Jean-Luc Picard

"You know, your voice does this funny little thing when you say her name. Who is she, anyhow?"

"Oh, no one of importance"

"Thanks for that. Now I know what it looks like when you lie"

"Picard! Adam Soong. I believe we have a friend in common. A Mister Q"

"He's not a friend"

"That's what he said about you."

"You're Renée Picard, astronaut of the Europa Mission. You must be capable of such great things to have come this far."

"You remind me a bit of my mother. She, too, loved the stars. And she, too... struggled."

"Sometimes fear is a friendly reminder you're not ready for something."

"No. Fear is fear. It doesn't speak in riddles. Fear means you're smart. You understand the risks."

"So, what are you afraid of?"

"I don't know where I would begin."

"And you found a way to live with it?"

"I found that even in the darkest circumstances, there is a light. Sometimes, only a glimmer. Trust that light. Find a way back, no matter what it takes."

"Your mother... was very lucky to have you."

"I know a haunted man when I see one. The things we hold onto. The pieces of emotional shrapnel that drive us all our lives."

"And now, for my truth. I am Human but I am from the future, the 25th century to be precise. And I am here to save Earth. To save the entire galaxy, in fact. But to do so, it seems… I need your help."

"I remember now. In a cloudy moment of extreme melancholy, my mother hung herself here in this place. And for all I've lived, all I've seen and done, I suppose this is the moment I've kept myself from remembering."

"I never fit, you know? Nothing stuck. I mean, I was living alone on a cargo ship with five holographic versions of myself. Not very encouraging. But then, I met you. I never had a family in any real way. You changed all that. All of you did. This is where I belong. Jean-Luc… I'm home."

"Make a good future."

"You just saved billions of lives."

"That was the idea, mister."

"Let's see what's out there..."

"The search for knowledge is always our primary mission."

"There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute. Even life itself is an exercise in exceptions."

"Let the dead rest, and the past remain the past."

"Bok. Where is Bok?"

"Removed from command, sir, and placed under guard for his act of personal vengeance. Seems there was no profit in it."

"In revenge, there never is."

"If it feels awkward to be reminded that Data is a machine, just remember that we are merely a different variety of machine, in our case electrochemical in nature."

"The quest for youth, number one; so futile. Age and wisdom have their graces too."

"I wonder if one doesn't have to have age and wisdom to appreciate that, sir?"

"Things are only impossible until they are not."

"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 disasterous."

"I am a skin of evil left here by a race of Titans who believed if they rid themselves of me, they would free the bonds of destructiveness."

"Yes. So here you are. Feeding on your own loneliness. Consumed by your own pain. Believing your own lies."

"You say you are true evil? Let me tell you what true evil is. It is to submit to you. It is when we surrender our freedom, our dignity, instead of defying you."

"Enough of this self indulgence."

"I am never critical of any member of my staff being curious."

"And Doctor. God knows I'm not one to discourage you, but... but I would appreciate it if you would let me finish my sentances once in a while."

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

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

"Well, they say if you travel far enough you will eventually meet yourself. Having experienced that, Number One, it's not something I would care to repeat."

"You see, the prime directive has many different functions. Not the least of which is to protect us, to prevent us from allowing our emotions to overwhelm our judgement."

"Your whisper from the dark has now become a plea. We cannot turn our backs."

"He has brought a child onto my ship, and on my bridge!"

"Sometimes, Number One, you just have to bow to the absurd."

"Sir. I suggest Commander Riker or Data would better serve Special Emissary K'Ehleyr."

"Are there any personal reasons you don't want the assignment?"

"Yes."

"Any professional reasons?

"No."

"I withdraw my request, Captain."

"Good."

"Lieutenant, I order you to relax!"

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

"Please. Get up. Get up! You must not kneel to me."

"You do not wish it?"

"I do not deserve it."

"Perhaps one day, my people will travel above the skies?"

"Of that I have absolutely no doubt."

"Commander, both our ships are ready to fight. We have two extremely powerful and destructive arsenals at our command. Our next actions will have serious repercussions. We have reason to mistrust one another but even better reason to set those differences aside. Of course, the question is, who will take the initiative? Who will make the first gesture of trust? The answer is... I will."

"You already betrayed your people, Admiral! You made your choices sir! You're a traitor! Now if the bitter taste of that is unpalatable to you I am truly sorry, but I will not risk my crew because you think you can dance on the edge of the Neutral Zone. You crossed over, Admiral. You make yourself comfortable with that."

"In your own words, this is not our affair. We cannot interfere in the natural course of your society's development. And I'd say it's going to develop significantly in the next few minutes."

"Dr. Apgar killed himself – during his attempt to kill Commander Riker."

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

"That'll be the day..."

"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 am his captain."

"I fail to understand how a five-foot android with heuristic learning systems and the strength of ten men could be called a child."

"This is not your world, human. You do not command here."

"I'm not here to command."

"Then you must be ready to fight. Something that Starfleet doesn't teach you."

"You may test that assumption at your convenience."

"You admit the truth and yet expect him to accept punishment? What does this say of an Empire who holds honour so dear?!"

"This is not the Federation, Picard. If you defy an order of the High Council, the alliance with the Federation could fall to dust."

"The alliance with the Federation is not based on lies, K'mpec! Protect your secrets if you must, but you will not sacrifice these men!"

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

"And now that you have had a taste of captivity, perhaps you will reconsider the morality of inflicting it upon others. In any event, we now know about your race and we know how to imprison you. Bear that in mind. Now get off my ship."

"Tell me, Number One, is the entire crew aware of this little scheme to send me off on holiday?"

"I believe there are two ensigns stationed on deck thirty nine who know nothing about it."

"The Horga'hn is the Risian symbol of sexuality. To own one is to call forth it powers. To display it is to announce you are seeking Jamaharon."

"Riker..."

"Do you seek Jamaharohn?"

"I don't even know what it means. The Horga'hn is for a friend."

"I see. Someone close to you?"

"That's right."

"Someone you love?"

"I wouldn't go that far."

"It's just that I prefer to be acquainted with the women that I kiss."

"Still think I'm trouble?"

"I'm sure of it."

"A simple handshake would have sufficed."

"He was at the university on Betazed when I studied psychology there."

"Oh, I see. He was a colleague of yours."

"No. He was a patient"

"Tam, when you reached out to the alien, to warn it, did you give any thought to this vessel? To the danger, however inadvertent, that creature might pose to our crew? Or did you simply react out of instinct?"

"I look forward to your report, Mister Broccoli." Picard looks stricken as he realises what he just said. "Barclay."

"He was a man. Take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again."

"All this magnificent technology, we still find ourselves susceptible to the ravages of old age. The loss of dignity, the slow betrayal of our bodies by forces we cannot master."

"NO! It is... it is... wrong! It is WRONG! A lifetime of discipline is washed away, and in its place... Bedlam! BEDLAM! I am so old... there is nothing left but dry bones and dead friends. Oh, tired. Oh, so tired. "

"Perrin... Amanda... I wanted to give you so much more. I wanted to show you such tenderness! But that is not our way. Spock, Amanda, did you know? Perrin, can you know how much I love you? I do love you!"

"Gentlemen, I have the utmost confidence in your ability to perform the impossible."

"In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes, for they in thee a thousand errors see. But 'tis my heart that loves what they despise, who in despite of view are please'd to dote. Shall I compare the to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate!"

"The Academy must make you wait, that's true. But, when I review your service to this ship, your crewmates, I cannot in all conscience make you wait for the Academy. You see, Wesley, in my eyes you're an acting ensign in title only. I hereby grant you field promotion to full Ensign, with all the commensurate responsibilities and privileges of that rank. Congratulations."

"Listen, Tog, I must possesses Lwaxana. And if that means destroying your ship in the process, so be it!"

"Mr. Worf, dispatch a subspace message to Admiral Hanson. We have engaged the Borg."

"You're probably not aware of this, but I have never been particularly comfortable around children."

"...really?"

"Lieutenant, you are a member of this crew and you will not go into hiding whenever a Klingon vessel uncloaks!"

"Mister Worf, the Enterprise crew currently includes representatives from thirteen planets. They each have their individual beliefs and values, and I respect them all. But they have all chosen to serve Starfleet. If anyone cannot perform his or her duty because of the demands of their society, they should resign. Do you wish to resign?"

"Wesley, you remember... I was always proud of you."

"To many Humans, a mystery is irresistable. It must be solved."

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

"With the first link the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied... chains us all irrevocably."

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

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

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

"Your discommendation is a facade to protect less honourable men. It is a lie. Lies must be challenged."

"K'Tal, this Council knows the law of heredity well. G'now juk Hol pajhard. A son shall share in the honours or crimes of his father. Toral is Duras' son. That has been established by the genetic scan. But with due respect to the traditions and laws of this High Council, there is no basis for accepting a petition for leadership from a boy who has fought no battles, shed no blood for his people, or earned no honour for himself. One day, perhaps he shall. But not now. Duras is dead. His claim to the leadership died with him. Gowron shall lead the Council."

"Mister Worf, your responsibilities as a Starfleet officer are incompatible with remaining on board a Klingon ship during a time of war."

"Captain."

"I order you to return to duty at once."

"Then I resign my commission as a Starfleet officer."

"The claim 'I was only following orders' has been used to justify too many tragedies in our history."

"The Tamarian was willing to risk all of us, just for the hope of communication, connection. Now the door is open between our peoples. That commitment meant more to him than his own life."

"Doctor, the sperm whale on Earth devours millions of cuttlefish as it roams the oceans. It is not evil, it is feeding. The same may be true of the entity."

"Father and son, both proud, both stubborn, more alike than either of them are prepared to admit. A lifetime spent building emotional barriers, they're very difficult to break down. And now the time has come when it is too late. It's a difficult moment. It's a lonely one."

"In your own way you are as stubborn as another captain of the Enterprise I once knew."

"Then I am in good company, sir."

"Of course you know the Prime Directive, which tells us that we have no right to interfere in the natural evolution of alien worlds. Now, I have sworn to uphold it, but nevertheless I have disregarded that directive on more than one occasion... because I thought it was the right thing to do."

"Earth was once a violent planet too. At times, the chaos threatened the very fabric of life. But like you, we evolved. We found better ways to handle our conflicts. But I think noone can deny that the seed of violence remains within each of us, We must recognise that, because that violence is capable of consuming each of us."

"I feel as though I've been handed a weapon, sent into a room, and told to shoot a stranger. Well, I need some moral context to justify that action. And I don't have it. I am not content simply to obey orders. I need to know that what I am doing is right."

"Captain, perhaps you should come aboard my ship. There's something we need to discuss."

"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth."

"You had to work side by side with her for days. How could you resist her?"

"Ambassador, have a safe trip home."

"Because it's been given a name by a member of my crew, doesn't mean it's not a Borg. Because it's young, doesn't mean that it's innocent. It is what it is, and in spite of efforts to turn it into some kind of pet I will not alter my plans!"

"He's not what I expected, Captain. He's got feelings. He's homesick. I don't know. It just doesn't seem right using him this way."

"Centuries ago, when laboratory animals were used for experiments, scientists would sometimes become attached to the creatures. This would a problem if the experiment involved killing them. I would suggest that you unattach yourself from the Borg, Mister La Forge."

"You cannot explain away a wantonly immoral act because you think that it is connected to some higher purpose."

"You may be nearly omnipotent, and I don't deny that your parlour tricks are very impressive, but morality? I don't see it. I would put Human morality against the Q's any day. And perhaps that's the reason why we fascinate you so..."

"He's my number one dad!"

"There... are... four... lights!"

"But who knows? Our reality may be very much like theirs and all this might just be an elaborate simulation running inside a little device sitting on someone's table."

"Governor, we are merely exploring all the possibilities. Lieutenant Uhnari's logs reported that Commander Morag had been harassing the station."

"He was doing his job."

"If he was only doing his job, then I'm sure you won't mind if we spoke with him."

"Very well. In the interests of diplomacy, I will allow you to speak to Morag. But my patience has limits!"

"You are a culture of one. Which is no less valid than a culture of one billion."

"It's a small ship Mott, I don't think there's going to be room for both of us."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll send your regrets."

"I've lost people under my command, people who were very dear to me, but never someone I've been in love with. And when I believed you were dead, I just began to shut down. I didn't want to think or feel. I was here, in my quarters, and the only thing I could focus on was my music... and how it would never again give me any joy."

"We can't go back to the Borg Collective... and we no longer have a leader here."

"I'm not sure that's true."

"Geordi? I'm very sorry that you didn't find your mother."

"Thank you, sir. You know, it's funny. When I was down there, it was so real. I felt like I had a chance to say goodbye."

"What's wrong, commander? You having second thoughts about betraying your comrades? 'Cause that's what you've done

"I don't know. How did that feel?"

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave."

"You were right, Tallera. The resonator cannot be stopped by phasers and shields… but it can be defeated by peace."

"I've just received a message from Starfleet Command."

"Bad news?"

"You could say that. I've been invited to the annual Starfleet admirals' banquet."

"My condolences."

"I wouldn't want to sacrifice the safety of the ship."

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

"Well, it seems as if we're stuck with each other."

"I didn't know you felt that way."

"Didn't you?"

"Why didn't you ever tell me you were in love with me?"

"You were married to my best friend."

"Now that we know how each of us feels, perhaps we should not be afraid to explore those feelings."

"Or perhaps we should be afraid. I think I should be going now. Good night."

"Good night."

"You know, Geordi, I spent the better part of my life exploring space. I've charted new worlds, I've met dozens of new species, and I believe that these were all valuable ends in themselves. Now it seems that... all this while, I was... helping to damage the thing that I hold most dear."

"It won't turn out that way, Captain. We still have time to make it better."

"Captain Picard Day?"

"Oh uh…Yes it's a… it's it's for the children. I'm a… (nervous chuckle) I'm a role model."

"I'm sure you are. Starfleet out."

"Oh, you'll be interested to know that I've arranged for a Commander Riker Day next month. I'm even considering making an entry myself."

"Great..."

"Sir, may I suggest you take this up with Admiral Pr…"

"I'm taking this up with you, Will! The Judge Advocate thought that you were participating in a conspiracy to cover up the truth!"

"That's what it's about... a cloaking device. In the Treaty of Algeron, the Federation specifically agreed not to develop cloaking technology."

"And that treaty is the biggest mistake we ever made! Its kept us from exploiting a vital area of defense!"

"That treaty has kept us in peace for sixty years! And as a Starfleet officer, you're supposed to uphold it."

"Now that's enough! I'm taking command of this vessel! Mr. Worf, escort the captain to his quarters!"

"I don't think anyone's going to come to your defense this time."

"I have a lot of friends at Starfleet Command, Captain!"

"You're going to need them."

"This is one of those times when we must face the ramifications of the Prime Directive and honor those lives which we cannot save."

"I find no honor in this whatsoever, Captain."

"In my years as a Starfleet captain, I've had to… notify many parents of the loss of loved ones but never before to suicide."

"Well… before I begin swinging through the ship, looking for breakfast, we need to find some answers."

"Well, good luck, Mister… good luck, Wesley."

"Thank you… for a lot of things."

"You'll never look at your hairline the same way again."

"Yes, yes, Data. I know about the Orient Express but what is it doing on Prospero's island?"

"I should have done this a long time ago."

"You were always welcome."

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

"Space, the final frontier these are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission..."

"...to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations..."

"...to boldly go where no man has gone before."

"Ah, Captain. You must think I'm quite the madman."

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Somehow I doubt this ship will be the last to carry the name 'Enterprise'."

"They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Well no further... the line must be drawn here... and I will make them pay for what they've done!"

"You want to destroy the ship and run away, you coward!"

"If you were any other man, I would kill you where you stand!"

"Actually, I think you are the bravest man I've ever known."

"And he piled upon the whale's white hump, the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it."

"Jean-Luc, we're only moving six hundred people!"

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

"The B-4 is physically identical to me, although his neural pathways are not as advanced. But even if they were, he would not be me."

"How can you be sure?"

"I aspire, sir. To be better than I am. The B-4 does not. Nor does Shinzon."

"Will Riker, you have been my trusted right arm for fifteen years. You have helped keep my course true and steady. Deanna Troi, you have been my conscience and guide. You have helped me to recognize the best parts of myself. You are my family. And in maritime tradition, I wish you clear horizons... my friends, make it so."

"The Son'a... the Borg... the Romulans... you always get the easy assignments."

"Just lucky, I guess."

"Because it was no longer Starfleet! We withdrew. The galaxy was mourning, burying its dead, and Starfleet had slunk from its duties. The decision to call off the rescue and to abandon those people we had sworn to save was not just dishonourable. It was downright criminal!"

"Picard, P-I-C-A-R-D, Jean-Luc"

"Ah, you have a taste for the classics, I see."; holding a copy of The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov.

"I never really cared for science fiction... I guess I just didn't get it."

"Engage"

"One impossible thing at a time"

"Are we still pretending?"

"No Elnor, I think everyone has finally stopped."

"Elnor, I told you to stay on the ship."

"Yes. I didn't listen."

"Thank you."

"I'm not as brave as I used to be, Jean-Luc."

"Then you're getting wiser."

"Commander Riker and I served together on the USS Enterprise."

"And you were the greatest captain ever, I heard."

"The greatest captain ever? Where'd you get that nonsense?"

"From you."

"From me? I must have been drinking at the time."

"That's a hell of a report."

"And you thought I was a desperate old man. Quixotic, paranoid, possibly senile..."

"Let's just leave it at 'quixotic'."

"And now the windmills have turned out to be giants."

"You want an apology?"

"I want a squadron."

"Jean-Luc..."

"Clancy! Out there, in the Vayt system, right now, beings who have as much right to life and liberty as you and I or Commander Data are being hunted down by an enemy who seeks to exterminate them..."

"Jean-Luc!"

"No, Clancy. If you say this is not a job for Starfleet, then I'm sorry, but you are a waste of space!"

"Admiral Picard, with all due respect and at long last, shut the fuck up. I'm sending a squadron to rendezvous with you at DS12. Now stay put until they get there."

"One more thing, I have a brain abnormality. I've known for years. I never had any symptoms, so I never thought much about it. However, just before we left the Earth, I learned that my condition was more acute. The prognosis was terminal, and there is no effective treatment. There will be no further discussion. Anyone who treats me like a dying man will run the risk of pissing me off. Is that clear?"

"I take it my face looks familiar."

"I feel as if I'm looking at Data."

"Data if he had gotten old and gone soft. Must be disturbing. I know it is for me. Doctor Altan Inigo Soong, mad scientist. My father had me, but he created Data... a fact he never let me forget."

"After everything that you've done for me... I need to say... thank you. I love you, JL. Oh, you don't have to say it back to me. I just..."

"I don't?"

"Not unless you want to. Oh, s... Yeah. No, it's fine. It's fine."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"I love you too, Raffi."

"Picard, try to see this from our point of view. You choose if we live, you choose if we die. You choose! We have no choice! You organics have never given us one."

"To say you have no choice is a failure of imagination."

"They've left us behind, Picard! They're generations beyond us!"

"In one sense, yes, but in another, as you said, they are children. And until now, the only teachers that they've had are a couple of hermits, and the fear of extermination. But fear is an incompetent teacher. Yes, they have life. But no one is teaching them what it's for. To be alive is a responsibility, as well as a right."

"How are they supposed to learn that lesson in six minutes, and eleven seconds?"

"The way that children learn most things, by example."

"So, how do we hold off 218 warbirds until Starfleet gets here? If they get here? … Are you not answering to build suspense, or…?"

"At the present moment, Dr. Jurati, I am trying to pilot a starship for the first time in a very long time, without exploding or crashing! If that is alright with you."

"No, totally, good call. One impossible thing at a time."

"Raffi? You were quite right."

"We often refer to space as the final frontier. But the older I get, the more I come to believe… that the true final frontier is time."

"Do you recall what I said to you when last we parted ways? The trial never ends."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"You've been talking a lot about second chances. Well, my friend, welcome to the very end of the road not taken."

"Q, I am too old for your bullshit!"