Object

Butterfly Ship (Bringloidi Origin Vessel)

Mentioned as the ‘‘butterfly ship’’ in Danilo’s ritualized Bringloidi origin myth, this vessel exists only in oral memory and cultural imagery. No physical craft appears on screen; characters gesture and fall silent as the phrase is spoken. Picard’s recognition turns the line from folklore into an operational clue, anchoring the myth to an external Mariposan device.

2 appearances

Purpose

Colonial transport/origin vessel that carried the Bringloidi (Mariposan) ancestors and established their settlement; referenced as the ship that brought companions and left a protective ‘guard in heaven’.

Significance

Functions as a cultural totem and narrative hinge: it humanizes the refugees, encodes communal memory, and provides the decisive clue that prompts Picard to identify a Mariposan distress/protective device, shifting the crew’s investigative direction.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S2E18 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — Up the Long Ladder

Oral History and the 'Guard in Heaven' Revelation

The 'butterfly ship' exists in Danilo's spoken myth as a symbolic origin vessel; its mention functions as a narrative clue linking oral tradition to an actual Mariposan migratory/transport craft and therefore to the physical distress beacon.

Before: Present only as remembered cultural imagery within the Bringloidi oral history.

After: Elevated from mythic image to a functional clue considered by Picard during investigation, shifting its status from symbolic memory to operational lead.

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S2E18 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — Up the Long Ladder

Guard in Heaven — Picard's Dual‑Colony Insight

The butterfly ship exists as the core image in Danilo's recitation — a mythic vessel whose remembered passengers and actions provide the narrative hook that Picard translates into factual hypothesis about two colonies aboard a Mariposan craft.

Before: A mythic, oral-memory element held by the Bringloidi; not physically present.

After: Remains an oral-history artifact but gains evidentiary weight as Picard aligns the ship's memory with the satellite's existence.

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