Deafening Silence

by CityDurl

Even Starfleet elite who have been trained to deal with death must come to terms with their own grief when the deceased is a loved one. The members of the bridge crew try to process the shocking, meaningless death of their colleague and friend, Lt. Natasha Yar. Data/Tasha.

1. Chapter 1

Deafening Silence

Space is silent, a vast, breathless ocean of voiceless currents and waves in which the Enterprise swam like a silvery sea turtle. A star system was barely distinguishable from the pinpoint lights of farther stars. Within it, a planet sailed silently, a sickly mustard yellow orb. A beacon like a glowing eye above a pustule sent out a warning, soundless but clear: Forbidden planet. Federation starships barred from approach. Warning to all travelers: undetectable malevolent entity here. Exploration of planet risks death.

With a shimmer, an object appeared in the silent expanse – a silver-gray tube, smooth, with softly rounded corners. It hung motionless for a moment, then began a slow revolution. A sheet of frost rendered invisible an oval window at one end and the serene face within, the porthole colored an unbroken silver by the cold of space. The tube revolved like a silver lozenge in a black sea.

Inside the Enterprise, cargo bay four was filled to capacity with crew and civilian families, all eyes still somberly focused on the transporter pad where Lt. Yar's sarcophagus had stood a minute before. Capt. Picard broke the spell.

"The memorial is now concluded. Thank you all for joining together to commemorate Lt. Yar's life. You may return to your quarters and stations."

As the crowd began to disperse, the captain addressed his bridge crew, huddled together close by. "If you'll accompany me to the holodeck, Lt. Yar wished to share a private message with all of us."

The bridge crew exchanged wordless glances and followed the captain from the cargo bay.