By Invitation Only

Part Three

Marlen bounced into the room. "I spoke to Mother," she announced. "They've definitely conquered the plague now. More people are being cured every hour, and no-one else is falling ill. Do you know, Kamva, our family well is now supplying nearly a tenth of the city! Rationed, of course, but how splendid!"

"It is very fortunate that there are uncontaminated water sources so close to the city," said Data.

"It's lucky the saboteur could not get to the private wells. If those had been polluted too, there would probably have been no-one in the city sane enough to send a distress call," Kamva commented.

"So... it's not someone from a Council family, anyway," said Marlen, thoughtfully. "That is, if we assume whoever caused the plague wanted the whole city to fall apart. That leaves disgruntled out-dwellers, madmen, or someone who's in league with the home world."

"What about outsiders?" Kamva interrupted. "Otherworlders, I mean."

"I would speculate," said Data, "that the author of the jobethyloselecybinamide contamination is a native of Bradar. Whoever polluted the Tantene Water knew that the JBE components would pass the water filters at Tantene Edge."

"I say it must have been one of the alien traders," said Kamva stubbornly. "Perhaps someone wanted to sell us a cure, so they had to plant the disease?"

"If alien traders wished to take advantage of Bradar while most of the inhabitants were helpless, they are very late in arriving," Data pointed out reasonably. "The Enterprise was the only ship within hailing distance of your distress signal."

"Then... perhaps it was Federation people." Kamva draw back from the android, frowning. "Perhaps they sent you!"

"Don't be silly, Nunc'. Data's people haven't tried to sell us anything! They've given us what we need, and haven't made any demands at all. Besides, how long is it since any traders came from the Federation?"

Kamva muttered, obviously unwilling to give up his theory, but Marlen continued: "In any case, Mother told me that the Enterprise's doctor has discovered that the missing component of the hallucinogen is found in Bradari blood."

Data was interested, and would have asked for more information, but that the sphere in his hands suddenly felt strange. When he examined it, a hairline crack was widening rapidly, then one hemisphere rotated smoothly, leaving visible a transparent internal reservoir and four tiny silver chips. Kamva pounced on the object with a cry of glee.

"You must have touched the trigger spot. I thought it would take us hours to get the thing open," Marlen said to Data as they watched the forensic scientist at work.

Kamva placed the opened sphere in a deep scanning device and took readings throughout several spectra. He scowled, stared, poked and prodded, carefully dissected the object, scanned each chip, and eventually sniffed crossly and turned to face his companions.

"Matani," he said.

Data was baffled, but Marlen seemed to understand. "Are you sure?" she queried.

"Very elegant work. Drip feed, regulated start time, anti-tamper device. We're more fortunate than we realised: if Data here hadn't managed to open the sphere by the proper trigger point, it might have blown his hands off. No, it's Matani's work. Besides, who else can you think of who'd have the expertise to cause a plague and the ruthlessness to implement it?"

"Who is Matani?" Data inquired mildly.

"An erstwhile colleague of mine," Kamva replied. "He's got some very strange views, thinks we've forgotten our obligations to the home planet, never mind that our establishers would have been killed if they'd stayed on Braf, that kind of thing. He tried to join the Council once, but fortunately his views don't get much support."

"I wonder why he did it..." Marlen was staring out of the large oval window. "Well, we'd better go and find him, don't you think so, Nunc' Kamva?"

"Absolutely. I'll just... there. I've encoded a message for the Speaker. If we don't find Matani at his retreat, she can get a search in motion. Come!"

The two Bradari hurtled outside. Data followed them with less obvious haste but no less speed. Moments later they had piled into the groundcar and were heading for the hills.

* * *

"I am more than happy to offer you our assistance in searching for the culprit," said Picard to the image on his screen.

Speaker Deljardo considered. "I think, Captain, that we should pursue the matter without your help. Don't misunderstand me—I speak for all Bradar when I say we are profoundly grateful to you all for the help you have given. But for my people's sake, we must take the remaining steps on our own. I believe we can deal with the problems now."

"Understood, Speaker," said Picard. In fact, he rather approved: it was not the Enterprise's business to act as policemen for a planet which was well able to take care of its own. "I'll instruct Lieutenant Worf to start withdrawing his teams back to the ship."

"Even your medical staff may leave," the Bradari woman continued. "They have taught our physicians how to fight the plague, and already the major part of that battle is fought and won. We can heal our remaining sick, now—and besides, your people need to rest! Your Pulaski is a marvel, but even she must need sleep sometimes."

Picard smiled ruefully. "Commander Riker will probably have to tie her up and drag her back to the ship, while there are still sick people who need help, but I agree, Speaker, that Bradar no longer needs our assistance. We're glad to have been able to help."

"Oh," she smiled, "I'm not dismissing all the Enterprise can offer, Captain. I believe our engineers are still collaborating on the matter of the water cleansing."

* * *

The Enterprise engineers and Bradari water techs ate their cold luncheon in glum silence. The news conveyed via the ship that Pulaski's team was successfully treating the plague victims had cheered them considerably for a while; but as the missing JBE molecules were in every Bradari's bloodstream, it was impossible to contemplate life on Bradar—or at least in Valmar city—if the contamination could not be cleared from the lake, and so far, they had made precious little progress.

Geordi, Wesley and Powla Venapes sat side by side, faces wrinkled in concentration as they chewed absently on the sandwiches the Enterprise had replicated for them. Geordi had developed considerable respect for his Bradari counterpart's abilities: trouble was, he thought, neither of them really knew the other's technology in enough detail.

"Look, why don't you come up to the Enterprise with me?" he suggested to the startled Bradari. "You know the set-up here, I know what the Enterprise can do—and on board ship we have a much more powerful computer to help us work. Duffy can stay here to see if there's anything in your current system that might give us something to work with, provide a different perspective."

"I should probably send someone else," Powla said worriedly. "I do know more about the systems than anyone else who is fit enough to work right now, but I'm in charge. Zacha!" he called to a passing technician, who responded at once. "Will you go up to the Enterprise and help Lieutenant LaForge to work on the new filters?"

The burly technician recoiled. "Do you mean—I'd have to be transported? No, I'm sorry, but I—I can't."

Powla grasped the man's shoulder comfortingly. "No, it's all right. I'd forgotten about the transporter. I don't suppose there's anyone here who'd be willing to undergo that. I'll have to go myself." He swallowed, and squared his shoulders. "Please take over here. Senior techs Nortyn and Dario are due to return soon, but you will be able to manage until one of them arrives." As the unsettled technician scurried away, Powla faced the startled LaForge. "I'll go with you."

"We can get a shuttle," LaForge offered. "It won't take that long."

"No," said Powla, "no, it would be foolish to waste time in indulging my fears. I have always been pleased to try new experiences. I will try this one."

"Great," said Wesley, trying to reassure the wan Bradari. "You know, there's really nothing to worry about. Being transported is—well, it's fine."

The Bradari male gave him an uneasy smile. "I'm sure you're right, Wesley. But... we Bradari have always declined to make use of transporter technology. When we settled this planet, five generations ago, we had no idea such a thing was even possible, and we—perhaps we've grown suspicious of many things which originated elsewhere. Of course, we do trade with the Federation, and others occasionally, but we don't—it's complicated to explain." He shrugged. "I like to think of myself as being comfortable with all kinds of machine, but the very thought of this frightens me. Let's... let's get it over with."

"Sure," said LaForge, and signalled the Enterprise. "Three to beam up."

In the transporter room, Powla Venapes stumbled down the steps, grinning maniacally and gasping for breath.

"See?" LaForge grinned back at him. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I am still alive, at any rate, not scattered across the universe! But I am most relieved to be in one piece again."

"C'mon, let's get to Engineering. We've a lot of work to do."

The Bradari technician seemed fascinated by the Enterprise's smooth corridors. His head snapped from side to side as he stared hungrily at every door, every display, and along every intersection. He looked like a tourist, gawking at the sights. Geordi teased him about it, and Powla admitted ruefully that he had never been aboard a space ship before.

"We have ships, of course, for trade and for moon-mining, but nothing so fine as this. It's magnificent!"

Geordi grinned proudly. "She sure is!"

"She?" The Bradari male halted abruptly.

"It's just a convention," Wesley explained. "For some reason, on Earth, ships have always been known as 'she', right back from the early days of sail."

"Ah, I see." Powla looked relieved, and started walking again. "Did your culture have a tradition of female explorers?"

"Uhh... you should probably talk to Captain Picard about that," Wesley suggested. "When the plague is dealt with, of course."

"With luck, we might get a couple of days' shore leave when things are back to normal," Geordi suggested. "Bradar looks like a beautiful place." If you don't mind thistles, he added mentally.

"It is! I would very much enjoy the opportunity to show you more of my home," Powla said enthusiastically, and went on to explain exactly why Bradar was the loveliest planet in this—or possibly any—sector of the galaxy.

* * *

Captain's Log, supplemental

Thanks to Commander Data's efforts the sources of pollution within the reservoir have been removed, but the water is still not safe for Bradari use. Some ship's personnel are still working in the city to distribute the rationed supplies of uncontaminated water, although as the plague victims are restored to health, this duty is gradually being relinquished into Bradari hands.

Commander Data and the Bradari forensic scientist Kamva Enyiss have identified the saboteur. They attempted to apprehend him but found his home deserted, and are returning to the city to present their evidence to the Speaker and Council. A planet-wide search for the missing individual is being undertaken by the local authorities.

Speaker Deljardo has informed me that the Bradari physicians believe they no longer need the services of the Enterprise's medical staff, although Dr Pulaski and some of her staff are remaining in the city to assist until such time as we are ready to leave orbit. This we will do when the matter of the water purity is solved satisfactorily. Chief Engineer LaForge is collaborating with a Bradari technician to devise effective filters, and they hope to have solved the remaining difficulties by midday tomorrow.

"What is it, Mr LaForge?"

"Sir, I think Data is in trouble."

"In what way?"

"You know that I've been working with Powla Venapes, the Bradari water tech."

"He came aboard to work on the problem of filtering the JBE. Go on."

"Captain, Powla seems to be one of the most... I guess the most flexible Bradari. He was willing to use the transporter—apparently most of them just won't contemplate it. But when I asked the computer to run an analysis, he screamed."

"Screamed?" Picard sat forward in astonishment. "Why?"

"It took me a while to get the story from him. He was very upset. It seems they have some kind of prohibition, well, more than a prohibition, it's more fundamental than that, against having machines with human characteristics. Bradari characteristics, I mean, but—"

"I get the picture, Mr LaForge. Please continue."

"So hearing the computer speak with a human voice, he just... lost it, Captain. He kept trying to hide, saying it was an abomination. Eventually we got him calmed down, and he said something about a machine which walked. It seems to have been something in the history of their original planet, Captain. Whether it was a legend or it really happened I can't tell, but it's really left its mark in Bradari culture. No machine is ever built with any kind of human—uh, humanoid characteristics. Not form, not voice, not anything."

Picard ran a hand wearily over his face. "Merde."

"Captain, we have to get Data out of there before anyone finds out he's an android."

"I quite agree, Mr LaForge. Enterprise to Commander Data."

They waited for a disconcerting moment, but the expected response did not come. Instead, they heard the voice of Speaker Deljardo: Captain Picard, I regret to inform you that your personnel on Bradar are not at present permitted to communicate with you. I trust this is a temporary situation and will be resolved shortly. Meanwhile, please take no action to retrieve your crewmembers. No harm will come to them, you have my word.

* * *

"I just wish I knew what was going on!"

"I don't like being without my communicator, either, Commander, but what choice did we have?" said Pulaski, reasonably.

"It was obvious they were ready to use their weapons if you resisted, Will. That wouldn't have got us anywhere," Deanna put in.

"But what could have caused the Bradari to act this way?" Riker said, baffled. "One minute we were all getting along just fine, the next minute they act as though we're their worst enemies."

"Nonsense, Commander. They haven't done us any harm, they haven't been hostile, we aren't under arrest," said Pulaski. "We've simply been asked to hand over our communicators."

"And you find that acceptable, do you, Doctor? We're stuck in here, unable to speak to the Captain, because suddenly our Bradari friends have turned nasty."

"I'd say they were very polite about it. Until you objected," said Deanna. "Will, I sensed no hostility from the officials who came to see us. I don't think it seemed anything more than a routine matter to them. They were surprised when you refused to comply."

Riker glared at her, but could not deny the truth of her words. "I still don't like it," he announced, and sat grumpily on the wooden chair by the small window.

"Will, the Enterprise can beam us out if there's any need," Deanna pointed out. "They know where we are, and the sensors can pick us out from the local people with no difficulty."

"But we don't know what's going on!"

"Nonetheless, we're not in any danger from these people. They did say it was a temporary measure. We'll probably have our communicators back in half an hour."

Riker glowered.

The door opened, and through it came Speaker Deljardo. She smiled briefly at their astonishment, and held up a hand to quiet the babble of questions.

"Firstly, let me apologise for the necessity of keeping you all confined in here. It seems a poor repayment after your work on our behalf, but I hope you will understand that we deemed it important to separate you from Commander Data."

"Speaker, we don't even know where Commander Data is right now," Riker said angrily.

"I can tell you that," she replied serenely. "He is at my home. However, you must make no attempt to communicate with him, nor he with you. It is for this reason that your communication devices were removed."

"I don't understand what Data has done," Pulaski announced, "but I do know that there are still sick people out there who could use some help. We would be more use to you working in the wards than confined in here."

The Speaker considered. "Of course," she said. "If you give me your promise that you will not go outside Valmarene Infirmary or make any attempt to contact Data while you are here, you are free within these walls."

Pulaski thought about this. "Speaker, I do want to get back to my patients, and I know Nurse Ogawa feels the same, but perhaps we should know a bit more about the situation before we give you our word."

"Yes, Speaker," Troi broke in, "if you could explain?"

"It is perfectly simple," Jaren Deljardo told them. "Your Commander Data has been Named as the father of the child my daughter has lately conceived. He has not yet agreed to accept his responsibilities, and accordingly is being held at my home. We do not wish his decision to be influenced by anyone; it is important to know what manner of man my daughter has found to father her child. He will not be harmed, I assure you."

There was a stunned silence from the Enterprise officers, broken at last by Cdr Riker: "If you would give us a few minutes in private, Speaker, to discuss this?"

"Certainly," she said graciously. "I can see that you are surprised by this news. I will return shortly."

"I assume we're all agreed that the situation is ridiculous," said Pulaski grimly. "The Speaker's daughter made a big mistake when she chose to accuse the one man in Starfleet who could never have fathered her child!"

"How could she even imagine..." Nurse Ogawa began, and faded into embarrassed silence.

"Unless she's very innocent indeed," Deanna said crisply, "I think we can assume that the Speaker's daughter knows perfectly well Data isn't really her baby's father. I mean, he wouldn't—well, he couldn't be."

"No," said Riker, though with perhaps less conviction than Deanna had expected. Alone of those present, he could recall Data's delicate statement that he had been 'intimate' with Tasha Yar. He could even remember the twinge of envy he had felt. Maybe Data and this girl had... but he couldn't have made her pregnant in any event, so there was no sense revealing Data's, hm, capabilities. "The girl must have had some reason for choosing Data rather than the actual father."

"But why would she do such a thing?" Nurse Ogawa wondered. "Why would she name Cdr Data, rather than... someone from this planet? What can she possibly have to gain by it?"

They thought about this.

"Maybe... maybe she doesn't want to reveal the true father's name," Deanna suggested. "It might be someone the Speaker would find unacceptable. We don't really know much about the society here, there could be political factions, or caste differences, or family feuds—anything."

"Montagues and Capulets," Pulaski muttered, then shrugged.

"It could be more subtle than that," Riker said. "Maybe the girl wants to marry a Starfleet officer, get off-planet. Data could seem like her best chance to get away from Bradar and see life on a starship."

"Now that I can believe," Pulaski admitted. "I guess Data was the one Starfleet officer this girl had had any contact with, so he was her only option."

"If the girl is the one who insisted that he be kept incommunicado, it might be so that we'd have no chance to warn him he's being conned," Riker went on. "It's an obvious possibility to us, but Data tends to see things differently. The girl probably realises he's too innocent to notice he's being used."

"Perhaps she just likes him," said Deanna with asperity. "Data can be very endearing."

Pulaski gave her a pitying look. "Counselor, do you really think that just because Data has certain pre-programmed appealing characteristics, he'd be a good choice for any flesh-and-blood woman's husband?"

"I wonder if these people even know Data's an android?" Riker murmured.

"Perhaps we should tell them. That would put an end to this nonsense," said Pulaski.

"I think we should wait and see if the situation resolves itself," said Deanna. "If this girl has some other motive, it might cause a lot of trouble if we clear up the situation and leave her no way to save face. As I just said, we really don't know much about how Bradari society works."

"All right, Counselor," said Riker. "We'll play along. For now."

"I take it there will be no objection if I get back to the sick, Commander?"

"No, Doctor. In fact, we can all help, if the Speaker will permit it. I'm sure you can find something useful for me to do." He grinned ruefully. "I think I'd rather carry slop buckets than sit looking at these four walls any longer!"