Category: Star Trek The Next Generation

Rating: Kid and up

Summary: In honor of Majel Barrett Roddenberry's passing 12/19/2008. I

couldn't sleep till I wrote this out.

Disclaimer: Star Trek is owned fully by the Roddenberry Estate and

by Paramount. No profit is made from this venture.

Title: Gone Or Is She

By Lynda

The comm system of the USS Titan, located in the captain's quarters, sounded in stereo surround sound. One message was for the Captain. The other, for his wife. Captain Riker grunted and turned in bed. Commander and Counselor Deanna Troi rolled toward her husband in sleep. Finally, the captain grunted again and sat up.

"Computer, silent mode. What is it?" Riker asked, a trifle annoyed with himself for leaving the volume up. He'd been last to bed and was responsible for requesting night settings from the computer. He got out of bed to sit at the small desk where the comm unit sat.

Beeping obediently, the computer stated in a neutral treble voice, "One message designated to Captain Riker, one message designated to Counselor Troi."

"Play my message," Riker ordered.

The computer beeped again, "Message from Commander Geordi LaForge playing."

Geordi appeared on the screen, "Hello, Captain, I hope this message finds you and the counselor well. As I have had several requests from the crew and former crew of Enterprise, I tried to help save her, but I couldn't do it. We're leaving out of Starbase 48 soon, without her.

"The technicians there want to study her, they heard so many good things about our girl, and, I think it's what she wanted, if she had the choice. Anyway, the Voice of the Computer is gone. The new one only took about 2 hours to install . . . Enterprise's holodecks were in use and we had to wait until users cleared them before we could finish.

"Take care, Captain and I hope to have a communiqué from you, soon. Commander LaForge out."

The screen went blank. Riker looked to his wife. She was supporting her head in her left hand, and had watched the message from bed.

"I can't believe I won't hear her voice, anymore," Riker commented.

"We haven't heard her in over a year," Deanna reminded him.

"I know, but, we had the opportunity to visit our crewmates six times last year, and it was such a treat to be back on the old girl."

"I wasn't counting our visits, but, yes, you're right."

"Besides, Deanna, you obviously wanted to know if Geordi could resurrect her, or you wouldn't be awake."

"Someone forgot the night settings again," she teased.

"I'm sorry."

"And, I could feel your sorrow," Deanna came clean. "Come back to bed, Will."

He rejoined her in the bed, knowing he needed his sleep; to set a good example for the crew. "Geordi said that, as chief engineer, people always wanted to know just whose voice it was and how its voice was always a comforting sound. He tried to look it up, but somewhere in the annals of history, the exact information was lost."

"In a way, that's good." She snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"How so?"

"Even though she can't be replaced, she won't be forgotten by so many who knew her."

Riker could only nod agreement as sleep returned to him. Vaguely, he heard his wife utter something to the computer about night settings.

The End