- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: History has shown us that strength may be useless when faced with terrorism.
- [Dr. Crusher has been abducted by terrorists]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: I would like to leave Commander Riker here to assist in your search for Dr. Crusher.
- Alexana Devos: [shrugs] If you like.
- Commander William T. Riker: You don't sound very optimistic.
- Alexana Devos: I know my enemy, Commander; they don't leave much room for optimism.
- [Crusher has managed to talk the Ansata boy out of shooting Devos]
- Alexana Devos: Already another one to take his place. It never ends.
- Commander William T. Riker: He could've killed you. He didn't. Maybe the end begins with one boy putting down his gun.
- Lt. Commander Data: [on the transport device of the terrorists] Captain, anyone who is willing to transport in this manner would suffer significant internal damage that could be detected.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Hm... It sounds as though they may require the services... of a doctor.
- [Crusher, treating a man, is assisted by an Ansata boy]
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: Thank you. You're very helpful. You could learn to do this when you grow up. If you grow up...
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Beverly, it is our obligation to think of escape.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: [referring to Finn] He's prepared to kill you.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: An excellent reason to escape.
- Kyril Finn: This is a war for independence. And I am no different than your own George Washington.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: Washington was a military general, not a terrorist.
- Kyril Finn: The difference between generals and terrorists, Doctor, is only the difference between winners and losers.
- Lt. Commander Data: I have been reviewing the history of armed rebellion. And it appears that terrorism is an effective way to promote political change.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Yes, it can be. But I have never subscribed to the theory that political power flows from the barrel of a gun.
- [Devos has agreed to go along with Riker's attempt to contact the Ansata separatists]
- Commander William T. Riker: Is that what you want?
- Alexana Devos: What I want... is to go home. Back to my own country. To leave behind the round-ups, the interrogations. The bodies lying in the street. To be able to walk without the bodyguards, and not to have to jump at every unexpected noise. That's what I want, Riker!
- [last lines]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [while Wesley is welcoming back his mother] Take us out of orbit, Mr. Crusher.
- [Wesley is still hugging his mother]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: At your convenience.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: I'm sorry. If I'd only gone back to the ship.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: I should've beamed you up.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: You wouldn't dare.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Oh, yes, I would, and should.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: Without my permission?
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: If you don't follow orders.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: If you'd give reasonable orders, I'd obey.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Doctor, I will be the judge of what is reasonable!
- [Devos has shot Finn in order to save Picard's life]
- Commander William T. Riker: You didn't have to kill him.
- Alexana Devos: As a prisoner, he would have been a focus for violence, as his followers tried to free him. Now, he's a martyr. But the death toll might go down, at least in the short term. It's an imperfect solution, for an imperfect world.
- Kyril Finn: Captain, the Federation has a lot to admire in it. But there's a hint of moral cowardice in your dealings with non-aligned planets. You're doing business with a government that is crushing us, and you say you're not involved? You're very, very much involved. You just don't wanna get dirty.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: What happened to them?
- Kyril Finn: It's the inverter. It's given our cause a new life, but... it asks for our lives in return.
- Kyril Finn: How much innocent blood has been spilled for the cause of freedom in the history of your Federation, Doctor? How many good and noble societies have bombed civilians in war, have wiped out whole cities? And now that you enjoy the comfort that has come from their battles, their killing, you frown on my immorality? I'm willing to die for my freedom, Doctor. And in the finest tradition of your own great civilization, I'm willing to kill for it too.
- Kyril Finn: I am fighting the only war that I can against an intractable enemy. Now I'm fighting a big war against a more powerful adversary. Can't you see how that helps me?
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: I'm afraid I can't.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: He's added another chair to the negotiating table.
- Kyril Finn: *You* added the chair, Captain; I am simply forcing you to sit in it.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: [some of the Ansata terrorists] What happened to them?
- Kyril Finn: It's the inverter. It's given our cause a new life, but it asks for our lives in return.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: What does it do?
- Kyril Finn: We transport through a dimensional shift that the Rutian sensors can't trace.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: Dimensional shifting? You can't do that with humanoid tissue.
- Kyril Finn: There are risks... the designers warned us. But... it works.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: [Beverly scans Finn with her tricorder] You're showing the same distorted readings. Not as severe as the others, but...
- Kyril Finn: [brushes it off] It doesn't matter.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: It does if it kills you.
- Kyril Finn: Don't you know? A dead martyr's worth ten posturing leaders.
- Alexana Devos: [discussing her methods in dealing with the Ansata] Believe it or not, I always considered myself moderate.
- Commander William T. Riker: What changed your mind?
- Alexana Devos: Being stationed here the last six months. Watching the body count grow. The three assassination attempts on my life.
- Commander William T. Riker: I can see where that could affect your point of view.
- Alexana Devos: The event that really opened my eyes took place only a few days after my arrival. A terrorist bomb destroyed a shuttlebus... 60 schoolchildren. There were no survivors. The Ansata claimed it was a mistake. That their intended target was a police transport. As if that made everything alright. That day I vowed to put an end to terrorism in this city. And I will.
- Lt. Commander Data: But if that is so, Captain, why are their methods so often successful? I've been reviewing the history of armed rebellion, and it appears that terrorism is an effective way to promote political change.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Yes, it can be. But I have never subscribed to the theory that political power flows from the barrel of a gun.
- Lt. Commander Data: Yet there are numerous examples when it was successful: the independence of the Mexican state from Spain, the Irish Unification of 2024, and the Kenzie Rebellion.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Yes, I am aware of them.
- Lt. Commander Data: Then would it be accurate to say that terrorism is acceptable, when all options for peaceful settlement have been foreclosed?
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Data, these are questions that mankind has been struggling with throughout history. Your confusion is... only Human.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: You've scared the hell out of me, Finn! You've controlled me through fear, just like you've tried to control this whole continent!
- Kyril Finn: You haven't tasted real fear yet, Doctor.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: Is that the best you can do? Is fear the only weapon you have?
- Kyril Finn: No, but... it's a good one.
- Doctor Beverly Crusher: You know what scares me the most, Finn? It scares me to think that you might win this fight, and gain real power!
- [first lines]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [voice over] Captain's log, stardate 43510.7. The Enterprise has put in at Rutia 4 to deliver medical supplies following an outbreak of violent protests. Although non-aligned, the planet has enjoyed a long trading relationship with the Federation. Now, a generation of peace has ended with terrorist attacks by Ansata terrorists, who are demanding autonomy and self-determination for their homeland on the western continent. Recreational shore leave has been prohibited and all away teams have been instructed to beam down armed.