XXV.

"You're not taking me anywhere!"

It hadn't been a pretty meeting. Lin wasn't used to 'pretty', so it didn't matter much anyway. Weyoun had scrutinized her like some filthy child, wrinkling up his nose as she answered his various questions, giving her ever reason to think that he didn't believe a word she said. He had asked her about Data, about things he had told her. She told him, rather honestly, that Data had had virtually no memory and had not been able to tell her anything about anything. He asked her what she knew about the Alpha quadrant and the species there, which was a truly bizarre question. She had never been given an information packet on the Alpha quadrant; she knew nothing. She told him as much.

But then the moment had come to lie.

She had never lied to a Director before.

"Why did you take the android with you aboard your vessel?" Weyoun probed.

She had felt her scalp prickle with heat, as if he could actually see her thoughts right through her head. That was the impression she had always been given throughout all those harsh training sessions when she was barely old enough to read. We don't need to be telepaths to know what you're thinking.

"I took him with me so that I could delivery him to my Directors at the sector transport hub. He is…was a unique piece of technology." Thank goodness the Directors had always trained her to keep her eyes down when she spoke to them! She wasn't sure she could have hidden her lie if she had been forced to look him in the face!

Weyoun had been satisfied, or apparently so. It was another element of their training to never be too sure about how their Directors felt about them. There was never any congratulations or censure. Neither. They merely left their Taskers in a constant state of anxious uncertainty. Censure, after all, was a mute pointe. Any Tasker who did something worth censure was simply terminated.

But it was over now. Weyoun had released her and instructed her to continue her regular duties. She had been relegated to the back of a supply pod that was returning to the merchant planet, squished between crates while she listened to the hulking alien pilot complain about how he wasn't a taxi driver. Once arriving, she had walked back to the square in which she and Data had been ambushed. She wasn't sure why. There was no reason to do so. She was more than twelve hours ahead of schedule, and the logical thing to do would have been to board her vessel and set a course for her next stop as quickly as possible, to save the surplus time.

Instead, she was sitting at a dingy bar, watching the orange and white drink she had ordered swirl like clouds on a gas giant. She wasn't even sure what it was. She just knew that the person next to her had been drinking one and that she had ordered the same. Although, she knew something else too. It was alcoholic, and she was well past drunk.

"Do, eh…do you want another one?" The bartender said cautiously. Lin wasn't wearing a scarf around her neck to hide her collar, and the whole bar knew what she was.

"Yes." She said. Why not have another one, even if it tasted terrible? She wasn't interested in the taste. She remembered how good she had felt the last time she had imbibed alcohol and had thought—quite incorrectly—that doing so again would raise her spirits. No. Nope.

"Nope…." She muttered.

"Oh. You don't want another one?"

"Yes! I was talking to myself." She snapped. The bartender gave her a curious frown and set another orange and white concoction before her. Lin responded by handing over last of her latinum. Once again, logic dictated that she should have saved it for a future emergency, such as being hungry again, but she wasn't interested in logic. She felt horrible, and for some reason that state just didn't lend itself to reason.

It was all her fault.

She had made so many mistakes.

If it wasn't for her, Data would be with his friends now, probably back on his way to the wormhole and the Alpha quadrant beyond. She still didn't have any proof that Blake had been telling the truth about being Data's friend, but her self-hating state at the moment led her to make the assumption. Yep. Blake was Data's friend, come to rescue him, and she had punched him in the ribs for all his efforts. She felt guilty. Heavily, incredibly, painfully guilty. She had never experienced anything like it before.

She downed half the drink with a grimace. Her stomach lurched, but she managed to keep it down. She wouldn't say she felt better, but she certainly felt different. No wonder so many people consumed alcohol. She drew a deep breath and sputtered a little when it caught in her throat. She realized, with more than a little shock, that her eyes were welling up and her throat was growing tight. Oh, no! She rubbed at her face and turned away from the room, but it was too late. Her tears spilled over her eyelids and slid down her cheeks in two defiant streams.

"Oh! Damn!" She slammed her fist on the bar. Several people, including the bartender, stared openly at her disgraceful display. She flashed her eyes back at them and threw a few dirty looks in for good measure. What did she care for their opinion! Stupid, ignorant sub-species'!

I wish I was one of them….

She wobbled a bit as she stepped down from her stool. She needed to put some water on her face. Better yet, she needed to leave and resume her schedule. That thought only made her more miserable.

"Are you quite well, child?" A lady said from behind the bar. She was an elderly woman, the same race as the bartender and probably his mother. She was frowning at Lin, half curious and half concerned.

"I'm fine!" Lin snapped. "Where are your fa—oh—facilities?"

The woman pointed to the dim hallway just off to Lin's left, "There you go. Put some cool water on your face. I'll watch your drink."

"Watch it? Why?" Lin snorted. Did everyone feel like this when they drank? Her words sounded as if she was listening to someone else speak them.

The old woman shook her head, "Oh, child, you are naïve, aren't you?"

Lin just waved a hand at her and headed off toward the facilities. A few of the patrons gave her openly astonished looks as she went. It wasn't every day that people watched a Dominion Tasker get drunk in a public bar! She wondered if word of her blatant violation of the rules would make it back to the Directors. Then she wondered why she really didn't care.

She splashed some water on her face and dried it with her sleeves before ambling back, touching the wall a few times for balance. How far would Maddox have gotten by now? He had been so adamant about performing that test first, and that would take at least three hours. She had been in the bar for roughly two hours…. She sniffled again and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. Stupid alcohol! She wouldn't be crying if she hadn't had the stupid idea to drink!

She entered the main room and took a few steps back toward her barstool before stopping dead in her tracks. Did alcohol cause hallucinations? She didn't think so. In her travels, she had encountered more than a few inebriated people, and she had never gotten the impression that they were hallucinating. No. It had to be real. It had to be.

"Data!" She cried.

The man whose white skin and gold eyes she had focused on spun around, a look of pure astonishment on his face. He wasn't wearing the same clothes anymore, but that didn't matter! The Directors must have let him go! Maybe he wasn't so very advanced. Maybe Maddox had failed in his experiment and they didn't need him anymore. It didn't matter!

She pressed through the crowd toward him, the patrons parting like a river around a rock. "Data! You got out!"

That was another amazing thing about alcohol. It never even occurred to her not toshout his name, or not to throw her arms around his neck and hold on for dear life. Of course not! She embraced him for several seconds, laughing with pure joy, and not even noticing that he made no move to return her embrace. In fact, he was as ridged as one could be. She noticed it only a moment before he reached up and grabbed both her wrists like a vice. He pulled her arms down and held her out, away from him.

"Oh!" She frowned and tried to read his expression. He was smirking triumphantly.

He leaned in close until their noses almost touched, and smiled, "Wrong android, sweetheart."

Oh…what? No! "Let go of me!" She cried suddenly, "You're—you're not Data!"

"I know. That's what I just said." Lore smirked again and held her wrists as if it was the easier thing in the world, "You are just the person I was looking for. You're coming with me to answer some questions."

"You're not taking me anywhere!" She shouted. Her head was clearing remarkably fast, but not fast enough to remind her that fighting was pointless. She lifted her left foot and brought it down on his knee with all the force she could muster.

Lore rolled his eyes, "As entertaining as this is, I don't have time for it."

"You let me go now or—argh!"

Lore released her wrists just as he stooped down and lifted her over one shoulder, bracing his arm behind her knees as she kicked and squirmed. Lin screamed again, so enraged that she could feel the blood pumping through her face. She pounded her first into his back until her hands hurt.

The bar patrons watched the entire display with a mix of astonishment and outright amusement. The alien they couldn't identify was clearly abducting a Dominion Tasker. It was a story they would tell over drinks for years!

"You! You! Who are you? Put me down. Now!"

Lore didn't reply as he headed for the exit and pulled out a small device with his free hand. Everyone cleared well out of the way, but a new bout of laughter rose when Lin tried to stop their progress by holding on to the door frame.

"I have no problem breaking your fingers, if you insist." Lore informed her.

Lin shuddered and pulled her hands back. She wasn't sure if she believed him, but what choice did she have? She had left her disruptor aboard her ship!

"Where are you taking me, anyway? Do you know who I am? Do you know the penalties for interfering with a tasker?"

She actually felt the shake of his laughter through her stomach.

"I am about as afraid of the Dominion as I am of you. Although," He laughed again, "you are strong for a Romulan female. It almost makes me feel sorry for Blake."

She tried to drive her elbow into the side of his head, but couldn't reach back far enough, "Stop it! You—you can't! I have to get back on schedule! I have to!"

He ignored her. They moved out into the cloudy daylight, once again causing people to stare and clear out of the way. She saw him raise the device in his hand, and she instantly recognized it as a remote transporter.

"Argh!" She kicked furiously.

"I would really hold still if I were you." Lore said flatly, "I hear that too much movement in transport can have very unpleasant side effects."

"Fuck you!"

Lore released a boisterous laugh, "Well! I'll have to congratulate Data on his choice of friends when I finally see him. Now, stop moving."

She was ready to assault his ears with more of the same, but there wasn't a spare second to do so as the dingy outpost dissolved around her and she felt her stomach rise into her throat.

(*)

Things weren't going exactly as he had planned.

"Let go of me!"

"Gladly." He stomped up the steps of the control platform and deposited her in the padded work chair with very little ceremony.

Lin grunted as she fell into the seat. She did not stay there for long. She immediately scrambled to her feet and put the chair between her and Lore.

He wasn't going to waste any time, "Where is Data?"

"You can't keep me here!" She shouted, "If I don't make it to my next stop, I'll—."

"I don't give a damn about where you have to go. You're not going anywhere until you tell me where Data is. Why isn't he with you?"

Lore regarded the woman as she twisted her face into a look of indecision. She even began biting her lower lip, as if that would help her make up her mind. He felt his proverbial heart sink. If Data was no longer with her, it was possible that Maddox and the Dominion had already gotten to him.

She appeared to continue her inner debate when she suddenly reached into her pocket and removed a little device. Clearly it was her own remote transporter, and why hadn't he thought of that? She darted for the other side of the platform

"Shit!" Lore growled, going after her, "Give me that!"

"No! Leave me alone!" She tucked the device against her belly, trying to work it with both hands. Lore grabbed one of her arms and pulled it high while trying to get to the other. It was proving rather difficult, despite his superior strength. Strength, after all, wasn't everything, especially when he wasn't trying to injure her unnecessarily.

The device slipped from her hands and skidded across the floor. She dove for it, but too late. Lore wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her back.

"Argh! You can't keep me here! You stupid—." Lin's shouts began slipping into idiomatic Dominionese, of which the universal translator seemed unable to cope. Lore almost laughed as he wondered just what horrible insults were being flung at him.

"What the devil!" Picard's voice suddenly filled the room.

Lore froze while Lin didn't even break the rhythm of her violent thrashing. They were in the middle of the bridge with Lore down on one knee, holding Lin in one arm while trying to reach for the transporter device with the other. It was quite a bit of gymnastics.

Picard stood at the entrance to the Port side corridor as Blake and Crusher came up behind him. Worf and Anna appeared from the other corridor at a run, no doubt having heard all the shouts.

"Ah, Picard." Lore smiled, "I found our Romulan."

"Let go of me!" She flailed and threw her elbow in to the back of his head. It was a mistake she no doubt immediately regretted, as all the breath went out of her and she clutched her elbow to her stomach in abject pain.

"You went down to the surface without informing anyone." Picard said, "Are you incapable of doing anything within reason?"

"What reason?" Lore countered, "I located her on the latest scan and didn't want to wait until she could escape again. Forgive me for being proactive."

Anna crossed the bridge, her feet still bare from sleeping, and picked up the transporter device Lore was trying to reach. "You seem to be having some trouble there." She said ironically as she examined the transponder.

"None whatsoever." Lore grinned, "Are you jealous? If you are, I could use the ego boost. You wouldn't believe the names she's been calling me."

"I would." Worf snorted.

No longer needing to keep her away from the transporter device, Lore released her and watched as she started in several directions like a fly against a window. There was nowhere to go, the only two corridors leading away from the bridge both being blocked. She backed against the far wall, darting her eyes to each one of them. Lore waited for another pointless round of demands to be let go, but when her eyes fell on Blake her entire demeanor changed. They all watched in anxious silence as her face screwed up and she covered her eyes with her hands.

"It's all my fault! They took him!"

"What!" Lore fumed.

"They knew he was with me. They must have known for some time, they were waiting." She shook her head again.

"Who was waiting?" Picard demanded.

Lore cringed. It was a formality. They all knew the damn answer.

"The Direct—the Vorta, and a man from your species." She looked at Picard, "Maddox."

No. Lore closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to keep himself calm. He very rarely tried to keep himself calm, but this situation seemed to call for it. He put his hands on either side of his head and began pacing.

"Where did they take him?" Picard demanded.

She opened her mouth, but hesitated.

"Where!?" Lore fumed, "You are not leaving this ship until you tell us!"

"Lore." Picard glared at him.

"She will not talk." Worf said confidently, "Loyalty is a particular element of Dominion training."

Lore watched at Lin continued to shift her eyes between them. She looked like a caged animal, and she was swaying on her feet in a rather strange way.

"Training?" Lore sneered, "I prefer the euphemism brainwashing." He crossed the bridge suddenly, stopping only a few feet from Lin as she cringed and jumped back, "How does a Romulan become a Dominion slave, anyway? What's wrong with you?"

"You…you said that before. Romulan." She shook her head, "I'm not... I don't know what you're—."

"Unbelievable." He raised his eyebrows sarcastically, "That level of ignorance is fascinating, but I don't care right now. Where. Is. Data?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, and just when Lore thought he was going to give into the urge to throttle her, she opened her eyes again and said, "They have him at the military supply outpost in orbit of the fifth planet. There's a lab there. I…I was there with him before they sent me away. I was ordered to help Maddox setup a cybernetic transfer matrix."

"You helped him?" Lore's voice was cold.

She closed her eyes again and nodded.

Whatever hope he had left sank like a stone. It had taken them more than five hours to catch up to Lin's vessel, and Data could have been in Maddox's clutches for that long already. Even if Data was still alive, Lore was at a loss for how to reach him. His vessel was cloaked and he had weapons, but they were no match for a Dominion security force, which would no doubt be protecting the supply depot.

He clenched his fists and took several steps back, distancing himself from Lin. If he did not, he was honestly afraid that he would hurt her. She had said it was her fault, giving some indication that she was sorry or regretful, but he was finding it hard to give a damn about her motives.

A sharp groan came from behind Picard as Blake stomped forward. "Damn it! Why did you attack me on the high-rise? Why didn't you just let me explain? We're his friends!"

"I'm sorry." Lin muttered. Her swaying had gotten worse.

"Why did you make off with him, then?" Blake continued, obviously angry over what he now perceived to be the loss of his friends. Lore suspected that Blake's hope had slipped as far as his own. "If you weren't taking him to the Dominion and Maddox, then why did you try so hard to keep him away from us? Why?"

"Because you were going to take him away from me!" She snapped. She covered her mouth almost as soon as the words got out.

What? Lore glared at her.

Picard broke the awkward silence that followed when he moved toward Worf and motioned for Anna to join them near the control console.

"I want to conduct a system scan immediately and begin formulating the best method for scanning the outpost. It may be…unlikely, but we owe Data every possible effort. And let us not forget," His face became suddenly hardly as granite, "that if Data is lost, apprehending Maddox will become our new priority."

"Aye, Captain." Worf agreed.

"We already knew the supply depot was there, of course. The fifth planet has three moons, and one of them might provide a good magnetic field to cover us if they detect our scans." Anna said. He voice was low and a bit strained. She was doing her job, being professional, but Lore could see that she was suffering from the loss they were all assuming. She made eye contact with him tried to smile.

"He was nice to me…." Lin muttered.

Lore snapped his eyes back in her direction, as did Blake and Crusher. Lin had made her way to the sofa that had been pressed up against the far wall, and was bracing herself against the arm. Her swaying was worse now and she was blinking as if trying to keep her eyes open.

"What's wrong with you?" Lore barked.

"Are you ill?" Crusher said.

"I just didn't want to be alone anymore." Lin sighed, her words low and a bit drawn out, "He wanted to help me remove my collar and get away, but…but I couldn't do it."

"Whoa." Blake said, taking a few steps forward, "Where did you find her?"

Lore was still too busy trying to digest her words. He shrugged, "She was in some bar."

"I think she's drunk!" Blake declared.

"Shut up." Lin sputtered, "Or I'll…I'll hit you again!"

Blake wasn't willing to test it and made his way back toward the control area. Lore, meanwhile, turned away from her with angry disgust. He made eye contact with Anna again and extended his hand toward her. She understood and began to hand him the remote transporter they had taken from Lin.

"I can show you how to get in."

Lore turned his eyes back to her.

"I know all the security measures." She continued as she rubbed her face with clumsy hands, "I…know the outpost. I've been going there for years, every six months. I can…oh…I can get you inside."

Lore refused to give in to his swelling of hope. He stomped it down with suspicion and glared at her, "I don't believe you."

She glared right back at him, though the glassiness of her eyes left him wondered if she actually saw him. She sneered and said, "You're nothing like him…."

"Why does everyone keep saying that as if it's an insult?" He said wearily, "But let me continue. I don't believe you. Why would you help us? Why would you risk your life?"

If Blake was correct about Lin being drunk—and Lore heavily suspected he was—then it had finally caught up to her. She tried to perch herself on the arm of the sofa, but the balancing act was too much and she fell over onto the soft surface instead.

She groaned and said, with her last ounce of coherence, "Because I miss Data…."

She passed out cold.

"Well that's just great." Lore scoffed, "Crusher!"