Lwaxana Unmasks the Assassins
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Lwaxana strides in, spots the hooded Antedians on the transporter and demands an explanation; when Riker offers polite logistics, she detonates the room by declaring them assassins, not delegates.
The Antedian Female sputters outrage and demands transport, but Lwaxana slices through the bluff, coolly citing their ultritium-lined robes and the transporter’s inability to detect it as she addresses Picard.
Data sweeps them with his tri-corder and confirms the ultritium; Lwaxana names the plot outright—blow the entire conference—snapping the mission into crisis clarity.
Worf yanks his phaser and moves; Picard locks down command, ordering the Antedians disarmed and taken to level five as security hauls the hissing pair past Lwaxana.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Surprised by the unexpected sensor reading but composed and factual in delivery.
Aims his tricorder at the Antedians' robes, analyzes sensor data, and confirms Lwaxana's telepathic accusation by detecting large amounts of ultritium in the garments.
- • Verify the telepathic claim with objective evidence
- • Provide data to inform command decisions
- • Support the Enterprise's security measures
- • Sensor data is a trustworthy arbiter of truth
- • Providing clear information enables correct decisions
- • Anomalous readings should be acted upon when corroborated
Relieved and pragmatic with a touch of private embarrassment — grateful for the help but frustrated by social impropriety.
Standing at the transporter platform; hears Lwaxana's accusation, accepts Data's sensor report, issues the order to take the suspects to Level Five, signals the transporter chief, thanks Mrs. Troi and accepts her scolding with composed embarrassment.
- • Neutralize an immediate threat to the diplomatic conference
- • Ensure suspects are detained and processed according to Starfleet procedure
- • Preserve the Enterprise's diplomatic reputation
- • Manage the social fallout of Lwaxana's public intervention
- • Security must be handled through chain-of-command and procedure
- • External help (even intrusive) can be valuable if verified
- • Maintaining decorum is important for diplomatic relations
- • Detaining and interrogating suspects is the correct next step
Alert, duty-focused, and unsympathetic toward the suspects' protests.
Has drawn his phaser on the Antedians and, following Picard's order, physically leads the angry delegates away toward Level Five while maintaining a stern, vigilant posture.
- • Secure and detain the suspected assassins
- • Protect the captain, crew, and future conference attendees
- • Enforce Starfleet orders without escalation
- • Obedience to command is paramount
- • A visible show of force deters immediate resistance
- • Potential threats should be removed from public areas quickly
Mildly apologetic and pragmatic; seeking to smooth social friction while supporting command decisions.
Explains the logistics — that Mrs. Troi had been offered to beam down with the delegates — and stands by as the situation escalates, offering context and a mild, cooperative apology for the earlier plan.
- • Clarify the intent behind inviting Mrs. Troi to beam down
- • De-escalate potential diplomatic embarrassment
- • Support the captain and maintain order
- • Accommodating dignitaries is often the best diplomatic policy
- • Misunderstandings can be mitigated through clear explanation
- • Operational decisions should support both security and courtesy
Relieved that the threat is neutralized but deeply embarrassed by Lwaxana's breach of protocol and public spectacle.
Present and visibly embarrassed; receives a grateful hug from her mother, registers both relief and mortification at the public accusation, and watches as her mother beams away after a private scolding of Picard.
- • Limit personal and professional embarrassment
- • Protect the integrity of the conference and the crew
- • Contain the social fallout from her mother's actions
- • Her mother's telepathy is intrusive and socially risky
- • Operational priorities must come before family complications
- • Command decisions should be respected even under personal strain
Stoic and neutral; performing his attendant duties without visible affect.
Silent, obediently follows Mrs. Troi onto the transporter platform and dematerializes with her; serves as her attendant throughout the scene without commentary.
- • Support and accompany Mrs. Troi
- • Execute attendant responsibilities precisely
- • Serving Lwaxana Troi is his primary responsibility
- • Public actions are subordinate to his duty of accompaniment
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Antedian Ultritium-Lined Robes function as the hidden explosive device in narrative terms: Lwaxana names the lining and Data's tricorder quantifies it. They are the decisive clue that changes the scene from social absurdity to verified security threat.
The transporter platform is the physical locus where the Antedian delegates stand, where Mrs. Troi steps forward to confront them, and from which she and Homn dematerialize. It functions as both staging ground for the exposure and as the narrative vector for immediate movement (arrival and departure).
Worf's handheld security phaser is drawn as a controlled show of force to effect compliance and to ensure safe removal of the suspects. It serves the dual narrative role of confirming the seriousness of the accusation and enabling secure custody.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Level Five Holding is invoked as the immediate secure destination for the detained Antedians; it represents the Enterprise's procedural, clinical space for processing suspects and conducting interrogation after the transporter-room confrontation.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Picard reasserts the mission and escorts Lwaxana, leading directly to her confrontation with the Antedians in the transporter room."
"Lwaxana's accusation that the Antedians are assassins prompts Data's tricorder confirmation of ultritium."
"Picard reasserts the mission and escorts Lwaxana, leading directly to her confrontation with the Antedians in the transporter room."
"The Antedians' eerie, hooded arrival foreshadows the later reveal that they are assassins concealing ultritium."
"Lwaxana's early telepathic boundary crossing foreshadows her decisive telepathic exposure of the Antedians' plot."
"The Antedians' eerie, hooded arrival foreshadows the later reveal that they are assassins concealing ultritium."
"Lwaxana's early telepathic boundary crossing foreshadows her decisive telepathic exposure of the Antedians' plot."
"With the assassins secured, Lwaxana claims credit and prepares to beam down."
"Picard's adoption of a fictional persona parallels the Antedians' false diplomatic mask, which is finally stripped by Data's scan."
"Lwaxana's appraisal of Worf's primal nature finds a payoff when Worf decisively acts to secure the assassins."
"Lwaxana's appraisal of Worf's primal nature finds a payoff when Worf decisively acts to secure the assassins."
"Lwaxana's accusation that the Antedians are assassins prompts Data's tricorder confirmation of ultritium."
"With the assassins secured, Lwaxana claims credit and prepares to beam down."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"MRS. TROI: "They're not delegates. Those two are assassins.""
"DATA: "She is correct, sir. I am detecting large amounts of ultritium.""
"PICARD: "Take them to level five. Disarm them and hold for questioning.""