Picard Breaks the Field — Marla Clutches Jeremy
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Marla and Jeremy are trapped between force fields as Troi watches, setting the stage for Picard's confrontation with the entity.
Picard lowers the force field and engages with Jeremy and Marla, showing his protective stance and beginning the climactic confrontation.
Marla asserts her control over Jeremy, refusing Troi's attempt to take him, escalating the power struggle over the boy.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Startled and unsettled; quickly resumes professional composure to follow orders and assist engineering efforts.
O'Brien is present in Transporter Room Three; he is checked on by Worf after the energy bolts past and is recorded as startled but physically unharmed, his console work abruptly interrupted by the emergency.
- • Ensure transporter systems are safely taken offline and prevent harm to personnel.
- • Regain control of his equipment and provide status reports to engineering.
- • Transporter systems must be precisely controlled or they will endanger crew.
- • Practical, hands-on response will mitigate physical dangers from the intruder.
Anxious and tentative; wants comfort but is uncertain about authority figures and the strange presence claiming his mother.
Jeremy is physically led by the Marla manifestation, answering Picard's question in halting fashion while appearing frightened and clinging to the image that claims to be his mother.
- • Find safety and reassurance in a familiar figure (the Marla image) or authority (Picard/Troi).
- • Avoid being separated from what he perceives as his mother.
- • The manifestation resembling his mother may be real or comforting.
- • Adult authority figures are there to protect him, though he may still prefer maternal comfort.
Resolute, professionally composed with private concern — calm on the surface while driven by protective urgency.
Picard keys his insignia to communicate with the bridge, orders release of the corridor forcefield, speaks gently to Jeremy to reassure him, and follows Troi toward Aster's quarters intending to remove the child from harm.
- • Ensure Jeremy's immediate physical safety.
- • Break the intruder's hold or prevent the child being taken off the ship.
- • He is responsible for dependents aboard his ship and must act personally.
- • Empathy and calm words will help stabilize Jeremy and allow cooperation.
Detachedly clinical; focused on facts and system states rather than emotional implications.
Data works consoles on the Main Bridge, reports that force fields are engaged and transporters are down, providing precise system status to command so tactical decisions can proceed with accurate technical context.
- • Maintain accurate sensor and force-field data for command decisions.
- • Keep the intruder from exploiting ship systems by monitoring technical status.
- • Reliable, up-to-date system information reduces risk and miscalculation.
- • Procedural containment via force fields and transporter shutdowns is the correct first response.
Alert, tense, carrying professional duty; a hint of private shame or frustration at being unable to fully contain the threat.
Worf arrives at Transporter Room Three, witnesses the energy bolt past components, checks on O'Brien and security personnel, and reports the intruder has left the room before moving to respond to shipwide security alerts.
- • Account for crew safety in the transporter area and ensure no further casualties.
- • Contain the intruder’s movement by coordinating security alerts and patrols.
- • Security failures are personal responsibilities to be rectified.
- • Swift, disciplined response will limit harm and restore order.
Cautiously focused; tactical concern about system vulnerabilities under pressure.
Riker on the bridge warns La Forge about the intruder's probable attempts to reinstate transporter power and helps coordinate tactical responses from command while supporting Picard's decisions.
- • Prevent the intruder from reactivating transporters.
- • Keep command informed so decisions balance safety and urgency.
- • Predictable tactical patterns allow the intruder to be anticipated and countered.
- • Clear coordination between engineering and command is essential to protect the ship.
Concerned and protective; restrained empathy tempered by professional caution about forcing comfort on a traumatized child.
Troi watches at Aster's door, attempts to step forward and comfort Jeremy but is physically rebuffed when the Marla manifestation tightens her hold; she follows Picard into the quarters intending to protect and counsel the boy.
- • Provide immediate psychological support to Jeremy.
- • Prevent the child from being manipulated or removed by the intruder.
- • Jeremy needs gentle, controlled reassurance rather than coercion.
- • She has a duty to advocate for the child's emotional readiness before forming new attachments.
Focused and alert; professional anxiety about system vulnerabilities fuels rapid, targeted action.
La Forge reports via coms that engineering is shutting down transporters and moves to physically address transporter systems, prioritizing technical containment against the intruder's vector of attack.
- • Disable transporter systems to deny the intruder an abduction route.
- • Restore and secure critical ship systems to prevent further breaches.
- • The intruder uses ship systems (transporters) to abduct; isolating those systems will stop it.
- • Engineering can and must physically control ship infrastructure to protect lives.
Non-human predatory focus; coldly instrumental, using imitation and possessiveness to control the child.
The Intruder manifests as Marla, leads Jeremy out of his quarters, places a possessive arm around him, physically rebuffs Troi, and uses the corridor force-field trap to attempt to keep the child; it reacts to power changes and darts through systems elsewhere.
- • Seize Jeremy and remove him from the ship by exploiting emotional attachment.
- • Exploit ship systems and power changes to facilitate abduction and escape.
- • Mimicry of loved ones will lower resistance and facilitate capture.
- • Ship systems are exploitable vectors to achieve its objective.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
A Starfleet insignia is keyed/tapped as the communicative trigger to send orders and open channels; it functions as the compact operational device that allows Picard (and other officers) to order the release of a security forcefield and coordinate urgent bridge responses.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Main Bridge is the command center where Data, Riker and others coordinate force-field engagement and system shutdowns; it supplies technical readouts and authorizes tactical orders that directly shape what happens in the corridors and Transporter Room.
The Aft Turbolift is the staging point where Picard, Geordi and Worf split to respond; it is the cramped conduit that converts private movement into rapid public command, launching senior staff into immediate crisis roles.
Transporter Room Three functions as a technical battleground where the intruder previously reacted to power changes and where Worf checks on O'Brien; it underscores the physical vulnerability of ship systems the intruder exploits.
Aster's Quarters is the intimate, contested domestic space where the Intruder manifests as Marla and physically claims Jeremy; the room shifts from refuge to emotional trap as Picard and Troi follow and attempt to intervene.
Deck Eight corridors A and B provide the tactical choke points where force fields create traps and limit movement, isolating the Marla/Jeremy pair and forcing command to make surgical choices about when and where to intervene.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
No narrative connections mapped yet
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Key Dialogue
"TROI'S COM VOICE: "Captain, the image is back -- she's trying to take Jeremy off the ship again.""
"PICARD: "How are you, Jeremy? Are you frightened?""
"MARLA: "No.""