Star Trek The Next Generation
S2E19
· Manhunt

Worf Feeds the Antedians — Crisis Pacified

In Sickbay the supposedly catatonic Antedian delegates jolt awake in a blind, panicked hunger. Dr. Pulaski immediately diagnoses the need for vermicula and orders Worf to fetch the writhing creatures. Worf, steady and efficient, scoops a netful and offers it; the Antedians instantly calm as they gorge, the acute medical emergency dissolving. The moment showcases Pulaski's clinical decisiveness and Worf's hands-on competence, contains a potential diplomatic catastrophe, and functions as a practical setup/foreshadowing for the delegates' unusual biology and the mission's deeper threat.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

3

The Antedians jolt awake, trembling and squeaking for food, while Pulaski and Worf register sharply different reactions.

calm to urgency

Pulaski snaps an order to Worf to bring the vermicula, turning raw agitation into a clear medical response.

urgency to decisive action

Worf scoops writhing vermicula from the tank with a net and feeds the Antedians, who devour it with palpable relief.

agitation to relief

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Katherine Pulaski
Doctor (Chief Medical Officer)
 primary

Focused professional urgency — controlled, unsentimental alarm channeled into swift triage and protocol.

Dr. Katherine Pulaski rapidly diagnoses the delegates' acute need, issues an immediate order for vermicula, touches a communicator to summon command, and anchors the scene's medical authority with brisk, pragmatic action.

Goals in this moment
  • • stabilize the Antedian delegates to prevent bodily harm
  • • avert a diplomatic incident by resolving the immediate crisis
  • • secure the correct biological resource (vermicula) quickly
  • • inform command so the incident is logged and overseen
Active beliefs
  • • the Antedians' behavior is biologically driven and solvable with the right nutrient
  • • rapid, decisive medical intervention will prevent broader political or operational fallout
  • • chain-of-command notification (Picard) is necessary even while treating (responsibility to wider mission)
  • • practical, immediate action trumps speculative delay in acute medical situations
Character traits
decisive clinically pragmatic authoritative economical in speech
Follow Katherine Pulaski's journey
Worf
Lieutenant, Chief of Security / Tactical Officer
 primary

Calm, focused professionalism — his outward stoicism hides alertness to potential threats.

Worf responds instantly to Pulaski's order, picks up the scoop net, plunges into the vermicula containment tank, extracts a writhing mass of organisms, and presents them for the Antedians to feed on, acting with physical competence and disciplined efficiency.

Goals in this moment
  • • obey medical command quickly and precisely
  • • protect the crew and maintain order while handling live organisms
  • • prevent the situation from escalating into a security breach
  • • execute containment/handling procedures safely
Active beliefs
  • • following orders and protocol best serves crew safety
  • • physical, hands-on solutions are effective in immediate crises
  • • the Antedians deserve dignity even when they are biologically urgent
  • • minimizing fuss and showing competence will de-escalate panic
Character traits
stoic duty-bound physically competent respectful of alien dignity
Follow Worf's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Antedian Vermicula Containment Tank

The containment tank is the source reservoir of live vermicula. Worf disturbs the tank to collect a quantity sufficient to feed the Antedians, its crowded, writhing contents providing a visceral demonstration of the delegates' needs and the ship's preparedness for alien biology.

Before: Holding a crowded mass of live vermicula, sealed …
After: Partially depleted as a scoopful of vermicula is …
Before: Holding a crowded mass of live vermicula, sealed and maintained in Sickbay under containment protocols.
After: Partially depleted as a scoopful of vermicula is removed for feeding; remains otherwise intact but momentarily agitated by retrieval.
Scoop Net (Vermicula Retrieval Net)

The scoop net is the immediate tool of remediation: Worf seizes it, plunges into the containment to retrieve live vermicula, and bears the writhing organisms to the delegates. The net functions as the physical bridge between containment and the delegates' feeding, enabling a swift clinical solution and visually punctuating the scene's tension-to-relief beat.

Before: Mounted/available near the vermicula containment tank, sterile and …
After: In Worf's use — filled and offered to …
Before: Mounted/available near the vermicula containment tank, sterile and ready for retrieval tasks.
After: In Worf's use — filled and offered to the Antedians; remains in active possession of Worf for the duration of the feeding.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 3
Causal

"Rising metabolic rates in Sickbay culminate in the Antedians waking and demanding food."

First Stirring: The Antedians Blink
S2E19 · Manhunt
Foreshadowing

"Early reveal of the Antedians' vermicular food foreshadows Worf feeding the same creatures when they awaken."

Antedians Materialize — Catatonia, Containment, and the Worms
S2E19 · Manhunt
Foreshadowing

"Early reveal of the Antedians' vermicular food foreshadows Worf feeding the same creatures when they awaken."

Catatonic Delegates: Containment, Hunger, and a Moment of Beauty
S2E19 · Manhunt
What this causes 2
Causal

"Pulaski's report to Picard interrupts the Holodeck refuge, pulling him back to duty."

Duty Intrudes — Passengers Awake, a Promise of Danger
S2E19 · Manhunt
Causal

"Pulaski's report to Picard interrupts the Holodeck refuge, pulling him back to duty."

A Surprise Engagement and a Quiet Warning
S2E19 · Manhunt

Key Dialogue

"ANTEDIANS: Food-food-food-food-food--"
"PULASKI: Worf! The vermicula!"
"PULASKI: (touching communicator) Pulaski to Captain Picard."