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Chapter Twenty-Five
Dr. Dumont paced her quarters, the hem of her long robe sweeping the floor as she moved.
"I've got a message from the Man In The Moon for you, just you," a rather nasal male voice warbled, and she jumped, letting out a startled little squeak.
"Who—?"
"He said to tell you there's a bench in the park for two, just two!" the man with the painted-on mustache continued, and slid across the room to take her hands in an impromptu dance. "I know you should be sleeping and I'm keeping you awake. But I'm just delivering a message he told me to take… The evening found me lonely and I thought you might be lonely too. So, I brought a message from The Man In The Moon for you!"
"Stop this – stop it!" Dr. Dumont said, fighting to control the blush heating her face. "What are you—"
"Oh, Maggie, dear Maggie!" the man said, clasping her hands in his. "Why don't you run away with me? We could be so happy together, nestled away from the troubles of the galaxy. I—"
"Dr. Hackenbush, that is quite enough!" she exclaimed, pulling away and staring down at the shorter man in the baggy black suit. "What in the world do you think you're doing!"
"Me?" the mustached man retorted. "What about you? Mine's not the only mask in this room, toots. You're in this just as deep as we are. Deeper, if these starship people ever find out what you and your people really—"
"No! Stop!" she sputtered. "Stop now! You can't possibly know—"
"Can too," he said, his dark eyes finding hers through his old-fashioned glasses. "I've got a nose for these things."
She stared at him, her flushed face going pale.
"What exactly do you want?" she demanded. "How did you even get in here? I know I didn't hear the doors."
"Ah. That's because I didn't use them," the man said, and moved closer, suggestively waggling his eyebrows. "This is to be our secret tryst." He rolled the 'r' and ended on a high squeak.
"Oooh!" she growled, and stalked toward the window, out of his reach. "I've had enough of this game. We both know you are not Dr. Hugo Hackenbush or Julius 'Groucho' Marx or whoever you may appear to be, any more than I am Dr.—"
"Now, that's not entirely true," he interrupted. "Appearances may be deceiving…which is pretty useful in a dodge like this. Who are we trying to kid if not ourselves?"
The taller woman regarded him.
"Who are you, really?" she demanded.
"You first," he retorted playfully, then smirked at himself. "There's a witty riposte, if I ever heard one."
"Well, you said it, not me," she said, wringing her hands. "Are you… Might you be that Ihat person who upset the crew so badly in Ten Forward?"
The mustached man stepped back, affronted.
"I should say not!" he said, and pulled an unlit cigar from his inside pocket, which he kept between his fingers as he spoke. "We may be kin, but that's as far as it goes. Go on, have another guess. I'll wait."
Dr. Dumont shook her head.
"Oh, I can't do this," she said. "If you're not Ihat, who are you?"
The shorter man regarded her through sharp, narrowed eyes, then shrugged.
"Ah, what's the harm," he said. "After all, I'm sure I know who you are…or, perhaps I should say 'what'. And I know what you've done. That's enough leverage to hold over anyone's head."
The taller woman closed her eyes.
"Please…" she whispered.
The man stepped forward, then grabbed her hand and began pumping it like a used car salesman eager to close a deal.
"The name's Korgano," he said. "And that bit about The Man In The Moon? That's me! Well, my symbol, anyway. Masaka's got the sun and Ihat the living earth. We make a good team, the three of us—when we're not out to kill each other, that is. The fiery Eternal, the impulsive Constructor, and me: the suave, cool-headed Preserver… An elegant balance of primal energies, entirely at your service."
He smiled and gave a gracious bow.
"I…I don't understand," she said.
"I understand that you're not as you seem," Korgano said. "How long have you been holding that form? Five years?"
The woman bit her lip.
"Eight?"
She shook her head.
Korgano's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me it's been all ten!"
"We didn't know they were intelligent!" the woman exclaimed, her face reddening again, this time with shame. "When we first came across the human researchers, our only concern was their mineral content. We had no way of knowing they were living, thinking beings, like us! Not until... Until after…"
"After you'd absorbed them?" Korgano said, quirking a painted eyebrow.
She nodded, her eyes fixed on the carpet.
"The entire research team?"
"They were carbon-based creatures," she snapped. "We saw them only as mineral supplements! It was only after we'd ingested their material structures into our being that we began to feel their thoughts…their conscious awareness…"
"So, you digested their bodies, but retained their memories, is that it?" Korgano asked.
She shifted her feet uncomfortably.
"When we realized what they were, what we'd done…"
She sighed, and clasped her hands in front of her.
"My people have always prided themselves on their respect for life. We knew we had to make amends. We made it our business to learn all we could about these strange meat-creatures, to discover just what they'd been doing on our world…and take on the tasks they'd been sent to complete. Our initial intent had been to transmit the data they'd come for back to their people, then destroy the research station…make it look like an accident. But, the more we learned about them…their language, their work, their socio-cultural systems… The more curious we became. So, when the Enterprise arrived to collect the researchers, we…"
"Took their place?"
"We meant no harm," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "We only wished to learn. To experience this alien culture for ourselves…if only for a brief while…"
Korgano smiled.
"I know the feeling," he said, and covered her fidgeting hands with his. "So, you got a name?"
She snuffled a very slight laugh.
"Yes, but it cannot be pronounced," she said. "We are crystalline beings. Our language is one of light, not sound. In this form, I go by Maggie. In remembrance of the woman I...absorbed."
"All right then, Maggie," Korgano said, and led her to the little two-seater sofa by the coffee table. "Why don't you sit down, put your feet up, and I'll get us both a drink. See, I came here tonight because I have a proposition for you."
She shot him a wary look.
"No, no, not that kind of proposition," he said, and smiled. "What I have to say is actually quite serious. In fact, it concerns the survival of both our peoples."
Nora Maskelyne met Data at the public transport station at the top of the hill and pulled him into a fierce embrace.
"I came as soon as I could," Data said, returning the hug before pulling back. "It's fortunate my ship was scheduled for maintenance at Utopia Planitia, or I wouldn't have been able to get away so quickly. How is he?"
Nora shook her head and gave his hand a squeeze.
"Not so good," she said. "I know he's an old dog. I mean, eighteen years… That's not too bad for a yellow lab."
"The average life span for the breed is twelve to thirteen years," Data noted, but his voice was somber. "Nora, you know he—"
But, she averted her eyes and changed the subject.
"You look good, Ensign," she said teasingly, weaving her arm with his as they walked down the sharply sloping street toward the beach. "The uniform…it's very sharp. Blue's a good color on you."
"Does this mean you've changed your mind about my decision to join Starfleet?"
She gave a little shrug.
"You were right about us having different dreams, Data," she said. "Different aptitudes. You've always been able to handle yourself in a crowd…never afraid to stand up and speak your mind, guide a conversation where you want it to go… Me...I tend to shrink to nothing under that kind of pressure. I don't like being noticed."
"Yet, you wish to pursue a career as a scientist?" Data said.
"Just one of a team," she said, and smiled at the look he shot her. "Hey, you leader-types have to have someone to lead, don't you? I don't want that kind of headache. I just want to do my work and be left alone. Still, it's so unfair, Data." She gave him a nudge. "Here you are, barely twenty-three, and already an officer, a specialist, out actually doing what you could only daydream about when we were kids… While, I've still got to get through a master's and a PhD program before I get where I want to go."
"I tried to warn you," Data said.
"Yes, I know, I know," she said, and patted his arm. "But, while Starfleet may have been the right choice for you, the service would never work out for me. I'm sure of it. I'm better off on the slow path, climbing my way up that ivory tower."
She glanced at him while they walked through the fairground, keeping her eyes on his face until he looked at her.
"I've missed you, my friend," she said quietly. "Every time I pass by the pavilion… Or, that old pinball machine! You know, I often imagine I can see you there, this skinny little kid, fighting so hard to beat his own high score… It really wasn't all that long ago."
Data glanced at the scoreboard and smiled.
"I see my record still stands," he said.
"And it probably always will," Nora teased. "No one knows that machine's tricks better than you."
His smile broadened, just briefly, and he let go of her hand to approach the machine. He ran his palms over its worn, silvery edges, his forehead slightly creased.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"Either the machine's gotten lower, or I've gotten taller," he said.
"You've definitely gotten taller," she said, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "We used to be the same height, remember?"
"Yes," he said, and flicked the controls with his fingers. "Back when we were ten or twelve. I actually had my last growth spurt while I was at the academy."
"Well then, I guess this is us. We're both about as tall as we're going to be…though, I've read our brains will keep maturing long into our twenties," she said, and started rifling through her purse. "So, you want a go? I bet I could dig out a token or two—"
"No, no, I didn't come here to play," Data said, and dropped his hands to his sides. "We should go find Barclay. I don't want him to be alone."
"Oh, he isn't," Nora assured him as they continued toward the boardwalk. "I asked the ice cream man to keep an eye on him while I ran up to get you."
"The ice cream man…?"
Data squidged up his face, his eyes falling on an oddly dressed little man leaning against a very old-fashioned push cart he'd parked right at the spot where the boardwalk met the sandy beach.
Something twitched, far back in Data's memory. Something he couldn't quite bring to the surface...
"Hey-a, will-a you look at you two kids!" the ice cream man exclaimed in a sort-of-Italian accent, his whole face beaming with pride. "I-a tell-a you this: whoever it was said-a time was relative, he-a sure knew what-a he was talkin' about, eh?"
"Hello," Data said politely, not quite sure what the man was getting at and far more concerned with the dog at his feet.
"Hey, Barkers," he said, kneeling down to give the dog a warm hug. "How are you doing, old pal?"
The elderly dog thumped his tail against the sand in eager greeting.
Nora crouched beside them and stroked the dog's long back.
"Arthritis has been creeping into his joints and hips," she said quietly. "It's hard for him to get up sometimes."
"Poor guy," Data said, and pulled a small sachet from his pocket. "Here, I brought you some treats. Your favorite chicken jerky."
The dog's pale eyes brightened and he sat up, happily accepting the treats.
"Look at that face," Nora said with bittersweet affection. "He still thinks he's a puppy."
The treats gone, Data scratched behind the dog's ears, then patted his head and stood up.
"Thank you for watching our dog, sir," he said to the ice cream man.
"Hey, it was-a no trouble," the man said. "So-a, you kids about ready to be-a headin' out?"
"Out where?" Nora asked.
"Out-a there!" the man said, and the holodeck doors appeared between their startled faces and the crashing waves.
Nora and Data both gasped as a sudden, peculiar sensation passed over them, each of them undergoing subtle physical changes as they returned to how they'd looked when they first entered the holodeck. Their figures filled out, their features aged slightly, their wild disorientation only growing as their real memories began to return.
"Oh, my God," Nora said, releasing a very awkward laugh as she touched her face, her clothes, her hair... "I can't believe... I thought I was so grown up! And you, Data!"
She brushed her fingers over the fine lines near his eyes, the pips on the collar of his gold uniform.
"Or, should I say, Lieutenant Commander?" she observed.
"What has happened?" Data asked, turning his bewildered blue stare from Nora to the ice cream man. "Why did you—? What was the point of all this!"
"Human emotions, they're a tricky business," the man said. "They're-a not-a somethin' you can adjust to overnight. Most-a people, they-a get a lifetime to grow into their feelings. You, I gave eighteen minutes."
Nora squinted.
"Eighteen...? So...everything we went through, the time we spent in that town growing up together, going to school..."
"It was all real," Data said quietly, his blue eyes very wide. "The games, the summer jobs, the choices we made... It was a gift. A wonderful, beautiful gift..."
Nora still looked uncertain, and rather miffed, but the little man in the short green jacket and softly pointed hat was beaming like the sun, herding them to the door, where the team Geordi had sent to get them out stood uncertainly in the corridor.
"We are all right," Data assured them. "I will report as much to Commander La Forge and the captain. You may return to your duty stations now."
"Aye, sir," the crewmen acknowledged, and strode hurriedly away, the fear of ending up gender-swaped or otherwise altered by the little ice cream man they clearly thought was Ihat quickening their pace.
The man laughed and clapped Data on the shoulder.
"Your-a counterpart, Danny, he's-a waiting for you in-a the cybernetics lab," he said. "It's-a big-a surprise, so you better hurry. We'll-a be with the admiral whenever you're-a done."
"But—" Data started, only to blink and snap his mouth shut.
Nora, Barclay, and the ice cream man had all vanished. He was alone in the corridor.
Data glanced back at the empty holodeck grid, then slowly moved out of range of the door sensors, watching until the sliding doors had shut completely. He glanced down at his hands, his uniform, and straightened his shoulders, a small but happy smile quirking across his human face as he headed for the turbolift and whatever new surprise Danny had waiting for him in the cybernetics lab.
To Be Continued...
References include TNG: Masks; Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood; "A Message From The Man In The Moon" by Gus Kahn, Walter Jurmann and Bronislaw Kaper (1937). The song was cut from "A Day At The Races," but Groucho sang a brief reprise at the very end of the movie.
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