Shuttle Landing Site (Planet Surface)

Location

A rough planetary landing pad where a small shuttle once sat with its hull cooling and ramp lowered, exhaust tang clinging to loose soil. The site bears the quiet evidence of abrupt departure: trampled gravel, a smudge of burnt metal, and the whispered absence of those who never returned. Functionally the place of the fatal accident that killed Marla Aster, it anchors private grief to physical terrain—an exposed locus of sudden loss that converts mechanical detail into an enduring emotional wound for surviving family and the crew who must reckon with its consequences.

2 events

2 rich involvements

Detailed Involvements

Events with rich location context

S3E2 · The Ensigns of Command

Departure and the Unfelt Goodbye

The shuttle landing site is the immediate stage: an exposed, public space on the planet where a private emotional exchange must occur under the pressure of evacuation. It compresses intimacy and urgency, forcing a quick, decisive farewell before departure.

Atmosphere

Taut, bittersweet, quietly urgent — open-air practicality shading private vulnerability.

Functional Role

Meeting point for farewell and the operational threshold where civilians and Federation personnel transition from planet to shuttle.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the liminal space between safety and loss — a literal doorway illustrating emotional separation and the costs of evacuation.

Access Restrictions

Open public area at the settlement's landing pad; not formally restricted but governed by evacuation procedures.

Daylight under a high sky creating exposure rather than privacy Cooling metal hull, lowered ramp acting as a stage for departure Sounds of distant settlement activity muted by focus on shuttle operations Crunch of gravel underfoot emphasizing earthiness and finality

S3E2 · The Ensigns of Command

Measured Goodbye: Data's Calculated Farewell

The shuttle landing site is the stage for the private, intimate farewell: an exposed, public spot transformed into a temporary personal space. Its openness underscores isolation and the urgency of evacuation while providing a final, tangible point of departure.

Atmosphere

Windswept, quietly urgent and slightly desolate; a mix of procedural calm (evacuation readiness) and private melancholy.

Functional Role

Meeting place for the farewell and staging area for shuttle departure during the evacuation.

Symbolic Significance

Represents the threshold between safety and loss — the physical boundary where human attachment meets institutional necessity.

Daylight high sky over the pad Cooling metal hull and lowered ramp framing the goodbye Crunch of loose soil and gravel underfoot Faint radio/comms hiss and shuttle exhaust odor

Events at This Location

Everything that happens here

S3E2 · The Ensigns of Command

Departure and the Unfelt Goodbye

Data radios the Enterprise to announce shuttle readiness and receives Worf's terse confirmation, shifting the scene from persuasion to extraction logistics. Ard'rian approaches for a private farewell: she confesses attraction, …

S3E2 · The Ensigns of Command

Measured Goodbye: Data's Calculated Farewell

At the shuttle landing Data makes final departure preparations, answers the Enterprise, then steps out to meet Ard'rian for a quiet, painful parting. Ard'rian presses Data for emotional reciprocity; he …