Fabula
S3E15 · Yesterday's Enterprise

Red Alert — Tasha's Quiet Farewell

Wesley detects Klingon K'vort battlecruisers closing fast; the sensors read an intercept in just over fourteen minutes. Picard immediately orders Red Alert and the bridge snaps from intimate tension into wartime procedure. Tasha, having finished transferring critical equipment to the Enterprise‑C, steels herself, shares a brief, unsaid goodbye with the crew, and touches the vacant tactical station before departing. The moment crystallizes the scene’s pivot — personal possibility is sacrificed to duty, escalating the ship toward an unavoidable, costly confrontation and the moral choice at its heart.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Wesley detects Klingon battlecruisers on an intercept course, escalating the urgency of the situation.

tension to alarm

Picard orders a Red Alert, mobilizing the crew for battle as the Klingon threat becomes imminent.

alarm to urgency

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

6

Quietly sorrowful and resigned; she compresses personal longing into a brief ritual before returning to duty.

Enters from the turbolift having completed transfer of converters, informs Picard, exchanges brief farewells, pauses at the vacant tactical station to touch the panel, then departs to take up duty.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure the transferred equipment will help the Enterprise-C
  • Honor her responsibilities to the ship and crew despite personal cost
Active beliefs
  • Duty to ship and crew supersedes personal desires
  • Small rituals (a touch to the station) give private closure when words cannot
Character traits
stoic resolute private
Follow Tasha Yar's journey

Anxious but professional — a halfhearted smile masks the seriousness of the information he must deliver.

At Conn, reports long-range scans picking up Klingon battlecruisers and provides a precise ETA of interception, delivering the facts that trigger Picard's order.

Goals in this moment
  • Relay sensor information quickly and accurately
  • Fulfill his duty to the bridge crew despite the emotional context
Active beliefs
  • Timely and precise reporting is critical to command decisions
  • Personal emotions should not impede operational responsibilities
Character traits
dutiful precise youthfully composed
Follow Wesley Crusher's journey

Professional, watchful; functions as institutional steadiness rather than individual personality.

Enters from the turbolift and immediately assumes the now-vacant tactical station, providing a visible, disciplined security presence as the bridge shifts to battle posture.

Goals in this moment
  • Occupy the tactical station and ensure continuity of bridge operations
  • Project security and readiness during transition to Red Alert
Active beliefs
  • Visible, ready personnel maintain order and discipline
  • Rapid replacement of key stations prevents operational gaps
Character traits
alert backgrounded authoritative-looking
Follow Security Supernumerary's journey

Resolute, controlled outwardly; privately carrying the weight of the imminent tactical and moral decision.

Stands at command studying the viewer image, receives Wesley's sensor report, issues the order 'Red Alert' and attempts to acknowledge Tasha's farewell before she departs.

Goals in this moment
  • Protect the ship and crew by initiating defensive posture
  • Maintain command control and transition the bridge into wartime procedure
Active beliefs
  • Immediate, organized response gives the best chance of survival
  • Personal sentiment must be deferred when operational imperatives are at stake
Character traits
decisive measured duty-bound
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey

Clinically focused; calm attention to data while the bridge's emotional temperature rises around him.

At Ops, reacts to an alert sound from the Ops panel, monitors sensor returns objectively and turns to consult his console when the Klingon contact is reported.

Goals in this moment
  • Verify sensor data and present accurate tactical information
  • Support bridge command with timely diagnostics and system readouts
Active beliefs
  • Accurate information minimizes error in command decisions
  • Systematic, unemotional processing of data is most useful under pressure
Character traits
analytical alert procedural
Follow Data's journey

Concerned and professionally restrained; keeps personal emotions in check to preserve command cohesion.

Positioned at an aft console, moves a few steps closer to Picard when the alert sounds, listens and stands ready without interrupting the moment between Picard and Tasha.

Goals in this moment
  • Support Picard's command decisions and be ready to execute orders
  • Preserve bridge discipline and ensure a smooth transition to battle stations
Active beliefs
  • Chain of command and discipline are essential under imminent threat
  • Emotional displays must be minimized to keep crew functional
Character traits
attentive restrained supportive
Follow William Riker's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
USS Enterprise-D

The aft corridor turbolift car provides the physical ingress and egress for Tasha's entry and exit and for the supernumerary who relieves the tactical station; it functions narratively as the threshold between private moments and institutional duty.

Before: Idle at the bridge throat, available for arrivals …
After: Occupied in quick succession (Tasha exits through it …
Before: Idle at the bridge throat, available for arrivals and departures; prepared to receive officers.
After: Occupied in quick succession (Tasha exits through it and a supernumerary enters/exits), continuing normal transit operations under Red Alert conditions.
Enterprise-D Forward Operations Console

The Ops panel emits a warning SOUND that draws Data's attention and anchors the sequence in instrumentation: it delivers sensor alerts and displays the Klingon contacts that precipitate the Red Alert, functioning as the factual trigger for command action.

Before: Operational, monitoring long-range sensors and displaying the viewer …
After: Active and engaged in Red Alert mode, continuing …
Before: Operational, monitoring long-range sensors and displaying the viewer image of the Enterprise-C.
After: Active and engaged in Red Alert mode, continuing to present tactical and sensor data for bridge decision-making.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Enterprise Turbolift

The turbolift access point functions as the physical and symbolic doorway for Tasha's brief appearance and departure; it stages the transfer of personnel, marks transitions between private farewell and public duty, and facilitates rapid deployment during the onset of Red Alert.

Atmosphere Charged and clinical — a rapid shift from awkward intimacy to taut wartime efficiency.
Function Transit conduit for personnel and a narrative hinge where private choices are compressed by institutional …
Symbolism Represents the threshold between personal life and Starfleet duty; a liminal spot where individuals reconcile …
Access Functionally open to bridge personnel but effectively restricted to officers and posted security during Red …
Hissing turbolift doors and compressed recycled air when doors cycle Ambient klaxon and red alert lighting bleeding into the turbolift throat Footsteps and the metallic click of rank as personnel enter/exit

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

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Key Dialogue

"WESLEY: Long-range scans have picked up Klingon battlecruisers, Captain. They are on an intercept course."
"PICARD: Red Alert. All hands to battle stations."
"TASHA: I'm on my way, sir. Good-bye, Captain."