Object

Transporter Pad — Transporter Room Two (USS Enterprise‑C)

A shipboard transporter assembly — the low, circular emitter pad in Transporter Room Two on the USS Enterprise‑C — set into a matte alloy platform with concentric illuminated rings, recessed harness/guide rails, overhead ceiling emitters and a nearby operator console. When charged it produces a thin blue corona and a cold, high‑frequency hum. Narratively this pad is the site of a key emotional beat in "Yesterday's Enterprise": Tasha Yar and Lieutenant Castillo share a stolen kiss at the rim before the pad's beam swallows Castillo, crystallizing Yar's personal loss and driving her later sacrificial choice.

4 appearances

Purpose

To dematerialize and rematerialize living beings or objects for rapid internal or external transfers, here employed as an emergency evacuation device to beam a gravely wounded officer from the crippled bridge to Sickbay.

Significance

Functions as the vital lifeline that converts catastrophic loss into a chance for survival—its successful use evacuates a critically wounded crew member and concentrates the ship's remaining authority and resources on crisis command and triage.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

S3E10 · The Defector

Shielded Intercept — The Cloak and the Choice

Transporter (Transporter Room Two) is ordered to prepare for a beam of the scout's occupant, turning the technical capability into an imminent humanitarian action and a procedural step toward interrogation and evidence preservation.

Before: Idle but maintained in ready state for routine operations.

After: Placed on alert/primed to execute an emergency transport once Picard's order is carried out.

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S3E10 · The Defector

Cloak, Retreat and Emergency Evacuation

The Transporter (Transporter Room Two) is ordered to prepare to beam the scout's occupant aboard for rescue and medical triage, converting the rescue intent into an immediate operational commitment.

Before: Idle or at low readiness.

After: Placed on alert/preparation to effect an emergency beam once ordered.

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S3E15 · Yesterday's Enterprise

First Eyes on the Galaxy: Arrival and Orientation

The transporter functions as the literal point of arrival: it materializes Castillo and Tasha, framing the transition from other ship/time into the Enterprise. Narratively it creates immediate disorientation and enables the human contact that follows, turning technology into a gateway for emotional stakes.

Before: Primed and active in the transporter room, ready to dematerialize and rematerialize personnel.

After: Recently used to complete the materialization; remains in the transporter room available for further transports.

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S3E15 · Yesterday's Enterprise

Last Kiss on the Pad

The Enterprise‑C transporter pad is the literal means by which Castillo departs — it becomes the sacrificial threshold. It is the device that translates a private farewell into irreversible loss and dramatizes the moment of choice.

Before: Primed and ready in Transporter Room Three; unoccupied but prepared to receive a passenger for beaming.

After: Empty and recently used — the pad has just dematerialized Castillo, leaving a brief residue of absence and the echo of what was lost.

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