Chapter IX
The still form of his friend lay supine on the exam table, looking like a sculpture which had been abandoned by its creator. Looking about, Geordi saw Doctor Crusher seated in her office and headed that way. Hearing his approach, Beverly sighed and said, "I don't have good news." "The captain told me that he collapsed on the bridge. Any idea why?" La Forge inquired. "Unfortunately not, but I have to conclude it has something to do with the intruder Data warned us about," the physician told him.
The engineer nodded, recalling the android's conviction that an intruder was hiding aboard the starship; erasing the memories of anyone who encountered him. Thanks to a safeguard which had been put in place by his friend, the computer periodically reminded the crew of the threat. Otherwise, it was quite likely that none of them would be aware of the situation. He'd been working with Data to try and find a solution when Picard had called his friend away.
"What can I do to help?" he wondered. "You're the person most familiar with his circuitry. I'd like for you to look and see if there's something I've missed," Crusher requested. "I will do what I can," Geordi promised. Turning about, he walked over to the platform where Data rested. Abruptly, his Visor seemed to glitch; causing a brief spike of pain to wash over him. The information it fed him stabilized quickly and La Forge shook his head, wondering if something was wrong with the device.
"Please do not panic, Geordi," a familiar voice and his gaze darted down to the android before him, confirming that Data was still inactive. "If you are hearing this message, it means that I have either been destroyed or deactivated. I created a failsafe program in the computer which was instructed to transmit this signal if I did not instruct otherwise in a timely manner," his friend went on. Frowning, the engineer wondered how Data had pulled this off.
"You have probably forgotten, but during our first year aboard the Enterprise; you experimented with a means of sending what your Visor showed you to the bridge. I have done the reverse, encrypting the signal so that the content cannot be detected. This will also prevent our unwanted guest from erasing your memory of this message, since they will not be aware of it," the android's recording continued. That makes sense, he thought. The hard part would be keeping whatever secret his friend had decided to impart to him.
"Be careful about taking anyone else into your confidence. From my observation of our foe's actions, it appears that he may possess some form of telepathy. There is a strong chance that any information you might choose to share would not remain private for long. If you can isolate our adversary on the saucer section, consider separating the drive section after disabling his ability to flee. I know that I can count on you, my friend," Data stated. When no further instructions followed, Geordi concluded that was the end of the recording.
Returning to the doctor's office, he inquired, "Do you think it would cause further damage to beam Data to his lab?" "At this point, I can't say for sure. But if you feel that you'd make more progress there, I see no real reason to object," Beverly declared. "Thanks, doc," La Forge said, moving to a console and entering the command into the computer manually. The android's body was caught by the shimmering energies of the transporter and vanished a moment later. Geordi turned towards the door and stopped short when the intercom chimed with the captain's voice, saying, "Mister La Forge to the bridge."
Tapping his comm badge, he replied, "I'm on my way." I guess you'll just have to wait for later, my friend, he thought, leaving sickbay and heading towards a nearby turbolift. Once inside, the engineer called out his destination; then rode in silence while he wondered about the reason for the summons. Perhaps they want me to look into what caused Data's malfunction, he mused. The transport came to a halt and as the doors opened, Geordi caught sight of two strange men.
"This is my chief engineer. Mister La Forge, may I present our guests; investigator Galen and Chairman Akharin," Picard told him. "I didn't realize anyone had come onboard," he commented. "I've only recently arrived. The Captain and I have been discussing a way to counteract the technological capabilities of the intruder who is hiding on this ship," the investigator proclaimed. The other man doesn't explain his presence, as if he expected to be ignored. With a sudden realization, Geordi understood why. This is the person we've been looking for, he thought.
"How can I assist?" he asked, turning from Galen back to his superior. "Before he collapsed, Mister Data installed a signal jammer. It was his belief that this would allow us to come up with a strategy which couldn't be anticipated. We've recovered the mechanism he made, but it seems to be interfering with our systems. Can you shut it down?" the Captain requested, gesturing towards a device that was resting on the science console. Frowning, La Forge inquired, "Can't you disintegrate it or beam the thing into space?"
"We'd already considered that. Your friend is a very clever fellow, for an android. He rigged the jammer with a proximity trigger tied to the Enterprise's warp core. If any attempt is made to separate it from the ship beyond a certain distance, a booby trap will go off and destroy us all," the man called Akharin informed him. "That sounds rather excessive. Any idea why Data would do something like that?" he wondered, turning back to Picard. "Unfortunately not. Can we count on you to take care of this issue?" Jean-Luc asked.
"It may take me some time to find a solution, sir. It might be simpler to restore Data," the engineer suggested. Akharin glared at him and he felt a strange compulsion to forget the damage to the android. "I will get to work on it right away," Geordi stated, taking the jammer and returning to the turbolift. Once inside, he called out, "Holodeck 2." The transport began to move through the interior of the starship, even as he contemplated this latest development. This Akharin has inserted himself into our operations so completely, how can I fight this? he wondered.
He reached his destination and had soon joined the team that had been assembled to work on the search for the intruder. Only now, he's eliminated Data and the threat he represents, La Forge thought. Barclay was hunched over a console as he entered and waved enthusiastically towards a display as he said, "W-we've isolated the cause of Commander Data's accident." "That's good news, Reg. Will that help us to repair him?" Geordi inquired. "Possibly, but we'll h-have to examine his circuits in extensive detail before we can risk turning him back on," his subordinate informed him.
He nodded, wondering what sort of convoluted internal logic Barclay had been subjected to in order to convince him that what he was saying was the truth. "The Captain wanted us to analyze this device," La Forge explained, passing the jammer over to Reg. "What is it?" his subordinate wondered. "I'm not sure. Can you run an analysis for me and find out?" he requested. Barclay took the mechanism and examined it with a tricorder, observing, "It's emitting some kind of signal. Very strong, but localized. Do you want me to shut it off?"
"Not right now. The Captain said to figure out how it worked. I don't think he'd be too happy if it was shut off," Geordi answered honestly. "I see... well, other than that; it produces a very strong dampening field. No external sensors could detect anything once they were more than two meters away," Reg told him. "Is there anything else you tell me about it?" he asked. "I think Data might have made it. This device is full of intricate circuitry similar to his positronic brain. I couldn't guess why, though," his subordinate replied.
La Forge nodded in understanding, even as he considered how to use what his friend had left behind. I can't work openly on fixing him, or our foe will realize that I'm partially immune to his influence, he thought. "Feed the data into the main computer, then send it to Data's lab. Just don't shut it off," Geordi directed. "Of course, sir. Y-you can count on me," Barclay promised. Stepping out of the holodeck, he turned to the panel on the wall; doing a quick search for a program Data had told him about a while back.
"Computer, load program Picard Delta one; adjusting for events since that time and lock out internal access to holodeck controls for anyone inside. Additionally, shift the location of the previous simulation to the duplicate holodeck within the program. Encrypt to my personal access codes," the engineer directed. "Working... Program is running. You may enter when ready," the machine reported. If I'm right, that will mean Reg and the others can't leave even if they try and any communication they make will only be replied to by the computer as it mimics individuals on the ship, he thought.
"Computer, create a secondary shell program on top of Picard Delta one for anyone trying to enter; simulating the team members assigned to the previous program and the technology physically within the duplicate holodeck," he commanded. "Shell program active," the computer said. "Final orders, if this holodeck is disabled; beam the mechanism described by Lieutenant Barclay's transmission to Data's lab into space and detonate it. Encrypt these orders and do not reveal them to anyone without my authorization," Geordi said, hoping he'd thought of everything.