S3E11
· The Hunted

Danar's Transporter Breakout — The Beam Fails

As the transporter is engaged and the detention forcefield powered down, Roga Danar violently strains against the pattern beam. Troi pleads for mercy while Worf and security ready lethal force; O'Brien frantically reports losing the lock. Danar bursts free in an explosion of smoke and energy and vanishes from the pad. The escape exposes his abnormal physiology and the failure of Starfleet procedures, converting a routine transfer into an urgent moral and tactical turning point that forces the crew to confront Angosia's dangerous secret and their own limits.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

6

Worf receives confirmation that the transporter is ready for Roga Danar's transfer, signaling the start of the forced relocation.

anticipation to tension

Troi and Roga exchange a significant look as the forcefield drops, revealing their mutual understanding of the dire situation.

tension to dread

Roga seizes the momentary vulnerability in the system to resist the transporter beam with all his strength, risking fatal injury to escape.

dread to desperation

Troi pleads with Roga to stop his dangerous resistance, while Worf and security raise their phasers, escalating the immediate threat.

desperation to alarm

O'Brien reports losing Roga in the transporter beam, highlighting Roga's extraordinary strength and tactical skill.

alarm to shock ['Transporter Room']

Roga successfully escapes the transporter beam in a violent explosion, leaving the security team dazed and confirming his unmatched will to survive.

shock to defeat

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3

Alarmed and frustrated—confident in equipment but rapidly losing control as the transporter destabilizes.

Manages the transporter from Transporter Room One, reports readiness, energizes the beam, then frantically tells the com panel he is losing the lock as pattern integrity fails.

Goals in this moment
  • Maintain a secure transporter lock on the subject
  • Complete the scheduled transfer safely and according to protocol
Active beliefs
  • The transporter system is controllable and reliable under normal conditions
  • Timely technical response can prevent escapes or accidents
Character traits
procedural technical tenacious alarmed
Follow Miles O'Brien's journey

Tactically focused and ready for violence, then abruptly shocked and stunned when containment fails.

Commands the transport proceed, positions himself with three security officers and raises his phaser in strict readiness; is knocked into dazed confusion by the explosion and falls to the deck.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure the secure transfer of a dangerous prisoner
  • Protect the counselor and security team from harm
Active beliefs
  • Following transporter protocol will maintain safe custody
  • Immediate, decisive use of force is justified if the prisoner breaches containment
Character traits
disciplined decisive protective alert
Follow Worf's journey

Distressed and urgently compassionate—fearful for Danar's life while frustrated by the limits of protocol.

Leans toward the prisoner and pleads aloud for restraint; attempts emotional de-escalation and is rendered dazed by the explosion, left physically disoriented on the cell floor.

Goals in this moment
  • Prevent Danar from injuring himself or others during transport
  • De-escalate the situation and secure a non-lethal outcome
Active beliefs
  • Danar can be reached mentally and may respond to empathy
  • Use of lethal force is a last resort and can be avoided with intervention
Character traits
empathetic courageous medicative persistently hopeful
Follow Deanna Troi's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

5
Cargo Bay Three Transporter Console — Control Panel (USS Enterprise)

The cargo/transfer transporter console is actively operated by O'Brien to lock and energize the pattern; readouts degrade as the subject resists and O'Brien calls out 'I'm losing him,' signifying a technical failure under unexpected strain.

Before: Fully powered and attended by the transporter chief; …
After: Functionally compromised—controls register a loss of pattern lock; …
Before: Fully powered and attended by the transporter chief; diagnostics showing a locked pattern ready for transfer.
After: Functionally compromised—controls register a loss of pattern lock; likely still powered but unable to maintain a stable beam until reset.
Detention Cell Com Panel (Status Intercom)

The detention cell com panel functions as the transmission conduit for O'Brien's urgent telemetry and status calls; it relays the 'I'm losing him' warning to Worf and marks the technical line between transporter room and cell during the crisis.

Before: Operational and in use as a status intercom …
After: Still present but its urgent messages have been …
Before: Operational and in use as a status intercom between cell and transporter room.
After: Still present but its urgent messages have been interrupted by the explosion and the scene ends with the cell emptied and communications overshadowed by emergency response.
Detention Cell Containment Field (USS Enterprise‑D — Deck 36 / Roga Danar's Cell)

The detention cell's containment forcefield briefly shimmers as engineers power it down to allow transporter access; its removal exposes the prisoner to the beam and then the room to chaos when the beam is disrupted, making the field's deactivation the proximate cause of the physical confrontation.

Before: Energized and visible to those testing it; functioning …
After: Unpowered/absent when the explosion clears; the cell is …
Before: Energized and visible to those testing it; functioning as the cell's primary barrier to prevent escape.
After: Unpowered/absent when the explosion clears; the cell is empty and the containment no longer shielding the interior.
Main Transporter Beam (USS Enterprise — Containment Lock)

The transporter containment beam holds Danar in a materialization pattern as O'Brien energizes the system; Danar strains against it, ruptures its integrity, and the beam collapses in a violent release of energy and smoke which facilitates his disappearance from the pad.

Before: Engaged and holding a humanoid pattern in the …
After: Pattern integrity lost and beam disrupted; the transporter …
Before: Engaged and holding a humanoid pattern in the process of transport, stable enough for the operator to report readiness.
After: Pattern integrity lost and beam disrupted; the transporter no longer holds a coherent subject and the room is filled with residual smoke and energy discharge.
Starfleet Security Phasers (Transporter Room)

Handheld security phasers are raised by Worf and the guards as a deterrent and immediate defensive option; they remain unused as the explosion renders the security team dazed, leaving weapons ineffective in the decisive moment.

Before: Charged and held by security officers at the …
After: Unfired and likely dropped or rendered inert at …
Before: Charged and held by security officers at the ready, aimed toward the prisoner.
After: Unfired and likely dropped or rendered inert at the officers' sides as the team lies dazed on the floor.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

2
Transporter Room Three

Transporter Room One is the remote control hub where O'Brien operates the transporter, relays telemetry to the cell, and ultimately reports loss of pattern lock; its technical function and procedural authority are central to the event's escalation and failure.

Atmosphere Clinical urgency with a mechanical hum and rapid console activity, shifting to alarm and frustrated …
Function Operational command center for the transfer; the place where the technical chain of custody is …
Symbolism Represents institutional confidence in technology that is shown to be fallible when faced with engineered …
Access Restricted to transporter personnel and authorized security; communications link to the cell is a controlled …
Low console lights and scrolling diagnostic readouts The steady techno-hum of matter/energy coils O'Brien's urgent vocalizations over the com link
Brig (USS Enterprise-D)

The high-security detention cell is the physical stage for the transfer: its contained, clinical space becomes the site of an abrupt rupture when the forcefield is lowered and Danar breaks the transporter pattern, turning the cell into a battleground of procedure versus physiological anomaly.

Atmosphere Sterile and tense at first, instantly converting to chaotic, smoke-filled disorientation after the explosion.
Function Breach point and focal battleground for the escape; formerly a containment space that fails at …
Symbolism Embodies institutional containment and the moral distance between custody and care; its failure symbolizes the …
Access Heavily guarded and restricted to security, counseling staff, and authorized transport personnel during the event.
Cold, clinical overhead lighting Humming containment field that briefly shimmers and goes dark The sudden presence of smoke and acrid energy after the explosion

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

"O'BRIEN: "I'm losing him... what the hell...?""
"WORF: "Proceed.""
"TROI: "Roga, don't, you'll be killed...""