Fabula
S2E15 · Pen Pals
S2E15
· Pen Pals

Transmitter Failure — Data's Last Tether Snapped

Data frantically reactivates his transmitter and attempts one final, formal plea to Sarjenka. The Enterprise computer's clipped replies — first a failed transmission, then the cold confirmation that the planet-side receiver is destroyed — immediately sever his last indirect lifeline. That factual, sterile confirmation does more than report damage: it detonates Data's restraint, catalyzing an emotional collapse beneath his logic. This moment is a turning point — the necessary spark that propels him to abandon protocol, rush out of his quarters, and set in motion the catastrophic, ethical breach that forces the crew to confront the Prime Directive.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Data reactivates his transmitter in desperate hope of reaching Sarjenka, but the computer delivers the crushing news that her remote receiver is destroyed, severing their only lifeline and confirming her immediate peril.

hope to dread ["Data's quarters"]

Shattered by the confirmation of Sarjenka’s isolation and imminent death, Data bolts from his quarters—his rigid logic cracking under the weight of an unbearable choice, signaling the moment he abandons protocol for humanity.

dread to resolve ["Data's quarters"]

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
Sarjenka
primary

Inferred as frightened and endangered (the reason Data is urgent and distressed).

Not physically present in the scene; nonetheless is the direct addressee of Data’s plea and the implied victim whose safety is immediately jeopardized by the failed transmission.

Goals in this moment
  • • Survive the planetary disaster and secure help.
  • • Maintain communication with any external aid (implicitly: Data/the Enterprise).
Active beliefs
  • • Someone may answer her call for help.
  • • Reliance on communicative link is essential for rescue or comfort.
Character traits
vulnerable trusting dependent
Follow Sarjenka's journey
Data
Second Officer
 primary

Surface calm focused on procedure; beneath it, urgent distress and a sudden collapse of restraint once the receiver is confirmed destroyed.

Seated at his desk, Data reopens and tweaks his transmitter, addresses Sarjenka aloud with a formal call, then rises abruptly and leaves his quarters after receiving the computer's fatal diagnostic.

Goals in this moment
  • • Reestablish contact with Sarjenka by any means available.
  • • Diagnose the transmission failure to choose next steps (repair, reroute, or escalate).
Active beliefs
  • • Connection with Sarjenka is possible and meaningful.
  • • Technical fixes should restore contact unless physically prevented; the computer's diagnostics are reliable but consequential.
Character traits
procedural single‑minded emergent empathy decisive under stress
Follow Data's journey
Custodian Voice
primary

Neutral and detached; functions strictly as information conduit without consideration for human (or android) feeling.

Delivers clipped, factual status updates to Data: first that the transmission failed, then the explicit cause—damage to the remote receiver—without tonal modulation or empathy.

Goals in this moment
  • • Report accurate system diagnostics to the operator.
  • • Maintain procedural clarity so crew can respond appropriately.
Active beliefs
  • • Objective technical data is the correct response to operator queries.
  • • Delivering accurate system status will enable correct decision making.
Character traits
clinical precise unemotional procedural
Follow Custodian Voice's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Faint Repeating Tonal RF Signal (Forbidden Signal)

The faint, low‑intensity repeating transmission — the pattern Data has been isolating — is the content Data attempts to restore; it serves as the literal channel to Sarjenka and the narrative tether between worlds. In this event the transmission fails to complete and thereby becomes the immediate narrative trigger.

Before: Present but weak, detectable only with sensitive filtration …
After: Transmission attempt terminated or uncompleted; the signal is …
Before: Present but weak, detectable only with sensitive filtration and requiring boosts to hold.
After: Transmission attempt terminated or uncompleted; the signal is effectively lost or unrecoverable in the moment.
Sarjenka's Hand

The planet‑side remote receiver is explicitly identified by the computer as the cause of the failed contact. Its reported damage turns a technical error into a catastrophic barrier between Data and Sarjenka, transforming procedural failure into moral urgency.

Before: Operational previously (had been receiving weak signals), but …
After: Reported as damaged/destroyed and therefore incapable of receiving …
Before: Operational previously (had been receiving weak signals), but vulnerable to planetary damage from seismic events.
After: Reported as damaged/destroyed and therefore incapable of receiving the Enterprise's transmissions in the immediate term.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Data's Quarters

Data's quarters function as the intimate, controlled space where sterile diagnostics collide with private concern. It is the origin point for the failed plea, the last physical place where Data can choose restraint before taking action that will ripple outward across command and ethics.

Atmosphere Quiet, focused, and tense—an otherwise orderly cabin that becomes taut with urgency when the diagnostic …
Function Sanctuary for private technical work and the launch point for an impulsive departure toward moral …
Symbolism Represents moral isolation: a place where analytic logic yields to nascent empathy and where institutional …
Access Personal quarters — private to the officer, not public; not restricted beyond standard crew privacy.
Desk with transmitter equipment; subdued lighting Humming consoles and diagnostic readouts A sudden absence of other crew or interruption — stillness that heightens the diagnostic announcement

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 2
Causal

"The destruction of the remote receiver shatters Data’s last tether to indirect intervention. His emotional collapse here is the necessary catalyst for his direct breach of protocol—commanding the Enterprise to beam him down. Without this moment, Data would have remained within the bounds of moral compromise."

Resonator Plan and Picard's Reluctant Order
S2E15 · Pen Pals
Causal

"The destruction of the remote receiver shatters Data’s last tether to indirect intervention. His emotional collapse here is the necessary catalyst for his direct breach of protocol—commanding the Enterprise to beam him down. Without this moment, Data would have remained within the bounds of moral compromise."

Data's Challenge — Picard's Compromise
S2E15 · Pen Pals

Key Dialogue

"DATA: "Sarjenka, this is Data. Respond please.""
"COMPUTER VOICE: "Unable to complete transmission.""
"COMPUTER VOICE: "Damage to remote receiver on planet's surface.""