XIV.

"Commander Data is the first officer of the Enterprise."

"Now, what do you make of this, dear Doctor? I find it to be quite troublesome."

Maddox shoved past the man and elbowed his way through the throng of bored looking Jem'Hadar soldiers. Weyoun had told him nothing about what they had found on the planet's surface, leaving him to wait aboard the warship like some errant child. He swore Weyoun got pleasure is tormenting him with these asinine tactics.

He reached the small, tilting craft and braced his hands on the door frame. The soldiers had already ripped out the damaged hatch door, but getting in was still tricky due to the angle of the vessel. What would he find inside? Was it B-4? Weyoun had told him nothing, and the acid in his empty stomach began to swirl and bubble. What if it was B-4 and he had somehow been damaged beyond repair? With nothing to go on, he dreaded to imagine what Weyoun would do with him. Starfleet had tolerated his limited progress for years, but he seriously doubted that the Dominion would be so obliging.

The vessel was cold and damp. A constant breeze moved through from the busted out viewport at the front, and the floor was covered with dirt. He scanned the space quickly, but it was clear in an instant that B-4 was not there. There was no one there. Nothing. What the hell?

He clamored back toward the hatch and out into the biting wind. Weyoun was still standing in the same spot a few yards away, apparently undisturbed by the cold. He gave Maddox a plastic smile.

"What do you think, Doctor?"

"Think about what?" Maddox shot back, "There's nothing in there. What did you bring me down here for anyway?"

"Think. You're supposed to be intelligent, aren't you?" Weyoun replied, "This is a Bajoran vessel. As I'm sure you know, Bajorans are not in the habit of touring the Gamma Quadrant. I think it's obvious that your android entered the wormhole in this vessel."

The blood drained from Maddox's face as he looked back over his shoulder at the vessel again. "But…where is he! If he crashed here, how did he get off the surface or—." His head was spinning. It was all over. He had failed. The cloaked vessel, Lore's vessel; that was it. They had caught up with B-4 and recaptured him!

"I know what you're thinking, Doctor, but let me assure you." Weyoun said with a sigh, "Your android was gone from here long before Lore arrived. If he arrived."

"What?" Maddox said, aghast. The way Weyoun spoke, it sounded like he knew so much more than he had been letting on. How would be know any of that? "Then where is he?" Maddox demanded, "How did he get off the planet's surface?"

Weyoun smiled, "We have surveillance probes in orbit around his planet. One of them was recently repaired, and would you guess the very first thing it caught once it came online?"

"The…this vessel?" Maddox said.

"That's right." Weyoun said, "So, we know precisely when your android arrived here and crashed. From what we can tell, the vessel was behaving erratically before it went down. We're taking steps to locate the Tasker now."

"Tasker?" Maddox shook his head. Now what the hell was Weyoun talking about!

"Have you been listening, Doctor?" Weyoun said, frowning suddenly. It was amazing how quickly his faux-pleasant façade could drop, "I will say it again. The surveillance probe in orbit around this planet was repaired just before your android crashed. Just before. There was a near collision with the Tasker's vessel, causing it to also crash land. Since the Tasker's vessel is no longer here, and neither is your android, it's a fair assumption that they left the surface together."

"What? That—that's perfect! We just have to find the Tasker!" Maddox said.

"That's right." Weyoun said with a sigh, "We will clean up your little mess, Doctor."

Maddox narrowed his eyes and stood up straight. Was he not the one who had figured out how to activate B-4's homing signal? Was he not the one who had built a new android, just waiting for the positronic template that B-4 would provide? There was fault on their part too! For one, they had still not devised a way to track Lore's cloaked vessel. Or if they had, they weren't telling him about it.

"If your Tasker has him, why haven't you been informed?" Maddox shot back.

"Our Taskers are very well trained but, unfortunately, their training is often of a very narrow nature." Weyoun shrugged his shoulders, "It is likely that the Tasker in question chose to resume his duties rather than break routine in order to bring the android to us."

Maddox snorted and rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure why he was building androids for the Dominion, since they already appeared to have a decent supply of robots. Considering what Weyoun knew, and the fact that their next move was obvious, he was suddenly enraged. This entire little scene—bringing him down there, having him examine the inside of the craft—it was all just another part of Weyoun unending mind game. They should have already been on their way in pursuit of this so-called Tasker! Tasker…. Maddox shook his head. What a quaint little euphemism for slave.

"I take it you know where this Tasker is, then?" Maddox muttered as he approached Weyoun, waiting to transport back up to the dismal battle cruiser.

"Of course." Weyoun said, "These Taskers keep very strict schedules. As soon as we identify which one it is, we will merely travel ahead to his next stop."

Maddox closed his eyes. Taskers, schedules, stops…. He didn't know a damn thing about any of it and he didn't care. He just wanted this nightmare over with. He wanted to finally complete his life's purpose, know that he could duplicate a stable positronic matrix, and then…then….

Another brief glance at Weyoun had Maddox's stomach sinking. He had a nasty feeling that his 'nightmare' was just beginning.

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Geordi ran his hands over his hair and sighed heavily. It was the most professional outburst he could manage, and it was pretty good. What he really wanted to do was throw the data pad he held across the room and argue. But it was no use.

"The Captain was pretty clear with his orders." Madden said, "And so was Starfleet Command. It's been almost four days and we're out of time."

Geordi blew a stream of air out and grinded his teeth. He knew Madden was right. Captain Picard had discussed this with everyone before they left, but now it just felt wrong. To leave them there in the Gamma Quadrant to fend for themselves…. Not that the Enterprise had been providing much help anyway. They were merely maintaining a cover by continuing to search for their so-called fugitive, but they had reasons to believe that the Dominion wasn't buying the ruse. The fact that a Dominion warship had been watching them from the very edge of sensor range without making a move was enough to suggest they were being placated.

Geordi nodded reluctantly. They were standing in the conference room, the lights still dim as if the room were not in use. Geordi wondered if Madden had considered calling a staff meeting to announce everything, but this one on one meeting made sense. The senior staff was gone. Geordi glanced around the room and felt a pit in his stomach. He was the only one left. The Captain, Worf, Dr. Crusher, Data…they were all out there somewhere. Even Riker and Counselor Troi had moved on, and no doubt Madden would have felt wrong to call a staff meeting of the few lower ranking personnel who had been chosen to fill in during their absence.

He forced the thought away. He was not the last one left. Lore and the Captain would be successful, but it still didn't change the fact that Geordi hated being here. He felt like he should have gone with them to find Data and B-4, but the Captain's logic had been sound. There was no telling what kind of bind the Enterprise might get into, and if that happened she would need her Chief Engineer.

He looked up and nodded sternly, showing Madden that he understood and accepted the decision. There was no need for recriminations or arguments, for Madden knew how he felt. Geordi liked to think that Madden felt the same way. He didn't know the man very well, but he was fair and professional and seemed to have a good sense of humor, though Lore had never taken to him. It was odd that he should give that any credit. After all, Lore didn't like anyone accept a very select few, and one would have to know Lore pretty well just to realize that he liked them. He certainly didn't show it well, except in the case of Lt. Hall. Still, Lore seemed to have a particular dislike of Madden, and Geordi could guess why.

He had wondered about it himself.

"Commander, you mind if you ask you a personal question?"

Madden raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "Sure."

Geordi drew a breath and nodded several times. He hoped he wasn't stepping over the line here. "Lore was only a few weeks away from transferring Data's neural net into the new android. As I'm sure you know, Data was already assigned to be the new XO before the incident with the Romulans. I guess I'm wondered…what were your plans before all this happened?"

Geordi wasn't sure what reaction he expected, but he guessed it would something like irritation or a little stiffness. He was understandably surprised when Madden laughed and started shaking his head.

"I, eh…I was wondered what the crew thought about that. Tell me if I'm wrong. People think I was planning to stay, maybe get Data's position?" He chuckled again, "I guess that's why Lore always stares daggers at me whenever I'm in the room with him?"

"Eh…." Geordi was a little stunned. He smiled and shook his head in a guilty sort of way, "Not to put too fine a point on it, but…yeah."

Madden laughed again, "I guess I should have said something, then. I hate to think I've been playing the part of silent villain around here and didn't even know it. But, Captain Picard wanted to keep it quiet just to keep Starfleet Command from interfering too much. You know when they 'offer' other positions, it isn't really a request."

Geordi shook his head, "I'm sorry, Sir. I don't think I understand."

"Commander Data is the first officer of the Enterprise. There's no question about that." Madden said simply, "And when he's able to retake his post I'll still be here, as the new second officer. Needless to say, Starfleet would probably have some objections to that and try to reassign me to an XO position somewhere else, so the Captain told me to keep it under wraps until Data is reinstated."

"Wait a minute." Geordi said, cocking his head, "You mean, you're taking a demotion? Why?"

Madden shook his head in a bemused way, "My assignment before this was first officer of the Albany, and cataloguing quasars was about the extent of excitement there. Believe me, I'll be proud to serve under Captain Picard and Commander Data, and I won't consider it a demotion."

Geordi couldn't help but chuckle in response. All this time, the Captain already had it figured out, and was just willing to be that Data knew about it too. He had to give the man credit, though. He could see his logic. First officer aboard a tiny science vessel and second officer of the Federation flagship were at least equal, if not slanted toward the Enterprise in fact.

"Well, in that case…." He shrugged, "I'm glad you're staying on board."

Madden nodded, but his amusement took on a bitter quality, "Let's hope Captain Picard and others make it back safely, with Data. I don't know how Riker did this job for so many years. Let's just say, I'm looking forward to that con position already."

Geordi made a wry smile as he remembered just a few of the things Data had done for the Enterprise in the line of duty over the years. "Be careful what you wish for." He said, "The con position is no walk in the park either."