Blackened Crypts and a Preserved Woman
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Worf and Data enter a compartment filled with glass-covered crypts; Data wipes frost from one and exposes a blackened, shriveled human corpse, reacting with visible disturbance.
Data issues a clinical diagnosis: the crypt seal was broken and the environment corrupted, framing the discovery as the result of contamination or tampering.
Data and Worf continue inspecting adjacent crypts; Worf wipes away frost to reveal another shriveled corpse and calls it out, establishing a pattern of multiple victims.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calm, clinical concern — Data's tone is controlled but the content reveals dawning alarm at deliberate tampering.
Data methodically clears frost, reads environmental panels, photographs or scans breaches, pronounces seals broken, lifts a cover to confirm an empty crypt and reports forensic detail with clinical precision.
- • Document and preserve forensic evidence of cryo-environment failures
- • Diagnose cause of preservation corruption and determine whether tampering occurred
- • Provide factual assessments to inform command decisions and next steps
- • Environmental integrity of the crypts can be measured and diagnosed objectively
- • Broken seals imply external intervention rather than natural decay
- • Accurate, unemotional data will allow the commander to make correct tactical and medical choices
Visibly urgent and guarded — Worf's warrior instincts sharpen his focus and push toward immediate containment and security measures.
Worf physically wipes frost from multiple crypt panes, discovers desiccated remains, signals Data and the commander to inspect, and uncovers the cleared aperture revealing the unconscious woman, acting as first responder and security observer.
- • Confirm the scope of the threat and ensure the area is secure
- • Identify survivors to prioritize rescue and medical transfer
- • Gather immediate, observable evidence of tampering to inform command and defensive posture
- • This is likely an act of hostile interference rather than natural failure
- • Speed is essential to preserve survivors and evidence
- • Protecting living survivors and the crew is the highest immediate priority
Alert, quietly alarmed — balancing procedural control with the ethical urgency of an unfolding rescue and potential diplomatic consequences.
Addressed by Worf as 'Commander' and implicitly present, the Unnamed Commander is the operational authority who will receive Data's forensic readout and Worf's discovery, prepare for rescue and investigation, and make command calls based on these findings.
- • Assess the evidence to determine if this is criminal tampering or environmental failure
- • Authorize rescue and medical evacuation of any survivors
- • Preserve chain-of-custody for evidence and determine next tactical posture
- • Command decisions must be informed by clear, objective reporting from specialists
- • Preservation of life and prevention of escalation (political or military) are primary responsibilities
- • Any evidence of tampering could have strategic implications requiring careful handling
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The glass-covered crypts form the scene's central evidence array: Data and Worf clear frost from multiple units to reveal their contents. They function as preserved-time capsules, forensic targets, and narrative proof that preservation systems either failed or were violated.
A palm-sized wiped hole in the frost created by Worf becomes the immediate point of revelation: through this cleared aperture the crew sees the preserved, unconscious woman. The hole functions as both literal reveal and symbolic transition—from inventory to rescue.
Crypt seals are read as forensic traces: Data inspects and declares them broken or tampered with. The torn and gouged rims shift the scene from passive decay to violent interference, implicating an external actor and framing the discovery as criminal, not natural.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Riker authorizes Data's investigation, directly leading to the discovery of a preserved survivor."
"Riker authorizes Data's investigation, directly leading to the discovery of a preserved survivor."
"The initial discovery of frozen crypts (shrivelled corpses) escalates when, beyond them, Data and Worf uncover a perfectly preserved unconscious woman — the scene moves from devastation to urgent rescue."
"The preservation of a living subject in the derelict directly precipitates Beverly's decision to thaw and medically attend to the recovered person aboard Sickbay."
"The preservation of a living subject in the derelict directly precipitates Beverly's decision to thaw and medically attend to the recovered person aboard Sickbay."
"The preservation of a living subject in the derelict directly precipitates Beverly's decision to thaw and medically attend to the recovered person aboard Sickbay."
"The initial discovery of frozen crypts (shrivelled corpses) escalates when, beyond them, Data and Worf uncover a perfectly preserved unconscious woman — the scene moves from devastation to urgent rescue."
"Early evidence of failed crypt seals foreshadows Beverly's justification for thawing the bodies."
"Early evidence of failed crypt seals foreshadows Beverly's justification for thawing the bodies."
"Early evidence of failed crypt seals foreshadows Beverly's justification for thawing the bodies."
Key Dialogue
"DATA: "The seal was broken and the environment has been corrupted.""
"DATA: "This one is empty.""
"DATA: "It has been forced open and the occupant removed.""