I may or may not go through and edit this again.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or Commander Data. He is his own man! :)
"Helmsman Frey to Doctor Gillard, I'm picking up something on our sensors. Some sort of energy reading. It's very faint."
"Frey, I know who you are. The crew isn't that big. You don't have to say Helmsman every time."
Dr. Serenity Gillard looked up from her research, rolling her eyes and brushing back a few stray strands of auburn hair. Her elaborate twisting hairstyle seem juxtaposition, far too adult to match her petite, almost ridiculously childlike frame as she prodded at test tubes far too impatiently for a woman in her thirties. For a woman who rarely took more than fifteen minutes to get ready in the morning, her fastidious hair had always been a source of much amusement and speculation among her team.
"Yes ma'am," came the stiff reply. Frey was one of the newer members of her team and still getting used to the casual way Serenity ran her ship.
Biting her lip, she considered the implications of the sensor readings. She'd instructed her crew to navigate them slowly through the Yimmeran Asteroid Belt while she and her small team of assistants investigated a selection of anomalous compounds dotted throughout this vast field of space debris. The bridge crew, i.e. Frey, had been directed to scan for any further anomalies while they traversed this region. Perhaps this energy source would answer some questions.
"Show on screen," she instructed, turning to face the view screen that nearly took up an entire wall of the lab. It sprang to life, revealing the vast array of astronomical formations outside. At first she could discern nothing out-of-the-ordinary, but as she gazed at the image, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Increase size," she ordered eagerly, heart suddenly racing at the possibilities. She heard a small gasp from one of her assistants, and turned to see what the tall blonde Bajoran had discovered. "What is it Sherri?"
"Doctor, if I'm not very much mistaken, I believe these readings are positronic."
A grin slowly spread across Serenity's face as she turned back to study the image once more. The angle was odd, so she couldn't be certain, but if she was right...
"Gillard to Daniels."
"Daniels here. What can I do for you, Doctor?"
"The bridge crew found something of interest. Beam it directly to my lab, if you would."
"On it."
Moments later, the whirring of a transporter beam filled the lab. She watched with barely contained enthusiasm as the object materialized within the protective force field. She approached the platform as the item thereon was scanned for harmful substances. Scan completed, the forcefield dropped, and she reached out to examine their findings.
What little skin remained was mostly burned, melted, or peeled off and only a smattering of badly singed hair remained. Closed, mostly intact eyelids hid the orbs beneath. Under all this, lay a network of electronics so complex all the greatest minds of the scientific community had itched for just an opportunity to observe them, much less study them.
"Doctor, is that...?" Sherri whispered in awe, not even daring to voice her suspicions.
"Yes, I believe it is. I'll have to study more in depth, but I think it is safe to say, this is most likely the head of a Soong-type android."
Collective gasps rang through the room.
"How? How is it here?" Devor, her Bolian stellar physics expert asked, leaning forward to examine it closer.
"Who knows. So very little is known about Noonian Soong's work. No one is even sure how many androids he attempted before finally succeeding with Commander Data."
The room fell introspective at Serenity's words. The news of the demise of Starfleet's one and only android had spread through the scientific community like wildfire, even reaching their remote little ship. There were rumors that another Soong-type android had been discovered, but Serenity had found no official records to that effect. And now, here she stood, looking into the face of one. The possibilities were overwhelming.
"Is it functioning?" Sherri asked, bringing Serenity's focus back to the present. "After all, the sensors picked it up because of an energy reading."
"Right, let's take a look. Stand back! I'm going to try some science!" Serenity set the head back on the platform with a flourish and began examining it, as her team simultaneously rolled their eyes, quite familiar with her dramatics. The head seemed dormant, and at first she could find nothing to account for the sensor readings. After nearly an hour of searching, Serenity called Daniels down to the lab. Maybe a new pair of eyes would see what they'd overlooked.
Barty Daniels was a monster of a man, with fiery red hair to match. As he stepped into the lab, it seemed to shrink to half its size. Despite the room feeling suddenly claustrophobic, Serenity watched him intently as he study the positronic brain. Doubling as their engineer and transport operator, Daniels had a way with machines that Serenity envied. Sure enough, a mere quarter of an hour later, he had their answer.
"Doctor, look at this."
Daniels stepped aside so she could gaze at the console he'd been working at. Serenity rubbed her eyes as she tried to make sense of the readouts.
"What am I seeing here?" She asked, wearily. She'd already been working for sixteen hours when they'd discovered the head, and the continuous work was beginning to strain her concentration. Even her boisterous nature could only drive her forward for so long. Daniels pointed at the consol as he explained.
"While most of the positronic brain appears to be shut down, there is a collection of circuits, here, that are functioning. What their particular function is, I can only speculate, but it would appear that at least on some level this is a working brain. What that level is, we'll have to study further to learn."
Serenity nodded as comprehension dawned and new life, a second wind, surged through her. The brain worked! Possibly incomplete, but it worked! Was there a chance here for her and her team to bring the next Soong-type android into existence? All thought of asteroid belt anomalies forgotten, she turned to her team virtually buzzing with excitement.
"Would it be possible to hook the brain up to the holodeck, to try to get an inside look at what's going on in there?" Serenity posed eagerly. "Who knows what knowledge may lie dormant there."
Sherri grinned broadly as her mind worked overtime considering their options.
"Daniels and I should be able to do that no problem, though I can't guarantee you'll find anything."
Serenity nodded.
"It's a place to start." Finally noticing the yawns and drooping eyes of her team, she added, "But first, rest. I'd hate for us to miss something important due to failing concentration. First thing tomorrow, we'll get that set up and see what we can find."
Serenity released a long, tired sigh as the door to her quarters slid shut behind her. A loud yowl stopped her moments from tripping over a ball of fluff winding imperatively between her legs. Scowling down at the beast, she groaned.
"One of these days, Fat Cat, you are going to send me sprawling to my death. Wouldn't that be a way to go: death by cat."
The grey striped feline released another plaintive yowl in response.
"Alright, alright. I'll feed you. Don't get your tail in a twist."
Picking carefully through a minefield of cat toys, carelessly discarded clothing, and a shredded paper or three, she made it safely to the replicator.
"Feline supplement 4." The small dish appeared and she set it down for the now desperately meowing furball. "Tea, Irish Breakfast with cream and sugar, hot."
Taking her cup of tea in hand, she swept a spread of dissertations and scientific journals off her armchair and sank into it gratefully. None of her team could understand how she drank such a caffeine-rich beverage before bed and still managed to get to sleep, but she'd never found it a problem. No, if anything doomed her sleep, it was her own mind, constantly trying to solve that next equation or turning over and over that next piece of material wondering what she'd missed.
As she sipped her tea, she thought tonight might prove to be just such a night. This discovery had opened up a whole new realm for them. They were stepping into territory that all the greatest scientific minds had been contesting over for decades.
Her tea finished, she cleared her cup and the cat's empty food bowl away. If Alba knew she'd once again only had tea for dinner, she'd go into full-tilt scolding mode. As both ship's medic and Serenity's closest friend, Alba had taken it upon herself to ascertain the Serenity's enthusiasm for work did not result in the neglect of her health. She was only limitedly successful.
Serenity stumbled towards her larger-than-necessary bed. There were certain advantages to having one's own ship. Despite her earlier worries, the moment her head hit the pillow, she was out for the night.
Her natural internal clock woke her bright and early as it did every morning (even on the days when sleeping in really would have been a nice change), and it was only then she realized she hadn't even remembered to change the night before. Rolling out of bed, she groaned as the tangle of sheets around her legs nearly sent her plummeting face-first into her closet. As it was, she managed to catch herself in time, pulling all the sheets still wrapped around her off the bed with her. An indignant meow announced that Fat Cat was none too pleased with being displaced, but she ignored him, working her feet free and setting about her early morning routine.
A mere fifteen minutes later, she met Daniels and Sherri on the holodeck. This had been the single most expensive feature of her top-of-the-line private research craft, but she had insisted on the best. On long treks across space, it had certainly proved worthy of the investment, and she hoped it would now prove its usefulness in a new way.
"There we go. That should do it," Daniels announced a short while later, looking very pleased with himself.
"Excellent," Serenity nodded. "Thanks for your help, Daniels. Feel free to return to engineering to finish the maintance I interrupted yesterday."
"Gee, thanks for the privilege," he chuckled. "Good luck."
As he left, Serenity turned to Sherri. "While I'm working on this, I'd like you to return to the lab and go over the information we collected yesterday. See if you can glean anything from it. And ask Devor to see if he can find out how it got here, where it originated, anything like that."
"On it," Sherri spun on her heel and headed for the lab. As she left, she shouted over her shoulder, "let me know if anything interesting happens. Don't keep all the fun to yourself, Doctor."
Serenity chuckled as the door slid closed, then turned to consider the head. There was a good chance that whatever activity was in the brain would not be translatable to holodeck information. She could flip the switch and find nothing. Then there would be nothing for it but to return to the lab and do it the old fashioned way: slowly and painstakingly. Or...
She flipped the switch on cable that connected the brain to the holodeck. For a brief moment, nothing happened and disappointment began to creep in, but it didn't have time to take hold. Suddenly, everything sprung to life.
She was in the corridor of a ship, Federation if she had to guess. The realism of this scene astounded her. What could it mean? At first, it was completely still with no signs of life, but after a moment, she heard the sound of wings fluttering. Turning, she just barely glimpsed a large, black bird as it swooped over her head. Spinning back around, she gasped in shock at the sight that met her.
It was him. She was sure of it. She'd spent so many hours pouring over his files, every scrap of information she could dig up on him, that she was certain it could be no one else. Commander Data stood inquiringly before her, looking relaxed and surprisingly alive. You're on the holodeck, she reminded herself, but even knowing that, it was hard to remember this wasn't real.
"Hello," he greeted pleasantly, and she nearly jumped out of her skin in alarm. He was aware of her? Was this simply a projection put together by the holodeck based on a compilation of memories, or had she somehow tapped into a consciousness?
Finding her voice, she squeaked out, "Hello!" before coughing and trying again. "Hello, I'm Doctor Serenity Gillard. And you are?"
He looked contemplative as he gazed at her, but he didn't make her wait long for a reply. "I am Commander Data of the Starship Enterprise." He seemed to consider a moment (which was fine by her as her mind reeled at the confirmation of her suspicions) before continuing. "Are you an acquaintance of my father, Doctor Noonian Soong?"
"No, I never had the pleasure of meeting your father, though I've avidly studied his works."
His brow pulled down in a frown as he processed this.
"Then I suppose this is not the afterlife, either."
She shook her head in confirmation, confused.
"No, this isn't the afterlife. At least I certainly hope the afterlife is nothing like this," she mused, gazing around at the sterile, bland starship interior. What a rotten afterlife this would be. Her brows furrowed as she registered what he'd asked. "Wait, you believe in an afterlife?"
He shrugged, "I had not ruled out the possibility." His expression grew slightly more wary as he observed her closer, "If you did not know my father, and I am not dead, may I ask, why are you here? How did you get here?"
Deciding she wanted some answers as well, she asked a question of her own instead.
"Where is here?"
He looked a little put off by her deflection, but answered her anyway as he contemplated their surroundings.
"This would appear to be a deck of the Enterprise." He paused, then continued. "And since it would seem this is not the afterlife, I believe I am dreaming." He cocked his head as he studied her, and she shifted uncomfortably under his piercing gaze. It was like he could see right through her. Perhaps he could. "I do not recall ever seeing you before, so why are you in my dream?" he reiterated, more firmly.
She suspected he was thinking out loud, since he seemed to be searching himself for the answer to this question. But how was this even possible? She was not aware he could dream. Though know that she thought about it...hadn't a Dr. Bashir written about something to this effect? It had been years since she'd skimmed the article. Could that really be what this was? And if so, then some part of Data was still functional, trapped inside his own mind. If she could repair the positronic brain, rebuild his body, perhaps she could bring him back.
The thought shook her to the core.
What an opportunity! What a privilege! What a challenge...
Pulling herself together, she decided to answer his questions after all. If he could be convinced to believe her, perhaps he could even assist her.
"We linked your positronic brain to the holodeck and were able to tap into your..." what? Consciousness? Programming? He seemed to understand, so she left it at that.
"You have tapped into my dreams?"
The way he said it made her squirm. Any normal person would see this as a huge invasion of privacy. Perhaps, she should have kept her mouth shut after all. But he was a machine. Could he even feel like his privacy was invaded?
"That is conceivable," he nodded. "It would not be the first time such a procedure has been used." He did not seem offended at least. "However, it is also possible that this is simply another dream, and my own mind has constructed this scenario. There is no way for me to know unless I awaken."
Steeling herself, she prepared to deliver the bad news. How much should she tell him? If a human were told their body had been torn apart and they existed only in the dream portion of their brain, it would doubtless drive them mad. But he was an android. She had no way of predicting how he would take it.
"I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment. It appears that your body was...destroyed," she said hesitantly. His expression remained simply curious, so she continued. "We found your...erm...head floating in an asteroid belt. Your brain appears to be severally damaged. It will be some time before I'm able to repair it. It is a wonder any of you survived at all."
His eyes seemed to move rapidly back and forth as he processed this. His expression serious, he asked, "Do you have experience working with cybernetics, specifically, positronic brains?"
She gnawed on her lip as she decided how to answer him. "Well, I got my doctorate in cybernetics and have been studying it intensively for many years. However information on positronics is hard to come by. I've study what I could find, but I'm certainly not the expert Dr. Soong was. I have a full team at my disposal, though, some of whom are very talented with mechanics and computers. And all are quick learners. With the appropriate resources, I certainly think getting you functional again is feasible. The greatest challenge will be finding those resources. The amount of Dr. Soong's research that made it into the scientific community is heartbreakingly minimal."
Data nodded in agreement.
"As it seems I have little choice but to rely on you for my recovery - assuming this ismore than a simple dream - then perhaps I can assist you in that respect. I have a great deal of information stored in my memory, and what you cannot find there, I can direct you to where it can be found. All I ask is that you make no changes to me without my consent. Though, as it appears I am at your mercy, I have no way of preventing you from doing so."
She rushed to assuage his concerns. "It's your body. I won't do anything you find unwelcome, and I'll make sure my team follows my lead. I just hope we are successful for your sake."
"As do I."
With his guidance, she spent the next several hours attempting to access his memory bank, which, as it turned out, was far more complicated than she'd anticipated. Many of the circuits connecting to the memory bank had been damaged, so finding a way to access the information without corrupting the memories was a significant hurdle. It seemed they'd finally stumble upon a viable solution, when Serenity's stomach growled loudly in protest.
Data laughed softly, surprising her. It was a pleasant sound, astonishingly...human. It transformed his face, made him much more personable. A jarring change, he was not quite the stoic android she'd expected.
"Unlike me, Dr. Gillard, you require regular consumption of food to focus clearly," Data informed her pointedly, and for a moment she wondered if he was being dryly humorous. His face, however, seemed as guileless as ever. "I would suggest we reconvene after you have eaten and sufficiently rested. If what you say is true, I will still be here in the morning."
She was about to protest, but as she opened her mouth, she released a great yawn instead, rendering any argument mute. Smiling sheepishly at him, she nodded. "Very well, I suppose you're right."
She looked around the dreamscape once more, this corridor of a place he'd occupied for many years. Her eyes slowly fell back on him. He stood relaxed, calm, and broad-shouldered in his uniform, seemingly unphased by the turn his life had taken. Was he as impervious to fear of death as it seemed? Regardless, she felt a tugging on her heart at the thought of leaving him here on his own, trapped in his dreams all night, with no option to awaken should they overwhelm him. It was a silly feeling. He was an android; she didn't even know if he could be disturbed by dreams. He looked quite capable and unconcerned. He certainly didn't need her worrying over him. Taking a deep breath, she offered him a parting smile.
"Sweet dreams, Commander."
She turned to go, but was stopped by his soft voice.
"Data. I would appreciate it if you would call me Data. As we will be spending a great deal of time together, I hope we will be friends, if that is agreeable to you."
Her eyes widened as she looked at him. Friends? She'd been so focused on him as a project, her next step into scientific greatness, that she had not considered this. It wasn't an unpleasant idea. He looked alarmingly vulnerable as he awaited her response, and she wondered if perhaps more was going on in those electrical synapses of his than she'd considered.
"I would like that too," she reassured him with a smile, before adding humorously, "Sweet dreams, Data."
"Goodnight, Dr. Gillard."
As she prepared to flip off the holodeck connection, she corrected him over her shoulder.
"Serenity."
Something about the tone of his voice made her feel warm all the way down to her toes as he said, "Goodnight...Serenity."
She flipped the switch before he could catch the unexplained blush on her cheeks. The holodeck returned to the blank black grid, empty but for the head still sitting on a platform linked to the console. Coughing into the stillness and wondering why she suddenly felt self-conscious, she gave the head a quick examination, ascertaining that he was still dreaming away, undisturbed.
Impulsively, she leaned over and pressed her lips to an exposed plate on his forehead.
"I'll get you out of there. I promise."
"Now that's not creepy or anything," a dry voice observed from the exit. Alba leaned casually against the arch with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression. Serenity flushed in embarrassment, feeling foolish for her strange act of sentimentality.
"Just thought I'd take your advice," she joked, trying to deflect attention from her discomfort.
"Oh yeah? And what advice is that?" Alba eyed her disbelievingly.
"Well, you're always telling me I need to find love. Or at least a lover. Something about being sexually repressed wasn't it?" Now Serenity raised an eyebrow of her own as she walked through the exit. "Well, I figured who better than a robot. I mean I spend all my time with them anyway. Should be easy to find something to talk about, right?"
"You're hopeless," Alba groaned, to which Serenity replied with a snarky grin. "I'm going back to the medbay. Eat some real dinner tonight, won't ya?"
"Yeah, yeah," Serenity waved her off as they parted ways.
Before making her way to her quarters, she stopped by the lab to see what Sherri and Devor accomplished.
"So, I guess it worked, since we haven't seen hide nor hair of you all day," Sherri observed, turning from her console with an intensely curious gleam in her eyes. A surprising surge of protectiveness filled Serenity. She wasn't ready to share her time with Data just yet. Eventually she would need to, but not yet. For just awhile, she'd let it be her secret.
Shrugging off-handedly, she waved dismissively. "I managed to tap into some information. I think I might have a feasible means of accessing the memory banks without damaging them. That will be my project tomorrow. What about you two? Learn anything useful?"
Devor answered first. "After hours of scanning and extrapolating I have no clearer idea of where it came from than when I started. There is simply too little information. I was able to deduce, by the lack of build-up accumulated, that it hasn't been here in the belt for more than a couple years. But where it was before then, I can only guess."
Serenity nodded, unsurprised. After learning who the head belonged to, she had a pretty good guess where it came from. She turned her eyes to Sherri instead.
"I was mostly just able to confirm what we already suspected. It is a fairly complete, if badly damaged, positronic brain of a Soong-type android. It will take a great deal of work, but with some patience and accurate resources, I believe there is a good chance of us restoring it. Whether this was a part of a complete, fully-functional android we aren't exactly certain, but it does seem to have that potential."
All things Serenity also knew. Brows furrowing in thought, she considered their next steps.
"I may have some idea where to get the resources we need. For now, let's set a course for Omicron Theta. It will take some time to get there, but hopefully by the time we do, we'll have a better idea what we have to work with."
"Excuse me, Doctor, but we don't know specifically where on Omicron Theta Dr. Soong's lab was. Without any hint as to its location, we could spend days looking for it to no avail," Sherri interjected.
"If I can tap into these memory banks, I suspect I'll be able to find the location of Dr. Soong's lab. If not, we'll consider our options from there. Starfleet might have records of its whereabouts, so with a little careful hacking, we might discover it that way." At the apprehensive looks on her teammates' faces she added, "As a last resort, of course."
Giving their new heading to the helmsman, she called it a night and made for her quarters. Usually she tried to make a point of eating in the general mess as much as possible to socialize and interact with her team whenever she had the chance. Today she felt little inclination to join the others, too full of thoughts and introspections.
Besides, she was too tired to fight off Faren's advances. Their ship's resident counselor/cultural expert/people-person had been desperately trying to garner her affections for years now, and it was exhausting. For the expert listeners that his people supposedly were, he sure didn't know how to take "No".
Fat Cat was as hazardous and plaintive as always as she stepped into her rooms. He fixed her with a berating scowl before trotting over, belly swinging beneath him, to sit poignantly under the replicator. Obediently, she ordered his dinner, offering it to him before deciding on her own evening meal, taking Alba's advice for once.
Inhaling her beef stew and bread, far hungrier than she'd realized, she considered her plans for the next day with anticipation. She'd only just met the android, and already she was eager to learn all she could about him and from him. He was a wealth of knowledge and insight, and he must have such a unique perspective on human behavior. The things she could learn from him!
Anxious for the new day, she prepared for bed, climbed beneath the covers, and forced herself to relax. There would be ample time for speculation later. For now, she needed sleep, lest the perpetually sleeping android send her back to bed when she rejoined him in the morning.
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