Onward with the crossover magic! As always, I'd love to know what you think! :D :D
En Route to Sector 2569
U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-D
0245 hours, Stardate 48156.9
"And then I decided to request for a transfer off the Enterprise."
Beverly's words cut through the fog of distraction in his mind.
Jean-Luc looked across the table, with a plate of croissants and two cups of coffee, stricken. "What did you say?"
An impish look passed over her face and he realized that she hadn't been serious. "You haven't heard anything I have said since I walked in this morning," she accused.
She was correct, of course.
Despite the necessity of pulling Data and Geordi from repairing Cortana after they reached the Halo ring, there was a lingering guilt that pressed upon him after his conversation with the Master Chief from the day prior.
Jean-Luc might have questions to the validity of the Chief's claims - whether or not there was really going to be something waiting for them at the coordinates was yet to be seen - but there was no doubting the pain that flashed across the young man's face when he had offered to replace Cortana.
"Jean-Luc, you're not listening again."
He looked at Beverly who had a concerned look on her face. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I am rather distracted this morning."
She raised her cup to her lips and took a sip. "Does this have anything to do with reaching the Halo ring?" she asked.
"Indirectly," he replied. Then, he told her about the exchange he had with the Master Chief in Ten-Forward.
When he had finished, she leaned back in her chair. "And this concerns you?"
"Yes." He raised his eyebrows. "I'm afraid what will happen if Data and Geordi can't repair her." He let out a sigh. "For the first time since he's been on board, he seemed completely human."
"He is human," she countered. "Don't let the armor fool you, Jean-Luc."
"I know that, Beverly." He frowned.
Beverly shrugged. "Then, his reaction is to be expected. Based on the readings we got from the neural link, she was in his mind." She gave him a pointed look. "You, of all people should know how that feels."
"Kesprytt." The word carried across the room.
Beverly nodded her head. "And we only had that connection for a day." She took a sip of her coffee. "I don't know how long he worked with Cortana, but it's clear based on the scans I took of the neural link that it was intended to be a long-term arrangement."
She broke off a piece of croissant. "Honestly, I'd be more concerned if he didn't show some sort of emotion."
"True," he conceded. "Still, I have no choice but to let my order stand."
"I'm sure he understands that, Jean-Luc."
The rest of the breakfast passed. Jean-Luc did his best to concentrate on his conversation with Beverly, which had moved onto the topic of how long they planned to stay at the Halo ring, but his mind kept going back to the Master Chief.
It was somewhat of a relief when his communicator chirped. "Data to Captain Picard."
"Picard here."
"Sir, I need you to come down to Holodeck 3."
A spark of hope blossomed in him. "Did you manage to repair Cortana?"
"Negative." The spark sputtered out. "However, Geordi and I are attempting to test a new theory. I am hopeful that we will be able to activate a portion of her program."
Hope sprung back to life. He exchanged an optimistic look with Beverly. "I'm on my way. Picard out." He stood up from his chair. "I'm sorry to cut our breakfast short."
"It's alright, Jean-Luc. I'll just talk to myself like I have been doing all morning." Her eyes crinkled with mirth for a moment before turning serious. "I hope Data can figure something out."
"So do I."
/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-
Like Sherlock Holmes, Data enjoyed a challenge.
Often, his struggles were of a personal nature. The quest to become more like the humans around him. The study of how and why people behaved in the ways they did and how he could adapt his program to be more like them.
He was the peak of artificial intelligence. There was nothing that compared to him.
Until the Chief brought Cortana on board.
For two weeks, Data had spent his spare time trying to repair the program that seemed impossibly complex. During a late night work session, the Chief had told him that her programming was created from a human's cloned brain.
More often than not, Data found himself working with Geordi or the Chief. He didn't mind the company. The Chief had insight into how Cortana's program worked and Data always enjoyed working alongside his best friend.
He and the Chief Engineer had been working that morning when Geordi had come up with their most recent attempt to reactivate the Cortana program.
"What if we upload a fragment of her program to the Holodeck?" Geordi had asked earlier in the day. "If we can piece together enough data to activate her holographic interface, she might be able to help up figure out how to repair the rest of her."
With that suggestion in mind, Data set off to do that very thing.
It had taken him just over two hours, but he felt confident that he had filtered enough of the redundant data to be able to establish some sort of connection with Cortana's interface.
He had contacted Captain Picard and the Master Chief and was waiting for them to arrive in the Holodeck.
Geordi raised his eyebrows. "I hope this works."
Data did too. He was aware of the captain's order, which meant they had seven hours, twenty-one minutes to get Cortana functioning properly.
The doors behind him slid apart. The Chief walked in, glancing at the mostly empty room. "Where's Cortana?"
"We're waiting for the captain," Geordi replied. "As soon as he gets here, we'll be ready to try our plan, Chief."
The Chief nodded, glancing at his helmet. "Will it work?"
Geordi looked at Data who nodded. "I would not call you and the captain down if I did not have full confidence in what we are about to attempt to do."
Less than a minute later, the doors once again opened. This time Captain Picard walked in and looked at Data expectantly. "Are you ready proceed?"
Geordi nodded. "As ready as we're going to be."
"Make it so."
A tension settled over the room as Data moved to stand in front of the control panel. It was a hologram, but Data had linked it to the Enterprise's main computer, making it as functional as the terminal he had been using in Engineering.
Several seconds passed as Data continued to implement the protocol to Cortana's chip. Then, a glimmer of blue started in appear in front of the terminal.
Data didn't know what to expect when he saw Cortana, but seeing her as a half-naked blue woman wasn't it.
Immediately, Captain Picard looked away and Geordi blushed. Only the Master Chief seems unperturbed by her state of undress.
"John?" She walked up to him and pressed her hand to his cheek.
Geordi averted his gaze as well, but Data had no such compunction. He watched in fascination as a pained look past over the Chief's face.
"How did I get here?" she whispered, letting her hand drop.
"Later."
She gave a curt nod and looked around the room. Data watched as the vulnerability on her face melted into an impish expression. "I almost didn't recognize you without the helmet, you know."
"Cortana-"
Then, suddenly, she put her hand up to her head, as if in pain. "I can't access my files, John."
Data interjected himself in the conversation. "I am afraid that your program is too complex for our ship's computers to process. We have had to use the Master Chief's interface through his helmet to filter the data."
"I always knew I was too much woman for most people to handle." She turned to Data. "Let me guess, you activated just enough of me so I could help you piece me back together again."
Data eyebrows rose in surprise. "You are correct."
"How much..." She trailed off, casting a quick glance at John before looking back at Data. "How much data degradation has there been?"
"I estimate that there twelve percent of your matrix is corrupted due to the redundant data loops, but I hypothesize that I could implement a program that could eradicate them, therefore resolving the issue that the Chief refers to as rampancy."
"Don't." She stopped him, holding up a hand. "Let's on work on getting me back to working form before you offer me my lifelong dream."
"We'll be arriving at the Halo ring in less than eight hours," the Chief said. "You'll need to be ready."
She frowned briefly. "That should be enough time."
"It has to be."
"I know, Chief."