Mask Off: Setal Declares Jarok
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data programs the Holodeck to display Romulus, capturing Setal's attention and briefly pleasing him with its familiarity.
Setal realizes the falsity of the simulation, dropping his smile as he confronts his disconnection from Romulus.
Setal commands Data to turn off the simulation, asserting his resignation to his new reality.
Setal reveals his true rank as Admiral Jarok, demanding a meeting with Picard to assert his importance.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Shifting from wistful nostalgia and fresh pain to disciplined resolve and controlled defiance; sorrow is converted into purposeful indignation.
Setal enters the holodeck, momentarily responds with recognition and apparent comfort to the Valley of Chula, then recoils; he orders the program turned off, asserts that his sacrifices must not be wasted, and demands a meeting with Captain Picard while invoking Admiral Jarok's name.
- • Terminate the consoling illusion to reject passive pity and assert agency.
- • Force direct contact with Picard to make his claims and sacrifices visible and consequential.
- • Victimhood alone will not produce change; public consequence requires direct political action.
- • Invoking a respected military name (Jarok) will compel the Enterprise to take his warning and existence seriously.
Measured professionalism with quiet concern—Data performs comforting protocol without imposing, masking any deeper curiosity or judgment.
Data rapidly configures and runs the holodeck program, gestures Setal into the simulation, offers sanctuary verbally, and cancels the program when Setal rejects it—calm, procedural, and deferential throughout.
- • Provide a non-threatening, comforting environment to assess and soothe Setal.
- • Follow Starfleet hospitable and safety procedures while maintaining control of the holodeck.
- • A recreated familiar environment may help a distressed refugee process trauma.
- • Maintaining procedural control (running/cancelling programs) preserves safety and dignity for all aboard.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The holodeck COM panel is the interface Data uses to load and run the Romulan simulation; its annunciation ('Program complete') and command functions enable the emotional experiment and, later, the cancellation that exposes Setal's decision. It provides the voice-of-system that frames the technical, nonjudgmental context for a politically charged human exchange.
The holodeck doors physically transition Setal from the ship's corridor into the simulation; their opening marks Data's invitation and the momentary promise of refuge. When the program is cancelled, the aperture returns the scene to the bare set and the doors reframe the space from simulated homeland to a controlled shipboard environment.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The corridor outside the holodeck frames the formal, procedural context of the exchange: Data keys the program there, a security guard is present, and the corridor's clinical lighting and hum underscore the institutional setting for a private yet politically consequential encounter.
The Valley of Chula, recreated inside the holodeck, functions as a culturally specific memory-space that first distracts Setal with authenticity and then magnifies his alienation when he recognizes it as illusion. It acts as the emotional catalyst that forces Setal to renounce passive refuge and choose confrontation.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Setal's longing for Romulan culture echoes Data's attempt to recreate Romulus on the holodeck."
"Setal's longing for Romulan culture echoes Data's attempt to recreate Romulus on the holodeck."
Key Dialogue
"SETAL: "Turn it off. I no longer live here.""
"DATA: "Cancel program.""
"SETAL: "Tell him Admiral Jarok wants to see him.""