Star Trek The Next Generation
S2E16
· Q Who?

Warp Drive Lost — Engineering's Alarm

In Main Engineering, the moment condenses into a single sentence: the Enterprise has been ripped out of warp. Geordi, briefly off-duty at the pool table, delivers the blunt technical verdict that transforms dread into crisis — "we have lost the warp engines." That line functions as a turning point: it converts Q's abstract lesson into immediate mortal peril, forces command decisions (shields and weapons now vulnerable), and sets the chain of desperate tactics, moral choices, and the humiliating plea to Q that follow. The beat moves the story from threat to imminent catastrophe.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

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Geordi reports the loss of the warp engines to the bridge, confirming the Enterprise is crippled and stranded under Borg assault, crystallizing the crew’s vulnerability.

resilience to dread ['Main Engineering']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

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Geordi La Forge
Chief Engineer
 primary

Urgent professionalism: calm delivery of dire news, with an undercurrent of concern for crew and systems.

Geordi stands at the Main Engineering pool table and transmits a concise, technical alert to the Bridge: declaring the warp engines lost. He serves as the on-the-spot authority converting sensor data and system failures into a crisis-level report.

Goals in this moment
  • • Inform command immediately so they can react and re-prioritize ship defenses.
  • • Translate engineering reality into actionable knowledge to trigger repairs or emergency protocols.
Active beliefs
  • • Accurate, rapid communication from engineering is essential to survival.
  • • Command needs clear facts rather than speculation to make consequential decisions.
Character traits
practical decisive economical with words
Follow Geordi La …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

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Main Engineering Pool Table

The Main Engineering pool table functions as the casual staging point where Geordi stands when he makes his report. It anchors the engineering space, signaling off-duty familiarity turned into a workplace platform for urgent communication—transforming set dressing into a witness to crisis.

Before: Idle, used as casual furniture and an impromptu …
After: Remains in place as set dressing and accidental …
Before: Idle, used as casual furniture and an impromptu work surface on the engineering deck.
After: Remains in place as set dressing and accidental podium; its ordinary presence now framed by the emergency Geordi announced.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

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Main Bridge

The Main Bridge functions as the receiving locus of Geordi's report: the command center that must immediately interpret the loss of warp engines and translate it into tactical decisions. Though the line is delivered from Engineering, the Bridge's authority and response potential are the narrative consequence of the announcement.

Atmosphere Tense and alert — a charged calm where incoming data instigates rapid procedural thought and …
Function Decision-making nerve center; the place where engineering facts become strategy and orders are issued.
Symbolism Embodies institutional responsibility and the burden of command; the place where technical failure becomes moral …
Access Restricted to senior officers and relevant console teams; only authorized personnel manage the response.
Low processor hum and console beeps indicating active monitoring Clustered officers and amber-blue LCARS lighting framing an atmosphere of procedural urgency

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph

Key Dialogue

"Geordi: "Bridge -- we have lost the warp engines.""