Barzan's Plea and the Ferengi Show of Force
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Captain Picard's log establishes the high-stakes nature of the negotiations for the Barzan wormhole, framing the scene's central conflict.
Premier Bhavani addresses the delegates, emphasizing Barzan's desperate need for resources and setting the negotiation's tone.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Practically focused—detached professionalism, prioritizing technical execution over political context.
O'Brien executes Picard's order via the com channel—his voice answers 'Aye, Captain...'—and he beams the Ferengi to the observation lounge, performing transport duties efficiently and without drama.
- • Carry out captain's transport orders safely and precisely.
- • Maintain transporter integrity and ensure no complications during beam-in.
- • Orders must be executed promptly and accurately for ship operations to remain stable.
- • Technical neutrality is essential in politically charged situations.
Detached and cooperative—fulfilling the consul/medical role while deferring to Ferengi leadership.
Arridor beams aboard with the Ferengi delegation, introduced as a consul and doctor, then is escorted out by Riker; he remains a quiet supporting presence to Goss’s theatricality.
- • Accompany and advise the DaiMon as required.
- • Maintain Ferengi representation while gathering any useful information.
- • Professional roles (doctor/consul) are secondary to the DaiMon's objectives.
- • Remaining composed preserves the Ferengi delegation's credibility.
Sober urgency—clear-eyed about vulnerability, determined to secure autonomy while avoiding provocations that could derail negotiations.
Bhavani stands at the head of the table and makes a sober, urgent appeal: Barzan needs technology and independence, not paternalism. She receives the Ferengi with polite restraint but remains focused on her people's survival needs.
- • Win technological aid and guarantees of sovereignty for Barzan.
- • Ensure negotiations do not become exploitative or become theater that undermines Barzan’s interests.
- • Barzan's future depends on control of the wormhole and outside technological assistance.
- • Diplomacy must preserve Barzan’s sovereignty; patronizing offers are dangerous.
Coolly engaged—curious and opportunistic, reading emotional micro-signals for leverage rather than reacting emotionally.
Devinoni Ral sits and deliberately studies other delegates, replaying observations internally; he catalogs facial reactions and uses the Ferengi disruption as raw material for later influence.
- • Gather emotional and social information to influence future votes or alliances.
- • Identify vulnerabilities and openings created by the Ferengi spectacle.
- • Interpersonal and emotional cues can be weaponized in negotiation.
- • Theatrical disruptions expose true priorities and can be turned to advantage.
Confidently confrontational—deliberately theatrical, treating the negotiation as a marketplace where wealth can command influence.
DaiMon Goss storms into the room, loudly proclaims Ferengi representation, demands chairs, insults Worf, then theatrically overturns a sack of gold bars on the table as an ostentatious bid and power move.
- • Assert Ferengi presence and dominate the bargaining through spectacle.
- • Convert wealth into immediate bargaining leverage to sway delegates.
- • Material wealth is persuasive and can shortcut slower diplomatic channels.
- • Demonstrative displays will intimidate or entice less powerful parties.
Subservient and businesslike—focused on doing his DaiMon's bidding without drawing attention to himself.
Kol, acting as a consul, physically hands a sack to Goss and follows the DaiMon’s lead; he is escorted out along with Arridor after initial introductions and participates as a subordinate implementer.
- • Support DaiMon Goss’s financial demonstration.
- • Complete assigned ceremonial and practical duties without error.
- • The DaiMon's decisions direct Ferengi action and must be executed.
- • Visible compliance reinforces internal Ferengi hierarchy.
Neutral and watchful—calculating the political implications for Caldonia while withholding judgment.
Leyor sits quietly among the delegates, observing the exchanges and becoming one more face Devinoni studies; he does not speak but registers the growing tension.
- • Assess how the wormhole negotiations will affect Caldonia's interests.
- • Avoid being drawn into rash commitments while evaluating offers.
- • Caution is prudent in high-risk, high-reward international bargaining.
- • Performative displays (like spilled gold) reveal priorities more than words.
Calm and attentive—experienced confidence but aware that the table's decorum is fragile.
Mendoza sits composedly at the table, acknowledged by Bhavani and present as the Federation negotiator; he remains a calm, procedural presence while other personalities clash.
- • Represent Federation interests responsibly in the negotiations.
- • Keep the proceedings orderly and credible despite disruptions.
- • Procedure and measured diplomacy are the best tools to resolve high-stakes disputes.
- • Uncontrolled theatrics will harm the legitimacy of any agreement.
Measured public calm with a flicker of private consternation — trying to balance protocol and fairness while internally alarmed by theatrics.
Picard opens the scene with a framing voiceover, hosts the table, hesitates about excluding the Ferengi, keys the comm to order a beam, and finally exits the room reacting with visible, private dismay when gold is dumped on the table.
- • Maintain procedural neutrality as host of the negotiations.
- • Protect the integrity and seriousness of the talks.
- • Defuse potential disruptions without escalating conflict.
- • The Enterprise must be a neutral, diplomatic forum where protocol is respected.
- • Open inclusion is preferable to arbitrary exclusion, even if disruptive parties arrive.
Stoic and pointed—ready to enforce security but avoiding gratuitous provocation.
Worf responds tersely to a Ferengi insult, asserting his formal role: 'I am in charge of security.' He maintains a controlled, stoic presence intended to deter escalation.
- • Establish clear security authority to deter disrespect or physical escalation.
- • Protect the crew and the integrity of the meeting space.
- • Security must be visible and unequivocal to prevent opportunism.
- • Personal insults toward security are challenges that require a firm response.
Alert and mildly impatient—focused on operational control and preventing disorder while deferring to Picard's authority.
Riker enters with visible concern, interrupts Bhavani to report an unscheduled Ferengi beam-in, coordinates escort duties for Ferengi consuls, and physically leads Kol and Arridor out of the room after introductions.
- • Preserve order and protocol at the negotiation table.
- • Ensure security and minimize disruption from uninvited guests.
- • Unexpected arrivals are a security and diplomatic risk that must be managed.
- • Chain-of-command and decorum maintain the legitimacy of the proceedings.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
A set of conference chairs frames the negotiation; Goss demands chairs for his consuls, Picard offers accommodations, and Goss ultimately sits back in a chair with a confident grin after his spectacle. The chairs help stage power dynamics—who is invited to sit, who is relegated, and where authority is physically placed.
Kol presents Goss with a heavy burlap sack containing stacked gold bars. Goss upends the sack, spilling gold across the conference table. The sack and contents function as an aggressive rhetorical device—transforming negotiation into a marketplace transaction and forcing visible reactions from delegates.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Observation Deck, a broad, windowed conference salon aboard the Enterprise, serves as the formal meeting place for the Barzan negotiations. Its long table and observation port give the scene institutional gravity; the deck becomes both a neutral forum and an exposed stage when the Ferengi convert deliberation into spectacle.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"PICARD (V.O.): Captain's log, Stardate 43385.7. We are in orbit around Barzan, a planet which is entertaining bids for control of what appears to be a most unique, stable wormhole. It could conceivably provide a permanent shortcut within our galaxy."
"BHAVANI: The Barzan has been a society dependent on others for generations. We want that to end. The appearance of this stable wormhole in our space provides us with our first true natural resource. We have neither the experience nor technology to exploit it. You do."
"GOSS: I'll match anyone's best offer... and add the gold on top of it."