Delegating the 'Human Problem' to Riker
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard moves aboard and assigns Riker responsibility for the revived guests, issuing a concise directive that frames them as a management problem to be handled until command decides their fate.
Riker registers the order and physically prepares to depart; Picard undercuts any further involvement by adding '...and keep them out of my way,' turning delegation into immediate removal.
Data requests permission to accompany Riker in overseeing the guests; Picard grants the request with a nod, and Data exits with Riker, converting instruction into active oversight.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Accepting and focused; mildly burdened but willing to shoulder an unglamorous, human‑centered task to keep command priorities intact.
Riker is addressed as 'Number One', rises from his station to accept Picard's instruction, prepares to leave the bridge to assume direct, hands‑on responsibility for the guests, indicating tacit acceptance of a messy caretaking assignment.
- • Take immediate responsibility for the care and supervision of the revived guests.
- • Shield the bridge and senior staff from distraction while preserving the guests' safety and dignity.
- • Picard trusts me with difficult, politically sensitive assignments.
- • Operational and humanitarian duties can be separated by competent delegation without compromising either entirely.
Controlled and businesslike; curtness suggests pressure and a desire to compartmentalize responsibility rather than personal disengagement.
Picard enters the bridge, crosses to the command position, issues a crisp delegation to Riker regarding the guests, adds a curt injunction to keep them out of his way, and nods to authorize Data's request.
- • Preserve command focus on the larger strategic threat
- • Ensure the guests are safeguarded without distracting bridge operations
- • Command must prioritize the ship's security and broader crisis over individual humanitarian immediacies
- • He can trust senior officers to execute delegated responsibilities competently
Eager professional curiosity tempered by respect for hierarchy; looks to be helpful rather than intrusive.
Data accompanies Picard onto the bridge, politely requests permission to join Riker in caring for the guests, and, upon Picard's nod, exits with Riker to assist and observe.
- • Collect observational and forensic data about the guests for preservation and medical purposes
- • Support Riker in practical stewardship so the guests are managed without burdening command
- • Empirical observation will yield useful data about the guests' origin and condition
- • His assistance will be valuable and is appropriately delegated by command
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Main Bridge serves as the functional arena for Picard's delegation: a formal command stage where priorities are declared and orders are executed. Its layout allows Picard to project authority while officers respond immediately, framing the transfer of custody as an operational decision.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Picard’s order to keep the guests out of the way is ironically echoed when Ralph barges onto the bridge."
"Picard’s order to keep the guests out of the way is ironically echoed when Ralph barges onto the bridge."
"Picard’s order to keep the guests out of the way is ironically echoed when Ralph barges onto the bridge."
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: (to Riker) Number One, kindly take charge of our guests until we have time to decide what we are going to do with them."
"PICARD: ... and keep them out of my way."
"DATA: (requesting to join Riker) Sir?"