"I'm glad we're together now. Our destiny's complete."
As Data strolled onto the main bridge of the Scimitar, he discovered that there wasn't a single being left alive. There had been a brutal firefight. Bodies of Reman soldiers littered the floor and Data did a quick scan to see if the Captain was one of them. He was not.
One minute to firing sequence.
Data looked over to discover that the main console to see that the weapon was fully charged and preparing to fire. He didn't have a lot of time.
Thalaron intermix level completed.
Data looked over his shoulder and up at the level above him. He could see the glowing green light from the room above and it was clear that's where the Thalaron intermix was taking place. The android dashed up the stairs as quickly as he could and when Data entered the room, he could tell there was something wrong.
Picard had just murdered someone. While it was likely in self defense, Data could tell that killing his own clone and the act itself had left his Captain in the state of shock. Picard had been so devastated to what he had just done that he couldn't find the words as he looked over at Data and stared at him with an absent look on his face. It was at this moment that Data was convinced that he had made the right decision. Picard had come onboard to make the ultimate sacrifice for his crew but no longer had the ability to fulfill his duty. The android had come to the conclusion that it was time for him to take over and finish the job.
Data came over to where Picard was standing. The corpse of Shinzon was leaning against the Captain and had a sharp instrument thrust through him. Data grabbed the dead clone and pulled him off the Captain, tossing him aside.
Thirty seconds to firing sequence.
The stood there for a few seconds and said nothing. Data reached out and placed the emergency transporter tag on his Captain. As Picard was in the process of being beamed off the ship, Data could see the look of surprise in his face as he discovered that Data was assuming command of his suicide mission. Data stood there with a blank look on his face as the Captain dematerialized into thin air and was gone.
"Good bye." Data said out loud even though the Captain was already gone.
Ten, nine, eight, seven…
Time was running out and Data was clear on what had to be done. At this point he had either two choices: take out the ship and himself or watch the Enterprise and those he cared for be destroyed. To him there wasn't much of a choice and that was the reason he had jumped over there to begin with. He walked over to the tall green beam of light, pointed his phaser at it… and fired.
Data was aware that it was over. He would cease to exist in less than two seconds as the Thalaron chamber began to chain-react and destroy the ship. Still convinced that he had made the right decision, Data closed his eyes and waited for the end to come to him.
But nothing happened.
Data paused and knew very well by the timing in his system that he should no longer exist. The blast should have taken him by now but he was still functioning. He had no idea what was going on.
"Data." a voice suddenly called out to him.
"What is going on?" Data asked. "Am I dead?"
"Far from it my friend." the voice answered. "Open your eyes."
Data had done as he was asked and slowly opened his eyes. It took only a few Mila-seconds for him to realize what had happened. He was no longer aboard the Scimitar and had been transported to another vessel, which would explain why he was still fully functional. While it would have taken a normal person a few moments to realize what had happened, Data's positronic brain required much less time to figure out where he was. He had only been on this vessel once before but that had been a very, very long time ago. He turned around and saw someone else he had also not seen in many years: Tam Elbrun.
"Welcome back Data." Tam said as he walked over and placed a friendly hand on the antroid's shoulder. "It's good to see you again."
"How did you know I was in distress?" Data asked.
"This was not my doing." Tam said as he strolled around the bridge. "During your brief visit here, it appears you made quite an impression on Gomtuu. Enough of one where it became too much for us to stand by and do nothing while you met your demise."
"I do not understand." Data replied said as he lowered his phaser and put it back into its holster. "How did you have advance knowledge of what would happen?"
Tam Elbron cracked a sly grin. "We have been keeping an eye on you for quite some time Data. Well Gomtuu has been doing that for quite some time now and we had no intention of taking you away from the ship until it was truly your time to go. When we discovered when that time was, we swooped in at the very last moment and transported you here just before the Scimitar exploded."
"Why?" Data asked.
"We like you, Data." Tam said with a hint of affection in his voice. "And the thought of allowing fate to take you away from this universe repulsed Gomtuu and I greatly. You are too unique to let go so easily."
"I have to be returned to the Enterprise." Data ordered. "That is where I belong."
"We can't do that." Tam replied. "It was where you belonged. As far as everyone is concerned, you perished on the Scimitar. We cannot mess with time and space like that Data. Your sudden reappearance in public would bring some unwanted attention to Gomtuu and I and we can't have that. The price for your rescue is to become a permanent member of our crew, unless you prefer we send you back to the Scimitar?"
"No." Data quickly answered as he began to analyze how he had responded thus far to his rescue. "I appreciate the efforts you and Gomtuu have made on my behalf."
"You're welcome my friend." Tam said as he relaxed. There was a loud rumbling and suddenly a second chair rose out of Gomtuu's floor beside Tam's own spot. "Have a seat, Data."
Data paused for a moment, unaware of what he should do. Even thought he Betazoid could not read his head, it was obvious to him what was going on. "Data, this was your time to move on. We just decided to transfer you to a location that was more convenient for you than death. Life is going to carry one just fine without you, but Gomtuu and I need you here now."
Data didn't like the idea of being on Gomtuu, the alien vessel known to the federation as 'Tin Man' for the remainder of his days, but the android had to accept what Tam said was right: life had moved on without him. It was his fate to no longer be on the Enterprise and that was his doing. He shouldn't be upset at Tam and Gomtuu for expanding that life a little longer even if it was going to take him from the Federation and his friends. Data paused for a moment and then walked over to the other chair, and sat down.
As Data took a seat, Tam looked over at him. "I need to ask you about something Data."
"What would you like to know?" Data returned with a question of his own.
"When you fired your phaser at the Thalaron chamber and destroyed the ship." Tam started. "I was surprised by the last thing you did just seconds before you were supposed to perish: you closed your eyes."
"Why would that surprise you?" Data asked him.
"It was the last thing I expected you to do before your expected demise." Tam observed. "It was a very human response to one's mortality."
"Thank you." Data suddenly said.
"Our pleasure." Tam said as he smiled. "And welcome aboard."