- Counselor Deanna Troi: We're not playing it your way anymore, N'Vek. I've been kidnapped, surgically altered, put in danger. I've gone along with all your plans; now *you* are going to listen to me! You find a way to let the Enterprise track us, or I will go to Toreth and tell her I've discovered you're a traitor! I'll have you ejected into space, is that clear, Subcommander?
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: In order to know whether Ambassador Spock's message is being delivered accurately, I need to understand something about the messenger.
- Commander Toreth: Commander Konsab believes that in order to function, military officers have to trust each other. The Tal Shiar, on the other hand, trust no one. They expect deception, so they always find it.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [as Major Rakal; menacingly] Your opinion of the Tal Shiar is quite clear, Commander.
- Commander Toreth: [smugly] I hope so.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [as Major Rakal] We ensure the loyalty of the people. Do you believe the Empire would be better off without our protection?
- Commander Toreth: Protection? From what? How was the Empire threatened by the words of an old man? A devoted citizen who merely tried to speak his mind? How did the Tal Shiar protect the Empire by dragging him, my father, out of his home in the middle of the night?
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [as Major Rakal] Clearly your father was a traitor.
- Commander Toreth: No. He was just an idealistic old man. I never saw him again.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [as Major Rakal, addressing the Romulan crew] If any one of you defies the Tal Shiar, you will not bear the punishment alone. Your families - all of them - will be there beside you.
- Subcommander N'vek: You are a Starfleet officer disguised as a Romulan. Unless you trust me and do exactly as I have said, Toreth will discover you, and you will be killed.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: How do I know I won't be killed anyway?
- Subcommander N'vek: Your only chance to get off this ship alive is to do as I say. You are an empath. You would know if I am lying. Am I?
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [after some hesitation] No.
- Subcommander N'vek: Then let us go see the Commander.
- Commander Toreth: I have been ordered to take on cargo, but its contents are unknown to me. Does that seem wise? I am responsible for the safety of this ship and its crew. How do I know this cargo is safe to transport?
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [as Major Rakal] I'm sure it is safe, otherwise it would not have been loaded.
- Commander Toreth: [sarcastically] Aah! The Tal Shiar is *deeply* concerned for the safety and the well-being of the military! I'm sure that every person on the bridge of this ship could offer testimony about personal experiences with the Tal Shiar. But I doubt that many could recall those encounters as tender and caring. So I must ask you to forgive me, Major, if I hesitate to accept your assurances that that cargo presents no danger to my crew!
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [as Major Rakal] I don't need your devotion, Commander. Just your obedience.
- Commander Toreth: And that's all you have.
- Ensign Stefan DeSeve: I have a message from Ambassador Spock. He said it involves further... 'cowboy diplomacy'. He said you would understand.
- Ensign Stefan DeSeve: On Romulus you learn not to volunteer information. It's a hard habit to break.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Well, maybe now would be a good time to start.
- Commander Toreth: [on testing the Enterprise's tracking abilities] We will pass as close as we possibly can. If they do have the ability to track us, they will move to avoid a collision. If they do... I will destroy them.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: [as Major Rakal] In order to defeat your enemy, you must first understand them. The Federation wishes to avoid war at all costs. So - I will offer them a diplomatic solution, get them to lower their shields, and then... destroy them!
- Commander Toreth: People blame the military for the wars that we are asked to fight. But I think it is your kind, Major, that will be the death of us all.
- [last lines]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The men you helped rescue're all safe. Proconsul M'ret is deeply grateful for your help.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: The thanks should go to N'Vek. He sacrificed himself to save them - and me.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Thanks to the two of you, the way has been paved for further rescue operations. N'Vek's efforts, and his sacrifice, were not in vain.
- Ensign Stefan DeSeve: The Romulans are very moral, Captain. They've an absolute certainty about what is right and what is wrong, who's a friend and who's an enemy - a strict moral compass, which provides them with a clarity of purpose. At one time, I found their sense of purpose, their... passion and commitment to be very compelling.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: But not anymore?
- Ensign Stefan DeSeve: As I've grown older, I realize that clarity of purpose is a more... ambiguous matter than I had thought in my youth.
- Subcommander N'vek: The purpose of the Tal Shiar is to ensure loyalty. To defy them is to invite imprisonment - or death.
- Commander Toreth: Contrary to the propaganda that your superiors would have us believe, Starfleet is neither weak nor foolish.