Chapter Twenty-Eight
Moonlight flooded the compound, casting more shadows than light.
Kurak heard a shuffle behind her - heavy footfalls running through the sand - and she turned with a warning cry, her bat'leth raised in a defensive stance—
"Kurak?"
Data came to a swift and graceful stop, his amber eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing?"
Kurak lowered her weapon, but not her guard or her searing glare.
"I am going to the exercise dome," she growled. "Why are you following me?"
"I was not following you," Data said.
"I heard you running."
Data's pale face grew pinched, and he averted his eyes, brushing back his windswept hair.
"I… I was heading for the runabout," he told her. "To sit with Mikey. But… I could not. When I reached the ship's entrance, I…became overwhelmed with…with feelings of remorse, and… There was so much anger... So, I began to walk, then run…and I kept running. This is my fifth lap around the compound's perimeter. I thought…perhaps…this running might serve as an emotional release."
"Has it?" she asked.
Data shook his head.
"No. The anger remains. Only twice since installing my emotion chip have I felt so frustrated, so…helpless to…to…"
He clenched his fists, his feet fidgeting in the sand.
"I…I need to do something, but what can one do when the situation is so much larger than one android…one impossible dream…"
Kurak blinked at the familiar phrase…a phrase she remembered hearing in a song coming from her daughter's room…
"You are the one who told the Orion child to study that musical Earth play," she said, and he gave her a curious glance. "It is your fault that she and my daughter have been playing its soundtrack all evening."
Data raised his eyebrows.
"They have?"
She snorted.
"You have had quite an influence on those girls," she said. "They want so much to impress you, they have spent their entire 'sleep-over' acting out scenes from that damn play of yours, and dancing together to its music. If Freja had not volunteered to watch them, the noise might have provoked me to destroy the computer interface in Kahlestra's room."
She raised her bat'leth, her expression turning wry.
Data wrinkled his nose.
"I presume that is…a joke?"
She smirked, and Data returned with a small smile.
"Is that the reason for your trip to the exercise dome?" he asked her. "To escape the noise for a while?"
Kurak looked down, grasping her elbow with the hand holding her bat'leth. She could have left it there…let him believe the line she'd fed to Freja, and herself… But, standing beside him, watching his emotions play across his face…
There was something about this man…something warm and unguarded that reached past the defensive shields she'd worked a lifetime to build. He was always honest, always himself, while she…
…show me myself without the shell…
A lyric from her favorite Klingon opera rose like smoke through her mind, and she felt herself step closer, close enough to brush her arm against his sleeve…
"To be truthful," she said quietly, "the sleep-over did not bother me. In fact…it pleased me to watch the girls interact. I want my daughter to enjoy her childhood, and her friends. But…to borrow your own words…Kahlestra and I face a situation much larger than ourselves. And that anger…that frustration… It drives my child's animosity toward me. The pain of it…of knowing that I cannot grant her the life she wants…that I must comply with the orders of the court just to protect what freedom she does have…"
She shook her head fiercely, her long hair falling over her shoulders.
"That is why I am heading for the gym. You are welcome to accompany me, if you wish."
Data looked into her face, his amber eyes catching the moonlight.
"Thank you," he said and smiled, just slightly. As they began walking together, he added, "My friend Worf never invited me to spar with him back on the Enterprise-D, although he often asked Commander Riker along. It is likely he assumed I would not be interested. But, sometimes I wondered if he thought my innate strength and agility might, in some way, negate his enjoyment of the contest."
Kurak quirked an eyebrow.
"Are you saying, android, that you cannot be beaten?" she said.
Data shrugged, his eyes holding a distinctly playful smirk.
"I think I am saying, you are welcome to try."
Kurak bared her teeth in a genuine grin.
"Oh, not me," she said. "My skills are well honed for a scientist, but they do not compare with the prowess of a warrior like Commander Worf. Our gym is equipped with a holoprojector. I'm sure we can find you a suitable foe. And, if not," she smirked, "I'll program one for you."
"I accept your challenge," Data said cheerily. "But, if you do program an antagonist for me, be careful how you phrase the character description. Aboard the D, we ran into trouble when a misspoken instruction unintentionally caused a holodeck character to become self-aware."
Kurak regarded him.
"You are making that up."
"I assure you, I am not," he said, and smiled a little sadly. "The Enterprise-D was a very special ship. Our voyages with her were like nothing I could have credited before I stepped aboard. I'm sure there are many stories I could tell you that you would not believe."
"You sound like you miss it," she observed. "Is your present assignment so different?"
"Is there a difference between night and day?" he said dryly, and sighed, looking up as they approached the exercise dome. "But, as I learned tonight, running circles in the dark will get you nowhere. Please," he gestured to the entrance. "After you."
Data jumped over his opponent's weapon and swung his replicated bat'leth with the grace of an acrobat. The cutting blow severed a key link in the towering robot's arm, hindering the mobility of its hand and fingers, but the robot was still fast - fast enough to snag the back of Data's vest and lift him into the air...
Data felt his feet leave the floor and quickly shrugged off the vest, the shirt beneath it ripping up to the collar as he kicked himself free and fell into a roll that brought him right back to his feet.
But, the massive robot was already there, swinging two swords with the force and power of a hydraulic crane. Data dodged like lightning and came back fighting, the shirt's flapping fabric and slipping sleeves becoming enough of a hindrance that he had to tear it off and continue the fight bare-chested, calling laughingly to Kurak: "Now, I feel like Captain Kirk!"
Parry…Riposte…Lunge… Leap…Spin…Flip…Roll…Stab…
Kurak watched, enraptured by the movement, the breathtaking skill of his performance… As the fight in the dome's center ring progressed, she felt her breath catch and quicken, pumping her arms in shadow victory every time Data landed a blow…
For an android who had so recently chosen to update his outward appearance, Data's body looked surprisingly average. He did not appear overweight, but neither did he have the sharply defined physique of an athlete. Quite the contrary: beneath the dark hair, his pale torso had the softly rounded look of a healthy, if largely sedentary, human male - a look that belied entirely the strength and speed she was witnessing now.
She had to wonder…was it an attempt to blend in…to hide his android nature? Or, was that how Data truly saw himself…an intellectual, generally non-athletic man with the brain and skeleton of a machine?
Judging from his initial textbook moves, the way she'd watched him learn to handle and manipulate the bat'leth and adapt to each opponent she threw at him, she found herself leaning toward the latter option. And, for some reason, the thought of it made her smile.
The giant robot was beginning to slow and lurch, the damage from Data's targeted cuts and blows taking an obvious toll. Its glowing photoelectric cells turned from yellow to red and it raised its weapon for a crushing blow…
Data ducked and lunged, extending his bat'leth in a move so smooth, the Klingon weapon may well have been an extension of his own arm. The sharp point pierced deep into the towering robot's central power cell and it crumpled to the ground in a juddering hail of sparks, the holographic image fading the moment its massive head touched the floor.
"Match Winner: Lt. Commander Data," the computer announced, the record number of game points he'd earned floating proudly in the air as Data retrieved his weapon.
He jogged over to Kurak, his breathing only slightly labored after that incredible display. His pale face was flushed, his hair damp with sweat, but he grinned from ear to ear, his amber eyes seeming to glow from within.
"Nice try," he teased. "Pitting me against a larger machine. But the match was over as soon as I realized its operation depended entirely on a single, centralized power source. Perhaps, next time, you could improve the opponent's design by providing better outer shielding and an alternate—"
Kurak balled up a towel and threw it at his face.
"Attempting to design your own foe?" she scoffed, though she couldn't quite manage to hide her smile. "As if I would give you so great an advantage."
Data caught the towel before impact and used it to mop away the sweat, laughing as if amused by the very necessity of toweling off after a fight like that.
"It seems my modesty program is in working order," he joked, blushing a little as he arranged the towel over his shoulders and chest like a little cape. "I believe you owe me a new shirt."
"That is easily replicated," she teased back, making absolutely no move toward the replicator. Instead, she caught and held his gaze, her stare steady and unblinking until he shyly looked away.
"So…" He cleared his throat, moving toward the control pad for the holoprojector. "I believe it is your turn to enter the ring. Do you wish to continue with the bat'leth, or choose a different weapon?"
Kurak shook her head.
"I tire of fighting these mindless opponents," she said. "I think we should try something else. Something that requires more precision…and control…"
Data tilted his head.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Kahlestra informed me that you can dance," she said, her eyes again homing in on his as she closed the distance between them. "Would you be willing to allow me to teach you some Klingon routines?"
"Absolutely…" he said, swallowing as she drew away to take up a striking pose with her bat'leth.
"I will show you the traditional moves from my favorite aria, from the opera Ha' qul," she said.
"'Come Fire'?" he attempted to translate, aware her odd pronunciation affected the meaning, but unable to determine what that meaning was without more contextual phrasing.
"That would be a modern translation," she said approvingly. "But, in ancient High Klingon, qul implies a ring - an unending circle of flame. Ha' qul tells the story of Brynhildest, a contemporary of the great Kahless and the first female ever to enter Sto-Vo-Kor as a warrior. Are you familiar with her tale?"
Data slid his eyes to the side and grimaced, just slightly.
"I am sorry," he said. "I'm afraid my knowledge of Klingon literature and artistic culture is sorely deficient - a deficiency I intend to rectify as soon as possible. Please, tell me her story."
Kurak inclined her head, his earnest curiosity making her feel far more pleased than she probably should…
"The story takes place in a time before the Klingon people killed their gods and claimed dominion of the temporal realm for themselves," she said, moving back to illustrate her story with deliberate moves and twists of her bat'leth. "Brynhildest was born the daughter of the Wandering God, the Chief of All Things. But when it came time for him to find her a mate of suitable rank and status, she defied his orders and eschewed her immortality, choosing to live on the mortal plane rather than be mated to a man she did not love.
"There, she encountered Kahless locked in combat with his brother. No matter how long or how fiercely they fought, they always reached a stalemate. The brother of Kahless observed Brynhildest watching them and suggested she decide the winner of their fight, but she refused, proposing instead that the brothers fight her.
"They accepted in jest, mocking her as they would a child who dared to voice so brazen a challenge. But their joking stopped as the fight grew serious and the god's daughter revealed her true skills.
"Brynhildest declared the man who could defeat her in combat was the only man she would have as a mate. Knowing by now that neither would be able to defeat her on his own, the brothers joined ranks against her, agreeing between themselves that, if they should win, the next fight between the two brothers would determine which of them would be her mate.
"Disgusted by their scheme, Brynhildest withdrew from the fight and hid until dark before striking out to seek her fortune. But the brothers never forgot her or her oath, each man vowing to challenge her again.
"The father of Brynhildest, infuriated by her defiance, appeared to Kahless and offered him a special sword. This sword had been imbued with the immortality Brynhildest had shed, and could grant whoever wielded it the power to defeat her.
"Kahless set out at once on this quest. Word of Brynhildest's growing reputation as an undefeated warrior led him to a castle where he and Brynhildest fought again. This time, though, it was Kahless who withdrew, publicly forfeiting the battle when it seemed clear to all observing that he stood to win. When she asked him why, he replied it was not her body he wished to conquer, but her heart.
"Brynhildest was touched by the words and deeds of Kahless and the two soon feel madly in love. But, Kahless's scheming brother conspired to drug Kahless, making him forget Brynhildest and her love. It was in that bewildered state that his brother kidnapped Kahless and had him sent to a very distant country, where Kahless met and wed a powerful queen whose kingdom gathered tribute from many lands.
"But, Kahless's brother did not stop there. He continued to woo Brynhildest, counting on her broken heart to soften his path. But, Brynhildest refused him and took a poisoned draught of her own. This poison did not kill, but gave its victim every appearance of death. Unable to revive her, the furious brother of Kahless locked Brynhildest's body in a tower alongside the magic sword Kahless had used in his fight against her. He ordered a fire to be set in a circle around them - a fire impossible to pass through that was to burn in perpetuity. For, he said, if he could not win Brynhildest, no other man ever would.
"Brynhildest lay sleeping within the ring of flame for many years until the son of Kahless learned of her fate and vowed to free her from his uncle's selfish curse. The son of Kahless endured many adventures and gained much wisdom before arriving at the castle where she had been imprisoned. Once there, he used the knowledge he had earned on his quest to pass safely through the flames and awaken the sleeping Brynhildest.
"Upon opening her eyes, Brynhildest mistook the son for Kahless and her heart was filled with joy. But the son was wise enough not to deceive her, and he told her all. He told her of his uncle's scheme to rob Kahless of his memory, of his father's marriage, and of the day a traveler revealed to Kahless the depth of his brother's treachery and the truth of Brynhildest's fate. He said that, before his own death, Kahless had fought and killed his brother and, if she wished, she could reclaim her immortality and leave this mortal realm by wielding his father's magical sword.
"But, Brynhildest declined. Having learned that Kahless had passed to the land of the dead, she vowed to follow him. While the son watched in sadness, Brynhildest took her life with his father's sword. As her soul fled her mortal form, she saw Kahless stand to welcome her, as a warrior, through the gates of Sto-Vo-Kor."
Kurak lowered her bat'leth and looked to Data, who had been listening with rapt attention.
"That, in brief, is the story of Brynhildest," she said. "The aria tells only a fraction of her tale - the night she and Kahless declared the love in their hearts and shared a vow of blood never to betray each other. Do you still wish to learn this dance?"
"Yes," Data said. "Yes, definitely. It is a very moving and tragic story…not unlike the story of Brunhilde, from Earth's Norse mythology."
"You are so human," Kurak grunted. "Relating everything back to Earth! Perhaps this will broaden your perspective."
She tapped at the console controls, and a low, three-toned hum filled the dome. Cymbals crashed and the swelling hum burst into an energetic chant: forceful voices accompanied by the complex beat of drums.
Data gripped his bat'leth, uncertain what to expect, but Kurak grabbed his free hand, pulling him into the dome's center ring.
The music grew more involved, the drums joined by strings and horns and rich, electronic thrums. Data mimicked Kurak's movements, the clash of their bat'leths adding to the percussive beat vibrating the air around them…
We used to swim the same moonlight waters
Oceans away from the wakeful day…
A voice singing in ancient Klingon pierced the instrumental accompaniment like sunlight through a storm, her strong, bittersweet tones rising above the roiling thunder of the chorus…
My fall will be for you…
My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
If you be the one to cut me
I'll bleed forever…
As the song progressed, so did Data's feel for the dance. The swells of sound stirred his spirit and quickened his breath, and he felt his pulse rate rising to match the thrumming beat.
The music seemed to affect Kurak the same way, and she upped the pace of the game, introducing new steps and movements he easily matched. Their dance became a challenge, a test of agility and control…
A siren from the deep came to me
Sang my name my longing
Still I write my songs about that dream of mine
Worth everything I may ever be…
Their weapons clashed like cymbals, and Kurak locked her blade with his. He spun away, then tapped her blade to claim the lead in their dance, forcing her back with graceful blows she met and then turned, twisting their joined weapons until both fell to the floor.
Data bent to retrieve them, but Kurak pulled him back upright - a move he teasingly turned into a playful twirl. She twirled right back and gripped his arms, his shoulders, their dance becoming more of an improvised tango as the music took a more fanciful tone. Never fully breaking contact, she circled around him, then leaned far back, trusting him to maintain her balance as she kicked her leg high over his shoulder. He helped her twirl in place, then circled around her, their arms raised high as he pulled her close against him. She turned in his arms and he lifted her into the air, spinning in close, graceful steps as he circled them both around the ring...
Kurak leaned back, allowing herself to melt into the motion, the exhilarating sensation of flight, and she realized she'd never felt so confident in her movements, such trust in her partner's strength…
He lowered her down in an ice-dance like twirl and she pressed close against him, her heart hammering not from the dance, but from something far more powerful…
A spike of fear made her breath catch, and Data stopped the dance, his flushed face tight with concern…
"I'm sorry," he said. "I became…carried away… Did I hurt you?"
"No, not at all," she assured him, her eyes drawn to his lips, his eyes… She brought her hand to his cheek, and he looked at her curiously, his own breath beginning to catch…
Bring me home or leave me be
My love in the dark heart of the night
I have lost the path before me
The one behind will lead me…
He closed the distance before she could think, and she responded fiercely, kissing and biting and nipping at his lips, his jaw, his ear… The music continued its pounding beat, mirroring the throbbing in their veins, the unfamiliar passions that surged through their internal systems as the two dancers, previously so graceful, staggered awkwardly backward…narrowly missing gym machines and consoles as she pushed him hard against the wall…
"I never…" she gasped, her fingers clawing over his chest, his shoulders, before sinking into his hair, "I have never known a feeling like this…"
"Nor I," he said, his voice undeniably shaky as he kissed her neck, her lips... "Perhaps… Do you wish this to stop?"
"You would do that…if I asked…?"
"Of course," he said, and looked straight at her. "Are you asking, Kurak?"
She pursed her lips and stared at him, her gaze drawn to his eyes… She knew they were synthetic, engineered, just as he had been. But, watching his face, the depth of feeling she saw there…
"I have been taught from childhood that the body we inhabit is merely a shell," she told him, maintaining her unblinking stare. "Klingon philosophy holds it is the spirit that matters - the will to fight and to grow…"
"Are you saying…" Data blinked rapidly, forcing the words out as if afraid of the answer. "Do you not see such a 'spirit' in me?"
"Foolish man," she said. "In the words Kahless spoke to Brynhildest: Your will shines through your frame like flame through a paper lantern."
Data worked his jaw, too touched to respond in words. He brought his fingers to her hair and leaned forward, the pair of them sinking into a passionate kiss that deepened as the music swelled all around them…
Take me, cure me, heal me, bring me home
Every way, every day
I keep on watching us sleep
Relive the old sin of
Adam and Eve
Of you and me
Forgive the adoring beast
Her hand found his and she clutched it tightly, sinking her sharp nails deep into his palm. It took all her strength, but she persisted, bearing her teeth in a fierce smile as she withdrew her nails to reveal a trickle of red…
"Ach!"
Data winced in pain, his wide eyes fixated on the fluids leaking from his palm, but he didn't pull away. Instead he stayed very still, watching in amazement as she wrapped his 'bleeding' hand around hers and pressed his fingers into her own palm.
He swallowed, and squeezed her hand as gently as he could, calculating the pressure needed to break her skin's epidermal layer without causing any damage that might leave a lasting scar.
Kurak breathed in and bit her lip, seeming to savor the pain. As soon as she saw her own magenta blood, she pressed her palm to his, locking their fingers to force their blood to mingle…
Data turned his gaze to hers, his expression overwhelmed. She smiled and pressed in closer, raking her free hand lightly over his jawline.
"There is a thin line between pleasure and pain, rage and passion," she told him. "Never before was the choice mine to make…not under my father's roof, not with my ex-husband… But tonight…" She punctuated her words with slow kisses, moving from his ear toward the corner of his mouth. "I choose. I choose…Data-oy…"
He recognized the Klingon suffix, a term of endearment shared by lovers, and he turned his head to capture her lips with his.
The excitement he felt, the warm, spreading joy…it was like nothing he had read, nothing he could have imagined…
And, yet, something held him back. A cold spike of doubt… Even…fear…
"Kurak-oy…" he whispered against her hair. "Please…tell me this is happening. Just, say…"
"This is happening," she spoke into his shoulder, his neck, and he blinked back the sting of unexpected tears.
"Is it possible to fall in love so quickly?" he asked. "Will we still share this feeling…once the music ends…"
…or, his analytical mind added, are these incredible sensations merely a physical response to my emotion chip stimulating the production of synthetic hormones in my positronic brain…driving up the dopamine system, exciting the nucleus accumbens…
Kurak pulled back enough to wrinkle her nose at him.
"Humans dither and they talk," she said. "They allow fear to dim their passion. But, a Klingon…" She kissed him, then kissed him again. "A true Klingon…"
"…a Klingon conquers that which she desires," he whispered, the emotion in her eyes a mirror for his as she smiled.
…She desires me…
Data closed his eyes and held her close, reveling in the warmth of her body, the feel of her lips against his skin as the Klingon aria rose to a thundering climax…
Redeem me into childhood
Show me myself without the shell
Like the dawning of a new day
I'll be there when you say
Time can never hold our love
My fall will be for you…
My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
If you be the one to cut me
I'll bleed forever…
My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
You were the one to cut me
So I will bleed forever…
To Be Continued...
References include - TNG: Elementary, Dear Data; Ship in a Bottle; Heart of Glory; A Matter of Honor; The Emissary; Reunion; Redemption; Firstborn; The Naked Now; In Theory; Data's Day; Legacy; TOS: Requiem for Methuselah; the movie Generations; the novels Sarek and Metamorphosis; Man of La Mancha - The Impossible Dream; 'Ghost Love Score' by Nightwish from the 2004 album Once (lyrics slightly altered). The story of Brynhildest was mostly based on a combination of the Völsunga saga and the Nibelungenlied.
Well, I didn't make it. It's May and there's still a ton of story left in this part of the story. But, hey, I gave it a shot and now the plot has been advanced. Sorry again for spitting out those chapters so fast, but I think a big part of it was anxiety. The prospect of writing out this chapter right here has been intimidating the heck out of me for months. I've never been comfortable trying to describe emotional stuff like this and I'm always terrified it'll come off as analytical and unrealistic. I watched hours of shows like The Love Boat and I even interviewed my sister while I worked to plot it out. But, I had to push through it to get to another scene I've been longing to write out since this story began and I did push through it and now it's done! I hope you'll let me know what you think of how it turned out.
Your comments and reviews are always welcome! Thank you! :D