Extradition Standoff — Conditioned on Holodeck Reconstruction
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard demands evidence from Krag regarding Riker's alleged threats, establishing the legal confrontation.
Krag asserts Riker's guilt under Tanugan law, forcing Picard to defend Federation legal principles.
Picard conditions Riker's extradition on his own evidentiary review, asserting his authority as captain.
Krag challenges Picard's impartiality by questioning his personal relationship with Riker, introducing doubt.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Controlled and authoritative on the surface, quietly insistent; willing to trade immediacy for procedural guarantees that protect his access to evidence and witnesses.
Standing and formal, Krag presses for custody and insists his legal system presumes guilt; he negotiates reluctantly when Picard offers a Holodeck reconstruction, agrees to supply witnesses and lab data, and departs escorted by Data.
- • Secure custody of Commander Riker for interrogation under Tanugan procedures
- • Obtain immediate, unfettered access to witnesses and lab data
- • See Tanugan justice administered
- • Preserve the integrity of his investigation
- • His jurisdiction's legal norms (presumption of guilt) are appropriate for this case
- • Physical custody is necessary to ensure proper interrogation and prevent interference
- • The Enterprise is in Tanugan jurisdiction and therefore must accede to extradition
- • Technical reconstruction is only possible off-ship or with full data access
Deceased/absent — his presence is felt only through evidence, testimony, and the moral urgency of the investigation.
Not physically present; Dr. Apgar functions as the deceased subject of the investigation — his exploded science station and last actions are the focus of testimony and reconstruction that drive the Ready Room negotiation.
- • (As a referenced agent) Ensure that the circumstances of his death are established accurately through investigation
- • Drive the collection of technical data and witness testimony about the lab's activities
- • (Inferred from context) His work with experimental equipment was significant and potentially hazardous
- • The lab data and devices (Krieger equipment, ground computers) will contain the truth of the incident
Resolute and controlled outwardly; privately troubled and watchful — protecting an officer while weighing institutional duty and political pressure.
Seated at his desk, Picard frames the dispute, presses Krag for evidence, invokes Federation law, taps his combadge to summon Data, and offers the Enterprise's aid in reconstructing the lab explosion rather than surrendering Riker.
- • Prevent immediate extradition of Commander Riker without fair process
- • Transform a political demand into a technical, evidence-based inquiry
- • Preserve the rights and safety of his subordinate
- • Maintain command authority and Starfleet procedure
- • Federation/Starfleet due process is the correct framework for adjudicating accusations
- • The captain has authority and responsibility over extradition decisions
- • Objective evidence will yield a fair outcome
- • Personal loyalties must be balanced with institutional duty
Clinically neutral with a trace of curiosity; focused on the feasibility and requirements of a forensic reconstruction rather than political implications.
Enters on Picard's summons, listens, and supplies a measured technical appraisal: a Holodeck recreation is possible but requires detailed construction specs, orthographic plans of the Krieger equipment, visual/voice representations, and data from the lab's ground computers.
- • Clarify technical requirements for an accurate Holodeck reconstruction
- • Secure the datasets and references necessary to program the simulation
- • Facilitate an evidentiary process that yields verifiable results
- • Assist Picard in protecting Starfleet procedural integrity
- • Objective reconstruction can reveal causal truth if supplied with sufficient data
- • The Holodeck is a valid forensic tool when properly parameterized
- • Technical precision is preferable to rhetorical argument in resolving disputes
- • Cooperation between parties will expedite investigation
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Picard sits at and uses the mahogany desk as the locus of his authority, leaning on it to make assertions and to conduct the diplomatic-legal negotiation; it anchors the scene's power dynamics and acts as a staging surface for the combadge activation.
Picard gestures to the high-backed chair as a customary civility offered to Krag; the chair symbolizes invitation to discourse but remains unused as Krag stands, emphasizing the formality and tension of the encounter.
Picard taps his delta combadge to open an authenticated channel and summon Data — a small, physical gesture that converts a political standoff into an operational response, asserting command prerogative and moving the dispute toward a technical investigation.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Transporter Room Three is invoked as the immediate exit point and operational node where Data will escort Krag for transport; it functions as the practical gateway between negotiation and movement of passengers/inspectors off the ship.
The Holodeck (art-class environment invoked later in the episode) is proposed as the forensic reconstruction site; it is discussed as the practical instrument that can recreate the Apgar lab explosion for testimony and technical analysis.
Apgar Science Station is referenced as the destroyed crime scene whose explosion and instrument behavior are central to the investigation; it supplies the telemetry, ground-computer data, and physical configurations that the Holodeck must reproduce.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Krag's shocking accusation of Riker leads directly to Picard's demand for evidence in the Ready Room, setting up the central conflict."
"Picard's proposal of a Holodeck recreation leads to Data's programming of the simulation, which becomes the primary investigative tool."
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: "Just what is your evidence against my officer?""
"KRAG: "In ours, he is guilty until he is proved innocent.""
"DATA: "It would require construction and design specifications, full orthographic representations of the Krieger equipment, as well as visual representations and voice analyses of the persons involved... but yes, it is possible.""