Cut the Puppet's Strings
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
La Forge proposes severing the energy beam through shield harmonics, enabling decisive countermeasures.
Picard authorizes the plan while Riker alerts Troi, setting simultaneous psychological and technical interventions in motion.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Measured and resolute; contemplative about the child’s safety while firm in command decisions.
Picard listens to Data's analysis, weighs the tactical implications, asks the decisive question about severing the connection, and issues the order to proceed—exercising command and moral responsibility.
- • Protect the Enterprise and its crew from the parasitic energy drain.
- • Enable a rapid, safe rescue of the boy while minimizing collateral damage.
- • The captain must convert intelligence into immediate, humane action.
- • Technical solutions can and should be deployed quickly to protect people under his command.
Clinically neutral but focused; his delivery is factual and incident-driven rather than emotive.
Data provides the technical diagnosis that the planet's beam is tapping the ship's antimatter, giving the factual foundation that propels the tactical response.
- • Establish an accurate technical understanding of the threat.
- • Provide the information necessary for command to choose an effective countermeasure.
- • Objective data is the primary basis for effective decisions.
- • Identifying the energy source is critical to formulating a counter-strategy.
Urgent but controlled; protective toward the boy and pragmatic about operational needs.
Riker connects the tactical dots—recognizing the manifestation needs the Transporter to remove the boy—and moves to coordinate both the physical extraction and emotional support by ordering Troi to stand by.
- • Ensure the boy is removed from the manifestation's reach via the Transporter.
- • Activate emotional support resources to stabilize the boy during the extraction.
- • Procedural actions (use of Transporter) are necessary to physically secure vulnerable individuals.
- • Emotional containment (Troi's intervention) must accompany technical rescue to prevent harm.
Concerned and alert (inferred); poised to provide immediate psychological support when called upon.
Although Troi does not speak in this excerpt, she is placed on formal standby by Riker—positioned as the forthcoming emotional anchor for the boy and charged with containment and support.
- • Prepare to receive and emotionally stabilize the boy if he is transported.
- • Protect the boy from the manifestation's manipulative influence through empathic intervention.
- • Emotional safety is as vital as physical safety during rescue operations.
- • Her presence and counsel can mitigate trauma and prevent further harm to the child.
Focused and confident; assertive in proposing a solution with technical precision.
Geordi interprets Data's findings and proposes a concrete engineering fix—increasing shield harmonics to match antimatter containment fields—offering a technically plausible way to sever the beam.
- • Implement an engineering countermeasure that severs the parasitic beam.
- • Protect ship systems and stop further energy siphoning quickly.
- • Engineering solutions, when properly applied, can neutralize external threats.
- • A precise, targeted adjustment (shield harmonics) is less risky than broad, disruptive measures.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Enterprise Transporter System is identified as the tool the manifestation requires to remove the boy from the ship; Riker cites it as a key vulnerability the enemy exploits and as the mechanism by which the crew must either prevent abduction or execute a safe extraction.
The Shield Harmonics Control is invoked as the technical countermeasure: Geordi recommends increasing shield harmonic frequencies to match antimatter containment fields, a targeted manipulation intended to sever the beam and cut the manifestation's power source.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DATA: "The beam from the planet is clearly tapping into the ship's anti-matter, Captain...""
"GEORDI: "By increasing the shield harmonics to match our antimatter containment fields, it is almost certain that the beam would be severed.""
"RIKER: "Troi, stand by...""