"Peak Performance" Line-by-Line

[LeadHead]

Pulaski: The Burdens of Command.

 

[Leandar]

(Data's quarters)

Data: Come in, please.

 

[LeadHead]

Picard: Commander, I require your presence on the Bridge.

 

[Leandar]

Data: Captain, with all due respect, perhaps it would be better if you choose another to serve as your First Officer.

 

[LeadHead]

Picard: Data, YOU are my First Officer.

 

[Leandar]

Data: I have not been able to isolate the problem, sir. I might make a mistake.

 

[LeadHead]

Picard: Yes, you might. But that does not alter your duty to me and to this ship. Now, do you know how to formulate a premise?

 

[Leandar]

Data: Yes, sir.

 

[Ziz]

Picard: Then formulate this one - how do I deal with Riker and the Hathaway? I will await your answer on the Bridge.

And commander, it is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness...that is life.

 

[Leandar]

Data: I believe I understand, sir.

 

[Vanyel]

Picard: And Data will you leave your hesitation and self doubt here in your quarters?

 

[Leandar]

(Observation Lounge)

Data: I have several examples of Commander Riker's battle technique. At the Academy, he calculated a sensory blind spot on a Tholian vessel and hid within it during a battle simulation. And as a lieutenant aboard the Potemkin, his solution to a crisis was to shut down all power, and hang over a planet's magnetic poles, thus confusing his opponent's sensors.

 

[LeadHead]

Troi: And from these specifics, what general conclusion can you extrapolate?

 

[Vanyel]

Data: Only 21% of the time does he rely on traditional tactics. So the Captain must be prepared for unusual cunning. Counselor, Cmndr. Riker will assume we have made this analysis and knowing that we know his methods, he will alter them. But knowing that he knows that we know that he knows he might chose to return to his usual pattern.

 

[Leandar]

Troi: Wait, wait. You're over-analyzing, Data. One cannot deny human nature. What kind of a man is Commander Riker?

 

[Vanyel]

Data: A fighter.

 

[Leandar]

Troi: Yes.

 

[Vanyel]

Data: The weaker his position, the more aggressive will be his posture.

 

[Leandar]

Troi: And he won't give up.

 

[Vanyel]

Data: Then despite whatever options he is given he....