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January 28, 1991
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45 minutes
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SUMMARY
Stardate: 44429.6. When the Cardassians start re-arming themselves, a Federation Captain takes it upon himself to remove a potential threat before it escalated. Now, Picard must fight for the Cardassians and stop the renegade from slaughtering innocents.
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REVIEWS
The wounds of war
Written by
kimmy on 2018-07-31
★
★
★
★
Chief O’Brien finally gets his moment to shine — Colm Meaney has been there since the beginning and by now is as much a starring member as LeVar Burton or Michael Dorn! Also, first appearance of the Cardassians! This is an episode about the trauma of war: about the very close ties that are created between fellow team members fighting a common enemy, and about soldiers continuing to see war everywhere even when the rest of the world has moved on. In that sense, this episode has the same theme as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which at that point in time had completed its script and was only in pre-production, so there is a slight chance this influenced the episode.
I was afraid the episode would be too much of a caricature of clear-cut good vs bad choices, but the actors of Captain Maxwell and O’Brien and their scenes together sold it to me. The episode is elevated by the ending: there is reason to suspect the Cardassians of preparing war with the Federation! But instead of choosing preemptive strikes during a time of freshly signed peace (which is what Captain Maxwell does), Picard chooses to play by the rules in order to impress on the Cardassians that peace and trust are possible and that war is not inevitable. A noble choice, as could be expected of Picard.
Alumni-spotting:
Bob Gunton (Captain Maxwell) is a recognizable face, I remember him as Ethan Kanin in 24. There’s also Marc Alaimo (the Cardassian Gul Macet) who will become an important Cardassian (Dukat) in DS9. And also, co-writers and real-life couple Stuart and Sara Charno are The X-Files alumni: Stuart was an actor (the killer medium in the timeless masterpiece “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose“) and Sara was a writer of two season 2 episodes!
The quote:
Picard: “I think, when one has been angry for a very long time, one gets used to it. And it becomes comfortable like…like old leather. And finally… it becomes so familiar that one can’t remember feeling any other way.â€
TRANSCRIPT
Captain's log, stardate 44429.6. We are on a mapping survey near the Cardassian sector. It has been nearly a year since a peace treaty ended the long conflict between the Federation and Cardassia.
[Bridge]
DATA: Captain, we are nearing the periphery of Sector twenty one five oh three.
PICARD: Be on the lookout for a Cardassian patrol ship, Mister Worf. They should be hailing us soon.
RIKER: Even with a treaty, they're still skittish about protecting their border.
PICARD: Last time I was in this sector, I was on the Stargazer, running at warp speed ahead of a Cardassian warship.
TROI: Running, Captain? You? That's hard to believe.
PICARD: Believe it. I'd been sent to make preliminary overtures to a truce. I'd lowered my shields as a gesture of good will. But the Cardassians were not impressed. They had taken out most of my weapons and damaged the impulse engines before I could regroup and run.
WORF: The Cardassians have no honour. I do not trust them.
TROI: They're our allies now, Mister Worf. We have to trust them.
WORF: Trust is earned, not given away.
PICARD: I hope their scout ship makes contact soon. It's not a good idea to stay too long on a Cardassian border without making your intentions known.
[O'Brien's quarters]
(mealtime for the newly-weds)
O'BRIEN: What is it?
KEIKO: Kelp buds, plankton loaf and sea berries.
O'BRIEN: Sweetheart, I'm not a fish.
KEIKO: It's very healthy. I had this every morning when I was growing up.
O'BRIEN: What? No muffins or oatmeal, or corned beef and eggs?
KEIKO: For breakfast?
O'BRIEN: Keiko, I've been thinking You've been introducing me to all this wonderful food that you're accustomed to. I'd like to do the same. Isn't that what marriage is about? Sharing?
KEIKO: What kind of foods?
O'BRIEN: Scalloped potatoes, mutton shanks, oxtails and cabbage.
KEIKO: Kind of heavy.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you'll love it, I promise. I can still remember the aromas when my mother was cooking.
KEIKO: She cooked?
O'BRIEN: She didn't believe in a replicator. She thought real food was more nutritious.
KEIKO: She handled real meat? She touched it and cut it?
O'BRIEN: Yeah, like a master chef. She was fantastic. Of course, I'll have to use the replicator, but I'll make something special for you tonight. You'll love it, I promise.
KEIKO: Okay. Maybe I'll have something special for you, tonight, too.
(weapons fire)
O'BRIEN: Something's wrong.
COMPUTER: Red alert. Take emergency stations.
[Bridge]
WORF: Cardassian ship preparing to fire again, sir.
PICARD: Increase power to forward shields. Hail them again, Mister Worf.
RIKER: What the hell is he doing? Damage report.
WORF: Minor damage to secondary hull before we put our shields up, sir. No casualties. Structural integrity intact.
LAFORGE [OC]: Engineering to Bridge. Starboard power coupling is down.
PICARD: Evasive action, delta sequence. Ready phasers, Mister Worf.
DATA: Delta evasion plan initiated.
PICARD: Limit targets to engines and shields.
WORF: Aye, sir. Ready.
PICARD: Fire.
DATA: Direct hit, sir. Moderate damage to their aft shield generators.
PICARD: Continue phaser fire.
DATA: Multiple hits, sir. Power failure in forward shields.
WORF: The Cardassian ship is standing down, sir.
PICARD: Let's see if they'll answer our hail now, Mister Worf.
WORF: Frequency open.
PICARD: This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise.
MACET [on viewscreen]: I am Gul Macet of the Cardassian ship Trager.
PICARD: Why have you fired on us?
MACET [on viewscreen]: A curious question, Captain. In war, one attacks one's enemies.
PICARD: There is a treaty between our peoples.
MACET [on viewscreen]: Perhaps that fact was unknown to the Federation starship which destroyed our space station in the Cuellar System two days ago.
PICARD: A Federation starship?
MACET [on viewscreen]: Attacked an unarmed science station. They had barely enough time to send an emergency signal before they were incinerated.
PICARD: Gul Macet the Federation and the Cardassians have struggled too hard for peace to abandon it so easily.
MACET [on viewscreen]: We are not the ones who abandoned it, Captain.
PICARD: Let me talk to my superiors, find out what's behind this. Give me one hour. The alternative is for us to continue firing at one other, and in such a contest, you would be at a disadvantage.
MACET [on viewscreen]: Very well. One hour.
(note - you may thing you know what a Cardassian looks like. You're not entirely correct, yet. This version has a bit of facial hair, a weird headpiece that comes down to the nose and less neck, but is still played by Marc Alaimo)
[Ready room]
HADEN [on monitor]: Captain, we've confirmed your report. It was the starship Phoenix, under the command of Benjamin Maxwell.
PICARD: Ben Maxwell? But he's one of Starfleet's finest captains. He must have had provocation.
HADEN [on monitor]: I wish we knew. He's gone on silent running. Doesn't answer our communiqués.
PICARD: Then he's still in Cardassian space?
HADEN [on monitor]: The station he destroyed was in sector twenty one five oh five. You're the nearest starship. We want you to go in and find him.
PICARD: Will the Cardassians cooperate?
HADEN [on monitor]: They've granted you safe passage. We've agreed that you'll take along a delegation of observers as a show of good faith. Jean-Luc, I don't have to tell you the Federation is not prepared for a new sustained conflict. You must preserve the peace, no matter what the cost. Haden out.
[Bridge]
PICARD: There will be three Cardassians transporting aboard. Their Captain, Gul Macet and two of his aides. My intention is to be as open as possible with them, allow them to share in our search for the Phoenix.
WORF: Sir, it is necessary to assign them a security detail.
PICARD: They're our guests, Mister Worf. I don't want them to feel like prisoners.
RIKER: I tend to agree with Mister Worf, Captain. I think we should limit their access while they're on board. They don't need to have the run of the ship.
WORF: At least allow me to post guards in some of the sensitive areas of the ship.
PICARD: Very well, let's limit their access. But you instruct your people they are guests.
WORF: Aye, sir.
PICARD: Counsellor, I want you to stay as close to the crew as possible. Some of them may feel uncomfortable with Cardassians on board. I don't want any incidents.
TROI: Yes, Captain.
PICARD: Mister Data, is there anyone else on board who served previously with Captain Benjamin Maxwell?
DATA: Accessing. Chief O'Brien served under his command aboard the Rutledge, sir.
PICARD: Indeed. Number One, will you and the Counsellor meet our guests in Transporter room three? And inform Chief O'Brien I will be calling on him.
RIKER: Yes, sir.
[Transporter room]
(Three Cardassians arrive and look around)
RIKER: Welcome to the Enterprise. I'm First Officer William Riker, Counsellor Deanna Troi.
MACET: I am Gul Macet. My aides, Glinn Daro, Glinn Telle.
RIKER: This is our Transporter Chief, Mister O'Brien. Shall we?
(Troi gives O'Brien a concerned look)
Captain's Log, supplemental. We have entered Cardassian territory, and are proceeding on our quest to locate the Phoenix.
[Observation lounge]
(the Cardassians have removed their 'helmets')
LAFORGE: And with long range sensors, we've been scanning a radius of ten light years. We can effectively scan one sector in a day.
RIKER: We're scanning Sector twenty one five oh five now. There's still no sign of the Phoenix.
MACET: In fact, you have no assurance that the ship is still in Sector twenty one five oh five.
RIKER: In fact, we have no idea where it is. We thought the last known coordinates were a reasonably good place to start.
MACET: Captain Picard, you can understand that we are sceptical. Do you expect us to believe that you are using every means at your disposal to track down one of your own?
PICARD: Of course you are concerned, Gul Macet. It is precisely because of that fact that I have included you in every aspect of our effort. You're present with my staff. You're hearing reports as I hear them, nothing edited, nothing withheld.
MACET: Very well.
PICARD: Transporter Chief O'Brien, has served with Benjamin Maxwell. I thought that he might be able to provide some insights. Mister O'Brien, I understand that Captain Maxwell lost his family during a raid on an outpost.
O'BRIEN: More like sabotage, sir. It was on Setlik Three. A squad of Cardassian militia made a sneak raid on an outpost, wiped out close to a hundred civilians.
MACET: Then it's revenge he's after.
O'BRIEN: That's not what I meant.
MACET: Maxwell is taking retribution for his own loss.
O'BRIEN: Captain Maxwell would never
PICARD: Gentlemen, please, let's not indulge in speculation. Can we confine our discussion to facts? Now, Mister O'Brien
WORF [OC]: Worf to Captain Picard.
PICARD: Go ahead, Mister Worf.
WORF [OC]: Long range sensors have located the Phoenix.
PICARD: Gul Macet, will you join me on the Bridge?
(O'Brien and the aides leave by a different door. note - Daro is pale, Telle is dark)
[Turbolift]
O'BRIEN: Deck six.
DARO: Deck ten. Your Captain is most impressive.
O'BRIEN: Yes, he is.
DARO: Chief O'Brien, our Transporting system is still operating with active feed pattern buffers. I would like to talk with you about your technology.
O'BRIEN: I'll have to get Commander La Forge's approval on that.
DARO: I understand. In the meantime, we're going to your Ten Forward. Will you join us?
O'BRIEN: If my Commander tells me to discuss the Transporter with you, I will. If Captain Picard orders me to tell you everything I know about Ben Maxwell, I will. But who I choose to spend my free time with, that's my business.
[Bridge]
DATA: Captain, the Phoenix in Sector twenty one five oh five.
PICARD: Ensign, set a course, warp six. Mister Worf, send a message by subspace. Tell them to prepare for a rendezvous.
WORF: Yes, Captain.
MACET: Captain, a suggestion.
PICARD: Yes?
MACET: We have a number of ships in sector twenty one five oh five. If you will give us more precise coordinates and the ship's coded transponder frequency, we would be able to intercept Maxwell far more quickly than you.
PICARD: I'm sure that's true. However, given the circumstances, I would prefer to make the initial contact myself. I'm sure you would, if the situation were reversed.
MACET: Captain, time is crucial. You have a dangerous man out there with a huge arsenal at his command. If he is intent on revenge against my people he must be stopped before he can do more damage.
PICARD: Captain, so far we have an isolated incident. If I can reach him first, then perhaps diplomacy can prevail. But if one of your ships decides to retaliate, there is a danger we could lose control of the situation.
MACET: Then you will not give us the means to find his precise location?
PICARD: No. I won't.
[O'Brien's quarters]
O'BRIEN: There you are. Potato casserole. A dish fit for kings.
(Keiko looks doubtful)
O'BRIEN: (sings) The minstrel boy to the war has gone
KEIKO: What's that you're singing?
O'BRIEN: What? Oh, it's just an old song. A bunch of us used to sing it together on the Rutledge. I hadn't thought about it in years
KEIKO: What's it about?
O'BRIEN: Oh, it's about war and glory. (sings) The minstrel boy to the war has gone. In the ranks of death you will find him. His father's sword he hath girded on. And his wild harp slung behind him. Captain Maxwell always liked that song. I guess it's all this business with him and the Cardassians brought it back to me. You know, sitting with the staff this morning, I could tell there were people in that room who still don't like the Cardassians.
KEIKO: I imagine that's to be expected.
O'BRIEN: You do?
KEIKO: Sure. The war lasted a long time. That takes its toll on people. What are these little dark things?
O'BRIEN: Capers. But the fighting is over now. Why should anyone still feel however they feel?
KEIKO: You fought the Cardassians, didn't you?
O'BRIEN: Well, there were some skirmishes, when I was with Captain Maxwell.
KEIKO: Well, how do you feel about them?
O'BRIEN: Me? I feel fine. I mean, the war's over now.
[Bridge]
(a tactical display is on the viewscreen, with ship designations)
PICARD: The pursuing ship is the Phoenix.
MACET: And the other?
DATA: It appears it be a Cardassian supply ship.
MACET: How would you know that?
PICARD: We are able to make that determination.
MACET: You can read our transponder codes.
PICARD: The important thing at the moment is that one of your ships may be in jeopardy. Mister Worf, has there been any answer to our communication?
WORF: No, Captain.
PICARD: Put out a repeating message on all subspace channels, priority one communiqué. Break off your pursuit immediately.
WORF: Aye, sir.
PICARD: Gul Macet, you see we are doing everything in our power to reach the Phoenix.
MACET: Yes, and accomplishing nothing, I'm sorry to say. Can you show me the location of our other ships?
PICARD: Mister Data.
MACET: There, you see? We have a warship which could intercept the Phoenix before it's too late. If you will give us the transponder frequency. Or are you going to stand there while our ship is destroyed, Captain?
PICARD: Mister Worf, has there been any response to our hails?
WORF: No, Captain.
PICARD: Very well. Mister Worf, relay the prefix codes of the Phoenix to the Cardassian warship.
WORF: Sir, they will be able to dismantle its shields. The Phoenix will not have a chance.
PICARD: I cannot allow Maxwell to ambush that supply ship. Mister Worf, now.
WORF: Yes, Captain.
(a brief pause later)
DATA: Sir, the Cardassian warship is moving on the Phoenix.
PICARD: Mister Data, overlay weapon ranges of the two ships.
DATA: The warship is three hundred thousand kilometres from the Phoenix. It is opening fire. The Phoenix has taken a direct hit. The Phoenix is beginning evasive manoeuvres. It has positioned itself outside the weapons range of the opposing ship. The Phoenix has powered up both phasers and photon torpedoes. The Phoenix is firing photon torpedoes.
(and one of the lights on the screen goes out)
MACET: He has destroyed our warship.
PICARD: Does the supply ship have any weapons?
MACET: Very limited. Certainly not enough to defeat a Nebula class starship.
DATA: Sir, the Phoenix is firing on the
(another light goes out)
MACET: The warship carried a crew of six hundred, the supply ship, fifty.
PICARD: Mister Data estimated time to intercept with the Phoenix.
DATA: At our present speed of warp four, sixteen hours, forty four minutes.
PICARD: Ensign, increase to warp nine.
[Transporter room]
O'BRIEN: Captain.
PICARD: Chief. I wanted to talk to you.
O'BRIEN: Anything I can do, sir, you know that.
PICARD: Ben Maxwell. He must be quite a man.
O'BRIEN: He's a rare one, all right. I count myself lucky, sir. I've served with the two finest Captains in Starfleet.
PICARD: From your knowledge of the man, what has gone wrong?
O'BRIEN: There's a reason for what he's doing. Those Cardassians were up to something, I'm sure of it.
PICARD: When his family was killed, how did he take it?
O'BRIEN: I'd say he took it well. Oh, I know he was broken up inside, who wouldn't be? But you'd never know it to see him. He never missed a minute's duty, always had a smile, a joke.
PICARD: I see.
O'BRIEN: He would never retaliate out of vengeance, no matter what that Cardassian says. They're up to something, sir. They're the ones you should be investigating, not Captain Maxwell.
PICARD: You don't care for the Cardassians?
O'BRIEN: I like them fine. It's just, well, I know them. You learn to watch your back when you're around those people.
PICARD: Ben Maxwell has just sent more than six hundred of them to their deaths.
O'BRIEN: I don't know what to say, sir, but he must have had his reasons.
PICARD: I think when one has been angry for a very long time, one gets used to it. And it becomes comfortable, like old leather. And, finally, it becomes so familiar that one can't ever remember feeling any other way. Thank you, Chief.
[Ten Forward]
(Miles is drinking at the bar)
DARO: Kanar.
O'BRIEN: Mind if I join you?
DARO: Do you want another? And an ale.
O'BRIEN: Kanar. I never could develop a taste for it.
DARO: It takes a bit of getting used to.
O'BRIEN: I wanted to say I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have popped off like that in the turbolift.
DARO: I think
WAITER: Here's your ale, Mister O'Brien.
DARO: This has been hard on all of us. I know I'll be happy when I'm back on my own ship.
O'BRIEN: I guess that's true. I hadn't thought of it like that. I was on Setlik three with Captain Maxwell the morning after the massacre. We were too late, of course. Almost everyone was dead.
DARO: That was a terrible mistake. We were told the outpost was a launching place for a massive attack against us.
O'BRIEN: The only people left alive were in an outlying district of the settlement. I was sent there with a squad to reinforce them. Cardassians were advancing on us, moving through the streets, destroying, killing. I was with a group of women and children when two Cardassian soldiers burst in. I stunned one of them. The other jumped me. We struggled. One of the women threw me a phaser, and I fired. The phaser was set at maximum. The man just incinerated, there before my eyes. I'd never killed anything before. When I was a kid, I'd worry about swatting a mosquito. It's not you I hate, Cardassian. I hate what I became because of you.
[Bridge]
(Worf hauls Telle onto the Bridge)
TELLE: I will protest this, Klingon!
PICARD: Lieutenant?
WORF: He was found at a computer station on deck thirty five, attempting to access information on our weapon systems.
TELLE: A lie, Gul Macet. I was studying the terminal interface systems. They're more efficient than ours. I have no idea what was in the files.
MACET: What business did you have going near one of their computers?
TELLE: But, Gul Macet, I meant nothing. There was no harm done.
MACET: Go to your quarters. You are confined there for the duration of this expedition.
TELLE: As you wish, sir.
PICARD: Mister Worf, please accompany him.
WORF: Gladly, Captain.
(Worf and Telle leave)
MACET: Captain, may we speak in private?
PICARD: You have the Bridge, Number One.
[Ready room]
MACET: I deeply regret what my aide has done, Captain. You have my word he will be disciplined upon my return.
PICARD: You may take whatever action against him you feel is appropriate. I consider the matter closed.
MACET: I'm not sure I would be so generous in your place, Captain. Thank you.
PICARD: If there is to be a lasting peace, Gul Macet, neither you nor I must allow any one man to undermine our efforts.
MACET: There are those who crave war, who need it. I am not one of them, Captain, and I'm beginning to see that neither are you. We have had our full measure. The lasting peace begins here, with the two of us.
DATA [OC]: Bridge to Captain.
PICARD: Picard here.
DATA [OC]: We have located the Phoenix, sir. We will intercept it in twenty two minutes.
Captain's log, stardate 44431.7. We have established communication with Captain Maxwell, and he has agreed to come on board.
[Transporter room]
RIKER: Welcome aboard, sir. I'm Commander Riker, First Officer.
MAXWELL: I know all about you, Commander. Fine work you did with the Borg. We all owe you on that one.
RIKER: Thank you, sir.
MAXWELL: O'Brien? Miles O'Brien?
O'BRIEN: Hello, Captain. Good to see you again.
MAXWELL: How are you? I had no idea you were on the Enterprise. This was my Tactical Officer on the Rutledge. Best I ever had.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, sir.
MAXWELL: O'Brien has the ability to size up a situation instantly, then come up with options to fit all contingencies. Remarkable.
O'BRIEN: Well, if that's true, I learned it from you, sir.
MAXWELL: But you got that silver tongue by kissing the stone, right? Well, Commander, best I see your Captain straight away. We've got a lot to talk about.
RIKER: Yes, sir.
[Ready room]
RIKER: Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Captain Benjamin Maxwell.
PICARD: That'll be all, Commander.
(Riker leaves)
PICARD: Captain.
MAXWELL: A pleasure, Captain.
PICARD: Please, sit down.
MAXWELL: You must think I've gone mad.
PICARD: The thought had occurred.
MAXWELL: Picard, I have to tell you I was grateful when I realised it was you Starfleet sent after me. Somebody who knows what it's really like out here.
PICARD: I know of nothing out here that could possibly justify what you have done.
MAXWELL: Then listen to this. The Cardassians are arming again. That so-called science station? Military supply port.
PICARD: How do you know this?
MAXWELL: Information comes my way.
PICARD: From whom? Where is your documentation?
MAXWELL: I know what they're doing. I can smell it. There's no good reason for a science station in the Cuellar System, but it's a hell of a strategic site for a military transport station. A jumping-off point into three Federation sectors. They're running supply ships back and forth and nobody's going to tell me it's for scientific research.
PICARD: But whatever circumstances you encountered, why didn't you notify Starfleet?
MAXWELL: And wait six months while the bureaucrats sit around reading reports, trying to figure out what to do? They don't know what's going on out here. But you should, Picard. You know what it's like to be under fire.
PICARD: You weren't under fire.
MAXWELL: Lives were at stake.
PICARD: Whose lives?
MAXWELL: We had to act now.
PICARD: Why?
MAXWELL: It smells musty in here. Like a bureaucrat's office.
PICARD: You have killed nearly seven hundred people and you have taken us to the brink of war.
MAXWELL: I have prevented war, or at the very least delayed it a good long time. The peace treaty was a ruse, to give them breathing room, time to regroup.
PICARD: And so all alone you decided to dispose of the treaty.
MAXWELL: I took the initiative. I did what had to be done.
PICARD: What had to be done? For whom? Why does a man with a long and brilliant service abandon the fundamental principles that he has believed in, even fought for, all his life? I believe it is because of what they did to your wife and your children.
MAXWELL: Not true. Not true.
PICARD: To avenge their deaths.
MAXWELL: You're a fool, Picard. History will look at you and say this man was a fool.
PICARD: I'll accept the judgement of history.
MAXWELL: When it becomes clear what the Cardassians have done, I will be vindicated.
PICARD: What the Cardassians have or have not done is irrelevant.
MAXWELL: Irrelevant? Come with me. Find one of their supply ships and we'll see how irrelevant it is.
PICARD: We're not going after any more Cardassian ships. You're going to return to your bridge and set a course for Starbase two one one. The Phoenix and the Enterprise will return to Federation space together. Those are Starfleet's orders. I will permit you the dignity of retaining your command during the voyage. The only alternative is to put you in the brig and to tow your ship back to starbase in disgrace.
MAXWELL: I will return to my ship.
PICARD: You understand your orders?
MAXWELL: Yes, Captain.
PICARD: Mister Worf, report to my Ready room. My guest is departing.
WORF [OC]: Aye, sir.
Captain's log, supplemental. With the Phoenix in close formation, we are proceeding directly to Starbase two one one.
[Bridge]
PICARD: Mister Data, how long until we clear Cardassian space?
DATA: At our present speed, three hours, twenty minutes, sir.
PICARD: Mister Worf, send a message to Admiral Haden at Starfleet. Inform him of our projected time of arrival.
WORF: Aye, sir.
DATA: Captain, the Phoenix has changed course.
MACET: What is he doing?
PICARD: Ensign, change course to pursue. Mister Worf, will you hail Captain Maxwell?
WORF: No response, sir.
RIKER: Data, project his new course.
DATA: Sir, the Phoenix is heading directly for a Cardassian vessel point one two light years from our location.
MACET: He'll attack that ship just as he did the others.
PICARD: Continue the hail, Mister Worf. Priority one message. Do you know what that ship might be?
MACET: I imagine it's a supply ship, headed for the research station in the Kelrabi system.
WORF: The Phoenix still does not respond, sir.
PICARD: Ensign, warp eight. Overtake him.
DATA: Captain, the Phoenix has accelerated to warp nine. We will not be able to reach him before he intercepts the Cardassian ship.
PICARD: Ensign, warp nine.
ENSIGN: Aye, sir.
PICARD: Mister Worf, arm phasers. Continue the hail.
WORF: Aye, sir.
RIKER: Captain, Chief O'Brien was Maxwell's Tactical officer.
PICARD: Get him up here.
(a short time later, O'Brien enters)
DATA: Sir, the Phoenix has dropped out of warp. They have reached the Cardassian vessel.
RIKER: Slow to impulse.
WORF: Vessels are within visual range.
PICARD: On screen.
RIKER: Has the Phoenix activated its weapon systems?
DATA: Negative, sir. Their phaser banks are not armed.
RIKER: What about the Cardassians?
DATA: Our sensors are unable to determine status of the Cardassian defensive systems. Their ship is running with a high powered subspace field.
PICARD: Mister O'Brien, your former Commander, a Federation Captain, is about to place me in the position of firing on his ship. I need your knowledge of the man. How he thinks, what he's capable of doing.
O'BRIEN: Aye, sir.
WORF: Sir, Captain Maxwell is hailing us.
PICARD: On screen.
MAXWELL [on viewscreen]: All right, Picard. You need proof? You've got it now.
PICARD: Captain Maxwell, you have disobeyed a direct order.
MAXWELL [on viewscreen]: Board the ship, you'll see that everything I've been saying is true.
PICARD: The Cardassian vessel will not be boarded. You will transport yourself aboard the Enterprise
MAXWELL [on viewscreen]: Picard, if you don't board that ship, I'll destroy it.
PICARD: And I will use whatever force is necessary to prevent you from taking that action, Captain.
(transmission ends)
O'BRIEN: Sir, Captain Maxwell, if he feels his back is to the wall, he'll strike.
DATA: Captain, the Phoenix is transferring power to its shields.
WORF: They're arming phasers and loading forward torpedo bays.
PICARD: Red alert. It seems you were right, Mister O'Brien. Ready phasers, load torpedoes.
WORF: Phasers armed. Loading forward and aft torpedo bays.
O'BRIEN: Sir, let me beam over. Try to talk to him. We served together a long time. When you've been through what we have, you tend to get inside someone. He might listen.
RIKER: He'd never drop his shields and allow you to transport on board.
O'BRIEN: The Phoenix is using a high energy sensor system. It cycles every five point five minutes. Between cycles there's a window of a fiftieth of a second. Trust me, I can get through.
PICARD: Make it so.
[Phoenix Ready room]
MAXWELL: Not now!
(O'Brien enters and Maxwell grabs a phaser)
O'BRIEN: I'm not armed.
MAXWELL: How the devil did you get over here?
O'BRIEN: I had the thought that if we could talk we could figure a way out of this mess.
MAXWELL: The way out of this is clear. Talk to Picard. Get him to board the damned ship.
O'BRIEN: He won't do that, sir.
MAXWELL: But he'd turn his weapons on a Federation Starship to protect the enemy? I don't believe it.
O'BRIEN: He will. Count on it.
MAXWELL: What the hell has happened to this war?
O'BRIEN: Sir, there is no war. The war is over.
MAXWELL: You're wrong. The Cardassians live to make war.
O'BRIEN: That's what everybody thinks about the enemy. That's probably what they think about us.
MAXWELL: We're not the same at all. We do not start wars. We do not make surprise attacks on manned outposts. We do not butcher women and children in their homes. Children who never got the chance to grow up. You were with me on Setlick. You saw what they did.
O'BRIEN: Yes, sir.
MAXWELL: What was the name of the fellow who always hung around you like a puppy?
O'BRIEN: Will Kayden. Stompie.
MAXWELL: Stompie. As cool under fire as a mountain lake.
O'BRIEN: Yes, sir.
MAXWELL: He died at Setlick, didn't he?
O'BRIEN: Yes, sir.
MAXWELL: What was that song of his? The one he always sang, the one I liked?
O'BRIEN: (sings) The minstrel boy to the war has gone. In the ranks of death you will find him.
BOTH: His father's sword he hath girded on and his wild harp slung behind him. Land of song, said the warrior bard, tho' all the world betrays thee. One sword at least thy rights shall guard.
O'BRIEN: One faithful harp shall praise thee.
MAXWELL: I'm not going to win this one, am I. Chief?
O'BRIEN: No, sir.
Captain's log, supplemental. Captain Maxwell has turned his ship over to his First Officer and transported aboard the Enterprise. I have confined him to quarters for the return voyage.
[Observation lounge]
PICARD: Thank you, Chief.
O'BRIEN: I'd just like to say, sir, he was a good man. What he did was terribly wrong, I know that now, but I'm still proud to have served with him.
PICARD: Thank you, Chief, and well done. That'll be all.
(O'Brien leaves)
MACET: His loyalty is admirable, even if it is misplaced.
PICARD: The loyalty you would so quickly dismiss does not come easily to my people, Gul Macet. You have much to learn about us. Benjamin Maxwell earned the loyalty of those who served with him. You know, in war, he was twice honoured with the Federation's highest citation for courage and valour. And if he could not find a role for himself in peace, we can pity him, but we shall not dismiss him.
MACET: You are welcome to your opinion, Captain. I, for one, am grateful he is under lock and key.
PICARD: One more thing, Macet. Maxwell was right. Those ships were not carrying scientific equipment, were they? A research station within arm's reach of three Federation sectors? Cargo ships running with high energy subspace fields that jam sensors?
MACET: If you believed the transport ship was carrying weapons, Captain, why didn't you board it as Maxwell requested?
PICARD: I was here to protect the peace. A peace that I firmly believe is in the interests of both our peoples. If I had attempted to board that ship I am quite certain that you and I would not be having this pleasant conversation, and that ships on both sides would now be arming for war.
MACET: Captain, I assure you.
PICARD: Take this message to your leaders, Gul Macet. We'll be watching.
2024-09-11 12:53:56 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
