Object

Riker's Beam-Out Marker (Locator Beacon)

A palm-sized, field‑deployed locator beacon with a squat, weatherproof housing and a low‑profile spike for planting in soft ground. Its casing is matte, scuffed metal; a single pulsing LED and narrow directional emitter broadcast a short‑range transporter signature. Wind and charged‑particle spray batter it on Galorndon’s surface, but the device holds position as Geordi and Worf orient to its signal while Riker references it to enforce the fourteen‑minute extraction window.

6 appearances

Purpose

To emit a short‑range transporter/locator signal that marks a precise beam‑out position for Starfleet transporter systems, enabling a safe and timely extraction of an away team.

Significance

Serves as the physical anchor for the team's survival plan: it fixes the extraction point, compresses urgency into a fourteen‑minute deadline, and dramatizes the crew's vulnerability by making rescue contingent on an exposed, fragile device.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

6 moments

S3E7 · The Enemy

VISOR Pierces the Storm — Wreckage Detected

Riker plants the beam‑out marker at the beam‑down location to designate the precise extraction point and anchor the fourteen‑minute transport window. The marker functions as both a practical homing device and a psychological focal point that enshrines Starfleet procedure in a hostile environment.

Before: In Riker's possession or carried by the away team as a ready locator device.

After: Planted at the beam-down location, actively marking the extraction point for the duration of the window.

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S3E7 · The Enemy

Phaser Down — A Fragile Alliance

The locator beacon functions as the objective that justifies cooperation: Geordi frames it as the route to the Enterprise. It is referenced repeatedly as a tangible hope and navigational goal that drives action and negotiation but remains off-screen and unfound in this event.

Before: Active and broadcasting somewhere outside the cave; known to be the extraction point but not yet located by the pair.

After: Still active and unlocated; its signal remains the group's goal though rescue is now more uncertain because Geordi is blind.

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S3E7 · The Enemy

Blindness, Bargain, and the Lowering of Arms

The locator beacon (referenced as 'the beacon') is the intended means of extraction and the immediate objective driving the characters' actions; it is the promise of rescue that motivates cooperation and anchors the scene's urgency.

Before: Active and broadcasting outside the cave, implied to be planted and detectable if Geordi can locate it.

After: Unlocated — still the objective outside the cave; its presence continues to motivate the characters but remains physically unrecovered at scene end.

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S3E7 · The Enemy

Bochra Becomes Geordi's Eyes

Riker's beam‑out marker (the beacon) functions as the offstage target and narrative MacGuffin whose location both men need to find. It motivates the technical improvisation — the entire exchange centers on how to acquire a directional fix to that beacon for rescue.

Before: Planted on the surface and broadcasting a faint transporter/neutrino signature beyond the cave entrance; out of immediate reach and not visible to Geordi.

After: Remains active and the intended target; its continued emission sets the task for the improvised sensor configuration discussed but not yet achieved in this beat.

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S3E7 · The Enemy

Rescue Window — Romulan Breach

Riker references the locator beacon (the planted beam-out marker) to explain that there is still no sign the beacon has been found; its unlocated status justifies assembling an away team and defines the temporal pressure for a rescue.

Before: Planted on Galorndon Core, transmitting but not yet relocated by the away team; signal remains unconfirmed by the Enterprise.

After: Still unlocated and unresolved—its status remains the central clue driving the decision to form an away team and is unchanged by the incoming diplomatic crisis.

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S3E7 · The Enemy

Neutral Zone Breach — Rescue Window vs. Romulan Threat

Riker references the beam-out locator beacon as the critical clue that must be found to effect a transport rescue; Data's window estimate is directly tied to the beacon's potential retrieval. Its absence drives the urgency of assembling an away team.

Before: Planted on Galorndon Core, active and transmitting intermittent signature but not yet located by the crew.

After: Still unlocated and therefore the subject of an imminent away-team search; its uncertain status heightens rescue urgency.

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