Hathaway Gambit — Ruse, Rescue and Vindication
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard calls readiness; Data and Riker answer in perfect sync, locking the team into a single, poised intent.
Picard faces Bractor and refuses the ultimatum, labeling the Ferengi raid criminal and denying any profit from it.
Worf’s deception lands: the Tactician reads an incoming Federation starship; Bractor panics and orders maximum shields and retreat.
Picard snaps the trap shut and orders Burke to fire; Enterprise hurls FOUR PHOTON TORPEDOES at the Hathaway, detonating a shocking self-immolation feint.
Burke finds no starship on sensors; Riker reveals the 'Klingon guile' bluff, then appears on the viewer alive and grinning.
The Ferengi gape at Federation 'iron' while Picard coolly asserts ownership and invites their retaliation without flinching.
Picard and Riker trade dry relief—'Smooth ride?' 'Different!'—and commit to beam the Hathaway crew home.
Picard orders recovery and repairs; with transporter restored and the Hathaway in tractor tow, he logs the simulation officially ended.
Kolrami swallows pride, praising Riker and tipping his hat to Picard, forced to promise a favorable report.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Excited and proud — energized by the successful recovery and the camaraderie of the celebration.
Serves aboard the Hathaway assisting engineering and piloting tasks; later is present in Ten‑Forward, enthusiastic about Data's victory and proud of the crew's outcome.
- • Contribute to repairs and safe retrieval of crew.
- • Learn from senior officers and prove his value under pressure.
- • Hands‑on involvement accelerates learning and proves competence.
- • Loyalty to fellow crew members is paramount.
From confident intimidation to raw fury and then abrupt panic and retreat when his bluff appears to fail.
On the Main Viewer, issues a last‑chance ultimatum, erupts with fury when Picard's torpedoes explode near the Hathaway, and panics into ordering maximum shields and an immediate retreat when convinced they've been outmaneuvered.
- • Acquire the Hathaway and its cargo for Ferengi profit.
- • Intimidate the Enterprise into surrendering without a fight.
- • Preserve his ship and crew when tactical odds turn against him.
- • Brute force and threats will coerce surrender when the enemy is vulnerable.
- • A fast, decisive strike will yield maximum profit with minimal cost.
Professional and focused, with an undercurrent of surprise as the tactical picture shifts rapidly.
Acts as a bridge tactical officer on the Enterprise: monitors sensors, announces that no Federation ship is shown, and implements Picard's orders during the confrontation.
- • Provide accurate sensor readings and tactical updates to command.
- • Execute bridge orders quickly and reliably.
- • Accurate information must guide command decisions.
- • Command decisions should be carried out without hesitation when ordered.
Surprised and alarmed; briefly shaken as the tactical picture collapses.
Functions as Bractor's subordinate on the viewscreen: challenges Picard verbally, asks tactical questions, then reacts with stunned alarm when sensors report a second Federation ship and the Klingon ruse is announced.
- • Confirm tactical information to advise Bractor.
- • Pressure the Enterprise into surrender by highlighting their vulnerability.
- • Maintain tactical control of the engagement for the Ferengi.
- • Accurate sensor data is critical to operational decisions.
- • A false or sudden new contact (Klingon) is a legitimate reason to withdraw.
Supportive and mildly amused; pleased to see Data accepted and the crew buoyed.
Joins Riker in Ten‑Forward, shares in the celebration, and earlier has played a role encouraging and later consoling Data during his crisis of confidence.
- • Support crew morale and acknowledge their accomplishments openly.
- • Encourage Data's social and emotional growth by offering validation.
- • Emotional recognition aids recovery from stress.
- • Crew cohesion is essential after high‑stress operations.
Concentrated and professional during the deception; quietly pleased at mission success.
Assists Worf with sensor deceptions on the Hathaway bridge and helps maintain bridge operations during the feint; later appears with the crew during the post‑engagement celebration.
- • Execute sensor and bridge procedures accurately to make the feint believable.
- • Ensure the Hathaway remains controllable for pickup.
- • Strict attention to procedure increases chances of mission success.
- • Small, competent actions by junior officers can determine outcomes.
Humiliated, angry, and disoriented; his intellectual identity feels publicly undermined.
On the observation lounge and later in Ten‑Forward, grudgingly acknowledges Riker's and Picard's competence, then suffers mounting humiliation as Data forces a prolonged stalemate and abruptly storms out, distraught and enraged.
- • Preserve and broadcast his reputation as a master strategist.
- • Produce a report to Starfleet that affirms Zakdorn superiority and his own judgment.
- • Maintain control of the narrative and avoid public disgrace.
- • Victory and demonstrable superiority define personal and cultural worth.
- • Being publicly bested is intolerable and threatens his authority.
Elated and communal — the crowd's mood is triumphant and cathartic.
The gathered Ten‑Forward crowd surges around Data after Kolrami storms out, vocally cheering and physically surrounding the android in celebration and approval.
- • Celebrate a symbolic victory that restores shipboard morale.
- • Acknowledge Data's achievement and publicly rebuke Kolrami's arrogance.
- • Communal celebration heals and affirms individual contribution.
- • Public vindication is a powerful corrective to shame or doubt.
Controlled, morally certain and quietly satisfied — outwardly unperturbed while carrying the weight of a harsh tactical choice.
Commands refusal to surrender the Hathaway, authoritatively orders a four‑torpedo salvo at the crippled ship to deny the Ferengi, then initiates recovery and repair orders before entering the turbolift and recording a supplemental captain's log.
- • Prevent the Ferengi from capturing or profiting from the Hathaway.
- • Preserve crew lives and Starfleet principles by choosing a morally defensible course.
- • Secure the safe recovery and repair of the damaged Hathaway and its crew.
- • Surrendering on principle or for expediency is unacceptable and will cost more than it saves.
- • A morally grounded command decision can also be a tactical advantage if executed with clarity and resolve.
A nascent, unguarded satisfaction — pleasure at social affirmation and the rare experience of communal praise, mingled with his habitual precision.
In Ten‑Forward, engages Kolrami in a marathon Strategema match, deliberately alters his premise to force a perpetual stalemate/draw, then calmly explains his logic as the crowd erupts in celebration around him.
- • Test a non‑victory strategic premise and explore logical boundaries of play.
- • Create a stalemate to demonstrate an alternate form of success and thereby confound Kolrami.
- • Reinforce crew morale through a public intellectual victory.
- • Strategic success can be redefined by changing the objective (winning vs. standoff).
- • Demonstrable logic and the crew's approval are meaningful metrics of performance.
Determined and quietly proud — committed to the ruse and glad for the crew's safe outcome.
Serves aboard the Hathaway as the visible Klingon element in the feint, contributing to the deception that persuades the Ferengi to retreat; later joins the congratulatory circle in Ten‑Forward.
- • Protect the Hathaway and its crew by participating in a convincing tactical deception.
- • Support Riker's command and ensure the mission's successful conclusion.
- • Maintain Klingon dignity while operating within Starfleet protocols.
- • Tactical deception is an acceptable means to achieve mission success.
- • Honor is preserved through protecting ship and crew, even by cunning means.
Relieved and exhausted, with a quiet pride in having held the ship together and returned his crew safely.
Appears on the viewscreen from the Hathaway, reports the ship and crew are ready for pickup, shares a tired, wry exchange with Picard about the ordeal, and later joins Ten‑Forward's celebration with Pulaski and the crew.
- • Get his crew and the Hathaway back to safety.
- • Demonstrate competence under pressure and vindicate his command choices.
- • Support Picard's recovery operations and rejoin the Enterprise crew.
- • Decisive action and improvisation can avert disaster.
- • Loyalty to crew and trust in Picard will produce the best outcome.
Encouraging and attuned — happy to see Data experience social vindication and relieved at the ship's safe outcome.
Present in Ten‑Forward offering emotional support and participating in the congratulatory circle around Data, helping to translate the moment into crew healing.
- • Stabilize crew emotions after the crisis.
- • Help Data integrate the social recognition he's receiving.
- • Emotional wellbeing is mission‑critical.
- • Public recognition can be transformative for isolated individuals.
Tired, relieved, quietly proud of having solved near‑impossible engineering problems under time pressure.
Appears aboard the Hathaway as chief engineer who helped expedite repairs; returns to Enterprise for pickup and later shares in the celebration, visibly tired but satisfied.
- • Execute emergency repairs to enable the Hathaway to be towed and her crew recovered.
- • Verify systems stability before transfer and support Riker's command decisions.
- • Technical ingenuity and improvisation can overcome seemingly fatal system failures.
- • Crew safety depends on rapid, competent engineering solutions.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Enterprise transporter system is referred to in Picard's log as recently repaired and instrumental in returning the Hathaway crew to the Enterprise; its repair is the practical enabler of the rescue.
The 'Message from the Hathaway' functions as the comms link: Riker's voice and image arrive via coms/viewscreen to inform Picard and the bridge that the Hathaway is ready for pickup and to humanize the remote rescue.
The Ten‑Forward digital counter relentlessly increments to record the number of Strategema moves, becoming a visible metric of the match's absurd length and the crowd's astonishment; it climaxes at 35,693 before stopping.
The Starcruiser Hathaway is the contested prize: struck deliberately by Enterprise photon torpedoes to deny the Ferengi capture, rendered dark and then placed in tow via tractor‑beam. It functions as the moral and tactical fulcrum of Picard's decision.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Ten‑Forward becomes the ceremonial and emotional payoff space: a loud, lamplit lounge where the Strategema rematch unfolds publicly, the digital counter climbs to surreal heights, Kolrami's defeat is announced, and the crew's communal catharsis takes place around Data.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: "You needn't, Bractor. The answer -- is "no.""
"TACTICIAN: "Enterprise targeted, Leader. Leader! There is another Federation ship closing -- a starship!""
"DATA: "I busted him up.""