 Set in the 24th century , the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise @-@ D. In this episode , the omnipotent entity known as " Q " ( John de Lancie ) arrives on the Enterprise and decides that Captain Jean @-@ Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) was acting in an arrogant manner . Q then sends the ship across the galaxy where the crew make first contact with the cybernetically enhanced assimilating race known as the Borg . After the crew fail to defeat a Borg vessel , Picard is forced to beg for Q 's help . 
