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Yeah sorry you had to wait I kinda
forgot about posting this last friday
*gulp* It's once again one of the longer chapters (and about time at that too),
less intense than the last couple though :)
The way it's looking now there are about
ten more chapters to go, but that could become more, or less...it all depends.
I'm also a little sad to say that there's
going to be more time between one post and the next, for a number of reasons
with which I won't bore you. Now, I hope you'll enjoy this one and maybe even
review? :)
Rating: down to PG-13 for this one
Disclaimers: still breathing last time I
checked them *g*
Oh, one last thing...it's DATA!!! *ack* I never write Data, ever...but he forced his way in
like a freakin' mosquito (no offence of course) into
your bedroom...
Now, onto less pleasant things:
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Chapter Thirty Two: Revelations pt I
In the darkness of the Enterprise's third Observation Lounge, Commander William Riker sat quietly at the head of the conference table, trying to control, then release the emotions surging through him but failing at both.
He had been, since early childhood, a man of deeds rather than words and had always avoided talking about his inner feelings. Now however, he could really do with a counselor. Only, as faith would have it, the only one who he trusted was not available.
A sigh of frustration escaped him and was soon followed by the first signs of tears when he couldn't drag his mind away of the state Deanna had been in when she had returned to the Enterprise. The medical reports he'd read, as few and vague as they were, still gave enough facts to build a theory on…and it wasn't a pretty one
~*+*~
The mood in the main Observation Lounge was grave, brought on solely by the grim set of the features of Captain Picard and his wife. The Captain regarded the assembled officers for several long moments while deciding on how best to inform his crew. "I received a communiqué from Admiral Necheyev earlier. She recalled the Enterprise to Derona III where Captain Troi will face charges of treason in the first degree."
"WHAT?!" The exclamation was unanimous, the only one not vocalizing his surprise was Data, but even he carried a shocked expression.
"If I may inquire Sir; on what bases?"
"The attacks on Starbases 24 and 25."
"But Sir; investigations to discover the grouping responsible were inconclusive."
Picard nodded at the Commander, pleased to see that his calm and logical questions gave the rest of the staff something to focus their attention on. "New evidence suggests that the Black Dragon was responsible; Starfleet Command suspects they got the correct frequency of the shield modulations from Captain Troi."
Will winced each time the Captain addressed Deanna as Captain, ever since he'd found out about her promotion he had trouble believing it. Now it was utterly unimportant of course, but still the rank surprised him.
"But they *know* she can't be held responsible for that!" They were the first words Beverly had spoken since being informed of her friend's predicament and they drew agreeing nods from everyone present.
"Over a thousand people –officers and civilians—died during the attacks; Command needs someone to put the blame on."
"This is ridiculous! If they want to blame someone, why don't they blame Thomas and his fucked up gang!"
Despite agreeing with the words, Jean-Luc decided to ignore Riker's forceful exclamation. "Data, I'd like you to do the research. Jaka, please assist him. Kate, I'd like you to look into the effect of each drug Deanna was administered as well as how her psychic powers could have attributed to her 'training'. We're going to cover this from every angle possibly. You're dismissed."
Half the group stood up and demurely left the Observation Lounge; their faces set in identical expressions of disbelief and shock. The three remaining officers allowed the silence to settle in for a short while, using the respite to gather their thoughts. "Captain, I would like to volunteer to act as Captain Troi's advisor." Data offered eagerly.
"I have already requested the Council's commission to defend her myself, but I'm sure I could use the help Data." Jean-Luc informed the android with a grateful nod.
"Of course Sir."
Now that Data too left the room, Picard and Riker were left alone and the former was painfully reminded of the information his wife had shared with him not thirty minutes earlier. "Commander?"
"Captain…how is Deanna?"
"Shaken and frightened."
~*+*~
Beverly Picard took a deep breath and rubbed her swollen belly as the doors opened to reveal the interior of her best friend's quarters. As she expected the only illumination came from the stars. Deanna was sitting in a comfortable chair facing the viewports, her hair down and a simple, loose, white dress covering her body. "How're you holding up?"
The Counselor turned to face her wearing a worrying blank expression. "All right." Beverly couldn't help but disagreeing and by the brief change of expression she knew Troi had picked up on her thought.
"I need to talk to you Dea." This was the dreaded talk and there was no way she could postpone telling Deanna any more. She would probably already have experienced some symptoms and she would most likely start showing within the next two to three weeks at most. Beverly led her friend to the couch and sat down next to her; their knees touching. She took Troi's hand in her own, glancing at the healed nails as she did so and tried to look into the black eyes that were fixed on the surface of the purple/grey couch. "I have to tell you something, and I wish I wouldn't, but there's no avoiding it…" She allowed her voice to trail off and waited for Deanna to look up, which she did within seconds. Swallowing one last time she could all but whisper "You're pregnant."
Cold black eyes regarded her for a long moment, moving from one side to the other as if reading thoughts and emotions like reading a book. "No."
Surprised by the Betazoid's calm conviction, Beverly was at loss for what to say. "You must have noticed the symptoms by now." She said after a short pause.
Deanna shook her head almost sadly. "They're echoes, nothing more." Mulling over her words the Doctor hit the conclusion that the empath had known about the abortion all along. "Of course I have. Betazoid women are aware of their child as soon as its brain begins to develop. I was terrified that Thomas would find out; I couldn't figure out if he'd allow me to have it and then raise the child to his own standards, or kill it before it even saw the first rays of light. Then one morning I woke up and felt the emptiness inside me and I knew he'd chosen for abortion. No words have ever been uttered about it."
She took a deep breath and forced her tears back, squarely looking the weeping Doctor in her eyes. "So you see, the symptoms, the feelings I feel now are just echoes from what I felt then. Postponed trauma."
"Oh Deanna!" Beverly enveloped her in a tight hug of sympathy, not even noticing that her friend was as stiff as a board. "But, you are pregnant, again." She said through her tears. "Instruments show you're about seven weeks along."
Troi shrugged non-committal and stood up. "Oh."
"'Oh'? Is that all you have to say?" Mrs. Picard followed her to the door. "'Oh'?"
"Yes."
"I can't believe you're so indifferent." Beverly almost huffed. "You were always so compassionate… what happened to that woman?"
For long, frightening moments Deanna seemed to stare right through her. "She disappeared when you left her behind with that monster. I'd like to be alone now." She indicated to the now open doors, her face still blank and composed.
"We did not leave you Dea!" Beverly exclaimed in shock. "We searched for you for months!"
"You didn't search hard enough." Troi shot back. Her voice finally betraying the anger she felt.
"How can you say that?! Every one worked twice as hard as ever before! Geordi and Data were continually trying to adapt the sensors to pick up the Hydra. Jaka worked herself to exhaustion trying to modify a torpedo so that it would disable the shields with one hit and Jean-Luc hardly slept! He'd spend night after day after night on the Bridge doing everything in his power to get you back!"
Her unintentional outburst send Deanna's emotions reeling inside her and it took her a moment to focus and think coherently again. Beverly watched as her friend's shoulders slumped and her face fell into resignation. "You're right." Deanna admitted flatly after a short silence. "At least you did something to rescue me. I thank you for that, honestly. But I'd like to be alone now."
Unsure what to make of her tone and words, Beverly obeyed to her wishes and slowly backed out of the cabin. "You're not alone Dea, please remember that." She whispered before the doors closed in front of her face.
As soon as she was secluded from the view of her friend Deanna dropped herself unceremoniously onto the floor and allowed any and all emotions and thoughts to rage freely through her, not noticing the doors sliding open once more and Beverly Picard returning to her side. The Doctor's encouragements and gentle touches were lost on her senses. There were no more tears left in her and she found herself even unable to –think- about what consequences her pregnancy would have and so she just lay curled up on the floor, staring numbly at the grey wall until, eventually, she fell into a slight slumber.
~*+*~
In his quest to become more like his human companions Data had since a couple of years developed the habit of watching the stars for at least forty-seven and a half minutes per ship's day-cycle. Like his friends he used the time to reflect on the day as well as look ahead to the up-coming events. This time however, he found himself thinking about the upcoming trial Deanna Troi was about to face.
Doctor Soong had created him to conform to Federation protocol. Dozens of little subroutines both forced him to follow whatever order he was given and yet at the same time gave him the freedom to object to those orders, if, of course, he had valid reasons for doing so.
Because of that, as well as because of his complete knowledge of Federation and Starfleet law and protocol Data could understand, on a purely intellectual level, why Starfleet had chosen to prosecute Troi. But on a personal level and as a fellow Starfleet officer he was dumbfounded. Starfleet council must be aware of the Counselor's lack of control.
He hadn't seen much of Troi since she had been returned to the ship. Aside from a few visits and encounters during shifts he had not seen her and through observation he'd come to the conclusion that she spend most of her time in solitude.
That was why he felt a measurement of surprise when he heard the doors open behind him, soon followed by the distinct smell of the Counselor. His surprise grew when she crossed the empty Lounge and came to stand next to him. "Hello Data."
"Deanna." He greeted in return. "How are you?"
"I'm fine Data, thank you for asking." If it hadn't been her appearance that gave her away -her skin paler, her eyes unfocused and lifeless curls hanging down her back- her voice would surely have. Data had often heard fellow crewmembers and friends describe Troi's voice as melodious, musical and one ensign who had been particularly enamored with her had described her voice as the tinkling of Elfin bells as the welcome the sun at the crack of dawn. Why the ensign had felt that that particular analogy fit was beyond Data; after all, there had been no prove that Elves existed so how could the ensign know how elfin bells sounded? "What do you see out there Data?"
Her question surprised him in so far an android could be surprised. "Stars."
"Besides the stars?"
"Two planets, seven mid-sized moons and four-hundred fifty-seven—" A gentle laugh interrupted his rendition of what he saw and his positronic net immediately pointed out that he hadn't heard the Counselor laugh for a very long time.
"It's good to know that some things never change." Deanna remarked with amusement lacing her voice. Data wanted to ask whether she was referring to the continent of the space he saw or to his reaction, but did neither and waited. "I meant what do you *see* out there Data? Your future or your past? Or something else all together?"
He considered her question and came to the conclusion that it wasn't very different from what Guinan had been so fond of while traveling through a nebula. He'd often found her staring out the view ports and naming the shapes of clouds as the Enterprise drifted through them. He accessed his databanks and started to put together an answer that would satisfy the Counselor when he realized that she didn't care what exactly the answer was, as long as there was an answer.
Keeping this new discovery in mind he answered her. "I believe I see uncertainty. There are many things out there of which I have no knowledge. I cannot know if they are benevolent or evil or even life-threatening." The philosophical statement surprised even him, but Troi seemed to be rather…proud?
"Does that scare you?"
"Counselor, I have no emotions, therefore I cannot be scared." At her scolding look he amended, a little. "It worries me. I do not wish to see my friends or hurt, nor do I wish my own demise. Yet I am curios and eager to learn." He turned towards her and found her looking up at him with what seemed to be an expectant gaze. "Your tutelage has helped me understand the psyche of most humanoids and I understand why the unknown would both thrill and scare them. But as an android I do not have emotions, yet I share their opinion. Does this mean that I do have emotions, or am I simply mimicking what I believe to be human?"
Troi contemplated on his question for exactly twelve point eighty-seven seconds. "I cannot answer that for you Data."
"Then what do you see in the stars Counselor?"
"I don't know anymore." Her voice dropped an octave. "I see fear and doubt. The uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring. I see—" She stopped herself short. "The Captain told me you volunteered to help him defend me. Thank you."
"You are most welcome. It was not your fault, therefore our chances are good." Her unconvinced smile did not fool him, but he allowed her to believe it did. "We are discussing our strategy at oh-nine-hundred hours in the Captain's Ready Room. You can join us if you wish."
"I'll think about it." She was about to say something more when the doors opened to admit the First Officer.
Data, with his superior sight, could see how Troi tensed up as Riker called her name. "Do you wish me to stay Deanna?"
"No, I will be all right. Sleep well Data."
He almost reminded her that he did not require sleep, but thought the better of it. "Likewise Counselor."
She watched as the android left and exchanged greetings with Riker on his way out. Data had long since been one of her 'pet-projects' as Beverly called it, simply because she enjoyed teaching him and learning from him and often during times of emotional stress she found it easier to be in his presence than anyone else's because she couldn't sense him.
Wills love and concern sliced through whatever lingering thoughts she might have had and forced her attention on him. Even now, after what felt like thousands of unofficial counseling sessions with Beverly and a handful with Jean-Luc, she still felt the gut wrenching fear when looking at the man who used to be her best friend.
She knew he hurt because of her, but she was unable to look past his boyish grin and blue eyes and although Thomas and Will had grown to be as different as night and day, they're minds still felt very much alive. "Will."
"Deanna."
Self-consciously her hand dropped to her abdomen as she remembered Beverly's words of the night before. 'You can't hide it for long Dea…sooner or later he's going to find out and he will come up with his own set of conclusions.' Lowering her eyes to the floor she took a deep breath and prepared herself for a long and emotionally draining night. "We need to talk."
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TBC…if I get more than three reviews *muahahaha*
D. *enjoying her little blackmail*
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