Riker's Two‑Second Gamble
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Joy flickers across the bridge, then WORF slams it shut with a hard update: the Enterprise has taken heavy damage.
WESLEY pushes to chase as the enemy drifts away; RIKER rejects the bait, reads the danger as unfinished, and orders GEORDI and WESLEY to prep a warp jump.
GEORDI warns there are no guarantees; RIKER answers by placing full trust in his expertise, committing to the risky maneuver.
GEORDI and WESLEY trade a "what the hell" glance as RIKER locks the team into readiness, ordering stations secured and standing by for his signal.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Eager and surprised; excited by the tactical prospect but quickly receptive to command control.
Wesley pushes for an immediate pursuit of the crippled Enterprise, demonstrating eagerness and a youthful impulse to convert opportunity into action; he then obeys Riker's order to prepare the ship for warp.
- • Seize what appears to be a tactical advantage before it evaporates.
- • Contribute technically to the warp preparation and prove his competence under pressure.
- • An apparently damaged opponent is a momentary advantage worth exploiting.
- • Quick technical action can decisively change an unfolding engagement.
Concerned and urgent; conveys seriousness without melodrama, anchoring the crew's attention.
Worf delivers a terse tactical readout — reporting the Enterprise's heavy damage — and stands as the voice of hard information that shifts the bridge's mood from elation to alarm.
- • Convey accurate sensor information to command without exaggeration.
- • Ensure the Hathaway responds appropriately to a possible tactical development.
- • Sensor reports are reliable enough to demand action.
- • Clear, unemotional delivery of facts will best serve command decisions.
Resolute and controlled; masking the anxiety of risk with calm authority to inspire confidence in his crew.
Riker immediately rejects the easy interpretation of events as a legitimate opportunity, reads it as likely enemy deception, and orders Geordi and Wesley to prepare a high‑risk two‑second warp while taking full responsibility for the command decision and asking his crew to stand by for his signal.
- • Prevent his crew from falling into a tactical trap by refusing immediate pursuit.
- • Create a contingency — a risky warp maneuver — that can buy time and enable a larger ruse to save the Enterprise.
- • A captain's duty includes protecting the crew from tactical deception even when it appears to offer gain.
- • Trusting skilled subordinates (Geordi, Wesley) and giving them clear orders is the fastest way to create usable options under pressure.
Apprehensive but professionally focused; aware of the risks but willing to attempt the maneuver under Riker's trust.
Geordi expresses nervous caution about the uncertain success of the proposed warp jump, then is ordered by Riker to prepare the ship's systems — shifting from a worried advisor to active executor of a risky technical plan.
- • Prepare the Hathaway's systems to execute an unconventional, two‑second warp jump as safely as possible.
- • Minimize technical risk and maximize the probability of success given limited resources and uncertain outcomes.
- • Complex technical maneuvers have real, quantifiable risks that must be acknowledged.
- • With clear command and team cooperation, even improvised solutions can sometimes succeed.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
No narrative connections mapped yet
This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph
Key Dialogue
"WORF: "Computers report heavy damage to Enterprise, sir.""
"WESLEY: "They're moving off. Why not go after them?""
"GEORDI: "There are no guarantees here, sir.""
"RIKER: "There never are, Lieutenant. I'm going to trust your expertise.""