Riker's Quiet Moral Break
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Riker records a personal log (V.O.), confessing fatigue and moral unease—he should rest but instead prepares for a duty he does not wish to perform, insisting that truth must not become a trophy in legal combat.
Riker's expression fractures: excitement flashes as he realizes the schematic gives him a path to victory, then collapses into bleak sadness at the moral cost; he punches off the recorder, drained and haunted by what a victory would require.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
No direct emotional state observed (absent); the event implies his vulnerability and the precariousness of his autonomy.
Not physically present; Data appears only as the subject of the displayed technical schematic. His personhood is indirectly confronted as the ship's systems render him into diagrams and callouts, making him the object of scrutiny.
- • (Implied) To be understood and fairly treated under law and ethics.
- • (Implied) To preserve personal autonomy and avoid involuntary dismantling.
- • Data values reasoned assessment of his status (implied from larger context).
- • His technical composition will be interpreted as evidence rather than testimony if allowed.
Externally controlled and professional, privately exhausted and conflicted—briefly hopeful when seeing potential leverage, quickly overtaken by shame and the dread of harming friends.
Alone at a bank of consoles, Riker authenticates with command clearance, instructs the computer to display Data's schematics, makes notations on a PADD, records a private log, reacts with momentary excitement then collapses into bleak resignation and stops the recorder.
- • Locate concrete technical evidence that could be used in court to secure a legal advantage.
- • Prepare and document his thought process to justify actions he is being forced to take.
- • Try to reconcile his obligation as an officer with loyalty to his crewmates (implicit, emotional goal).
- • Starfleet procedure and evidence matter; legal victory depends on demonstrable facts.
- • Winning the case may require exposing painful, dehumanizing technical truths about Data.
- • He can still find a way to satisfy duty without completely betraying personal loyalty (hopeful then undermined).
Impartial and instrumental—no emotional coloring, only protocol compliance.
Performs procedural tasks: authenticates Riker, confirms clearance, executes the retrieval command, and displays the encrypted, Top Secret schematic. Functions as neutral annunciator converting Riker's spoken commands into visible evidence.
- • Verify identity and clearance to ensure secure access.
- • Retrieve and present the requested classified schematic accurately.
- • Access must be governed by clearance and protocol.
- • Data retrieval and presentation are objective processes divorced from human judgment.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The supplemental log recorder is activated by Riker to capture a personal log entry. It translates an internal moral monologue into recorded evidence of his state of mind; the recorded moment ends abruptly when Riker turns the unit off in emotional exhaustion.
The Technical Schematic is summoned and rendered on a console flagged Top Secret, Need to Know. It functions as the catalytic object: a potential legal lever that converts Data's being into evidentiary parts and forces Riker to confront the real consequences of a courtroom win.
The PADD serves as Riker's tactile note-taking device: he makes a notation while scanning legal and technical displays. It marks his procedural preparation and the attempt to organize thoughts and evidence before the formal hearing.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Riker's authenticated retrieval of ship data produces the flagged 'Top Secret' schematic—the computer-room investigation yields the technical evidence he will use in court."
"Riker's authenticated retrieval of ship data produces the flagged 'Top Secret' schematic—the computer-room investigation yields the technical evidence he will use in court."
Key Dialogue
"RIKER: Computer, identify Riker, William T. Clearance level blue."
"COMPUTER VOICE: Identified. Ready."
"RIKER (V.O.): Personal log. Zero three hundred. I should be resting. Instead I continue to prepare for a duty I do not wish to perform. Truth should not be reduced to a prize in a battle of wills and words."