Big Doors

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This is an AU story.

Chapter Two: A Lot More Complicated

Deanna Troi sat wide-eyed as her shipmates related what had happened down on Vagra II while she was trapped in the crashed shuttle. The near-deaths of both Tasha and Will, the unthinkable situation the thing had forced Data into, everything up to the moment when she and Picard had finally figured out how to defeat the horrid creature. "My God, I can't stop thinking about how many people almost died today. I put so many people in danger, just for a conference!"

"Deanna," Will cut her off sharply, "you didn't put us in danger. That creature did. You had no way of knowing this was going to happen, and more to the point, nothing did happen. Everyone's fine, physically anyway. Emotionally - well, you being ship's counselor and all, I might suggest you clear your calendar for the next few weeks."

"I really ought to check on Tasha," she commented. "Coming that close to death can shake a person up, even a person as stubborn and resilient as our Chief of Security. Is she still in Sickbay?"

Will shook his head. "No. She was released hours ago. Actually, I'm surprised she's not here yet. Or Data, for that matter, and he couldn't lose track of time if he wanted to. I wonder what's keeping them."

"Speak of the devil." Geordi nodded towards the door of Ten-Forward, which had just opened to admit the two officers Will had just been talking about. The pair spotted the rest of the senior staff and made a beeline for the table.

"Can we join you?" Tasha asked unnecessarily, already well on her way to sitting down in the one empty seat at the table.

"Of course," Will answered anyway. "Data, pull up a chair - I mean," he added quickly, remembering a story he'd heard about the android's time at Starfleet Academy, "you'll need to borrow a chair from another table."

"I have become familiar with the use of that idiom in the years since my well-publicized misunderstanding," the android replied, but he didn't appear affronted as he stepped across to a nearby table.

The senior staff were far too familiar with Data to be surprised when he simply picked up a chair with one hand and carried it over to the table his friends occupied, sliding it in to sit between Tasha and Geordi. What did surprise them, however, was the way that he laid his hand on the table, palm-up, as if expecting something. And they were even more shocked when Tasha giggled uncharacteristically, blushed a little, and placed her own hand in his.

"Data," Geordi asked, eyes going wide, "are you -?" He couldn't even finish the sentence.

Data seemed uncertain as to what the question referred to, but Tasha was able to read the engineer's question as clearly as if he'd spoken aloud. "Yes," she replied, unable to fully hide her excitement. "Geordi, I -"

But Geordi's face split into a grin. "I've been wondering how long it would take you two."

"You knew?" she asked incredulously. How much does he know?

Laughing, Will inadvertently answered the question on the Security Chief's mind. "Tasha, the only two people who didn't know were the two of you!"

So they don't know everything. Good. "Yeah, well, almost dying can have that effect." She tried to grin, but it was more of a grimace.

"Let's not go there." Will's expression matched Tasha's.

"Agreed," Geordi put in. "We're all here, so let's enjoy it. Come on, let's have another round of drinks. To Data and Tasha!"

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"There is something I do not understand. Perhaps you can assist me."

"Me?" Tasha repeated. "Explain something you don't understand? I doubt I'll be much help. I barely understand what's been happening to us."

The android appeared puzzled for a moment, then seemed to make the necessary connection. "I apologize. It appears I have not been entirely clear. I am, as you indicate, fully capable of understanding the nature of the time paradoxes that have been affecting the ship. The difficulty I am encountering relates to Captain Picard's reactions to Dr. Manheim's wife."

"Oh!" Tasha's eyes widened as she too fit the pieces together. "Okay, that I might be able to help with. What do you want to know?"

"By his own account, the Captain's relationship with Jenice Manheim was quite some time ago. She has been married to the Doctor for nearly twenty years. And yet, the interactions between the two of them have been quite...abnormal. At least, it seems so to me."

"It is so," she confirmed. "I've noticed it too. I suppose the difference is that I more or less expected it."

"You did?"

"Sure. Well, maybe not the exact details, but the general idea. You see, Data, human emotions - well, they have a habit of sticking around long after they're useful. I'm sure you've noticed it with me a time or two; even though I've been off my home planet for over ten years, I still occasionally experience emotional reactions based on that experience."

"I have noticed. You are saying that the situation between Captain Picard and Jenice Manheim is analogous?"

She considered for a moment. "Not perfectly so. But it's a good example to illustrate my point. Feelings linger, whether we want them to or not. And from what I've heard, the relationship between the two of them ended rather...abruptly. If that's so, it would make the situation even more complex for them."

"Why?"

The question brought Tasha up short. She knew the answer, in a sort of instinctive sense, but she'd never been called upon to put it into words before. "Well," she said after a moment, "I guess it all goes back to the human concept of closure."

"Closure." The android blinked as he often did when accessing his memory files. "Ah. A sense of resolution or conclusion."

"Exactly. When two people decide, mutually, to end a relationship, while it can be difficult, there can still be closure. The relationship has been concluded in a definitive way. It's like..." she searched her own brain for a reference he might understand. "Like reading an interesting book and coming to the end. It might be difficult or unpleasant to realize there's no more story left, but all the major plot lines have been resolved. But an abrupt breakup - an abrupt end to any relationship, romantic or otherwise - would be more like beginning to read a book only to find that it ends before the plot is resolved. You don't get a resolution."

"Ah." Another blink, this time assimilating the information into his neural net. "I believe I understand. Thank you."

She smiled. "Of course. Happy to help."

"I do have one more question, if it is not an imposition?"

"No. Go ahead."

"Regarding our upcoming mission to Pacifica. As I understand, it is a scientific survey. And yet, the level of excitement that I have witnessed is more appropriate to an approaching shore leave. I do not fully understand."

Tasha laughed. "Technically, you're right, it's a scientific survey. But Pacifica is a very idyllic place, and the nature of the survey means that just about everyone will get a chance to take a break and see what the planet has to offer. And this time," she added, "that 'everyone' will include you, Mr. Data. I intend to show you exactly why Pacifica is a planet to be excited about."

xxxxxxxxx

"It looks like debris." Tasha continued to examine the small objects on the screen. "From a ship."

"It could be one of those ships that was orbiting Dytallix," Will suggested.

It was a sobering thought. A top-security emergency call had diverted them from the much-anticipated mission to Pacifica, bringing them instead to this remote system to join three other Federation ships. And now, barely an hour later, it appeared that one of those three might have been reduced to space-borne rubble.

"We are in close proximity to that planet," Geordi pointed out.

"Identifying marks, Lieutenant?" Picard asked, turning to Tasha.

"No sir, but from the amount of debris here," she took a deep breath before completing a sentence she knew would devastate both the Captain and Beverly, "I'm sorry, it can only be the Horatio."

Beverly stood and stared at the viewscreen. Picard himself seemed numb with shock.

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"Captain, what's going on here?"

"What do you mean, Lieutenant?"

"Oh, come on, captain. First the Code 47, then the detour to Dytallix, then you lie to Beverly about what happened down on the planet - yes, I knew you were lying - then one of the same ships we saw in orbit of Dytallix is mysteriously destroyed, and now we're going back to Earth. Not to mention pulling Data off the bridge on a secret assignment."

"I suppose there's no point in trying to convince you it's all a series of coincidences?"

"No sir, there isn't."

"The answer is I'm not entirely sure. This actually started a few months ago with Admiral Quinn. He warned me about some kind of subversion. I'm sorry to say I wrote him off as overreacting. Then Walker called me -"

"It was him on the Code 47."

"Exactly. He asked me to meet him on Dytallix, and he too warned me about a conspiracy. The meeting was an absolute secret, which is why I told Beverly I hadn't seen him. Without giving away too much, I then asked Data to investigate Walker's claims that Starfleet Command was acting oddly. When the Horatio was destroyed, and then Data found information backing up Walker's claims, I decided to turn us around."

Tasha just stared at him, speechless.

"I must ask you, Lieutenant, not to discuss this with the crew. I have only told this to Commander Riker, Data, and now you."

"I'm honored that you did tell me, sir. Yes, I know I did ask, but you didn't have to answer."

"I know I can trust you, Lieutenant - Tasha. You've earned that trust."

"Thank you, sir."

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"He just fell?" Tasha was doubtful. Will had seemed almost panicked when he'd called for security - not consistent with a simple accident.

"That is what I said. Now if you'll excuse me, my time here is most limited."

"Admiral," Geordi jumped to his feet to intercept Quinn on his way out, "don't you think we should wait until the doctor gets here?"

He barely finished his question before the Admiral picked him up and threw him through the door.

Tasha reacted on pure instinct. Her phaser was instantly in her hand, and as Quinn turned to her, she fired. He stumbled back but recovered, shocking her. That should be enough to stun a Terran elephant. She fired again, this time not letting up until the Admiral finally crumpled to the carpet.

"What is going on in here?" Beverly walked in to see two of the room's occupants lying unconscious on the floor, the third in the hallway and just coming to, and Tasha, the only apparently unharmed member of the group, standing with her phaser trained on Quinn.

"He attacked Geordi, and probably Will too although we can't be sure until he wakes up." She noticed Geordi standing shakily in the doorway. "Are you all right?"

"If I could see, I'd be seeing stars," he remarked wryly, drawing smiles from Tasha and Beverly despite the severity of the situation.

"What exactly is happening around here?" Tasha wondered. This seemed to be fitting in perfectly with everything the captain had told her. "What's up with him?"

Beverly turned from where she was examining Will. "Let's find out."

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"Data, look at this."

"What is it?" Data looked over from the empty capsule he was examining.

"Look." Tasha pointed at the capsule she was standing in front of. "This one's intact."

"And this one," Data said, indicating another capsule. "And this." He was as close to excitement as an android could be.

"Commander Data, return to the Enterprise immediately." Will's voice came over the combadge.

"We have run into an unusual situation, sir," Data answered. "There are people on board. Frozen."

"Frozen? How many?"

"Three. The vehicle has suffered severe damage. Most of her systems have failed."

"Are you suggesting they should be transferred to the Enterprise?"

"I do not believe we should leave them here, sir," the android replied. "With your permission, we will be returning with three containers."

Will's sigh was audible over the open line. "Whatever you do, do it quickly."

"Oh, boy," Tasha mumbled as they prepared for transport. "We're going to have some explaining to do."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Captain, can I talk to you for a minute? There's something you should know."

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Picard was already stressed, but he knew Tasha wouldn't bother him unless it was important.

"You know that piece of space debris that was floating near the Starbase?"

"What about it?"

"Well Data wanted to go over and examine it, and we had time, so Commander Riker let him go and sent me with him. Well - there were three people on board, frozen in some kind of stasis. Right before you came aboard, Data requested and received permission to transfer them to the Enterprise."

"And you want me to do what exactly about it?"

"What you do, sir, is up to you," she replied. "I just figured you ought to hear this from me instead of through the grapevine, sir."

"I see. Thank you for telling me, Lieutenant." He tapped his combadge. "Mr. Data, report to the Observation Lounge, immediately."

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"I think our lives just became a lot more complicated."

"Agreed, Captain." Tasha looked around at the crew. "But I think we're ready for everything life throws at us. What do you say?"

"Agreed," Data answered.

"I'm with you," Geordi added.

"You bet," said Will.

"Absolutely," Deanna put in.

"I am ready." Worf seemed to stand even taller than usual.

Picard allowed a smile to cross his face. "I have full confidence in all of us. Now," he turned to Worf and indicated the twentieth-century financier, "get him off my bridge."

In this chapter I wanted to cover all the remaining episodes in Season One briefly; for the record, I will NOT be covering every single episode of the series in this fic. However, this will be a LONG fic, so this is your warning.

Most episodes from now on will be covered in more detail.

Thanks to konarciq for giving me the idea on how to start this chapter.

This chapter has undergone what will probably be one of the most extensive revisions of any chapter in this series. If you've read this before and it seems different, that's why.

Please review. I was very pleased with the number of reviews I got for the opener. Keep it up!