Object
Detention Cell Com Panel (Status Intercom)
A compact, recessed communications module set into the detention cell bulkhead: brushed alloy faceplate, narrow horizontal status light, a small speaker grille and a tactile press pad. The indicator strip pulses faintly when idle, flares amber or red under alert, and the speaker emits the ship's compressed COMPUTER tone with intermittent static when systems strain. Crew members lean toward it to hail remote stations; O'Brien keys urgent telemetry through it while Worf listens and Troi pleads. Scuffs and thumb-smudges betray heavy use; its sound and light cues puncture the cell's claustrophobic silence during crisis.
3 appearances
Purpose
Local shipboard voice communications: a fixed intercom in a detention cell used to place and receive hails to ship stations (for example, the Transporter Room), transmit status reports, and receive orders.
Significance
Serves as the narrative linchpin that converts a technical failure into immediate crisis—O'Brien's transmission over this panel that the transporter 'lost the lock' propels containment measures, escalates moral and tactical stakes, and concentrates the crew's fear and decision-making into a single, audible conduit.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used