XXIII.
Data laid there with Heva for the whole night. They spoke softly to one another for a few moments as she fell asleep, wrapped in his arms. Since Data did not require sleep, he merely shut his eyes and let his mind stay blank. He reflected over the past week and down memory lane into his other encounters with women. He had had only a few, but none of them were close to how this was.
As he sat on the edge of the bed slipping his feet into his boots, she felt a sort of joy that he had never felt before. The smile on his face had been there since their evening together had come to a stop, it never left. He stood and looked back at Heva. She didn't need to report to her station for another couple of hours, so he decided to let her sleep.
He found an information pad and input a short note, explaining where he had gone and placed it on the pillow beside her. He then leaned down and kissed her forehead. He held his lips against her skin for a long moment before coming back up and saying to her "I love you."
He walked slowly out of the room, looking around at the walls and back at his sleeping beauty before finally departing.
Data walked onto the bridge and sat at the helm without a word. No one but Jean-Luc seemed to notice the confidence and cheerful stride he seemed to possess. The captain took a long look at the back of Data's head, wanting badly to speak with him again and return to good terms.
Nothing had been happening that day. Nothing but typical every day duties that had no specific excitement added in. They weren't far from Federation space by now and things were almost too quiet for everyone. Hruj and his fellow Frugians had finally come out of their quarters that morning, only to roam each deck quietly without even a glance at any of the crew members.
Everyone tried their best to ignore them. In a lot of their minds, the Frugians were incredibly foreboding. Ever since the murders of three of their own, they had been hiding until now. Most, if not all, of the crew suspected Hruj. Rumors began to burn through the crew like a forest fire, every single one finding its way to Picard.
As he sat in his regular seat staring out into their space painted path, he debated on an officer's meeting. He couldn't deny that his suspicions of the Frugians had gotten steadily stronger since the double murder that had tainted Ten Forward only a week prior to now.
One thing was for certain, the captain needed to gain Data and Heva's trust back. They were the main officers on this project; they were from the beginning even if the Borg were never a part of it. He needed them. He had to do it now.
"Commander Data." He said confidently, standing from his chair. Data turned and faced him, a feigned look of interest greeting him. "Yes, captain?" he replied.
"I need you to come with me to my ready room; we need to discuss something important. Number One, you have the bridge."
"Sir," Data argued, strained. "Now is not the appropriate-"
"Data follow me now. That is an order." Picard said loudly as he left the bridge. Data hesitated, wanting to be anywhere but alone in a room with the captain. However, it was a direct order and he couldn't refuse. He instructed an ensign to relieve him and followed the captain off of the bridge.
They walked together in silence down the corridors. Both of them had their arms behind them and attempted to look as normal as possible, though they knew that the tension between them was being displayed like a neon sign between them. Once they were inside the captain's ready room, Data spoke.
"I do not know what you wish to gain from this attempt at a second apology, captain. However I can tell you now that it isn't going to be easy"
Jean-Luc sighed and turned to him. "Data, what I did was not in my nature. In fact it's about as far from me as it gets." He walked past Data and sat down in his desk chair and folded his arms. "I tried so hard to…to resist the temptation that I lost sight of why I was even trying."
Data's head cocked to one side. "I do not understand. Are you saying that your attempts to falter from what you did were so severe that you forgot why it was wrong?"
"Yes." Jean-Luc replied. "See, sometimes humans get weak. And when humans get weak, they try to get stronger and focus so hard and get so determined that at times…they forget their goal. Their weakness becomes their main focus, and it turns them away from their strengths." He looked at Data, who returned this with a puzzled expression.
"What I mean…is that I was seriously intent on staying away from Heva in the romantic persuasion that I could see nothing BUT her. I thought about how you would be affected, but then I kept seeing you with her. She invaded on all my thoughts of loyalty and became a poison to it. I bent to my weakness and I seized it, and it cost me not just a fine officer's trust, but a friend's."
"In other words, you let a woman get in between you and me as friends?" Data asked.
Picard nodded. "It isn't her fault at all, and it isn't yours. I know it's mine and mine alone. I only want your trust and your friendship back, Data. I need you here."
Data's lip curled into a sneer. "So," he hissed. "You only want my trust and friendship back for my duties on this ship? You do not want them purely for your feelings of remorse or guilt?"
Picard stood. "Data, it's not like that. Friends need each other and I need you here with me for your duties yes but more importantly as my comrade. I wish to regain your trust for our friendship as well as our sworn servitude to this ship and its crew."
Data looked down to one side. He was right. But for some reason he couldn't bring himself to forgive just yet what he had done. Jean-Luc stepped around his desk and stood in front of Data, but Data would not look at him.
"Data, please…I could never bring myself to forgive my own deed. You have always been so forgiving and a kind soul to me."
Data flared with anger and said "But, captain. I have no soul. Nor do I have a heart, or genuine love. Do you not remember? I am nothing but an artificial life form, cold parts within a human form."
Picard backed off slightly. "She told you those things?"
Data's head snapped and he glared at the captain. "Of course she did!" he spat. "Do you honestly believe that she would keep such distasteful things to herself? She cares for me, captain. And I deeply care for her. Whether or not I have a central nervous system, or veins, or even a heart I can feel the things you do. And just for your personal information, it IS genuine."
If looks had the capability to kill, Data's last look before he walked out of the room would have taken all life out of Picard instantly. All he could do was stand and watch Data leave.
He pressed his palms over his eyes and emitted a low growl of frustration. He understood that Data was angry, and he knew perfectly well that he deserved every bitter word that Data had thrown at him.
He felt that this attempt may have failed, but it wouldn't be the last. He might as well move on to his next try.
"Captain to Commander Brookes."
"Yes, sir?" he heard her reply. She sounded as though she had just woken up.
"I would like you to report to my ready room. We need to discuss something."
"Captain, I really don't-"
"That is an order, Commander. I want you here in my office within the next five minutes. Captain out."
Heva fell back into her pillow, exasperated. The very last thing she wanted was to talk to the Captain. Rolling off of the bed, she spotted the information pad that Data had left on her pillow. She picked it up and read it:
"Heva,
I have reported to the bridge for duty. I will meet with you in the science lab when I am finished at 09:00.
I love you.
Data."
Heva smiled and set the pad down on her side table.
She stood, dressed, and began to leave when her doorbell sounded. "Oh, you've got to be kidding…" she sighed. "Come in!"
The door slid open and there stood Yeuls. Her eyes were down to slits, her body was covered in blood and a slit across her throat smiled back at her. She looked up at Heva and stumbled. Heva rushed forward and caught her in her arms. Yeuls blinked feebly and struggled to lift her arm. Heva reached down and lifted it to her head and allowed Yeuls to press two fingers to her temple. Her voice echoed through Heva's mind with a whirlwind of sounds and images and finally settled on one.
Yeuls walked into her quarters and a Hruj stood there. He was speaking to himself, or so it seemed.
"Negative, my queen. None of the crew suspects anything. And as far as can be seen, neither the captain nor the commander has any knowledge of your coming."
Another voice answered, a voice that sent chills of fear down Heva's spine; the voice of the Borg queen.
"Excellent. You have done well. I want that ship destroyed from the inside out before it reaches the Federation. I do not want them meddling in our plan, and no one else must know. Make it look like an accident. Assimilate information on the inner workings of the vessel and have it implode…it will simulate a malfunction in their systems."
"Understood." Hruj turned, but as he did so his body twitched and disappeared for a split second; he wasn't real, he was a hologram.
The image disappeared and Heva looked down at Yeuls. "The Borg? But…how? We didn't see them on any of our scans! They can't be-"
She was interrupted by being thrust back into another vision of the same scene. Hruj approached Yeuls and glared at her.
"What did you hear?" he said, through his mind.
"Every word." Yeuls replied.
"Well…I suppose you know the plan by now?"
Yeuls stood silent and Hruj turned from her.
"I am not a real Frugian, as you've come to learn." He went on. "The Borg created me to gain knowledge of your people and their technology."
"But I've known you my whole life!" Yeuls argued. "You helped my father raise me! You-"
"You weren't there when Hruj went on that alliance mission to Earth. He and his crew never made it there…they were assimilated by the Borg. He…I…returned as an observation tool. We learned of your technology from the crew of that alliance mission."
"What of those other artificial creatures?" Yeuls asked. "Those…Bots? We were lead to believe-"
"You were lead to believe much, as well as the crew of this ship. Those primitive war droids were built by us. It is only theory that they were released into the vacuum of space for disposal. The human Federation scientists that built them were assimilated from one of their science vessels not long after their release from the Klingon Empire. When your people resisted and cloaked your system, we decided to use Hruj's knowledge as well as the Bot programming to infiltrate and destroy your race."
Hruj turned back to her, holding a phaser. Yeuls backed away, but it was too late Hruj fired several shots into her back and she fell.
Heva opened her eyes again. "But…" she sputtered. "The Borg don't just…destroy…they assimilate."
Yeuls pressed her fingers farther into Heva's temple, making her wince.
"He has killed Oigh and Iuol. He is after Truih. You must reach your captain before he kills him too. He is the only Frugian left…he must repopulate…" Yeuls collapsed into Heva's lap and Heva pressed her com badge.
"Commander Brookes to sick bay! Beam me there immediately. Yeuls needs medical attention!"