Object
Shuttle Nine Maneuvering Thrusters
The vectored bank of maneuvering thrusters mounted on Shuttle Nine: heat-tolerant alloy nozzles, directional vanes and short-burst fuel injectors that emit brief, high-response pulses. These jets hum and shudder under load and are used during emergency maneuvers (e.g., Geordi calling up thruster output while returning the shuttle toward a collapsing wormhole).
2 appearances
Purpose
Provide short, high-response bursts of thrust for attitude control, fine translational adjustments, and emergency maneuvering of a shuttlecraft when main propulsion or long-duration thrusting is inappropriate or compromised.
Significance
These thrusters supply the decisive, limited control that lets Geordi override inaction, pilot Shuttle Nine back into the wormhole, and abandon the Ferengi pod—turning Arridor's obstinacy into a concrete diplomatic and human crisis and driving the scene's moral/plot consequences.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used