Fly Me to the Moon (episode)
Picard discovers an important person from his past may be integral to the divergence in the timeline. Q continues his manipulation of the timeline, taking an interest in Dr. Adam Soong. Seven and Raffi attempt a daring rescue of Rios, while Jurati faces the consequences of her deal with the Borg Queen.

Summary

Teaser
Renée Picard is piloting the Shango rocket into orbit when a "1202 alarm" begins to sound; Mission Control in Houston warns of an impending impact with a Russian satellite. As the satellite impacts, the alarms stop, as the controller says, "Boom. You're dead." It was a training simulation for the actual flight, three days hence. Renée expresses frustration that everything seems to be "stuck", but the controller assures her it was only jitters, and she would be fine.

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Picard is taken to the apartment of the mysterious "Watcher", who he realizes is not actually Laris at all. She instead identifies herself as Tallinn. Picard explains that he has come from the future, and Tallinn immediately expresses her dislike for time travelers. When he identifies himself, however, her attention is piqued. She explains that , she has a singular purpose: to protect one individual, "a single string in a grand tapestry to which I'm not privy," as she puts it. Picard explains there was a divergence coming, something that altered the future he came from, and that either Tallinn or the person she's protecting are important to that future. Tallinn reveals that the person he is protecting is Renée, who is apparently Picard's ancestor.

Act One
Aboard the crashed  outside Château Picard, the Borg Queen regains consciousness. "Alone, but not lonely," she says. "Silence so loud. Voices carried everywhere on invisible strings." She is able to hear the transmissions of the cellular phones and similar communications technology of the 21st century, and seems to take some pleasure from it. Her eyes open, and she asks the computer to intercept the local cellular tower frequencies. The computer does not recognize her voice, so the Queen mimics others with the same request: First Dr. Jurati, then Picard, and then finally Rios. The computer confirms Rios' voice access, giving the Queen access. She is able to make a call to the French National Police, saying in French that there was a woman under attack near the Picard vineyard. The policeman on the line tells her to stay put, as an officer was on his way. The Queen smiles to herself.

Meanwhile, the bus carrying the actual Rios to the Sanctuary District on the US-Mexico border is detected by Musiker's tricorder, a minute up the road from their location. She plans to have Jurati use La Sirenas transporter to lock on and beam him out, but Seven of Nine points out an issue: If he is beamed out in the presence of other people, it could affect the timeline. Musiker clearly does not have patience for "time travel rules", and points out that they were about to lose Rios forever. Seven tries to reassure her that they would get Rios out alive, but in such a way that would not further alter time, and then demands that Musiker hand over the tricorder, saying she was being too careless, while Musiker counters that Seven was being "too goddamn careful". Seven asks her again, and Musiker reluctantly hands it over, saying he was four hundred meters out. Seven can see that Musiker is upset not only about Elnor, but about her son Gabe, saying that she needed a target, somewhere to set her feet and fight. Musiker counters that Seven only wants to run away, and Seven agrees, as she activates an electromagnetic pulse that disables the bus. "Because something that's not moving is vulnerable," Seven concludes.

Aboard the bus, Rios realizes what is going on, as the ICE officer orders the detainees not to move. Rios looks to one of the others, Pedro, and tells him in Spanish to get ready to act, before saying the same to the others. The ICE officer tells him to shut up, as he works to resolve the issue. Pedro tells Rios not to do anything stupid, but Rios replies that his friends already have that covered. The ICE officer now opens the security gate to the detainees' seating to silence Rios himself, but Rios attacks him. The driver pulls his gun, but Musiker disables him with a stun beam, just as Rios and Pedro knock out the ICE officer. Seven grabs a pocket knife from the unconscious driver and begins cutting the restraints of the detainees. Upon seeing Seven and Musiker, Rios remarks that the 21st century has so far been a "very bumpy century", but he was getting the hang of it. Seven knows someone will start missing the bus at some point, which meant they had to get out fast. Musiker suddenly sees one of the detainees looking like Elnor and tries to stop him, but realizes it was not him. The man asks if she was alright, and Musiker replies that she is, telling him to go with the others. Seven steps off the bus, asking what came next. Musiker, somewhat shaken, agrees with Seven's earlier idea to keep moving. Rios congratulates Pedro on his help and wishes him well, as he leaves with Seven and Musiker.

In Tallinn's apartment, Picard asks about her "job", and Tallinn explains she was chosen to be a Supervisor. Picard recalls from his history that James T. Kirk once encountered a Supervisor named Gary Seven, who had a similar job to "protect the tapestry of history", even (in Tallinn's case) a single thread. He then asks her about Renée. Tallinn explains that her job involves watching, but never being seen, and thus has never actually met Renée, but knows she grew up in the south of France, and taught herself how to sail by age ten; by eleven, she had moved on to chess, fluid dynamics, and Cantonese. She went to university at age sixteen, then spent a couple of years as a test pilot (those years were "nail-biters", Tallinn admits), before finally being recruited by NASA. Picard thinks she sounds "remarkable", and Tallinn agrees that she is. But she also has her struggles, particularly with feelings of melancholy, anxiety, and depression. "It's a shame, for a mind that can burn so brightly," she admits. Picard knows that depression in Humans can be debilitating, and thinks she is lucky to survive, but Tallinn thinks that's the problem: she's not exactly "surviving". She explains that the Europa Mission, the first manned spaceflight to the Jovian moon, launches in three days, a mission Picard knows was a pioneering spaceflight in his history. However, Tallinn expresses doubt that Renée will even be on the flight.

At the same time, Renée meets with a therapist, who tells her to be kinder to herself. Renée confesses that she has times where she wonders if she was truly ready, or if she would fail when the time came, knowing that lives would depend on her well-being. Tallinn brings up the feed from the session, explaining that it was a mandatory psychiatric evaluation for the mission. Picard protests that it was a private matter, but Tallinn shrugs it off. As they watch, Renée admits to feeling like nothing matters, feeling numb at times, and it scared her; she didn't know if it was gut instinct, or just plain fear. The therapist tells her that fear need not be an enemy, but a friend, and that perhaps it was telling her she was not ready. Picard thinks the therapist is trying to talk her out of it, and asks to see the therapist himself. To his fury, he recognizes the therapist as Q, who he realizes is trying to use Renée to change the future.

Act Two
Dr. Adam Soong speaks before a board of doctors explaining his vision of understanding the Human genome, a future free of disease and genetic defects. He asks them to imagine he is a god, looking down at Humanity, and seeing them at a crossroads: Do they evolve to enlightenment, or divert into darkness? He asks them to picture a world free of genetic defects; if he had the power to nudge Humanity in the right direction, he argues, wasn't that his responsibility? He asks, if they could find the key to "unlocking our perfection", how far they would be willing to go. The panel chair, a Dr. Diane Werner, points out that he had been part of a private military organization, Spearhead Operations, testing his genetic experiments on soldiers. Soong points out they were ex-soldiers, but nevertheless Werner continues that his experiments were both illegal and unregulated. Soong argues that it was for a greater good, explaining that his daughter was afflicted by a genetic defect that left her confined to a single room; the smallest speck of dust would ruin her respiratory system, and ultraviolet radiation from sunlight would poison her blood. Werner tells him that breaking the Shenzhen Convention had serious consequences, and was left with no choice but to revoke his license and funding, and bans him from continuing any research into genetics.

Returning to his home and entering a sterile lab area, Soong is greeted by his daughter, Kore, who asks how it went, but sees it went badly by the look on his face. She asks if he did the "Humanity at a crossroads" speech, and he admits he did. He tells her that if there was "a single pearl of wisdom" he wanted to impart to her from his life experience and work, it was that "people are idiots", and assures her that some day soon she would meet some "morons" up close. Kore asks how soon, and Soong replies that he was "almost there". As she holds out her arm for her father to take a blood sample, Kore says she wants to learn to swim when she finally goes outside, to see nothing but sunlight reflected from the pool, to breathe the ocean air. Soong promises he will do anything to make that happen. However, upon analyzing the blood sample, the computer indicates a critical failure, that the genetic sequence he was working on had a 99.83 percent certainty of killing the subject. Soong is upset by this result, as he looks out to where Kore is sleeping on a couch. Suddenly, his computer screen begins to show the words "I can help". Confused, Soong looks as research data is rapidly shown on his screen, before it tells him to check his 3D printer. The printer creates a metal plate with a stylized letter "Q" and a phone number.

At Château Picard, the French National Police officer, Leclerc, explores the empty house with a flashlight, before using his radio to contact his dispatcher, reporting that the house was abandoned, but will continue to investigate. He comments on his hate for the countryside as he prepares to light a cigarette, before looking outside to see something shimmering in the distance – the cloaking device on La Sirena. Jurati is sleeping on a couch in the next room, and is not even seen by the officer. Leclerc goes outside and shines his flashlight on the ship, seeing that there is indeed something there, before going inside, gun drawn. "This can't be real," he says to himself, looking around the 25th century vessel, before he hears a woman's voice calling for help. He finally traces the voice to its source: the Borg Queen, suspended above the deck. "My hero," she sarcastically greets him. Leclerc falls backwards to the deck. The Queen sees he suffers from nicotine addiction, and offers to help with that… as a tentacle raises from over her shoulder.

Act Three
In Los Angeles, Dr. Soong meets Q in a small diner, remarking on the "neat little trick" of Q hacking into his network, as well as providing specific data to the problem he was trying to solve. He asks Q if he knows how many "crackpots" he has to deal with, ranging from "basement-dwelling Nazis to "rich heiresses trying to clone their fucking cats", making clear that he did not do any of those things, warning Q not to waste his time. Q replies he wouldn't think of it, thinking on how he's taken time for granted of late, and "now she's threatening to abandon" him, something Soong dismisses as more crackpot talk, getting ready to leave. Q stops him short, saying that in seventeen seconds he would sit down, because he had driven an hour to meet a total stranger, not for mystery or curiosity, but because he was a father who was desperate. Exactly seventeen seconds in, Soong sits down, saying that if Q knew so much about him, he knew Soong would kill him if he thought him a threat. Q agrees, and says he likes that about him. When Soong asks who he is, Q's reply is somewhat dramatic: "I am the evolution of stardust. I am the gentle flutter of a butterfly. I am Death, destroyer of worlds." He then cheerfully adds that he was a fan of Soong's work, and a visionary who knows how important he was to the future of Earth. Soong demands to know what he wants, but Q replies that this was about what Soong wanted; what he wanted would come later. "She doesn't have much time, does she?" Q asks, commenting on the irony of a geneticist whose daughter had an incurable genetic disease. Soong argues that nothing is incurable, but Q points out he has neither the funding nor time to prove that theory, as he pulls a small vial of blue liquid from his coat, rolling it across the table to Soong. He tells the doctor to analyze it, and if he likes what he sees, to call him… then perhaps Q will tell him what he wants.

At her apartment, Tallinn asks Picard why Q didn't just snap his fingers and make the Europa Mission ship disappear, or even Renée herself, if he was as powerful as advertised.  Picard admits he doesn't know, but if Q is trying to change the timeline by manipulating Renée, he would rob her of the destiny Tallinn was sworn to protect. Tallinn knows she would go into pre-launch quarantine the next day, and there would be no chance of her backing out by then, which to Picard meant they would have to find a way to keep her from backing out for the next fifteen hours. Picard half-jokingly asks if Tallinn has any sedatives, but she replies that Renée has to attend the gala that evening, the big party before the astronauts go into quarantine. Picard's plan is to attend the gala, monitor Renée's state of mind, and prevent any interference, suggesting contacting his crew. Tallinn notes that he seems to be under the assumption she would take orders from him, but Picard argues that she has protected Renée for twenty-four years, and that they stood a better chance working together.

Back at La Sirena, the Queen begins calling out to Jurati, saying she had a "surprise" for her. Jurati awakens, shock in her expression, before looking up at the double-barreled shotgun hanging over the mantle. Arming herself with the weapon, Jurati returns to the ship, finding the Queen with one of her appendages wrapped around Leclerc's neck. She claims to be helping Jurati, who calls "bullshit"; the Queen amends that she was helping the both of them. She could take over the policeman's body, but it was Jurati she really wanted. She mocks Jurati as being alone in every timeline, every permutation of existence; her fate was to be "forever invisible". The Queen offers to change that: "Imagine being loved completely, every thought and whisper cherished, shared." With their minds joined as one, they could be more. The Queen adds that she is the only one in the entire universe who has truly seen Jurati. The doctor raises the shotgun, saying it had to end. The Queen is nonchalant, saying that she was getting out, whether in Jurati's body or Leclerc's. Jurati steels herself, then pulls the trigger.

Act Four
In his lab, Soong analyzes the vial Q gave him, and is astonished to see the substance is stable, with one hundred percent effectiveness to treat Kore's condition. He wonders aloud how it was possible, before looking out at Kore reading a book on the monitor. Out on their deck, shielded from ultraviolet light, he hands Kore the syringe with the genetic stabilizer. Kore asks how he managed the breakthrough, and Soong says a "colleague" inspired him to try something new, and that he had tested it on himself already. Kore assures her father she trusts him, and gives herself the injection. Soong disables the drone shields blocking the sun, and unfiltered sunlight shines down on them both… with no ill effects. Father and daughter burst into joyous laughter, before Kore jumps into the pool; she admits she has "almost" got the hang of it, and asks if her mother was a good swimmer. "Like a duck" is Soong's answer; at her confusion, he amends that to "mermaid", remarking that she was a decade or two behind the times due to her isolation, and urges her to be patient with herself. "Patience requires time," she replies. Soong wonders if they could just not think for an afternoon, something that sounded out of character for him; he admits he just wanted to "take the win" for once. Kore asks about his "colleague", before she begins to feel immense pain, spider webs of blood crossing her face. Soong frantically brings the drone shield back online.

Rios, Seven, and Musiker are beamed back to La Sirena, horrified to see Jurati covered in blood standing at the transporter console. Jurati assures them it was not her blood, but admits she may have killed their only way home; behind her, the body of the Borg Queen hangs lifeless. Leclerc is unconscious in the ship's sickbay; Jurati had repaired most of his major organs (his spleen being held in a box nearby). She tells them the Borg Queen was killing him. She admits hating having to shoot her, noting how easy it had been; she had been just as Human as they were. Seven points out a few billion souls would disagree with her. Jurati erased Leclerc's memory of the incident, but they had to get him to his car. Meanwhile, Picard and Tallinn appear in the rectangular puff of smoke, the supervisor asking if the crew was trustworthy. Picard assures her they were, just as they see the others pulling what Tallinn thinks to be a dead Leclerc outside. Picard is sure he's not dead, thinking there was a reasonable explanation.

In his lab, Soong has called Q to join him, and asks if he has the real cure, not something that wears off, calling himself a "hostage" if indeed he does. Q answers that they were all hostages to what they loved, and the only way to truly be free was to love nothing. He confirms he has what Soong needs, and the doctor asks what he needs. Q admits that he has encountered certain limitations of late, and so asks Soong to remove an obstacle for both of them. "Does the name 'Picard' mean anything to you?" he asks.

Back at the château, Musiker asks Picard about Tallinn, noting her resemblance to Laris; Picard gives short, blunt answers. Tallinn shows them the therapy session between Renée and Q. Seven asks what Q is playing at, and Picard admits that there was a real danger of Renée removing herself from the Europa Mission, and that they have seen the consequences if she does. Rios wonders how this many-times-great-aunt of Picard's is the one person preventing their future from becoming a xenophobic tyranny, and Picard admits he doesn't know, as the history of the time period was "wildly incomplete". The century leading up to First Contact was rife with chaos, and that all that was known of Renée was that she discovered a microorganism on Io, another moon of Jupiter, that she believed was sentient; she convinced the mission commander to bring it back to Earth. However, none of that would matter if Renée did not go on the mission, so they would have to go to the gala and watch over her. Tallinn emphasizes that there is to be no contact with her; their intervention must be unseen. Picard knows it seems like Q is playing with them, but he is both unpredictable and dangerous, and Renée would be out in the open.

Tallinn points out another problem: The gala was a maximum-security event, and they weren't invited. Each guest was issued a radio-frequency invite that corresponded to a database of their entire life history. Tallinn's technology could get one person in temporarily, but once inside, facial recognition would take over. Even if they transported into the middle of the dance floor, they would be instantly caught. Jurati volunteers to hack the database, having taken "Antique Coding" in school. Tallinn thinks it cannot be done, as the database was physically separate from the network, but Jurati recognizes it as "air gapping", which she calls primitive but effective. They couldn't hack until they were inside, so Jurati would go in and input their identification into the database to allow the rest of them inside. Rios points out they were sending the roboticist as opposed to Seven, a Fenris Ranger, or Musiker, an ex-Starfleet Intelligence operative. Picard is confident Jurati has the skills to get them inside… and he has a plan.

At the gala, the band is playing the song "Fly Me to the Moon" as Jurati enters under the identity of "Holly Visser". Seeing a glitch on his computer screen, the security officer asks for another form of ID, and Jurati shows her California ID card. Inside the party, Jurati spots Renée. The young astronaut-to-be is watching footage of the launch of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land on the Moon, while thinking to the "disaster" in her flight simulation. Jurati is spotted by the facial recognition camera, telling Picard she's jamming the signal; the security people looking at the footage see her as a "party crasher", and warn the guard on the floor that she's talking to herself. The security guard takes her in, where she is handcuffed to a chair in the surveillance room. She reports she was inside, and Picard acknowledges waiting for her signal. She then begins to think on her confrontation with the Borg Queen, shooting her to save Leclerc, before feeling an agonizing pain through her body. The Queen replies that it was her, that she had let herself into Jurati's mind while Jurati was inside hers. The Queen again says that they could be more together, but Jurati angrily replies they were nothing together. The Queen points out she was needed to get home, that Jurati in particular needed her. The Queen reaches out with her hand… and plunges assimilation tubules into her face.

In the surveillance room, the Queen suddenly appears next to Jurati, arm around her shoulder. "Captured on purpose," she mocks, "clever little plan." Jurati is silent, and visibly uncomfortable, as Picard calls her.

Memorable quotes
"Look, I get it. You're angry. About Elnor. About Gabe…"
"Don't. "
"I know you. You need a target. You want to set your feet and fight." 
"And all you want to do is run away."
 - Seven of Nine and Musiker

"This is a very bumpy century but I think I'm getting the hang of it."
 - Rios

"That's not a therapist! That's Q! He's using Renée… to change the future."
 - Picard, discovering that Q is posing as his ancestor's therapist

"Dr. Soong, I presume?"
 - Q, upon meeting Adam Soong

"Do you have any idea how many crackpots contact me about my work? I get everything from basement-dwelling Nazis to… rich heiresses who want me to clone their fucking cats."
 - Adam Soong, to Q

"Captured on purpose. Clever little plan."
 - Borg Queen, in Jurati's mind

Background information

Production
: Title publicly revealed by Paramount+. 
 Unlike most telephone numbers shown onscreen, which often bear the standard 555 prefix, the one contained on Q's calling card (323-634-5667) was a real working telephone number that, when called, directed the caller to Q's voice mail.

Story and script

 The episode title is a reference to the 1954 song "Fly Me to the Moon", popularized by Frank Sinatra in 1964. Holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine performed this song in the episode .

Continuity
Picard explicitly references the 's encounter with Gary Seven when talking to Tallinn. ()
Q's offer to Adam Soong of a cure for his daughter's condition in exchange for assistance is reminiscent of a similar offer made by  to Thomas Harewood in .
Vasiliy Rozhenko has the same surname as Worf's adoptive family as well as his son, Alexander Rozhenko.

Links and references

Starring
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard 
Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati 
Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
Michelle Hurd as Raffaela Musiker
Evan Evagora as Elnor 
Orla Brady as
Laris 
Tallinn
Isa Briones as Kore Soong

With
Santiago Cabrera as Cristóbal Rios 

And
Brent Spiner as Adam Soong

Special guest stars
John de Lancie as Q

Guest starring
Annie Wersching as
Borg Queen
Borg Queen 
Penelope Mitchell as Renée Picard
Lea Thompson as Diane Werner
Leif Gantvoort as Morris
Jackie Geary
Ivo Nandi as Leclerc

Co-starring
Kay Bess as La Sirena Computer 
Oscar Camacho as Pedro
Michelle Haro as Guard #1
Shaw Jones as Guard #2
Daniel Mooney as Young Man
Zach Sowers as Security Guard #1
Kareem Stroud as Security Guard #2

Uncredited co-stars
Guy Fernandez, Jr. as A. Finch
Jack King as himself 
Richard Leacock as Commander Musa
Unknown performers as
Alex Greer
Vasiliy Rozhenko
CAPCOM 
Emergency line operator 
National Police dispatcher

References
1202 alarm; 1989; 1996; 2000; 2006; 2007; 2012; 2017; 2020; 2027; 2030; 21st century; 3D printer; acid; afternoon; age; air; air gapping; ancestor; anxiety; apartment (Tallinn's apartment); astronaut; August; Australia; back; basement; beaming (aka teleportation); blood; Borg; box; brain; bus; butterfly; California; Canada; Cantonese; car; cats; cellular phone; cellular tower; cerebellum; Château Picard; Chateauneuf-Grasse; chess; China; cloaking; cloning; collision; combadge; computer; constabulary; cop; counter thruster; countryside; crackpot; cure; Czech Republic; database; daughter; days; Department of Homeland Security; Department of State; depression; divergence; doctor; dress; duck; Earth; Egypt; ; Europa Gala; Europa Mission; experiment; eyewitness; facial recognition; fate; father; fear; finger; fingerprint; fire; first contact; fluid dynamics; "Fly Me to the Moon"; food coloring; fountain; France (aka République française); française; French language; frequency; friend; fucking; future; gala; genetic disease; genetic stabilizer; geneticist; genetics; genome; Germany; Ghana; god; god damn; great-aunt; hack; hand; handcuffs; heiress; ; history; hostage; hour; Houston; Human (aka Humanity); ; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; India; individual (aka person); internal organs; Intro to Antique Coding; Io; July; Kazakhstan; ; Kore's mother; La Barre; ; lab; Lebanon; maximum security; MCI; melancholy; memory; mermaid; meters; microorganism; military organization; mind; minute; mission commander; mother; name; NASA; Nazis; National Police; Newport Beach; nicotine addiction; Nigeria; ocean; orbital debris; order; organic tissue; passport; Personal Access Display Device; Peru; poison; pool; pre-launch quarantine; protective drone field; protective field drone; psych evaluation; purpose; ; ; Ranger; reality; red; respiratory system; roboticist; Romulan; Romulan language; room; rules; Russian; sailor; San Francisco; satellite; Saturn V; Scotland; second; sedative; sentience; ; Shango; Shenzhen Convention; Sol; soldier; Soong Dynamics; Sous-préfecture de Béziers; South Korea; space flight; Spanish language; Spearhead Operations; spleen; spy; string; struggles; ; surveillance room; swimmer; swimming; Tallinn's weapon; tapestry; test pilot; theory; therapist; therapy session; time; time period; time travel; time traveler; timeline; trespasser; tricorder; tyranny; United States of America (aka United States, USA); universe; university; UV light; vineyard; VIP; ; voice; voice pattern; water; xenophobic; year

Los Angeles locations
255 Grand; 2Cal; 400 South Hope Street; 777 Tower; Aon Center; Bank of America Plaza; Bunker Hill Tower; City National Plaza; Echo Park Lake; ; EY Plaza; Figueroa at Wilshire; FourFortyFour South Flower; Gas Company Tower; Highway 101; John Ferraro Building; LAUSD Headquarters; Manulife Plaza; Markridge Industrial Tower; Metropolis Los Angeles; Residence Inn by Marriott; ; Union Bank Plaza; Wedbush Center; Wells Fargo Center; Westin Bonaventure Hotel

Scientific paper references
bio-alignment; bio-generation; cloning; cloning vector; core tissue; critical failure; DNA sequence; eugenics; expression pattern; gene; gene sequence; molecular sequencing; polymerase chain reaction; skin disease; sunlight vulnerability; UV ray

Screen references
1202 alarm; analysis log; bandwidth; delivery structure; efficacy rate; identity verification; index layout; landing gear; percent; protective drone field; reset; server; system menu; vector accumulator area exhaustion; VIP; warning

Meta references

External links 
 
 
 

PIC episodes