Dorsal Fin Contagion — Mendon's Protocol Delay
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Worf flags an automatic scan that registers an unknown substance clinging to the aft quarter of the ship's dorsal fin, forcing command attention to a potential hull threat.
Picard orders a focused definition; Mendon runs the diagnostics, pulls up the Enterprise schematic, and locates the anomaly on the dorsal of the Engineering Section while Data prepares the viewscreen for magnified inspection.
Data magnifies the image to reveal a hazy mass and identifies it as a rare subatomic organism that doubles every fifteen minutes and reacts with two hull compounds, escalating the problem from curiosity to an exponential threat.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Deflated and anxious; defensive about following his cultural protocol but chastened when corrected by command.
Ensign Mendon operates the science station, locates and confirms the anomaly on the schematic, admits to earlier detection aboard the Klingon ship Pagh but explains his delay was due to Benzite regulation requiring complete analysis before reporting.
- • Complete a thorough technical analysis per his cultural training
- • Avoid procedural impropriety as defined by Benzite custom
- • Comply with Picard's orders while recovering credibility
- • Benzite regulations require complete analysis prior to reporting anomalies
- • Reporting prematurely is improper and could harm professional standing
- • Following one's cultural procedures is an ethical obligation even aboard foreign ships
Controlled authority with contained disappointment; prioritizes ship safety over cultural nuance.
Captain Picard commands the bridge response, receives the magnified sensor readout, questions Mendon's omission, issues a firm corrective order that converts the discovery into an operational mandate and assigns supervision to Worf.
- • Establish the origin and danger posed by the substance
- • Reinforce Starfleet reporting protocols and chain of command
- • Contain the threat by assigning analysis and supervision
- • Ship safety requires immediate reporting of anomalies regardless of cultural convention
- • Command responsibility supersedes individual procedural variations
- • Delaying information endangers lives and mission integrity
Neutral, evidence-driven clarity; emotionless delivery that increases the gravity of the threat.
Data operates the science displays and viewscreen, escalating magnification, identifying the object's replication rate and chemical interactions, and framing the technical stakes that force command decisions.
- • Provide accurate, quantifiable sensor analysis to inform command decisions
- • Isolate and describe the organism's behavior and interactions with hull compounds
- • Turn observational data into actionable parameters for containment
- • Objective sensor data should determine response urgency
- • Quantification of threat dynamics (doubling time, compound reactions) is essential for containment
- • Command must be supplied with clear information to act effectively
Concerned and duty-bound; projects authority to enforce protocol and reassert order.
Worf reports the automatic scan result, physically directs attention to the affected hull sector, accepts Picard's supervisory assignment, and asserts disciplinary oversight toward Mendon with terse cultural bluntness.
- • Ensure Mendon follows Starfleet procedure while conducting analysis
- • Protect the ship by overseeing containment and analysis efforts
- • Reinforce discipline and correct perceived insubordination
- • Order and chain-of-command prevent unnecessary risk
- • Stricter supervision will correct procedural lapses
- • Cultural differences must not compromise ship safety
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Science One console accepts Mendon's inputs and Data's manipulations, converting faint telemetry into magnified visual data and diagnostic readouts; it is the workstation where the organism is isolated and characterized, driving the scene's investigative energy.
The forward viewscreen displays the magnified sensor returns, turning a faint haze into a visible, labeled anomaly; it functions as the evidentiary center making the organism's replication and chemical reactions legible to command and precipitating Picard's orders.
The forward turbolift doors serve as the physical exit point marking Picard's ceding of immediate command; Picard walks toward them after issuing orders, their soft mechanical whisper punctuating the scene's transition to containment and supervision.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Science One functions as the technical locus where Mendon inputs scans and Data manipulates magnification; it is the diagnostic alcove that converts sensor noise into actionable information and where Mendon's cultural procedure manifests in his decision-making.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Mendon first detects the faint smear on the Pagh schematic (93bd...) and subsequently admits he withheld reporting under Benzite procedure (bfdd6e...), directly establishing the procedural delay that precipitates the crisis."
"Mendon first detects the faint smear on the Pagh schematic (93bd...) and subsequently admits he withheld reporting under Benzite procedure (bfdd6e...), directly establishing the procedural delay that precipitates the crisis."
"Data’s magnified identification of the organism and its exponential behavior (10e057...) directly motivates Picard to seize command and set an intercept course to assist the Pagh (d3ad48...), converting analysis into action."
"Data’s magnified identification of the organism and its exponential behavior (10e057...) directly motivates Picard to seize command and set an intercept course to assist the Pagh (d3ad48...), converting analysis into action."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"WORF: Sir, the automatic scan has registered some unknown substance on the aft quarter of the exterior skin of the dorsal fin."
"DATA: The substance appears to be a rare form of subatomic "bacteria, capable of doubling every fifteen minutes. It seems to be reacting with two of the compounds present in the Enterprise structure."
"PICARD: You are supposed to report whatever is out of the ordinary. This falls into that category."