Chapter 8
"She is missing?" Captain Picard asked.
They were charting a part of the galaxy when they got a call from Admiral Aarons. The one in charge of Nicole's case.
"Yes. We got word from Captain's Williams ' neighbor that he went to get Lieutenant Riker. They had plans to meet up and leave California. That was two days ago, Jean-Luc." Admiral Aarons said, her hands folded neatly on her desk.
"The Enterprise will head back as soon as we can." Captain Picard said.
"Normally we will have you all stay back, but we've looked everywhere. We just have no idea where she is at. We also do not know what they are capable of." Admiral Aarons said. Her voice sounded worried.
"I can have Dr. Crusher send over her psyche information as soon as possible." Captain Picard said. He too felt worried about Nicole.
"Understood. Aarons out." Admiral Aarons said as the screen went black.
Captain Picard sighed. He had Commander Riker gather the senior staff for an emergency meeting in 10 minutes. He also ordered him to high tail to Earth.
Deanna Troi held onto Commander Riker's hand. Her daughter ran off with Captain Williams. And Starfleet had no idea where they were.
"Deanna, I know this is hard for you, but I need to know. Do you think Nicole would be capable of doing something like this?" Captain Picard, meeting the empathic counselor's dark irises.
"Do you think Admiral Aarons was lying, sir?" Commander Riker asked.
Captain Picard sighed. "I don't know, Number one. I just don't think Nicole would be capable of running away like this."
Troi took a deep calming breath. "Nicole learned how to hide her true emotions from living among telepaths. She was even able to suppress her more darker emotions. Which is how I was unable to pick up on the PTSD right away when she was being evaluated for trauma after her time on the Newton."
"Captain Nikki does have emotional trauma, but I do not think she would just leave like this." Data said.
"I went over Nicole's psych evaluation after the last couple panic attacks she had before she left for Earth. There was no cause to do this. She confessed to me that most of her panic attacks are focused on memories or her fear from leading a team." Dr. Crusher said.
"Do you think Corey convinced her to do this?" Captain Picard asked, looking at Data.
The android went silent. He knew how close Nicole and Captain Williams were. Nicole talked about him often. There were times where Data was "concerned" that she would leave him for Captain Williams. Nicole would just laugh and say that he's gay. A look into Captain Williams service record told him that Nicole was telling the truth. Captain Williams was married to a Science Officer on the Odyssey.
"Commander?" Captain Picard raised an eyebrow.
"Nicole talked about Captain Williams often. She explained how he helped keep her calm while they served together." Data explained.
"It was how we figured out how to use her rank to keep her grounded." Geordi added.
"That doesn't surprise me. Nicole has always had a love of Starfleet. She kept telling me how she wanted to go to the Academy and learn all she needed to know about being an Engineer. I even walked into her room one day after she had a bad break up with her boyfriend. I saw her play with her dolls. She had a captain, a first officer, a chief engineer, and a chief medical officer. She used her blocks to build the locations on the ship." Troi explained.
"I noticed then that she used something she loves to keep her grounded. Starfleet. Her emotions were calm that day. She was even able to talk to me about what happened. And how she wanted to leave Betazed. That was when I suggested just taking her with me to Earth."
"We are heading to Earth now. I've already been in contact with Lieutenant Collins. He told me the places he thought Nicole would go. Geordi, Data, I want you two to go to those places and see if you can find her." Captain Picard ordered.
"Deanna, Beverly. I want the two of you to be on standby. I plan on bringing her back up here, because we don't know what state she is in. I also suggest you have a security detail on standy, Worf. Maybe have a brig ready. Just in case."
"Will, you and I will be on the bridge. We will see if we can search for her lifesigns."
Everyone agreed with their Captain. And when the Enterprise made it to Earth 10 hours later. The plan went into action.
As an Android, Data was unable to worry about Nicole. However, as the hours passed and the sun grew pale behind the mountain side of the Colorado Rockies, Data was strongly motivated in finding his Nicole Riker alive.
Data would have never guessed that he would love a woman or at least something close to love. His relationship with Jenna never seemed to be as close as his relationship with Nicole. He did feel something similar with Tasha, but she did not want to pursue anything further.
Then that day when Nicole had her enhancements for her telepathic abilities. She clung to the Android for support and strength. Data vowed then that he would do whatever it took to protect her. To care for her.
"Data, I am reading life signs dead ahead. About 200 kilometers." Geordi said, reading his tricorder.
Data looked at his tricorder as well. He read the same thing Geordi was. He reconfigured it to read for Betazoid lifesigns. And as they got closer, Data heard himself sigh a sigh of relief.
"La Forage to Enterprise. We found her!" Geordi said.
Troi leaned against Commander Riker as they watched Dr. Crusher work on Nicole. Nicole was ghostly white pale. Her hair was matted from the mud and leaves. Her clothing was torn and covered in dirt. Probably from running through the forest.
"Dr. Crusher knows what she's doing. Nicole will be fine." Commander Riker whispered in Troi's ear as he held his Imzadi close.
"Imzadi." Nicole said telepathically.
"Nicole?" Troi asked.
"What?" Dr. Crusher asked.
"I thought I heard Nicole." Troi said, clinging to Riker.
"Can you reach her telepathically?" Captain Picard asked, walking through the Sickbay doors. Data and Geordi followed closely behind.
"I can try." Troi said as she moved away from Riker to walk a little closer to her daughter. She still kept her distance from the med team.
"Not for too long. I don't want to put her through any more stress. She is very weak." Dr. Crusher advised.
"Noted." Troi said, nodding her head before she tried to contact Nicole.
"Nicole, baby, can you hear me?" Troi said, telepathically.
There was complete silence for a good bit until Nicole came through. Even telepathically, she sounded weak.
"Imzadi."
Troi turned back to the Captain. "She keeps saying Imzadi."
The Captain seemed confused so Troi explained, "Imzadi is the Betazoid term for Beloved. It's a term that many half or lower Betazoids use for their significant others."
"It's for two who share a deep personal connection." Commander Riker added.
"Could she be referring to Data?" Captain Picard asked, pointing to the Android.
"It's a possibility." Troi said. "I can sense Nicole's love for Data."
Data didn't hear the conversation that was happening. When he walked into Sickbay, he was distracted by his girl laying on the bio bed. He wished he could speak to her telepathically like Troi could. He wanted to tell Nicole that he was here and how much he cared for her.
"I am glad she found someone that cares about her as much as she cares about him." Commander Riker blurted.
Troi just went up to Commander Riker and hugged him. He was so against the relationship that Nicole started to distance herself again. As he watched how Data cared for her through this, he noticed how happy Nicole was. She wasn't as broken as she was when she was with Tucker.
"I am going to have to ask you all to leave. I need to undress and clean up my patient." Dr. Crusher said.
"Captain, I would like to stay. I do not wish to leave Nicole's side." Data said, to the Captain.
Captain Picard brought his attention to his CMO. They locked eyes for a moment.
"It's okay. He can stay. As long as he stays out of the way." Dr. Crusher said, moving to the other side of Nicole to start an IV on her.
Geordi placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "I will be in Engineering if you need me."
"Thank you Geordi." Data said, nodding his head.
Dr Crusher had a nurse give Data a chair to sit in as they worked on Nicole.
"I am right here my dear Nikki. I am not going anywhere." Data whispered.