Jameson and Picard Confront Mordan IV Hostage Crisis
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard logs the Enterprise's orbit around Persephone V and introduces the urgent mission involving Admiral Mark Jameson, setting the mission’s serious tone.
Picard briefs Jameson on the hostage crisis on Mordan IV, displaying Data’s transmission of the grim image of Governor Karnas, who demands Jameson as the negotiator to resolve a lethal terrorist standoff.
Picard and Jameson exchange tense dialogue acknowledging the long and bitter civil war on Mordan IV, with Jameson recalling his past negotiations and implicitly signaling a complicated shared history with Karnas.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calm and focused with underlying awareness of the mission’s urgency and political complexity.
Captain Picard commands the Enterprise bridge with focused authority, opening the log, briefing Admiral Jameson on the hostage crisis, managing the reception of Karnas's subspace message, and coordinating imminent mission departure.
- • Inform Admiral Jameson fully of the hostage crisis
- • Prepare the Enterprise crew for rapid deployment
- • Maintain command clarity amid tension
- • Starfleet protocol demands swift, coordinated action
- • Jameson is uniquely suited to this crisis
Calm and methodical, with an unwavering focus on technical accuracy.
Data operates the bridge console deftly, relaying and displaying Governor Karnas’s urgent subspace transmission onto the main screen, enabling the senior staff to absorb critical information.
- • Ensure clear transmission of critical information
- • Support command with tactical data display
- • Accurate information flow is essential to mission success
- • His role is to facilitate command decisions through data
Alert and watchful, cautiously evaluating the emerging situation.
Commander Riker stands alongside Picard, attentively observing Karnas’s transmission and the unfolding briefing, providing a steady tactical presence on the bridge.
- • Support Picard’s command decisions
- • Monitor tactical implications of the crisis
- • Effective negotiation is preferable to armed conflict
- • The hostage crisis demands measured Starfleet response
Calm and subtly urgent, maintaining emotional awareness of the crew’s state.
Counselor Troi announces the time, signaling the imminent arrival of Admiral Jameson and his wife, subtly reminding Picard and the crew of the tight timeline.
- • Keep command aware of timing
- • Support crew morale and emotional readiness
- • Timely action is critical
- • Emotional dynamics affect mission success
Alert and determined, tinged with nostalgia and a sense of looming personal challenge.
Admiral Jameson receives the briefing attentively, demonstrating a blend of veteran confidence and alert focus. He reflects on his complicated history with Karnas, asserts his readiness to lead the negotiation, and communicates preparations for departure alongside his wife.
- • Assess the hostage situation quickly
- • Assert command readiness to Starfleet and crew
- • Prepare for immediate departure with his wife
- • His past experience is critical to resolving the crisis
- • His leadership is indispensable to Starfleet’s success here
Burdened by responsibility and frustration, with a solemn urgency.
Governor Karnas appears as a serious figure in the subspace transmission, conveying the dire hostage crisis, stressing his inability to negotiate with the terrorists and emphasizing the demand for Admiral Jameson.
- • Secure safe release of hostages
- • Expedite Starfleet’s intervention through Jameson’s involvement
- • Peace on Mordan IV is fragile and must be protected
- • Jameson is the only negotiator capable of resolving the crisis
Supportive and patient, poised to join a critical and dangerous mission.
Though not physically present, Admiral Jameson's Wife is referenced as preparing to beam aboard with the Admiral, indicating personal stakes and support in the unfolding mission.
- • Provide personal support to Admiral Jameson
- • Accompany him during the critical negotiation mission
- • Her presence strengthens Jameson’s resolve
- • Shared commitment to Starfleet mission success
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Enterprise Bridge Communications Console functions as the critical technological hub through which Data relays and displays Karnas's subspace transmission, enabling real-time strategic briefing and coordination among senior officers.
The Enterprise Bridge Viewer Screen projects a vivid, high-resolution subspace transmission from Governor Karnas, visually anchoring the tense briefing and underscoring the gravity of the hostage crisis to all bridge personnel.
The subspace transmission is the narrative catalyst, carrying Governor Karnas's urgent plea and hostage crisis details to the Enterprise, prompting immediate strategic response and personal involvement from Admiral Jameson.
The USS Enterprise serves as the orbiting command platform near Persephone, hosting the strategic briefing, mission coordination, and staging point for Jameson’s impending deployment to Mordan IV.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Persephone provides the strategic celestial backdrop for the Enterprise's orbit and serves as the immediate staging area from which the mission to Mordan IV will be launched, symbolizing the calm before the storm.
Karnas's Office on Mordan IV is the source of the crucial subspace transmission, grounding the hostage crisis in a stark, militaristic environment marked by bare walls and symbolic weapons, reflecting the planet’s troubled history and Karnas’s burdened leadership.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"KARNAS: I am Karnas, governor of Mordan IV. A dissident terrorist group has taken Federation Ambassador Hawkins and his staff hostage. They will not discuss terms with me. This is a crisis I cannot resolve without assistance. The terrorists are demanding a Federation negotiator."
"KARNAS: I feel there is only one negotiator with the skills and understanding to resolve this situation. The hostages' lives will depend on Starfleet delivering this man to Mordan. Commander Mark Jameson. (corrects himself) Admiral Jameson. The terrorists have given you six Earth days to arrive here -- or the hostages will die. Please...hurry."
"JAMESON: Forty-five years ago I negotiated a hostage situation on Mordan. Karnas was a young man then.... (light chuckle) ... but so was I. He seems to feel I can handle the situation again. Obviously Starfleet feels that way too, or you wouldn't be here."
"JAMESON: My wife and I will beam aboard at 1500 hours, Captain. Be prepared to depart this starbase and proceed immediately to Mordan IV. Acknowledge."
"PICARD: Received and acknowledged, sir. Picard out."