Maddox Announces Intent to Disassemble Data
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard questions the wisdom of stationing a base near the Neutral Zone; Nakamura answers with pragmatic, deterrent reasoning—an official posture that frames strategic utility over Picard's unease.
Nakamura lauds the Enterprise and formally introduces Commander Maddox as a mission specialist 'here to do some work on your android,' converting a ceremonial visit into the explicit announcement of Maddox's mandate.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Confident and assertive — professionally detached with little patience for sentiment or delay.
Introduced brusquely, addresses Data with clinical questions, reveals past opposition to Data's Academy application, and bluntly declares his intention to 'disassemble' Data — converting inspection to a mandate.
- • Obtain custody/access to Data for examination and experimentation.
- • Establish scientific authority and legitimacy for intrusive study.
- • Trigger a procedural path that allows disassembly or tested analysis.
- • Data is a machine whose inner workings can and should be examined mechanically.
- • Scientific inquiry justifies invasive methods when the subject is non‑sentient.
- • Institutional backing (an admiral's delegation) will secure permission to proceed.
Calmly pragmatic — outward charm masking the strategic intent to position Maddox aboard for his work.
Conducts a courteous inspection of the bridge with Picard, thanks the captain for the visit, introduces Commander Maddox, and delegates responsibility for Maddox's work to Picard — a soft exercise of institutional pressure.
- • Assert Starfleet's strategic presence near the Neutral Zone.
- • Place Maddox where he can begin technical work on Data with Picard's oversight.
- • Maintain cordial relations while accomplishing institutional objectives.
- • Strategic posturing (base near Neutral Zone) benefits the fleet's security.
- • Delegating operational responsibility to ship captains is an efficient way to pursue sensitive projects.
- • A polished diplomatic front smooths institutional pressure into operational compliance.
Tense and curious — unsettled by the sudden gravity of the visit and the pronouncement about Data.
Remains at his station, stiffens with the rest of the crew at the admiral's arrival, watches the exchange between Maddox and Data with visible curiosity and tension but does not intervene.
- • Understand what the admiral and Maddox are doing on the bridge.
- • Stay attentive to orders and the safety of crew members.
- • Avoid interfering in a high-level diplomatic interaction.
- • Senior officers handle political and technical disputes; juniors should observe.
- • Admiral visits are serious and can change ship routine.
- • Data is an important member of the crew worthy of attention.
Surprised at the bluntness of Maddox, swiftly protective and wary — prioritizing the crew member's dignity and ship protocol.
Hosts Admiral Nakamura during the bridge tour, questions the Admiral about regional deployments, absorbs Maddox's declaration, and immediately decides to move the discussion to the lounge to de‑escalate and privatize the confrontation.
- • Protect Data from public humiliation or unwarranted invasive experimentation.
- • Preserve ship authority and manage the admiral's delegation without open conflict.
- • Shift the confrontation to a more controlled, private environment.
- • The Captain must shield crew members from external institutional overreach.
- • Diplomacy and private negotiation are preferable to public escalation.
- • Institutional visitors must be treated respectfully but not at the expense of crew rights.
Calm, formally curious — outwardly untroubled though the content of the exchange raises stakes about his autonomy.
Stands when Maddox arrives, locks eyes with him, answers questions with precise factuality, and states that Maddox opposed his Academy entry — maintaining composure while conveying crucial institutional history.
- • Provide truthful, factual answers about his status and history.
- • Assess Commander Maddox's intentions through direct interaction.
- • Preserve personal integrity while complying with bridge decorum.
- • Objective facts (membership of the committee, condition) are the correct basis for discourse.
- • Open, precise answers are the appropriate response in formal settings.
- • Institutional records and past evaluations materially affect present decisions about him.
Professional and alert — externally composed, internally ready to enforce security or restrain disorder.
Follows Picard's direction to escort Admiral Nakamura off the bridge, remains rigid and formal, and registers the increased tension among officers as Maddox speaks with Data.
- • Obey the Captain's command to escort the admiral.
- • Preserve bridge security and protocol during the diplomatic visit.
- • Be prepared to respond physically if the situation escalates.
- • Duty and ritual (ceremonial escort) are paramount and must be executed flawlessly.
- • Threats to the ship must be met with disciplined, immediate action.
- • Personal sentiment is secondary to command orders.
Concerned and uneasy — surface calm but alert to a brewing threat to a crew member and the ship's integrity.
Announces the admiral's arrival, watches the exchange between Maddox and Data, frowns at the interpersonal undercurrent, and accompanies the group toward the doors — acting as the alert, watchful first officer.
- • Maintain shipboard order and protocol during the admiral's visit.
- • Monitor and evaluate any potential threat to crew cohesion or safety.
- • Support Captain Picard while remaining ready to act if ordered.
- • Chain of command and decorum must be preserved during official visits.
- • Personal loyalties can conflict with formal duties and must be managed carefully.
- • An admiral's presence requires heightened vigilance but not immediate confrontation.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The categorical term 'android' functions as a rhetorical and evidentiary object in the exchange — framing Data as a non‑sentient mechanism and providing Maddox with institutional justification for disassembly. It shapes perception and underpins Maddox's declared authority to examine and take Data apart.
The pair of Ten‑Forward entry doors are the physical transition point invoked when Picard deflects the public confrontation to a private lounge; the group walks toward them, marking a narrative shift from public bridge theater to private negotiation.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Enterprise main bridge operates as the ceremonial stage that becomes a battleground of institutional will: a public forum where admiralty, command, and scientific authority collide, and where Data is publicly re‑cast as investigatory property rather than crewmate.
The Neutral Zone serves as the strategic backdrop invoked by Nakamura to justify his visit; its mention raises the stakes and legitimizes the admiral's presence and delegated scientific priorities.
The Starbase 173 lounge is proposed by Picard as the next venue — a private, neutral space intended to defuse public spectacle and allow a controlled conversation about Maddox's intentions and procedural requests.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Maddox's stated opposition to Data's Academy entry and his view of Data as non-sentient prefigure the prosecution's courtroom strategy to emphasize Data's manufactured origin and hardware."
"Maddox's stated opposition to Data's Academy entry and his view of Data as non-sentient prefigure the prosecution's courtroom strategy to emphasize Data's manufactured origin and hardware."
"Maddox's stated opposition to Data's Academy entry and his view of Data as non-sentient prefigure the prosecution's courtroom strategy to emphasize Data's manufactured origin and hardware."
"Maddox's blunt declaration he will disassemble Data leads to Data preparing to depart—packing personal effects—which turns private stakes into a visible personal loss."
"Maddox's blunt declaration he will disassemble Data leads to Data preparing to depart—packing personal effects—which turns private stakes into a visible personal loss."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: I was a little surprised at the decision to put a base in force this close to the Neutral Zone."
"NAKAMURA: Oh yes, Captain. Commander Maddox is here to do some work on your android. Please take care of him."
"MADDOX: I'm going to disassemble Data."