Data Reveals Forged Stargazer Logs Implicating Picard
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data reveals to Riker the Stargazer’s logs contain a conflicting account of the Battle of Maxia, exposing a personal captain’s log that contradicts the official history.
Data delivers the bombshell that the starship Picard destroyed was under a flag of truce and that Picard attacked without provocation, shattering Riker’s understanding of the past.
Riker questions the validity of the accusation citing the known fire aboard the Stargazer, but Data counters it as an engineering accident, intensifying the mystery and doubt.
Data offers to play the falsified log recorded in Picard’s own voice, confronting Riker with irrefutable evidence that frames Picard as a traitor and deepens the psychological crisis.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Implied stressed and vulnerable; the weight of false accusations compounds his mental strain.
Though not physically present, Picard is the central figure referenced in the forged logs, his reputation under assault. Implicitly, he remains vulnerable and strained by the psychological attack linked to this deception, his past command legacy called into question.
- • To maintain command integrity despite attacks on his reputation.
- • To uncover the truth behind the Ferengi's manipulation of his past.
- • His past actions as Stargazer's captain were just and honorable.
- • The Ferengi are orchestrating a psychological assault to destabilize him.
Detached yet serious, conveying the weight of the discovery without emotional bias.
Data methodically presents the distorted historical records on the monitor, revealing a falsified captain's log in Picard's voice. Calm and solemn, Data refrains from commentary beyond the facts, emphasizing the grave nature of the evidence and leaving the interpretation to Riker.
- • To inform Riker of the forged records undermining Picard's past.
- • To provide objective evidence that challenges the crew’s understanding of the Battle of Maxia.
- • The official records have been tampered with, likely by hostile forces.
- • Presenting facts without speculation allows command to make informed decisions.
Confused and troubled by the disturbing implications; cautious skepticism mingled with a protective instinct toward Picard's legacy.
Riker waits anxiously in the Ready Room, absorbing Data's grave revelation about the tampered Stargazer records. His disbelief and confusion manifest as he questions the veracity of the forged logs, wrestling with conflicting evidence regarding the fire aboard the Stargazer while seeking clarity and reassurance.
- • To understand the authenticity and implications of the tampered Stargazer records.
- • To protect Captain Picard's reputation and uphold the truth of past events.
- • Picard is an honorable Starfleet captain unlikely to attack an unarmed ship under truce.
- • There must be an explanation reconciling the fire aboard the Stargazer with these forged logs.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Stargazer Official Records serve as the critical evidence displayed by Data, revealing tampering and a falsified captain’s log that accuses Picard of dishonorable conduct. These digital records act as the narrative fulcrum for doubt and conflict about the historic Battle of Maxia.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Captain’s Ready Room functions as a private, controlled environment where Data can confidentially disclose the subversive tampering of the Stargazer records to Riker. Its intimate and solemn atmosphere underscores the gravity and secrecy of the psychological assault unfolding against Picard.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Wesley’s discovery of low-intensity transmissions from the Ferengi ship triggers Beverly and Troi’s realization that Picard’s brain anomalies match these signals, revealing the external source of his mental assault."
"Wesley’s discovery of low-intensity transmissions from the Ferengi ship triggers Beverly and Troi’s realization that Picard’s brain anomalies match these signals, revealing the external source of his mental assault."
"Wesley’s discovery of low-intensity transmissions from the Ferengi ship triggers Beverly and Troi’s realization that Picard’s brain anomalies match these signals, revealing the external source of his mental assault."
"Wesley’s discovery of low-intensity transmissions from the Ferengi ship triggers Beverly and Troi’s realization that Picard’s brain anomalies match these signals, revealing the external source of his mental assault."
"Data’s revelation of the forged log entry directly leads to Riker confronting Picard with the damning recording, intensifying the captain's mental crisis."
"Data’s revelation of the forged log entry directly leads to Riker confronting Picard with the damning recording, intensifying the captain's mental crisis."
"Both beats emphasize the theme of unseen, insidious threats attacking the mind via external technology, paralleling the mental invasions Picard suffers and the technological sophistication of the Ferengi plot."
"Both beats emphasize the theme of unseen, insidious threats attacking the mind via external technology, paralleling the mental invasions Picard suffers and the technological sophistication of the Ferengi plot."
"Both beats emphasize the theme of unseen, insidious threats attacking the mind via external technology, paralleling the mental invasions Picard suffers and the technological sophistication of the Ferengi plot."
"Both beats emphasize the theme of unseen, insidious threats attacking the mind via external technology, paralleling the mental invasions Picard suffers and the technological sophistication of the Ferengi plot."
Key Dialogue
"RIKER: What is it, Data? Why all the mystery?"
"DATA: It is the records of the Stargazer, sir. What the Ferengi call the "Battle of Maxia"... It seems the Captain's personal log contains a much different version of that conflict than the official historic account."
"RIKER: What are you saying?"
"DATA: It would appear that the starship which Captain Picard attacked, had in fact, been under a flag of truce..."
"RIKER: What?!"
"DATA: And apparently, the captain destroyed the ship without notice or provocation."
"RIKER: Impossible. What about the fire aboard the Stargazer?"
"DATA: An accident in Engineering."
"RIKER: And the proof?"
"DATA: (no answer) It is logged in his own voice. Would you care to hear it?"