"…and so you see, Admiral, I think that it should fall onto the crew of the Enterprise to rescue Commander Brookes. She is my officer and not only that but a beloved friend and colleague to many aboard my ship. We also have history with her captor, Lore. We have the know-how and experience to carry out this mission." Picard spoke these words confidently and assertively to Admiral Greg, whose weary and pale face stared down at him from the view screen; nodding in approval. "I understand, Jean-Luc. I authorize this mission and I will contact the Federation Counsel on the plague matter. We will have the Taurus, the Opal, and the Cygnus sent to aide you in taking it down and bringing the perpetrator into custody. Once you retrieve your officer, I want you to use any means necessary to keep that vessel in place and send the captain of the Taurus your coordinates. Captain Robins will be leading the backup team to assist you. If anything new develops, be sure to report to him immediately, understood?" the Admiral said in his low, gruff voice. Picard nodded curtly up at him. "Understood, Admiral. Picard out." The Admiral disappeared leaving streaks of stars on the view screen behind him. The Captain sat in his chair and turned to Riker, who was sitting in his accustomed casual manner; his torso slanted off to the left, his elbow resting on the arm of his chair with two fingers gripping his chin. He looked over his nose at Picard and spoke softly. "What if the freighter isn't there when we reach the previous coordinates? They could be light-years away by the time we get there." "I've considered that, Number One." Jean-Luc replied, keeping his voice down. They didn't want Data to hear them, his mind was already burdened so there was no need for him to worry about being unable to find the freighter. "I've had Worf begin a wide spread scan. That way while we are in warp if we happen to come across the vessel's signature, we can slow down and take him by surprise." "How are we going to get on the vessel if Lore constantly keeps his shields up? We can just fire on him until their integrity reaches 0%." "I've been thinking about that. I spoke with Geordi to see if there was any dampening field or something else that would prevent us from getting into the freighter's systems. According to him, there aren't any. I think that there may be a way to patch into the main computer and shut down the shields long enough to transport an away team onto the ship to find Heva." "Well if it isn't a Star Fleet vessel I doubt that we'll have any of the access codes to pull something like that off." Picard cursed under his breath. The reality that the options were limited was becoming more unpleasant with every significant moment that passed. Suddenly he looked up, a gleam of hope in his eyes. "Did we even scan the vessel to see if it had a Star Fleet signature?" "Even if it did come up as one of ours," Will replied. "It's a much older vessel with no transporter technology. It had to be equipped with updated systems to operate as a rogue ship. Would we even be able to hack into the system if it's that ancient?" Picard considered this for a moment. "I'm not sure. I'll have to talk to Geordi about that. You have the com." He stood and half jogged to the turbo lift. Data turned to watch him and for a moment their eyes met. Jean-Luc couldn't take much more of this. He'd known Data for years, seeing him in this much pain was abnormal to the point of disturbing. As the doors shut in front of him, a morbid inquiry rose in his mind; If it came down to it, how would he tell Data that there might not be a way to rescue Heva?
"The vessel is definitely not one of ours." Geordi sighed after nearly half an hour of scanning the information already in their possession. Picard struck the back of Geordi's chair and took a step back. Just as he was about to cave into helplessness, Geordi brought him back up. "However," he continued. "Considering the updates with warp engines and weapon systems of Star Fleet design, we may be able to find a way into his computer."
Picard raised an eyebrow at Geordi, waiting for an explanation without requesting one. Understanding, Geordi went on with more pleasing news.
"All of these components are wired into the main computer. To access them, you need to be at the control panel of that main computer. If we can probe into the weapon system I can make a route for a control virus to get into the circuit board and we can bring the shields down that way. If I can't do it that way, I will find another. Either way, it is possible." "Good." Jean-Luc sighed. "When we reach the freighter, I want you to infiltrate the system as quickly as you can. I will go and explain the plan to Riker and Data. I want you to begin construction on the computer virus and map your re-routing strategy." Ending on a sharp note and turning away before Geordi could agree to comply, Picard left engineering. Geordi watched his back and felt his chest tighten. If he screwed up one equation, one single character in this plan…he could very well ruin everything for the captain, for the crew, and for his best friend.
Though these thoughts caused an uncomfortably high anxiety to cloud his mind, Geordi set to work.
Picard raced to the bridge and into his ready room. He was not at all surprised to see Data standing therein, anticipating his return. Once the door closed behind him, the Captain began to speak as readily as his tongue would allow so that Data couldn't begin an unnecessary argument. "Data, Geordi and I have found a way to get into the vessel's main computer. Once the shields are down, I will be sending you, Commander Riker, and Worf onto the vessel to retrieve Heva. I do not want you to let your emotions get in the way-" His words were forced to stop by Data's suddenly raised hand.
"Sir, this is not what I came here to discuss with you." his voice was heavy, wrought with an agony that Picard had never heard before. He stood still waiting for Data to continue. The android looked away from his captain, his eyes fighting to keep the flood gates up. He felt so weak, so melancholy. When he began his assignment on the Enterprise, he never let the kidnapping of a colleague effect him. Even when him and Heva first met and both of them nearly died, he wasn't this broken apart. Yet something within him kept him going. Maybe it was his less human attributes that kept the frailty of those emotions at bay. Whatever the reason, this internal battle was too much of a mystery even to him.
He turned back to Picard, a face of stone like that of an emotionless droid relaxed on his face. He could tell the Captain was taken aback by this. It was so familiar and distant to him all the same.
"Captain, I have always been an exemplary officer aboard your ship. I have never let the dramatics of this life interfere with my abilities as a member of your crew nor my skill which led me to the position I am in. I wish that my emotion chip was still within my system so that I could deactivate it to better perform at this time, but I cannot. I am sorry that I have been so distracted. I am sure you understand that, considering we have spoken about it a few times since Heva's abduction. But what I want to know is…" he paused. The question lingering at the edge of his lips was painful. He wasn't completely sure whether or not he was able to utter it.
"I wanted to ask…" he continued reluctantly. "What are the odds that Heva will be alive when we find her? Her exposure to the plague is inevitable since the vessel is carrying it…By now she could be fully infected. Either that or Lore could have killed her. The odds in my mind are very low, but I want to hear what you think the possibilities are." He stopped bluntly to choke back anymore words that could fall out on the subject. Picard stared at him open mouthed and wide eyed in disbelief. He was not sure how to answer this.
The silence between them grew longer while Data's hope for a positive answer grew dimmer. His captain, his confidant, his friend stood quiet before him with some sort of assurance about Heva's life at the tip of his tongue. If Data interpreted his pause as anything, it was that the odds were against Heva. However just as he was about to express this thought, the Captain spoke.
"Data, of all the people I know you've always been the most admirable. I have told you this before. But I have never known you to have such concern. I know that in times of distress, emotions take hold and the most negative and paranoid thoughts will plague your brain. It's normal, know that. I can't tell you whether Heva is alive or not, because I don't know. What I can tell you is that if she is alive, we will get her back and destroy Lore as well as the virus. If she isn't…" He didn't want to finish this sentence, knowing that as he did the thought of Heva's death in Data's mind would strengthen. But he had to give Data some sort of prepared sense of closure. "If Heva is dead…funeral arrangements will be prepared and she will have a proper send off. We will celebrate her life, not grieve for her death. But that will not be so." Data hung his head, nodding. The word funeral rang in his head loudly as he made his way out of the room leaving Picard to stare after him mournfully.