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The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1
Responding to a distress call from Jouret IV, a Federation settlement, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise transports down to find the colony of New Providence completely obliterated, the only trace being a gigantic crater. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his people have seen this terrible thing before, and when they are met by Admiral Hansen (George Murdock) and Lt. Cmdr. Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) of Starfleet Tactical, their worst fears are realized: the Borg, a malevolent race of advanced cybernetic beings, have reached Federation space.
While Cmdr. William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is offered command of his own starship, the U.S.S. Melbourne, Lt. Cmdr. Shelby eagerly eyes the position of First Officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. Riker is reluctant to accept his new command but Shelby is undeterred from her goal and challenges Riker’s authority to prove herself right for the position. After confirming the Borg’s presence at Jouret IV, Admiral Hansen reports a distress call from a nearby starship, describing a cube-shaped alien vessel. The U.S.S. Enterprise then proceeds at warp 9 toward the starship’s last known position and while enroute, is intercepted by the Borg ship. The Borg announce that it is Captain Picard that they want, or they will destroy the ship. The U.S.S. Enterprise’s weaponry proves useless against the Borg ship and is ultimately caught in a tractor beam.
The U.S.S. Enterprise then fires its phaser banks at random and breaks the tractor beam’s hold on them. Picard then tries to escape the Borg ship in a nearby nebula, but they prove unable to elude them for long. Picard is captured and brought before the Borg Central Intelligence where they tell him that it is their intention to invade the Terran system and they want a human voice to speak for them. Meanwhile, Engineer Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) suggests that they may be able to combat the Borg with a concentrated burst of energy channeled through the ship’s main deflector. But their time to prepare everything is limited, so an away team is assembled to find Picard and possibly slow the Borg ship down on its way to Earth.
After beaming aboard the enemy vessel, Shelby, Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), Worf (Michael Dorn) and Data (Brent Spiner) destroy several power distribution nodes with their phasers, thus drawing attention from the Borg. They are horrified to find Picard partially transformed into a Borg himself. Unable to effect a rescue, the away team returns to the U.S.S. Enterprise where Riker is ready to fire the energy burst from the deflector. Once back, the Captain, now no longer Jean-Luc Picard but Locutus of Borg, hails the crew and informs them: “Resistance is futile From this time forward you will service…us.” Riker takes a deep breath and gives his command to fire the energy weapon.
The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2
Captain Jean-Luc Picard has been abducted by the malevolent Borg Intelligence for the purpose of being spokesman to the Human race in the Borg invasion of Earth. Now transformed into Locutus of Borg, he stands against the U.S.S. Enterprise as Cmdr. William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) gives the order to fire the energy blast which he hopes will destroy the Borg ship. But after absorbing all of Picard’s knowledge of the starship’s capabilities, the Borg are easily able to shrug off the blast and escape undamaged.
As the Borg ship continues toward Earth, Picard undergoes further cybernetic implants and conditioning. A single tear streams down his face as the last of his humanity is drained. As the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise struggles to quickly repair the ship, Riker must adjust to the loss of Picard as well as to his new responsibilities as ship's captain. Meanwhile, Admiral Hansen (George Murdock) mobilizes a strike force to intercept the Borg at sector Wolf 359. But even the Federation’s mightiest starships prove to be no match for the Borg’s power.
Upon arriving at Wolf 359 and finding the devastated remains of Starfleet, the U.S.S. Enterprise is able to trace the course of the Borg via an ionization trail left in their wake. Realizing that the Borg can still use Picard’s knowledge and experience against them, Riker devises a complex rescue operation which he hopes will catch Locutus/Picard off guard. After re-engaging the Borg, the U.S.S. Enterprise separates its saucer section which then bombards the Borg ship with an anti-matter barrage. While the Borg are distracted, a shuttlecraft piloted by Worf (Michael Dorn) and Data (Brent Spiner) slips past the Borg’s defenses and homes in on Picard’s position. From there they beam in, sedate Picard, and transport him back to the shuttle. After emerging from the Borg defensive perimeter, they beam back to the U.S.S. Enterprise as the shuttlecraft is destroyed by the Borg.
In sick bay, Locutus/Picard is examined by Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Data in the hopes that, through him, they can tap into the Borg collective consciousness and find a hidden weakness to exploit. As the Borg approach Earth, Data links his positronic brain to Locutus, attempting to send a command to the Borg Central Intelligence to abort the attack. With phasers and photo torpedoes still useless against the Borg¦s shields, Riker prepares to ram the Borg ship head on, but in sick bay, the last remaining vestige of Picard whispers over and over again: “sleep” which Data realizes to be a command to transmit to the Borg to shut down and regenerate. Data successfully transmits the signal and the Borg ship ceases operation, but an away team discovers that in so doing, they have activated the ship’s auto-destruct system. After the U.S.S. Enterprise warps out of range, the Borg ship explodes, releasing Picard from its hold on him.
As the U.S.S Enterprise proceeds to Space Station McKinley for much needed drydock repairs, Cmdr. Riker explains to Lt. Cmdr. Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) that his career is his own business, not Starfleet’s and that, at least for now, he will remain on board the U.S.S. Enterprise as Executive Officer. Meanwhile, Picard has his remaining cybernetic Borg components surgically removed and, at least on the outside, he appears to be normal. But the memory of his ordeal remains and as Picard looks out of his window, he contemplates whether or not his life can ever be the same again.
Ron Jones
Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Ron Jones moved with his family to the northwest at the age of four, living in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington and West Linn, Oregon. During his teens, he realized he had a unique ability to create music and his family encouraged him to focus on composing. Before graduating high school, he had already composed and arranged works for orchestra, band, jazz ensemble, choir and brass groups. He had also enrolled at Clackamas Community College in Oregon, where he received several awards for outstanding musicianship. After graduating from Seattle Pacific University, where he received a B.A. in music theory and composition, Ron and his wife, Laree moved to Los Angeles in 1978 where he continued to study composition and arranging at the Dick Grove School of Music, during which time he got his first scoring assignment “ghosting” for a major movie of the week. Since then he has worked on several series for Hanna-Barbera including “The Smurfs”, “The Flintstones” and “Scooby Doo.” Later on he worked with Mike Post and Pete Carpenter on “The A-Team”, “Riptide”, “Magnum P.I.”, “Hunter”, etc. His most recent works have been for episodes of the CBS cartoon series “Superman”, “Duck Tales” and numerous episodes of the new series “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Ron and his family reside in Burbank, where he also has his offices.
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