Object

Promellian Distress Transmission (Encoded Coordinates)

A piercing, relentless high-pitched beeping echoing through deep space, this cryptic alien signal pulses with mechanical precision. Invisible yet palpable, it resonates aboard the USS Enterprise's sensors as an eerie homing beacon. The crew, especially Data, fixates on its pattern, tracing its origin to an insidious parasitic network lurking beyond known space. The signal's repetitive tone and alien frequency mark it as a haunting reminder of unresolved threats, stirring tension and vigilance across the bridge.

5 appearances

Purpose

To serve as a homing beacon or communication signal emitted by an alien parasitic network, guiding or marking presence in deep space.

Significance

Acts as the climactic narrative clue concluding the conspiracy arc, embodying the persistent and hidden danger stalking the Federation beyond its grasp. It instills unease and foreshadows future confrontations, reinforcing the ominous and unresolved nature of the alien infiltration.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

5 moments

S2E16 · Q Who?

Thrown Seven Thousand Light‑Years — Isolation Confirmed

Sensor data — represented here by encoded coordinates — is the narrative instrument that converts the crew's subjective shock into objective reality: Data reads 'these coordinates,' locates the Enterprise seven thousand light‑years from known space near system J‑two‑five, and uses that information to compute a precise transit time to Starbase One Eight Five.

Before: Active within the ship's sensor suite and console displays as incoming spatial data warranting analysis.

After: Interpreted and cited by Data to establish the ship's new location and to calculate transit times; becomes part of the official situational record.

View full event

S2E16 · Q Who?

Stun-Ready Away Team Prepares to Beam to Borg Ship

Representing the navigational data that O'Brien has prepared, the encoded beam-down coordinates are referenced verbally as the assurance of a targeted landing in the least damaged sector; they function narratively as a fragile promise of safety and procedural control before the unknown.

Before: Programmed into the transporter/navigation systems by O'Brien and stood ready for use as the away team's destination vector.

After: Coordinates have been used to initiate the beam; they remain recorded in the transporter's buffer for potential recall or debugging, but their accuracy will soon be tested at the destination.

View full event

S2E16 · Q Who?

Energize — Away Team Beamed Into Borg Vessel

Encoded beam‑down coordinates (the carrier signal / coordinate data) function as the navigational linchpin: O'Brien has entered these vectors so the transporters will place the team in the least damaged section of the Borg ship, directly shaping tactical risk and landing location.

Before: Decoded and loaded into the transporter/navigation systems, validated by O'Brien for safe insertion.

After: Coordinates consumed by the transport sequence; logged in ship systems as the active landing vector for this mission.

View full event

S3E6 · Booby Trap

Echoes from a Dead Cruiser

The Promellian distress carrier signal is received as a bright spectral ping; Data isolates and decodes it as an ancient interplanetary code that provides coordinates and narrative catalyst. Functionally it transforms a routine sensor read into the inciting clue that redirects the Enterprise.

Before: Broadcasting faintly through space and first intercepted by Enterprise sensors.

After: Decoded, presented on bridge consoles and the main viewer, and used to set a new course to the source.

View full event

S3E6 · Booby Trap

The Thousand‑Year Distress: Discovery of the Promellian Cruiser

The Promellian Distress Carrier Signal functions as the inciting clue: it punches through noise, is isolated by Data, resolves into a recognizable ancient interplanetary code, and propels the Enterprise to change course and focus attention on the wreck. Narratively it shifts the plot from routine to investigative.

Before: Broadcasting weakly from the derelict region; received intermittently by Enterprise sensors as an anomalous carrier.

After: Decoded and classified by Data; its origin and antiquity noted by command, transforming it from unknown noise into a plotted target.

View full event