Q Who

Q whisks Picard off a turbolift and offers his services as a guide, arguing that the Federation is unprepared for what lies ahead. Picard turns him down. Stung, Q hurls the Enterprise thousands of light-years into unexplored space. There the crew finds a planet whose cities have been gouged out of the surface, and Guinan, whose people suffered at the same hands, recognises the signs. A vast cube-shaped ship arrives: the Borg, a collective of cybernetic beings interested only in technology. A drone boards the Enterprise to study it, then the cube slices a section out of the hull, killing eighteen crew. The Enterprise appears to disable the cube, but it regenerates and gives chase. Out of options, Picard admits to Q that he needs help, and Q sends the ship home. Picard thanks him, but Guinan warns that the Borg now know about the Federation and will come looking.