Chapter Two; Contestatio

Contestatio. Noun. 1. Proving by witnesses. 2. Conclusive proof. 3. Earnest entreaty.

"Are you coming with us?" Troi said, resting her hand on Data's shoulder. He shook his head. "All right. Can I get you anything?" He shook his head again, and she rubbed his back briefly before moving to join the others, heading for the lounge.

He rested his head in his hands. His abuse by his captors was foul, and the shame he felt at having to relive his torment was almost overwhelming. But, his part was done. Now, it fell to his colleagues, his friends, to back up his testimony with their own statements and evidence.

He flinched as he felt a hand on his back, even as the sensory data informed him that it was a known pressure pattern. Geordi lifted his hand swiftly, and Data sat up, although he did not raise his eyes.

"I bought you some tea. I know you said you didn't want anything, but..." Geordi moved the mug into Data's peripheral field of vision, and he reached up and took it with a murmured word of thanks.

As Geordi took the seat next to him, Data sipped the tea. It was made the way he liked it, and the simple gesture from his lover was enough to make him want to weep, when all else about the day had been horror. Geordi tentatively put a hand on Data's shoulder, and he reached up and covered the dark skinned fingers with his own slender white-gold digits.

"I could not tell you." He said simply.

"I know. I understand." Geordi gripped his shoulder, and then released it to stand and relinquish the chair to Riker. Deanna took her seat on his other side, and took the android's hand in hers.

The first witness called to the stand was CMO Crusher. She spoke to the jury about the injuries the android had sustained, the genetic material she had found. She showed them the scans, explained how she believed his injuries were caused. She was pale but composed, her language technical and detailed. The cross examination from Fajo's lawyer was, again, aggressive and personal.

"Have you ever been called upon to treat the android before?"

"Yes, on occasion."

"But rarely for anything physical, right? When you've provided medical care for the android in the past, it's been chemical or psychological, yes?"

"That would be a fair assessment, yes."

"Has the emotion chip changed his behaviour?"

Crusher laughed lightly. "I should say so! It's like night and day."

"The change has been dramatic?"

"Of course."

"Do you think that having the chip has made him unstable?"

Crusher frowned. "He has bad days and good days, just like anyone else."

"I see." The lawyer referred to his notes again. "There has only ever been one other android with this level of emotional awareness, and that was Lore, is that correct?"

"... Yes." Crusher was scowling now.

"This would be the same Lore that destroyed an entire colony, attempted to destroy the Enterprise, and kidnapped and tortured your friends, correct?"

"Yes. What are you insinuating?"

"Lore held your son hostage at one point, is that true?"

"Data would never behave like that!" Two high pints of colour had risen on Crusher's cheeks, and she glared at the lawyer balefully.

"I never said that he would. But you did say that having the chip has made him unstable, would you also describe Lore as unstable?"

"Lore was a completely different person!"

"And yet the Lieutenant Commander refers to him as brother. They are identical, aren't they?"

"Only to look at, but their minds couldn't be more different." She was calming herself, trying to quell her anger.

"Of course." He looked at the PADD. "Lore had position of the emotion chip for a time, and used it to control Data. Do you think he altered the chip, tampered with it?"

"No, the circuitry was..."

"So you think Data's irrationality is innate?"

"He is not irrational!" She snapped. The lawyer's eyebrows rose, and he turned to the jury and murmured; "Guess it's true what they say about redheads." Someone chuckled, quickly stifled as the scowling judge banged his gavel for order, and the lawyer muttered, "No further questions." on his way back to his seat.

Geordi was next to give evidence. He spoke of the devastating changes in Data's positronic brain caused by the conflict between his subroutines. He told the court about the physical injuries the android had sustained, about the inhibiting device and instruments of pain recovered from the Jovis. He was nervous but determined. He had never been one for public speaking, and to be doing so in such a circumstance was particularly stressful. But he steeled himself thinking of Data, everything he had been through, was still going through. Talking to the court was nothing compared with what his lover had endured, and if it would help to convict the one responsible, then he could put up with a little embarrassment.

"Thank you Commander, that was very interesting." The lawyer consulted his PADD. "How long would you say you've known Commander Data?"

"Uh... a while, I guess, more than a decade."

"Mmmhm. And when did your relationship become sexual?"

Geordi froze, his mouth hanging open. It felt as though someone had just dragged an icicle down his spine. Vaguely he could hear the muttering in the courtroom, but it was as if is head was full of static. He could almost feel the glances being exchanged by his friends.

And now he had a choice. He could lie, deny everything. He could. The option was there.

"About a month ago."

The lawyer looked disappointed, as if Geordi had somehow cheated him by answering honestly.

"The android claims that his mental breakdown was due in part to his revealing the secret of your relationship. Why did you feel it necessary to conceal the fact that you were romantically linked?"

"I... I didn't see that it was anybody's business but our own."

"Yet you swore him to secrecy. That seems a little extreme."

"Yeah, well... I value my privacy."

"Is it not more likely that you were unwilling to admit that you were sexually attracted to a machine? That you felt ashamed because of..."

"Now hold on!" Geordi interrupted. "I have never seen Data as just a machine, he's a person, even if he is mechanical. He's smart, and funny and kind, and, and if I was ashamed it wasn't because of him, it was because of me, that I was into men, and I've spent so long hiding it and pretending, and then he made me feel like it was okay, that I was normal. But, but, I felt like I was the problem, like there was something wrong with me, and I guess it's my hang-up, and I should never have taken it out on him, so yeah, it is my fault. But to be ashamed because of who, or what, Data is? No, no way."

The Zibalian lawyer glared at him for a moment before stalking back to his seat. Geordi turned to go back to his own and realised he was trembling. The adrenalin was racing through him, the shock of the impact of his statements just hitting home. He stumbled back to his chair and slumped into it, removing his visor to press his fingers to his temples.

Counselor Troi gripped his arm and then stood, taking her turn to give evidence. Geordi couldn't hear a word, it felt like he had been punched in the gut. He clutched his visor, unwilling to see Riker's smirk or Crusher's shock, the dark looks of the jury, or, worst of all, the wounded face of his lover. They all knew, and soon everyone would know. And then the jokes would start, the stares and jeers, the sneering and snide comments. And he hadn't even told them himself. He hadn't had to tell them to their faces. It had been done for him.

With a jolt he realised that he was smiling.

"Finally!" Fajo was getting what he wanted, an audience. Never so happy as when he was performing, his personality and flair came to the fore as he defended himself, never once admitting to having done anything wrong, simply claiming that as Data was a machine that it was impossible to harm him and insisting that the only reason he was eager to discover what experience the android had with men was in order to entertain him and provide him with pleasure.

"I certainly didn't expect to be dragged into a cell and hauled in front of a jury for having a bit of fun. And he enjoyed what we did, don't worry, we didn't leave him unattended to, and the look on his face was beautiful, I swear, he loved every second..."

"That is a lie!" Data was on his feet, Riker had one hand on his chest trying to push him back into his seat. The judge banged his gavel, but Data simply turned up the volume on his vocal synthesiser.

"I had hoped that I would be able to convince the court of the wrongdoing of this man through testimony alone, but if you require further evidence I am willing to provide it!"

"You speak out of turn, sir!" The judge snapped.

"No, let him speak!" Fajo's lawyer was on his feet as well. "What evidence?"

"My own memories."

The lawyer snorted. "We've heard what you claim to remember, but you yourself have said that you were unable to think clearly! You are an unreliable witness!"

"I have a full audio and visual recording of every moment of my life, with the ability to be recalled and played back with perfect clarity."

"They are still subjective..." The lawyer snarled as Data shook his head. He was still on his feet but Riker had stepped aside.

"No. My recall is perfect. I cannot remember falsely, nor can I invent fake memories."

"Then you can tamper with them, alter them..." The lawyer grasped at the crumb.

"What I see and hear are recorded accurately and stored in my memory banks in a read-only form. They cannot be altered, only recalled."

"This is preposterous, your honour. There is no way that a viewing of such a thing would tell us anything we don't already know."

"Then your client will not mind if I play back a recording of a conversation. Perhaps it will jog his memory." Data opened his mouth and bypassed the subroutine governing his facial mimicry of language to allow Fajo's voice to come through his throat. "Do you want to be penetrated?" "Not by you." Came Data's voice, and then the sound of rapid footsteps and a solid impact, something hard hitting something that yielded, the sound of a whimper and more blows, and a high keening wail. "Do. As. You're. Told. Data! Play. The. Game!" Fajo's voice shouted through Data's mouth and the judge slammed his gavel as the jury began talking and all dissolved to chaos.

"Enough! Clear the room! Let me speak to the jury, get everyone else out!" The judge shouted, and the Starfleet officers didn't need telling twice.

"So now we just wait for a verdict?" Geordi looked at his friends. Riker nodded.

"Yup, they'll call us back in to hear it, but you don't have to go back in there if you don't want to." He looked at Data as he said this last, his bearded face lined with care. The android shook his head.

"I would like to see this through and hear the verdict, whichever way it falls. But thank you for your concern."

"I'll be glad when this is over." Crusher shuddered, sipping a coffee. "I don't think I can stand to look at that odious little man for much longer." She looked over the rim of the cup at Data. "You were very brave."

"Bravery had nothing to do with it. Merely a desire to see justice done."

"Oh! Now he knows false modesty!" Troi smiled and took the android's arm. "You can't fool me, you have every right to be proud of yourself, because we're all proud of you."

"The jury have reached a verdict." Called one of the security team.