"The Agony" or "The Humanity"
by Mirwalker
It was, as might be expected, the ship's counselor who first broke the silence which the now-fading brilliance had imposed, "We failed."
Even a non-Betazoid would know that guilt begot the second absence of sound and movement on the bridge. The only exception to the calm quiet was the slow dissipation of the once populous world before them.
Beside her, Philosophy recovered. "Yes, Counselor… There is always the possibility of defeat. Without that chance, we would be… divine." The glow had vanished; and the empty starfield was the sole memorial to the five billion oblivions. "Today, we are reminded so."
Gathering enough strength to turn from the blank viewscreen, he caught the tear before it fell and added, "I'll be in my Ready Room." Also lost to the distant bridge crew was, "Number One… you have the bridge."
More in guilt than in grief, the Frenchman stared out from the darkened room into the starlit blackness, and mourned his mortality.
Author's note: I recently came across this drabble, jotted on a spare sheet a long while ago, during TNG's original run. With so many last second successes under their belts, I remember wondering what would happen if the Enterprise ever just didn't save the day.