Deck Seven

Deck Seventeen Transporter Room thrums with the tight precision of a ship's critical gateway. Sterile overhead lighting catches on brushed metal and hexagonal pads while consoles pulse in clipped rhythms; the transporter coils emit a low electric hum and a cold blue glow. Chief O'Brien stands over controls, hands sure and methodical; Picard compresses ritual into a terse benediction as Riker mounts the pad. Worf and Dr. Pulaski burst in to stage a risky, long‑range transfer, tension compressing ceremonial farewell into an emergency of protocol and consequence. When the beam takes Riker the pad hangs empty, the charged silence marking departure and the instant when command choices turn lethal.