Plot

Picard and the crew trace Soji to the Borg cube, forcing Picard to face memories of being Locutus; Narek believes he's found a way to safely exploit information from Soji.

Picard and the crew track Soji to the Borg cube in Romulan space, resurfacing haunting memories for Picard. Meanwhile, Narek believes he finally found a way to safely exploit Soji for information.

Narek realizes that Soji has the same nightmare each night and plans to use this to find where she was created. In the dream Soji is a little girl, who enters a lab decorated with Orchids. A person is working at the console, but his face is not visible. Sojis is discovered and then she wakes up. Narek knows that Soji speaks to her mother every night. Narissa says that Soji's dreams are a malfunction, a bug. But Narek is convinced that they have been programmed in deliberately. Narek says that Soji's dreams can be a vulnerability in her system. Maybe her dreams can allow Narek to access her internal sub-systems and memories without triggering her self-defense capabilities. Narek can access the location of her home world.

Soji says that she often falls asleep while talking to her mother. Narek tells Soji each call to her mother lasts for 70 seconds exactly. Each call, every day. Doubts start creeping up in Soji's mind. Soji calls her mother, who says her father is working in the lab.

Struggling with the guilt of murdering Maddox, Jurati has sex with Rios. Picard is not looking forward to visiting a Borg cube again. Picard says that the Borg never change, they only adapt to their situation. The ship approaches Romulan territory.

To board the Artifact without causing a diplomatic incident with the Romulans, Picard asks Raffi to procure official clearance from the Federation. The Artifact is under the Borg Reclamation Project, in treaty with the Federation, so if Picard can get Federation diplomatic credentials, the Romulans would be forced to let him meet the director of the Project, Hugh. Raffi, drunk and high following her son's rejection, convinces an old Starfleet acquaintance to provide the clearance. This allows Picard to beam aboard the Artifact. Picard tells Elnor specifically not to beam aboard the Borg ship.

As Picard beams aboard, the dormant Borg sense his presence and get activated. But this time, the Borg only help to save Picard from falling inside the Borg ship. Picard meets Hugh, who gives him a tour of the ship. Hugh tells Picard that the former Borgs are called XBs. Picard says that he wants to meet Soji. Hugh knows Soji and also knows that Narek is a Romulan spy. Hugh knows Soji is in danger. Picard sees that Romulans have perfected the science of undoing a Borg assimilation. Hugh says that now the Borg Queen is a Romulan.

Meanwhile Raffi realizes that the Tal Shiar has kept Soji alive for a reason.

Due to Narek's manipulation, Soji begins to discover that her identity was recently manufactured. Soji scans all her stuff and realizes that all of her physical belongings were created 37 months ago. This includes her childhood stuffed toys, her school drawings, her photos, everything

Narek guides her through the Romulan meditation practice of Zhal Makh to explore her dreams: she is able to identify clues hinting at the place she was created (she sees 2 moon, dark as blood and with lots of lightening). Narek also tells Soji that his true name is Hrai Yan. Soi continues her dreams beyond the point where she wakes up. She still cannot see her father's face, but she can see that her father is working on a model of Soji. Soji is a doll and in pieces. Narek tells Soji that she is not real and attempts to poison her with radiation. This activates her self-defense mechanism which allows her to escape by digging a hole through the floor of the chamber where Narek had imprisoned her.

While escaping, Soji runs into Picard, and Hugh helps them transport to the nearby planet Nepenthe. Before beaming off, Picard gives his destination to Rios and Raffi.

Raffi can see that Picard is in serious trouble on board the Artifact. Elnor beams aboard the Artifact to help Hugh cover their tracks and from preventing the Tal Shiar from tracking their location.