Star Trek The Next Generation
S2E2
· Star Trek: The Next Generation - Where Silence Has Lease

The Phantom Assault

Commander Riker, separated from Worf aboard the unsettlingly altered USS Yamato, moves cautiously through the darkened corridors, his senses heightened by eerie sounds echoing through the gloom. A guttural growl and Worf's distant cry of pain propel Riker into action, charging toward the perceived threat with phaser drawn. In a jarring twist, the shadowy assailant emerging from the darkness is revealed to be Worf himself—though each officer insists they were responding to the other's distress. This mutual hallucination, combined with the sudden failure of Riker's communicator mid-transmission, crystallizes the crew's terrifying realization: Nagilum's void isn't just distorting their ship—it's fracturing their shared reality.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

A large armed shape lunges; Riker yells ‘No — don't fire’ and the light slashes through the darkness to reveal the figure as Worf — the perceived threat collapses into a painful, confusing reunion as Worf insists he was coming to help.

terror/hostility to shocked relief and mounting puzzlement ['momentary dark clearing within corridor', 'sudden …

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
Miles O'Brien
Chief Petty Officer, Transporter Chief
 primary

Procedural focus dissolving into escalating concern

Unseen transporter specialist attempting to provide positional data before communications catastrophically fail, their voice cutting out mid-sentence as technological systems succumb to the void's influence.

Goals in this moment
  • • Maintain transporter lock on away team
  • • Deliver critical positional data
Active beliefs
  • • Enterprise sensors remain reliable
  • • Standard protocols will overcome interference
Character traits
Technical precision Crisis responsiveness Procedural adherence
Follow Miles O'Brien's journey
Worf
Lieutenant, Chief of Security / Tactical Officer
 primary

Conflicted urgency between warrior instincts and disciplined restraint

Klingon security officer manifesting paradoxically as both source of distress cries and armed responder, his physical emergence from shadows triggers a weapons standoff that exposes contradictory perceptions between the officers.

Goals in this moment
  • • Respond to Riker's perceived distress
  • • Maintain combat readiness against unknown threats
Active beliefs
  • • Riker requires immediate backup
  • • Environmental deception warrants heightened suspicion
Character traits
Combat readiness Loyalty under fire Tactical confusion Physically imposing presence
Follow Worf's journey
William Riker
Commander
 primary

Heightened alertness giving way to disoriented concern as reality fractures

Starfleet commander moving tactically through darkened corridors, phaser drawn in response to perceived distress signals from his security chief before confronting the unsettling paradoxical appearance of Worf as both victim and aggressor.

Goals in this moment
  • • Protect Worf from apparent threat
  • • Reestablish situational awareness amid sensory distortions
Active beliefs
  • • Perceived cries indicate Worf is under attack
  • • Starfleet protocols remain operational despite environmental anomalies
Character traits
Situational awareness Instinctive leadership Tactical readiness Cognitive dissonance processing
Follow William Riker's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Worf and Riker's Boarding Phasers

Riker's phaser serves as both defensive tool and tension barometer during the corridor confrontation—its drawn position reflecting immediate threat assessment, then lowered hesitation revealing cognitive dissonance when facing Worf's contradictory appearance.

Before: Holstered but ready during patrol
After: Still charged and aimed downward after standoff resolution
Before: Holstered but ready during patrol
After: Still charged and aimed downward after standoff resolution
Riker’s Handheld Starfleet Communicator

Riker's communicator represents the last tether to Enterprise reality before its abrupt failure—the garbled transmission and subsequent silence physically manifesting the crew's existential severance from known spacetime.

Before: Functional during initial contact attempt
After: Non-responsive despite repeated activation attempts
Before: Functional during initial contact attempt
After: Non-responsive despite repeated activation attempts

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Main Bridge

The Yamato's darkened corridors become labyrinthine psychological battlefield where environmental familiarity turns treacherous—identical yet alien architecture exacerbating disorientation as shadow play distorts spatial and interpersonal perception.

Atmosphere Oppressively claustrophobic with looming shadows that pulse with implied threat
Function Stage for reality-warping confrontation
Symbolism Manifestation of rationality collapsing under cosmic experimentation
Access Logically permeable yet perceptually confounding
Flickering emergency lighting casting amorphous shadows Acoustic echoes distorting sound origin points

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 2
NARRATIVELY_FOLLOWS

"The away team's dematerialization onto the Yamato directly leads to Riker's realization on-site that the environment is wrong ('This isn't the bridge')—the beam-in action flows into the disorientation beat."

Tactical Dispute Over Yamato Boarding
S2E2 · Star Trek: The Next Generation …
NARRATIVELY_FOLLOWS

"The away team's dematerialization onto the Yamato directly leads to Riker's realization on-site that the environment is wrong ('This isn't the bridge')—the beam-in action flows into the disorientation beat."

Aft Station Gambit
S2E2 · Star Trek: The Next Generation …

Key Dialogue

"RIKER: No -- don't fire."
"WORF: I heard you screaming. I was coming to help."
"RIKER: Help me? But I heard you cry out."