Star Trek: Picard (2020–…): Season 3, Episode 3 - Seventeen Seconds - full transcript

Starfleet Command
has terminated investigation.

- Disengage.
- You brokered a deal

for stolen portal tech.

You smell like Starfleet.

Prove it.

I told you
do not engage.

Welcome to the Ryton
system, gentlemen.

This was you.

You are relieved of duty
for insubordination.

I am Captain
Vadic. You are harboring

one Jack Crusher,



and we are taking him.

- Weapons?
- 236 photon torpedoes.

18 antimatter
missiles. And something

loaded in primary
position in the bay, sir.

Technology unknown.

The Shrike
is not a ship.

It's a guillotine.

We both know that Beverly
would never permit this.

- Because you know her so well.
- Who is your father?

I never had one!

Are you not seeing
what I'm seeing?

Do the math, Jean-Luc.

The boy stays here.

You are going to
get us all killed.



Why are you doing this?

Because he's my son.

Tactical, full power
to forward shields.

La Forge, get ready to fly.

Follow him.

- If they're looking for a fight...
- They'll have to find us first.

Captain, she's still on us.

Helm, evasive.

Fire.

One more time.

This is your fault.

Jack, don't.

They're gonna need us.

Sir, we have reports
of widespread damage...

Shields, weapons.

Engineering, take
whatever power you need.

Prepare to warp.

We can't warp away as long
as we're inside this thing.

We're losing visual
on the stern.

Send somebody down to look
out the goddamn back windows.

Soon as we shake her,
we break for the exit.

Sir, engineering reporting

we've taken hits to
our warp field coils.

We can't outrun them
on impulse alone.

Nebula interference.

Deeper we go, worse it
gets for external sensors.

If she wanted to
destroy us, she could.

She's strategic.

She knows we're
blind. We can't run.

She'll peck away at
us until we surrender.

We need to hide, Captain.

Damn it.

La Forge, go deeper.

No sign of the Shrike,sir.
We've lost contact.

And there go the sensors.

We lost her.

For now.

A toast,

my friend.

To your newborn son.

Ah. To Thaddeus.

And to parenthood.

Regarded by many as
life's greatest challenge,

but I have no doubt

your son is in capable hands.

Cheers.

Because he'll be looked
after by the wisest of souls.

Someone endowed
with great kindness,

patience...

and unconditional love.

I don't know what to say.

His mother.

Are you all right?

Yeah.

You said on the call that the
delivery was touch-and-go.

Well, we were on the
Titan, of course.

They hailed me from sickbay.

"You better get down
here, sir, right away."

- The tone of voice, it was not what you wanted to hear.
- Mm-hmm.

It took 17 seconds
to get down there.

The longest turbolift
ride of my life.

I thought I was losing him.

My unborn son.

His whole future flashed
in front of my eyes.

And in that moment...

you became a father.

That's right.

And everything you've read...
The books and the poems

about fatherhood... Goes
right out the window

the moment you see your kid.

He's so...

so small and so fragile.

You just know that
you've got to...

got to take care of
them at all cost.

You'd burn the
world to save them.

I am so

very happy for you, Will.

I hope one day you get to
have this feeling, too.

Nothing like it.

Oh, shit.

Oh, enjoying whiskey
and cigars, are we?

Well, I haven't brushed
my hair in 72 hours.

And your son just vomited
all over Engineering.

Projective vomit. Four feet in the air.

They should study
him for science.

I'm sorry, imzadi.
I'll be right there.

Bring the whiskey.

- I wish you luck, Captain.
- Thank you, Admiral.

- Stern, report.
- Negative, Captain.

- Still no sign...
- No visuals of the Shrike.

Update from engineering.

Still working on repairs.

They estimate at least two hours

before warp will be
operational again.

What now?

Energy surge from
the nebula, sir.

Electrical and
biological signatures.

Well, that's fun.

Anyone else want to throw
more weird shit at me?

La Forge, Mura, Esmar.

You just pulled a 36-hour
watch. You're relieved.

Get some rest while you can.

Music off.

I just wanted to check on you.

Engineering personnel,

Deck 23 for auxiliary
generator damage help...

I'm charged with insubordination

and confined to
quarters, but thanks.

My father is one of the greatest

Starfleet engineers
that ever lived.

People were fine with me
following in his footsteps,

but the moment I
decided to be a pilot...

Oh, boy.

- This sounds rehearsed.
- Uh...

People didn't think
I belonged, either.

"She's here 'cause
Starfleet couldn't say no

to Geordi La Forge's daughter."

One of the few ways my
dad and I are alike...

We have a hard time
making friends.

But when we do,

we know their value.

Shaw may call you insubordinate
for helping yours,

but my dad wouldn't.

Thank you.

Go rest, ensign.

Yes, Commander Seven.

Just a couple of cracked ribs.

Healing up nicely.
You will be fine.

- Excuse me.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Watch it.

- She's injured.
- I'm fine.

Dr. Ohk, put me to task.

It would take me longer
to explain to you

how everything has changed
over the last 20 years

than do it myself,
but thank you.

Dr. Ohk to
Engineering. Dr. Ohk to Engineering.

You are good to go.

Just take it easy.

Repair crew
to starboard thruster control.

Repair crew to starboard
thruster control.

Jack, what do you
say you and I...

Nothing she has to say can't
be said in front of me.

It's okay.

Repair 2-5,
please report to Engineering.

Repair 2-5, please
report to Engineering.

Two months before I
left the Enterprise,

do you remember our shore
leave on Casperia Prime?

The waterfalls?

A perfect day on borrowed time.

They called you back early.

That's how it
always was with us.

There was always a clock.

That day, maybe more than
any other, because...

we both knew we were at the end.

I didn't.

I didn't know I would
never see you again.

That I would wonder for years

what it was that I
had done.

Having no idea that it
was really all about

what you had done.

We ended our relationship.

Our romantic relationship.

For the...

the fifth time.

Well, I got pregnant that night.

I wanted to tell you.

Then...

- why didn't you?
- I struggled over telling you.

I wanted him to know you,

but then refugees from Kalara V,

angry about Romulan relocation,

kidnapped you and held
you for nine days.

Oh, so my only window
was for nine days?

Then I tried again,
but this time

two Reman assassins
intercepted the ship

in the Donatra sector and
held a disruptor to your head.

- And-and how is that...
- Then only days later,

Starfleet asked you to
negotiate with the praetor

and a photon grenade
detonates meters from you.

And that is when I knew

it would be like that forever.

It will be what it always
was: attempts on your life.

And you never thought...

if you had told me,

it all might have
been different?

Jean-Luc, when the galaxy
comes calling for you,

you are not put-upon
by it, you love it.

Don't tell me you
would have walked away.

Beverly,

you made the choice for me.

You don't get to condemn
people before the fact.

Over and over,

you told me how you never
wanted to have a family.

That you could never be a father

because you were too afraid
you'd be like your own.

Don't take my past
and use it to justify

and rationalize your actions.

How dare you take
my confiding in you

about my father...
About my fears...

And use it to cut me out

of the biggest
decision of my life.

What could have
been had I known?

Hmm?

What might I have been?

A father?

A husband?

I know now I would never

have been my father.

But I could have learned
that 20 years before.

When Jack was on his way,

I was terrified.

All I knew

was that if you're the son

of Jean-Luc Picard, there's
a target on your back.

I lost my parents,

then a husband,

then my son Wesley,

all to the same
stars that own you.

As a mother, your whole being

is about protecting your child.

I-I thought I
could protect mine.

I didn't know...

if I could protect yours.

Ensign Bernardin, please
report to the deflector control room.

Can you please stop
looking at me like that?

- Like what?
- Like I'm the outcome of some science experiment.

Sorry to tell you
kid, but you are.

I spent two decades
in a spaceship

watching you get cooked
up before you were born.

It was subtle at first,

- but that resemblance to your dad...
- No.

No, please, don't.

He's not "Dad".

- He is one of the finest men I've ever known.
- Is he?

Let's just say that in
my time on this universe,

I've always found
one thing to be true:

the bigger the legend, the
more disappointing the reality.

We're all faulty.

Just human.

I heard he's positronic.

He's still the same man.

It seems
accusatory stares are contagious.

People have a right
to know who or what

they're putting their
lives on the line for.

I didn't ask them for that.

- I never would.
- I know.

But now you've...
you've got to own it.

The best thing you
can do is give them

a reason to feel good about it.

Look, I...

I don't know much about you.

Sometimes my mother...

She'd start telling a
story about all of you.

And her eyes would...
would light up.

And then she'd get sad and...

stop.

Have you got a family, Riker?

Feel free to call me Captain.

And yes.

I have a wife and a daughter.

And I had a son.

What do you know
about the ship out there?

Nothing.

Jack and I help those in need

on worlds Starfleet
has forgotten.

We've had trouble now and
then, but nothing like this.

You said, "Trust no one." Why?

We were on a supply
run to Sarnia Prime

and Jack was jumped
by Fenris Rangers.

Then Klingons boarded
us a day later.

They were trying to take him.

Then went to Starfleet, and
still they came for him.

Everywhere we go,
someone turns on us.

You are the only
one I can trust.

Why do they want Jack?

I don't think it has
anything to do with him.

I think it somehow has
something to do with you.

I know nothing about this Vadic.

No, neither do we.

But that's no
bounty hunter ship.

That's a warship

with Jean-Luc Picard
sized enemies behind it.

I must get back to the bridge.

Jack.

His accent...

He went to school in
London. Never shook it.

Maybe it's in his DNA.

Didn't I deserve a chance?

Didn't he deserve a
chance to get to know me?

When he was old
enough, I told him

who you were and
where to find you.

I encouraged him
to meet with you.

He decided not to.

Walk with me, Will.

What did Beverly say?

It's immaterial.

Immaterial?

That's your son.

Our survival is the
only thing that matters.

I've placed the crew of this
ship under unnecessary danger.

All our efforts must
be focused here.

Jean-Luc, talk to him.

Moments with your kids...

You never know what
you might regret.

God knows...

Will, it's irreparable.

I owe this ship's
captain an apology.

Repair crew
to starboard thruster control.

Repair crew to starboard
thruster control.

B-Bridge, visual
contact of the Shrike.

Bearing 047. 3,000
meters and closing.

Battle stations!

That's impossible.

How the hell did she find us?

Aah!

Again.

Aah!

You. You.

You got us into this.

You are gonna get us out.

Computer, transfer command.

Captain William Riker, pro tem.

Shaw-12-11-Bravo Delta.

- Command transfer authorized.
- Get him to sickbay.

Captain, we still have visual.

She's right behind us.

Admiral, can you
roll and not fire

a single photon torpedo
halfway between us and them?

Key the phasers, light it up.

- The concussion should...
- Torpedo away.

It worked, Captain. We
may have shaken her.

Thank you, Jean-Luc.

Will, I think it might be time

you called me Number One.

An update on
yesterday's devastating attack

on a Starfleet recruitment
building that left 117 dead.

Starfleet intelligence
has now confirmed

that Lurak t'Luco, a Romulan
dissident, is to blame.

While authorities would
not divulge details

on the weapon used
in the attack,

they say that they are confident
that t'luco was working alone,

believing this to be
an isolated incident.

I don't know who the
hell you are, but...

I am Worf, son of Mogh,

House of Martok, son of Sergey,

House of Rozhenko,

bane to the Duras family,

slayer of Gowron.

I have made some chamomile
tea. Do you take sugar?

Uh... Worf.

Y-You're a legend.

Pi-Picard, you know, he used
to talk about you all the time.

You're exactly as I
imagined you to be.

Also, not so much.

I have learned of late
that one must access calm

as much as fire.

So I have been, as humans say,

working on myself.

You know, the-the last
thing I remember, that...

that Ferengi was
going to kill me.

But I will
take your money.

And they'll take your head.

Aah!

It is not your time
to join the dead.

- Aah!
- Oh...

You...

You're my handler?

You're Starfleet?

My concerns align with theirs.

Think of me as...

a subcontractor.

There is something coming.
Some kind of attack.

There was an attack.
The recruitment center.

Using stolen weapons
from Daystrom.

I fear that was
only the beginning

- of something much bigger.
- That's what I told you.

So why would you
order me to disengage

when I'm obviously right?

Because I thought you
would get yourself killed,

or nearly so.

And I, too, was obviously right.

Withdrawals.

From the narcotic you
ingested in your eye

before I saved your life.

You blew my cover.

You had already
accomplished that.

Why do I do this?

My life, my family,

my sobriety.

What's wrong with me?

You almost died on a mission
that everyone told you

- you should not work.
- Yeah, thanks.

Pile it on.

I've heard worse from
bigger legends than you.

You have the heart of a warrior.

And the instincts.

There is something coming.

I have known it for a while.

You have served me well.

Uh-uh. Wait.

Where-where is all this,
uh, past tense coming from?

Because I am not done here

and I do not need a babysitter.

I've been undercover for months.

- I have my finger on the pulse.
- Raffaela,

I know who paid
the Ferengi to lie.

A human by the name
of Titus Rikka.

Multiple criminal
underworld contacts.

You and I

will track this
individual together.

And then we will find out
who stole those weapons,

learn the next phase
of their plan...

and stop them.

Cool.

Vadic should
be as blind as we are.

It might give us a
tactical advantage.

No, we should continue to evade
until warp is operational.

She's finding us anyway.

Engineering is now estimating
just under 20 minutes, sir.

So, only defensive strategy.

Given our limit,

and what we've seen of
her capabilities, yes.

But given the likelihood
that we are forced

to re-engage...

This isn't
the Enterprise.

What I've seen, the
difference between

the Titan and the Shrike...

The only option we
really have is to hide.

Of course, I'm... I'm
open to your input.

Thank you, Captain.

La Forge,
keep us squirrelly

- and hidden long enough to buy us time.
- Yes, Captain.

Almost there.

We're gonna get you
scanned. Here we go.

Hey, look at me. Look at me.

You're gonna be
okay. All right?

You may have lost
a bit of blood,

but here's some good
news: we got plenty.

So you're gonna be
absolutely fine, I promise.

- Thank you.
- Okay?

- Yeah.
- Let's get you over this way.

Captain? Captain,
stay with me.

Captain.

- What can I do to help?
- Help with the others.

They're fine. They're stable.

I don't like what
I'm seeing here.

Shaw, are you having
trouble breathing?

Does this hurt?
What about this?

Now.

He's bleeding internally.

No. I ran the imaging scan.

Imaging doesn't always
pick up delayed bleeding

from concussive injuries.
We need to work on this.

Jack.

Get him on his side. Go.

How-how is she finding us?

I'm so sorry, sir.

I never meant for any
of this to happen.

How does she keep finding us?

- Stern, report.
- Still no sign of her.

- Warp status?
- Less than ten, sir.

Science, have you been tracking

- these energy pulses?
- Yes, sir.

I'm reading both electrical
and biological signatures.

I don't believe that
this is a nebula,

but some kind of
unknown anomaly.

There's been nothing like it

ever reported by Starfleet.

So, going straight through it
is not a recommended option?

Definitely not, sir.

Are you suggesting we turn back?

Logic suggests it
would be unwise

to go any deeper.

La Forge, change course.

Inform Engineering
however long it takes

to get us outside this nebula
is exactly how much time

they have to be ready to warp.

All hands, remain
at battle stations

and prepare for maximum warp.

- We'll attempt to outrun the Shrike.
- I have to get to the bridge.

- I need to speak with them.
- We're at red alert. Turn around.

Sir, I estimate we're
moments away from

approaching the outer edge.

Engineering says warp is a go.

Set course for the
nearest starbase.

Comms, ready an emergency SOS,

then prepare to go to warp.

Effects of the
nebula dissipating.

Soon as we're clear, La Forge.

Scanners are
coming on line.

Sir, she's on us.

Ready the device.

Their weapons
systems... My God.

They're giving off
energy readings like...

like nothing I've
ever seen before.

Fire!

What the hell is that?

Sir, we're
going right through.

She's pulled us
deeper into the nebula.

Some kind of
portal weapon, sir.

Dimensional folding,
interspatial singularity.

La Forge, punch
it. Try it again.

Again.

- Sir, she's pulled us back in again.
- Damn it.

Will, she's corralling
us, holding us in the air

so that she or that energy surge

can cripple us until
we're defenseless.

Now is the time to fight.

Turn us around, take us back in.

I told you to stay back.

It is not
in my nature to stay back.

Also, you look
conspicuous in that hood.

Says the Klingon
in warrior gear.

It is not warrior
gear. It is casual.

Seriously, where
do you wear that...

To a Tuesday beheading?

Welcome. You are
now entering...

I'm glad to see that
you are feeling better.

I'm not. I just bring it
when the moment calls.

It is calling.

Behind you!

Rafaella, we have
been discovered.

He is getting away.

Which way?

On your right.

- I see him.
- Take the alley.

By the stall, now.

I'm losing him.

Beheadings are on Wednesdays.

Sir, I can't shake her.

The Shrike keeps
pushing us deeper.

We're running out of
chances here, Captain.

I am well aware.

- What are you doing here?
- We need a word. - Hey, you...

You were a Fenris Ranger, right?

- I don't have time for this.
- Blood in the water.

Come on, oldest
trick in the book.

Blood in the water.

That's how the Shrike
keeps finding us.

Somehow,

we're leaving a
trail of breadcrumbs.

Now, you know there's any number
of things that can do this.

Invisible, subtle,

and easily detectable
by enemy ships.

There's no need for
long-range sensors, only a...

Mass spectrometer.

Verterium. It insulates
the warp coils.

Yes! Yes, that's-that's
it. That's what I'm saying.

We have a leak.

We have to be
sure. Come with me.

Sorry, Commander, the
captain's orders still stand.

You're confined to quarters

and I can't allow you to leave.

Yeah, the thing about that is...

You're insane.

Oh. Gas leak. Smells
like verterium.

Here. It's poisonous
in gaseous form.

Exposure will kill you.

Well, the way things
have been going lately,

it might need to join the queue.

Someone deactivated
atmospheric diagnostics.

The ship's computer
can't detect the leak.

Looks like short-range
phaser fire to me.

It's not
damage, it's sabotage.

There's still a lot in
this room and the tube.

I'm gonna check another
chamber. Stay here.

We need to know how long it'll
take to clear the system.

Hansen to bridge.

We know how the Shrike's
been following us.

We're leaking verterium.

Someone did this on purpose.

We have a saboteur.

Captain, we're
getting too close

to the center of this nebula,
and by quick estimate,

a strong, sizeable inner
gravitational well.

If we get pulled into it...

You heard her, La Forge.

Aye, Captain.

Will, if this was sabotage,

we can use it to
our own advantage.

- As a diversion.
- Yes.

Stop the leak, create a dead
end to the Shrike's trail.

Pivot hard, race out of here.

No. Use it to set a trap.

Instead of fleeing,
we end the trail

and reposition
behind the Shrike.

We'll have her dead to rights.

It makes tactical sense but,
no, you said it earlier...

We can no longer risk
the lives of this crew.

As soon as the leak is fixed,

we're gonna make a
final run for it.

Tell Engineering to
prepare for warp again.

This leak gives us
only one advantage:

she doesn't know that we know
that we're being tracked.

I understand, you're amped
up, you have a son on board

- and it's affecting...
- Will, why?!

I'm taking this ship

and her crew home.

You can't be in
here, there's a leak...

Warning. Dangerous level

of verterium exposure.

Oxygen required immediately.

Warning. Dangerous level
of verterium exposure.

Oxygen required immediately.

Warning. Dangerous level
of verterium exposure.

Jack, I shut off the leak,

but it'll take a
minute to dissipate.

Coming back to you now.

Dangerous level
of verterium exposure.

Jack?

Warning.
Dangerous level...

Jack?!

Oxygen
required immediately.

- Warning.
- Jack!

I'm having a real
hard time balancing the whole

work/life thing.

And then you decided to help

get 117 people killed.

I'm gonna start pulling
off your fingernails,

just to make me feel better.

Why are you already sweating?

Raffaela.

You may keep your fingernails.

We know that those deaths
were not your fault.

Oh, hell no.

He is not getting off that easy.

Have you ever seen how
far a Klingon warrior

- can shove a sword up someone's...
- I do not do that anymore.

I am wiser now.

I was once like her.

Maybe you, too.

Irrational, violent.

Things change with perspective.

- Oh, my God.
- There is no righteous cause.

No good, no evil.

You believe in your fight.

And take it from someone
who has fought many.

Your anger is your enemy.

We are all the same.

I think I feel my chamomile
tea coming back up.

A fight is rarely
worth dying for.

I have no ill will towards you.

Just tell us what
we want to know.

Who broke into Daystrom?!

Withdrawal's a bitch.

The headaches
pounding your skull.

Your skin feels like it's
been doused with acid.

You know, after a while,

some people coming
off that stuff...

They beg for death.

Trust me. I know.

No one knows you're here.

You don't leave

until we know what you know.

Connect the branches.

Jack!

Jack, wake up, wake up.

Come on, get up,
get up. Let's go.

Seven to the bridge.
Picard. Jack's injured.

I'm taking him to sickbay.

Go.

What happened to him?

Verterium gas exposure.

Oh, my God. Oh, he's fading.

Sickbay.

Come on, Jack.

Jack, breathe.

That's it, baby.

That's it, that's it.

Goddamn it!

You better start giving
me answers right now.

Who stole weapons from Daystrom?

- Romulans.
- Bullshit!

This wasn't the Romulans.

I swear, I will let
you die in agony

unless you tell me who
broke into Daystrom.

- I did!
- Who with?

Like-minded souls.

Enemies of the
Federation.

Why blame the Romulans?

Because it was never
about the portal weapon.

We just wanted to keep
Starfleet spinning.

It was misdirection
from the very beginning.

To distract us from...

Something else being
stolen from Daystrom.

Something more dangerous.

Something more valuable.

That's all I know!
Now let me go.

Okay, so that's not withdrawal.

Tell me, how long have you
been away from the Great Link?

He's stable?

Yes.

Will, we cannot run any longer.

We must engage and
protect this ship.

I am protecting this ship
by avoiding its destruction.

I understand this instinct
to be fearful of loss...

Fearful of loss?

You are out of line.

We cannot allow it
to make us weak.

Sit down, Admiral.

Will, how many times
must your strategy fail

before you change
it? It's not working!

Sit down, Admiral.

I'm the captain of this ship.

Sir, for a moment I
think I detected the Shrike.

Wherever she is, she's close.

You wanted
us to release you

before you gave
away your true self.

I know your kind.

After a while it
becomes too difficult

to maintain your solid shape.

What my partner
mistook as withdrawal

was merely your need to
regenerate in liquid form.

It's too late,

Klingon.

Human. Solids.

Your worlds are on the
verge of destruction.

Soon...

your Federation will crumble.

what is happening?

Aah!

He is a Changeling.

Don't let it get away.

I was attacked.

His face... it moved.

As a Changeling would.

In the past, the
Changelings were a powerful enemy

of the Federation,
united in purpose.

But when the Dominion War
ended, there was a schism.

A terrorist faction broke away,

unwilling to accept defeat.

I was contacted
by a close friend

within the Link, a man of honor.

He informed me of
this rogue group.

But if Starfleet were to
acknowledge their existence...

We would be reigniting
the Dominion War.

They can look and sound
like anyone, any species.

- What is it they want... a second war?
- No.

I believe they may be
planning another attack,

and Starfleet could
be the target.

What could be so big that
they would use a portal weapon

like that as just a distraction?

Perhaps it is as you said.

To draw attention from
something else that was stolen.

The real weapon.

We should get to
Daystrom Station.

It may be our only
hope for answers.

You and I, Raffaela,

are now partners.

Sir, the leak is gone.

The Shrike's trail is cold.

Great. Let's
get us out of here.

La Forge, prepare for warp.

Sir, Jack was ambushed.

He thinks it was a Changeling.

Sir, we have
just had an explosion.

Warp energy is falling
to zero, Captain.

We lost a power conduit.

We are unable to go to warp.

Will, turn the ship
around and fight.

We'll lose.

We're out of options, Captain.

We fight or we die.

Bridge, prepare to attack.

La Forge, arc us around
for a rear assault.

Coming around.

If the Shrike
followed the trail,

we should be coming
up right behind her.

She's already turned.

Will, now.

Fire everything we've got!

No...

Engines down. Ship
not responding.

The Shrike...it's retreating.

We're
sinking, Captain,

towards the gravity well.

I have no control.

We're heading right for it.

Will...

Remove yourself
from the bridge.

You've just killed us all.

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