Fabula
S2E17 · Samaritan Snare
S2E17
· Samaritan Snare

Forced to 'Make Us Strong'

Geordi is shoved before crude Pakled turrets and, humiliated and trapped, is forced to pretend his expertise can empower the laughably weak weapons. He scoffs at their gear, then—under Grebnedlog and Reginod's obsessive watch over weapon-force meters—relents, proposing to increase the antimatter charges. The Pakleds' blunt command and explicit warning against trickery turns compliance into captivity: this scene cements Geordi's coerced technical role, raises the practical stakes of the kidnappers' threat, and sets up Riker's need for a clever, nonlethal counterplay.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

After a tense study, Geordi yields a path—boost the anti-matter charges—while Reginod lights up at the promise of more power.

reluctant compliance to eager anticipation

Grebnedlog points to weapon-force meters and warns against trickery, and Geordi submits to work under watchful suspicion.

threatening suspicion to constrained action

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Reginod
Ship's Engineer
 primary

Pleased and greedy—satisfied at the prospect of increased power and attentive for any sign of trickery or knowledge extraction.

Reginod stands by the turrets, echoing Grebnedlog, flattering the captive, and expressing crude approval as Geordi suggests increasing power; he monitors the engineer’s work and the meters with eager attention.

Goals in this moment
  • • Ensure Geordi produces usable power upgrades for the weapons.
  • • Maintain control by watching for deception and enforcing compliance.
  • • Extract technical knowledge or parts through close observation.
Active beliefs
  • • Outside technicians can be coerced into improving our equipment.
  • • Visible monitoring (meters, lights) deters deception and guarantees compliance.
Character traits
obsequious technically curious eager complicit
Follow Reginod's journey
Geordi La Forge
Chief Engineer
 primary

Humiliated and exasperated on the surface; resigned but calculating beneath—careful to comply while preserving options to minimize harm.

Ushered against a bank of crude turrets, Geordi inspects and verbally derides their capability, then reluctantly begins technical work to increase anti‑matter charges while under guard and scrutiny.

Goals in this moment
  • • Comply enough to avoid immediate violence and buy time.
  • • Stall, limit actual damage or functionality of the weapons where possible.
  • • Protect his crew by ensuring any cooperation does not translate into lethal capability.
Active beliefs
  • • The Pakled weapons are fundamentally inept and improvable only marginally.
  • • Open defiance risks injury or worse; compliance can be used strategically to create openings later.
Character traits
technically precise dryly sarcastic pragmatic restrained under duress
Follow Geordi La …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Mondor (Pakled) — Ship Armaments

The Mondor's armament bank is referenced and interrogated by both captors and captive: its low-yield power signatures frame the Pakleds' insecurity and justify their demand for upgrades, while Geordi's assessment and subsequent adjustments concretely connect his expertise to the ship's offensive potential.

Before: Scans and instrumentation indicate weak, fragmented power and …
After: Subject to attempted enhancement by Geordi; control and …
Before: Scans and instrumentation indicate weak, fragmented power and sparse targeting capability; considered unreliable defensive/offensive hardware.
After: Subject to attempted enhancement by Geordi; control and power levels are being modified though systemic limitations remain and any real increase is uncertain.
Mondor Bridge Weapons

A clustered bank of crude gun turrets serves as the immediate instrument of coercion: Geordi is shoved before them, ordered to manipulate panels and increase their power. They function as both the physical threat and the technical puzzle the captors demand he solve, their crude gauges used to measure his compliance.

Before: Bolted to the Mondor's armament rack, pitted and …
After: Being actively tampered with by Geordi; charging procedures …
Before: Bolted to the Mondor's armament rack, pitted and low-power with flickering diagnostics; functionally weak and underpowered.
After: Being actively tampered with by Geordi; charging procedures initiated and readings altered under Pakled supervision though overall hardware remains crude and precarious.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Key Dialogue

"Grebnedlog: "Make us strong.""
"Geordi: "There isn't enough juice in these to blow off a passing asteroid.""
"Grebnedlog: "Do not try to trick us. We can tell.""