Fabula
Object
Object

Sliding Metal Door in Federation Outpost (Ransacked Underground Complex)

A cold, reinforced metal sliding door set into a cramped control-room corridor of a derelict underground complex. Heavy plate leaves ride on a recessed track; a small manual handle and latch sit at hip height. Its surface carries scuffs, dust, and the faint patina of long dormancy. The mechanism moves with a reluctant groan when worked by hand. Worf reads it as a sealed hazard; Data touches the handle and eases the panels open to avoid damaging fragile analog equipment. The door's stiffness and manual latch make it both an obstacle and a fragile point of access in a time‑pressured salvage operation.
7 appearances

Purpose

To act as a secure, mechanical barrier controlling access between sections of the underground complex, protecting interior hardware and regulating passage between chambers.

Significance

Functions as a narrative pivot: its sealed, age‑stiff state raises immediate tension and the choice to open it non‑violently preserves fragile evidence. Data's careful manipulation versus Worf's urge to force entry dramatizes contrasting approaches to the mission and enables recovery of a legacy disk that later identifies a cryo‑survivor, advancing plot and character dynamics.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

7 moments
S1E14 · Datalore
Illumination Reveals the Silent Tunnel

The sliding metal door stands as a formidable barrier within the underground complex until Geordi’s activation of the sensor switch causes it to slide open, marking a gateway from the known desolation into the unknown deeper areas of the facility.

Before: Closed and locked, blocking passage within the underground complex.
After: Opened, allowing the away team to proceed further inside.
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S1E14 · Datalore
Illumination and Entry Through the Silent Tunnel

The sliding metal door acts as a physical barrier at the tunnel's end which guards deeper, more secretive sections of the underground complex. Geordi’s activation of the sensor switch causes the door to slide open, symbolizing the breach of a guarded threshold and advancing the team's investigation into Data's origin.

Before: Closed, sealed, and blocking the path within the rectangular corridor beyond the tunnel.
After: Opened, granting the away team access to the further interior of the underground complex.
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S1E26 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — The Neutral Zone
Analog Recovery: Data Counters Worf's Force

The heavy sliding metal door initially resists and embodies the threshold between the small control area and the colder second room; Worf expects an automated slide but Data physically works the mechanism, converting it from obstacle to entry point without damage.

Before: Closed, stiff with age, scuffed and sealed against the adjacent chamber.
After: Manually opened by Data and left ajar as the team moves into the second room, preserving the door and surrounding equipment from destructive breach.
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S1E26 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — The Neutral Zone
Low‑Tech Discovery and Twelve‑Minute Countdown

The sliding metal door functions as a sealed barrier between control chambers; Worf prepares to breach it while Data instead uses manual mechanics to open it, making the door a focal point of the conflict between force and preservation.

Before: Sealed and stiff with age, presenting as a potential hazard and obstacle.
After: Manually opened by Data after he turns the handle, granting access to the second room.
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S1E26 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — The Neutral Zone
Charm, Boundary, and a Direct Line to Data

The door functions as the tangible exit point for Sonny after the exchange; his walk toward it punctuates the end of the interaction, marking a transition from solicitation to departure and underscoring the boundary Beverly enforces.

Before: Closed and serving as the boundary between Sickbay and the corridor; available as an exit but not yet used.
After: Sonny moves through or toward it as he leaves; door remains physically unchanged but narratively marks Sonny's retreat from medical appeal.
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S1E26 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — The Neutral Zone
Guitar, Anger, and a Knocked-Out Guard

A door functions as the literal and dramatic portal for escalation: it opens to reveal a security guard whose entry creates the physical opportunity for Ralph to approach and incapacitate him. The door's opening times the beat where words turn into action and allows an outsider (security) to enter the intimate lounge and be disarmed.

Before: Closed at the guest lounge threshold, separating the private conversation from ship security presence.
After: Open; the guard who entered lies unconscious within the room, the door now framing a breached boundary and an unresolved security incident.
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S1E26 · STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — The Neutral Zone
Seizing Control: Ralph Knocks Out a Guard

The door at the lounge threshold functions as the literal and dramatic entry point: it opens to admit the security guard whose presence triggers Ralph's ruse. Its opening enables the close-quarters opportunity Ralph exploits to slip behind and incapacitate the officer, turning the doorway into a locus of confrontation.

Before: Closed at the lounge threshold; functioning as a barrier between corridor/ship security and the guest area.
After: Open with a security guard incapacitated at or just inside the threshold; the door now frames the clandestine action and the route Ralph will use to depart toward the bridge.
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