Data Down — Bridge Evacuation
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
The bridge registers as a battlefield of failing systems and calm urgency: access panels hang open, stations swarm with crew, and Riker stands over a last-ditch effort as Worf and Data suddenly appear on deck.
RIKER snaps questions aloud, demanding what happened and where the captain is, pushing the crew from muted activity into immediate crisis-management.
Data emits small, plaintive mewling sounds and then goes silent, signaling acute injury or system failure that undercuts the away team's ability to act.
WORF declares, 'We must take Data to Engineering,' then physically secures Data in a fireman's carry; he and Riker move out immediately, turning decision into urgent evacuation.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not emotional in human terms; observed as mechanical distress that reads as plaintive and alarmingly final to onlookers.
Data is the injured focus: he emits small mewling mechanical sounds which abruptly stop, indicating severe damage or systems failure; he is passive and wholly dependent on others for removal to Engineering.
- • Implicitly, preserve core functions and return to operational status (inferred from his design and role).
- • Serve the ship and crew by enabling diagnostics and repairs once in Engineering (inferred).
- • Systems and technicians will attempt to repair or diagnose him if delivered to Engineering (inferred).
- • His continued operation is important to ship operations (inferred by others' reactions).
Stoic urgency — controlled exterior masking concern for the injured crewmember and the ship's technical integrity.
Worf appears carrying a gravely damaged Data, issues a concise order to take Data to Engineering, secures Data in a fireman's carry and begins moving off the bridge with Riker—physically decisive and action-first in demeanor.
- • Deliver Data to Engineering as quickly and safely as possible.
- • Remove a vulnerable asset from the combat/chaos zone to allow engineering to attempt repairs.
- • Engineering has the tools and personnel best suited to stabilize or repair Data.
- • Immediate physical action is preferable to prolonged deliberation when a crewmember is gravely damaged.
Urgent, professionally controlled anxiety — outwardly authoritative while internally recalibrating priorities and weighing risk.
Riker is overseeing a last-ditch effort on the bridge, vocalizing command, asking about the captain, and immediately marshaling crew to move with Worf as Data is carried off; he shifts from coordination to hands-on evacuation leadership.
- • Ensure Data reaches Engineering for assessment and possible repair.
- • Maintain bridge order and crew safety while preserving mission capability.
- • Data is a critical technical asset whose loss would damage the ship's ability to respond.
- • Clear command and swift action are the best way to prevent further escalation or loss.
Collective anxiety and focused stress: anxious about the damage but committed to procedure and following leadership directives.
Bridge crew work at stations amid the disorder—responding to commands, monitoring systems, and making space for Riker and Worf to move Data off the deck while maintaining ship systems as best they can.
- • Keep core ship functions running and respond to immediate hazards.
- • Support evacuation and triage efforts by following orders and clearing the way.
- • Chain of command provides the best chance of coordinated response.
- • Rapid stabilization and removal of casualties increases chances of recovery.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Exposed access panels and the wiring beneath frame the damaged state of the bridge and serve as a practical obstacle and visual shorthand for system failure; crew work around them as Riker and Worf move Data, underscoring urgency and the cost of recent structural damage.
The bridge's mood lighting—recessed diffusers and scorched housings—casts a sickly, flickering glow that both reveals the wreckage and lends a cinematic chiaroscuro to Data's silence and the hurried evacuation, heightening the scene's dread and urgency.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Main Bridge is the scene's crucible: its ruined deck, open access panels, and active consoles stage the emergency. It functions as the immediate battleground where command decisions are made and where the loss of Data is first registered, converting abstract system failure into human urgency.
Engineering is named as the immediate destination for Data—positioned offstage as the logical place for technical diagnosis and repair. Its invocation reframes the bridge action into a forward movement toward repair and investigation under constrained time and resources.
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
"RIKER: "Worf! What happened? Where's the captain?""
"WORF: "We must take Data to Engineering.""