Measured Goodbye: Data's Calculated Farewell
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Ard'rian approaches Data outside the shuttle, acknowledging the success of the evacuation plan.
Ard'rian asks Data if he will remember her, prompting Data to clarify his lack of emotions.
Data mimics Ard'rian's previous behavior and kisses her to comfort her, highlighting his logical approach to human emotions.
Ard'rian acknowledges Data's nature as an emotionless machine but expresses her affection despite it, ending with a lighthearted remark.
Ard'rian exits with a smile, and Data returns to the shuttle, concluding their interaction.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Sadness and disappointment tempered by pragmatic need for closure; she experiences wistful affection and self-directed frustration for wanting what cannot be returned.
Ard'rian approaches the shuttle, greets Data, reports practical readiness for evacuation, then vulnerably presses him about memory and feelings; after receiving Data's unemotional answers she responds with a combination of disappointment and self-reproach, accepts the kiss as closure, smiles, and exits.
- • Confirm that Data will remember her and that their interaction will not be erased.
- • Elicit emotional reciprocity or at least a meaningful response to validate her feelings.
- • Support the evacuation logistics while resolving a personal attachment before leaving.
- • She believes Data is intellectually superior but emotionally limited.
- • She believes that being remembered matters to her personal dignity and grief processing.
- • She believes emotional honesty (even painful) is preferable to false hope.
Surface calm and literal honesty; clinically neutral in affect while deliberately performing learned social behavior to achieve a pragmatic outcome.
Data prepares the shuttle, transmits his readiness to Enterprise, steps out to meet Ard'rian, answers direct questions with precise honesty, and performs an observed comforting gesture (a brief kiss) before returning to the shuttle and departing.
- • Fulfill Starfleet orders to prepare for departure and await rendezvous instructions.
- • Provide Ard'rian with closure in a way he believes will help her, based on observation.
- • Maintain procedural integrity while minimizing interpersonal disruption during evacuation.
- • He believes memory equals preservation of relationship (incapable of forgetting implies continuity).
- • He believes he cannot generate genuine emotions and that imitation can produce functional consolation.
- • He believes duty to Starfleet and the evacuation mission is primary and must be executed efficiently.
Neutral, businesslike; focused on task execution and ship protocols rather than interpersonal nuance.
Worf provides the shuttle acknowledgment via com voice: a terse, procedural confirmation that Data's transmission was received and that he should stand by for further instruction, maintaining operational communications for the evacuation.
- • Maintain reliable communications between shuttle and Enterprise.
- • Ensure shuttle departure is coordinated and timed correctly with transport and rendezvous.
- • Preserve shipboard order under evacuation pressures.
- • He believes in following command protocol strictly.
- • He believes that clear, minimal communication is the most effective way to manage an evacuation.
- • He believes the ship's operational needs supersede individual emotional concerns during crises.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The shuttle functions as the immediate means of Data's departure and the private threshold for his farewell with Ard'rian. It houses Data's preflight preparations, frames the physical exit/entrance where the emotional exchange occurs, and ultimately carries him away from Tau Cygna Five.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The shuttle landing site is the stage for the private, intimate farewell: an exposed, public spot transformed into a temporary personal space. Its openness underscores isolation and the urgency of evacuation while providing a final, tangible point of departure.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Ard'rian's initial fascination with Data's android nature culminates in her emotional attachment to him, despite his lack of emotions."
"Ard'rian's initial offer of assistance to Data creates the foundation for their growing relationship that culminates in the goodbye kiss."
"Ard'rian's initial offer of assistance to Data creates the foundation for their growing relationship that culminates in the goodbye kiss."
Key Dialogue
"ARD'RIAN: I guess what I really want to know is -- do you have any feelings for me?"
"DATA: I have no feelings of any kind."
"DATA: You appeared to require it."