Toast, Tension, and the Collimation Claim
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Manua hands champagne to Riker and Apgar, subtly encouraging Apgar to present his work.
Apgar proposes a toast to success, with Riker acknowledging it while maintaining eye contact with Manua.
Apgar reluctantly agrees to Riker's request and begins explaining his work on collimating a Krieger field.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Feigning warm hostessly calm while inwardly uneasy—protective toward her husband and awkward under Riker's intense scrutiny.
Manua circulates glasses of champagne, offering one to Riker and one to her seated husband; she outwardly encourages Apgar while privately showing discomfort and averting direct involvement when Riker stares.
- • Maintain social calm to protect her husband and his reputation
- • Signal support for Apgar's presentation while deflecting deeper scrutiny
- • Avoid escalating a confrontation between Riker and Apgar
- • A public show of support will stabilize impressions and reduce suspicion
- • Riker's attention is meaningful and potentially threatening to domestic equilibrium
- • Presenting a normal social scene helps shield her husband from immediate procedural intrusion
Surface eagerness masking anxiety—driven by the need for recognition and validation, while feeling pressure from the room's scrutiny.
Apgar raises a toast, then leans into a nervous technical demonstration—standing, pacing, clearing his throat—using the convivial frame to announce he's 'very close' to being able to collimate a Krieger field.
- • Demonstrate scientific progress to validate his work and reputation
- • Control the narrative by placing technical details on the record
- • Use certainty about the Krieger field to preempt suspicion about the project's danger
- • A clear scientific accomplishment will protect him from criticism or interference
- • If he frames the Krieger field as under control, others will be less likely to restrict his work
- • The audience (including Starfleet officers) will be impressed and supportive if he shows measurable progress
Controlled tension—externally steady but internally alert and suspicious, using composure to exert soft pressure on the social scene.
Riker receives a glass from Manua but pays it little mind, instead fixating on Manua with a charged, intent stare; he quietly requests that he and La Forge be allowed to remain until the Enterprise returns, signaling operational and protective intent.
- • Ensure presence on the station to support or protect civilians and to oversee evidence
- • Monitor Manua closely to read her emotional truth and possible motives
- • Limit Apgar's emotional control of the situation by asserting command prerogative
- • Staying on the station will make the team more effective and prevent loss of evidence
- • Manua's behavior holds clues to the truth and must be observed directly
- • A measured, authoritative presence can influence how events unfold without overt confrontation
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The holodeck couch functions as a domestic anchor: Apgar sits on it before standing to address the group, and Manua moves from beside it to circulate champagne. It stages the living‑room intimacy that softens the scientific claim and makes the social choreography feel authentic.
The Krieger field is invoked verbally as a concrete technical lead—Apgar's claim that he can 'collimate a Krieger field' transforms it from an abstract research term into a pivotal clue that will direct forensic and engineering inquiry.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"APGAR To success."
"RIKER I'd appreciate it if Commander La Forge and I could stay here until the Enterprise returns."
"APGAR Now, where shall I start... well, first of all, you should know that I'm very close to being able to collimate a Krieger field..."