Big Doors
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This is an AU story.
Chapter Twelve: Torn Asunder
"Loading is complete." Data's voice came over the comm. "I am proceeding with departure. Enterprise shuttlebay two, prepare for docking. Level one precautions for incoming material remain in effect."
"Shuttle twelve containment field reads nominal," Geordi reported. "Now leaving the Jovis."
"On viewer," Picard ordered. The entire bridge crew saw the shuttle pull clear of the ship.
"Containment field stable. Gravitational fluctuations within acceptable parameters. Flight pattern -"
Geordi broke off suddenly as the shuttle flared up without warning and was enveloped in a fireball. Will and the captain both jumped from their seats, and everyone stared at the viewscreen. The flames had subsided and they could see what was left of the shuttle. It was a skeleton.
Tasha couldn't think. She couldn't even breathe. Data could have survived the shuttle breaking apart, but there was nothing left of it. She vaguely heard Worf say something, but it didn't register.
"Worf, take over," Geordi said quickly. Normally, Worf would have protested being given orders by someone who wasn't a direct superior, but in this situation he understood. He quickly took over the tactical console as Geordi pulled the Chief of Security into his arms.
"Data -" she whispered numbly. "Data -"
"Why didn't the containinment field hold?" Will demanded.
"Unknown, sir."
Tasha was still oblivious to what was going on around her. She leaned back against Geordi's chest, clutching at the arms around her waist as if trying to find something solid to cling to in a world that seemed to be spinning around her.
Picard had called up Fajo on the screen and was talking to him. Outwardly, he appeared calm, but everyone on the bridge could tell that this was tearing him apart. He terminated the connection and ordered a course laid in.
"Captain," Geordi said softly, nodding towards Tasha, who was still standing numbly in his arms.
Picard quickly took stock of the problem. "Lieutenant, can I see you in my ready room?"
"Yes, sir." She followed him in.
"I'm sorry, sir," she blurted out as soon as the door was closed. "I checked everything, double-checked it, triple-checked it! I don't know how I could have missed anything! I don't -"
"Tasha. Stop."
"Sir?"
"I didn't call you in here to reprimaind you. Sit down."
Mutely, she did as he asked.
"It is the job of the captain to break the news of a death to the family of the deceased. I regret that in this instance I was not able to do so."
"We weren't family -"
"You loved him. You lived with him, and you are the mother of his child. That counts as family in my book." He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "I want to know if there's anything I can do for you."
"How am I going to tell her?"
Picard didn't even have to ask who "her" was. "I'll tell her. Why don't you go to your quarters and I'll send her up to you?" He gently pulled her into his arms then. "You can return to duty when you feel ready. I'm leaving this up to you."
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"Captain!" To say the teacher was surprised to see him there would have been an understatement. She had almost never seen him make an unscheduled visit.
"I need to speak with Miss Yar." Simple. To the point. No trace of the anguish he felt underneath.
"She's in the middle of -"
"I'm afraid this can't wait. Do you have a place where we could speak in private?"
A look of realization passed over the teacher's face. When she spoke again, it was one word. "Who?"
"Her father."
"Wait in here. I'll get her."
It was only a moment before the teacher returned with the young woman in tow. "I'll leave you two alone."
"Captain?"
"Sit down, Lal."
She did, immediately, just as her father would have. It brought a lump to Picard's throat.
"Lal," he began slowly, "there's something I need to tell you, something I truly wish I didn't have to say. There's been an accident. Your father was killed."
"How?"
"A shuttle explosion."
"Where is my mother?"
"She's in your quarters. Do you want me to walk you there?"
"No. I will find my own way."
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Tasha sat on the couch, curled into a tiny ball. She still couldn't believe Data was gone. Any second, he would wake her up and announce that this had all been a dream. Any second, he'd walk into the room and -
The door chimed. Tasha jumped. "Come in!" Part of her expected to see Data, and she looked up eagerly. But it was only Lal, looking sadder and more lost than Tasha had ever seen her, even when she'd thought she was being taken away.
"Mother?"
Without a word, Tasha gathered her daughter in her arms and clung to her tightly. She could feel Lal clutching her in return. She didn't care that Lal's grip was almost tight enough to be painful. She never wanted to let go of her child, Data's child, the only thing she had left of the man she'd so loved.
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"Lieutenant, there is something I wish to show you."
"For God's sake, Worf, now?"
"You are not doing anything. Lal is occupied. I don't see why we shouldn't do it now."
"Fine."
"Follow me." He led her down to the holodeck. "Computer, run program Worf Seventeen."
"Program complete. Enter when ready."
"Worf, this is a callisthenics program."
"Very astute." He lifted a bat'leth and handed it to her. "Computer, begin program."
A holographic monster appeared, and Tasha swung the weapon. It struck back and the two of them began to fight. Worf, at her side, began fighting his own monster.
Nearly twenty minutes later, the program concluded. Tasha wiped sweat out of her eyes and pushed her hair back. "I'll give you this much. You know how to program a good fight."
"I am impressed. The program was set to my own level of difficulty. You performed surprisingly well."
"Wait till I tell Data about this!" She laughed, then gasped in sudden pain as the day's events came back to her. She let the bat'leth fall and dropped to her knees.
"How could I have forgotten? He's dead, gone, I'll never be able to tell him." With that, she let the tears fall."God, I'd give anything to get him back."
Worf knelt beside her, placing one hand gently on her back. "That was the intention. I believed it would be constructive for you to forget your grief for a brief time."
"You're right. It was." She continued after a moment. "I hadn't cried, you know. Until now."
"It is good for you."
She smiled slightly and let him help her up. "I owe you one for this."
"You owe me nothing," he insisted. "It is what friends do."
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"Tasha? Tasha, can you hear me?"
"Huh?" Tasha lifted her head from the pillow and tried to clear the sleep from her mind.
"Tasha, you and Lal need to come down to Engineering, now."
"Geordi, it's late."
"I know. I'll explain when you get down here."
The tone in her friend's voice left no room for argument. In less than five minutes, Tasha was dressed and sitting in Engineering with her daughter, Data's closest friend, and the closest thing she had to a baby brother.
"I missed something," Geordi explained, "something big. Computer, replay shuttle audio transmission time index zero zero one six . This is Data's first trip from the Jovis to the Enterprise. "
"Loading is complete. I am proceeding with departure." Data's voice came over the speaker, and Tasha felt like someone had plunged a knife into her already aching heart. "Enterprise shuttlebay two, prepare for docking. Level one precautions remain in effect. Shuttle has cleared the Jovis cargo bay."
"Computer, now replay shuttle audio transmission time index zero four two three," Geordi ordered. "This is Data's second trip."
"Loading is complete. I am proceeding with departure. Enterprise shuttlebay two, prepare for docking. Level one precautions remain in effect. Shuttle has cleared the Jovis cargo bay."
"Sounds just like the first trip," Wesley pointed out.
"Exactly the same," Geordi agreed. "That's protocol. And that's Data, following protocol to the letter. Okay, computer, now replay shuttle audio transmission, time index zero four three nine. Third and final trip."
"Loading is complete. I am proceeding with departure. Enterprise shuttlebay two, prepare for docking. Level one precautions remain in effect."
"That's it," Geordi explained. "That's the last communication."
"He didn't report the shuttle clearing the cargo bay of the Jovis." Wesley clearly realized now what Geordi had seen.
"Of course, there really wasn't any reason for him to make voice contact. He knew we'd be monitoring his position. Any other pilot might not bother, but Data, not following standard procedures?"
"What do you think it means?"
"I'm not sure, Wes. I suppose he could've been too busy. Maybe he saw something was wrong."
"Without communicating it?" Wesley shook his head. "That doesn't sound like Data either."
"Which means maybe something was wrong with him. But there's no other indication of that. Nothing he said or did during the entire mission. None. I sure wish I could talk to the last people who saw him alive."
Tasha gasped suddenly. "Damn it, I am such an idiot! Geordi, we need to talk to the Captain, now."
"Tasha, what are you talking about?"
"I'll explain later. Trust me. Computer, locate Captain Picard."
"Captain Picard is in his ready room."
"Come on, Geordi, let's go." She sprinted for the nearest turbolift with him hot on her heels. He knew her well enough to know that whatever was going on, it was serious.
In a few seconds, she was on the bridge and ringing for entry into the Captain's Ready Room. He looked up as they came in. "Tasha. I didn't expect to see you on the bridge so soon. Geordi, I told you to get some rest."
"Captain, I think Data is alive," Tasha blurted out without preamble.
"What?"
"I think Data is alive."
"And what brought about this sudden realization?" Picard didn't really want to dismiss what Tasha was saying, but he wasn't sure she was in a position to think objectively about the situation.
"There was something off about this whole situation from the start, but I couldn't put my finger on it until just now. Isn't it just a little odd that the amount of hytritium Data brought in on his two completed runs was exactly enough to neutralize the tricyanate? And that the particular contamination we're dealing with can only be reversed with one rare substance, which happens to be too unstable to transport? And the Jovis just happened to have it in the amount we needed? And the Enterprise just happened to be the closest ship to the Jovis, which normally wouldn't arouse any suspicion, but if I'm right it wasn't by chance."
"Tasha, all the evidence at this point is completely circumstantial."
"I know. But what I'm about to say isn't. Captain, Fajo's not just a trader, he's also a noted collector of rare and valuable items. What better prize for a collector than the only sentient android ever created, or at least the only one that Fajo knows of? Captain, Geordi said himself that there's no viable explanation for the accident. And just recently, we realized that on his last run, Data never reported the shuttle clearing the cargo bay. Anyone else might not have bothered, but Data? What if he wasn't on that shuttle? What if Fajo kidnapped him and sabotaged the shuttle on purpose to make it look like Data was dead?"
"She's right, Captain." Geordi had finally gotten over his shock enough to speak. "It all makes sense. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than a shuttle accident under the conditions we had set up."
Picard sat in silence for a long moment. "Lieutenant," he asked finally, "are you ready to return to duty?"
"Yes, sir."
"There is a Runabout-class vessel in Shuttlebay two. Mr. La Forge, you and the Lieutenant take the craft and return to the site of the shuttle explosion. Avoid confrontation at all costs. Just rescue Mr. Data, arrest Mr. Fajo, take his ship, and get out of there."
"Sir, I think Ensign Crusher should accompany us. He was also involved in making this discovery, and we may end up needing an extra hand."
"All right, Lieutenant. Now get out of here before we waste any more time."
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"Dropping out of warp," Wesley announced.
"Look." Geordi indicated the vessel they could see still holding position near the crash site. "The Jovis."
"Computer, scan the Jovis for android and Zibalian life signs. If Fajo did kidnap Data, we want the computer to have a lock on him," she added at Wesley's questioning look.
"One android and one Zibalian located."
"Yes!" The three occupants of the runabout hugged excitedly.
"Come on," Tasha said finally. "We've still got a job to do. Wes, take the helm. Geordi, you and I need to set up in back. Phasers on maximum stun."
"Yeah, you've only mentioned the phaser setting five times," Geordi grumbled jokingly, too thrilled to be really upset.
They quickly positioned themselves at angles to the transporter pad, phasers pointed at the place where their newfound enemy would be materializing.
"All right, Wes," Tasha called. "We're ready. Just give the command."
"Computer, lock on to the two life forms and beam them aboard."
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"Have you ever seen one of these, Data?" Fajo asked, pulling a weapon from a secret compartment.
"It is a disruptor." Data was never one to mince words, certainly not with a man like Fajo.
"Well, no," Fajo corrected. "It's a prototype for a Varon-T disruptor."
"The Varon-T disruptor is banned in the Federation."
"Oh, yes." This didn't seem to bother Fajo in the slightest. "They only manufactured five of them. I own four. I sleep with one under my pillow at night, and I sleep very well knowing it's there too. Do you know why?"
"It is a most lethal weapon." Again, a basic statement of fact.
"It's not just lethal. It's vicious. It tears a body apart, inside out, and very slowly too by your phaser standards. It's tortuous. A very, very painful death. I've always wanted-" Fajo broke off when he felt a transporter take hold of him. "What the hell?"
Fajo and Data rematerialized on the runabout's transporter pad to find two phasers pointed at them. As soon as their wielders realized who was who, the weapons were immediately turned to point at Fajo.
"Kivas Fajo," Tasha announced in a voice that suggested she was enjoying every second, "you're under arrest for kidnapping a Starfleet officer. Don't bother with your weapon," she added, "it was deactivated during transport."
"That weapon is banned in the Federation," Data pointed out.
"Is it?" Tasha seemed even happier with this piece of news. "I wonder what else he has that he shouldn't. Geordi, help me secure him in the cabin."
"With pleasure."
Fajo had clearly decided that trying to resist two armed officers was a bad idea; at any rate, he allowed himself to be marched to the cabin and locked in. As soon as the Zibalian had been secured, Data found his arms full of Tasha.
"Oh, God," she whispered into his shoulder. "I thought you'd been killed."
"I am all right." He gently patted her back. "How did you locate me?"
"Fajo covered his tracks well, but not well enough." Geordi was grinning his head off. "I realized that you'd never announced the shuttle clearing the Jovis cargo bay. Once Tasha heard that, she was able to put the rest of it together."
"I am grateful. Fajo's ship was not a pleasant place."
"Ah, that reminds me." Geordi couldn't believe he'd forgotten. "We're under orders to seize the Jovis and anything she's carrying. Wes, bring us into the Jovis' shuttle bay."
"Yes, sir!"
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"It hurt so much," Tasha whispered. "When I saw the shuttle blow up, it was like having a piece of me ripped away."
"Which piece?"
"It's an expression." She laughed, not half as exasperated as she might have been under other circumstances. "God, I've missed you."
She pulled him in for another kiss, and another. Without really realizing it, her fingers had slipped to the zipper at the neck of his uniform and begun to slide it down.
"Tasha." He gently stopped her hands with one of his. "Are you certain this is what you want?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she whispered back.
He released her wrist and busied himself removing her uniform even as she removed his. It couldn't have been more different than their last experience. That time had been an intoxicated tumble, a mistake to be regretted. This was true passion, true love. Tasha knew that she would never, ever want to deny this moment.
She lay in Data's arms long after it was over, lulled to sleep by his steady breathing. Data knew there were countless things he could have been doing with this time, but at the moment, none of them seemed remotely important.
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