S3E6
· Booby Trap

Emergency Light on Promellian Powerworks

Data rigs a small power pack to bring up dim emergency lighting on the dead Promellian cruiser, revealing the ship's internal architecture and guiding the away team's approach to the source of the distress signal. Picard's curiosity turns forensic as Worf documents tactical displays and Data identifies design elements—most notably massive positron ducts and integrated command circuitry—that link Promellian engineering to later Federation concepts. The scene functions as a revelation and practical setup: concrete evidence and targets that will inform the crew's attempt to subvert the trap's lethal radiation.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

4

Data powers up the ancient warship's emergency lighting, revealing their proximity to the distress signal as the team presses forward.

uncertainty to cautious progress ['ancient warship interior']

Picard directs Worf to document the Promellian tactical displays, recognizing their historical significance to Starfleet design.

curiosity to professional admiration

Data confirms the Promellians' influence on Federation starship evolution, prompting Picard's respectful acknowledgment of their legacy.

academic interest to solemn respect

The team discovers massive positron ducts, physical evidence of the Promellians' advanced power distribution technology.

discovery to technical appreciation

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3

Engaged curiosity; a combination of professional concern for crew safety and genuine admiration for ancient technological achievement.

Picard observes the newly lit interior, translates the reveal into historical and tactical questions, instructs Worf to capture tricorder images of the tactical display, and vocalizes appreciation for Promellian engineering.

Goals in this moment
  • Document and preserve clear visual records of the ship's systems
  • Understand the layout and design to anticipate hazards
  • Translate archaeological insight into tactical advantage
  • Ensure the away team collects usable data for Federation analysis
Active beliefs
  • Historical artifacts can inform present-day engineering and tactics
  • Careful observation and documentation are responsibilities of command
  • Knowledge preservation matters as much as immediate safety when possible
Character traits
scholarly authoritative thoughtful appreciative of historical craft
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey

Calm, clinical focus — intellectually engaged and purposefully neutral while prioritizing data collection and diagnostics.

Data patches in a small power pack, runs calculations, powers up emergency lighting, announces the distance to the distress signal, and identifies historical and technical links between Promellian systems and later Federation designs.

Goals in this moment
  • Restore localized power to reveal ship systems and enable inspection
  • Locate and quantify the source of the distress signal
  • Identify structural and technological features that explain the ship's design and hazards
  • Provide empirical information to guide command decisions
Active beliefs
  • Objective measurement and diagnostics will resolve tactical ambiguity
  • Technological lineage can be inferred from surviving hardware and informs contemporary engineering
  • Providing precise data is the most effective way to assist the command team
Character traits
methodical analytical precise curious about technical lineage
Follow Data's journey

Focused professionalism — stoic attention to the task with an undercurrent of seriousness appropriate to a hazardous, unfamiliar environment.

Worf records images with a tricorder as ordered, moving through the dimly lit spaces to capture tactical display readouts and structural features while remaining alert and disciplined.

Goals in this moment
  • Collect accurate tricorder imagery and readings of the tactical display and structural ducts
  • Support command by producing immediate, usable documentation
  • Maintain team security while gathering evidence
Active beliefs
  • Obedience to command ensures mission success and crew safety
  • Accurate sensor data is critical for tactical assessment
  • Silent, reliable action best serves the team in dangerous settings
Character traits
disciplined duty‑bound efficient tactically minded
Follow Worf's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

3
Data's Tricorder

The palm‑held tricorder is used to record images and sensor readings of the Promellian tactical display and structural features. Worf operates it to capture visual and technical data that will serve as evidence and reference for engineering and command decisions.

Before: In the away team's possession (traditionally carried by …
After: Actively storing photographic and sensor data captured from …
Before: In the away team's possession (traditionally carried by Data), clipped or at hand and functional with charged sensors.
After: Actively storing photographic and sensor data captured from the tactical display and surrounding architecture; in the possession of the away team (Worf).
Promellian Positron Ducts

Large Promellian positron ducts are revealed by the emergency lighting; Picard calls attention to them as primary power conduits. They act as tangible clues to the ship's energy architecture and inform the crew's mapping of where dangerous flux or the distress signal may originate.

Before: Dark, inert, and visually indistinct within the ship's …
After: Illuminated sufficiently to be visually examined and mentally …
Before: Dark, inert, and visually indistinct within the ship's shadowed interior.
After: Illuminated sufficiently to be visually examined and mentally catalogued by Picard and Data as part of the ship's power network.
Promellian Tactical Display

The Promellian tactical display, previously dark and inert, flickers to life under the improvised power source, presenting schematized positron ducting and command nodes. It functions as forensic evidence linking Promellian design to later Federation systems and as a target for documentation.

Before: Unpowered, dark, and effectively unreadable to the away …
After: Dimly active under low power — flickering amber …
Before: Unpowered, dark, and effectively unreadable to the away team.
After: Dimly active under low power — flickering amber glyphs and schematics visible and photographed by the away team for analysis.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Key Dialogue

"DATA: The source of the distress signal is twenty meters ahead..."
"PICARD: Mister Worf, be sure we get tricorder images of their tactical display..."
"DATA: I believe it was four, sir. We did not have a fully integrated tactical command until the twenty-third century. In fact, several of the Promellian innovations served as inspiration for early Federation starship design..."