Deanna Troi, ~ Beautiful & Desirable Ship's Counselor...

"Deanna Troi, your ship's counselor, half Betazoid, loves chocolate. The arrival of her mother makes you shudder." – Beverly Crusher, 2367 ("Remember Me")

"You have been my guide and my conscience." – Jean-Luc Picard, 2379 (Star Trek Nemesis) Deanna Troi was a female Betazoid–Human hybrid Starfleet officer. Under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, she served as the counselor aboard the USS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-E. In 2379, Troi transferred to the USS Titan (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek Nemesis). By 2399, she and her husband William T. Riker lived on the planet Nepenthe with their daughter, Kestra Troi-Riker. Their son, Thaddeus Troi-Riker, died of Mendaxic neurosclerosis soon after their arrival on Nepenthe. (PIC: "Nepenthe") As a half-Betazoid, Troi was capable of extra-sensory empathy, but was incapable of reading aliens with brain structures dissimilar to Humans and other Betazoids, such as the Breen and the Ferengi. Like most Betazoids, Troi had telepathic abilities. Due to her half-Human heritage, however, the range of her telepathic abilities was limited compared to full-blooded Betazoids, and she could usually only read the thoughts of other Betazoids, most notably her mother. Troi's empathic skills made her an important asset to the Enterprise-D and her abilities were often particularly useful when dealing with hostile races. Since she could usually determine, through use of her abilities, whether others were lying, she repeatedly proved herself invaluable in many suspenseful situations. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "Ménage à Troi", "The Loss"; VOY: "Inside Man") Her Romance With William T. Riker >>> Deanna had an extremely close relationship with Will Riker, occasionally referring to him as imzadi, a Betazoid word for "beloved". Before they served together on the Enterprise-D, Troi taught Riker how to read her thoughts when she telepathically projected them. They learned each other's abilities but couldn't say "goodbye" when they parted. After Troi was assigned to the Enterprise-D in 2364, she was reunited with Riker. Although they informed Captain Picard that they already knew each other, neither Riker nor Troi initially revealed the intimate nature of their former relationship. Troi seemed fairly eager to be alone with Riker, and while at Deneb IV's mysterious Farpoint Station, she suggested that they explore a network of passages below the station together, an idea that Riker refused. Before he later endangered his own life to investigate why a space vessel lifeform believed to be a ship was attacking Deneb IV, Troi expressed, in an outburst of emotion, her extreme fear that Riker could be hurt. She soon managed to resume her former sense of calm, however, and returned to the Enterprise, as Riker had ordered. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") During the Enterprise's subsequent missions, Troi referred to Riker as "Bill" on at least two occasions. (TNG: "The Naked Now", "Haven") On-screen, it is almost exclusively Troi who calls Riker "Bill" (the only exception is Beverly Crusher doing so in "Encounter at Farpoint"). According to the novel Ghost Ship, Troi uses the name "Bill" for Riker and tells Beverly that it means "shaving cream" in the Betazoid language. However, this is not in any way established in canon. While under the influence of polywater intoxication, Troi was drawn to Riker, and in an attempt to seduce her former lover, she sensuously embraced him in main engineering. When he picked her up in his arms and began carrying her to sickbay, she asked if he wouldn't rather be alone with her in his mind than ensuring she was hospitalized. Riker, however, did not surrender to her seduction and succeeded in taking her to sickbay. (TNG: "The Naked Now") Troi and Riker were later asked by Captain Picard to exhibit use of the Enterprise's holodecks to a party of Ligonian representatives, while the group of Ligonians were negotiating with the ship's crew upon visiting the vessel. When Ligonian leader Lutan instead requested that Lieutenant Yar demonstrate defense training in one of the holodecks, Picard's request went unanswered and Troi lost the opportunity to work solely with Riker. (TNG: "Code of Honor") Troi's life, as well as the lives of virtually the entire crew of the Enterprise, was later saved by Riker when he managed to persuade Portal 63 of the long-extinct Tkon Empire to release the starship from his control, as the Portal had trapped the Enterprise in an energy field that was draining the ship's power and forcing its crew, including Troi, to endure extreme cold and almost deadly oxygen deprivation. (TNG: "The Last Outpost") Regarding how this relationship was depicted in TNG Season 2, Riker actor Jonathan Frakes commented, "Some of the Troi-Riker relationship was certainly swept under the carpet, much to our dismay. We did everything we could to keep it alive." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 2, p. 30) Troi actress Marina Sirtis agreed, "The writers sometimes dug up the [Troi/Riker] relationship when they needed it for a story line, and kind of ignored it the rest of the time. Jonathan and I worked it, but to be honest, a lot of that stuff ended up on the cutting-room floor. I just felt that for a relationship to go on so long that there should have been some kind of resolution, either one way or the other, as far as [I] was concerned." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 115, p. 73) Some members of the TNG Season 7 writing staff, René Echevarria among them, wanted Troi and Riker to marry in that season, believing the fans would love that. However, the idea was shot down by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, which displeased the actors, including Jonathan Frakes. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 284) Troi and Riker, 2375 Deanna and Will Riker get intimate with each other again in 2375 During the Enterprise-E's mission to Ba'ku in 2375, Deanna and Will were affected by the metaphasic radiation of the planet's rings, which eventually led to their reviving their relationship. (Star Trek: Insurrection) Deanna and Will Riker married four years later. (Star Trek Nemesis) They settled on the planet Nepenthe with their two children, Thaddeus Troi-Riker and Kestra Troi-Riker. Thaddeus died of Mendaxic neurosclerosis, which could have been cured with a positronic matrix had the Federation not imposed a ban on synthetic lifeforms after the 2385 Attack on Mars. (PIC: "Nepenthe") Her Romance With Worf >>> Although Worf was distrustful and uneasy around telepaths, Troi became a trusted exception. There was some early antagonism between them, especially when he insisted that her unexpected pregnancy (with Ian) had to be aborted for the safety of the ship. But she later helped him adjust to his new role as a father to his son, Alexander, at which time Worf grew to trust and respect Troi. (TNG: "New Ground", "Ethics", "Parallels") After an encounter with alternate realities showed him a life with Troi as his wife, Worf's eyes were opened to a new possibility, and he began to pursue her. Though surprised, Troi welcomed the advances, and the two enjoyed a romantic relationship through 2370. Deanna wasn't thrilled by Worf's concern about Riker's interest in the matter, but the triangle's tension was eased by the advice of Captain Picard. (TNG: "Parallels", "Eye of the Beholder", "All Good Things...") Troi actress Marina Sirtis was somewhat critical of Troi's Season 7 romance with Worf, believing the writers had forgotten about the characters' identities in favor of pursuing the relationship. "It was certainly an interesting idea, but […] because the sixth season had established Troi's ongoing love interest for Riker, I was amazed that Deanna would trade her strong feelings for a relationship with Worf […] I often felt that someone had watched Beauty and the Beast too many times," the actress critiqued. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 102, p. 55) However, the writers had actually put a lot of consideration into Troi's relationship with Worf, having intended "A Fistful of Datas" as a way to gradually bring them a little closer together. When several writing staffers were thinking of having Troi marry Riker in the seventh season, Michael Piller's rejection of that idea was because he instead wanted her to become romantically involved with Worf, a decision that thrilled Jeri Taylor and Worf actor Michael Dorn. Dorn had been lobbying at conventions, over a long time, for that romance to take place, though he suspected his efforts were merely coincidental to it actually being written into the series. Taylor enthused, "I think [the relationship] has given us some very nice moments. It was unexpected and not what the fans predicted, and I think that that's good." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 284) By the next year, the romance seemed to have dissolved amicably. Worf transferred to Deep Space 9 and began a romantic relationship with Jadzia Dax, with the two later marrying. Troi and Riker resumed their relationship around the time Worf was grieving Jadzia's death. Worf's only visible unease at their wedding in 2379 was the result of imbibing too much Romulan ale and discomfort at the prospect of appearing naked at their Betazed marriage ceremony. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places", "You Are Cordially Invited"; Star Trek Generations; Star Trek: Insurrection; Star Trek Nemesis) The end of Troi's relationship with Worf from TNG Season 7 was not explained when Michael Dorn joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Ronald D. Moore did consider mentioning it, imagining that the relationship had somehow broken up following the destruction of the Enterprise-D. However, Moore ultimately decided against referring to it at all. He explained, "It was probably amicable. But I never found a place where it felt natural to mention Troi without turning it into a big scene of exposition." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. ?) ~ From "Memory Alpha Fandom".