Starfleet Jedi

Many recall "The Homecoming" reference to only being able to transport two people at a time. This is assumed to be a strict, universal limit, at least until a season five example of a six-person transport.

However, this is not so. The very next episode features a multi-person transport (five down, six up, IIRC) via runabout.

Thus, it seems to me the limitation was either interference from Cardassia IV (e.g. the security field they had to hooker-snooker past to free the prisoners), or simply a lack of combadges among the prisoners. Why that would make a hard limit is unclear to me, but that seems one of the only distinctions.

Thoughts?

Additionally four people beam down in DS9 S2E12 "The Alternate".

http://ds9.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/ ... te_090.jpg
http://ds9.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/ ... te_091.jpg
http://ds9.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/ ... te_092.jpg

So probably interference from the security fence since it is the Rio Grande in both "The Homecoming" and "The Alternate". Otherwise you could always argue the runabouts were just equipped differently.

Unless O'Brien got to upgrading the runabouts soon after "The Homecoming"

It couldn't quite do four successfully, judging by Jadzia's missing arm. ;-)