Twenty-Three: The Intrusion

When Beverly realized the baby was actually Data's, she profusely apologized for her initial reaction to my pregnancy. Under the circumstances, I understood why she had been so upset and I immediately forgave her. Over time, my morning, afternoon and evening sickness subsided. Despite the discomforts that came with pregnancy, I enjoyed carrying Data's child. Data and I agreed that we wanted to learn the gender of our child when he or she would be born, not before then. I'll never forget the first time I felt the baby kick. Data saw my reaction to the event and asked if I was alright. Speechless, I took his hand and placed it on my belly. When the baby kicked again, Data was ecstatic. Every night since then, he'd sing to my tummy, play his violin, read stories or simply talk to our developing child while caressing my stomach.

"Kadalynn." He whispered.

"Yes, Data?"

"Do you remember when I said you were 'my star', on the day I proposed to you?" he asked poignantly.

"Of course I do. Why do you ask?"

"I believe I was incorrect. You are not my star. You are my universe…" he explained before caressing my belly, "and this child is my galaxy." He whispered with a look of pure love in his eyes before kissing me tenderly.

Six months into my pregnancy, it felt strange to wobble around the ship with the extra weight around my midsection. I could tell that certain crew members still didn't believe that Data was the father, but I no longer cared about their opinions. All that mattered was that I had Data's love and support as well as the support of our closest friends. Data and I were bombarded with countless messages from researchers, scientists and geneticists from throughout the galaxy. They all wanted one thing, to study our child. We politely declined, refusing to turn our joyous occasion into a huge science experiment.

One day, the Enterprise was visited by a couple — Daniella and Anton Stapleton. They were from a nearby planet, seeking help in stabilizing the environmental conditions there. I was in charge of monitoring the readings of the planet and noticed something odd. The instability of the environment appeared to be a deliberate, man-made occurrence. The couple seemed puzzled and voiced that they had no known enemies. Something in my gut told me that something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was. In addition, the couple seemed more concerned with my pregnancy than with the situation occurring on their planet. Daniella asked me so many questions. She claimed she planned to have children soon and wanted to know what it was like. However, the questions she asked were way too personal and it made me uncomfortable.

"I understand some women find it difficult to perform certain… activities during their final trimester; I'm curious, are you and your husband still able to… you know." Daniella whispered.

I was shocked that she went there! I was so appalled; I didn't even know how to respond, but Data saved me the trouble. He'd apparently heard her from across the room, because he abruptly stopped what he was doing to join us. The expression on his face denoted great displeasure.

"Ms. Stapleton, I fail to understand how that subject is relevant to our current assignment." Data replied sternly.

"I'm sorry Commander, I was simply curious. Sorry if I offended you or your wife." Daniella hastily replied before walking away, abashed.

"Data, I have a strange feeling about those two." I whispered as I watched Daniella and her husband exit the observation lounge.

"As do I. I will run an extensive search on their history in case something has been overlooked." He replied.

Later that night, Data escorted me back to our quarters since I was feeling a bit drained. He sat with me for a while before returning to his duties. I fell asleep shortly after only to be awakened by the chirp of the door. I sleepily got out of bed, put on a robe and wobbled to the door. I was slightly irritated since I felt like a tired, hot, oversized penguin. When I answered the door, I was surprised to see Daniella and her husband standing in the doorway. Daniella was holding a large bouquet of flowers.

"Daniella? Anton? What brings you here?" I asked while wiping the sleep from my eyes.

"A peace offering." Daniella replied. "We're very sorry for our intrusive questions and want to apologize to you and your husband."

"That's sweet of you, but Data's working right now. Maybe you could come back in the morning?" I suggested.

"Of course. Our timing is a bit off after all. Well, at least take the flowers until then." Daniella replied as she handed them to me… more like shoved them in my face.

I caught a whiff of the perfume of the bouquet before I felt the room spin. I saw the bouquet fall from my hands as I lost my balance, but was caught by Anton.

"Oopsy daisy!" He exclaimed with a smile. "Have you been taking your supplements, little lady?"

Looking up at their faces I realized that I had been set up. This realization was confirmed when the ship went into red alert mode. Something was very wrong. Data tried to contact me through my Com-badge, but I had left it on our nightstand across the room.

"No! Leave me alone!" I cried hoarsely. I was rapidly losing my voice… and consciousness.

I felt myself being lifted up into Anton' arms. I swung my arms as furiously as I could to defend myself against him, but found they were growing limp and useless. Data tried to contact me through the ship's com system, but my voice was getting progressively faint.

"Data… help!" I cried in a faint whisper as Anton and Daniella rushed me down the corridor towards the transporter room.

"Aw, sweetie! I'm afraid your dear hubby can't hear you." Daniella said with a sarcastic pout. "If only the two of you agreed to participate in our scientific studies, we wouldn't have to resort to such drastic measures."

Once we came to the transporter room, the doors hissed open to reveal Data standing there with two guards behind him and a look on of fury on his normally placid face. Data must've used the Jeffries tubes to navigate his way from Engineering to the transporter room. I wondered why he didn't have me beamed away from my captors instead of going through all the trouble. I now realize that he didn't want to risk the life of our unborn child by doing so.

"Release my wife at once!" He demanded forcefully.

There was a phaser in his hand. As soon as he raised it, I felt something hard press against my head.

"Don't even think about it, Commander! If you leave us be, your wife will not be harmed and she will be returned to you in one piece. Now, step aside!" Daniella replied in a threatening manner.

I opened my mouth to say something to Data, but I finally fainted.

When I awoke, I expected the whole thing to be a nightmare. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I was strapped to a table in some strange lab. There were preservation jars with all sorts of deformed and alien fetuses that failed to make it to term. The sight totally freaked me out and I immediately began screaming and struggling. Daniella, who was dressed in medical garb, approached me.

"Please, calm down." She said.

"No! Let me out of here!" I shrieked furiously as I continued to struggle with such ferocity, I suspect Data would have wanted me to calm down at least a little for the sake of our baby.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Daniella responded immediately.

"Remember that when you're begging me to stop my husband from kicking your ass!"

"You have to relax! If you don't calm down, you'll hurt the baby."

Suddenly, it felt as if all my energy had been zapped when I thought about my baby and all Data had gone through to make this new life possible.

"Please, don't hurt my baby!" I pled.

"We only want to run some tests. Cooperate and this should go smoothly." Anton replied as he placed his hand on my tummy. Looking at all their previous failed experiments in jars, I seriously doubted him.

Somehow, I think the baby disliked Anton's touch even more than I did. The baby kicked violently, causing me extreme discomfort. Normally, I would caress my stomach to ease the sensation, but was unable to do so since I was tied down.

"Ow! Don't touch me!" I cried, clenching my fists in an attempt to offset the pain.

Almost immediately upon removing his hand, the kicking stopped and I sighed in relief. Daniella and Anton returned to a console on which my vitals were being monitored. I noticed that the lab was a far cry from the sickbay on the Enterprise, in terms of technological advancements. This made me very nervous. There were a series of large needles on one of the counters. I began to panic when Daniella picked one up and approached me. She guided the large syringe towards my belly. I squirmed about while screaming at the top of my lungs.

"Stop moving!" she shouted through gritted teeth, "I just need to extract some of your amniotic fluid."

"No! Get that thing away from me!" I shouted as I continued to wriggle.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded. It was an intruder alert. I finally realized I was on a ship when Anton attempted to contact the bridge, but there was no answer. A few moments later, Data entered the room. I was so happy to see him, I was speechless. Anton made a sudden move, but was quickly captured by Data, who pressed a phaser to his back.

"Release my wife… now!" Data ordered.

"Commander. You can't kill my husband, he's unarmed and he's not threatening anyone. Surely that must go against Starfleet code or something." Daniella cockily replied.

Data quickly shifted Anton to one side to reveal his own uniform. Data wasn't wearing his com-badge and the pips on his collar had been removed. It was clear that he didn't come to the confrontation as a Starfleet officer, but as a husband and a father protecting his family. Seeing this, Daniella gasped, but still refused to give up.

"If you kill Anton, who's to say I won't kill your precious wife? I may be unarmed, but I can still pump her veins full of air with this syringe."

"That is not likely, since I will be able to shoot you before you even puncture her skin. However, in the off chance you are successful, you will still have to face me in the end… and I assure you, that would not be pleasant." Data hissed.

Daniella gulped nervously. She had no way out, so she dropped the syringe before releasing me from my restraints. I carefully slid down from the table and faced her. She smiled faintly.

"I wasn't going to hurt you, honestly." She said softly.

I regarded her for a moment before punching her in the face. She staggered against one of the adjacent tables before holding her bloody lip. Several security officers from the Enterprise entered the room and apprehended my abductors. Data and I reunited in a warm, tearful hug.

"Have I made it in time?" Data asked with worry in his eyes as he gently placed his hand on my stomach, "Have they harmed you or our baby?"

"No, Data. I'm fine. A little shaken up, that's all. You were just in time." I reassured him.

"I am relieved. Nonetheless, it would be wise for you to undergo a full examination to ensure that no harm has been done to you or our child."

Thankfully, the results to all my medical checkups were normal, except for a slight rise in my blood pressure. Beverly said it was a normal occurrence for someone who had just been through a traumatic experience.