Star Trek The Next Generation
Object

Bre'el Satellite

A remotely orbiting artificial satellite associated with the Bre'el Four system. The script gives no detailed visual specifics—size, materials, and markings remain unspecified—but frames the object as a functioning orbital body whose trajectory and systems directly threaten Bre'el Four when its moon reaches perigee. Bridge officers reference it as a distant, manipulable engineering target; characters interact with it via tactical displays, engineering directives, and urgent technical consultations.
6 appearances

Purpose

Operational role unclear in technical detail; narratively it functions as an orbital asset whose position or activity creates a danger to Bre'el Four and therefore becomes the engineering target for the Enterprise’s intervention to avert a catastrophe.

Significance

Serves as the immediate plot-driving artifact: its impending interaction with Bre'el Four (moon perigee) compresses the timeline, forces Picard’s pragmatic command decisions, compels Data to escort Q to Engineering, and catalyzes the moral and technical crisis that propels the scene’s stakes.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

6 moments
S3E13 · Deja Q
Picard's Moral Ultimatum — Q Conscripts and the Clock

The Bre'el satellite is the orbital object whose trajectory endangers Bre'el Four; it is the explicit target of Geordi's warp field extension program and the immediate reason Picard must convert argument into action.

Before: In orbit and approaching perigee in a critical window; threatening planetary safety.
After: Designated as the active focus of engineering modification attempts.
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S3E13 · Deja Q
Q's Motive Revealed — Data Advocates

The Bre'el satellite is the objective of the engineering gambit; referenced by Data and Geordi as the body whose perigee triggers the urgent time constraint and the technical need to extend the warp lobe.

Before: In a dangerous orbit approaching perigee that will threaten Bre'el Four if unaltered.
After: Still on its collision/near-miss trajectory; now the focus of an authorized emergency engineering plan.
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S3E13 · Deja Q
Q Drafted into Engineering Under a Deadline

The Bre'el satellite is the distant engineering target referenced by Geordi and Data; its trajectory and characteristics frame the technical problem and justify the emergency, cross-disciplinary collaboration aboard the Enterprise.

Before: In orbit and posing a trajectory threat to Bre'el Four; being actively analyzed by the bridge and engineering teams.
After: Remains the target of the warp-lobe gambit; engineering efforts intensify to alter its course before perigee.
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S3E13 · Deja Q
Q's Mortality and Picard's Compromise

The Bre'el satellite is cited as the technical subject of Geordi's and Data's analyses; its orbit and interaction with the ferrous moon provides the scientific basis for the warp-extension gambit that frames the event's urgency.

Before: Being monitored and analyzed on tactical and engineering displays as part of the crisis dataset.
After: Continues to be an object of analysis, now with Q's theoretical contributions acknowledged as relevant to further modeling.
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S3E13 · Deja Q
Reluctant Escort: Picard's Tactical Mercy

The Bre'el satellite (the ferrous crystalline moon) is the technical threat being analyzed; Geordi's program and the bridge debate are directly about altering the ship's fields to influence this object's trajectory or mitigate impact.

Before: In a dangerously decaying orbit, approaching perigee and threatening Bre'el Four within minutes.
After: Remains in a perilous trajectory; subject of the upcoming engineering intervention that Data and Geordi will attempt to address.
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S3E13 · Deja Q
Extending the Warp and Reassigning Q

The Bre'el satellite (orbiting artificial object) is part of sensor analysis Geordi referenced; it frames the technical conversation about mass, trajectory, and what the warp field extension must influence to avert impact.

Before: Referenced in Geordi and Data's analysis as part of the orbital problem set.
After: Remains the target of engineering calculations and communications with Bre'el Four science station.
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