Star Trek: Absolution

Chapter VIII: Dragon Tales

"Data?" Tasha said with disbelief, pressing her face against the bars of her cell. "Is that really you? She felt a wave of elation surge through her body at the sight of his familiar face and as she carefully studied his human-looking appearance a small burst of a smile flashed across her face. "You look so… normal!"

"Thank you," he replied from his position in the cell across from hers. "Although I must admit to some surprise at finding you here on the surface of Stadia. Your daughter Sela once met with Captain Picard on board the Enterprise-D and told him of your journey into this timeline from another. But she also informed him that you had been killed during an escape attempt. Obviously she was not entirely truthful with him."

Lexi was watching intently through the bars that separated him from Data. "You know her?" he said with more than a little surprise. "Then you must be from the stars too!"

"Oh for crying out loud kid," Jerral growled with frustration. "You're hopeless."

"Sela lied about a lot of things," Tasha said with a frown as old memories resurfaced.

"Indeed," Data agreed. "We have dealt with her ourselves on several occasions and found her to be quite deceptive. She does not bargain in good faith, nor does she represent the peaceful interests of the Romulan Empire. Many would consider her quite evil, in fact."

"She is not a representative of the Romulan military any longer," pointed out Tasha informatively. "The people she was working for don't like failure very much. She's working away in one of the mines at the same prison colony that I was serving on."

Data glanced over her dirty, blood-soaked uniform carefully. "How did you manage to escape?" he asked curiously. "The security measures at prison camps are usually nearly impenetrable. It was highly improbable that you would survive an escape attempt."

"You have no idea," Tasha said, pausing to review the rapid-fire series of events that she had been through recently. "I had to wait patiently for many years just to have the opportunity. The Romulan warden that runs the prison likes to bring a civilian lady or two with him when his Administrative duties require him to spend more than a day with us… if you know what I mean." She shrugged. "So I waited for my chance to break through security and steal his shuttle. Conditions had to be perfect and it had to be sometime after the first day he arrived – otherwise there would still have been a mother ship in orbit."

"How come we can suddenly understand her?" Lexi asked Jerral, pointing at Tasha. "We've never been able to tell what she's been saying before, it always sounds like nonsense. Now I can understand every word she says!"

Data turned to Lexi and said informatively, "I have a Universal Translator subroutine stored within my memory. It functions quite adequately in situations such as this one."

"They know each other… perhaps she speaks more than one language?" Jerral argued disagreeably. "Seriously kid, you need to shut up about these 'people from space' stories. Folks around here are going to think you're crazy, and that's not going to do you any good."

"It puzzles me that the Romulans pursued you so aggressively Tasha," Data continued. "They violated Klingon space in order to try and stop you… an incident their diplomatic community has no doubt received numerous complaints about by now."

"You have no idea," she responded. "They consider me an extremely high security risk since I came here from an alternate timeline. Apparently the quantum singularities that they use in their engine cores can affect time in certain areas of space when other sources of energy are present – usually intense weapons fire. They've been trying to find ways to exploit that and use it to their advantage for years, because in the timeline I come from the Federation was losing in an all-out war with the Klingons."

"I can see why they would want to investigate that event so thoroughly," decided Data.

Tasha returned to the small cot in her cell and sat down. "So no one was more surprised than me when they chased my shuttle into Klingon space with their new D-Type warbirds. Even on a prison colony, we heard rumors that they've been building those things and trying to keep the new design absolutely classified. I hope the Klingons got a really good sensor scan of them."

"They did," Data assured her.

"So you were sent out to find me? I suppose you thought I was some sort of defector."

"Perhaps at first," the android admitted. "Unfortunately your choice of planets to crash on was a poor one. A pre-industrial society lives here and the Prime Directive protecting its people has already been compromised in the past. My mission was to find and remove all evidence of you and your ship as quickly as possible and minimize the impact of your arrival on this society."

"Did you hear him?" Lexi said with growing interest. "He said she crashed here!"

"I'm minding my own business over here, kid." Jerral said in reply. He was lying on the rickety cot in his cell and folded his arms carefully behind his head. "It is not my problem."

"Unfortunately," Data continued as he glanced at the ever curious Lexi, "Knowledge of your crash has already been discovered. Some of the soldiers found your ship before I could hide it. Your weapon was captured along with you and I had to retrieve it from custody as well." He cocked his head to the side a bit as he mentally checked his internal chronometer. "It is beginning to get dark outside. I think that it would be in our best interests to leave as quickly as possible before more guards arrive to question you further."

"Oh you're leaving us are you?" Jerral said sarcastically from his reclining position inside his cell. "I suppose you're going to just open the door to that cage you're in and walk out."

"You are correct," Data informed him. He punched the lock on his cell door and crushed it with a loud metallic clang. Jerral watched in amazement as Data swung the door quietly open and walked out into the corridor. He immediately punched the lock on Tasha's cell door and opened it too. Noting that Jerral had risen to his feet in complete astonishment Data flashed him a brief smile. "These locking mechanisms are extremely rusty," the android noted.

"Take me with you," Lexi said, looking at Data with true fear in his eyes. "I've been locked up in here for almost two days now and my Aunt is probably worried to death. With you gone, I have no idea when – if ever – they will let me go home."

Data nodded and promptly forced Lexi's door open as well. The boy grinned and hugged him gratefully as he too joined them in the corridor between the two cell rows. Carefully surveying the other two cells he noticed that the peasants in them were still sleeping soundly.

"Hey, aren't you going to let me out too?" Jerral asked. "I don't want to stay here, after all. I've got lots of people to see and business to attend to."

Data stepped in front of the bars that separated him from the landowner and tugged at the cell door. "Unfortunately, the lock on your cell door is not rusty," he decided. Ignoring the irritated look on the man's face he led Tasha and Lexi down the corridor and past the sleeping peasants in the end cells. They rounded the corner leading away from the cell block and quickly came to a large, heavily-reinforced wooden door.

"What do we do now?" Lexi asked curiously.

"This," said Data as he cocked his head oddly to one side. He activated his internal diagnostic program, causing the positronic matrix that processed his higher brain functions to emit the precise signal that the Yellowjacket's onboard computer was patiently waiting for. It took a couple of seconds and Lexi opened his mouth to say something else before the shimmering blue energy of a Federation transporter surge engulfed the three of them and swept them instantly away from the city of Vandahar.

"Wow! Can we do that again?" Lexi asked as he looked down at his hands and watched his fingers finish materializing. "Many of the Kanutu advisors are also great magicians, but that's the absolute greatest trick I've ever seen!"

The three of them were standing at the base of a small grassy hill in the steadily deepening twilight that immediately preceded the arrival of night time. "Let me show you another trick," Data said as he walked toward the hill. Instead of ascending its gentle incline, his image suddenly wavered and then began to vanish inside of it. First his feet disappeared, followed almost immediately by his legs and then the rest of him.

"That's pretty good too!" Lexi said with a loud laugh. He looked at Tasha with interest. "Where did he go?" She smiled back at him and just shrugged, glancing back toward the hill. Lexi followed her gaze and they both watched as the entire hill suddenly shimmered and then faded away completely. Instead of the image of a gradual, grassy rise they were suddenly staring directly at more of the region's dusty plains. Two spacecraft rested in the center of the area – Lexi immediately recognized one of them as Tasha's damaged shuttle.

"I knew it," Lexi said with delight as Data suddenly appeared from inside the Yellowjacket's open hatchway. "You have a ship too! You're both from the stars."

"The Yellowjacket is not mine," Data informed him. "I merely borrowed it to come here and rescue Tasha." He looked at Lexi with what Tasha perceived as a somber expression. "Both of these ships come from much larger space vessels that can carry hundreds of people to your planet. We visit you once in a while to see how your civilization is getting along with each other, but you must stop telling everyone what you know and help us keep our secret."

"So she crashed by accident," Lexi said, pointing at Tasha, "And you came to rescue her before anybody could find out that the rumors about people from the stars are true."

"That is correct," admitted Data. "Unfortunately my arrival was not in time to prevent you or the soldiers from Vandahar from finding her." He turned to face Tasha. "I take it you intend to formally request asylum within the Federation once I can get you back to a starship."

"I didn't risk my life and come all this way just to go back and make smaller rocks out of larger ones," she said with disdain. "I had no choice but to choose this planet… my ship took more damage than I planned for it and I needed a place to land where I could survive long enough for someone from your government to find me." She put an arm on Lexi's shoulder and hugged him. "I had no idea that this planet was inhabited – the Romulan computer doesn't even have a name for it, just a short reference that lists it as habitable for humanoid life."

They stood there silently for a moment as the last bit of daylight finally faded away. Data attached a Comm-badge to his chest and lightly tapped it. "Computer," he said. "Please activate the exterior lights." Almost immediately the small runabout lit up brightly enough to blanket the immediate area and keep it softly illuminated for them.

"They have search parties out you know," Lexi said with a soft voice. "I heard one of the guards in the cellblock talking about it. If they see the light they'll find you again."

"That is why we should all move into the main cabin of the Yellowjacket," Data pointed out. "Once we are inside I will reestablish the cloaking field that keeps both of our ships hidden from view."

True to his word, Data quickly concealed everything again behind his recorded illusion of the hill using Tasha's captured cloaking device. He joined Lexi and the former Romulan prisoner in the main living area at the rear of the runabout, programming one of its replicators to create two complete meals. Taking the plates from the device, he handed one to Lexi and one to Tasha.

"Thank you," Tasha said. Both she and Lexi began eating hungrily.

"I can offer you something to drink as well," he offered.

"Water would be nice," Lexi said and Tasha nodded in agreement. Hastily, Data retrieved a glass of cold water for each of them.

"I have been observing Vandahar very carefully since I first arrived," Data said with interest. Lexi accepted a tall glass from the android and began drinking thirstily. "It is my understanding that the city gates are closed and securely locked each evening and not opened again until well after sunrise the next morning. How did you come to be outside when Tasha's shuttle crashed? Is that not a violation of the city curfew?" He used a medical tricorder to analyze Yar while they continued visiting before picking up a dermal regenerator and using it to completely seal her cut. Expertly, he finished healing the injured area on her arm.

"They are pretty strict about people breaking curfew," Lexi replied thoughtfully, chewing slowly as he set the remainder of a bun on his plate. "But normally they don't care if it's something simple like one person out hunting – my friends and I know where there are some old, unused tunnels that one person can crawl through. It's the old way they used to run river water into the city." He took another bite of food and thoughtfully looked at Data. "I always had a cover story prepared and was planning on telling them I was staying overnight with one of the local landowners if they caught me."

"Well, you certainly couldn't tell them that after my ship crashed." Tasha guessed. "Thanks for coming to my rescue… I was pretty shaken up."

"That's right," said the boy. "I knew when they first found us that I was in big trouble." He set his plate down and thoughtfully looked at Data. "But it isn't just the arrival of you two, though. I've been out for my morning hunt a couple of times each week for several months now and there have always been soldiers patrolling the area. I kind of expected some extra activity after hearing all of the rumors that King Zantu is going to attack us from the south… but it doesn't explain why they're shooting the mugato."

Data noticeably perked up at the boy's comment. "Interesting," he said attentively. "You have also found dead mugato as well?"

"Yes," Lexi said with more than a bit of anger. "They are creatures both magnificent and dangerous. We see them less and less these days, especially around our towns and cities. In the old days our hunters used to kill them for their fur and fangs, but why the soldiers would kill them these days – I don't know." He shook his head negatively. "Perhaps some of them want the fangs as a tribute to the old days… they certainly don't want the fur any more."

Data swiveled in his seat to a workstation built into the runabout's wall and activated it. He began checking the latest sensor information gathered by the computer during his time away, carefully studying the life sign readouts. The Alucarn military forces along the southern border of Vandahar had continued to grow and there was no doubt in his mind that an all-out attack was coming within a matter of days now.

"I know why the soldiers have been killing the mugato," he said simply.

"Why?" Lexi asked with extreme curiosity. "Are the fangs actually worth something?"

"Not the fangs," Data said mysteriously, tapping his security code into a wall cabinet. He removed a hand phaser from the storage locker and attached it to his belt, then closed the door. "You two will be safe here," he said. "I think that both of you should use the beds in the living area to get some rest. I will be gone for awhile and when I get back we will wait for the Rhode Island to return from its supply run. That is the ship that will take Tasha and me out of here…" he glanced at Lexi… "And, if my mission is successful, I will request that you be allowed to return to your home in peace."

"Where are you going?" Lexi asked, peeking into the forward cabin of the runabout as Data stepped up onto a small platform. He saw the android typing even more information into one of the control panels on the equipment mounted on the wall of the small spaceship.

"I am going to see King Apella," Data responded as the blue sparkle of the transporter energy whirled around him and immediately began the dematerialization sequence. "It is most imperative that I speak to him before the Alucarn troops begin their invasion," he said right before vanishing completely.

"Come on back and grab a bed Lexi," Tasha suggested. "We might as well follow Data's advice. If we try to leave the area we'll simply get caught again." A puzzled expression crossed her face as Lexi looked at her in bewilderment. Suddenly remembering the language issue she grabbed the communicator that Data had left next to her plate of food. She touched it once and it emitted an electrical chirp, whereupon she repeated her previous comments.

"Okay," Lexi decided, taking a good solid look at all of the sophisticated equipment in the runabout. "This is way better than sitting in that dungeon cell…"

King Apella was used to being disturbed in the middle of the night when the duties of his monarchy called for it so he was not at all surprised to find both Thadren and Sepenon knocking on the door to his private bedroom chambers in the early hours of the new day. Donning his night time robe and tying it loosely at his waist he answered the door and ushered them hurriedly inside for a private conversation. Behind him, Queen Maliya was also awake and patiently waiting as she always did.

"What is it? Has King Zantu begun his invasion?" he asked curiously.

"No your majesty," replied Thadren, "Although I am certain an attack will come soon. My scouts have reported back to me with updated numbers on Alucarn's troop movements and their artillery. It does not look good for us… they have nearly three troops for every one of ours."

"Some of our prisoners have escaped," Sepenon said snidely. "Including the boy and the woman we were interrogating yesterday. According to the witnesses in the other cells they simply rounded the corner out of sight and were not seen again. The door leading into their cell block was still tightly locked and the guards on duty swear they heard and saw nothing."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" decided Apella with an expression of wonder as he looked at Thadren. "All evidence of the mysterious incident that occurred on our soil less than two days ago is slowly and systematically disappearing… even the hand weapon we personally witnessed the General demonstrate to us is gone."

Behind them the room lit up with a blue flash and suddenly a shimmering band of energy appeared. All four of them watched in astonishment as the sparkling energy coalesced into a humanoid figure and then faded. Data stepped forward and held up a hand to calm them, focusing intently on the tall, bearded figure of Vandahar's King.

"I must speak to you Apella," he stated simply. "Your very life depends upon it."

"It is sorcery my King," Sepenon gasped, his face turning white. "Do not listen to him… he is some kind of evil demon." Behind him, Thadren turned hastily toward the corridor intending to summon additional soldiers but the King stopped him with a shake of his head.

"He is not a demon," Apella said firmly. "The people from the stars that my father met also could move from one place to another in a burst of light. He is a man like us."

"You match the description of one of our escaped prisoners," Thadren said to Data, studying the contours of his face carefully. "I think we just saw a demonstration as to how you, the woman and the boy managed to escape."

Maliya pulled her own robe tightly around her and approached the four of them cautiously. Like Sepenon's, her face too was white with terror at the transporter effect she had just witnessed. "What is going on around here?" she asked with complete bewilderment.

"I am one of those distant visitors from another world that you speak of," Data confirmed. "I am here because the Alucarn nation is massing its troops along the southern border that separates Vandahar from their territory. They are planning to invade any time now, and I think that the confrontation with your forces will most certainly be precipitated by an assassination attempt on your life."

"What?" Apella asked with disbelief, taking his wife's hand in his. "Surely you jest, sir."

"His theory does have merit," Thadren said after pondering the issue for a moment.

"It is not a theory sir," Data pointed out.

Thadren gave the android an irritated glare. "As you have said, Your Majesty, it doesn't make any sense for King Zantu to attack us when he knows Alucarn's forces will take major losses if they are to press forward and capture our city itself. However, if I were commander of his men and had foreknowledge that you were to be killed, I would simple mass my troops along the border as he has and wait until news of your death began to spread. Taking the city once its King has been killed and Vandahar's security compromised would be considerably simpler."

"Can you prove this?" Queen Maliya asked, looking at Data curiously.

"Of course," Data replied to her. "There are four of you standing in front of me, one of whom is the King. Someone amongst the other three is either planning premeditated murder or is cooperating with the person who is."

"How do you know this?" asked General Thadren with growing interest. "And if you do have proof of what you claim then where is it?"

Behind him several of the castle's servants peeked into the room and studied the small group of people and their night time conversation. It was obvious that both of them had been sleeping and were awakened by the sounds of the discussion. One of them was a tall, slender young man while the other was a shorter, dark-haired woman. "Is anything wrong your Majesty?" the man asked curiously. "Can we bring you anything?"

"Everything is under control Shanno," the Queen said to him reassuringly. "You both may go back to bed."

"No," Data objected suddenly, peering intently at the two newcomers. "Please have them stay for a moment." He walked over to the two of them and carefully studied the long-haired male servant. His suspicions were immediately confirmed as the man gave Data a surprised look of recognition and turned to leave. Data grabbed him with one hand and held him firmly in place. "Where were you yesterday evening?" he asked the servant while everyone else simply stood watching them with expressions of complete confusion.

"I work in the castle," Shanno said simply. "I serve his Majesty King Apella and the lovely Queen Maliya, supreme rulers of all of Vandahar."

Data pointed at the man. "I recognize this fellow as one of the peasants who was locked up in the same cell block where I was imprisoned," he stated matter of factly, "He spent most of his time pretending to sleep, but you can all clearly see that he recognized me. Tell me Apella, did you or your soldiers feel the need to assign a spy in your dungeon to listen in on the conversations between the boy and the woman prisoner… or were you content to wait and interview them as part of your regular duties as King?"

"I sent no spy there," Apella responded, his face growing dark with suspicion. "These two are both assigned to personally handle my needs and those of my wife."

"I see," Data said with a glance at the bewildered Queen. "It would be in your best interests then, King Apella, to arrest your wife as soon as possible. She is planning to kill you very soon… probably your military leaders also. There is no longer any doubt in my mind."

"You lie!" Maliya said angrily to Data, glancing in complete shock at her husband. The tone of her voice was rapidly becoming heated. "Apella, how can you possibly believe a complete stranger who appeared to us from out of nowhere with these ridiculous accusations? I think Sepenon was correct – he is a demon, sent to seed mistrust and confusion amongst our family." She glared at Data hatefully then swirled around to face the other two. "General Thadren, please arrest that man and throw him back in jail."

Ignoring her, Data flipped open his tricorder and carefully began scanning the room. The electronic whirring of its processor caused everyone to look at each other with growing wonder while Data carefully studied its sensor readings. "Even though I have the ability to transport myself instantaneously from site to site you may all be wondering how I managed to locate the King himself so quickly amongst all of the people who live in this castle," he said informatively. "The boy Lexi told me that soldiers have been killing mugato in the area surrounding Vandahar city for some weeks now. This was one of the factors that led me to conclude that an assassination attempt on the King's life was imminent. There is no logical reason, after all, for the city's troops to kill those animals except to extract the poison sacs from behind their fangs."

"My soldiers killing mugato? I don't believe it," Thadren said fiercely.

The tricorder's whirring changed to a loud beep that repeated over and over. Data closed the device and reattached it to his belt. "They are probably lower ranking soldiers who were told that they were on a secret mission for their Queen. The poison that they collected is how I came to be in this room – I simply transported myself to the largest source of mugato venom in the area. Not surprisingly, it is located in the jeweled box sitting on top of the dresser against the far wall." He pointed and began walking over to the cabinet in question but, her face turning purple with rage, the Queen hastily stepped in front of him.

"I said arrest this man," she ordered, her normally attractive face a demonic mask of hatred.

"But the poisonous venom of the mugato is not always fatal," Sepenon said in defense of Maliya. "I myself can cure its bite simply by applying the mahko root to the wounded area."

"All that means is that you are also to be killed," Data told him, ignoring the man's pale expression and stunned reaction. "I suspect the entire top level command structure of Vandahar is at risk, including General Thadren and his officers. That would be the natural way to cause the most chaos in the city's command structure. By the time anyone could reorganize your defenses, Alucarn's forces would be here to scale the walls and take control of the entire city."

"Move away from the dresser Maliya," Thadren suggested. "Let's have a look at what you keep in there these days, shall we?"

"My King," she said pleadingly, "You can't seriously think that I'd…"

"Move aside Maliya," the King said furiously, beginning to grow very angry himself.

Most of the people standing in the room were emotionally stunned as they mentally reviewed the comments and accusations that had been stated during the duration of the considerably disorganized conversation. Thus the next sequence of events happened extremely fast, but for Data and his positronic android brain everything took place in slow motion.

"Die so that Vandahar and Alucarn can live as one!" Maliya screamed, pulling a knife from her robe and swinging it expertly at Apella. Data had discreetly positioned himself in the center of the room and moved quickly to step in front of the King. Her knife pierced his leather tunic and the pseudo-skin beneath, clanging loudly as it struck the metallic surface of his body. He grabbed her arm tightly with his right hand and took the knife from her with the other.

Across the room, Shanno and the female servant had also pulled forth long knives, both of which had previously been hidden in their clothing. Data quickly released Maliya's arm and used the free hand to give her a quick shove. She flew rapidly backwards and landed flat on her back in the middle of the floor, sliding to an abrupt stop as her head hit the wall.

Before anyone could even blink, Data had pulled out his hand phaser and fired it. The first orange blast of heavy stun energy lanced out and caught Shanno full in the chest, slamming him against the wooden framed doorway. He staggered once and then fell in a heap, causing the woman beside him to hesitate. Her eyes widened as Data's second shot struck her in the abdomen and she too collapsed, the knife she dropped clattering to the floor an instant later. Reattaching the phaser to his belt Data carefully handed the knife he held, hilt first, to Sepenon.

"Notice the colored substance on the blade," he informed the wizard. "If you analyze this knife and the poison in the Queen's dresser I think that you will find they are one and the same."

"Who are you?" Sepenon asked with complete and utter disbelief.

"He is a friend from the stars," King Apella said, bowing with respect to Data. "Thank you, my friend, for caring enough to come all this way and save our lives." Behind him, Maliya had risen to her feet and he turned quickly and grabbed her fiercely by the chin. "What did you possibly hope to accomplish with this hideous plot?" he demanded of her. "Were you planning to kill Yori too… your own son?"

"Yori is the son of your first wife," Maliya sneered at him, as though that made all the difference in the world. "He is not of my blood." Her long blonde hair was a complete mess and she tossed it back with one hand. "Don't think you are safe yet Apella," she continued fiercely. "Zantu is coming for me – we are to rule all of Vandahar and Alucarn together. You will see."

"That part I can personally guarantee you will never happen," Apella replied, shoving her angrily in Thadren's direction. "If even one of Zantu's troops manages to breech the city walls I will personally slit your throat."

A squadron of the General's soldiers had come running into the room during all of the commotion, so Thadren simply handed the former Queen over to them. "Take Queen Maliya into custody on charges of conspiracy and murder," he ordered, ignoring their puzzled looks of disbelief and pointing to the two unconscious servants. "Lock those two up also – there is to be no special treatment for any of them."

"Some of the General's soldiers were obviously approached secretly and commissioned to obtain the poison," Data pointed out. "There may be others in the castle or in Vandahar's military barracks who are also planning murder."

"We will interrogate all three of our suspects at first light of morning," Sepenon promised his King. "If there are others involved in this despicable plot of hers you can be certain that we will discover their identities as well."

Apella stood thoughtfully as he watched the soldiers escort his wife and the two servants out of the room. He was obviously deeply disturbed by her betrayal and sighed heavily, carefully tightening his robe around him to keep out the room's early morning chill. He cast a knowing look in Data's direction. "This isn't over is it?"

"No," Data told him. "Regardless of whether the attack on your lives succeeds or fails, I strongly suspect the Alucarn forces will be coming. Proceed with caution tomorrow as there are no doubt other spies in the city who will try and disrupt Vandahar's normal routine as well."

"The visitors from the stars who spoke with my father shortly before he died told me that they were very limited in how much they could help us," the King commented. "They called what had been done by the first evil ones who contacted us 'interference with our normal development'." He looked at his guest with more than a little concern. "Is that your position too? Will you stand by and watch hundreds, perhaps thousands of us, be killed in this useless attack?"

"Since your society's political structure has already been compromised by our presence several times in the past and also by this latest incident I do have more flexibility than the people your father last spoke with," Data decided. "I need to check in with my superiors, but it is quite probable that I will be allowed to assist you in preventing so many needless deaths."

"Is there anything that we can do to help you?" General Thadren asked curiously. "You have done Vandahar a great service this day, after all."

"Perhaps," the android said optimistically. "Tell me, on the eve of battle do your troops or King Zantu's pray to a higher deity – some sort of spiritual leader or God?"

"Many of us believe in Mordra," Sepenon said cautiously, glancing hesitantly at his King. He was still unsure just what to make of Data and the grand entrance that the android had made, so seeing Apella nod to him reassuringly gave him enough confidence to continue. "There are legends from long ago that Mordra – a large serpent goddess – hovers over our battlefields whenever there is a large conflict among our people. It is said that she watches our wars very carefully, separating the wicked souls from the pure and making certain that all of those with true darkness in their hearts perish on the battlefield. It is her way of insuring that good shall always triumph over evil and that lasting peace will be maintained."

"Intriguing," Data said slowly as he used his positronic matrix to carefully review thousands of potential ideas. "But I take it this goddess has never actually been seen by anyone."

"If she has truly joined us on the battlefield it has not been for many ages," Thadren said carefully. "Many of us do not even believe Mordra actually exists, since we have fought many times in my lifetime and no one has ever reported seeing or hearing from her. Some of our wounded claim to have been visited by her powerful spirit, judged and spared. But I personally don't have faith in those reports simply because many of the herbs and roots that our doctors use to aid the healing process are known to cause hallucinations."

"It will be morning in a few hours," said Data informatively. "I would recommend that we let King Apella get some rest. We know the attack is coming, but the advantage lies with us because my presence forced the Queen to attempt her assassination earlier than she had planned. That means we have some time yet before they invade."

"What do you want us to do?" wondered General Thadren.

"Prepare your troops as you would normally if I were not here," Data suggested. "If Alucarn's forces begin to attack, make certain you have a suitable defense perimeter established outside of the city walls." A small smile crossed the android's face. "If King Zantu's troops wish to pursue their invasion once it is clear that the assassination has not taken place, be prepared to retreat inside the city walls as soon as you receive my signal."

"And what will your signal be?" Thadren asked curiously.

"I dare say you shall know it when you see it," Data promised, taking a step back from the group of people. He touched his Comm-badge lightly. "Computer, I am done here – please beam me back to the Yellowjacket." They watched again in astonishment as the swirling blue burst of transporter energy swept him quickly away as though he had never even been there.

"Everything happened so fast we never even thought to ask him what his name is," Apella said with a loud chuckle. "Prepare your troops General Thadren, we may have to go through with this foolish battle after all."

Tasha woke up to the sound of Data and Lexi eagerly discussing something. Yawning, she rolled back the covers on her small bed in the rear of the runabout and took in a deep breath of fresh, free air. Her entire adult life had been spent at war with the Klingons or imprisoned on a Romulan penal colony. To finally be able to look around and know that the next decision she made was completely up to her – her choice – made her happier than she had been in years.

She knew the Tasha from this timeline had died, and having that knowledge had always made her extremely sad. This was the type of Federation she had longed to live in – where peace and the spirit of exploration were prevalent over war, poverty and death. The fact that her alternate self had been cut down in her prime was severely disappointing. As for herself, this Tasha Yar had been imprisoned shortly after her first escape attempt from the Romulans. Once Sela reached the age of maturity and assumed power within the Romulan government her daughter had ordered the sentence extended to a lifetime one to make sure that her mother would never see freedom again. Not unless she grew desperate enough to reach out and take it back by force, as she had finally managed to do.

That was where Sela had severely underestimated her. In both timelines, Tasha was a very intelligent woman and highly trained in tactical maneuvering. Knowing that patience and time were her allies she had simply waited for the proper opportunity to present itself and then she had acted. The fact that she had turned the tables and left Sela as an inmate in the very prison that her daughter had picked out for her to spend the rest of her life in brought a satisfied smile to her lips. Her daughter's treachery had been rewarded with repeated failures in her confrontations with the Federation and an abrupt end to her precious Romulan career.

"You're back," she said to Data with a friendly smile as she brushed aside her graying, uncombed hair and joined the two of them in the Yellowjacket's forward cabin. "Did you accomplish everything that you intended to?"

"Yes I did," Data replied with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. She studied his expression intently, since she couldn't remember him ever mimicking human emotion so well. "I was able to successfully prevent the assassination of this region's King. Unfortunately, there are still thousands of troops to the south planning an attack on Vandahar."

"How is that your problem?" Tasha asked him. "I've been gone for many years but not so long that I've forgotten about the Prime Directive. This is a pre-warp culture, so why are you concerning yourself with things that are strictly their affair?"

"This civilization has been interfered with several times in the past," responded Data. "Additionally, your crash landing here may have accelerated the murder plot that was underway as well as King Zantu's invasion timetable. Alucarn has many spies hidden in Vandahar, one of whom was the King's own wife. By now, they undoubtedly have heard the latest rumors of people and technology traveling to them from far above the clouds." He motioned to the empty plate next to Lexi. "It is well after sunrise… please have some breakfast."

"Thanks anyway, but I'm used to eating a lot less calories for now," she replied. "So you two have been talking while I slept. What are you talking about?"

"Dragons," Lexi said with a smile. "Data wants to hear all about Mordra."

"And just who is Mordra?" Tasha wondered, smoothing a patch of the young boy's lengthy, tangled hair. Her own bedroom hair no doubt looked even worse, she mused silently.

"Mordra is the local goddess of war," Data explained. "She makes decisions about who lives and who dies during each battle – only the pure of heart supposedly survive. It is one of the ways the victorious cope with the post-traumatic stress of all the killing that goes on."

"I'd like to hear more," Tasha said, sitting down in an empty seat next to the boy.

The two people from the Federation listened intensely for another half hour as Lexi explained to them all of the details that the android wanted. He continually posed questions to the youth that were quite specific. What does Modra supposedly look like? How does she behave? Does she have magical powers? Have people in both nations of Vandahar and Alucarn heard of her? Tasha watched with some amusement as Data carefully asked his questions and Lexi answered each of them to the best of his ability. They were still eagerly talking when the Comm-system at the front of the runabout beeped for attention.

"This is the Rhode Island calling Commander Data. Are you there Commander…? This is Captain Kim checking in."

Data swiveled in his seat and activated the runabout's transmitter. "Greetings Captain Kim," he replied. "You are early."

"We added some extra wood to our fire and got our engines powered up to squeeze forth that little bit of extra decimal point that makes all the difference with warp drive," Harry replied with a chuckle. "I'm hoping you have a positive status report."

"The primary objective of my mission has been completed and the situation is under control," Data told him. "However, I have discovered another serious political problem evolving here that is threatening to escalate into all out war. Our presence, along with the Romulan shuttle and its pilot has only served to aggravate the difficulty. I have a plan of action ready but was hoping that you would get here in time so that I could review it with you prior to implementing it. There is not much time remaining in which to act." He glanced back at Tasha and Lexi. "I am prepared to beam aboard the Rhode Island and discuss it if you would like."

"I've got a better idea," Captain Kim replied. "If you're as fast a typist as I hear you are then simply type up a written report. Transmit it to my tactical officer and I'll read through it while passing it along to Starfleet Command and Admiral Janeway. In the interim you have my full authorization to take whatever action is necessary down there. You're the officer on the scene and that means you're the best qualified person to make the decisions. I will support any action you decide to take."

"I have already typed up that report," Data told him. "My mission has been completed for over four hours. I will transmit it to you immediately."

"That sounds great Data. Do you require any assistance from us?"

"As a matter of fact I do. I am planning to temporarily shut down the cloaking field that is concealing both my ship and the crashed shuttle. During that time, I would appreciate it if you would beam the Romulan vessel directly into your cargo bay."

"We'll do that. What about the pilot?"

"She is a human woman who was captured by the Romulans many years ago and has finally managed to escape from one of their prisons," reported Data. "She can be of use to me down here if she stays and I will vouch for her."

"Acknowledged. We'll beam the Romulan shuttle up as soon as you signal us. You should also know that we found its engine pod floating around up here and managed to salvage it as well. A very fine job you've done, Commander."

"One more thing Captain, if I may inquire. Does the Rhode Island's entertainment database have any holographic programs that you know of containing the images of dragons?", he asked curiously.

"Did you say dragons?"

"Yes," the android insisted. "Specifically I am looking for big, dark green scary ones with long tails, sharp claws and lots of scales."

"I'll check on that right away for you."

"Thank you Captain Kim," Data said, closing down the Comm-channel. He turned to look at Lexi and patted him gently on the head.

"That guy is from one of the big ships, isn't he?" Lexi asked, laughing with delight as he watched Data nod in agreement.

To Be Continued... of course!

A special thanks to Le'Letha, so far my biggest fan! If you think this Trek story is okay, you should read her work! Her imagination practically LIVES on the Enterprise-D!