It was dark, and raining heavily on the Golton planet when Data brought the shuttle in manually, resulting in an unusually hard landing. Jagger had decided that his response to the revelation about Lore's attack on Naseema would be to get extremely drunk, and the abrupt jolt of the landing jarred him from his stupor.
"You could have warned me you were going to crash land this bucket," he complained, as they covered the shuttle with branches to camouflage it from the Goltons.
Data glanced up at him briefly before responding. "Perhaps," he replied, unapologetic, "and you could have refrained from becoming intoxicated as a response to an emotionally stressful event, especially as we are embarking on a mission that could potentially lead to our deaths, and Naseema's death as a consequence of our failure."
"Well, if I could just turn my emotions off, like some people in this jungle, then I would." Jagger snorted back. Data stopped what he was doing, and stared hard at the Feeonix. Jagger eyed him back for a few seconds before finally reacting. "What?" he asked, annoyed.
"Do you honestly believe that I would choose to be unaffected by this ordeal?" Data asked. "That I would simply turn my emotions off, even if I were still able to?"
"That's what I would do," Jagger shrugged.
"Then you have clearly not been paying attention," Data replied. "The feelings I have for Naseema are worth more to me than all the peace of mind in the universe. I do not wish to know what it is not to love her, and if that means I must also feel sorrow and loss, then that is what I will do." He tossed the last of the under brush he was holding onto the shuttle craft, and dusted his hands off.
"Well, let's go find your brother then," Jagger said, "and maybe I can work some of this booze out of my system, tearing his arms off." They picked their way through the soggy forest in the direction of where the computer told them they would find Lore's shuttle, figuring it was the best place to start looking for his hideout.
"How exactly did you become a Federation ambassador?" Data asked after awhile.
Jagger looked at him quizzically. "Do you want to know how I earned my title, or why I became a diplomat?"
"Why, I suppose, since you are not what most would call a people person." Data replied.
"Most, or just you?" Jagger countered with a laugh.
The android cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to tell me, or are you going to continue to be obtuse?"
"Well, I'm not really a diplomat," Jagger began, "but ambassador is a less obvious title than covert agent."
"If you are only going to mock me, then perhaps we should continue our mission in silence," Data interjected with an irritated tone in his voice.
"Data, I'm not making fun of you, I'm being completely serious," Jagger insisted. "You're right, diplomacy isn't my forte, but I do possess a certain skill set that has proven useful to both the Federation, and Starfleet. I go on missions like this pretty routinely, I just don't usually bring a partner." Data gave him another skeptical tilt of his brow. "Look Data, you don't have to believe me. I suppose I've certainly given you good cause to think I'm full of shit," Jagger told him.
"When you call yourself a covert agent, what else am I expected to think?" Data replied. "It is not a very well kept secret that you believe me to be naive, and stupid. If I may make you aware, agent, fooling me is not considered to be much of a feat in most circles."
"I don't think you're stupid." Jagger said.
"Yes you do, and it does not surprise me to know that you would be dishonest as a career choice." Data snapped back.
Jagger sighed, he'd brought the android's attitude on himself, but nonetheless, Data was starting to piss him off.
"Naseema is the superior peacemaker. She can handle all the complicated customs, the public pleasantries, the bargaining, the negotiating, and the veiled threats, and she's very good at them, but there's a darker side to maintaining the integrity of intergalactic treaties, and winning wars. That's where I come in. I'm sure a good deal of what I do would offend your staunch morality, but I've just about seen it all, Data, and your happy existence doesn't happen without the guy who's willing to do the dirty work." Jagger retorted.
"I do not care what it is you do, and please stop saying her name. She is the most wonderful creature in the universe, and you do not deserve to call her your friend. You treat her like property. I may not be blameless, but perhaps if you had contributed more of your attention to the survey mission instead of attempting to control, and humiliate her, you would have detected the trap, and we would not currently be here engaged in this pointless discussion," Data said, and stalked ahead of the Feeonix so he wouldn't have to look at him. Jagger was now fighting to hold his temper at bay. He quickened his pace, grabbing the android's arm, and spinning him back around.
"I should have detected the trap? He's your brother!" Jagger hissed. Data tried to yank his arm back, but the angry Feeonix held him fast. "I'm not finished! You really think you know her, don't you?" he demanded. Data's eyes widened, and he looked down at Jagger's hand gripping his arm. Jagger raised his voice. "She's not the perfect angel you think she is. You wanna know how she's mastered that calm, cool, collected front she puts on? You should see what happens when she loses control, and trust me, you've seen nothing because you've been around for all of five minutes. You think just because you've fucked her a few times means you've replaced me?" he sneered, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted saying them.
Data's expression fell from anger, and he gently shook his head. He knew Jagger was only trying to hurt his feelings now, and he was determined not to bite. He actually felt sorry for the Feeonix. It was clear he was so possessive of Naseema because she was not only his best friend, but his only friend, and his inability to control his jealousy was worthy of pity, more than loathing.
Jagger retracted almost immediately. "Data, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."
"Of course you did. I understand your hatred for me, but what I do not understand is why you insist on dragging Naseema down. You seem to believe that convincing me she is a terrible person is going to change my feelings for her, and that is simply not the case. Your unflattering words do not alter my opinion of her. They simply make you sound jealous, sexist, and mean," the android calmly replied.
Jagger released him, and sighed again. "You're right," he said. "I am jealous, and for most of my life, women have not been on the equal footing they're on now. Old habits die hard I guess, but I suppose that's not really much of an excuse."
Data folded his arms across his chest. "You are correct, it is not."
"Naseema's different, Data," Jagger continued, his tone more sincere. "She's not like other Feeonix. She wasn't born in the nebula like most of our kind. Her chemistry is...unusual. She hides it well, but her psychic abilities are too powerful for her. I'm sure you've heard her refer to the predator inside her? Well, it's not a metaphor, it's real, all the Feeonix have one, and it's like an alternate personality. Naseema's is incredibly strong, and incredibly violent. Once she unleashes it, it dominates, and she loses control of it quickly. It takes a lot of her strength to hold it back. She's far more fragile than she lets on, and she needs your protection more than you realize."
Data frowned. "Fragile is not a word I would use to describe her," he replied.
"Like I said, ten years isn't long enough for you to make that judgment, but you're her mate now, she's probably afraid of disappointing you, or frightening you but she should have told you all this, and since she didn't, I am. We'll revisit this in a couple hundred years, and I bet by then you'll understand what I mean," Jagger said, and then his eye caught something up ahead. "Look, there's Lore's shuttle craft." The pair approached the beaten machine, and circled it in opposite directions. Data went inside, and sat in the pilot's chair to examine the computer.
Jagger gave it a once over, and let out a low whistle. "Look at what she did to this thing. Man, Lore must have been really pissed," he observed.
"What makes you believe it was Naseema?" Data asked from inside the shuttle.
"Trust me," the Feeonix smirked, "it was her." He vaulted onto the shuttle's roof. "Here's where she landed on it. She must've jumped from a decent height. She left some pretty solid indentations in the titanium." He leaned out, and looked down at the windshield. He could just make out Data's form through the shattered glass. "Did she have a weapon?" he asked.
"Yes," Data replied, "a large sword, a claymore, I believe."
"That's probably what she used to smash the windshield," Jagger surmised. He hopped back to the ground, as Data exited the shuttle.
"The flight logs have all been deleted, and there does not appear to have been any encrypted data in the shuttle's computer. It is likely it was stolen from a commercial outpost," the android said. "The rest of the craft is empty. Lore must have taken anything contained in it with him when he abandoned it."
"Well, it's obvious Naseema crippled it before she confronted your brother, and the thing about these backwater worlds is the serious lack of convenient interstellar transportation, so unless somebody came and picked him up, Lore's probably still around here somewhere. Maybe if we're lucky, Naseema crippled him worse than she thought, and he's close by." Jagger said, scanning the area.
"I am not particularly lucky," Data replied. Jagger looked at the android with his characteristic smirk.
"Stick with me then, buddy. I practically have a horseshoe up my ass," he chuckled.
"I imagine that would be very uncomfortable," Data surmised with an amused twist of his brow, "and it would certainly provide ample explanation for the less than appealing parts of your personality."
"Ooh, zing!" Jagger countered light-heartedly. "Even your insults are dorky." Data ignored him, and began sweeping the area immediately around the shuttle. Even in the dark, it didn't take him long to locate the disturbed ground where Naseema, and Lore had struggled at the cliff's edge. The rain was washing her blood away, but not quickly enough for Data's tricorder to miss it. He looked around with his brow furrowed, and quickly deduced what had happened.
"They struggled here," he said, pointing to the spot where the edge of the cliff sank inward slightly. Jagger came over to stand beside him.
"Not exactly second-sight details, droid. I think it's pretty obvious there was a scuffle here," he replied.
The android didn't even bother to look at him as he dropped to one knee. "Only you would call what he did to her, a scuffle," Data remarked. He picked up a large rock within his reach. "Lore had her over the edge but she had a hold of him. He struggled to free himself, and he hit her with this." He held the rock up for Jagger to see, and continued, "Lore hit her twice in the head, and that is when Naseema used an energy surge to weaken him. He lost his balance long enough for her to pull him over the side. He fell and landed down there." Data shone his light over the edge of the cliff, and Jagger leaned out to follow it. Sure enough, right where Data predicted it, was a patch of trampled greenery.
Jagger's eyebrows went up in surprise. "I take it back, Data," he said. "That was definitely some second-sight magic, right there."
Even though he knew this wasn't about him showing the arrogant Feeonix up, he couldn't help but feel a certain amount of satisfaction at forcing Jagger to eat a little crow.
The pair carefully scaled their way down the cliff, and easily picked up their quarry's trail. Lore led them along a very narrow path bordered by yet another frightening, sheer drop before finally moving upward again for a few miles until they almost reached the same level where the shuttle had been abandoned. This part of the mountain was heavily sheltered, and the face of the cliff was carpeted by a thick, slimy moss.
The sight of the dark green vegetation reminded him of Naseema's bed, and caused the knot in his stomach to return.
Both Jagger, and Data scanned the area. There didn't appear to be anywhere to go but back the way they'd come. There was no indication that he'd scaled up the slippery rock face, and the tree growth was too dense for any kind of shuttle to have picked Lore up from this point, so unless he'd been beamed off the planet's surface, they'd missed something along the way, and lost him.
Jagger's face quickly twisted into a frustrated sneer. "Damn! We lost the trail somewhere!" he hissed.
Data sighed, somewhat defeated. "I do not believe we did," he replied. "Lore's liberators must have used a transporter to collect him. He is gone, and we are too late." The last words caught in the android's throat enough for Jagger to hear, and as the Feeonix realized his partner's hope was fading, his rage swelled up, compelling him to slam his fist into the side of the cliff. The empty hollow thud that followed, surprised both of them.
"What the fuck?" Jagger said, pulling back and examining his fist. Data rushed over, put his hands against the moss, and pushed. They both heard a tinny creak.
"There is a door here," he declared, and quickly found it's edges, but after a brief investigation, they found no apparent way to open it.
"How the hell did he get in?" Jagger asked. "If he even went in here. For all we know, he's long gone, and this door is just a coincidence."
"It is not a coincidence," Data replied. "Naseema suspected Lore had a hidden lair, and I do not believe she was wrong. This planet is in Cardassian space, and it is probable that this is an abandoned observation post. I do not know how Lore opened this door, but I do know how we are going to open it." Then Jagger and Data looked at each other, and both dug their fingers into the mossy edge, and heaved. Once they forced the door open, they were met by a pitch black hallway. Data moved to enter, but the Feeonix caught his arm.
"These kinds of set-ups usually have more than one exit, right?" he whispered, and the android nodded. "If he hears us coming, we don't want him escaping out the back door. Plus, he'll be anticipating your arrival but he won't be expecting me." Data's eyebrow went up as he watched a devious smile creep across the Feeonix's face.
"Perhaps you do have specialized talents, agent Jagger," he agreed, his own smile appearing. "There will likely be a hatch above us." Jagger patted him on the shoulder, and receded back outside. Data continued forward into the abandoned observatory, his built in night vision mercifully allowed him to avoid having to use his portable light source, increasing his chances of remaining undetected. Once he reached the end of the hallway, he could see a faint stream of light emanating from a doorway further inside, and he could hear the muffled sounds of movement. He crept along, staying close to the shadows until he had his back against the wall just outside the illuminated door. The movements were clearer now. There was definitely someone inside. He drew his phaser, and took a quick look to see who was in the room. When he saw nobody, he silently stepped inside. The room was almost completely empty, and there appeared to be not a soul around. He knew Lore had to be hiding somewhere, so he began to make his way around the perimeter of the room, keeping his phaser raised. He made it nearly halfway when he heard a click behind him, and felt the nose of the blaster firmly pressed against his back.
"Hello brother," Lore said.