as the Enterprise was his ship and the crew his crew, but Guinan reminds him that the Borg now know everything Picard knew. She goes on to remind him that "there can only be one captain" and points to the chair and tells him that it is now his. Further, she states somewhat sternly that Picard was a dear friend to her and that while their relationship was "beyond friendship and beyond family" that she will let him go because she has to. As she leaves and Riker takes the captain's chair to ponder his new role as captain, the Enterprise arrives at Wolf 359. Riker takes the ship to the battle coordinates. Data picks up several ships, which Riker asks if it is the fleet. All theEnterprise moved away. Explosions on the Borg ship begin to erupt, causing Picard to convulse. The Enterprise speeds away as the Borg ship explodes over Earth, ending the threat of the Borg, at least for now…

In the lab, Picard begins to return to normal as his Borg implants begin to shut down. As Troi asks him how he feels, Picard warily eyes his prosthetic arm extension and replies "almost Human" and ruefully complains of a mild headache. Dr. Crusher is confident that removing the Borg hardware will not pose a problem. Captain Riker asks him how much he remembers and Picard replies that he remembers everything, with a glint of admiration for some "brilliantly unorthodox strategy from a former first officer of mine."

As the Enterprise prepares to dock