Object

Beverly Crusher's Starfleet Insignia

A delta-shaped brushed-metal combadge pinned to Beverly Crusher's medical tunic: palm-sized, recessed activation pad, and a faint pulsing status glow. It emits a compressed, recognizable voice channel when keyed; in the laboratory its signal carries Beverly's voice into Data's workspace, directing attention and punctuating emotional beats. Characters glance toward the badge's pulse and respond to the transmitted orders and questions — Lal's animation freezes for a beat at the adult voice, Data stiffens with professional and personal concern, and Wesley shifts to mediate the exchange.

8 appearances

Purpose

Wearable short-range communicator used to open and route voice channels for urgent medical reports, transport requests, and local shipboard voice hails.

Significance

Functions as the immediate adult/institutional voice that intersects with Data's emergent parental claim and Lal's newfound personhood; the combadge's transmission reintroduces formal authority and practical constraints into a fragile turning point, catalyzing decisions about Lal's socialization and custody.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

8 moments

S3E7 · The Enemy

Sickbay Crisis — Patahk Fails to Respond; Crusher Calls Picard

Beverly Crusher's combadge is keyed to open a communications channel; it functions as the immediate tool that converts her clinical determination into a formal report to command, carrying her voice and authority to Captain Picard and thereby linking Sickbay to the bridge.

Before: Affixed to Dr. Crusher's medical tunic and inactive, with a faint status glow.

After: Activated (keyed) to establish a compressed voice channel to Captain Picard; status reflects an open, urgent communication.

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S3E7 · The Enemy

The Captain's Impossible Choice

Picard keys his insignia to open a compressed channel to Sickbay, using the small combadge as the means to transmit an instruction that Crusher should stop pressuring Worf. The device carries the clinical reply that the Romulan has died, turning private debate into operational fact.

Before: Affixed to Beverly Crusher's medical tunic, charged and ready as an in‑use comm device for medical-to-bridge communication.

After: Remains affixed and functional after transmitting the message; its use ends the Ready Room discussion by delivering the report of the patient's death.

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S3E7 · The Enemy

Picard's Moral Plea and the Romulan's Death

The Starfleet insignia functions as the communication trigger: Picard keys it to open a compressed channel to Doctor Crusher. It carries Crusher's clinical report back into the ready room, converting private argument into operational reality when she announces the Romulan's death.

Before: Affixed to medical uniform and ready; not transmitting; in ready condition with a faint status glow (per canonical description).

After: Activated to open a com channel, transmitted Crusher's voice and the fatal report, then returned to idle; remains affixed and intact.

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S3E9 · The Vengeance Factor

Forensic Breakthrough: Acamarian Blood and the Course to Acamar

Dr. Crusher's Starfleet insignia is explicitly used by Captain Picard to command the bridge — he keys it to issue the order to set course for Acamar. The insignia functions as an interface that turns Sickbay's forensic finding into immediate ship movement.

Before: Affixed to Picard's uniform, idle but ready as standard communication hardware.

After: Activated and used to transmit a bridge order; returns to passive state after the command is acknowledged.

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S3E9 · The Vengeance Factor

Picard Forces the Parley — Corpse and Concessions

The Starfleet insignia functions as the on-person com/activation device used to summon the Enterprise and coordinate transport — Riker touches his insignia to call a medical emergency and Picard keys his to authorize two beaming transports. The canonical object described is Beverly's insignia, here standing in for the class of combadge used to activate urgent ship communications.

Before: Affixed to officers' tunics (worn and functional), ready for use.

After: Used to transmit an away-team medical emergency and to authorize two beaming transports; remains on officers' uniforms and functional.

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S3E9 · The Vengeance Factor

Corpse as Cultural Flashpoint

Beverly Crusher's Starfleet insignia is present on her tunic as she materializes and conducts the exam; although not explicitly activated in the scene, it functions narratively as the symbol of Starfleet authority and readiness to convert a ritual matter into an institutional investigation.

Before: Pinned to Dr. Crusher's medical tunic, inactive but carrying symbolic authority.

After: Remains on her tunic unchanged, its presence underscoring Starfleet jurisdiction over the unfolding medical-forensic problem.

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S3E12 · The High Ground

Bridge: Order to Beam Out / Crusher Refuses

Beverly Crusher's Starfleet insignia functions as the communication link — she keys it to open a channel to the Enterprise and directly reject Picard's evacuation request, converting a distant command into an immediate, personal refusal.

Before: Affixed to Crusher's medical tunic, functional and available for short‑range voice contact.

After: Still worn and actively used to maintain the bridge connection; remains in Crusher's possession after the exchange.

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S3E12 · The High Ground

Crusher's Defiance — Orders, Ethics, and a Held Beam

Crusher keys her Starfleet insignia to accept Picard's comm, converting the bridge's distant orders into a direct one‑to‑one exchange. The insignia functions narratively as the channel for command contact and as a prop that underscores the clash between rank and bedside duty.

Before: Affixed to Beverly Crusher's medical tunic, active and worn as usual.

After: Remains affixed and active; used to receive Picard's communication while Crusher continues triage, symbolically bridging ship and field.

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