GUINAN: This isn't the end.
PICARD: You say that with remarkable assuredness.
GUINAN: With experience. When the Borg destroyed my world, my people 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.
A good speech.
RIKER: They're some kind of magnetometric guided charges.
Magnetometric just means related to measuring the strength and direction of magnetic fields. I hope that starships are magnetically neutral. Maybe it's the nebula that they're in (let me
link to the Blueprints and Particle recreation of the Battle of the Mutara Nebula again).
LAFORGE: Recommend we adjust shield harmonics to favour the upper EM band when you proceed.
PICARD [OC]: Acknowledged.
Uh, Geordi, YOU'RE using the upper EM band, not the Borg, remember?
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.
You gotta wonder how assimilation really improves the Borg race.
BORG: 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.
Is there a culture that ISN'T authority driven? Why would the Borg care about "introduction" into Federation society? I thought at this point all drones were test tube babies and assimilation was invented here to provide the mouthpiece! You'd think they could harvest the Earth's resources without a mouthpiece.
I have to separate what we'll learn about the Borg later from what we know about them NOW, watching in 1990.
RIKER: I strongly recommend redeploying all available defences to protect sector zero zero one, Admiral.
HANSON [on monitor]: We're moving to intercept at Wolf three five nine. We'll make our stand there.
Wolf 359 is a real system. It's 7.9 light years from Earth. A bit too close for comfort, if you ask me.
SHELBY [OC]: We've found the Captain's uniform and his communicator. We're resuming our search.
You'd think they would've been recycled by now, I can't imagine the Borg storing things for later.
DATA: We were unable to retrieve him, sir. Sir, The Captain has been altered by the Borg.
RIKER: Altered?
WORF: He is a Borg.
In the video game they're already using the word "assimilated." It really makes a mess of canon.
The Fiver
Admiral Hansen: How are you, old friend?
Picard: A little perplexed. When did I become old friends with every admiral in Starfleet?
Hansen: When you got command of the flagship. We all want a piece of that.
Picard is already a few years into his avoidance of the Admiral's Banquet at this point, but there are other opportunities for admirals to meet him, of course. You also have to consider that Picard is probably the last of his generation to remain a starship captain. Did the Stargazer disaster derail his career that much?
Commander Shelby: Hi. Can I have your job?
Riker: No. Will you sleep with me?
Shelby: No.
Riker: We seem to have reached an impasse.
I thought this one was funny from the first time I read the fiver all those years ago. However, Riker and Shelby would've NEVER worked as a couple. A subplot in the Voyager novel Mosaic concerned Janeway avoiding Riker for years, but I don't think that relationship would've worked either.
O'Brien: She and Data are down there already. Now my idea is to beam you into her uniform, her into Geordi's, Geordi into --
Riker: I don't think so.
O'Brien: Spoil all my fun, why don't you.
Now that would be tricky transporter work. I wonder if Scotty could've managed it....
Picard: Nonsense! The Melbourne is a fine ship -- I'm sure it'll die very well with you as its captain.
Riker: Give it up and tell me the real reason.
Picard: If you leave, I think I'll have a chance with Troi.
Um, ew.
Borg: Your distinctiveness will be added to our own.
Picard: Was that a marriage proposal?
Borg: What? No, you idi--
Picard: Mr. Worf, dispatch a subspace message to Admiral Hansen. Tell him... we have been engaged to the Borg.
That pun is just painful.
Guinan: Pre-battle jitters, eh?
Picard: Yeah. You know, this could be the end of civilization. No more Earl Grey, no more Twinkies....
Guinan: That would suck. Maybe I should use my Q powers to save us.
Picard: You have Q powers?
Guinan: Shhh! You're endangering my secret identity.
Guinan's powers are very different from a Q, this doesn't really work.
Picard: All right already! What do you want?
Borg: To make you one of us. We were kind of hoping you'd volunteer....
Picard: Ha! What kind of insane captain would do that?
Isn't it nice how "insane captain" always means Janeway?
Memory Alpha
* We know that the second part wasn't written when this one was. I don't like that. At least they could've had two scripts ready, the Picard lives version and the Picard dies version.
Nitpicker's Guide
* Phil says that Shelby should be more worried about being assimilated than her career. Oops, she doesn't know about assimilation yet! They should all be worried about being killed, not assimilation at this point.
* There's confusion about Locutus being given a name when other drones don't. I don't, the point is that the Borg are using the mouthpiece model this time, and mouthpieces generally have names. Why wouldn't they use the Latin word for "one who speaks", presumably taken from Picard's mind?
* First confirmation that Earth is the center of the Federation. Phil apparently doesn't know about Earth as a founding member yet, he thinks Earth joined at a later time.