Object

Shuttlecraft On‑board Time / Stardate Display (reads 42679.5; six‑hour lead variant)

A small recessed numeric time/stardate readout built into a shuttlecraft's instrument panel. Segmented green numerals normally present mission time or stardate (observed reading '42679.5'); the bezel shows scuffs and a thin film of dust and a tiny status LED flickers as power oscillates. In the processed material the display is treated as an incontrovertible datum—at times shown as six hours ahead of Enterprise time—anchoring the temporal-displacement incident and provoking command action.

2 appearances

Purpose

To present the shuttlecraft's current stardate/time reference for navigation logs and diagnostic checks.

Significance

Acts as the scene's triggering clue: the stardate readout converts engineering bafflement into a looming temporal threat, prompting Geordi to summon the Captain and driving the crew toward a time‑sensitive decision.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S2E13 · Time Squared

Six Hours Ahead: Picard Meets His Future Self

The shuttle's on-board clock provides the decisive, anomalous datum: its display sits six hours ahead of Enterprise time. This stubborn, objective timestamp converts conjecture into crisis and is cited aloud to force acceptance of the temporal paradox.

Before: Part of the shuttle's instrument cluster, not yet interrogated by Enterprise personnel.

After: Observed and reported as showing a six-hour lead; treated as primary evidence implicating a future origin for P2.

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S2E13 · Time Squared

Six-Hour Displacement — The Future Steps Into Sickbay

The shuttle's on‑board clock is cited as the incontrovertible piece of evidence: its illuminated display reads a time six hours ahead of Enterprise, transforming the duplicate from curiosity into a temporal causality problem and anchoring the crew's alarm in measurable data.

Before: Mounted in the shuttle's instrument cluster, displaying a time that (to sensors) already appeared anomalous but not yet verified to Sickbay staff.

After: Reads unchanged (six hours ahead) and is now recorded and treated as validated evidence of a future origin, referenced by command in subsequent decisions.

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