"Captain," Worf said suddenly as they traveled in search of Lore's freighter. Every head turned to the Lieutenant, eager to hear about whatever he'd found; Data's ears perked up more than any of the others'.
"I am picking up a signal just barely a few light years ahead of us, it's Lore's vessel." "Slow to impulse. Mr. LaForge to the bridge. Commander Riker, take your away team to transporter room three and await my signal. Sick bay, stand by." In no time, Geordi was on the bridge at one of the computer terminals, Riker, Worf, and Data were in the transporter room, and every medical officer on board waited on their toes in sick bay. The rest of the crew waited breathlessly.
"Captain, the vessel is within visual range." the Ensign at the tactical station reported. "On screen." Picard commanded.
The freighter hung in space before them. It faced away from them, hopefully Lore wasn't aware of their presence just yet allowing Geordi enough time to penetrate the system. "Mr. LaForge?"
"I am in the system, Captain. I'm routing the control virus to the main computer through the weapon system relay….I'm in. Disarming the shields…" The entire crew stood still, suspended and tense in the moment before Geordi brought the shields down. However just as he was getting closer, the vessel cloaked itself. "Geordi…" the Captain said through his teeth. "That wasn't me, sir. Lore spotted us. I'm not certain if he knows that I'm in the system yet, but I'm very close. All I have to do now is de-cloak him and-" "Riker to Picard." Will interrupted.
"Stand by, Number One. The vessel has cloaked." Picard commanded.
"No, sir. It's Heva, she's aboard the ship." Riker said, his voice strained and confused.
"She's aboard the ship?!" Picard gasped with surprise. How could she be aboard? Lore had cloaked himself and he, as far as they could tell, had no transporter technology.
"O'Brian, what happened?" he asked his transporter chief.
"According to the computer, someone intruded the system and activated our transporter to beam Commander Brookes aboard the Enterprise." "Captain," Geordi cut in. "He's gone."
All of them stood speechless. What just happened? Had Heva's usefulness, as far as Lore saw it, come to an end? Was he after a new target now? Whatever the reason for Heva's return, Picard wanted to be cautious. "Sick bay, I want a medical officer to report to transporter room three immediately. Everyone there must be scanned to make sure they are free of any signs of the virus, understood?" "Aye, Captain." a voice replied.
Picard sat back in his chair, knocking his breath away. "Commander Riker, I want you back on the bridge. I must contact Captain Robins of the Taurus and alert him to the situation. " Without another word, Picard rushed to his ready room and to his computer monitor, hastily trying to contact the Taurus before Lore got too far away.
"You're telling me that this guy just relinquished your officer and took off?" Captain Gregory Robins asked, baffled. Picard nodded at his colleague, his brow furrowed with as many questions running through his mind as the man staring up at him. "That's right, Captain. I understand it as much as you do. However, the coordinates I've sent you will give you a starting point. I suggest that you, Captain Murphy of the Opal, and Captain Lawrence of the Cygnus pursue Lore while I retrieve my chief medical officer to help Heva. Her condition is far too deteriorated for the staff I have on hand." Robins nodded. "Alright. I recruited the Aphrodite to assist us just in case. The four of us should be able to handle this…Lore. He is after all one person. If we intercept the vessel and take him into custody we will let you know. Have you scanned your ship for the virus?" "Yes, so far there aren't any signs. Nothing came up on Heva or anywhere else. Hopefully when she comes to she will be able to tell us just how much of it Lore possesses to give you an idea what you will be dealing with. Use caution, Gregory. We don't know if he's spread it anywhere else just yet." Robins nodded at Picard again before he disappeared from the monitor. With a sigh Jean-Luc began to transmit a new call to Beverly. Before long, she replied and he explained the situation.
"I can't just leave my station when I'm so close, Jean-Luc. My assistants are brilliant but I don't know if they will be able to keep the antidote mixture intact." she argued bluntly. Picard shook his head at her, frustrated.
"I understand that Beverly, but none of the medical staff have been able to wake her. You are the only person she will really trust with her well being. I need you to see if she has a chance of living…this isn't just for the sake of the crew or myself or even for her…think about Data." Beverly's face crinkled into a look suggesting that she now fought with the principles before her. Should she stay and continue work on the plague or go aboard the Enterprise? "Would I be able to transfer my research to the Enterprise's computer so that I can uplink it to my office?" she asked finally.
Jean-Luc nodded. "Of course. Send the information to me now and pack up your things. You and your team shouldn't be there anyway, it's much too dangerous. I have already arranged to have another team sent down there to care for those who are sick on the planet."
The doctor waved her hand and shook her head. "I don't need to bring my team with me. The team that Heva worked with has been updated on everything I've been working on. They will do just fine to assist me while I'm there. But once we develop a cure, I am back on the planet's surface administering the antidote. Understood?" her voice took on a serious edge that Jean-Luc admired. He chuckled and nodded down at her. "Agreed." he surrendered.
Once the call ended, he gave the order to set coordinates for the Arimur system and made his way to sick bay to check on Heva. He was sure that Data would be there beside her waiting for her eyes to open, but he wasn't sure if they were ready for what might happen should they not reach the doctor in time.
Data sat beside the bio bed Heva's lifeless body laid upon, staring down at her. A mixture of anguish and rage filled his systems. Her body was so battered and bruised that she didn't look like herself. Her hair was damp from perspiration and tangled around her head. Her left eye blackened steadily more and more as the inches of time drew themselves out. A deep cut sat idly on her swollen bottom lip. Dark bruises were worn on her neck and arms resembling finger marks. Each breath was shaky and quick, as though something were stuck in her air pathways that she couldn't push out. Everything about her seemed different, weakened somehow.
As medical personnel circled sick bay, occasionally stopping to check on Heva, Data struggled with his feelings. He tried his best not to break down, convincing himself with the greatest of difficulty that she would be fine and that Doctor Crusher would soon be here to help her. It was practically impossible, but he managed. Voices around him seemed to fade into whispers and gradually into nothing at all. He kept a hawk's eye on her life signs every minute or so, terrified that she would die there before him.
The doors opened not long after a Lieutenant scanned Heva for complications. Captain Picard slowly walked over to Data and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked down to see Data squeezing Heva's right hand, trembling slightly. Empathy rose it's head and an overwhelming feeling of pity washed over Jean-Luc's heart while he gazed down at his dear friend. They sat silent beside one another; nothing needed to be said. Both of them knew that their feelings of worry and apathy were shared.
Picard's eyes drew to Heva's face. He remembered that once he felt an attraction to her and nearly betrayed Data. Yet now, after moving past that with her, he saw her as a daughter. It was odd, moving from a feeling like affection to one of family. Yet he knew now that his admiration for her had been confused with something else. Data understood and forgave this as did she. Now her she was, quiet and motionless. The traits that drew him to her were absent, possibly never to return. Both of them stared at her mangled form in anticipation, praying that her eyes would open and everything would be one hundred percent fine.
Data sniffled and Picard looked at him. For the first time while he sat there, he let the tears fall gently staining his cheeks with a lemon yellow line. The Captain's grip on his shoulder tightened and was met with Data's free hand upon his. The two of them consoled one another quietly, oblivious to the buzz of activity by the medical staff going on behind them like they were somewhere else entirely.