Containment Confirmed — No Reply to Hail
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Mendon finishes a final code on his console, steels himself, and moves from Science One to stand before the captain to deliver a report; Worf lunges at the rail as if to seize him, and Picard stops the outburst with a restraining glance.
Mendon reports he has isolated the organism; Picard insists on results only, and Mendon states the threat is sub-micron, controllable, and removable from the hulls of both ships.
Picard awards terse praise and orders Mendon to prepare removal procedures while instructing Worf to add the information to hailing messages; Worf acknowledges but reports no response, and Picard's face tightens into concern.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Ill at ease and anxious, but controlled; quietly proud of the technical success while desperate to appear procedural and correct before senior officers.
Ensign Mendon completes a diagnostic (punches a code), leaves Science One, approaches Picard and delivers a nervous, clipped report that he has isolated a sub-micron organism and can remove it from both hulls, trying to maintain strict protocol despite visible unease.
- • Convey the technical result concisely and correctly to command.
- • Trigger authorized removal procedures so the organism is removed safely.
- • Affirm professional competence and be seen as reliable by senior staff.
- • Proper protocol and precise reporting will secure trust and appropriate action.
- • The organism can be controlled and removed through established procedures.
- • Senior officers will respond efficiently if given clear, technical results.
Relieved at a controllable scientific result but guarded; he masks relief with terse efficiency to maintain command and prevent crew alarm.
Captain Picard accepts Mendon's concise results, deflects technical minutiae, issues immediate operational orders to prepare removal procedures and to have Worf add the information to hails, displaying calm managerial control while internally relieved.
- • Convert scientific discovery into a clear operational response without delay.
- • Maintain calm and chain-of-command discipline on the bridge.
- • Obtain external acknowledgement/cooperation via hails while minimizing panic.
- • Clear, concise command action prevents escalation and preserves crew morale.
- • Operational protocol is the correct vehicle for translating science into action.
- • External parties should be contacted and given a chance to respond before further escalation.
Tense and alert, frustrated by silence from the other ship and prepared to shift from protocol to force if necessary.
Lieutenant Worf stands physically ready—appearing about to seize Mendon by the skull—restrained by Picard's glance; he executes Picard's order to add information to hails and reports tersely that there is still no response, signaling rising external hostility or non-cooperation.
- • Protect the Enterprise by enforcing security and ensuring all communications reflect the new information.
- • Escalate defensive readiness if hails fail to produce cooperation.
- • Follow Picard's orders exactly while remaining poised to act physically.
- • Uncooperative external actors are a direct tactical threat.
- • Physical readiness is necessary even when following diplomatic procedures.
- • Chain-of-command instructions must be executed immediately to preserve ship safety.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The main viewscreen (and its hailing system) is the implied instrument for broadcasting the updated hailing messages; Picard's instruction to 'add this information to hailing messages' implies use of this object to solicit external response and to document the technical fix for the other ship.
Hull Sub-micron Organism Removal Procedures are invoked by Picard's order — they function as the immediate operational response to Mendon's findings, moving the bridge from analysis to remediation and formalizing steps for containment and decontamination.
The subatomic organism (dorsal fin contagion) is the core subject of Mendon's report: it was detected on the hull, magnified in sensor readouts, and declared isolatable and removable — converting it from an ambiguous hazard into an actionable problem that triggers removal procedures.
The bridge railings serve as a literal physical boundary and staging point: Worf leans on them threateningly toward Mendon, indicating potential physical enforcement that Picard must check, underscoring the friction between protocol and instinctive force.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Science One is the origin point of the discovery: Mendon studies his consoles there, completes the isolation routine (the punched code), and then departs to deliver the result. It functions as the technical heart that produces the critical data which shifts command decisions on the bridge.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Wesley’s encouragement of Mendon (2c8504...) helps Mendon recover from self‑blame and redouble his efforts, leading to Mendon completing his final code/isolation (c68f68...) that produces the technical solution."
Key Dialogue
"MENDON: "Sir, I have something to report to you immediately.""
"MENDON: "They are of a sub-micron form. They are controllable and can be removed from the hulls of both ships.""
"PICARD: "Spare me the technical details... just the results.""
"WORF: "Aye sir. Still no response.""