Gomtuu Gomtuu was an intelligent lifeform that lived in space for several millenia up through the 24th century . It survived a near - extinction of its race and may have been the last of its kind . It seemed to have been " born " far from Federation space , possibly in another galaxy . Upon its discovery by the and the Romulan Star Empire , it was dubbed " Tin Man " and the " Star Creature " , respectively . Construction . Viewed from the exterior , Gomtuu was a massive , dark - colored starship shaped like a sunflower seed shell . Its interior cavity consisted of a series of chambers and corridor s with gravity and atmosphere to support carbon - based lifeforms as a crew , with which Gomtuu lived symbiotically . Its amorphous interior was also capable of growing furniture and equipment from its walls and floors . It could project the outside to the occupants . Like a traditional starship , Gomtuu possessed a warp drive , transporter capability , and was fully equipped to defend itself with a protective force field . However , much of its technology was beyond that known to Federation science . It was telepathic over an extremely large distance . History . Gomtuu was manned by a crew until an explosion in space generated radiation that penetrated Gomtuu ' s " hull " and killed the crew . Gomtuu wandered the galaxy for millennia after the traumatic experience , vainly searching for more of its kind . Alone and without a purpose , it eventually decided to commit suicide by orbit ing the soon - to - go - supernova star Beta Stromgren . In 2366 , " Tin Man " was detected when Starfleet sent the Vega Nine probe to monitor the supernova . At the same time , the Romulans also discovered Gomtuu and a race was on to get to it first . As the alien did not respond to traditional communication methods , the Federation sent Tam Elbrun , a highly telepathic Betazoid to make first contact . The Federation established contact first through Elbrun , who telepathically warned Gomtuu of the Romulans . Gomtuu then demonstrated its defensive capabilities , destroying the Romulan Warbird and heavily damaging the utilizing an energy wave . Later , with Elbrun and Data on board , Gomtuu came about and fired a second energy wave which propelled the " Enterprise " - D and a second Warbird 3 . 8 billion kilometer s through space . Gomtuu then teleported Data back onto the bridge of the " Enterprise " ( through the " Enterprise " s shields ) and disappeared with Elbrun to parts unknown . Elbrun provided Gomtuu with an alternative to suicide , and Gomtuu provided Elbrun with tranquility . ( ) Background information . According to the script for the episode , the pronunciation for Gomtuu was " GOM - too " . According to Michael Okuda , in the TNG Season 3 DVD special feature " Departmental Briefing Year Three - Creating the " Tin Man " " , the design of Gomtuu was based on Richard D . James ' vision of a vessel with a " very organic look . " The studio model , built by Greg Jein , would be " " partly based on [ the look of ] a peach pit . " " The " " adds that " " the model was another Rick Sternbach creation . . . It was designed in homage to the thermal pods in " Buckaroo Banzai " . " " The interior was based on an idea proposed by Richard James , where the set was coated with spray foam , which gave the organic look he was looking for . According to the " Star Trek : The Next Generation Companion " , " " Rob Legato created the organic chair that seems to form out of Tin Man ' s very structure by reversing a time - lapse sequence of a melting wax chair . " " The sounds from Tin Man ' s interior were a combination of whale sounds and a recording of sound designer Jim Wolvington digesting pizza , recorded through a stethoscope . The explosion ( pictured above ) was a scene reused from the final " V ' ger " scene in .