Anastazine Trap on Deck 38 — Flood and Contain
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Data detects Danar's activity in Jefferies tube J-four, deck fifteen, prompting Picard to dispatch a security team.
Riker speculates Danar might be heading for the shuttlebay, but Data doubts this, citing Danar's history of misdirection.
Data reveals Danar is purposely leaving a trail, indicating another open access panel in Jeffries tube N-eleven, deck thirty-eight.
Picard orders cargo bays on deck thirty-eight flooded with Anastazine to incapacitate Danar.
Anastazine floods the cargo bays, with Riker confident it should incapacitate Danar.
Picard orders Worf and security to move in after restoring normal environmental conditions.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Controlled urgency: steady command presence masking the pressure of political and human stakes.
Picard weighs Data's assessment, issues orders over comms to clear decks, authorizes flooding cargo bays with Anastazine as a measured, nonlethal ambush, and commands security teams to move in — balancing tactical urgency with diplomatic caution.
- • end the immediate threat to the ship and crew without unnecessary killing
- • use Danar's predictability to capture him and avoid a political catastrophe
- • Starfleet must attempt nonlethal capture where possible
- • exploiting an opponent’s predictable behavior is preferable to reckless force
Clinical focus with mild concern — methodical and unflappable while registering the moral implications of deploying a gas.
Data scans ship sensors, identifies an open access panel and a pattern of deliberate misdirection, advises Picard to clear cargo personnel, reads rising Anastazine levels to seventy parts per million and executes environmental commands on order.
- • accurately locate the fugitive and characterize his tactics
- • protect shipboard personnel by advising environmental and security measures
- • Danar uses misdirection and can be predicted through pattern analysis
- • nonlethal, environmental containment is an effective, preferable tactic
Focused readiness — calm, poised for immediate enforcement and physical engagement if required.
Worf stands with two security guards outside a cargo-bay entrance, weapons at the ready; he acknowledges Picard's order to move in and prepares to lead teams through opening cargo doors as Anastazine floods the bay.
- • execute Picard's orders precisely to secure the cargo bay
- • protect security teams and detain the fugitive with minimal casualties
- • direct, disciplined action is necessary once containment is established
- • he must follow the chain of command to preserve order and safety
Guarded concern — skeptical of neat solutions while hoping the plan succeeds to keep crews safe.
Riker questions likely destinations, expresses skeptical reserve about Data's read, reacts to the sensor reading that the gas concentration should have incapacitated the fugitive and watches command choices for operational viability.
- • verify the fugitive's actual location and prevent his escape
- • ensure security measures will be effective and minimize crew risk
- • Data’s analysis is valuable but not infallible
- • the fugitive is cunning enough to foil simple traps
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Anastazine is introduced into the cargo bays via the ship's environmental controls as a deliberate, nonlethal ambush agent. Data monitors its concentration until it reaches seventy parts per million, converting the ship's atmosphere into a tactical tool intended to incapacitate the fugitive without bloodshed.
The cargo bay transporter console is the equipment the fugitive is manipulating when the Anastazine is released; it functions narratively as the focal point tying the intruder's presence to a plausible objective and as a device that could facilitate escape or sabotage while the gas is deployed.
Starfleet security phasers are wielded by Worf and the posted guards at the cargo-bay entrance, serving as the immediate means of force should the nonlethal plan fail. They function as visible enforcement and deterrent while teams wait to move in.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Shuttlebay Two is referenced from the bridge as a plausible escape objective but is explicitly discounted by Data; narratively it serves as a red herring that Danar uses to misdirect pursuit away from the actual target — the cargo bays.
Deck Thirty-Eight Corridor functions as the tactical chokepoint and staging area for the assault: security teams and Worf hold position outside cargo-bay entrances while Anastazine pools in the adjacent bay, heightening the corridor's immediate danger and strategic importance.
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
"DATA: He is aware that our sensors are unable to track him. Yet he seems to be purposely leaving a trail for us to follow."
"PICARD: Good. I want you to flood them with Anastazine."
"DATA: Sensors show Anestazine concentration of seventy parts per million within the cargo bays."