Narrative Web
Location
Derelict Federation Starship

Hathaway Aft Decks

USS Hathaway — an eighty-year-old Federation starship drifting dead with forty stranded crewmembers; includes internal sub-locations such as aft decks used in tactical and diagnostic scenes. The vessel functions as both a derelict to be protected/studied and a tactical objective driving moral and operational choices.
12 events
12 rich involvements

Detailed Involvements

Events with rich location context

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Handshake, Mockery, and a Forty‑Eight Hour Clock

The Hathaway, visible on the Main Viewer, functions as the derelict objective of the exercise; its dark, aged hull and blind windows convert Picard's ceremonial transfer into an operational imperative, anchoring the moral and tactical stakes of the announced forty‑eight hour trial.

Atmosphere

Foreboding and urgent — the lifeless silhouette of the Hathaway imposes solemnity beneath the bridge levity.

Functional Role

Battaleground/objective to be defended, investigated, and rescued within the timed simulation.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the ethical burden and tactical puzzle that will test leadership under pressure.

Access Restrictions

Hazardous and effectively off‑limits except to a designated away team; entry requires authorization and readiness.

Dark, scarred hull visible on the Main Viewer Silent, abandoned corridors implied by blind windows Emergency lights and derelict imagery suggested
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Passing the Chair — Kolrami's Forty‑Eight Hour Countdown

The USS Hathaway exists as the visual and moral target of the assignment—its derelict, unlit hull on the Main Viewer is the reason for the transfer and the impending simulation, representing the mission's practical objective and ethical stakes.

Atmosphere

Silent and foreboding as seen through the Main Viewer; its lifeless presence casts a sober tone over the bridge's banter.

Functional Role

Operational objective / mission target that anchors the exercise and justifies the command transfer.

Symbolic Significance

Symbolizes both vulnerability and moral obligation—the rescue/diagnostic mission that will test command choices.

Access Restrictions

Physically remote and damaged; access requires an away team and authorization from bridge command.

Hull is unlit and lifeless as displayed on the Main Viewer Reports indicate forty stranded crewmembers aboard (contextual implication) Emergency lights and inactivity suggested though not directly heard
S2E21 · Peak Performance
The Romulan Sting and the Photon Ruse

The Hathaway's aft decks are the locus of the simulated damage invoked in the deception; they serve as the apparent casualty site that raises the emotional stakes and plausibly anchors the Hathaway's sacrificial posture in the tactical theater.

Atmosphere

Staged crisis: simulated scorched plates and impact pings create an atmosphere of urgent damage control and impending loss.

Functional Role

Battleground/decoy damage locus used to sell the ruse and justify Hathaway's vulnerability.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the expendability of a single ship in service of a larger strategic gambit and the moral cost of deception.

Access Restrictions

Operationally restricted to engineering and damage-control teams; effectively offstage for bridge personnel who view it via diagnostics.

Diagnostic readouts showing scorch and impact pings Implied heat signatures and smell of burnt insulation (simulated) Silent bulkhead images and automated status overlays
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Warp-Three Evasion — Picard's Public Gambit

The Hathaway's aft decks function as the staged locus of 'damage' and make the decoy more convincing; references to these compartments provide tangible-sounding evidence that pressures the Enterprise crew into immediate defensive reactions.

Atmosphere

Staged alarm and technical urgency — scorch glows and diagnostic tracers create a tense, semi-theatrical sense of crisis.

Functional Role

Bait/decoy locale that anchors the holographic deception in plausible physical detail.

Symbolic Significance

Represents how simulated trauma can manipulate perceptions and compel moral and tactical decisions.

Access Restrictions

Operationally remote — part of the Hathaway and not physically accessible to most Enterprise crew during the episode's engagement.

Scorched plating and tracer diagnostic overlays visible on tactical readouts. Smell and sounds are implied by diagnostics—hot electronics, impact pings, and fire-like sensor signatures.
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Unmasking the Sensor Ruse and the Photon Counterstrike

The Hathaway Aft Decks function as the narrated locus of apparent damage: Data reports simulated hits there, creating an image of jeopardy for the stranded ship. The location is both the claimed casualty site and the proof that the deception reached deep into vessel systems.

Atmosphere

Tension-laden and clinically described—diagnostic overlays render danger as data rather than visceral ruin.

Functional Role

Staged casualty locus and narrative justification for protective and offensive maneuvers.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the thin line between simulation and real harm, forcing commanders to balance principle and life-saving improvisation.

Access Restrictions

Operationally restricted to engineering and rescue teams; in this scene it is remote and accessible only via sensors and diagnostics.

Diagnostic tracers indicating scorch marks and simulated hull stress. Electronic readouts listing repair-time estimates (e.g., 'three-point-six days').
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Gambit Escalated — Picard Misreads Contact as Simulation

The USS Hathaway is the endangered, off-screen objective the Enterprise is ordered to shield; its presence justifies Picard's aggressive protective posture and escalates the moral stakes of the bluff when real fire rains down.

Atmosphere

Implied vulnerability and urgency; the Hathaway is a silent moral imperative that heightens the tension.

Functional Role

Strategic asset and moral fulcrum—its safety dictates Enterprise tactics and risk tolerance.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the humanitarian duty that constrains otherwise purely tactical choices.

Access Restrictions

Currently unreachable directly by the Enterprise without risk; crew aboard are stranded and require protection.

Depicted on the main viewer as a dead, unlit hull (implied from scene context) No active communications from Hathaway; it exists as a visual/ethical anchor for decisions
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Simulation Collapses — Enterprise Interposes for Hathaway

The USS Hathaway is the crippled, unlit ship visible on the viewer and the moral fulcrum of the crisis; its vulnerability compels Picard to order the Enterprise to physically interpose and makes the engagement about rescue rather than reputation or sport.

Atmosphere

Silent and dire from a distance — ghost‑lit corridors and stranded crew implied, creating urgency and pathos.

Functional Role

Refuge to be protected; the ethical object of the Enterprise's defensive maneuvers.

Symbolic Significance

Represents human lives and Starfleet's humanitarian obligations — the reason the simulation is abandoned.

Access Restrictions

Remote, inaccessible directly without successful transport/escort; vulnerable and in need of protection.

Cold, scarred hull seen against the main viewer. Emergency lights and blind windows implying stranded crew.
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Picard's Stand Under Fire

The Hathaway is the endangered ship visible on the viewer and the moral fulcrum of the scene: its forty crewmembers are stranded aboard the crippled vessel and are the explicit reason Picard refuses to withdraw.

Atmosphere

Silent, vulnerable, and implied peril — the Hathaway's helplessness is contrasted with the Enterprise's active crisis.

Functional Role

Refuge for stranded crewmembers and the object of contention between Enterprise and Ferengi.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the human cost of command decisions; the Hathaway personalizes abstract tactical calculations.

Access Restrictions

Physically inaccessible due to transporters being offline and the ship's crippled status.

Described as powerless: no light‑speed drive, scarce crew, and no weapons. Displayed against the stars on the Main Viewer as the scene's emotional focal point.
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Fragile Shields — Picard's Stand and the Ten‑Minute Ultimatum

The USS Hathaway is the endangered ship seen on the Main Viewer and cited as the moral object of Picard's refusal; its crippled status (no light-speed drive, scarce crew) and potential 'secret' make it the strategic prize around which coercion and sacrifice arguments revolve.

Atmosphere

Silent, vulnerable and exposed when represented visually — its helplessness creates the ethical anchor for Picard's choice.

Functional Role

Vulnerable asset / MacGuffin — the reason for Picard's defiance and the object of Ferengi greed.

Symbolic Significance

Represents duty, the human cost of command, and the ethical center of the episode's dilemma.

Access Restrictions

Physically unreachable due to its crippled state and Ferengi pressure; transporters offline prevent immediate access.

Scarred hull and emergency lights (as described earlier in episode context) Visual silence on the Main Viewer emphasizing isolation Mentioned lack of light-speed drive and limited crew complement
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Picard's Moral Stand and the Ten‑Minute Ultimatum

The Hathaway is the absent locus of moral concern — crippled, crewed by forty, and the explicit reason Picard refuses withdrawal; its vulnerability makes it the object's narrative heart despite its physical absence from the bridge.

Atmosphere

Silent and endangered — described through emergency lights and crippled systems rather than direct sensory detail on the bridge.

Functional Role

Refuge for endangered crewmembers and the contested asset the Ferengi seek to claim.

Symbolic Significance

Embodies the human cost of command decisions.

Access Restrictions

Effectively inaccessible because transporters are down; stranded until rescued.

Described as crippled, no light-speed drive, scarce crew Referenced via Main Viewer schematics and Starfleet discussion
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Two‑Second Gambit

The USS Hathaway functions as the endangered locus of forty lives and the originating point of Riker's hail; its alleged helplessness creates the moral dilemma, while its unexpected limited propulsion converts it into an active tactical asset within the moment.

Atmosphere

Dire and precarious aboard the Hathaway, implied silence and emergency lighting contrasted with Riker's terse composure.

Functional Role

Endangered vessel and moral fulcrum whose condition determines whether sacrifice or improvisation will be chosen.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the friction between bureaucratic calculation and human life — the ship embodies the cost of command choices.

Access Restrictions

Physically compromised and functionally constrained by damage; limited ability to maneuver or communicate.

Derelict, scarred hull and emergency lights Forty stranded crew implied below decks Communications link to Enterprise via Main Viewer
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Two-Second Gambit — Picard's Moral Pivot

The derelict USS Hathaway is the endangered locus of forty crew members and the ostensible object of tactical sacrifice. Its crippled appearance and reported warp‑inactivity create the moral fulcrum; Riker's hail from its bridge reframes its status and options.

Atmosphere

Silenced, desperate, technically compromised yet stubbornly defiant under Riker's stewardship.

Functional Role

Endangered refuge and narrative fulcrum whose fate forces Picard's decision.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the human cost of command decisions and the fragility of Starfleet ideals under duress.

Access Restrictions

Practical rescue or boarding limited by Ferengi threat and damaged systems; no easy access.

Hull scarred and windows blind to life (implied) Emergency lights and ghostly sensor pips indicating the presence of crew Warp drive reported offline but alleged to have a two‑second capability

Events at This Location

Everything that happens here

12
S2E21 · Peak Performance
Handshake, Mockery, and a Forty‑Eight Hour Clock

The Enterprise drifts in synchronized orbit around the dark, eighty‑year‑old Hathaway as Picard lightens the mood and formally hands command responsibility to Riker. The bridge moment—handshake, wry banter, and a …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Passing the Chair — Kolrami's Forty‑Eight Hour Countdown

Picard ceremonially hands command of the crippled U.S.S. Hathaway to Riker with a grin, a handshake and the ironic benediction "Good luck, Number One... Captain," signaling transfer of responsibility. Worf …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
The Romulan Sting and the Photon Ruse

Picard takes the Enterprise into a razor‑thin attack posture, preparing a simulated photon‑torpedo spread intended to sell the Hathaway's sacrificial destruction as part of a high‑risk deception. A sudden, apparent …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Warp-Three Evasion — Picard's Public Gambit

A sudden Romulan contact exposes the Hathaway ruse, forcing Picard to pivot from simulation to real-time maneuvering. He orders a razor-thin warp‑three evasive run, cancels Red Alert, and re-engages the …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Unmasking the Sensor Ruse and the Photon Counterstrike

A sudden, phantom Romulan contact reveals itself as a sensor spoof — the Hathaway has been playing holographic games. Data's diagnostics register simulated aft damage, and Picard immediately deduces Worf's …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Gambit Escalated — Picard Misreads Contact as Simulation

Picard intentionally escalates the controlled war game—arming photon torpedoes and authorizing high-risk measures—after confirming the deception code and crediting Worf's feint. When tactical reports show a Ferengi warship closing at …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Simulation Collapses — Enterprise Interposes for Hathaway

What begins as a controlled war game detonates into real combat when a Ferengi warship opens fire, jolting the Enterprise and throwing the bridge into Red Alert. Picard immediately reallocates …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Picard's Stand Under Fire

A sudden, lethal escalation forces Picard to convert a simulated exercise into a life‑and‑death command test. As Ferengi weapons mass and Enterprise systems fail, Data reports shields near collapse while …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Fragile Shields — Picard's Stand and the Ten‑Minute Ultimatum

Under relentless Ferengi fire the Enterprise is crippled: modified beams fused, transporter offline and shields reduced to one‑fifth. Data delivers a clinical verdict — the shields will not survive another …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Picard's Moral Stand and the Ten‑Minute Ultimatum

The Enterprise bridge devolves into a moral and tactical crucible: weapons and transporters are dead, shields are failing, and a Ferengi commander gives Picard ten minutes to surrender the crippled …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Two‑Second Gambit

Under withering Ferengi pressure and Picard's rueful log admitting a 'grave miscalculation,' the bridge becomes a crucible where command, ethics and improvisation collide. Kolrami coldly declares the crippled Hathaway expendable; …

S2E21 · Peak Performance
Two-Second Gambit — Picard's Moral Pivot

Under withering pressure and a ten-minute ultimatum, Picard confronts an impossible choice: abandon forty crewmembers on the crippled Hathaway or risk the Enterprise. Kolrami coldly pronounces the Hathaway expendable; Riker …