 Picard orders return fire , and the Enterprise appears to disable the Borg ship . Commander William Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) takes an away team to the Borg cube where they find that the Borg are still active but focusing their attention on repairing their ship 's damage . The away team returns , and Picard orders that they depart at maximum warp . The Borg ship immediately reactivates and begins pursuit , gaining on the Enterprise . Q appears on the bridge and warns Picard that the Borg will never stop chasing them , and cannot be defeated . Picard attempts to fight back against the Borg to no avail , and finally admits he needs Q 's help . Q obliges , returning the Enterprise to its last position in Federation space . Picard , though thankful for Q 's lesson , blames Q for the deaths of his crew . Q disappears , but not before reminding them again of their ill @-@ preparedness . Guinan warns Picard that now that the Borg are aware of the Federation 's presence , they will be coming . Picard reflects that perhaps Q did the right thing for the wrong reasons by bringing forward their encounter with the Borg , as it has prepared the Federation for what lies ahead of them as they continue to explore . 
