
SHAW: No. I have kept this train running for five years, 36 missions. You don't get where you're told to go by standing in front of it and then moving the track.
PICARD: Respectfully, Captain, I am an admiral...
SHAW: Retired. Congrats on that.
RIKER: But I'm still a captain.
SHAW: Without a chair. Titan's mine now. I'm really sorry, fellas. I love you. I do. I love reading about all your wildly exciting and equally irresponsible adventures, but I have orders that come down from actual officers whose pay grade are far above all of ours so... request denied.
SEVEN: Sir, I'm sure if I spoke with LaForge, we could make up the time.
SHAW: Hansen. Your loyalty lies with this ship, not to old friends, former ex-Borg.
RIKER: That's enough, Captain.
SHAW: Yeah. Thank you for the parting punctuation. I'm headed to my quarters. Hansen, you have the conn. Gentlemen, I hope you find your room accommodations suitable. They were the best we could do on such short notice.
(Shaw leaves.)
RIKER: That went well.

[Corridor]

PICARD: Every moment that we're not en route for the Ryton system, my concern for Beverly grows.
RIKER: How do we pivot?
PICARD: Short of mutiny? I'm at a loss.
(Seven has overheard them.)

[M'Talas Prime - La Sirena]

(Raffi looks at holo of her daughter.)
RAFFI: Good morning, sweet girl.
(She opens a channel designated Operation: Daybreak.)
COMPUTER: Secure channel open.
RAFFI: So, is my handler here this time, or are you gonna flake out on me again?
TEXT: I am here.
RAFFI: I haven't found anything on the Red Lady. Not as a buyer or a seller. Who is she?
TEXT: Unknown.
RAFFI: Oh, that's really helpful as usual. Thanks. I'm re-requesting a face-to-face to confirm.
TEXT: Denied.
RAFFI: Look, we both work with Starfleet, so we can...
TEXT: Denied.
RAFFI: Why are we doing this if you can't help me, huh? I...
TEXT: Speak freely.
RAFFI: I'm spiraling here. I've been under for months, trying to figure out who stole these goddamn experimental weapons from Daystrom Station and why. The Orion gave me the Red Lady, but I don't know if it's a person or an organisation. But the one thing I do know is that I spend every second of every day terrified with the thought that someone is going to use this weapon to hurt people. And... and to top it off... .. you have no idea how hard it is to be in this world.
TEXT: I do.
(Raffi's Starfleet Service Record comes up. #72-6359211. It's not good reading.)
RAFFI: Well, as far as mysterious handlers go, you're very detail-oriented.
TEXT: This stolen weapon is an act of war. You are a warrior. I suspect an imminent attack. Find the Red Lady.

[Titan crew bunks]

PICARD: This is utterly humiliating.
RIKER: Yes, it is. Reminds me of my cadet days. Only I don't remember having to get up to pee this much.
PICARD: The last time I saw Beverly... the way we left it... it was not on the best of terms. I never believed for a moment that it would be over 20 years before we...
RIKER: None of us did.
PICARD: What if it's already too late, Will?
LAFORGE [OC]: Admiral Picard, Captain Riker, please report to Observation.

[Observation]

SEVEN: Good evening, sirs. I apologise for interrupting your sleep.
PICARD: What is it?
SEVEN: Permission to speak freely, sir?
PICARD: Go ahead.
SEVEN: You're gonna tell me what the hell you two are really doing here, or I'm about to throw both of you out an airlock and never look back.
RIKER: Watch it, Commander. Is that how you speak to an admiral?
SEVEN: It's how I speak to a friend.
PICARD: All right. I received a coded distress call from Beverly Crusher, former doctor on the Enterprise.
SEVEN: I know who she is.
RIKER: She's wounded. She said, trust no one, including Starfleet.
PICARD: We didn't want you to become complicit, jeopardise your career.
SEVEN: My career. When I was a Ranger, things were much... simpler. Trust my instincts, bring justice to an unjust universe. But then you... you and Janeway convinced me to join Starfleet. I thought this could be the right path for me, I thought... I thought I could one day inspire people to follow me, even if it's dangerous, the way that you do.
PICARD: I can see that you're struggling, but I still think that you're in the right place.
SEVEN: Huh. How can I inspire when all I do is take shit from someone like Shaw? How am I supposed to just ignore my gut, ignore my instincts, just to follow orders?
PICARD: If you find that answer, will you let me know? Because I never did.
LAFORGE [OC]: Commander, we're dropping out of warp.
SEVEN: Come with me.

[Bridge]

SEVEN: Ensign LaForge, viewer on.
RIKER: You disobeyed orders.
SEVEN: Welcome to the Ryton system, gentlemen. The edge of Federation space. We detected a vessel running at the lowest-possible power levels approximately kilometres inside the nebula's outermost edge. The nebula's properties are interfering with our ability to scan for lifeforms.
RIKER: Commander, you understand the consequences of what you've done for us?
SEVEN: In four minutes, and I mean four, the ensign guarding Shuttle 3 will be called away. Understand?
RIKER: Got it.
PICARD: Thank you, Seven.

[Shaw's quarters]

(He wakes to see the nebula outside his windows.)
SHAW: What the hell is this?

[Bridge]

SHAW: Someone wanna tell me what the hell I am looking at?
SEVEN: This is the Ryton system, sir.
SHAW: Esmar, lock this ship down. And where the hell are Riker and Picard?
LAFORGE: Er, sir? We have an unauthorised launch from Shuttlebay 3.
SHAW: Son of a bitch.

[Shuttle]

RIKER: I like that Seven.
PICARD: Uh huh.

[Bridge]

SHAW: This was you. You just loyaltied your way to the end of a career. I want a full report. The ins and outs of everything they just did.

[La Sirena]

RAFFI: Damn it! Computer, check Red Lady as... I don't know, the name of a vessel.
COMPUTER: This will be your 23rd search attempt.
RAFFI: I know. Red Lady, a vessel docked in the Rigel system. Red Lady, former member of the Tal Shiar, deceased 200 days ago at the hands of her father.
RAFFI: Okay. Maybe... maybe the Red Lady isn't a buyer or a seller or a ship, but maybe... a target. Show me all big events coming up in the next few months. No. Oh, my God.
(Rachel Garrett Statue Dedication Ceremony.)
RAFFI: Chart a course to District 7, now. Go!

[District Seven]

RAFFI: Computer, engage autopilot, and open a channel.
COMPUTER: Autopilot engaged.
RAFFI: District 7, I'm requesting to speak with Starfleet personnel. Starfleet Recruitment, I need to speak with a security official. I believe you're under imminent threat of a terror1st attack. I need to speak with someone immediately!
(The entire building crumbles into the a wormhole that opens up underneath it.)
RAFFI: No.
(Then a wormhole opens up in the atmosphere and drops the building's remains nearby.)

[Shuttle]

COMPUTER: Vessel outside of sensor range.
RIKER: Hell of a view.
PICARD: The kind we spent half a lifetime chasing.
RIKER: And the other half missing the chase.
PICARD: Will, are you enjoying this?
RIKER: 'Course not. Are you?
COMPUTER: Vessel in range of sensors.
RIKER: Scanning. Exterior shows phaser scorches. Warp core damage. Some affected systems are running at half power.
PICARD: Lifesigns?
RIKER: The nebula's interfering with the sensors. I'm picking up one for sure. Maybe more. It's hard to tell.
PICARD: I'm uploading Beverly's last-known Starfleet medical profile. Comparing.
COMPUTER: Biosigns identical.
PICARD: It's her.
COMPUTER: Warning. Detecting critical lifesigns.
RIKER: Pulse-ox and her respiratory are dangerously low. She needs help. And whoever's there with her.
PICARD: Friend... or foe.
(The shuttle docks with Eleos.)
COMPUTER: Please stand by for decontamination cycle.
PICARD: Adrenaline rush.
RIKER: From fear, or the thought of seeing Beverly?
PICARD: Both.
RIKER: Terrific. Your hands are stiff and my knees are killing me. So long we as we don't have to move or shoot, we should be fine.
COMPUTER: Decontamination cycle complete.
RIKER: Ready?
PICARD: As ever.

[SS Eleos]

RIKER: This music.
PICARD: Huh. It's a compilation of classics I created for Beverly, in lieu of wine and roses.
RIKER: Captain.
PICARD: Eh?
RIKER: Old habits. Here.
PICARD: Phaser fire. There must have been two, maybe three assailants. That smell.
RIKER: Delorium gas. From that breach, created as a distraction? Kill shot, straight down. Cool, efficient. Doesn't sound like the Beverly I know.
PICARD: No. She'd only do that defensively.
RIKER: Have you ever seen ashes like this from phaser fire?
PICARD: No. Very peculiar. I'll check the bridge.
(Someone is pointing a weapon at Riker's back.)

[Eleos bridge]

(Picard wipes the frost from a cryochamber.)
PICARD: Beverly. Number One, she's here. I am Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, and the man you're holding hostage is Captain William Riker. Now lower your weapon. We're here to help you.
JACK: What makes you think I want your help?
PICARD: Beverly is clearly wounded, and given that the controls for the med-pod are on the outside, someone must have helped her inside. Somebody who cared for her.
(Jack powers down his phaser, and Riker elbows him in the face.)
RIKER: Give me that!
PICARD: I should have realised that Beverly would never call out halfway across the galaxy in order to save only herself.
RIKER: Then who's this?
JACK: Her son.
COMPUTER: Warp field destabilised.
JACK: Well, chaps, I have to say you're doing a piss-poor job of saving anything.
COMPUTER: Proximity alert.
JACK: No.
COMPUTER: Unknown vessel approaching.
JACK: You just led them straight to us. Eleos. Warp status. They found us on Sarnia, we ran. Then Kaphar, then Exo-Port. Each time they had different faces.
COMPUTER: Shields off-line. Warning. Damage to warp core detected.
JACK: Damn it. They must have followed you here.
RIKER: The hell is going on?
JACK: We're being hunted.
PICARD: By whom?
COMPUTER: Forward blast doors retracting.
JACK: See for yourself.
(A massive, pointy-claws starship comes out of the nebula.)

For Annie