Shuttle Launch — Riker's Doubt and the Mayday Detour
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Enterprise drops to impulse as Picard calls for Shuttle Number Two; Data clears it and the shuttle blasts out of the bay while Riker steps onto the Bridge and clocks its departure.
Riker presses Data—Picard had wanted the Epsilon Pulsar Cluster, so why walk away now? Data confirms the contradiction, and unease takes hold.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Terse and controlled on the surface; likely masking vulnerability or private urgency beneath formal diction.
He is present only via voice-over: he issues a terse clearance for Shuttle Number Two's departure, projecting command authority while remaining physically absent from the bridge, amplifying mystery about his sudden leave.
- • Preserve operational continuity by clearing routine departures.
- • Shield personal or medical issues from the crew to avoid panic or distraction.
- • Maintain the appearance of command even while absent.
- • A captain must prevent personal matters from disrupting ship operations.
- • Keeping information compartmentalized protects crew morale and mission focus.
- • His absence can be handled procedurally without undermining command.
Calm, logically concerned — surface composure with an undercurrent of worry about operational implications.
Manning the ops chair, Data authorizes the shuttle departure in response to Picard's V.O., monitors displays, exchanges a concerned glance with Riker, and provides a technical warning that the chosen detour will place the Enterprise farther from Picard.
- • Execute ship operations correctly and authorize routine departures.
- • Accurately inform command of navigational and tactical consequences.
- • Preserve the safety of the captain and the ship by highlighting tactical trade-offs.
- • The ship's sensors and calculations must guide command decisions.
- • Deviation from an expected mission (the pulsar survey) signals something important about Picard's situation.
- • Clear, precise information will enable better command choices.
Urgent, focused on the tactical necessity of responding to an unknown distress signal.
At tactical, Worf intercepts and reports a Mayday on all frequencies, identifies the source sector (Rhomboid Dronegar 006) as the origin of the distress, and supplies limited contact details that prompt Riker's rescue order.
- • Provide clear, immediate tactical information to command.
- • Ensure the ship can respond effectively to potential threats or emergencies.
- • Maintain bridge situational awareness and readiness.
- • Distress calls must be treated as operational priorities.
- • An unidentified ship in distress is a potential tactical risk requiring prompt action.
- • Clear chain-of-command direction is essential in crisis.
Puzzled and concerned regarding Picard's absence, quickly hardening into determined resolve when duty calls.
Enters from the Ready Room, watches the shuttle leave on the viewscreen, questions Data about Picard's apparent contradiction, then rapidly pivots to command when Worf reports a Mayday—ordering an immediate warp-seven course for rescue despite the personal cost to the captain.
- • Clarify why Picard left and whether something is wrong.
- • Uphold Starfleet duty by rendering timely assistance to a distress call.
- • Protect crew and chain-of-command integrity while making operational trade-offs.
- • Duty to render aid overrides convenience or prior plans.
- • As acting senior officer, he must make decisive calls and accept their moral consequences.
- • Picard's welfare matters, but the ship's responsibilities to others cannot be neglected.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The forward viewscreen visually confirms Shuttle Number Two's departure — the streaking shuttle triggers Riker's noticing of Picard's absence and provides the immediate visual contradiction that sparks his questioning. The display also serves as the focal point for the bridge's joint attention as the Mayday information and sector data become operationally relevant.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Main Bridge functions as the command crucible where protocol, suspicion, and rapid tactical choice collide: shuttle visuals, Data's calculations, Riker's questions, Worf's Mayday and the decision to alter course all occur in this nerve center, exposing the chain-of-command and emotional stakes in tight proximity.
The Captain's Ready Room is the immediate origin of Riker's return; its adjacency supplies a private contrast to the public bridge and underscores the intimacy of command decisions — Riker crosses from it to find the shuttle departure already in motion.
Shuttle Bay Two is the immediate physical origin of the departing Shuttle Number Two; its procedural bustle is implied by the shuttle's exit, providing the plausible, routine context that makes Picard's absence perceptible and noteworthy to onlookers on the bridge.
Shuttle Bay Two is the immediate physical origin of the departing Shuttle Number Two; its procedural bustle is implied by the shuttle's exit, providing the plausible, routine context that makes Picard's absence perceptible and noteworthy to onlookers on the bridge.
Rhomboid Dronegar Sector 006 is introduced as the source of a Mayday that forces the Enterprise into an urgent detour; narratively it converts a personal mystery into an external moral obligation, pushing the crew away from Picard's hidden circumstance and deeper into crisis.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Riker earlier flags Picard’s contradictory behavior; Picard later locks down gossip and reasserts the captain’s composed image."
Key Dialogue
"RIKER: "Data... wasn't the captain looking forward to this mission to the Epsilon Pulsar Cluster?""
"WORF: "Receiving a Mayday on all frequencies, sir!""
"DATA: "Sir... Rhomboid Dronegar sector will put us at considerable distance from Captain Picard." / RIKER: "I know, Data. I know.""