Object
Jagged shard of shattered scientific equipment with non‑human blood smear
A palm‑length, serrated fragment of shattered laboratory/communications hardware — matte‑gray, corroded alloy with flaked, razor‑sharp edges, reactor soot and gouges across its surface, and a fractured circuit trace faintly glowing at the broken edge. A dark, iridescent smear of non‑human blood stains one face, pooled in a hairline crevice. Beverly Crusher lifts the shard with gloved fingers and treats it as forensic evidence while Riker, Worf, and Data stand nearby; in‑narrative it functions as the first concrete forensic lead linking vandalism to a potential hostile encounter at the Federation outpost.
2 appearances
Significance
Functions as the decisive physical clue that converts apparent vandalism into a homicide/forensic investigation: the non‑human blood on the shard signals alien involvement, escalates the away team's mission priorities, and anchors subsequent diplomatic and investigative action.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used