Object

Red Giant Star

A swollen, late‑life star glowing deep crimson on the viewscreen, its convective envelope shedding vast arcs of incandescent stellar material. Immense in scale and turbulent in appearance, the red giant projects a roaring curtain of plasma and debris that fills the forward sensor display. Crew members do not touch it but respond to its presence: the ship shudders, alarms spike, officers tighten, and command decisions pivot under its looming, kinetic threat.

2 appearances

Purpose

A natural stellar body whose shedding envelope produces hazardous plasma flows and debris, creating a navigational and mission hazard for nearby spacecraft.

Significance

The red giant converts scientific wonder into immediate peril: its erupting material drives the plot’s crisis, forces rapid tactical and moral choices, and frames the mission’s stakes by turning astronomical spectacle into an existential threat to the Enterprise and its crew.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S3E1 · Evolution

Authorizing the Egg — Neutronium Approach

The companion red giant is visually represented as shedding hydrogen and helium; its material feed contextualizes the neutron star's predictable bursts and provides the scientific narrative Stubbs uses to explain the experiment's predictability.

Before: Actively losing material observed as a stream on the viewscreen, contributing to the system dynamics.

After: Continues to supply context for the scheduled burst; no change in condition within the event.

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S3E1 · Evolution

Shields Offline — Collision Course

The red giant is the environmental source of the hazard—its convective eruptions and streaming plasma are the physical reason the Enterprise must maneuver or raise shields. It occupies the viewscreen and is the proximate threat against which command must act.

Before: A distant but active red giant shedding stellar material into the vessel's flight path as detected by forward sensors.

After: Its plasma stream fills the forward display and becomes an imminent collision threat as the ship continues toward its path.

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