Disclaimer: Star Trek the Next Generation is property of Paramount Pictures and all respective cast, crew, and employees. I am not making a profit off this. This is simply for fanfiction enjoyment.

Summary: The Borg have returned and have captured Data. Using very different tactics from their last encounter with the android, they will stop at nothing to gain control of the Enterprise … and Data may not survive the ordeal.

Eternal Scars

"Commander," Captain Picard addressed to the android after the communications link between the Enterprise and Admiral Vincennes ended, "may I see you in my Ready Room?"

"Yes, sir," Data nodded. He maneuvered his chair away from his station, and with some struggle, managed to make his way through the entrance of the captain's Ready Room through the narrow doorway.

When Data entered, Picard jumped forward to push away the chair that was positioned in front of his desk. He then seated himself at his chair and folded his hands on his sleek, blacktop desk.

"I thought you'd like to know that a funeral will be held for Ensign Tim at 0200 hours in three weeks. Some of his other friends stationed on other ships will beam aboard between now and then so they can attend the services."

Data immediately bowed his head and his facial features seemed to tense. If the captain didn't know any better, he would've thought the android had turned on his emotion chip. However, he knew that this was not true. His android comrade had not activated his emotion chip since his return to the Enterprise .

"With your permission, sir," Data said, meekly, "I would like to deliver a eulogy in his memory. I consider Ensign Tim to be one of my good friends."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The captain then reached into his desk and pulled out a small circular disc.

"I also wanted to tell you," he continued, "that Ensign Tim wanted you to have this." He placed the disc gently on the desk in front of Data.

"When Dr. Crusher was reviewing Ensign Tim's records to prepare his…. death certificate…," Picard swallowed hard, it was never easy to lose a crew member, "she found an entry Ensign Tim had prepared."

He then quoted from the log, "'In the event of my death, please give Commander Data the program disc that can be found in the bottom drawer of my desk in my quarters.' "I believe it's a program to be activated in the Holodeck."

To Picard's surprise, Data did not pick up the disc. He stared at the tiny device for several long moments.

"Something wrong, Data?"

This seemed to shake the android out of his revere.

"No, sir," he finally gently took the tiny device in his hands, "Is that all, captain?"

Picard nodded. However, just as the android turned his chair around to leave, he spoke up.

"Data…. are you okay?"

"I am functioning within normal parameters, sir."

As the doors closed behind the android, isolating the captain in his ready room, he let out a heavy sigh. Normally, when Data was 'functioning within normal parameters' meant that the android was just fine. However, Picard had a feeling that his friend was anything but fine.


"Anything I can get for you?" Guinan, the El-Aurian bartender asked the android seated at the bar.

With some struggle, Data had managed to settle himself into one of the bar stools by hoisting his body from his chair to the stool; however, he had to strengthen his internal equilibrium to keep from falling off the stool.

"Ginger tea, please," Data responded. He really didn't want anything to drink; he just wanted someplace to process all the thoughts that were running through his positronic brain. However, knowing that most came to Ten Forward to consume a beverage or drink, Data ordered one at random.

"So how are you doing, Data?" Guinan asked, setting the cup brimming with steaming tea in front of the android. She was dressed in one of her usual unique ensembles. This time, she wore a fuzzy maroon robe with a matching wide brimmed hat.

"I am functioning within normal parameters," the android replied exactly as he had whenever he was asked the question. However, the El-Aurian was not as easily deterred as some of her colleagues.

"And your legs?"

"They have not regained any function since I regained consciousness on the Enterprise . Despite Dr. Crusher's physical therapy sessions, no signal has progressed beyond 0.001 nanometers below one inch of the middle of my thigh."

The android sipped his tea, more out of imitating human behavior than need.

"Wouldn't that tea be better if you turned on your emotion chip?" Guinan asked.

Data cocked his head.

"I do not see a need to turn on my emotion chip."

"Why not? It'd allow you to enjoy your tea."

The android hesitated for several moments. His head bowed down slightly and he seemed to be staring distantly, not even knowing what he was looking at. Over seven million thoughts bombarded his positronic brain at once. At first, the android thought he was suffering from a signal overload, but a quick check of his flow regulator showed that neither it nor his signals had malfunctioned.

"Data?"

"It is 1904 hours," he responded almost too quickly, "I will need to prepare for my night-watch duty on the Bridge." He immediately pushed his hands on the stool he sat on to move to his isolinear chair.

"Ohh no," Guinan reached over the bar to grab the android's arm, "you're not leaving until you answer my question."

Data released his hold of the stool and faced the El-Aurian.

Guinan's voice then took on a more gentle, but firm tone.

"Why are you so reluctant to turn on your emotion chip?"

The android hesitated yet again. Data wondered if he was suffering from some unknown after-effect of his encounter with the Borg. He was taking an average of five point seven seconds longer to respond to questions; far too long for an android.

"You explain that my emotion chip would allow me to enjoy my tea," he said softly, "but you did not mention that my emotion chip will also force me to experience negative emotions such as fear, anger, pain…. sadness. I have experienced all those emotions in my most recent encounter with the Borg."

"Is that what you're afraid of?" Guinan asked gently, bringing her eyes up to meet the downcast eyes of the android, "You don't want remember what I felt like when you were on the Borg Cube?"

Data reluctantly nodded.

Guinan let out a deep breath. She had never seen the android so vulnerable. Ironically, although his emotion chip was not on, he showed every sign of a terrified human.

"Data," Guinan said softly, "part of being human… or El-Aurian, is learning to deal with emotions; good or bad."

"But humans 'deal with their emotions' because they do not have any other choice. Unlike myself, they cannot turn off their emotions. By deactivating my emotion chip, I do not experience negative emotion such as pain and fear."

"… and you avoid positive emotions too. Without your emotion chip, you can't feel joy, love, elation… what it's like to drink a calming cup of tea." Guinan added, gesturing to the tea in front of Data with her eyes.

"Is avoiding negative emotions worth never being able to feel love, joy, and happiness again?"

The android cocked his head inquisitively. Ever so carefully, he ventured into the depths of his positronic brain, sending signals to his memory files. Being careful not to activate his emotion chip, he slowly opened his memory files for .0001 seconds. In that time, the image of the Borg Queen wielding the serrated knife high over his wounded body seemed to burn a permanent image in his secondary files.

"Yes," he answered.

Bloop

Data's combadge sounded, announcing an incoming message.

"Commander Data," Captain Picard's voice arose through the link, "you were due at night-watch five minutes ago. Is something wrong?"

Guinan winced. Sometimes the captain had the worst timing.

She was about to speak to the captain, but Data beat her to it.

"No, sir," Data replied, "I am on my way."

Pushing his palms on the stool, Data lowered himself into his isolinear chair.

Guinan watched as he rolled out of Ten Forward and the tall doors of the bar closed behind him.


When Data returned to his quarters after his shift, he made his way the desk. The thick desk housed a computer that he had modified to keep up with his lightning-fast computations.

"Mrow?" Spot immediately greeted him by jumping on the desk and rubbing her face against his chin.

"Hello, Spot," Data greeted; since Data was alone in his quarters, no one saw the corners of the android's mouth turn slightly upward as the cat purred contentedly. When Spot settled on Data's desk with his paws folded underneath, Data reached into his pocket. Carefully, he took out the device the captain had given him and placed it on his desk. The disc seemed to glimmer even in the dim light of his quarters.

Data stared at it for several moments. 90 of his positronic brain focused on it, far more than the average devotion to an item. Usually, Data processed thousands upon thousands of computations in his mind while carrying on a conversation with a fellow crew member. It was not that he wasn't interested in the conversation; his advanced brain allowed him to fully focus on several things at once. However, since had regained consciousness on the Enterprise , he found himself distracted. Most of his thoughts and computations focused on the events that had unfolded in the last several weeks. From the Borg Queen to Ensign Tim, it was as if he were experiencing an infinite feedback loop that he could not stop.

Suddenly, the emergency signal blared, bathing the Enterprise in a red pulsating glow.

"Red alert! All hands, report to Bridge! Prepare for emergency evacuation!"

Quickly, Data grasped the disc and placed it in his pocket before heading to the Bridge.


The Enterprise had not even completed repairs from its encounter with the Borg and already, it found itself in the middle of trouble once again. Still docked in Starbase 54, the viewscreen of the ship showed the interior of the ship repair station. Starfleet officers were scrambling across scaffoldings and down stairs. Another red signal and emergency horn resounded, joining in the chaos.

"There's been a malfunction in the warp storage unit in this Starbase," Picard shouted over the cacophony, "a conduit exploded, damaging environmental controls and the temperature in the storage unit is rising. If it keeps rising, the warp cores will overheat and explode."

"There's enough warp cores in there to blow this entire Starbase to pieces," Riker gasped, "What happened to emergency controls?"

"It's not functioning, and we don't know why. Commander Riker, take an Away Team to the controls of the warp storage unit to see if you can stop the temperature from rising. I will take care of emergency evacuation procedures from the ship."

Riker tapped his combadge, "Mr. La Forge, meet us in Transporter room 4."

"Aye sir."

"Mr. Worf, Dat…" Riker's voice trailed off as he set eyes on the android confined to the isolinear chair. He had become so used to having the engineer, Klingon and android accompany him on away missions, calling all three of them in emergency situations had become automatic. Now that he looked at his comrade in his current state, deep down, he knew things had irreversibly changed. Could he honestly go on pretending things were still the same?

"Commander Data," Riker said louder, clearing his throat.

Data looked back at the first officer, not moving from his position.

"Commander Riker, I do not think that I will be able to help you. My compromised mobility will slow down the pace of the Away Team."

Riker swallowed hard. The truth was glaring him in the face, and Data had just stated it loud and clear.

"Commander, you can perform analysis and calculations faster than any man on this ship. You are the perfect officer for this job."

It was only then when Data complied and followed Riker and Worf to the transporter room.

On the transporter pad, just before the three dissolved away in a sparkle of blue, Riker stole a glance at the android seated next to him. Deep inside, he hoped he would be proven right.


Just getting to the controls of the storage room proved to be difficult, immediately threatening to dash Riker of his hopes.

Starbase 54, a cavernous bay, had several scaffoldings and stairs strung around its interior. Officers easily climbed stairs to go from one floor to another. The same was not true, however, for an android in an isolinear chair. The sharp turns and narrow scaffolding forced Data to negotiate the walkways with careful precision to prevent from running into the sides. Although there were turbolifts, they had been sealed off due to the emergency. They had not even reached the first set of stairs yet, but Data knew that once they did, the isolinear chair he was confined to would take several moments to hover over just one stair.

"You must proceed without me," Data shouted to Worf, Riker, and Geordi over the blaring of the emergency signal. He checked the padd in his palm, which was remotely assessing the interior of the storage unit.

"Temperature in the storage unit has reached 21.1 degrees Celsius and is rising at a rate of ten degrees every five minutes. Once the temperature reaches 37.8 degrees Celsius, the warp cores will explode."

"That gives us about 15 minutes," Riker said.

Data nodded, "You must stop the temperature increase in that time."

Riker returned Data's glance with an incredulous stare. How the hell were they…

But he didn't have time to finish that thought. Worf instantly grabbed the android and hoisted him out of his isolinear chair. The Klingon was tired of the officers wasting time.

"Let's go!" he shouted, striding down the run of the scaffolding, the android in his arms.


Data's fingers were a blur as they danced over the console. The temperature had risen to 30 degrees Celsius. Worf had placed him in a rolling chair in front of the main controls and he immediately went to work, assessing the situation. Unfortunately, the controls were in the neighboring room of the warp cores and there was nothing to protect the officers. The forcefields that usually kept officers safe were not in place, leaving a large opening between the adjacent rooms.

"What about portable coolants?" Riker suggested, "We could use them to cool down the warp cores."

"No," Geordi said, not taking his eyes of the console in front of him, "the sudden drop in temperature might make them unstable. Warp cores must be kept between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius or they'll become unstable. If we can just stop the temperature from rising and slowly cool it down in here, we'd be fine."

"How do we ever fly with these things without blowing ourselves up?" Riker wondered out loud.

"When on board a starship, forcefields are erected around the warp core to regulate temperature and secure any instability." Data explained, answering the rhetorical question, "when in storage, the warp cores are kept behind forcefields and in a temperature controlled environment."

"So much for that."

Geordi tried in vain to activate emergency temperature controls, but the controls beeped in reply without responding.

After bringing up diagnostics, Data analyzed every detail in ten point two seconds.

"The cooling flow regulator in environmental controls has been damaged by the initial explosion," he explained, quickly understanding the problem "Emergency units were damaged when a plasma conduit from the environmental controls burst. Plasma then melted emergency control resulting in the failure of temperature control and forcefields."

"We have ten minutes before the temperature reaches 37.8 degrees, Data," wariness finding its way in Geordi's voice.

In five point seven seconds, Data redirected wiring to make an impromptu pathway that allowed signals from other parts of the Starbase to flow into the storage control unit. Although the pathway was not perfect, (several wires had to connect with flow regulators not designed with the wiring), Data had little other choice.

However, when he tried to re-route emergency forcefields from the plasma conduit storage room to the room they were in, the signal that reached the room was not strong enough to bring up the forcefields. The strength of the signal steadily weakened as it traveled to the warp core storage unit.

"Five minutes, before explosion!" Geordi shouted as he observed what Data was doing on his own console, "Computer! Count down to when this room reaches 37.8 degrees."

The computer chirped in acknowledgement.

"Great," Geordi thought dismally, "the only thing that's working around here is the countdown to disaster."

"You must all leave this room," Data said, his voice his usual calm, "I do not know whether I will be able to activate the forcefield before this room reaches 37.8 degrees."

"We're not leaving," Riker said adamantly.

"Sir, if you do not leave, we will all be killed in the explosion."

Before Riker could protest, Data pounded his combadge.

"Commander Data to Station 4," the android addressed the Starfleet station on the planet below.

An unfamiliar officer answered the call.

"Sir, this is Lieutenant Chang of Station 4."

"Three to beam down to Station 4, immediately."

Gerodi instantly jerked his head up from the panel.

"No! TWO TO BEAM UP! Commander Riker and Lieutenant Worf!"

Instantly, Riker and Worf disappeared, molecule by molecule away from the room.

Data looked at Geordi.

"There's no time to discuss this, Data," Geordi said, not taking his eyes off the controls in front of him, "we have two minutes left. I'm diverting power from the east wing of the Starbase to the signal you just made."

Data quickly tapped out the next commands, following the flow of the increased power. However, even that was not enough. He would have to divert power from the rest of the Starbase. He quickly scanned the panel in front of him, but the controls he was looking for was not there.

Two minutes to temperature meeting 37.8 degrees.

Data pushed off the console in front of him and the chair rolled him across the room to the other control panel. He just had to get a few more units of power from the west wing. It would be a series of commands that only an android could perform in the little time they had.

However, the controls were on an upper panel, far above the android's reach.

One minute to temperature meeting 37.8 degrees.

Geordi was not even looking at Data. He was diverting as much power from the east wing as he could from his side of the controls. The ticking clock and rising temperature in the room kept him well distracted.

Forty-five seconds.

"Data, where's the power from the west wing!" Geordi glanced up from his controls and did a double-take. His android friend had thrust his body on a lower console, all on the weight of his left hand. Data's right hand was a streak gold as he diverted all non-essential power from the west end of the Starbase to the control room.

Thirty-seconds.

Data watched the diagnostic console as the power from his makeshift pathway slowly made its way to the room he and Geordi were in.

Twenty-seconds.

Data put his right hand on the console and twisted around to see behind him. He was still leaning on the console, holding his weight on both hands. The chair he had been sitting on had been pushed away when he leaned on the console. On the floor of the open frame that connected the storage room and the control room, a forcefield started to rise.

Normally, forcefields instantly buzzed into place, instantly blocking off both people and hazardous materials, but the makeshift pathway greatly slowed the pace of the activation of the forcefield.

Ten-seconds.

Geordi watched as the forcefield crawled at a painfully slow pace to the ceiling.

Five…

The forcefield had more than one foot before it reached the ceiling and completely sealed off the storage room.

Four…

The distance to the ceiling had been cut by half.

Three...

Gerodi knew that if even a one inch gap had been left when the warp cores exploded, it might break the incomplete forcefield and their entire efforts would end in disaster.

Two…

The forcefield seemed to crawl the last few inches before it reached its goal and sealed shut.

One…

The twenty warp cores inside the storage room instantly exploded, detonating one after the other. The fiery plumes engulfed the entire storage room and hit the newly erected forcefield with such force, it buzzed and crackled for several moments. The blue sparkle of the forcefield lit brightly, protecting the android and chief engineer from harm.

The floor shook violently from the explosions, sending Data and Geordi to the floor.

"Geordi," Picard's voice came over their combadges, "Is everything alright?"

Geordi took several nervous breaths before he was able to find his voice.

"Yes captain… we made it just in time."

Taking several more breaths, Gerodi surveyed the room. Everything was intact, not a console out of place. Finally, he heaved a sigh of relief and sat up on the floor. That was too close. Way too close.

"Data, are you alright?" Geordi asked, looking at his android friend who lay on his side on the floor.

"… yes Geordi, I am fine."

Again, he seemed distracted. But before Geordi could inquire further something caught his eye.

"What's that?" he pointed to a shiny disc on the floor next to Data's head.

"It is a Holodeck program given to me by Ensign Tim. He specified for me to have it in the event of his death."

"I'm so sorry, Data," Gerodi said, reminded of the ensign's death and the impact it must have had on his friend. He rose and walked to his friend, helping him sit upright, "I'll make sure you have a Holodeck to yourself for as long as you want."

"Thank you, Geordi. But I do not think that that is necessary."

When Geordi met Data's face with a confused stare, Data continued.

"Since I am responsible for Ensign Tim's death, I do not think I am deserving of such a gift."


"Data, would you like to join me in a game of chess in Ten Forward tonight at say, 0800 hours?" Gerodi asked just before he left the Observation Deck. He desperately wanted to talk to Data in private. However, he hadn't had a moment alone, or in peace for that matter, in hours.

The two had just finished briefing the captain about the events on the Starbase. All senior officers had already left, but not without stealing a last concerning glance at the android in the isolinear chair.

Data nodded.

"That would be acceptable."

Gerodi then exited out of the Observation Deck to Engineering for the rest of his shift.

The captain rose from his chair at the head of the long table, but Data spoke up.

"Sir, may I make a personal request."

"Of course, Data," the captain sat back down and turned to face the android.

Data immediately began to speak, almost as if he waited too long, fear would force his voice back into submission.

A part of Data wished he could share what he was about to do with Geordi, but he knew his best friend would protest. He had been considering this option for a long time, but recent events had made the answer clear. The android waited several seconds before speaking, savoring the last few moments before he would change things forever.

"Sir, I wish to resign from Starfleet."

To be continued…

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