Confrontation in the Guest Quarters — Accusation, Assault, and a Vow
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Apgar bursts in, accusing Riker of making advances on his wife before attacking him in a rage.
Riker defends himself against Apgar's attack and delivers counterstrikes that floor the scientist.
A beaten Apgar vows revenge as Manua helps him from the room, leaving Riker with a threat hanging over him.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Terrified and grief-stricken; her protectiveness collapses into uncontrollable sorrow that nevertheless produces a clear, damning narrative against Riker.
Manua rushes to Apgar after he's struck, clings protectively to her husband, delivers an emotional testimony that interprets Apgar's distracted temperament and presents Riker as a threat, then breaks down and leaves the holodeck area.
- • To protect and care for her injured husband
- • To justify her husband's reaction and ensure his complaint is heard and believed
- • She believes Apgar is vulnerable and easily distracted, so Riker's attention is an affront
- • She believes telling the story emotionally will persuade observers of Riker's culpability
Reserved and businesslike; he remains externally impassive while pursuing institutional aims without visible agitation.
Krag commands evidence control by ordering the holodeck program frozen immediately after the staged confrontation, then follows Manua toward the doors—maintaining procedural control and preserving the simulation as examinable proof.
- • To secure the simulation as preserved evidence for Tanugan jurisdictional claims
- • To extract coherent testimony and maintain custody of material that supports extradition
- • He believes formalized, frozen evidence has weight in legal proceedings
- • He believes preserving the simulation now prevents later manipulation or dispute
Outwardly raging and wounded; beneath the anger a vulnerable, humiliated pride that converts into vindictive resolve.
Apgar storms into the simulated guest quarters, verbally confronts Riker about perceived intimacy, lunges with a wild punch, is physically overpowered by Riker's defensive strikes, collapses, and vows revenge while being helped from the holodeck.
- • To shame Riker publicly and assert moral ownership over his wife
- • To punish or derail Riker's career by threatening formal complaint to Starfleet
- • He believes Riker has crossed a moral boundary with Manua and deserves retribution
- • He believes formal complaint and personal testimony will ruin Riker's professional standing
Troubled and inwardly conflicted; loyalty to his first officer strains against the objective implications of mounting testimony and preserved evidence.
Picard observes the emotionally charged reconstruction and testimony, registers growing concern at the cumulative weight of evidence, and calls a short recess—privately weighing duty to his officer against Starfleet procedure and political consequences.
- • To preserve the integrity of the investigation and follow procedure
- • To protect his officer from unjust consequences while honoring legal obligations
- • He believes Starfleet procedure and impartial adjudication must be upheld
- • He believes the political realities of extradition may force decisions beyond personal loyalty
Surface composure from training masks anxiety and alarm; he is shaken by the implication that testimony will imperil his career.
Riker is physically confronted and defends himself—blocking and striking to neutralize a violent lunge—then issues a veiled threat about the consequences of reporting before standing stunned and arguing with Troi about conflicting eyewitness accounts.
- • To protect himself physically and prevent the incident from being used to destroy his career
- • To establish his version of events and persuade Troi (and investigators) of his innocence
- • He believes he acted in self-defense and that the physical outcome doesn't equate to guilt
- • He believes that contradictory testimony (Manua's) could nonetheless carry institutional weight against him
Uneasily conflicted—professionally certain in an empathic reading (no deception) but personally unsettled by the emotional charge of Manua's testimony.
Troi remains with Riker after Picard recesses, offers empathic reassurance, reports that she sensed no deception from Manua, but is visibly uncomfortable with her own feelings and the tension between subjective truth and contradictory recollection.
- • To comfort and support Riker emotionally while remaining an impartial counselor
- • To report her empathic impressions honestly to help clarify testimony
- • She believes empathic readings are valuable but not absolute proof
- • She believes emotional truth can coexist with contradictory recollections and still complicate legal outcomes
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The investigative holodeck program renders the guest quarters and preserves a live reconstruction of the confrontation; Krag freezes the program to lock the sequence as evidentiary material, making the simulated actions and timings examinable and politically consequential.
The holodeck doors function as the physical exit point for Manua and Apgar after the confrontation; they mark the boundary between the staged evidence and the real-world observers and stage Manua's withdrawal under emotional strain.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The holodeck observation gallery frames the event as a contained public reconstruction: witnesses watch from a protected tier, the space becomes a quasi-courtroom where simulated intimacy, violence, and testimony are displayed for adjudication and emotional scrutiny.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Apgar's violent confrontation with Riker escalates to Manua's damning testimony, increasing the pressure on Riker."
"Apgar's violent confrontation with Riker escalates to Manua's damning testimony, increasing the pressure on Riker."
"Riker's disbelief at Manua's testimony and Troi's confirmation echo Picard's later admission of how difficult it would be to extradite Riker, both exploring the theme of subjective truth and personal bonds."
Key Dialogue
"APGAR: I knew you'd try this, Riker. Do you think I didn't notice how you looked at her? I'm not the fool you take me for..."
"RIKER: If you report this, you'll be making a terrible mistake, Doctor. A terrible mistake."
"TROI: Will, I sensed no deception from her..."