S3E11
· The Hunted

Shipwide Lockdown: Riker Initiates Containment

In the immediate aftermath of Danar's explosive transporter breakout and Worf's report that a phaser is missing, Riker snaps the Enterprise into a shipwide lockdown—sealing shuttlebays and disabling transporters and turbolifts. His order compresses the crew's options, concentrating teams and resources so the fugitive can be cornered rather than chased across open corridors. The move militarizes the bridge, escalates stakes, and functions as a decisive turning point: tactical containment that forces Picard to balance compassion with crisis management as the hunt for an engineered soldier becomes urgent and moral.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Riker commands a full security lockdown across the Enterprise, including shuttlebays, transporters, and turbolifts.

urgency to heightened tension

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3

Concerned and restrained — a captain feeling the moral weight of ordering force while needing to maintain discipline.

Picard is present on the bridge as Riker issues the lockdown; he listens and absorbs the tactical shift, weighing the human and diplomatic consequences of a militarized response.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure crew and civilian safety while preserving diplomatic credibility.
  • Balance tactical necessity with compassion for the fugitive's background and political sensitivities.
Active beliefs
  • Starfleet must protect lives and uphold procedure even under political pressure.
  • Military measures are justified in immediate danger but must be tempered by ethical consideration.
Character traits
measured principled responsible
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey

Neutral and focused — intellectually engaged and ready to execute directives without evident emotional interference.

Data stands at his station as the lockdown order is given, prepared to supply analytic support, sensor sweeps, and technical overrides to implement and monitor the containment measures.

Goals in this moment
  • Provide accurate sensor data and technical support to enable effective containment.
  • Ensure transporters and turbolifts are disabled or monitored per orders to prevent unauthorized movement.
Active beliefs
  • Precise technical control of ship systems is critical to mission success.
  • Data-driven action reduces risk and improves the probability of safely containing threats.
Character traits
analytical attentive efficient
Follow Data's journey

Urgent, controlled — a calm urgency that masks concern and refuses hesitation.

Riker issues a terse, decisive command into the bridge communications, initiating a shipwide lockdown and placing security on full alert, converting uncertainty into immediate tactical protocol.

Goals in this moment
  • Prevent the fugitive from escaping the ship or acquiring more weapons.
  • Concentrate security resources to enable a contained, tactical response rather than a chaotic chase.
Active beliefs
  • Containment is the fastest way to reduce casualties and regain control.
  • Security protocol must be executed immediately to avoid political and operational catastrophe.
Character traits
decisive commanding pragmatic
Follow William Riker's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Detention Cell Com Panel (Status Intercom)

A bridge com panel (matched to the canonical communications module) is the immediate instrument Riker uses to transmit his orders. It functions as the vocal relay, converting intent into enforceable ship commands that mobilize security resources.

Before: Idle but functional, with a faint status light …
After: Actively transmitting Riker's lockdown commands; its indicator and …
Before: Idle but functional, with a faint status light and ready to transmit orders.
After: Actively transmitting Riker's lockdown commands; its indicator and channel likely remain engaged as security status propagates.
Transporter Array (Shipboard Transporters)

The Transporter Array is explicitly targeted by Riker's order to be shut down; narratively it represents the ship's mobility and the fugitive's primary escape vector, and disabling it centralizes the hunt to physical corridors.

Before: Online and available for shipboard and external transfers, …
After: Commanded to be disabled/locked down to deny use …
Before: Online and available for shipboard and external transfers, standard operational readiness.
After: Commanded to be disabled/locked down to deny use for escape or unauthorized transfers.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Legara Four

The bridge functions as the command center where the lockdown order is issued; it anchors the crew's collective response, concentrates authority, and converts policy into immediate shipwide action during a diplomatic-security crisis.

Atmosphere Tense, efficient — quiet concentration interrupted by decisive command; the air carries the weight of …
Function Command center for issuing and coordinating containment orders and directing security personnel.
Symbolism Embodies institutional authority and the moment where ethics and procedure collide under pressure.
Access Restricted to senior bridge officers and essential crew during the emergency; security protocols likely escalate …
Low ambient hum of ship systems; consoles glowing with tactical readouts. Focused, clipped speech into communications hardware; the bridge's lighting is functional and businesslike, emphasizing procedure.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Part of Larger Arcs

Key Dialogue

"RIKER: "Security personnel, full alert. Shut down all shuttlebays, transporters, and turbolifts.""