Fabula
S2E11 · Contagion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Picard Frames a Shipwide Contagion

Aboard Engineering, Picard's supplemental log reframes the Enterprise's random malfunctions as possible early symptoms of what destroyed the Yamato, turning scattered glitches into a coherent, contagious threat. Geordi, frantic and pragmatic, confirms he can link the Yamato's collapse to an alien probe but admits he cannot explain the Enterprise's failures without physical access to that device. The exchange crystallizes the crisis: this is no ordinary systems bug but an invasive program, forcing command to choose speed over certainty and setting urgent, tactical priorities.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

THE ENTERPRISE positions itself en route to Iconia, placing the ship and crew on a collision course with whatever threat lies there.

neutral to foreboding ['en route to Iconia']

PICARD delivers a supplemental log entry: the Enterprise endures random system failures that mirror the Yamato's catastrophe, framing the ship's malfunctions as part of a larger, possibly contagious problem.

measured to alarmed

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2

Measured but clearly concerned; a commander projecting control while compressing urgency into the chain of command.

Delivering a supplemental captain's log via ship comm that reframes random system failures as possibly related to the Yamato's destruction; pressing engineering for answers and compressing strategic urgency into direct questions.

Goals in this moment
  • Establish whether the Enterprise's failures are the same threat that destroyed the Yamato.
  • Force engineering to prioritize investigation and immediate mitigation.
  • Conserve time and resources; compel faster decision-making under uncertainty.
Active beliefs
  • The Yamato's fate is a relevant precedent and may be causally linked to current failures.
  • Time is a critical, limited resource and warrants decisive action even without full information.
Character traits
analytical authoritative urgent strategic-minded
Follow Jean-Luc Picard's journey

Frantic momentum tempered by technical sobriety — urgently worried but concentrating on testable leads.

Rushing among consoles in Main Engineering holding and annotating a PADD; verbally reports that the Yamato's logs implicate an alien probe but concedes that without physical access to the device he cannot explain or fully diagnose the Enterprise's failures.

Goals in this moment
  • Determine whether the alien probe caused the Yamato's destruction.
  • Acquire the probe (or access to it) so forensic diagnostics can explain the Enterprise anomalies.
  • Buy enough time to run analyses and propose containment measures.
Active beliefs
  • The Enterprise's issues are not due to a design flaw.
  • The Yamato's diagnostic logs contain critical evidence implicating an outside technological agent.
  • Physical access to the probe is necessary to provide a complete explanation or fix.
Character traits
pragmatic methodical focused anxious
Follow Geordi La …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Geordi La Forge's Engineering PADD (Engineering Systems Data)

Geordi uses the Engineering PADD to display and annotate the Yamato's diagnostic log entries, turning scattered error reports into a focused line of evidence. The PADD functions as the immediate conduit for linking past catastrophe to present anomalies and as Geordi's working tool for rapid hypothesis formation.

Before: In Geordi's hands, active and displaying Yamato diagnostic …
After: Remains in Geordi's possession, annotated with notes tying …
Before: In Geordi's hands, active and displaying Yamato diagnostic records; being scrolled through and annotated.
After: Remains in Geordi's possession, annotated with notes tying entries to the alien probe and serving as active evidence for command deliberations.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

2
Main Engineering

Main Engineering serves as the operational crucible where diagnosis and immediate action converge: consoles, stations, and technicians form the physical locus for Geordi's analysis and the relay of critical information to command.

Atmosphere Busy and tense: technicians hurry, keyed focus with undercurrent of concern; the com tone punctuates …
Function Active diagnostic center and communication hub; the place where technical evidence is marshaled and relayed …
Symbolism Represents the ship's 'heart' under stress — shipboard competence strained by an incomprehensible external threat.
Access Operational area restricted to engineering staff and senior officers; implied by context though not explicitly …
Geordi moving between consoles and stations PADD screen glow as a focal visual element Comms tone interrupting the room, hurried footsteps and murmured activity
Iconia (Iconian Homeworld)

Iconian Homeworld is referenced as the Enterprise's destination and the geopolitical locus that raises the stakes for the diagnostic work: the presence of Iconia ties scientific findings to strategic consequence.

Atmosphere Ominous in implication — the planet's mention adds cold, distant menace to the immediate technical …
Function Narrative locus and mission objective that escalates the diagnostic problem into a potential flashpoint between …
Symbolism Embodies the larger stakes: ancient technology and geopolitical leverage that make the probe's threat existential …
Access Not physically present in the scene; access restrictions are strategic rather than local (Iconia is …
Referenced only in dialogue as destination: 'The Enterprise is en route to Iconia.' Adds spatial distance and urgency: the ship is traveling toward a potentially dangerous locus

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

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Key Dialogue

"PICARD (V.O.): Captain's log, supplemental. As happened with her sister, the Enterprise is being plagued by a series of system failures. So far they are random, but perhaps early symptoms of what happened to the Yamato."
"GEORDI: A solution, no sir, but I can eliminate one worry. It is not a design flaw. I've been reviewing the Yamato's log, and I think maybe that alien probe had something to do with her problems."
"PICARD'S COM VOICE: Lieutenant, time is the one thing which we do not have in abundance."