Send-Off and the Benzite Arrival
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Riker delivers a warm, wry farewell to departing crew and hits the transporter controls, sending them away with a single command — Energize — punctuating camaraderie with brisk duty.
O'Brien confirms beam‑aboard readiness and four replacements materialize — including the eager, blue‑skinned Benzite Ensign Mendon, whose alien physiology (a chest breathing device) and vigilant manner instantly mark him as different.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Sincerely embarrassed and apologetic on the surface, driven by a desire to be friendly and a fear of social faux pas.
Positions himself near the newcomers, misidentifies Mendon as his friend Mordoc, becomes flustered when corrected, apologizes and explains the mistake, and accepts Riker's intervention to avoid escalating embarrassment.
- • Avoid offending the new officer and recover social credibility
- • Make a good impression on shipboard peers and superiors
- • Learn names and fit into the crew's social network
- • Familiar faces mean safety and social connection
- • Mistakes should be quickly acknowledged and smoothed over
- • Senior officers will step in to manage delicate social moments
Proud, earnest, and keen to demonstrate competence; his surface eagerness masks potential inflexibility in social adaptation.
Arrives confident and formal, breathes through a chest conversion device, makes a declarative statement that he requested the Enterprise assignment, and follows Riker's instruction to accompany Ensign Crusher out of the transporter room.
- • Secure his place and duties aboard the Enterprise
- • Demonstrate value and competence to senior officers
- • Begin contributing immediately to ship operations
- • Requesting a desirable assignment signals commitment and merit
- • Following proper protocol secures respect and clarity
- • Physical differences (Benzite traits) are factual and unremarkable to him
Warmly amused and professionally attentive—he projects reassurance while masking minor exasperation with affectionate humor.
Commands the farewell with warmth and light humor, orders the transporter 'Energize', greets the newly arrived replacements, assigns Ensign Mendon to follow Ensign Crusher, gives a wry look at Mendon's display of pride, touches his communicator when Picard calls, and exits to the Phaser Range.
- • Conclude the personnel turnover smoothly and courteously
- • Integrate replacements into ship routine with minimal friction
- • Protect Wesley from embarrassment and preserve shipboard morale
- • Remain available to command duties (respond to Picard's summon)
- • Ceremonial farewells sustain crew cohesion
- • Clear, quick administrative direction prevents confusion
- • New officers should be welcomed but quickly oriented to expectations
- • Chain-of-command and responsiveness to the captain are priorities
Pleasant and composed—they accept the farewell as a normal part of service transitions.
Stand on transporter pads smiling as they receive Riker's farewell; they dematerialize when Riker says 'Energize', providing the ritual closure of the turnover and underscoring routine continuity aboard the ship.
- • Complete the transfer without incident
- • Leave on good terms and maintain positive relations
- • Make way for the incoming replacements efficiently
- • Ship rituals and farewells are important for cohesion
- • Transitions should be handled efficiently and courteously
- • Crew continuity is maintained through orderly procedure
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Transporter Room Control Panel registers the beam sequence, receives a signal that prompts Chief O'Brien to announce readiness, and executes the energize/beam commands that dematerialize departing crew and materialize replacements. Cinematically it provides the technical cue that punctuates the ritual farewell and transition.
The Transporter Room Entrance Doorway functions as the physical threshold the new replacements pass through after dematerializing. It frames first impressions, allowing Riker to greet newcomers and enabling quick exit to quarters and indoctrination; it also stages Wesley's awkward proximity and Mendon's departure.
Picard's Communicator emits the off‑screen summons; Riker touches it to acknowledge the order to report to the Phaser Range. The device punctuates the social moment with command authority, pulling Riker away from the introduction and signaling the ship's operational priorities.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Phaser Range exists offscreen as the immediate destination Riker must report to; Picard's summons to that location interrupts the social closing and reasserts operational duty over leisurely interaction, tethering the scene to wider ship responsibilities.
Planet Benzar is evoked through Ensign Mendon's physiology and formal manner: his chest breathing device and Benzite social norms are traced back to this homeworld. The reference supplies cultural context that frames Mendon's behavior and foreshadows translation challenges aboard a human‑centric ship.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"RIKER: "This is my last chance to say that it has been a pleasure to serve with you and to wish you luck on your new assignment. You have served the Enterprise well. No tears, please.""
"MENDON: "I am not Mordoc. I am Mendon. Ensign Mendon of the planet Benzar.""
"MENDON: "I want to tell you how happy I am to be assigned to the Enterprise. It wasn't just luck. I requested it. I know I can be of great help to the ship.""