energy field, finding that when Armus engulfs the shuttle and speaks to Troi, expressing his remorse and pity, the field disrupting their transporter signals is weakened which could allow them to beam Troi and Prieto out of the shuttle. After Armus toys with Troi by completely engulfing Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Captain Picard beams down to speak to Armus directly, sending the rest of the away team to the ship. Picard engages Armus in a heated discussion to discover its motive, which is to seek revenge on those that abandoned it on Vagra II. Armus is angered to a point where the energy field is dissipated enough, allowing for Picard, Troi and Prieto to be safely beamed back to the Enterprise, leaving Armus wailing in fury and alone once again. After destroying the shuttlecraft from orbit, Picard orders a permanent quarantine on Vagra II. As they leave Vagra II, the crew holds a memorial service for Lt. Yar, with a recorded simulation of Yar addressing each of the senior crew members telling them what they meant to her and what she learned from each of them. After the service, Data (Brent Spiner), who had previously become close to Yar, tells Picard that he is confused as to the purpose of the service. He says that his thoughts are not for Tasha but for himself, because he can only think of how empty his life will be without her. He asks if he has missed the point, but Picard assures him he got it. Production Story and casting The original story, then titled "The Shroud," was written by Joseph Stefano, who had previously worked on The Outer Limits. Hannah Louise Shearer was given the task of re-writing the original take. The first draft had Yar's death occur earlier in the episode with the main focus of the episode being the Armus creature rather than her death. It was the show's creator Gene Roddenberry who argued in favor of her sudden demise as he felt it was suitable for a security officer. Roddenberry also argued against killing Armus in retaliation. Shearer later described the decision, saying "Gene felt we couldn't kill the creature, because it is not up to us as human beings to make a moral judgement on any creature that we encounter, because we are not God". Yar's death in the episode was after Crosby had asked to be let