Countdown Bluff: Riker's Nonlethal Rescue
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data flags armed photon torpedoes; Riker snaps that Geordi pulled it off, confirming the Pakleds now wield live firepower.
Riker fires an ultimatum over a fuzzy link as Grebnedlog and Reginod crow about new strength; Troi reads their swelling confidence, locking the standoff.
Riker pivots to intimidation, cues Sonya in Engineering, and ignites sequencing; the engine core roars as he starts a firing countdown.
Sonya boosts hydrogen while the COMPUTER ticks down; Worf confirms the sequence and Riker holds fast as the bluff barrels toward the brink.
The Pakleds flinch at the show of force and Geordi seizes the opening, slipping into the weapons bay to ‘adjust’ their arsenal under Grebnedlog’s nose.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Alert and expectant — prepared to execute bridge orders when issued.
Summoned over the comm by Riker ('Bridge to Ensign Gomez...') and implied to be awaiting orders and ready to act; functions as background support to the bridge's tactical operations.
- • Stand ready to implement communications or tactical commands from the bridge.
- • Provide reliable operational support to senior officers.
- • Orders from command must be followed promptly.
- • Preparedness and discipline underwrite successful operations.
Frustrated and insistent — prioritizes clinical necessity and skeptical of tactical gambits that delay treatment.
At Riker's side insisting they proceed to Starbase for Picard's treatment; presses the medical urgency that competes with Riker's decision to delay for a rescue attempt.
- • Get Captain Picard to Starbase for immediate medical intervention.
- • Convince command to prioritize medical evacuation over prolonged engagement.
- • Prevent avoidable risk to ship and crew by shortening the encounter.
- • Delaying medical care endangers the captain's life.
- • Command decisions must consider medical evidence and urgency.
- • Risking more crew to recover one is sometimes necessary but must be justified.
Smug and pleased, energized by the apparent success of their acquisition and the attention it brings.
Appears on the Mondor feed alongside Grebnedlog, echoing claims of new weapons and authority; participates in the hostage posture, bolstering the impression of threat.
- • Support Grebnedlog's claim to strength to extract concessions.
- • Maintain control of the hostage situation and intimidate the Enterprise.
- • Demonstrate technical prowess (or the illusion of it) to secure respect.
- • Possessing weapons equals respect and leverage.
- • The Enterprise will respond to a credible threat rather than risk crew loss.
- • Demonstrating power publicly will extract what the Pakleds want.
Focused and professional — executing technical orders with no visible hesitation, aware of the stakes.
In Main Engineering, executes heavy anti‑matter sequencing and boosts hydrogen output on Riker's cue, producing a massive engine roar and convincing visual/audible effects to sell the bluff.
- • Create a convincing power surge to lend credibility to the firing countdown.
- • Coordinate precisely with bridge timing to maximize psychological impact.
- • Avoid creating a real hazard while simulating a threat.
- • Engineering spectacle can be an effective nonviolent deterrent.
- • Following bridge orders reliably is crucial for mission success.
- • Controlled technical displays can shape an adversary's behavior.
Calmly factual, focused on accurate sensing and enabling command decisions without personal bias.
Provides the technical readout that detects armed photon torpedoes and warns of forced‑spectrum signal quality; executes Riker's order to patch the Mondor feed despite degraded communication channels.
- • Deliver reliable sensor data to inform command choices.
- • Maintain and optimize the forced‑spectrum connection so the bluff reads as authentic.
- • Support Riker's tactical intent through timely information.
- • Sensors offer objective information that should guide action.
- • Clear, accurate technical feedback increases the chance of a successful bluff.
- • Bridge orders should be implemented unless contrary evidence appears.
Alert and ready — prefers a direct secure response and is distrustful of purely deceptive tactics without contingency plans.
At tactical station, vocalizes procedural options (mentioning Starbase warp approach), monitors the firing sequence and reports its progression, ready to respond with force if deception fails.
- • Protect the Enterprise and its crew through defensive or offensive measures.
- • Ensure shields/weapons readiness in case the bluff escalates.
- • Minimize risk to Geordi by preparing immediate action.
- • Force readiness is essential whenever hostages and weapons are involved.
- • Deception is useful only if backed by the ability to act decisively.
- • Command must not be paralyzed by competing priorities.
Determined and urgent with disciplined control — a leader masking anxiety about Picard by channeling it into tactical audacity.
Commands from the bridge: demands the Mondor on the viewscreen, delivers the ultimatum, orders forced‑spectrum connection and the staged firing countdown, and physically steps before the screen to brandish authority and buy Geordi time.
- • Rescue Geordi and prevent his abandonment.
- • Neutralize or delay the Pakled weapons without escalating to lethal force.
- • Create a credible threat to force Pakled reaction and open a tactical window.
- • A bold deception can be more effective than immediate violence.
- • The Pakleds' bluster can be exploited if framed as real power.
- • Leaving a crewmember behind is unacceptable and undermines command integrity.
Concerned and pragmatic — internally torn between fear for Picard and alarm over Geordi's danger.
Reads the Pakleds' affect, warns the bridge that they feel confident, and reminds the command circle of Picard's medical needs — providing emotional intelligence that pressures tactical choices.
- • Ensure command accounts for the emotional state of the adversary.
- • Protect both Picard's medical priority and Geordi's safety by influencing Riker's decision.
- • Prevent underestimation of the Pakleds' bluffing or dangerous pride.
- • Emotional cues provide actionable tactical information.
- • Command should weigh human cost as heavily as technical risk.
- • The Pakleds are likely masking insecurity with showy claims.
Tense and pressured outwardly but covertly focused and opportunistic — appearing compliant while actively undermining enemy systems.
Visible on the Mondor viewscreen as a captive; he verbally delays and moves into the weapons bay to 'check something,' using the distraction to begin the covert physical work necessary to compromise the torpedoes.
- • Buy time and stall his captors under the pretense of compliance.
- • Access the weapons bay to sabotage or disable the photon torpedoes.
- • Survive the immediate hostage situation and return to Enterprise.
- • He can discreetly neutralize the weapons if given a small opening.
- • The Pakleds underestimate him and will be distracted by the bluff.
- • Delaying and appearing cooperative increases his survival odds.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Enterprise forward viewscreen is forced to carry a degraded-spectrum feed of the Mondor bridge, making the Pakled command visibly present to the bridge crew. It functions as the public stage for Riker's ultimatum and bluff, concentrating confrontation into a single visual focal point.
Pakled ship's armed photon torpedoes are the objective threat detected by Data; their rumored presence provides the credibility for Riker's countdown bluff and motivates Geordi to access the weapons bay under the guise of adjustments.
The Enterprise warp (Bussard) engine core is used theatrically: Sonya sequences reactors and boosts hydrogen output to produce a massive audible and visual surge that supports the illusion of imminent weapons firing, amplifying the bluff's perceived danger.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Enterprise main bridge is the tactical and moral crucible where command decisions, conflicting loyalties and the bluff converge. It stages the confrontation publicly (via the viewscreen), houses senior staff debate, and directs Engineering's performative response.
Main Engineering executes the technical half of the bluff: Sonya manipulates anti‑matter sequencing and hydrogen output to create a dramatic core reaction that visually and aurally supports the firing countdown called from the bridge.
The Mondor bridge, seen through the forced feed, is the antagonist's stage: cramped, jury‑rigged consoles and crude lighting frame Grebnedlog, Reginod and the captive Geordi, making the hostage situation visually immediate to Enterprise command.
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
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DATA: "Positive indication of armed photon torpedoes, Commander.""
"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.""