Object
Electrically Conductive Wreckage Fragments
Charred metallic shards and short runs of braided wiring — from fingernail-sized slivers to palm-length conductor plates — glint with scorched insulation and warped solder nodes. Faint luminescent staining and residual energy signatures register on the bridge viewscreen when sensors pick up a drive section and accompanying fragments on an asteroid. Officers treat the pieces as forensic clues: Geordi and Data flag electrical continuity, Worf reads threat potential, and Riker orders the intercept on the basis of the wreckage. The fragments function as an apparent corpse of a disabled transport until the drive section inexplicably vanishes, turning solid sensor evidence into a baffling, misleading clue.
2 appearances
Purpose
Remains of a disabled ship or drive section that provide forensic and sensor evidence for identification and tactical response.
Significance
Acts as the plot pivot that converts a presumed containment into a crisis: the wreckage initially justifies detention and signals likely casualties, but the later disappearance of the drive section reveals a sensor failure or sabotage, escalating the pursuit and political stakes and exposing limits of Starfleet detection.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used