Three's a Crowd
Chapter 1: Three For the Road
Seven hours, 15 minutes and 32-point-five seconds. That was precisely how long it had been since the shuttle carrying Geordi, Data, and Crusher had left Galor IV to return to the Enterprise after delivering Data's mother, Juliana Tainer, from her labs on Atrea IV to the Daystrom Institute's annex. She had agreed to be part of the team that would be studying the disassembled remains of Data's android "brother" Lore and appreciated the week that the three officers had spent there sharing their insights.
Months earlier, while under Lore's influence, Data had told Geordi that his life aboard the Enterprise was a waste and that his quest to become more human was a misguided, evolutionary step in the wrong direction. The fact of the matter was that he never wanted to literally be human. All he ever wanted was to feel human; to know and understand the subtle nuances of the emotions that added depth and meaning to existence.
Lore had offered him the chance to experience something more than just a simple series of reactions to the events in his life, the parameters of which had expanded exponentially as he observed the interactions between his long-time shipmates on the Enterprise. However, the repercussions of Lore's actions under the influence of the emotion chip made him hesitant to use it on himself. Data knew it was not because he was afraid. He was incapable of fear. Still, he could not find a sufficiently appropriate expression to explain his trepidation, so he determined that he would relegate the query to one of his sub-routines for further analysis later on and simply continue his informational observations of the crew. Splitting his attention between flying the ship and an internal review of his current avocations, his relays dissected a scene he had witnessed between Captain Picard and Doctor Crusher before their departure seven days earlier.
Eleven-point-three seconds was all it lasted; It was a span of time that would have been almost indiscernible to anyone who was not looking for it but for Data, it was another revealing indicator that the relationship between the captain and Doctor Crusher had changed in the months since their experience on Kesprytt, although neither one of them had spoken about anything more than what was in the official report.
Of course he understood their desire to maintain a certain level of discretion, even secrecy. Most officers refrained from making their personal lives the object of ship scuttlebutt, but somehow these two made a conscientious effort to live as far out of sensor range as possible. However for a being with Data's advanced analytical abilities, it was glaringly obvious that something that had happened while they were telepathically linked together that changed the subtle ways that they interacted with each other. There was the twelve-point-one seconds that the captain's fingers lingered on the small of the doctor's back as he led her to the dining area in the rear of the shuttle, the fifteen-point-eight seconds that her hand remained resting on his thigh after they sat down, and finally the eleven-point-three seconds that his hand spent on top of hers as they became engrossed in a conversation that he surmised was of a serious and intimate nature, given Doctor Crusher's unsuccessful attempt to keep her eyes from over saturating.
In his positronic matrix, a series of circuits fired off in an attempt to find resources in his database that might allow him to comprehend the estimated depth of their bond, but determined that by the way that they were looking at each other as the captain bid them luck and left the shuttle, their relationship had evolved into a complicated singularity unlike any he had ever seen, with emotions the depth of which he would probably never be able to calculate much less understand.
Geordi looked back in the direction of the sleeping quarters where Beverly had retreated for a private subspace transmission from the captain. "So…what do you suppose they're talking about?"
"If you are referring to Doctor Crusher and Captain Picard, it is possible that she is briefing him on the details of our mission, but since I am not aware of any of that information being of a classified nature, it is more probable that the conversation is of a private nature."
"You're probably right," answered Geordi with a smile and an approbatory nod.
"Interesting. Am I correct in assuming by your reaction that you also believe that the captain and Doctor Crusher may be involved in an intimate relationship?"
Geordi shot a cautious look back to the door separating the cockpit and the living quarters, and then looked back at his friend.
"Let's just say that the captain and Doctor Crusher have a really long and complicated history, and I wouldn't be surprised if being telepathically linked, like they were on Kesprytt, brought some things up to the surface that they've been holding back. Getting put into situations like has a funny way of changing people, you know."
"My recent observations have led me to conclude that there is an above-average likelihood that you are correct. But I am curious, Geordi. There are nearly a thousand people on the Enterprise, and yet I do not find myself drawing conclusions about the relationship status of any the other crewmembers. Is it logical to assume that my interest may stem from the visibility that the captain and doctor have as senior officers?"
"I don't know. Maybe. After all, it's just part of human nature to be curious about each other. In this case, I think the interest stems from the fact they are our friends."
"Ah. Then it is similar to when a crewmember dies. The depth of how the loss is perceived seems to be determined by the familiarity that an individual had with them."
"Yeah, I guess that's one way to look at it. You see Data, sometimes in life, if you're really lucky, you find yourself in a place that has the perfect combination of professional opportunities and personal dynamics to allow you to form bonds with people who you not only respect, but also come to care about. Those bonds are what make you look out for each other, worry about each other, and want to see good things happening for each other."
"And you believe that a relationship of that nature would be good for them?"
"Data, I'd like to believe that a relationship of that nature would be good for all of us."
Just as Geordi finished that sentence, the door behind them hissed open and Beverly emerged, smiling serenely and carrying a tray of fruit and cheese.
"So anyway," Geordi said, clearing his voice in an indication that they needed to change the subject, "I debated leaving the emotion chip with the team at the Institute because my duties on the Enterprise have been piling up so high that I just can't find the time or the energy to study it like I'd like to, but since it is the only one in existence, I'd rather not let it out of my sight."
Data picked up on Geordi's signal and acknowledged it with a tilt of his head and a brief sideways glance to Beverly. "I believe that was the best course of action. And since I do not require rest, I can dedicate a good portion of my off-duty activities to continuing my analysis of Doctor Soong's research."
"Well," interrupted Beverly as she held out a plate to Geordi, "Data may not require rest or sustenance, but you and I still do, so eat up."
"Thanks, Doc." He answered, taking the plate from her and serving himself from the tray she set between them.
"You're going to love these plums, Geordi. One of the doctors at the Institute had a personal-"
Before she could continue a violent shudder tossed the shuttle from side to side, sending the tray and pieces of fruit into the air.
"Data, what's going on?" Beverly screamed over the sound of the red alert klaxon, bracing herself between the other two officers.
"I do not know. Sensors are picking up a sudden increase in-"
Data's voice trailed off as the shaking worsened, and then suddenly, a blinding wave of light enveloped the entire cabin. It lasted exactly three-point-nine seconds, and when it as over, all three inhabitants of the shuttle were unconscious.
Everything was exceptionally dark and quiet in the shuttle, and Beverly could feel by the lack of vibrations that they were floating dead in space.
"Bad choice of words," she chastised herself silently, groaning as she tried to straighten up from the position on the floor where she had been tossed.
She tried to shake her head to gain some clarity, but something didn't feel right. Her body was aching and her head was pounding, and when she went to rub her temples, she didn't feel skin. She gasped when she realized what she felt was metal, and her panic-stricken fingers danced across the front of her face only to find that she was wearing Geordi's visor. With a sense of dread, she reached the top of her head and found that her cascading mane of long hair was gone. Unable to make sense of what she was feeling or of the images she was seeing through the device, she cleared her throat to speak.
"What the hell just happened?"
Overcome by the realization that she was speaking with a voice that was not hers, she watched as across the cockpit her own body straightened up and looked around in confused wonder before opening its mouth to respond to her.
"Doctor, it seems that we have somehow become…displaced…by a phenomenon of unknown origin," answered Data, who touched his throat when he realized where his reply was coming from and then looked down at the pale, feminine hands that were now under is control.
A few feet away from them, a soft mumble came from where Data's body was slumped over the controls.
"Did anyone catch the registry number of whatever that was that hi-" Geordi gasped as he caught his reflection in the window in front of him and realized that he was speaking with Data's voice. "Oh my god!"