Object

Starfleet Transfer Order — Data Reassignment (Admiral Nakamura; physical message disk / command packet)

The canonical Starfleet transfer directive ordering Data's reassignment, as manifested in the episode both as an official command packet (paper/holopad) and as an authenticated physical message disk bearing Starfleet insignia and seals. Functionally the disk is the portable medium used to convey the same authoritative orders; narratively it transforms debate into institutional mandate when produced by Commander Maddox. Consolidated description preserves content (transfer to Maddox, Admiral authority) and the documented physical instantiation (brushed-metal message disk) used on-screen as proof of authority.

5 appearances

Purpose

To effect an administrative reassignment: to authorize and command the transfer of Data off the USS Enterprise under Starfleet authority in accordance with transfer regulations.

Significance

Serves as the catalytic instrument of conflict—an impersonal legal weapon that exposes Starfleet's moral hypocrisy and forces Picard to shift from personal advocacy to a legal and institutional fight over personhood and agency. The order converts questions of ethics into procedural battlegrounds and galvanizes the episode's legal and emotional stakes.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

5 moments

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Maddox Declares Disassembly; Orders Transferred

Maddox removes a small, authenticated Starfleet message disk from his pocket and extends it to Picard, using it as physical evidence of transfer orders. The disk crystallizes debate into bureaucratic authority and immediately neutralizes Picard's objections by invoking Starfleet command.

Before: In Maddox's pocket, held privately as his legal instrument of authority.

After: Produced and extended to Picard; now physically presented at the conference table, signifying Starfleet's orders and shifting custody status of Data.

View full event

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Filament Doubts and Transfer Orders

The message disk is physically produced by Maddox and extended to Picard as the decisive piece of evidence: an authenticated bearer of Starfleet's transfer orders that converts debate into enforced authority, shifting the scene from argument to command.

Before: In Maddox's possession, pocketed and withheld while he explained his plan.

After: Held out to Picard and presented as formal orders; possession becomes contested symbolically though physically remains with Maddox in the scene.

View full event

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Transfer Orders: From Debate to Decree

Commander Maddox withdraws a small, authenticated message disk from his pocket and extends it to Picard; the disk physically contains Starfleet transfer orders that convert a debated experiment into an enforceable reassignment, closing down persuasion and invoking jurisdiction.

Before: In Maddox's pocket as a held, authenticated command instrument.

After: Removed from Maddox's pocket and presented to Picard; now physically evidence of reassignment sitting in the meeting and on record.

View full event

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Hearing Convened — Duty Against Friendship

The experimental refit (transfer) functions as the explicit punitive remedy Phillipa threatens: she orders Data to report to Commander Maddox for disassembly/refit, converting legal theory into an immediate, bodily threat to Data's autonomy.

Before: A possible administrative action referenced in Phillipa's findings and Maddox's intent.

After: Brought forward as an active threat of immediate enforcement pending Phillipa's summary ruling if prosecution fails.

View full event

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Duty Over Friendship: Riker Forced to Prosecute

The Experimental Refit Transfer Order is invoked as the practical consequence of Phillipa's summary ruling — a bureaucratic instrument threatening to remove Data from Enterprise custody and place him under Maddox's control for disassembly and refit.

Before: Not executed but available as an enforceable administrative measure; the threat exists only as Phillipa's stated consequence.

After: Placed on the table as an imminent possibility; its invocation is used coercively to compel Riker's assent to prosecute.

View full event