Fabula
S2E13 · Time Squared
S2E13
· Time Squared

Shuttle Out of Time — Stardate Six Hours Ahead

In the shuttle bay Geordi and Data wrestle with an apparently impossible power problem: every logical correction increases instability until Data orders a counterintuitive, negative adjustment that immediately stabilizes the shuttle. The technical miracle—"it shouldn't work, but it does"—undermines the crew's assumptions about cause and effect. Geordi's stunned check of the console reveals a stardate six hours in the future, converting engineering bafflement into a terrifying temporal revelation. This beat pivots the story from problem-solving to existential threat, turning a mechanical anomaly into the evidentiary link that will tie the Enterprise's fate to events that have not yet occurred.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Geordi, voz stunned, forces the realization that the shuttle’s stardate is six hours ahead—confirming not just a technical anomaly but a temporal displacement so profound it rewrites the rules of their reality.

awe to dread

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Data
Second Officer
 primary

Calm, analytical, and unflappable; Data treats the paradox as a problem to be tested rather than a source of panic.

Data directs precise adjustments at the shuttle control position, monitors diagnostics, instructs Geordi on specific percentage changes, and executes an unconventional negative invert that immediately stabilizes the lights and systems.

Goals in this moment
  • • Bring shuttle systems into a stable state using measurable adjustments.
  • • Isolate the variable causing the instability through controlled interventions.
Active beliefs
  • • Systems react predictably to inputs if correctly modeled; counterintuitive adjustments can be valid if diagnostics warrant them.
  • • Objective observation and methodical testing will reveal the underlying cause of anomalies.
Character traits
clinical precision observational clarity procedural confidence willingness to follow counterintuitive logic
Follow Data's journey
Geordi La Forge
Chief Engineer
 primary

Practical and focused shifting rapidly to stunned disbelief; surface competence masking alarm about the anomaly's implication.

Geordi physically manipulates the shuttle's interface and power feeds, vocalizes troubleshooting hypotheses, reacts with visible astonishment when the counterintuitive fix holds, and initiates contact with command after reading the stardate.

Goals in this moment
  • • Safely synchronize Enterprise power with the shuttle without overloading its circuits.
  • • Diagnose and stabilize the shuttle's failing systems to prevent damage or loss of life.
Active beliefs
  • • Engineering problems have solvable causal mechanics—logical inputs produce predictable outputs.
  • • Shipboard systems and procedures can be trusted; unexpected readings indicate a diagnosable fault rather than metaphysical causes.
Character traits
hands‑on practicality curiosity technical humility fast‑reacting under pressure
Follow Geordi La …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

4
Shuttlecraft Cockpit Lights

Cockpit indicator lights provide immediate feedback on system stability: they glow, die, dim, and then hold brighter, visually marking the failure and subsequent counterintuitive fix. They also frame the stardate readout that becomes the scene's terrifying clue.

Before: Dark or intermittently illuminated as systems fail and …
After: Glow brighter and hold steady after Data's negative …
Before: Dark or intermittently illuminated as systems fail and respond to positive invert adjustments.
After: Glow brighter and hold steady after Data's negative inversion, signaling apparent stability despite underlying mystery.
Shuttlecraft Thirteen

The shuttlecraft is the passive locus of the malfunction—its circuits and systems react unpredictably to Enterprise power. Its damaged state and fluctuating systems force Geordi and Data into hands‑on diagnostics, turning the vessel into both puzzle and evidence for a larger anomaly.

Before: Powerless, systems partially offline with scorch marks; awaiting …
After: Systems accept a stabilized input after the negative …
Before: Powerless, systems partially offline with scorch marks; awaiting synchronization with Enterprise power.
After: Systems accept a stabilized input after the negative invert; lights hold and the craft is functionally more stable though still physically damaged.
Shuttle Bay Console Stardate Readout

The shuttle bay control panel is the tactile interface Geordi manipulates and Data reads; it registers the fluctuating indicators and the stardate readout. Keys, switches, and flickering displays make the panel the primary evidentiary surface for diagnosing the anomaly.

Before: Flickering and jittery when first engaged; displays and …
After: Stabilized visually after the negative invert command; stardate …
Before: Flickering and jittery when first engaged; displays and keys intermittently responding to input.
After: Stabilized visually after the negative invert command; stardate and other readouts remain visible and legible, providing the critical future timestamp.
Riker’s Handheld Starfleet Communicator

Picard's communicator is used as the escalation tool: after reading the anomalous stardate, Geordi touches the device to summon command, converting a local engineering discovery into a shipwide strategic datum.

Before: In Geordi's possession, inactive until needed for routine …
After: Activated by Geordi to contact the Captain, moving …
Before: In Geordi's possession, inactive until needed for routine shipboard communication.
After: Activated by Geordi to contact the Captain, moving the technical problem into the chain of command.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

3
Shuttlecraft Bay

Shuttle Bay Two functions as a utilitarian, echoing workspace where engineering and medical evidence are assembled; its confined industrial geometry concentrates the technical drama and makes the shuttle's mysteries feel immediate and claustrophobic.

Atmosphere Tense, clinical, and focused—mechanical noises undercut by a growing undercurrent of dread as the stardate …
Function Technical battleground and evidence staging area where diagnostics are performed and results are first interpreted.
Symbolism Represents the ship's porous boundary with outside unknowns—where external anomalies are hauled in and forced …
Access Typically restricted to engineering and authorized personnel; in this moment it is limited to Geordi …
Fluorescent maintenance lights casting hard shadows Metallic thumps of tractor motors and the hiss of atmosphere control Smell of ozone and scorched composites A derelict shuttle hoisted into the bay with visible burn marks
Main Shuttle Bay

Shuttle Bay Two functions as a utilitarian, echoing workspace where engineering and medical evidence are assembled; its confined industrial geometry concentrates the technical drama and makes the shuttle's mysteries feel immediate and claustrophobic.

Atmosphere Tense, clinical, and focused—mechanical noises undercut by a growing undercurrent of dread as the stardate …
Function Technical battleground and evidence staging area where diagnostics are performed and results are first interpreted.
Symbolism Represents the ship's porous boundary with outside unknowns—where external anomalies are hauled in and forced …
Access Typically restricted to engineering and authorized personnel; in this moment it is limited to Geordi …
Fluorescent maintenance lights casting hard shadows Metallic thumps of tractor motors and the hiss of atmosphere control Smell of ozone and scorched composites A derelict shuttle hoisted into the bay with visible burn marks
Shuttle Bay Control Booth

The shuttle control position is the immediate site of diagnostic action: a compact alcove of tactile consoles and readouts where the decisive negative invert is entered and the stardate becomes legible, converting technical procedure into narrative evidence.

Atmosphere Intensely focused and instrumentally lit; the small space feels like a node of revelation as …
Function Operational nerve of the shuttle used to test system responses and capture the anomalous stardate …
Symbolism Acts as the literal control point where time—normally abstract—becomes numerically manifest and threatening.
Access Physically tight and functionally limited to a single operator; occupied here by Data and accessed …
Narrow stardate readout that flickers then stabilizes Tactile switches and micro‑keys beneath Geordi's thumbs Sparse diagnostic glow from indicator lamps

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 2
Causal

"Geordi’s realization that the shuttle’s clock is six hours ahead is the direct cause of Picard’s existential dread in Sickbay. This technical revelation transforms abstract unease into concrete, inescapable temporal horror, forcing Picard to confront his own future death."

Six Hours Ahead: Picard Meets His Future Self
S2E13 · Time Squared
Causal

"Geordi’s realization that the shuttle’s clock is six hours ahead is the direct cause of Picard’s existential dread in Sickbay. This technical revelation transforms abstract unease into concrete, inescapable temporal horror, forcing Picard to confront his own future death."

Six-Hour Displacement — The Future Steps Into Sickbay
S2E13 · Time Squared

Key Dialogue

"DATA: "Adjust the invert two percent negative.""
"GEORDI: "Got it. It shouldn't work, but it does.""
"GEORDI: "Four-two-six-seven-nine-point-five. Captain.""