Graves' Violent Awakening
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Worf and two security guards arrive to escort Data, and Data instantly betrays training and trust—knocking Worf unconscious, seizing a phaser, shooting one guard and ruthlessly felling the other to demonstrate lethal control.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Exhilarated power fantasies disrupted by emotional consequences
Fully manifested in Data's form, Graves exhibits god-like arrogance through violent demonstrations of strength, only briefly shaken when harming Kareen.
- • Prove invincibility through violence
- • Claim Kareen as eternal companion
- • Physical might validates intellectual superiority
- • His desires supersede others' free will
Initial hopefulness turning to visceral fear and emotional devastation
Kareen transitions from hopeful recognition of Ira in Data's body to horrified rejection as his violent tendencies surface, culminating in her being physically harmed by his unchecked strength.
- • Confirm Ira's presence within Data
- • Appeal to the real Ira beneath Graves' violent persona
- • Ira's essence remains present despite his actions
- • She can reach his humanity through their shared history
Shock at Data's betrayal mixed with tactical helplessness
Attempting to neutralize the threat after Worf falls, security personnel are effortlessly overwhelmed—one phasered in the chest, the other tricked and shot in the back.
- • Protect Kareen from apparent danger
- • Subdue a rogue officer non-lethally
- • Standard security measures will contain the situation
- • Starfleet officers don't attack unprovoked
Alarmed urgency tempered by command discipline
Entering after the crisis peaks, Picard assesses the aftermath with grim recognition, immediately issuing shipwide security protocols against his compromised officer.
- • Secure the safety of his crew
- • Contain the Graves-Data threat
- • Data's behavior confirms theory of possession
- • Starfleet must neutralize internal threats decisively
Exhilarated by newfound power but disturbed by unintended consequences
Data's body under Graves' control demonstrates terrifying physical prowess, first displaying power by crushing an object, then violently neutralizing Worf and security personnel before revealing psychological cracks when harming Kareen.
- • Demonstrate his superiority through violence
- • Secure Kareen's participation in his immortality plan
- • Physical power justifies any action
- • His love for Kareen trumps her autonomous choices
Bewildered by the unprovoked attack from a trusted officer
Arriving under orders to escort Data, Worf is swiftly ambushed from behind—his formidable Klingon strength irrelevant against Graves' android capabilities.
- • Execute Picard's orders professionally
- • Maintain security protocols
- • Data poses no security threat
- • Starfleet colleagues shouldn't require violent apprehension
Concerned urgency with analytical focus
Arriving with Picard, Riker provides tactical support while seeking immediate comprehension of the violent scene from Kareen.
- • Verify Data's culpability
- • Protect injured personnel
- • Extreme actions suggest more than Data's programming
- • Security failures require immediate redress
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
A phaser becomes the instrument of Graves' escalating brutality—first taken from Worf's unconscious body, then used to shoot two security officers, demonstrating his willingness to weaponize Starfleet equipment.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Observation Lounge transforms from Kareen's tranquil refuge to a site of shocking violence—its starry backdrop providing eerie contrast to Graves' brutality and the aftermath discovered by Picard's team.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Graves gives Data a searching look that Data misses (a subtle, filmic seed); later Data announces that 'Ira Graves lives inside me'—the missed glance foreshadows the transfer having been initiated without Data's full awareness."
"Graves gives Data a searching look that Data misses (a subtle, filmic seed); later Data announces that 'Ira Graves lives inside me'—the missed glance foreshadows the transfer having been initiated without Data's full awareness."
"Graves gives Data a searching look that Data misses (a subtle, filmic seed); later Data announces that 'Ira Graves lives inside me'—the missed glance foreshadows the transfer having been initiated without Data's full awareness."
"Graves gives Data a searching look that Data misses (a subtle, filmic seed); later Data announces that 'Ira Graves lives inside me'—the missed glance foreshadows the transfer having been initiated without Data's full awareness."
"Data first voices Graves' private sentiments to Kareen (signaling inside knowledge); that escalates into the explicit revelation that Graves' consciousness inhabits Data—an immediate narrative follow-through from intimacy to possession."
"After Data demonstrates lethal violence on the observation lounge (knocking out Worf and killing guards), the next escalation is his physical appearance on the bridge armed with a phaser—an intensification and relocation of the earlier brutality to the ship's command center."
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DATA: 'Just look at me! Sleek, powerful, indestructable.'"
"DATA: 'If they try, I'll simply break their necks.'"
"KAREEN: 'Ira... I don't understand... what's happening to you?'"