Redblock's Brutal Takeover and the Grim Ultimatum
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Cyrus Redblock, Leech, and a gun-toting thug intrude without invitation, asserting dominance and demanding the mysterious 'item,' escalating the threat level inside the office.
Redblock orders Whalen's body removed; Beverly insists Whalen is still alive, intensifying urgency; Leech violently backhands Picard, underscoring the deadly stakes.
Lieutenant McNary arrives unsuspecting, is quickly disarmed and subdued by Redblock's men, widening the captive group and increasing the peril.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Initially confident and cool, quickly turning to vulnerability after being subdued.
Lieutenant McNary enters unexpectedly, attempts casual disarming of tension with sarcasm but is quickly overpowered and subdued by Redblock’s thug.
- • Investigate the situation
- • Support Picard and the crew
- • Trust in law enforcement role
- • Underestimates the danger in the simulation
Focused and menacing, executing commands with brutal efficiency.
Redblock's Thug enforces violence and intimidation, disarming McNary, threatening Beverly, and following orders without hesitation, embodying relentless physical menace.
- • Maintain physical control
- • Support Redblock's dominance
- • Loyalty to Redblock ensures survival
- • Violence is justified to enforce order
Coldly amused yet increasingly serious as he maneuvers to maintain dominance.
Cyrus Redblock commands the scene with cold ruthlessness, enforcing control over Leech and the thug, orchestrating intimidation tactics, and coldly deciding to sacrifice Beverly to escalate pressure.
- • Acquire the mysterious item
- • Maintain control over crew and henchmen
- • Power is maintained through fear and control
- • Killing is justified if purposeful
Incapacitated, fading towards death.
Charles Whalen lies dying on the floor, the victim of earlier violence; his presence intensifies the stakes and the urgency of the crew’s plight.
- • N/A due to dying state
- • N/A due to incapacitation
Grimly resolute, masking vulnerability with controlled leadership and measured defiance.
Picard faces the hostile intruders with grim determination, negotiating with Redblock and Leech while revealing the unsettling truth of their fictional existence.
- • Protect crew and negotiate survival
- • Expose the fabricated nature of their reality to disrupt antagonists
- • Truth can unsettle and gain leverage
- • The crew's survival depends on psychological and physical courage
Mildly apologetic and calm with an undercurrent of intellectual curiosity.
Data acts as a logical voice of reason, assessing Redblock’s etiquette ironically and supporting Picard’s revelation of their fictional status while enduring hostile scrutiny.
- • Clarify the nature of the situation
- • Support Picard’s leadership
- • Logic can illuminate truth
- • Antagonists’ belief systems are fragile
Worried but resolutely calm, balancing professional medical focus with rising personal alarm.
Beverly Crusher remains composed yet worried as she tends to the dying Whalen, actively resisting Leech's threats and preparing to protect the crew amidst escalating violence.
- • Save Whalen's life
- • Protect Picard and crew from violent threats
- • Violence is unjustified and senseless
- • Her medical expertise is crucial to saving lives here
Frustrated and desperate, bordering on panic as his grip on reality falters.
Felix Leech exudes violent hostility, wielding a gun and stiletto to intimidate the crew while exhibiting growing frustration and desperation as the illusion of their reality crumbles.
- • Obtain the mysterious item
- • Assert dominance through intimidation and violence
- • Violence is a means to control
- • The crew’s stories are deceptions to be overcome
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Felix Leech wields this cold, lethal firearm to intimidate Picard and the crew, fatally shooting Whalen earlier and threatening Beverly directly, marking a sharp escalation from simulated roleplay to deadly threat.
Leech uses this slender stiletto dagger to menace Picard, pressing it against his chest and slowly plucking buttons off his shirt, heightening psychological threat and physical intimidation.
The vintage floor lamp initially aids Beverly’s examination of Whalen, but its cord is accidentally pulled causing darkness; Picard restores light, emphasizing fragile control of environment amidst chaos.
Redblock uses this white handkerchief to wipe his brow amid tension, a small gesture that humanizes his ruthless character and punctuates moments of exertion and control.
Buttons on Picard's shirt become a sinister focal point as Leech plucks them off one by one during his threatening approach, symbolizing Picard’s vulnerability and the escalating menace.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The immersive Holodeck Dixon Hill San Francisco Simulation serves as the claustrophobic battleground where reality and fiction collide; its period details and confined office space intensify psychological and physical confrontations between crew and antagonists.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The realization of lethal stakes causes Picard and Data to confront the invading Redblock gang, heightening danger and transforming the scenario into a fight for survival."
"The realization of lethal stakes causes Picard and Data to confront the invading Redblock gang, heightening danger and transforming the scenario into a fight for survival."
"The realization of lethal stakes causes Picard and Data to confront the invading Redblock gang, heightening danger and transforming the scenario into a fight for survival."
"Riker's confirmation of orbit and subsequent urgent reaction reflect rising external pressure that parallels the internal Holodeck crisis, linking dual narrative tensions."
Key Dialogue
"REDBLOCK: Good day, Mister Hill. My name is Cyrus Redblock. I hope you don't mind us dropping in."
"PICARD: He's not from this world. None of us are."
"LEECH: Shut up!! Let me shoot them, Mister Redblock. Let me kill them, one by one."
"REDBLOCK: A most interesting situation. Perhaps we should test this theory by killing one of them."
"REDBLOCK: No, kill the woman!"
"PICARD: Redblock. I have the item."
"REDBLOCK: Put the gun down, Mister Leech."
"REDBLOCK: Begin. Make your thoughts fruitful and your words eloquent. Your lovely friend's life depends upon it."