Transporter Biohazard Alarm — Unidentified Microbes in Riker
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Geordi orders an immediate beam-out, overriding Riker’s protest with first-contact caution. Safety protocol asserts control over Riker’s minimization.
An alarm erupts at the transporter console as O’Brien reports unidentified microbes in Riker and confirms the biofilters can’t screen them. The expected extraction spirals into a biohazard threat.
O’Brien’s com reports Doctor Pulaski has been notified, and Geordi acknowledges. The team pivots from discovery to medical response.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Alert, focused, and concerned about the implications of a contamination detection — prioritizing system protocols over haste.
O'Brien operates the transporter console in Transporter Room 4, inputs coordinates, reads diagnostics aloud when the alarm triggers, reports detection of unidentified microbes, and triggers the system's automatic notification to medical — professional and by-the-book while sounding the alarm.
- • Protect the ship and crew by preventing contaminated pattern transfer
- • Follow transporter safety procedures and diagnostic protocols
- • Inform medical and command so an appropriate containment/diagnostic response can occur
- • Transporter diagnostics and biofilters exist to prevent biological contamination.
- • Ship systems and procedure must be trusted and followed even if it delays extraction.
- • A detected anomaly must be treated as a real threat until proven safe.
Nonchalant on the surface, masking mild embarrassment and a stubborn reluctance to be removed from the mission.
Riker inspects a bloody calf wound, downplays the injury to Geordi, and reacts to the transporter's hold-up with light banter — minimizing the situation while remaining physically the subject of the diagnostic alarm.
- • Avoid being evacuated or made to feel like a liability
- • Return to the mission/continue the survey if possible
- • Maintain a calm, reassuring demeanor for the team
- • The injury is minor and not worth interrupting the mission.
- • Crew members should not overreact to small wounds.
- • His presence on the surface is valuable and he can manage small injuries himself.
Controlled concern — outwardly calm and procedural but clearly anxious about infection risk and Riker's safety.
Geordi locates Riker, inspects the wound, and activates his handheld communicator to request an immediate beam-up; when the hold-up occurs he questions O'Brien and acknowledges the medical notification, maintaining protocol under pressure.
- • Secure immediate medical evacuation for Riker
- • Confirm the safety of the extraction and speed up the beam-up
- • Prevent further harm to his teammate by ensuring proper containment
- • Unknown planetary hazards merit strict caution and protocol.
- • Prompt medical attention is the best course for an injured crewmember.
- • The transporter and ship systems can normally handle biohazards unless explicitly flagged otherwise.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Geordi's handheld communicator connects the planet surface to Transporter Room 4, carrying his beam-up request and allowing him to query O'Brien about the delay. The device is the dramatic bridge between the field and ship, making the transporter alarm audible to the away team and escalating the situation.
The transporter biofilter module flags the unidentified microbes in Riker's pattern and fails to filter them out; its diagnostic reading is the technical trigger that converts a routine medevac into a containment and medical emergency, forcing pause and medical notification.
The transporter control console is the locus of action: O'Brien inputs coordinates there, the alarm sounds from it, and it displays microbial detection readouts. Its alerts dictate procedure, inform the crew, and force a rapid reassessment of the beam-up.
The nearby transporter room control panel flares and emits the alarm tone that punctuates the room, broadcasting the biohazard condition; it functions as the audible/visual confirmation of the biofilter's failure and drives immediate action from the technicians.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Transporter Room 4 serves as the extraction point and containment threshold where diagnostics are read and decisions are made; the room transforms from routine operational space to a focused control center managing a potential biological threat, crowding consoles and technicians around an alarming readout.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Transporter biohazard alert propels Pulaski's precise diagnosis of a novel nervous-system organism."
"Transporter biohazard alert propels Pulaski's precise diagnosis of a novel nervous-system organism."
"Riker’s crisis‑deflecting humor at the start echoes in his identity joke upon recovery."
"Riker’s crisis‑deflecting humor at the start echoes in his identity joke upon recovery."
Key Dialogue
"GEORDI: O'Brien -- Commander Riker's been injured -- lock on and bring him up."
"O'BRIEN: The transporter has detected unidentified microbes in Commander Riker's body."
"O'BRIEN'S COM VOICE: Doctor Pulaski has been notified."