Secret Summit: Starfleet’s Parasitic Menace Revealed
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard exchanges tense but respectful banter with the other captains, acknowledging their reputations and solidifying the gravity of this secret meeting.
Scott and Rixx reveal the threat: strange orders, bizarre evacuations, and unexplained deaths shaking Starfleet’s core, painting a chilling picture of internal collapse.
Picard questions vague accusations, demanding clarity on the nature and purpose of the threat, exposing his skepticism and need for concrete proof.
Keel admits uncertainty but reveals infection on his own ship and distrust of his first officer, deepening the personal stakes and urgency.
Scott urges vigilance despite limited answers; Picard agrees reluctantly, committing to covert communication and secrecy for the sake of Starfleet.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Guarded skepticism masking growing concern and internal conflict about the unsettling implications; troubled by loyalty versus doubt.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard materializes into the hostile mining tunnel, calmly engages in a tense verification process, challenges the captains' questions with cool wit, yet grows visibly skeptical and troubled by the conspiratorial warnings, ultimately agreeing reluctantly to maintain covert vigilance.
- • Confirm the identities and intentions of the captains
- • Understand and evaluate the nature of the threat
- • Maintain command integrity and protect the Enterprise
- • Balance trust with caution to avoid deception
- • Starfleet command is stable and trustworthy by default
- • The captains may be mistaken or paranoid
- • Any internal threat would be devastating to the Federation
- • Secrecy is necessary to prevent panic and preserve order
Cautious vigilance mixed with a conspiratorial edge; measured but alert to dangers.
Captain Rixx supports the identity verification process with sly caution, supplementing Keel and Scott's warnings by citing evacuations and memory lapses, emphasizing the insidiousness of the threat while maintaining a wary stance.
- • Confirm Picard's identity
- • Reinforce the urgency and reality of the threat
- • Encourage covert cooperation
- • Preserve secrecy
- • Starfleet command is infiltrated
- • Memory lapses are a symptom of infection
- • Only a hidden circle can resist corruption
- • The Enterprise is vulnerable
Firm confidence tinged with frustration and irritation at Picard's skepticism; resolute in delivering the dire message.
Tryla Scott contributes confidently and scornfully during the verification and warning dialogue, exhibiting fast-track Starfleet captaincy pride; she bluntly presents evidence of disrupted Starfleet behavior and fatal incidents, growing scornful when Picard expresses disbelief.
- • Warn Picard about strange orders and deaths
- • Impress urgency of the threat
- • Counter Picard's doubts with blunt truth
- • Support Keel's leadership in rallying trust
- • Starfleet is under covert attack
- • Many are unaware or in denial
- • Directness is necessary to break disbelief
- • The Enterprise is a likely target
Alert and commanding, wielding tension as leverage to ensure compliance and truthfulness.
The Unidentified Bolian stands as a tense enforcer alongside Keel and Scott, weapon drawn and authoritative, demanding answers from Picard during identity verification and adding pressure to the confirmation process through a poised threat.
- • Force truthful responses from Picard
- • Ensure security of the gathering
- • Support Keel's leadership
- • Intimidate potential impostors
- • The threat requires immediate vigilance
- • Identity verification is critical
- • Weapons presence deters deception
- • The conspiracy is dangerous and pervasive
Determined urgency underpinned by worry and a measured intensity; committed to rallying allies against a hidden menace.
Walker Keel leads the cautious and serious identity verification of Picard, pressing with probing questions and commanding presence; he reveals the disturbing parasitic infiltration threat, urges secrecy, and appeals personally to Picard's loyalty and cooperation amid palpable concern.
- • Authenticate Picard's identity beyond doubt
- • Convey the severity of the internal Starfleet threat
- • Recruit Picard to covert vigilance
- • Maintain operational secrecy to avoid broader exposure
- • Starfleet's high command is compromised
- • Only trusted officers can combat the infestation
- • Secrecy is paramount for survival
- • The threat is imminent and expanding
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The phasers are held pointed directly at Captain Picard's heart by Walker Keel's companions during the tense identity verification, serving as both threatening deterrents and tools to ensure compliance and truthfulness amid an atmosphere thick with suspicion and danger.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The narrow mining tunnels of Dytallix B provide a forbidding, claustrophobic setting bathed in vivid red sunlight and battered by hurricane-force winds. This hostile environment amplifies the tension and secrecy of the clandestine meeting, creating a crucible for trust-testing and the revelation of a dark Starfleet conspiracy.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Picard’s beam down to Dytallix B initiates the direct meeting with Keel and others, setting the secret alliance and revealing the conspiracy’s scope."
"The hostile initial standoff on Dytallix B contrasts with the later cooperative but deceptive reunions, highlighting the theme of appearances versus reality and the precarious nature of trust."
"The hostile initial standoff on Dytallix B contrasts with the later cooperative but deceptive reunions, highlighting the theme of appearances versus reality and the precarious nature of trust."
"The hostile initial standoff on Dytallix B contrasts with the later cooperative but deceptive reunions, highlighting the theme of appearances versus reality and the precarious nature of trust."
"Keel’s final words about distrust echo in the sarcastic dismissals from Aaron, illustrating the persistent theme of mistrust and hidden threats undermining Starfleet’s facade."
"The hostile initial standoff on Dytallix B contrasts with the later cooperative but deceptive reunions, highlighting the theme of appearances versus reality and the precarious nature of trust."
Key Dialogue
"KEEL: Tell me Jean-Luc -- where did we first meet?"
"PICARD: On Tau Ceti III. It was a bar -- Quite an exotic one at that."
"KEEL: Dammit Jean-Luc, I tell you that some of Starfleet's top command people are changing! This could affect the very core of our organization. Officers I've known for years are bluffing their way through talk of old times!"
"RIXX: That's their weakness! A lack of memory."
"TRYLA: And we fully expect the Enterprise to be targeted soon."
"KEEL: Stay in touch with us -- covertly. This meeting never took place as far as Starfleet is concerned."