In the end, there were only four bodies, and Geordi found himself in a quandary about mentally using the word only. Four was too many; four was more than none, and that couldn't be anything other than bad. But four wasn't fourteen, forty, or four hundred either. That couldn't be anything other than good.

Data had run both scans simultaneously for greatest efficiency: utilising both the computer core and his own processors in tandem allowed him to customise the scans separately for both corpses and killer. Geordi hovered over him, anxious, although all the engineer had really had to do was attach the co-axial cable to the port inside Data's scalp access panel.

He hated doing that, if he was honest with himself. You didn't just carelessly plug your best friend into the mains by the head. It was weird. Especially that moment when (if you were watching carefully) you could see Data's personality taking a back seat and the powerful but impersonal computer functions taking over. His eyes went blank, his body lost its animation, and if you were Geordi, with Geordi's unique vision, you could see Data almost disappear into the structure of the ship. His hardware systems would synchronise with the Enterprise, his core programmes would hook up and meld seamlessly into the ship's software. Like a chameleon on a log, Data would start to look less like a person and more like an oddly-shaped part of the console. And Geordi didn't like that. Data was definitely a person. Forgetting that could get you into some very dicey moral grey areas.

"Hey," he said, softly. "How's it going?"

There was a very brief pause. Deep inside the sensor system, it took Data a moment to re-integrate with his body.

"I believe I have located the predator."

"That's great. Where is it?"

A console to Geordi's left flicked to life and displayed a wire frame of the ship's structure, with a blinking red light buried deep in the aft section. The engineer breathed out in relief. Locating the problem was always half the battle in his business. "Thanks, Data. Come on out of there, now."

"Shutting down external -"

Data stopped speaking, his lips parted, his face empty. To Geordi's eyes he remained physically and mentally subsumed into the body of the ship.

"Data. What're you doing?"

"I was beginning to shut down the external scan. I have now reinstated."

"What? Why? You found the thing, didn't you?"

The wire frame on the screen to the left rotated again, and more red dots began to display across the external hull of the Enterprise's saucer section as she hung in space.

"Oh, shit."

The call had come in. Riker would have been just as tempted to use a particularly rude word, had Picard not been coldly controlled in front of him. You didn't swear in front of Picard. It was worse than the idea of swearing in front of your very traditional grandparents.

If the captain himself chose to get Gallic with his invective, that was different. That's when you knew things were very serious indeed.

"Data to Picard."

Almost looking grateful for the interruption, the captain said: "Picard here."

"Captain, I have completed my scans of the Enterprise. I have located four corpses and a single Hitchcock predator within the internal framework of the ship."

Riker caught Picard's frown. That was very specific, even taking into account the fact that it was Data talking. The inevitable leap had to be taken, and Picard took it with admirable calm.

"And outside the confines of the ship?" he murmured.

"My external scans have located six further Hitchcock predator life signs on the exterior hull of the ship." That was Data. Utterly deadpan. He might as well have been telling them about a new menu in Ten-Forward, thought Riker, shifting uneasily in his seat. "It is interesting, sir. The easiest way to effectively locate these creatures is to follow not standard life-form readings but localised fluctuations in the magnetic field."

"Have you disconnected, Mr Data?"

"Not yet, sir."

That made sense, too. Data's voice had sounded crisper than usual: if he was tapping into the ship's communications systems directly there would be no interference.

"Can you tie into the transporters from your location?"

Pause. "Yes, sir. Systems tied in."

"See if you can get a lock and beam those bodies directly to -" Picard seemed to think for a moment. " - Cargo Bay Four. And try to tie up that creature inside with force fields until we can find a better solution. You're the only one who can currently perceive it with any clarity."

"Aye, sir."

Data sounded perfectly normal, as if being able to control parts of the ship with his own mind were a regular, even commonplace occurrence. Riker tried to imagine what it would be like to feel as if one's body was suddenly as big as the Enterprise, and failed. It would be like snapping your fingers to move a mountain, or blinking and seeing the sun wink off and on again. Data gearing up to throw force fields and transporter beams would be like flexing huge muscles he'd never had before. Like suddenly growing wings or an extra hand.

Picard's face was set. He stood and beckoned Riker with a look. "Well, Number One," he said softly, "time to chase the fox out of the henhouse."

"Bridge to Captain Picard."

"Go ahead."

"Message from Starfleet Command, sir, in response to your communication."

"I'll take it in here. No, Will, you can stay," Picard added as Riker made to leave. He looked grimly amused, and retook his seat. "Seeing as we're having some problems with our perceptions at present, it's probably best you listen to make sure we're in agreement about what's required."

As it turned out, the message was short, to the point, and almost entirely unlike what Riker had been hoping for. Picard's face grew grimmer and grimmer, and once the message concluded he tapped his combadge without any comment to his first officer.

And what would I have been able to say, after all? thought Riker. Yes, sir, I heard that too?

"PIcard to Data."

"Data here, sir."

"Make sure that…thing…isn't harmed," Picard muttered. "We've just had a communiqué from Starfleet Command, and our orders are clear. We're to take no physical action against the creatures on Hitchcock whatsoever."