Riker's Calculated Bluff to Save Geordi
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Worf relays Starbase’s warp-nine summons and Pulaski and Troi press the urgency—Picard needs them now—shoving a rescue-versus-captain dilemma onto the bridge.
Riker refuses to abandon Geordi and orders a forced-spectrum link to the Pakleds despite interference, committing to direct confrontation.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Cautiously ready — he supports forceful options but follows Riker's restrained command while preparing for escalation.
Worf monitors tactical systems, reports Starbase's request and confirms the Bussard firing sequence progression when Riker initiates it, remaining alert and ready to fire if ordered.
- • Ensure the ship can respond with force if the bluff fails.
- • Keep tactical systems primed and report status accurately.
- • A show of power must be backed by readiness to act.
- • Safety of crew justifies forceful measures when necessary.
Anxious and insistent; professional concern for Picard's survival dominates her tone and makes her pressure explicit.
Dr. Pulaski stands beside Riker on the bridge, insisting they proceed to Starbase because Picard needs life-saving surgery, voicing medical urgency that conflicts with Riker's decision to stay.
- • Ensure the ship reaches Starbase promptly so Picard receives necessary surgery.
- • Prevent delays that could cost a life.
- • Medical timelines are absolute and must override secondary objectives.
- • Prompt transfer to a specialized facility increases patient survival chances.
Triumphant and unsteady; his bluster masks technical insecurity and makes him vulnerable to intimidation.
Reginod appears on the Mondor viewscreen echoing Pakled boasts about newfound strength and weapons; his triumphant manner reinforces the Pakleds' overconfidence that Riker aims to exploit.
- • Assert the Mondor's newfound power to intimidate rescuers.
- • Maintain psychological control over the hostage situation.
- • Displays of weaponry equal respect and leverage.
- • Intimidation is an effective means to extract technology.
Focused and urgent; professional concentration drives precise, high-risk technical work to support the bridge's tactic.
Sonya in Engineering executes Riker's order: she primes anti-matter systems, boosts hydrogen output and initiates core sequencing to produce a massive roar — a controlled, nonlethal demonstration intended to intimidate the Pakleds.
- • Create a visible and audible engine display to sell the bluff.
- • Execute sequencing safely to avoid actual damage while convincing the Mondor crew.
- • Engineering can produce convincing deterrence without lethal action.
- • Following command orders precisely supports crew safety.
Vulnerable by implication; his condition functions as a silent moral weight on Riker and Pulaski's decisions.
Captain Picard is not present but is the subject of Pulaski's urgent appeals; his medical crisis is the pressure forcing Riker to balance rescue priorities with life-saving obligations.
- • Receive emergency surgery at Starbase to survive.
- • Remain unaware (to preserve crew morale) while crew manage crisis.
- • Medical care at Starbase is required and urgent.
- • Crew will do what's necessary to ensure his safety.
Calmly focused; supplies data-driven constraints that shape command action without affect.
Data provides the technical readout that the Mondor has armed photon torpedoes and warns that forced-spectrum communications are spotty, enabling Riker to make an informed bluff despite imperfect signals.
- • Deliver accurate sensor information to inform bridge decisions.
- • Maintain communication links long enough to support the bluff.
- • Objective technical information reduces risk in tactical choices.
- • Even unreliable signals can be leveraged with correct interpretation.
Resolute and controlled; a calm exterior masking urgency and moral pressure to save a crewman before medical deadlines force departure.
Commander Riker takes command in Picard's absence, orders a forced-spectrum link to the Mondor, publicly bluffs with a Bussard core sequencing and a loud firing countdown to coerce the Pakleds and protect Geordi.
- • Create a diversion to enable Geordi to sabotage the Pakled weapons.
- • Delay or prevent departure to Starbase until Geordi is retrieved.
- • Apply nonlethal pressure that avoids unnecessary escalation.
- • Leaving a crewmember behind is unacceptable and undermines command integrity.
- • A well-timed technical bluff can achieve rescue without immediate violence.
Concerned and clarifying; she seeks to translate emotional subtext into tactical caution for the command team.
Counselor Troi reads the Pakleds' affect on the viewscreen, warns the bridge that the captors feel confident, and frames Picard's medical need as an urgent counterpressure on command decisions.
- • Alert command to the emotional state of the Pakleds (overconfidence) to inform strategy.
- • Remind the bridge of Picard's medical urgency to influence decision-making.
- • Understanding an adversary's emotional posture aids tactical choices.
- • Emotional truths (Picard's vulnerability) should temper risky prolongations.
Tense but determined; he uses calm, focused improvisation to undermine the threat while relying on Enterprise support.
Geordi is visible on the Mondor's bridge and, taking Riker's diversion, leans into the weapons bay to 'check something,' using the distraction to tamper with the Pakleds' torpedoes and buy time for rescue.
- • Sabotage or disable the Pakleds' armed torpedoes to remove the immediate threat.
- • Signal or create an opening to be beamed back aboard the Enterprise.
- • He can manipulate crude systems given time and cover.
- • Enterprise will attempt to recover him and buy that time if possible.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The forward viewscreen is forced up via spotty spectrum link to display the Mondor bridge; it functions as the theatrical stage where Riker addresses the Pakleds, projects authority, and receives visible evidence of Geordi and Pakled bluster.
The Mondor's newly armed photon torpedoes are identified by Data and referenced as the immediate threat; they are the target of Geordi's covert adjustments during the distraction, making them the central object of sabotage and the reason for the bluff.
The Enterprise's engine core (Bussard system) is sequenced by Engineering to produce a loud, visible reaction — a nonlethal but imposing demonstration of power that underpins Riker's bluff and convinces the Pakleds that the Enterprise can deliver destructive force.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Enterprise main bridge serves as the operational hub where command choices are made, the forced-spectrum link is displayed, and the decision to perform a technical bluff is executed; it is the nerve center translating moral urgency into tactical theater.
Main Engineering acts as the technical engine room that executes Riker's bluff: Sonya manipulates reactors and sequencing to generate the dramatic Bussard roar, converting raw engineering capability into a tactical instrument.
The Mondor bridge is the remote antagonist location visible on the viewscreen where Grebnedlog and Reginod posture, hold Geordi in view, and display crude armed torpedoes; it is both the hostage arena and the psychological target of Riker's bluff.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"News that Picard is near death heightens pressure, yet Riker doubles down on saving Geordi first."
"News that Picard is near death heightens pressure, yet Riker doubles down on saving Geordi first."
"Worf’s coded ‘twenty‑four levels of awareness’ sets the countdown cue for the later firing sequence."
"Worf’s coded ‘twenty‑four levels of awareness’ sets the countdown cue for the later firing sequence."
"Worf’s coded ‘twenty‑four levels of awareness’ sets the countdown cue for the later firing sequence."
"Riker’s countdown triggers Sonya’s execution of the crimson hydrogen bluff from the Bussard collectors."
"Geordi slips into the weapons bay to ‘adjust’ the arsenal; moments later, the Pakled weapon fails to fire."
"Riker commits to confrontation and starts the countdown, culminating in the ‘Fire!’ command to execute the bluff."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"RIKER: "We can't leave Geordi behind -- I want the Pakleds on that screen and I want them now!""
"RIKER: "Begin firing sequence countdown from twenty-four.""
"GEORDI: "They mean business. Let me just check something.""
"SONYA: "Ready, Commander Riker --""