Lieutenant Bartel served as an engineer aboard the starship USS Enterprise-D in 2369. She was chief engineer Geordi La Forge's assistant in main engineering during the vessel's encounter with a Dyson sphere and the recovery of missing person Montgomery Scott from the wreckage of the USS Jenolan. When Captain Picard suggested Scott take part in an away mission, La Forge recommended Bartel as his best engineer for the team. Instead, Picard asked La Forge to take charge of the matter personally. (TNG: "Relics" )