VIII.

The minute that the meeting with the Frugians was over, Picard called a senior officers meeting. The captain sat at the end of the table, looking thoughtfully at each of the officers, taking their emotions in.

Lieutenant Worf was of course, alert as usual; twiddling his thumbs and staring at him, Picard, impatient. Riker was regarding him cautiously, knowing the stress that was on him at the moment, possibly thinking of some advice to give once the meeting was over. Crusher and Troi were sitting on either side of him, staring at one another, complacent. Geordi sat at the opposite end of the table, reading over information about the Frugians and if they had any known technology. Then there was Heva and Data. Both were in the center of the table on opposite sides, facing one another. Heva was alert, ready for the meeting to get under way. And, for the first time in his career on the Enterprise, Data wasn't either one of these. Not alert, not apprehensive, not even studying information. He was focused on one thing, Heva.

Jean-Luc was unsure of how to think of this newest development. It was obvious that Data was intent on telling him eventually, but he didn't think he would be so conspicuous about it, especially in front of beings he had never met before. Of course, he was proud that Data's emotions were spanning to such an extent. However, the knowledge of where those feelings were directed made Jean-Luc…uneasy. Almost irritated in a sense.

He ignored these thoughts as best he could, and cleared his throat. Every officer in the room perked up to give him the utmost attention. The only hesitant one being Data, who slowly turned to face the captain with a look of deepest want on his face. Picard turned to his staff and stood up. "Listen up," he began, gaining an ear from everyone in the room. "Lieutenant Brookes' connection with Hruj was no accident. He wanted to show us that the enemy we were thinking of was the wrong one. It is not the Borg we are dealing with here. We ran a scan of the description that Heva gave us and this is what we came up with."

He turned to the view screen and a picture of a bionic looking being appeared. It was similar to the Borg in many respects, however rather than having a partially organic component, it was all mechanical. It had a rectangular shape, many red and blue lights encompassed it's entire form and it seemed to have hover adapters, for it did not touch the ground.

"This particular enemy, is very rare." Picard continued. "They were created and built by a group of scientists who were captured back when the Klingon Empire was still at war with the federation. They were built as a weapon of war, only to be used for destruction. They are called Bots. They were given emotion sensors, which gave them the freedom to use emotions like anger, vengeance, malice, cruelty, everything we would consider negative."

"So," Worf chimed in. "They are like soldiers."

"Yes, Lieutenant, they are indeed soldiers."

"But if they were built during the reign of the Klingon Empire, what are they doing here, now?"

"That is what I have asked Lieutenant Brookes to find out." He waved a hand to Heva and she stood.

"Bots were no longer needed after the peace treaty that Captain Kirk helped to put into play. So not only were the scientists who were captured, released. But so were the Bots. They are a free reign style weapon; designed for one purpose: to search and to destroy. Their programming is extremely sophisticated."

She pressed a button on the remote to change the screen. A pop up screen came out of the midsection of the Bot's body to a side view, showing its internal programming components.

All of the officers in the room observed curiously as Heva pointed out various points of the structure.

"They were not only designed to destroy, they were specifically designed to destroy anyone with a Star Fleet history. Any officer it would have come into contact with would have been instantly killed."

"So why did they destroy an entire species of something that wasn't even related to Star Fleet?" Geordi asked.

"That's what I intend to figure out. I theorized that maybe this particular part of their program was taken out or malfunctioned with the time they were out roaming space. Perhaps using their engines and warp technology fried those circuits and they went berserk. Or someone else got a hold of them and reprogrammed them to destroy the Frugians."

"Why would anyone want them killed?" Deanna asked, a look of concern on her face. "They're such a peaceful people."

Heva looked away. "When I was connected to Hruj, I learned a significant secret about them. I gave the information to Geordi." She nodded, giving Geordi the floor.

"The Frugian aren't as primitive a race as we thought." He stood walking to the view screen, bringing up the new information to play. A glowing orb of purple came up, with information written on either side.

"They possess a technology that surpasses any that has been recorded in the universe. They have the power to cloak their entire system."

"That's why no one has ever found it before," Riker cut in. "People would have been able to scan it but would have found empty space once they arrived."

"Exactly." Geordi confirmed. "They're not much different from the Borg we have found. They also have a collective conscience that they live off of. However, they also have an individuality factor in their lives which sets them apart from one another. But like the Borg, when one is speaking, even from across the galaxy, the rest of them know about it. They also pride themselves on their perfection and harmonious way of life. And they don't mind if others have that or not. So along with being like the Borg, they are also polar opposites from them."

"So what else is there about this technology of theirs that makes them so special to want to destroy?" Worf asked.

"That's what I was hoping you'd ask." Geordi replied excitedly. "This technology is so powerful, it can destroy anything and everything if it wanted to, even a Borg ship that has adapted to it already. It can reverse the adaptation process. It provides protection, power, it can do anything you want it to do. It's every technology you could ever dream of all rolled into one specific form, they use their minds to control it. But there are other ways to control it, like speaking to it aloud. But considering the Frugians have no mouths, they rely on their telepathic connection with it."

"So how do we know that anyone was trying to obtain it?" Riker asked. "The Bots could have just come out of nowhere and destroyed them for the sake of it, because that's how they are programmed."

"Oh contraire." Heva chimed. "That was what I thought at first, but then I did my research. Hruj told me that this technology can sense danger of any kind from thousands of light-years away, which then compels them to cloak their system to protect them. They would have known long before the Bots even entered the brim of their space that they were coming."

"The question now," Beverly said. "Is who would have known about them in the first place? Who could know about a race of people who had such a technology and then found the Bots and get them to destroy them?"

"Now hold on," Worf interrupted. "Lieutenant, didn't you say that the dying Frugian on the planet told you that the mechanical beings wanted to make them in their form? That's what made us think it was the Borg in the first place."

"Hruj told me that since a threat had never come to them in such a long time, they believed that they were trying to kidnap them into their culture. Frugians believe that any threat made on them is an attempt to either change them or steal their technology. Usually it's the former."

"That's modest." Worf scowled.

"Now, Worf." Picard chuckled. "Now all we need, is to figure out a strategy to solve this little mystery we've discovered. Brookes,"

Heva turned to him, making him feel that anxious pull in his stomach he feared he would feel.

"I want you to take Commander Data, Commander Riker, and Lieutenant Worf down to the planet that Hruj and the other survivors were found, scan the entire surface if you have to but find anything you can. But don't do it yet, I want each of you to continue your research on the Frugians, find out any other things about them you can. Who knows, it could be one of the survivors that forced the attack. We don't know anything about them yet, they could have unpleasant emotions just like humans do." He briefly stole a glance at Data before continuing.

"I will let you commence this mission in three days. That should give all of you enough time to brush up on anything you need. In the meantime, we will continue scanning the surfaces of the planets to find any survivors we may have missed. We will keep an eye out for any remaining Bots as well, every one of you must remain alert, and ready for battle if it should arise. Dismissed."

They all stood and began to file out, but the captain turned and stopped. "Data, I want to speak with you." Data turned around, staring blankly at him, he touched Geordi's shoulder whispering something to him that made him nod before leaving the room.

Once everyone was out, Picard sat down, motioning for Data to sit beside him. He did, cautiously, not taking his eyes off of the captain.

"Data, I think you know why I'm talking to you now."

"Yes sir. My emotion chip."

"Not just the chip, but the emotion that it's giving you. The one you're feeling right now for Lieutenant Brookes."

Data turned his gaze to the floor, feeling a pounding sensation in his chest. "Yes, sir. I didn't want to tell anyone but the counselor and Geordi. But I should have updated you on my progress as well."

Jean-Luc smiled at him. "Well, go on."

Data sighed. "It began when I started her tour of the ship. I began to realize how attractive she is. Then it grew to a longing, one to be near her always. Then I began paying attention to every detail about her person. I began tripping up, losing my concentration. I could only focus on my thoughts of Heva. Captain, I would give my own career up if it meant she could smile, be happy. In my five days of knowing her, I believe I have fallen in love with Lieutenant Heva Brookes."

Picard found himself feeling extremely tense. This was what he knew he would hear, however it wasn't what he wanted to hear. He wanted Data to tell him he was bluffing for Hruj's pleasure. He wanted to hear that Data was only curious about the Lieutenant, who she was. Nothing more. However it was there on the table now, Data had fallen in love, and it came much quicker than expected. It certainly was an interesting surprise, considering he himself was feeling a fondness for Heva.

"Data," he hesitated, then continued. "I am…proud of your progress. But.." he couldn't bring himself to say it, he knew how selfish and wrong it would be to say this to a friend who wanted Heva as badly as he did. But..

"I don't think it would be wise to form an intimate relationship with her. I won't stop you, but if I were you I would avoid the idea for the sake of your career. I understand you would give it up for her, but you are needed here on the Enterprise. You are one of my best officers, and the best person at my helm. I need your concentration, I need your skills Data. I need you here, not in space with stars in your eyes."

Data couldn't help but be in disbelief. Something in the Captain's tone was unsettling, it made him feel very uneasy being near him. The look on his face seemed sufficient in reassuring him that it meant nothing more than it meant up front. But he couldn't help but think there was something underneath his usual captain-like demeanor.

"Yes, sir. I suppose you are right. What about…after this mission?"

"After this mission, Heva will have a choice of whether or not she wants to remain here on the Enterprise. If you want a relationship, I suggest you convince her to stay…but don't expect her to agree, she is very young, and ambitious. She may want to explore her options. Think on it, ok Data?"

Data opened his mouth, then closed it. He nodded and left the room. Jean-Luc released his muscles and slumped in his chair with a sigh. The guilt of what he told an old friend mounted his shoulders like two hawks. But at the same time he felt something in his gut, knowing Data's loyalty would drive him away from any ideas…

Satisfaction.