Object
Mary Rogers
A transport ship in dire distress, the Mary Rogers sends out a frantic call for help as its hull breaches and life support systems fail. The urgency of its plight forces the Enterprise crew into a moral quandary: with hundreds of lives hanging in the balance, their response to the Mary Rogers' distress signal becomes a pivotal moment of ethical decision-making. Captain Picard and the bridge crew assess the ship's deteriorating condition through alarming sensor readouts and the increasingly desperate nature of its distress call, amplifying the tension as Picard weighs the ship's fate against other pressing obligations.
4 appearances
Purpose
Transport vessel for personnel or cargo, now critically imperiled with failing systems and requiring emergency assistance
Significance
The Mary Rogers serves as a narrative fulcrum, embodying the episode's central ethical dilemma—Starfleet duty versus the immediate need to save imperiled lives. Its crisis forces Picard to reconcile protocol with humanitarian imperatives, while Pulaski leverages its plight to challenge Picard's adherence to orders. The ship's unresolved fate heightens stakes and moral tension aboard the Enterprise.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used