Picard Resolves to Risk a Second Warp Jump
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard weighs the peril and promise, recognizing Starfleet’s potential gain if Kosinski succeeds; he decisively orders preparations for a second warp attempt, signaling a commitment to risk everything for the chance to return home.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Hesitant and concerned; intuitive about the emotional undercurrents.
Counselor Troi weighs in cautiously with empathy, recognizing Kosinski’s conviction but sensing unease among the crew about proceeding without certainty.
- • Support crew morale and cohesion
- • Provide emotional insight to command
- • Kosinski truly believes in his work
- • Crew uncertainty needs acknowledgment
Concerned but realistic; focused on problem-solving.
Geordi pragmatically questions alternatives, emphasizing the necessity of Kosinski’s involvement given the lack of other viable options.
- • Find a practical path forward
- • Minimize risk while enabling progress
- • Kosinski is the only expert available
- • Risks must be balanced with necessity
Wary and guarded; distrustful of Kosinski’s reliability.
Worf voices concern about trusting Kosinski after prior mistakes, emphasizing security and caution in a terse, direct manner.
- • Prevent further errors that endanger the ship
- • Maintain security protocols
- • Mistakes on critical systems are unacceptable
- • Trust must be earned through reliability
Frustrated but loyal; cautious acceptance of command decisions.
Commander Riker restrains visible frustration but sides with Picard’s ultimate judgment. He adopts a pragmatic stance, recognizing the necessity of proceeding despite misgivings.
- • Support Picard’s command choices
- • Protect the crew from reckless decisions
- • Kosinski’s methods are risky
- • Chain of command must be respected
Hesitant but resolute; wrestling with caution and the pull of exploration and survival.
Captain Picard navigates a tense dialogue with Kosinski, balancing skepticism with the desperate hope of returning home. He intervenes to calm Riker, weighs the input from his senior staff, and ultimately asserts command by ordering a second warp jump preparation.
- • Maintain crew cohesion amid tension
- • Determine if Kosinski’s method can be trusted to bring them home
- • Scientific progress is worth risk but must be controlled
- • Starfleet’s mission includes exploration and returning safely
Optimistic and eager; driven by intellectual curiosity.
Data advocates boldly for scientific opportunity, highlighting the unique chance for discovery and study beyond the known galaxy, supporting Picard’s final decision.
- • Maximize scientific discovery
- • Support command decisions with data
- • Exploration is central to Starfleet's mission
- • Unprecedented phenomena must be studied
Confident to the point of dismissiveness, with an undercurrent of needing validation.
Kosinski exudes arrogant confidence, boasting about breaking the warp barrier and dismissing doubts. He challenges Picard to embrace the thrill of exploration, then departs for the turbolift expecting Riker to follow.
- • Assert his revolutionary warp theory as correct
- • Convince the crew to proceed with further tests
- • His calculations are infallible
- • Breaking warp barriers is a breakthrough for all
Skeptical and mildly amused; dismissive of Kosinski’s self-importance.
Argyle uses sarcasm to undercut Kosinski’s arrogance, suggesting naming a new warp scale after him, signaling skepticism and disdain while maintaining professional distance.
- • Highlight flaws in Kosinski’s attitude
- • Maintain engineering integrity
- • Kosinski’s claims may be exaggerated
- • Engineering rigor must not be compromised
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Forward Turbolift serves as the means for Kosinski’s exit from the bridge, symbolizing a transition from confrontation to action. It physically facilitates the next phase of the experiment by carrying key personnel to the engineering domain for continuation of the warp test preparations.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Enterprise Main Bridge functions as the nerve center where command decisions unfold, hosting the intense dialogue between Picard, Kosinski, and senior staff. Its environment underscored by technological complexity and rising tension, it is the crucible for leadership choices pivotal to the ship’s fate.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Data’s call to seize scientific opportunity leads Picard to decisively order preparations for a second warp attempt, increasing the narrative tension and stakes."
"Data’s call to seize scientific opportunity leads Picard to decisively order preparations for a second warp attempt, increasing the narrative tension and stakes."
Key Dialogue
"KOSINSKI: I've always suspected this rate of speed was possible, of course, but, at this level -- never. We are going to need new definitions. New parameters."
"PICARD: Yes... but isn't the real point, can you do it again? Can you get us home?"
"DATA: Captain, we are here. Why not avail ourselves of this opportunity for study? There is a giant protostar here in the process of forming. No vessel has been out this far."
"PICARD: Spoken like a true Starfleet graduate. It is tempting, eh Number One?"
"PICARD: Yes, that's the problem. I know that if Kosinski can get us home, Starfleet could use his technique to send back a pure science vessel to do even more."
"PICARD: Number One -- have Mister Kosinski prepare to get us out of here."