- [Capt. Picard has been assimilated by the Borg]
- Locutus: I am Locutus - of Borg. Resistance - is futile. Your life, as it has been - is over. From this time forward, you will service - us.
- Commander William T. Riker: You disagree with me, fine. You need to take it to the Captain, fine - through me. You do an end run around me again, I'll snap you back so hard you'll think you're a first-year cadet again.
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: May I speak frankly, sir?
- Commander William T. Riker: By all means.
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: You're in my way.
- Commander William T. Riker: Really? How terrible for you!
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: All you know how to do is play it safe. I suppose that's why someone like you sits in the shadow of a great man for as long as you have, passing up one command after another.
- [after an attempt to rescue Picard has failed]
- Commander William T. Riker: The Captain?
- Lt. Commander Data: We were unable to retrieve him, sir. The Captain has been altered by the Borg.
- Commander William T. Riker: Altered?
- Lieutenant Worf: He IS a Borg.
- Admiral J. P. Hanson: This is the third time we've pulled out the captain's chair for Riker. He just won't sit down.
- [Shelby gets early on site without permission]
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: Morning. Early bird gets the worm, eh? We've had some interesting results.
- Commander William T. Riker: Commander Shelby... Walk with me, Commander.
- Lt. Commander Data: [to La Forge] Early bird...? I believe Commander Shelby erred. There is no evidence of avifaunal or crawling vermicular life forms on Jouret IV.
- Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: That's not what she meant, Data. But you're right. She erred.
- Guinan: Trouble sleeping?
- Capt. Picard: It's something of a tradition, Guinan - Captain touring the ship before a battle.
- Guinan: Hmm. Before a *hopeless* battle, if I remember the tradition correctly.
- Capt. Picard: Not necessarily. Nelson toured the HMS Victory before Trafalgar.
- Guinan: Yes, but Nelson never returned from Trafalgar, did he?
- Capt. Picard: No, but the battle was won.
- Guinan: Do you expect this battle to be won?
- Capt. Picard: We may yet prevail. That's a... a conceit. But... it's a healthy one. I wonder if the Emperor Honorius watching the Visigoths coming over the seventh hill truly realized that the Roman Empire was about to fall. This is just another page in history, isn't it? Will this be the end of *our* civilization? Turn the page.
- Guinan: This isn't the end.
- Capt. Picard: You say that with remarkable assuredness.
- Guinan: With experience. When the Borg destroyed my world, my people were scattered throughout the universe. We survived - as will humanity survive. As long as there's a handful of you to keep the spirit alive, you will prevail - even if it takes a millennium.
- The Borg: Captain Jean-Luc Picard, you lead the strongest ship of the Federation fleet. You speak for your people.
- Capt. Picard: I have nothing to say to you; and I will resist you with my last ounce of strength.
- The Borg: Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours.
- Capt. Picard: Impossible. My culture is based on freedom and self-determination.
- The Borg: Freedom is irrelevant. Self-determination is irrelevant. You must comply.
- Capt. Picard: We would rather die.
- The Borg: Death is irrelevant. Your archaic cultures are authority-driven. To facilitate our introduction into your societies, it has been decided that a human voice will speak for us in all communications. You have been chosen to be that voice.
- [the away team is considering ways to slow down the Borg vessel]
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: What if we look at this from the mosquito's point of view?
- Lt. Commander Data: Interesting metaphor, Doctor. What is your idea?
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: If we sting them in a tender spot, they might stop for a minute to scratch.
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: Tell me, Commander, is serving aboard the Enterprise as extraordinary an experience as I've heard?
- Commander William T. Riker: Every bit.
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: Good. Because I intend to convince Captain Picard that I'm the right choice for the job.
- Commander William T. Riker: Job? Which job?
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: Yours, of course.
- Capt. Picard: What's your impression of Shelby?
- Commander William T. Riker: She knows her stuff.
- Capt. Picard: She has your full confidence?
- Commander William T. Riker: Well, I think she needs supervision. She takes the initiative a little too easily, sometimes with risks.
- Capt. Picard: [tuts] Sounds like a young Lieutenant Commander I recruited as a first officer.
- Commander William T. Riker: Perhaps.
- Capt. Picard: [from his personal log] We continue to prepare our defenses for the inevitable confrontation, but... I must admit, on this night I contemplate the distinct possibility that no defense may be adequate against this enemy.
- The Borg: Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours.
- Admiral J. P. Hanson: [on Shelby] She'd make you one hell of a first officer.
- Capt. Picard: I already have a hell of a first officer.
- [Picard talks to Riker about taking the post as captain of another ship]
- Commander William T. Riker: With all due respect, sir - you need me. Particularly now.
- Capt. Picard: Indeed. Starfleet needs good captains, particularly now.
- Commander William T. Riker: [on reasons why he has declined the command of another starship] Maybe I'm just afraid of the big chair.
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: If you can't make the big decisions, Commander, I suggest you make room for someone who can.
- [after the Borg have abducted Picard]
- Lieutenant Worf: Sir, the coordinates they have set - they're on a direct course to sector 001. The Terran system.
- Commander William T. Riker: Earth.
- Wesley Crusher: Got another king in the hole, eh, Data?
- Lt. Commander Data: I am afraid I cannot answer that, Wesley - and as you are a newcomer to the game, may I say it is inappropriate for you to ask.
- Commander William T. Riker: [the Borg want Captain Picard] What the hell do they want with you?
- Lt. Cmdr Elizabeth Paula Shelby: I thought they weren't interested in human life forms. Only our technology.
- Capt. Picard: That priority seems to have changed.
- Commander William T. Riker: [Riker's about to turn down a ship of his own to command for the third time and he doesn't even know why] What am I still doing here? Deanna, I pushed myself hard to get this far. I... I sacrificed a lot. I always said I wanted my own command and yet... something's holding me back. Is it wrong for me to want to stay?
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [a typical psychologist's response - answering a question with a question] What do you think?
- Commander William T. Riker: [musing it over] Maybe I'm just afraid of the big chair?
- Counselor Deanna Troi: I don't think so.
- Commander William T. Riker: [he doesn't think so either] The Captain says Shelby reminds him of the way that I used to be... and he's right. She comes in here full of drive and ambition... impatient... taking risks. I look at her and I wonder what happened to those things in me. I liked those things about me. I've lost something.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: You mean you're older... more experienced...
- [chooses her next words with care]
- Counselor Deanna Troi: ... a little more... seasoned.
- Commander William T. Riker: [but not careful enough for Riker's taste] Seasoned? That's a horrible thing to say to a man.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: I don't think you've lost a thing, and I think you've gained more than you realise. You're much more comfortable with yourself than you used to be.
- Commander William T. Riker: [she may have hit on something there] Maybe that's the problem. I'm too comfortable here.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: I'm not sure I know what that means. You're happy here... happier then I've ever known you to be. So, it comes down to a simple question... what do you want Will Riker?
- [what indeed?]
- Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: [after Wesley has been out-bluffed by Riker despite having a winning hand] Wesley, you may get straight A's in school, but there's a lot you need to learn about poker.
- Commander William T. Riker: When it comes to this ship and this crew, you're damned right I play it safe.