Fabula
S2E22 · Shades of Gray
S2E22
· Shades of Gray Flashback

Stalled Beam-Out — the Batris Erupts

An urgent beam-out collapses into chaos when transporter interference and collapsing debris cut off the away team's escape. Riker pushes protocol aside, insisting on evacuation while Data and Geordi locate a faster route and Korris honors a dying duty by carrying the wounded. Tasha's strained report — "too much interference" — turns a rescue into a race as a boiling, incendiary cloud surges down the corridor and the Batris detonates. This instant escalation converts a tactical retreat into a brutal turning point, sealing routes, raising stakes, and forcing improvisation under catastrophic pressure.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

3

Riker calls for a transporter lock, but Tasha over comms reports interference and orders them farther from Engineering. Escape glimmers, then stalls behind static.

hope to frustration

A wall of debris slams their route shut; Riker concedes the dead end and demands immediate beam-out. Resolve flips into raw desperation.

determination to desperation

The transporter cycle sputters as Tasha feverishly fine-tunes; a boiling cloud races down the corridor and the Batris erupts. Rescue buckles into explosive peril.

anticipation to catastrophe ['Enterprise Transporter Room']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

4

Clinically calm and concentrated, Data's outward composure masks the urgency of the situation; he processes options without panic.

Data appears through the torn hatch, proposes a quicker route, scans the stricken man with a tricorder and initiates lifting him before deferring when Korris volunteers to carry the casualty; he remains focused on logistics and casualty assessment.

Goals in this moment
  • Identify the fastest, safest egress for the group.
  • Assess the wounded's medical status to prioritize treatment or evacuation.
  • Follow commands to facilitate an efficient retreat.
Active beliefs
  • Objective assessment yields the best tactical choices.
  • Cooperation between individuals produces the quickest rescue.
  • Preserving life is the operational imperative.
Character traits
analytical procedural deferential focused
Follow Data's journey

Determined and authoritative on the surface, edged with tense anxiety about failing options and a protective urgency toward his team.

Commander Riker commands the evacuation: prioritizes exiting immediately, points out a wounded third figure, calls the Transporter Room for a lock, and pushes the team to the furthest reachable pickup point as debris and gas close in.

Goals in this moment
  • Evacuate all team members before the ship detonates.
  • Secure a transporter lock and keep the team moving to safety.
  • Ensure the wounded are taken with them rather than left behind.
Active beliefs
  • Immediate action and command decisions save lives.
  • The transporter is their only viable escape under current conditions.
  • Protocol can be subordinated to preserve crew lives.
Character traits
decisive protective urgent pragmatic
Follow William Riker's journey

Visibly alarmed and urgent, channeling concern into terse, technical warnings and rapid action to keep the team moving.

Geordi drives the technical urgency—endorses Data's suggested route, urges haste, warns the group the ship is about to blow, and acts as an on-the-ground sensor for imminent mechanical failure while shepherding evacuees toward the transporter zone.

Goals in this moment
  • Get the away team to the transporter before the ship explodes.
  • Maintain situational awareness about ship integrity and hazards.
  • Support Data and Riker in executing a rapid extraction.
Active beliefs
  • Mechanical/engineering threats escalate quickly and must be respected.
  • Hands-on action and clear communication prevent casualties.
  • Technicians' warnings are critical to tactical decisions.
Character traits
loyal pragmatic alert decisive
Follow Geordi La …'s journey

Stoic resolve guided by a grim sense of duty and honor; calm acceptance of personal risk to fulfill the warrior's responsibility to the wounded.

Korris formally announces himself, then steps forward to shoulder the wounded man personally, insisting on carrying him through debris to the pickup point, acting with grim physicality and ritual duty amid the retreat.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure the wounded receives a chance at evacuation and survival.
  • Honor Klingon duty by personally bearing the casualty.
  • Support the allied away team to complete the extraction.
Active beliefs
  • Honor requires direct action to protect the fallen.
  • Physical courage and responsibility are primary virtues.
  • Allied cooperation is necessary even between different cultural codes.
Character traits
dutiful stoic honorable physically imposing
Follow Korris's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

3
Medical Tricorder

A handheld medical tricorder is used by Data to scan the stricken man, producing the critical diagnostic 'alive — but just barely' that drives the decision to carry him. The device translates biological state into immediate triage action and short-term priorities.

Before: Operational and in the away team's possession, available …
After: Still in use at the moment of evacuation; …
Before: Operational and in the away team's possession, available for scanning and diagnostics.
After: Still in use at the moment of evacuation; continues to provide readings as the team moves toward the transporter (no explicit damage reported).
Torn Hatchway

The torn hatchway is the breach through which Data appears and the team moves; it is both a functional entrance and a visual sign of the ship's structural failure, channeling their movement and limiting maneuverability under pressure.

Before: Ripped and warp-open, with jagged metal and exposed …
After: Still a compromised aperture after the team's passage; …
Before: Ripped and warp-open, with jagged metal and exposed wiring; passable but hazardous as the team funnels through.
After: Still a compromised aperture after the team's passage; remains unstable and emblematic of the Batris' failing integrity during the detonation.
Wall of Debris in Batris Engineering

The wall of debris physically blocks the corridor, creating the 'end of the line' that forces the away team's final stand and the desperate last-minute beam attempt; it converts the retreat into a trap and visually marks the failing options for escape.

Before: Collapsed into the engineering corridor, partially obstructing passage …
After: Remains obstructive and contributes to confinement during the …
Before: Collapsed into the engineering corridor, partially obstructing passage and forcing single-file movement under stress.
After: Remains obstructive and contributes to confinement during the explosion; its presence effectively prevents further egress once the ship's gas surge ignites.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
USS Enterprise Transporter Room 4

USS Enterprise Transporter Room 4 functions as the remote lifeline: technicians and Tasha struggle to obtain a lock, fine-tune equipment, and fight interference. The room's efforts directly determine whether the trapped away team survives, converting technical failure into dramatic jeopardy.

Atmosphere Clinical panic and tense concentration — cold console light, low electric hum, rapid button-pushing and …
Function Rescue hub and technological lifeline attempting to extract personnel over distance under degraded conditions.
Symbolism Represents institutional safety and technological authority that is nevertheless fallible under hostile conditions.
Access Restricted to transporter technicians and senior bridge or engineering officers; operations are tightly controlled and …
Cold console light and low electric hum underpin the scene. Technicians crowd consoles while alarms flare and readouts stutter. A stalled beam sequence (starts, stops, retries) and verbal reports of interference are central sensory cues.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Part of Larger Arcs

Key Dialogue

"GEORDI: "We're out of time, Commander -- the ship's going to blow.""
"TASHA (COM VOICE): "Not yet. Too much interference. You have to get farther away from the Engineering section.""
"RIKER: "End of the line. Transporter Room, we've gone as far as we can. Get us off -- now!""