The Loss is a fourth season episode of The Next Generation. (summary goes here).

Travelling through deep space, the Enterprise stops to investigate an odd phenomenon that appears like phantom images. Meanwhile, ship's counseller Deanna Troi experiences disorientation as her empathic abilities suddently cease to work.

When the ship attempts to resume its course, the crew discovers it cannot as the Enterprise is caught up in a group of two-dimensional lifeforms.

Without her powers, Troi suffers a tremendous senes of loss, and goes through several classic psychological stages including denial, fear and anger. Ultimately, despite the reassurances of her friends, she resigns as ship's counsellor, believing that without her empathic abilities, she cannot perform her duties.

Commander Data and Commander Riker realize the two-dimensional creatures are heading for a cosmic string, with the Enterprise in tow, and once they reach the string the ship would be torn apart. Realizing Deanna's loss and the ship's predicament are somehow linked, Captain Picard pleads with her to try and communicate with the strange creatures.

Troi attempts to warn the creatures of the danger, and discovers that they are seeking out the cosmic string in much the way a moth is drawn to a light. Using this knowledge as a basic, Data creates a simulated string at a position well behind the Enterprise. When the simualtion begins, the creatures release the Enterprise just long enough for the ship to make a quick escape.

Freed from the two-dimensional creature's influence, Troi's empathic ability is restored. She discovers that her powers were never lost, but were instead overwhelmed by the two-dimensional creatures' strong emotions. Deanna returns to her old job with a renewed confidence.

Trivia

• The concept of the Enterprise's structural integrity field is first introduced in this script.

External links

Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes