Kolrami's Public Strategema Gauntlet — Data Tested
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Kolrami pounces on Data about a Strategema challenge Pulaski has floated, and Data balks under the crew’s stare, stating he never asked for it. Pulaski steamrolls the denial, reframing it as nerves to keep the match alive.
Pulaski needles Kolrami’s ego, daring him with the prospect of losing to a machine. Kolrami snaps, declaring he cannot lose and will now prove it.
Pulaski pushes Data to answer the gauntlet, and he pivots—awkward, then resolute—to accept. Kolrami elevates the stakes to the ship’s honor before exiting, while Pulaski quietly reminds Data his own reputation now hangs in the balance.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Focused and procedural; uninterested in the social drama beyond fulfilling orders.
Posted at Tactical, Burke presses a control panel to complete the weapons conversion and reports succinctly to Picard, serving as a technical linchpin that underwrites the simulated exercise.
- • Execute the weapons conversion as ordered and confirm system readiness.
- • Provide reliable tactical information to senior officers to support the exercise.
- • Order-following and technical precision are essential to mission success.
- • Clear, concise reporting maintains bridge discipline.
Confused and pressured externally; internally tentative and beginning to experience self‑doubt as social stakes are imposed upon him.
Standing at the center of the bridge, Data is publicly addressed by Kolrami and then goaded by Pulaski; he registers the expectations of everyone present, hesitates, and utters a halting refusal that betrays discomfort and uncertainty.
- • Respond truthfully and adhere to his own principles of honesty.
- • Avoid making a decision that could cause harm or breach protocol under social pressure.
- • Honesty and explicit consent are paramount; he should not accept an activity he did not request.
- • Social expectations are not a valid substitute for internal readiness or authorization.
Controlled and purposeful on the surface; quietly concerned about the diplomatic and ethical ramifications of Kolrami's provocation.
Seated and composed, Picard issues the command to turn the screen off and formally delegates control of the bridge to Data before exiting to his Ready Room, removing himself from the immediate theater of confrontation.
- • Preserve Starfleet procedural decorum and keep the bridge operational.
- • Remove himself from a spectacle that could undermine command authority while giving Data formal responsibility.
- • Chain of command and protocol should be maintained even under provocation.
- • Withdrawing from the immediate scene allows a clearer, less politicized response from subordinates.
Playful and mischievous on the surface, but genuinely concerned about Data's integration and standing; uses provocation as a corrective nudge.
Enters from the aft turbolift and moves directly to Data, covertly engineering and amplifying the provocation by reframing his supposed reluctance as cowardice and implying his reputation and the ship's honor are at stake.
- • Push Data into a social test that will develop his confidence and human integration.
- • Escalate the situation enough to force a clear response that will reveal Data's character under pressure.
- • Public pressure can catalyze growth in someone who lacks initiative.
- • Data's reputation and by extension the ship's honor are worth defending through provocation.
Concentrated and dutiful; calm under mechanical stress.
Operating in the background on the Hathaway's bridge with Worf, Nagel assists in repairs and remains focused on technical tasks rather than the Enterprise's social spectacle.
- • Support repair efforts to restore system functionality.
- • Follow orders and maintain the Hathaway's operational status during the exercise.
- • Effective teamwork and procedure solve technical problems.
- • Operational reliability is paramount during testing scenarios.
Detached curiosity mixed with condescension; intrigued by the chance to publicly demonstrate Zakdorn strategic superiority.
Approaches Data, speaks in a dry, clinical manner to present the match as a formal test; reframes a social game into a cultural ritual of superiority and then exits after issuing the challenge.
- • Expose perceived weaknesses in Starfleet by forcing a high‑profile mismatch.
- • Assert Zakdorn intellectual and cultural primacy through ritualized challenge.
- • When in a superior position, one is expected to win and must demonstrate it.
- • Public contests reveal true competence and moral fiber.
Matter‑of‑fact and slightly amused; focused on the practical challenges of commanding a crippled vessel.
Seen on the viewer aboard the Hathaway, Riker comments dryly on the ship's stripped condition and represents the on‑site command perspective for the simulated mismatch.
- • Manage the Hathaway's limitations and fulfill the terms of the war game.
- • Project confidence in the face of engineered disadvantage.
- • Good leadership adapts to constraints and finds tactical solutions.
- • The game will effectively measure resourcefulness under pressure.
Businesslike and focused; entirely task-oriented, unconcerned with the bridge theatrics.
Visible on the main viewer aboard the Hathaway as he and Nagel work on repairs; he reports that the signal is received and locked on, anchoring the remote tactical reality of the war game.
- • Complete repairs and maintain tactical readiness aboard the Hathaway.
- • Ensure communications and targeting locks are established for the exercise.
- • Duty and honor are expressed through competence in task execution.
- • Operational tasks are the priority over political or social theater.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Enterprise Bridge Main Viewer switches from an exterior shot of the Hathaway to a live feed of Riker and Worf on the Hathaway bridge, visually tying the public confrontation on the Enterprise to the remote tactical situation and amplifying the stakes of Kolrami's challenge.
Strategema (as a represented game object/concept) functions as the narrative catalyst: Kolrami names it as the contest, Pulaski references it to manipulate social expectation, and Data is pressed to accept or refuse — even though the tangible holographic cone is not deployed in this moment.
The non‑physical weapons conversion is invoked and completed (reported by Burke), establishing the exercise's simulated offensive capability and providing the formal framework within which Kolrami's mismatch and the Strategema challenge take place.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Captain's Ready Room functions as Picard's chosen retreat; by exiting there he converts an on‑stage command decision into a private judgment, allowing the public drama to unfold without his immediate presence.
The Enterprise Aft Turbolift is the physical entry point for Pulaski, whose timing and entrance from this location convert her arrival into an ethical and theatrical hinge that reshapes the bridge's emotional tenor.
The Bridge Tactical Station anchors the practical, procedural side of the scene: Burke reports from this area, systems are engaged, and the tactical infrastructure frames the public confrontation that unfolds in the room.
Conn Station sits as a quiet witness to the escalating personal drama; its posted personnel are still, making the moment feel like a formal performance observed by a professional audience.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"KOLRAMI: "And how you perform in a mismatch" is precisely what interests Starfleet. After all -- when one is in the superior position, one is expected to win."
"DATA: "But I have expressed no such interest.""
"PULASKI: "Come on, Data, you can't let that pass.""