The End Is the Beginning

A flashback reveals that after the Mars attack Picard offered his resignation as a bargaining move, and Starfleet simply accepted it. Raffi, whose own career was wrecked as a result, refuses to forgive him or join his mission, but she puts him in touch with Cristóbal Rios, a former Starfleet officer who flies the ship La Sirena, crewed by holograms that share his face. On the Artifact, the cube's director Hugh, a former Borg drone, lets Soji interview Ramdha, a Romulan freed from the Borg, who calls her “the destroyer” and tries to take her own life; Soji's unexpected speed saves her. In France, Zhat Vash assassins attack Château Picard. Laris, Zhaban and Jurati, recently visited by Commodore Oh, fight them off, and the last survivor also calls Soji “the destroyer” before killing himself. Jurati joins the mission, Raffi agrees to come as far as Freecloud, where she believes Bruce Maddox is hiding, and Picard finally orders “Engage”.