Data Alone Confronts Sabotage Amid Laser Barrage
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Geordi and Bensen race to the hydraulics room amid laser blast noises; Data warns to stay out, claiming control; thrashing sounds erupt, climaxing in sudden silence.
Door opens to reveal Data unharmed; Geordi checks on him while Bensen mourns the destruction of a year's work; Data admits he had no choice, underscoring sacrifice amid chaos.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calm professionalism tinged with urgency and emotional steadiness under pressure.
Tasha Yar accompanies Data into the hydraulics room, assists swiftly and professionally with securing Malencon’s body for transport, and supports Data’s efforts to investigate the sabotage through her presence and readiness.
- • Assist in recovery and transport of Malencon's body
- • Support Data and protect the team during investigation
- • Maintain security and situational control in a hazardous environment
- • Facilitate communication among team members
- • The sabotage creates life-threatening hazards
- • Team coordination is essential for safety
- • Recovering the body is a priority
- • Professional duty demands readiness for danger
Measured composure with a deep sense of responsibility and urgency.
Captain Picard commands from a distance, requesting situation reports and demanding updates, embodying authoritative concern and strategic oversight throughout the unfolding crisis.
- • Obtain accurate and timely situation reports
- • Ensure crew safety and mission success
- • Maintain command over unfolding events
- • Drive investigative and tactical response
- • Clear information is critical to decision-making
- • Leadership requires calm authority amid chaos
- • The sabotage threatens Federation interests
- • Active oversight can prevent disaster
Resolute calm with an undercurrent of tension, masked by android precision but driven by a protective instinct.
Data enters the hydraulics room alone to reactivate the sabotaged laser drill, demonstrating calculated bravery as he narrowly dodges hostile laser blasts while maintaining control and issuing remote commands. His actions are methodical, focused, and sacrificial, carrying the burden of protecting the team from direct harm.
- • Reactivate the sabotaged laser drill to understand and control its malfunction
- • Protect the away team by facing the danger alone
- • Maintain operational control of the hydraulics room systems
- • Gather data on the nature of the sabotage to aid investigation
- • The sabotage represents a complex threat requiring direct engagement
- • His android abilities allow him to survive hazards too risky for others
- • Protecting his human crewmates is paramount
- • Understanding the underlying cause of the malfunction is critical to mission success
Calm urgency with an underlying pressure to preserve life and mission integrity.
William Riker coordinates the power shutdown, organizes the transport of Malencon’s body and team members, and maintains focused command through tense communications with Transporter Room and away teams.
- • Ensure safe power shutdown and team protection
- • Coordinate efficient transport of personnel and victim
- • Maintain command cohesion during crisis
- • Facilitate clear communication across teams
- • Safety protocols must be followed strictly
- • Quick action can save lives
- • Maintaining order under pressure is essential
- • Coordinated teamwork is critical
Anxious vigilance mixed with urgency and professional focus to manage the unfolding threat.
Geordi operates from the main control room, systematically powering down and then restoring power to the hydraulics room and control consoles as directed by Data. He monitors panel readouts anxiously, responds urgently to the escalating crisis by rushing to the hydraulics door, and communicates warnings through the portable communicator grid.
- • Safely control power systems to facilitate Data's plan
- • Protect the away team and contain the sabotage
- • Maintain communication and situational awareness
- • Respond swiftly to emergent dangers
- • The sabotage poses imminent physical danger to crew and equipment
- • Data’s android nature uniquely qualifies him for direct engagement
- • Coordinated power control is key to safety
- • Rapid response can prevent further casualties or damage
Guarded apprehension mixed with the pressure of failing project leadership.
Kurt Mandl reluctantly agrees to accompany the transport of Malencon’s body, reflecting tension and unease; his presence adds a layer of reluctant leadership and burdened responsibility.
- • Fulfill duty despite personal reservations
- • Manage crisis without losing control
- • Support team efforts to recover from sabotage
- • Contain escalation of fear and blame
- • The situation is dire and worsening
- • Open confrontation may worsen tensions
- • His leadership is under scrutiny
- • Cooperation is necessary despite misgivings
Emotional vulnerability beneath a facade of optimism; deeply concerned for colleagues and the project’s future.
Luisa Kim expresses distress and anxiety about the fate of Malencon and the mission, urging Kurt Mandl to accompany the transport of the body despite his reluctance, showing emotional investment and concern for the team.
- • Ensure emotional support during Malencon's body transport
- • Advocate for full team presence in crisis
- • Maintain morale amid mounting tragedy
- • Protect the integrity of the terraforming project
- • The sabotage threatens human lives and project success
- • Personal presence is important for healing and solidarity
- • The mission's future depends on team cohesion
- • Emotional response is necessary alongside scientific inquiry
Grief-stricken by the loss of a year’s work, blended with professional concern for operational stability.
Bjorn Bensen works closely with Geordi to execute power shutdowns and restorations within the hydraulics room, reacts with shock and mourning upon witnessing the destruction of vital equipment, and shares a somber appraisal of the sabotage’s cost.
- • Assist in safe power management during crisis
- • Minimize damage to critical base infrastructure
- • Support efforts to control sabotage
- • Process emotional impact of loss
- • The sabotage has devastated essential project equipment
- • Power control is vital to crew safety
- • Technical expertise is critical to crisis resolution
- • Emotional restraint is necessary in emergencies
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The USS Enterprise battle bridge control console remains the distant command interface, referenced indirectly as the locus of monitoring and situational awareness during the sabotage. Though not physically present, its operational status frames the tension and the need for remote control.
The servomotor drive system acts as a crucial safety mechanism locked by Bensen before Data’s entry. Its locked status initially ensures power is safely shut down to prevent accidental harm. During the event, it remains locked, playing a background role in safety but also highlighting the sabotage’s technical sophistication.
The sabotaged laser drill serves as the primary lethal hazard in the hydraulics room. Reactivated by Data, it unexpectedly targets him with deadly blasts, transforming from a tool of construction into a weaponized menace. Its erratic firing heightens tension and underscores the sabotage’s dangerous intent.
Malencon's body is the grim catalyst for the recovery operation preceding Data’s confrontation with the sabotage. It is secured by Tasha Yar and transported away, underscoring the deadly stakes and human cost underpinning the sabotage investigation.
The portable communicator grid enables real-time communication among Data, Geordi, Bensen, and command. It is vital for Data to coordinate remote commands and for Geordi and Bensen to monitor and respond rapidly to emergent dangers during the sabotage confrontation.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
USS Enterprise Transporter Room 4 acts as the pivotal transit point where the body of Malencon and key personnel are beamed from the hazardous hydraulics room to Sickbay, highlighting the technological lifeline connecting danger and safety.
The corridor outside the hydraulics room serves as the tense barrier between the away team and the danger within. It is the point where Geordi and Bensen rush to attempt entrance following the laser drill’s hostile activity, embodying the emotional turmoil and urgency of rescue and containment.
The main control room functions as the command center where Geordi and Bensen coordinate power management and monitor the hydraulics room systems. It is the nerve center for remote operational decisions and crisis communication during the laser drill’s hostile reactivation.
Enterprise Sickbay is the destination for Malencon’s body transport, symbolizing the hope for medical intervention and the stark contrast to the deadly sabotage environment. Though not physically present, its mention grounds the narrative stakes in life and death consequences.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Data’s narrow escape from the laser attack establishes the laser system’s hostile reprogramming and sets the stage for suspicion of sabotage directed against the Enterprise team."
"Data’s narrow escape from the laser attack establishes the laser system’s hostile reprogramming and sets the stage for suspicion of sabotage directed against the Enterprise team."
"Data’s narrow escape from the laser attack establishes the laser system’s hostile reprogramming and sets the stage for suspicion of sabotage directed against the Enterprise team."
"The chaos of Malencon's death leads Data and Tasha to enter the hydraulics room for recovery, initiating the deeper investigation into the sabotage."
"The chaos of Malencon's death leads Data and Tasha to enter the hydraulics room for recovery, initiating the deeper investigation into the sabotage."
"The chaos of Malencon's death leads Data and Tasha to enter the hydraulics room for recovery, initiating the deeper investigation into the sabotage."
"Data’s experience with the hostile laser system leads to the realization and report that the system was deliberately reprogrammed, escalating the investigation and suspicion among the crew."
"Data’s experience with the hostile laser system leads to the realization and report that the system was deliberately reprogrammed, escalating the investigation and suspicion among the crew."
"Data’s experience with the hostile laser system leads to the realization and report that the system was deliberately reprogrammed, escalating the investigation and suspicion among the crew."
"Data’s narrow escape from the laser attack establishes the laser system’s hostile reprogramming and sets the stage for suspicion of sabotage directed against the Enterprise team."
"Data’s narrow escape from the laser attack establishes the laser system’s hostile reprogramming and sets the stage for suspicion of sabotage directed against the Enterprise team."
"Data’s narrow escape from the laser attack establishes the laser system’s hostile reprogramming and sets the stage for suspicion of sabotage directed against the Enterprise team."
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DATA: Stay out! It is under control."
"GEORDI: Data, what's happening?"
"BENSEN: A year's work destroyed!"
"DATA: I had no choice."