Holographic Freeze — Krag's Accusation
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Krag interrupts the holographic replay to confront Riker about spending the night on the station, shifting the focus to the investigation.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Coolly clinical and focused—methodical in converting social cues into prosecutorial leverage without visible passion.
Krag watches the holoreplay and abruptly orders it stopped; he immediately reframes the paused scene into a line of questioning, treating the recorded social exchange as direct testimony to establish motive and responsibility.
- • Lock down admissible evidence to strengthen the extradition case
- • Expose a social dynamic (invitation vs. intrusion) that can be read as motive
- • Pressure Riker into concessions or admissions that support Tanugan charges
- • A recorded social interaction can be treated as reliable evidence
- • Formalizing private moments into testimony helps prove motive
- • Strict procedural control will advantage his investigation
Warmly inviting on the surface but performatively calculating—using charm to shape the social frame and indirectly assert control.
Manua pours champagne into three flutes, deliberately hands a glass to Riker (their hands touch), offers the glass to Apgar as an afterthought, smiles pointedly and makes hospitable but pointed remarks that highlight social advantage.
- • Encourage Riker (and La Forge) to accept lodging with the Apgars
- • Use hospitality to smooth over her husband's social deficits and present a united, gracious front
- • Signal to observers that the guests were welcome, thereby shaping perceptions of motive
- • Hospitality can redirect or neutralize professional awkwardness
- • A public display of invitation undermines any later claim that the guests were unwelcome
- • Charm will help protect her husband's reputation while securing useful company
Humiliated and suspicious—resentful that outside authorities impinge on his work and keenly sensitive to perceived slights.
Apgar scowls, refuses to join the toast, articulates grievances about schedule and Starfleet's unexpected presence, then goes silent under Manua's smooth hospitality—his resentment and professional discomfort plainly visible.
- • Protect the integrity and scheduling of his scientific work
- • Signal displeasure at Starfleet interference without escalating to open conflict
- • Maintain professional distance from perceived outsiders
- • Starfleet's presence is an intrusion or opportunistic
- • Professional matters should be conducted on his timetable
- • Domestic niceties (Manua's hospitality) mask or distract from substantive professional concerns
Measured and authoritative—internally weighing loyalty to his crew with the obligation to allow a fair investigation.
Picard observes the holoreplay, responds to Krag's command by instructing the computer to freeze and later resume the program, and maintains command decorum while balancing cooperation with an external investigator and protection of his officer.
- • Ensure the integrity and procedural fairness of the reconstruction
- • Protect Riker from premature procedural prejudice
- • Manage diplomatic interaction with Krag while preserving Starfleet standards
- • Due process and methodical evidence handling are essential
- • It is his duty to mediate between his crew's interests and external jurisdictions
- • Holodeck reconstructions must be carefully controlled to avoid misuse
Restrained and defensive—intent on de‑escalation but aware of the stakes; calm exterior masking concern about how private actions will be interpreted.
Riker accepts a flute, raises a friendly toast to Apgar, explains Starfleet's presence and offers placatory arrangements; later his real self answers Krag's direct question, testifying that Manua invited him to stay and asserting the truth of his testimony.
- • Defuse Apgar's embarrassment and reduce tension
- • Respect social niceties to preserve professional diplomacy
- • Maintain an honest record and protect his own legal position by testifying truthfully
- • A straightforward, cordial response will prevent conflict
- • His presence aboard the station was invited and defensible
- • Honest testimony will vindicate him in formal inquiry
Concerned and observant—attuned to the emotional undercurrents and protective of crew morale.
Troi watches the holographic replay alongside Picard and Krag, absorbing emotional nuance of the interactions and providing a quiet, empathic presence for Riker being scrutinized.
- • Monitor the psychological implications of the reconstructed interaction
- • Provide emotional support and calibration for Riker and command
- • Ensure that emotional testimony is contextualized humanely
- • Emotional subtext matters to truth and testimony
- • Aggressive evidentiary tactics can traumatize individuals and skew outcomes
- • Her readings can help command interpret witness behavior
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Data's investigative holodeck program renders the living‑area reconstruction, projects the participants and objects, and responds to freeze/resume commands. Krag uses the program to isolate and weaponize social detail; Picard controls its freeze and resume, making the program the technological conduit by which private interaction becomes formalized testimony.
Three slender champagne flutes function as deliberate props in the holoreplay: Manua pours champagne, hands a flute to Riker (their fingers touch), and gives one to Apgar as an afterthought. The glasses physically encode intimacy and invitation, becoming a visual cue Krag uses to argue social solicitation and motive.
Narrative Connections
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Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"KRAG: "Stop.""
"PICARD: "computer -- freeze program.""
"KRAG: "Then it's your testimony that it was Mrs. Apgar's idea for you to spend the night aboard the station.""
"RIKER: "It's my testimony... and it's the truth.""