Object

Detected Ship Contact — Bearing 316 Mark 42

A faint, long‑range sensor contact labeled 'bearing 316 mark 42' appears as a cold, compact blip on tactical displays and readouts. Telemetry yields only bearing and a sparse return — range is extreme, class unresolved, signature thin and steady. Data isolates the echo, consoles tick with waveform traces, and officers lean toward their stations as the contact stitches into the tactical feed. The contact exists as an informational artifact (textual bearing, plotted vector, confidence flags) rather than a visible hull; its presence immediately reshapes body language and command rhythm on the bridge and in the tactical room.

1 appearances

Significance

Serves as the central investigative clue that escalates the bridge’s urgency. The contact’s lack of a warp profile undermines established search assumptions, propels Riker to commit ship resources to a broader sweep, and converts methodical procedure into desperate breadth—raising narrative stakes and signaling an anomalous, potentially concealed presence.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S2E16 · Q Who

All‑Points Sweep — Riker Escalates the Search

The unidentified vessel (noted as lacking a warp signature) is the implicit target motivating the search. Data's statement frames it as a craft that could traverse the region under impulse, and its absence from the completed spherical sweep forces command to change tactics and broaden sensor focus.

Before: Registered by sensors as a constrained, low‑signature contact that should have been detected within the prior spherical search pattern.

After: Still not located; remains an unresolved contact prompting a widened search but otherwise unchanged and unengaged.

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