Picard Raises the Possibility of a Fabricated Wound
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard probes whether Setal's wound could have been self-inflicted, casting doubt on his defection.
Beverly reluctantly acknowledges the possibility of a self-inflicted wound, deepening the mystery of Setal's defection.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Grave and contemplative — visibly troubled by the possibility that an apparently humanitarian plea may be manipulative.
Picard watches the replay and listens to technical and medical input, asks Beverly a pointed question about self‑infliction, absorbs the implications and allows the crew’s sympathy to harden into strategic doubt.
- • Determine the reliability of Setal’s asylum claim before committing the ship to action.
- • Protect the Enterprise and avoid being manipulated into escalating conflict.
- • Starfleet must treat asylum requests seriously but verify evidence before acting.
- • A single deceptive act could precipitate wider hostilities if misread.
Objective and neutral — intent on expanding the factual basis rather than taking a moral stance.
Data supplies a technical clarification that Romulan weapons can be tuned for non‑lethal effect, reframing Beverly’s moral/medical judgment into a matter of tactical possibility and thereby undermining literal readings of the wound.
- • Provide relevant technical context that could explain the apparent contradiction between firing and restraint.
- • Prevent erroneous conclusions by offering alternative possibilities grounded in technical capability.
- • Technical capabilities should inform, not be ignored by, clinical and ethical assessments.
- • Clarifying possible explanations reduces the risk of misinterpretation in high‑stakes decisions.
Reluctant and uneasy — forced to revise an empathetic reading into clinical ambiguity with visible discomfort.
Beverly reviews the monitor, answers Picard’s question about self‑infliction reluctantly, and ultimately concedes—through a quiet sigh—that the wound could plausibly be self‑inflicted, shifting her testimony from compassionate certainty to cautious equivocation.
- • Offer an honest medical assessment despite personal sympathy for the alleged victim.
- • Protect the crew by ensuring command has accurate medical information for strategic decisions.
- • Medical facts should inform command choices even when they conflict with moral impulses.
- • Admitting uncertainty is preferable to giving false assurance in politically fraught situations.
Focused, quietly urgent — committed to letting data speak rather than rushing to judgment.
Geordi operates the engineering station controls, slows playback, overlays engine logs and power data, narrates timing details and points out repeated speed fluctuations indicating deliberate behavior by the warbird.
- • Establish an objective, timestamped record of the chase and power readings.
- • Demonstrate whether the warbird acted to disable or to preserve the scout.
- • Data and timeline will reveal intent more reliably than testimony.
- • Technical evidence can change command decisions about a politically sensitive asylum case.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Enterprise ship computer executes the slow‑motion rendering and applies the graphic overlay (speed and power indicators, time code), enabling temporal dissection of events and making otherwise subtle speed fluctuations visible for human interpretation.
The Main Bridge Sensor Monitors project the visual recording and graphic overlays of the chase, showing time code, speed, and power readouts; they function as the central evidentiary display that drives the crew’s reappraisal of intent.
The Engineering Power Data Log supplies timestamped impulse and power metrics for both the scout and the warbird; Geordi calls it up and scrubs the playback, using its tracelines to demonstrate matching deceleration spikes and precise timing that suggests deliberate behavior.
The Towed Romulan Scout Ship is the visual subject of the recording and the medical focus for Beverly’s assessment; its damaged engine and reduced impulse power are the proximate cause of the asylum plea and the data anomaly prompting suspicion.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Beverly's medical knowledge of Romulans informs her later analysis that Setal's wound might be self-inflicted."
"Beverly's medical knowledge of Romulans informs her later analysis that Setal's wound might be self-inflicted."
"Beverly's medical knowledge of Romulans informs her later analysis that Setal's wound might be self-inflicted."
"Picard's assignment for Geordi to examine the scout ship leads directly to Geordi's analysis of the warbird's behavior."
"Picard's assignment for Geordi to examine the scout ship leads directly to Geordi's analysis of the warbird's behavior."
"Picard's assignment for Geordi to examine the scout ship leads directly to Geordi's analysis of the warbird's behavior."
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: Doctor, is there any possibility his wound was self-inflicted?"
"BEVERLY: It was a bad burn... I hardly think..."
"GEORDI: Three times... three speed fluctuations... the warship always kept its distance... I don't think they wanted to catch up."