Jameson Leads Into the M-4 Tunnel Despite Data’s Objections

Upon beaming down into the neglected M-4 tunnel beneath the governor’s residence on Mordan IV, Admiral Jameson confidently asserts his intimate knowledge of the subterranean network, ordering the away team to advance toward the M-1 hatch. Data challenges Jameson’s claim with up-to-date tricorder schematics indicating the tunnel was sealed off years ago, exposing a key tension between lived experience and archival data. Captain Picard mediates the dispute, acknowledging both perspectives and underscoring the uncertainty and risk inherent in their mission. This confrontation heightens narrative tension by spotlighting Jameson’s aggressive leadership style and foreshadowing conflicts over trust and authority, while grounding the team's perilous advance in the physical and ideological labyrinth of Mordan IV’s tunnels.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Ignoring doubts, Jameson directs the team down the tunnel toward the M-1 hatch, commanding vigilance for hostages and enemy presence as they proceed.

assertiveness to cautious determination ['tunnel leading to M-1', "path beneath …

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3

Resolute and commanding, masking any uncertainty with firm conviction.

Admiral Jameson confidently asserts his firsthand, decades-old knowledge of the tunnel network beneath the governor's residence, directing the away team to proceed confidently towards the M-1 hatch, embodying an assertive, commanding presence despite the environment's decay.

Goals in this moment
  • Lead the away team safely and efficiently through the tunnels.
  • Maintain control and assert authority over tactical decisions.
  • Leverage personal knowledge to validate his command decisions.
Active beliefs
  • His lived experience and memory trump the data from technological sources.
  • His authoritative knowledge is critical to the success of the mission.
Character traits
Confident Authoritative Assertive Experienced
Follow Mark Jameson's journey

Calm, measured, and contemplative, balancing tension with reason.

Captain Picard listens thoughtfully as Data and Jameson dispute the tunnel layout. He diplomatically acknowledges the validity of both perspectives, emphasizing the uncertainty inherent in the mission and the need to respect both human experience and technological data.

Goals in this moment
  • Mediate the disagreement between Jameson and Data.
  • Maintain team cohesion under pressure.
  • Navigate the mission safely despite conflicting information.
Active beliefs
  • Both historical memory and current data hold partial truths.
  • Leadership requires balancing conflicting inputs to guide action.
Character traits
Diplomatic Thoughtful Balanced Authoritative
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey

Puzzled but professional, maintaining composure while questioning authority.

Data methodically scans the environment with his tricorder, challenging Jameson's assertions by presenting up-to-date schematic evidence that contradicts the admiral’s memory. His logical, puzzled demeanor highlights the clash between data-driven certainty and human recollection.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure the team is guided by accurate, current data.
  • Prevent the team from proceeding into potentially sealed or dangerous areas.
Active beliefs
  • Technological data and schematics represent the most reliable source of truth.
  • Past memories may be inaccurate or outdated in the context of present conditions.
Character traits
Logical Analytical Inquisitive Unwavering
Follow Data's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

3
Small Belt-Mounted Phaser

Phasers are checked and held ready by the away team members as they prepare to advance through the potentially hostile and deteriorated M-4 tunnel, underscoring the latent threat and need for tactical readiness.

Before: Checked and powered by away team members, ready …
After: Held ready and alert as the team proceeds …
Before: Checked and powered by away team members, ready for use.
After: Held ready and alert as the team proceeds further into the tunnel.
Data's Tricorder

The Starfleet tricorder is actively used by Data to scan the tunnel environment and display schematics that contradict Admiral Jameson's claims, serving as a critical tool highlighting the tension between technology and human memory during the mission.

Before: In Data's possession, powered on, scanning environment.
After: Continues in Data's possession, used for ongoing environmental …
Before: In Data's possession, powered on, scanning environment.
After: Continues in Data's possession, used for ongoing environmental analysis as the team advances.
Transporter Effect

The transporter effect marks the recent materialization of the away team into the M-4 tunnel, the fading energy visuals underscoring the immediacy and vulnerability of their arrival in hostile territory.

Before: Active, visually shimmering as away team beamed down.
After: Faded, leaving the team fully present and vulnerable …
Before: Active, visually shimmering as away team beamed down.
After: Faded, leaving the team fully present and vulnerable in the tunnel environment.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

2
M-4 Tunnel Beneath Governor Karnas's Residence

The M-4 Tunnel beneath Governor Karnas’s residence functions as the immediate setting for this confrontation of memory versus data, its neglected, unmaintained state mirroring the tension and uncertainty among the away team as they navigate the subterranean labyrinth.

Atmosphere Shadowed, tense, claustrophobic, with an atmosphere of decay and latent danger.
Function Primary battleground for the away team’s infiltration and tactical advance.
Symbolism Represents the tension between past experience and present reality, as well as the fragile trust …
Access Restricted to authorized Starfleet away team members during this mission.
Dust-choked stale air Faint distant sounds echoing through unmaintained tunnel Poor lighting accentuating shadowed corners
M-1 Tunnel

The M-1 Tunnel hatch is the objective point indicated by Jameson as the next passage, symbolizing a threshold into deeper, perhaps more dangerous, sections of the tunnel network that contrast with the conflicting data provided.

Atmosphere Uncertain and foreboding, marked by the unknown beyond the hatch.
Function Objective and route for the team’s planned advance.
Symbolism Acts as a gateway representing trust in Jameson's memory versus reliance on current data.
Access Physically sealed off according to tricorder data, though Jameson insists on access.
Hatch appears aged but intact No recent signs of passage or maintenance

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 2
Thematic Parallel medium

"Data's skepticism about the tunnel route parallels the broader theme of outdated memory conflicting with current reality, reflecting Jameson's deteriorating physical and cognitive state."

Away Team Enters Contested Mordan IV Tunnel
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Thematic Parallel medium

"Data's skepticism about the tunnel route parallels the broader theme of outdated memory conflicting with current reality, reflecting Jameson's deteriorating physical and cognitive state."

Jameson’s Tunnel Command Clash: Memory vs. Reality
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
What this causes 8
Causal

"The away team's arrival in the tunnel and Jameson's confident reliance on outdated knowledge directly leads to triggering the infrared alarm and subsequent firefight."

Tunnel Ambush and Jameson's Fatal Collapse
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Causal

"The away team's arrival in the tunnel and Jameson's confident reliance on outdated knowledge directly leads to triggering the infrared alarm and subsequent firefight."

Jameson's Agonizing Reckoning and Karnas's Reluctant Mercy
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Causal

"The away team's arrival in the tunnel and Jameson's confident reliance on outdated knowledge directly leads to triggering the infrared alarm and subsequent firefight."

Karnas Confronts the True, De-Aging Admiral Jameson
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Causal

"The away team's arrival in the tunnel and Jameson's confident reliance on outdated knowledge directly leads to triggering the infrared alarm and subsequent firefight."

Jameson's Torment, Truth, and Final Farewell
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Causal

"The away team's arrival in the tunnel and Jameson's confident reliance on outdated knowledge directly leads to triggering the infrared alarm and subsequent firefight."

Jameson’s Agonizing Redemption and Karnas’ Merciful Concession
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Causal

"The away team's arrival in the tunnel and Jameson's confident reliance on outdated knowledge directly leads to triggering the infrared alarm and subsequent firefight."

Jameson's Agonizing Gambit and Karnas' Reckoning
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Thematic Parallel medium

"Data's skepticism about the tunnel route parallels the broader theme of outdated memory conflicting with current reality, reflecting Jameson's deteriorating physical and cognitive state."

Away Team Enters Contested Mordan IV Tunnel
S1E12 · Too Short a Season
Thematic Parallel medium

"Data's skepticism about the tunnel route parallels the broader theme of outdated memory conflicting with current reality, reflecting Jameson's deteriorating physical and cognitive state."

Jameson’s Tunnel Command Clash: Memory vs. Reality
S1E12 · Too Short a Season

Key Dialogue

"JAMESON: Yes...perfect. We are in the M-4 tunnel directly under the governor's residence. M-4 is a subsidiary tunnel, but it crosses and links with several main ones."
"DATA: I am sorry, sir. That does not correspond with the information I have on the tricorder, sir."
"PICARD: I've no doubt you're right, Mister Data. However, forty-five years ago, I'm sure it linked in with the tunnels Admiral Jameson remembers."