Object

Shuttlecraft Thirteen

A compact Starfleet shuttlecraft rendered crippled and urgent: dented hull, scorched plating, and interior panels flickering as life-support and controls fail. The vessel drifts as a rescue target with three frozen survivors aboard; sensors and bridge monitors register its damaged trajectory and failing systems. Crew reactions tighten — Data flags the emergency, Picard pivots course, and bridge officers exchange alarmed looks as the shuttle becomes the focal point of an escalating rescue and diplomatic crisis.
19 appearances

Purpose

Short-range transport and emergency evacuation for Starfleet personnel; to ferry crew between the USS Enterprise and external locations and serve as an emergency lifeboat.

Significance

Serves as the immediate rescue objective that converts a technical emergency into a strategic crisis: its distress forces Picard to redirect the Enterprise toward the Neutral Zone, hands command duties to Geordi, and raises the prospect of Romulan confrontation, embodying a fragile lifeline and heightening narrative stakes.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

19 moments