Object

Detention Cell Containment Field (USS Enterprise‑D — Deck 36 / Roga Danar's Cell)

A localized, translucent/humming energy barrier used to isolate high‑security detainees aboard the USS Enterprise‑D. The field appears nearly invisible or as a pale shimmer depending on vantage: it slices a detention cell in two, registering touch with a brief flare and subtle tactile pulse, and is framed at the hatch by emitters, status glyphs, and a pulsing lock ring. Diagnostics may emit hums and percentage readouts; in the episode it both crystallizes the stakes around Roga Danar's containment and later sputters under unknown influence, contributing to an escape attempt toward engineering.

6 appearances

Purpose

A security containment barrier designed to prevent physical crossing of the cell boundary and to provide a tactile cue when contacted.

Significance

Functions as the physical and dramatic boundary between Troi and Danar, staging their charged encounter; its reactive touch both provokes Danar and confirms the controlled circumstances of his detention, underlining the danger and ethical constraints around custody and interrogation.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

6 moments

S3E11 · The Hunted

Diplomacy, Dismissal, and a Sensorless Threat

The detention cell's containment field is the implied physical barrier that should hold Danar; the computer reports the cell is vacant, turning the field from a guarantee of security into a site of unexplained breach or deception and becoming central to the crisis.

Before: Operational and containing a high-risk detainee in the ship's highest-security detention area as Picard states.

After: Still present but effectively empty—its integrity is questioned by the discovery that the detainee is no longer present despite previous containment.

View full event

S3E11 · The Hunted

The Vanishing Prisoner: Danar Defies Sensors

The detention cell's containment field is the presumed secure barrier that should hold Danar. In this event it is referenced as the canonical secure locus—yet the computer reports the cell vacant, transforming the field from a proof of custody into a dramatic absence that signals a breach or an unknown method of evasion.

Before: Active and presumed to be containing the prisoner in the ship's highest-security detention area.

After: Reported by the computer as empty/vacant; the field remains in place but no occupant is detected, indicating a containment failure or sensor deception.

View full event

S3E11 · The Hunted

Sensing the Storm: Troi Meets Danar

The cell's invisible forcefield is physically probed by Roga, flaring and registering his touch. It serves as both a literal barrier that contains him and a dramatic symbol of institutional separation — a glowing, humming rim that defines the emotional and physical distance between prisoner and counselor.

Before: Activated and intact, forming a glowing divider across the cell.

After: Remains activated and intact; responsive to touch but unchanged by the interaction.

View full event

S3E11 · The Hunted

Empathy Tested: Troi's Quiet Confrontation with Danar

The invisible forcefield divides the cell and Troi; Roga probes it with his hand to test containment, and its reactive shimmer punctuates the physical boundary between empath and prisoner. It functions as both literal security and dramatic device that keeps the encounter intimate but controlled.

Before: Active and humming, forming a glowing rim that divides the cell interior from the corridor.

After: Remains active and intact, continuing to enforce physical separation while permitting verbal and empathic exchange.

View full event

S3E11 · The Hunted

Danar's Transporter Breakout — The Beam Fails

The detention cell's containment forcefield briefly shimmers as engineers power it down to allow transporter access; its removal exposes the prisoner to the beam and then the room to chaos when the beam is disrupted, making the field's deactivation the proximate cause of the physical confrontation.

Before: Energized and visible to those testing it; functioning as the cell's primary barrier to prevent escape.

After: Unpowered/absent when the explosion clears; the cell is empty and the containment no longer shielding the interior.

View full event

S3E11 · The Hunted

Containment Breach — Danar Heads for Engineering

The Detention Cell Containment Field on Deck 36 is the immediate point of failure: Data reports it down, which both reveals the escape and provides the causal starting point for the bridge's tactical pivot toward Engineering.

Before: Active and maintaining confinement at Deck 36; functioning as a secure barrier holding the fugitive.

After: Disabled or down, permitting the detainee to move beyond containment and initiating the shipwide alarm and manhunt.

View full event