To The Journey

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This is an AU story.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Sacrifice

Picard recovered first from the shock. "How long until he can fire?"

"The targeting sequence should take about seven minutes, Captain," Geordi reported. "When the targeting arms are fully deployed the matrix on the bridge will relay the thalaron radiation to the firing points at the tips." He paused before adding gravely, "No one on the Enterprise will survive."

"How can he?" Deanna asked incredulously. "He'll kill you."

"It's not about me anymore." Picard sighed, reaching for a phaser rifle. "Prepare for a site-to-site transport."

"Captain," Geordi protested, "Sir, we may not be able to bring you back. I don't know if the transporter -"

"That's an order, Commander," Picard interrupted. "You have the bridge, Mr. Data. Try and put some distance between you and the Scimitar. Now, Mr. La Forge."

They all watched in silence as their Captain disappeared. Then the Chief Engineer gave a loud sigh as the panel sparked and died. "That's it! Transporters are down."

Data was issuing orders to the helm now, but Tasha barely heard him. She had never been more aware of the passage of time than she was as the seconds ticked down. It was no longer only the Captain that she was concerned for; if they couldn't stop the weapon in time, none of this would matter. They'd all be dead.

"Tasha." The security chief's attention was drawn back to Data as he said her name. "Please assume command. Geordi, come with me."

"Data -"

"We do not have time to discuss this." His eyes met hers as they stepped into the turbolift, a long, lingering look. "I am sorry."

And as the door closed, Tasha couldn't shake the feeling that Data was apologizing for something far more drastic than being in a hurry.

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"Data, I think I hate this plan," Geordi said grimly.

"I am not entirely fond of it myself," the android replied. Already, so many thoughts were running through his mind. Thoughts of the people he would leave behind, of the unborn child he would never know. He wished he could have held his wife and kissed her one last time. But he knew that if he'd tried, he wouldn't have been able to leave her. "But what alternative do we have? This no longer solely concerns the welfare of the Captain. If the weapon is not disabled in time, we will all be killed."

Geordi shook his head sadly. "I know. But how am I going to explain this to Tasha?"

"I do not know," he admitted sadly. "However, I would hope that you would take care of her for me."

"You know I will, Data. We all will, but we both know -"

But Geordi didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Something heavy crashed into him hard, knocking him against the wall and leaving him gasping for breath. In the next moment, he heard a loud thud and saw that Data had fallen limply to the deck. A nearly identical figure stood beside him, opening the arm panel where they had concealed the emergency transporter for Data's mission to the Scimitar. "B4," the engineer gasped out, "stop!"

"I must not," he replied, still in the same halting speech but with an air of confidence and surety that he'd never had before. He stepped over to Geordi, again shoving him out of the way as he grabbed the PADD they had intended to use to shift the forcefield, and then hurried down the destroyed corridor, erecting a forcefield between himself and the two officers.

"B4," Geordi called out, struggling back to his knees, "what are you doing?"

"What Data would do," the android replied. "I understand now. I am the cause of this. My brother should not pay for my actions. He must remain here. That is his place."

"B4, wait!" he shouted. But it was too late. The android was already running full-speed towards the breached hull.

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Tasha looked up at the familiar but unexpected sound of a transporter, only to see the Captain suddenly re-materialize on the bridge, just meters from where he had left it. At nearly the same instant, a blinding light flashed through the opening in the hull, and they realized the Scimitar had just exploded harmlessly in space.

Deanna spoke the one word that Tasha most wanted to, but couldn't bring herself to say. "Data?"

Picard only shook his head.

Tasha felt her knees give out under her, and then she simply sank to the deck. "No. He wouldn't leave me. Not now. No."

She felt Deanna's warm hand on her shoulder. "Tasha, I am so sorry."

The turbolift door hissed open, but the blonde didn't even bother turning to look. Nothing mattered anymore. She vaguely felt Deanna shift, and then, a moment later, the impossible came from the counselor's mouth. "Data?"

And then, an even more impossible response. "Yes."

Tasha looked up finally, her watery blue eyes meeting familiar ones. "Data," she whispered, barely daring to believe. "It's you."

"Yes," he said again, crossing the bridge to her side and helping her to stand. "It is me. I am here."

"Data?" Picard asked, finally seeming to come out of his daze. "How is this possible? You were on the Scimitar, I saw you."

"It was not me," the android replied, and for the first time Tasha noticed the pained tone in his voice. "It was B4 that you saw, sir."

"Captain," Geordi interrupted, "we're being hailed."

"On screen." Picard almost immediately he realized the impossibility of that request. "Open a channel," he amended.

"This is Commander Donatra of the Valdore. We're dispatching shuttles with medical personnel and supplies."

Picard nodded. "Thank you, Commander."

She smiled. "You've earned a friend in the Romulan Empire today, Captain. I hope, the first of many. Valdore out."

"Geordi..." Picard began slowly, "prepare the shuttlebay for arrivals. Um, they - they don't know our procedures so just... open the doors."

"I'll take care of it," Geordi assured the still shell-shocked captain.

Picard turned to Riker, who stood staring at the state of the bridge. "You have the bridge, Number One." Then he stumbled into his ready room.

Will settled himself in the Captain's chair. "Damage report."

Geordi looked at his panel and sighed. "Massive, sir. Multiple hull breaches, electrical system failures all over the ship, our power levels are extremely low, and warp drive is still inoperable."

"Communications?"

"We're still getting interference from the Rift." He ran a few more checks. "If I do this right, I think I can channel enough power to the impulse engines to get us clear of the interference, and then we can comm the fleet for help."

Riker nodded. "Make it happen, Geordi. Borrow whatever personnel you need."

"Aye, sir. Data!"

The android turned towards the sound of his name, and both Tasha and Geordi realized his face was streaked with tears. "Never mind," the engineer backtracked.

"No, Geordi," Data said, forcefully wiping his eyes. "You require my assistance. I have a duty to this ship."

"Okay, come on, then." But Geordi still laid a hand on Data's back as they stepped into the turbolift.

A choked sob came from the helm, and it was only then that Will and Tasha realized that the ship's counselor was also in trouble. "Deanna!" the first officer called out worriedly.

She turned the chair slowly. "I'm sorry...I don't know...I can't stop."

"It's probably the adrenaline wearing off," Tasha suggested. "Let me take her to Sickbay."

"Of course, go ahead. Check in on Worf while you're there, would you?"

"Worf?" Tasha realized then that she hadn't seen the Klingon since he'd left with Will to go chase down the intruders. In all the chaos, she hadn't registered his absence. "What's happened?"

"Nothing serious," he assured her. "But he was showing signs of a concussion after we tangled with the Remans, so I ordered him to go get checked out. Tell him I want him back on the bridge as soon as he's medically cleared."

"Copy that."

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Sickbay was bustling with activity and packed to the walls, but the advent of the Romulan medical personnel appeared to be keeping full-scale chaos from breaking out. Tasha guided Deanna to an open chair and helped her to sit down. The Betazoid was still crying, and her body had begun to tremble.

As a nurse began to scan Deanna, Tasha became aware of a familiar voice, audible even over the chaos. "I will not tolerate this indignity!"

"Excuse me a second." Tasha looked back just long enough to assure herself that Deanna was in good hands before hurrying off to deal with this new problem. "Mr. Worf? What seems to be the problem?"

The Klingon was glowering at one of the Romulan medics who had come over from the Valdore. "I have informed this - woman - that I would prefer to be tended, if I must be, by one of the Enterprise medical staff."

Tasha gave a long glance around the crowded Sickbay. "From the looks of things, everyone seems to be busy."

He growled softly, deep in his throat. "Then I will wait."

"That would not be advisable, sir," the medic chimed in. "Allowing this injury to continue untreated will only extend the needed recovery time."

"I did not ask for your opinion," the Klingon snarled.

"Then listen to mine," Tasha snapped back. "Look around you. You can see as well as I can how many of our crew are incapacitated. We still don't have a number on how many we've lost. We need every available officer back on their feet and on duty as soon as possible, and that includes you. Is that clear, Mr. Worf?"

"Very clear," he said after a moment.

"Good. As soon as you're cleared, come to the bridge."

"Aye, Commander."

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Busy though he was, Geordi had still taken it upon himself to keep half an eye on Data. He suspected that the android might not be as okay as he was trying to convince them all he was. It was this observation that allowed him to see the moment Data's shoulders began shaking.

Setting down the coil spanner he'd been working with, he hurried to his friend's side. "Data?" he queried softly, reaching out towards the android. "Data, it's okay. I'm here."

Data turned slowly, and Geordi caught a glimpse of his face, once again streaked with yellow tears, before the android abruptly rocked forward, burying his head in the engineer's shoulder.

Geordi wrapped his arms around his best friend, holding him close. "Data, I'm so sorry."

"Why?" the android whispered. "Why did he do this?"

He patted his friend's back gently. "You know why, Data," he whispered back. "It had to be done. You were about to do the same thing."

"Yes. Me. A Starfleet officer. I took an oath. My death would have been in service of my duties. B4 took no such oath. Why would he take my place?"

Geordi hugged his friend even tighter. "Data...he did it for you. And for everyone who cares about you."

"What?"

It was something Geordi had had cause to consider since the moment he'd seen B4 in the destroyed corridor, and it was beginning to click. "Data, you gave him your memories. And when he was talking to me, he reminded me of you, more than he ever had. I think - no, I know that in those last moments, it came together for him. One of the things he said just before he...you know...was 'I understand'. At the time, I thought he meant that he understood that he had, to some extent, been the cause of the crisis. But looking back, the way he said it...it was more than that. He understood how important you were to so many people. He realized how deeply your loss would be felt. Data," Geordi said a little more firmly, "the very last thing he said to me was that your place is here."

"And you agree?" the android asked softly.

Geordi hesitated for a moment, but Data had always preferred for his best friend to be forthright with him, even after the emotion chip had been installed. "Yes, Data, I do. I know you're hurting right now, and I am so sorry for that. But if you'd been the one on that ship, I'd be hurting the same way you are now. And I'd be far from the only one. Losing you would devastate us."

Data began nodding slowly as another piece fell into place. Geordi was right; he had given his memories to B4. All of them, right up to the present. Which meant, though he hadn't thought about it at the time, that the other android would have known that Tasha was pregnant. He had realized what Data would be leaving behind. "Thank you, Geordi," he said after a moment. "I had not considered that."

"I know," the engineer said reassuringly. "It's hard to think rationally when things are so emotional. We're here for you, Data. This whole crew is, and you know it."

"Yes," he replied. "I know. Thank you, Geordi."

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"Status report?" Will asked as soon as the Chief of Security stepped onto the bridge.

She smiled, understanding his meaning. "Deanna's going to be fine, she just needs to rest. Worf should be back on his feet within the hour; he has orders to report to the bridge. How's the Captain?"

He shrugged. "No clue. He hasn't come out of the ready room. To be honest, I'm starting to think I ought to check on him."

"I'll do it. You run the ship." She exchanged a smile with him before pressing the chime for the Captain's ready room.

As the door slid open, Tasha's concern only increased. The Captain was sitting in the dark, and as Tasha's eyes adjusted to the light level, she could see his head was in his hands. "Captain?" she said softly. "Captain, are you all right?"

He looked up slowly, taking in the silhouetted form of his soon-to-be Second Officer. "Natasha," he said slowly after a moment. "You pose a difficult question. Am I all right? Well...to be honest, I'm not certain."

She crossed the room to sit down beside him. "I'm here, Captain. Talk to me. Is it Shinzon?"

"Yes," he admitted. "Partially. Just before he died...he said that with us there together, our destiny was complete."

She smiled, hoping it would be reassuring to him. "It means nothing. You and I both know he would've said anything to get under your skin one last time."

Picard managed a small smile in return. "That I don't doubt. But it still makes me question. The fact that he was an exact duplicate - it won't be so easily forgotten or put aside."

"I know that, Captain."

He turned to her with a dry chuckle. "Yes, Natasha, I suppose you probably understand better than anyone. How do you handle it?"

"Wasn't easy, at first," she admitted. "I tried to think of her as a sort of clone, but I, I mean we - you see how confusing this gets - we, for lack of a better pronoun, were seven years old before the timeline diverged. And I doubt that things were radically different for her until she left her homeworld at twelve. When I think about those twelve years - it shaped a lot of who I am." She sighed, running a tired hand through her hair. "I guess it's become easier since I found out the truth about her time on Romulus. Knowing that it wasn't what I'd always been told, that she was happy almost up to the end - it helps." She turned to Picard, considering his predicament for a long moment. "While you're right in one respect that I understand...in another, I'd say you have it harder than me. It may be strange for me to have a duplicate, but by all accounts she was very much like me. She had the same values that I did, and so any connection to her I do have could only be a source of pride for me. Whereas Shinzon -"

"Wanted to destroy all that I hold dear," he finished.

"Exactly so. But maybe...maybe that's a point in and of itself. If that other Tasha and I had so many common things in our past, it could be argued that experience, not genetics, is responsible for our similarities."

Now Picard smiled for real. "You know, Commander, your husband was arguing that very point with me in Stellar Cartography only hours ago, just before the battle. We never really had a chance to finish that conversation. But I suppose," he added, "that you and I have finished it just now."

"Something to look forward to," she said with a smile. "With us as first and second officer - what is it?" she added as the Captain's face fell.

"The other thing that's bothering me," he admitted. "I thought for a moment that that wouldn't be happening. I was still in shock over Shinzon's death, and when I saw that face, I just automatically thought it was Data. I didn't think to look for other markers. I materialized on the bridge thinking I'd just watched a dear friend die. And even knowing now that it was a mistake, I can't shake off that feeling."

Tasha sighed. "You're telling me. If I hadn't been so happy to see him, I probably would've slapped him for scaring me like that. And to me it didn't have a chance to feel real before Data showed up to dispel that rumor. Also -" she studied him closely, "when was the last time you slept?"

He gave a soft sigh. "A few days ago, maybe? I don't entirely recall. Not since we met Shinzon."

She favored him with a gentle, if thorough, look. "No wonder this is all hitting so hard. You're exhausted. You need rest."

"There'll be time for that once we get in contact with the fleet. Too much needs to get done just now"

"Captain," she said almost chidingly. "We both know that Will's more than capable of running this ship. He'll be taking his own command in a matter of weeks. Nothing's going to fall apart if you lie down for a few hours."

She could see that he was wavering. He must really be drained if he's not putting up more of an argument. "I promise I'll call you right away if any emergency arises. In the meantime, Will and I can handle it."

"I know you can," he replied, and Tasha noted that any note of resignation in his voice seemed to be outshone by an almost fatherly pride. "You've both more than proven yourselves over these last fifteen years. All right, I'll try to rest. But wake me when we meet up with the fleet. The last thing I want is for Command to have to wait for me because I'm asleep."

"I promise."

So, how did you like this twist on the plot? I deliberately tried to keep it as close to the movie as possible until the last possible second so that the twist would come out of the blue. Had you going, didn't I?

I don't entirely recall how I came up with the idea, but it occurred to me at some point along the way that since it seemed fairly obvious that B4 was a plot device so Data could come back from the dead if there was another movie, why not skip the middle step and just have B4 be the one to make the sacrifice? As it relates to the "little hinge" concept of the series, I figure that between Tasha insisting that B4 be reactivated and the fact that Data has a wife and upcoming baby in this arc, it made sense that her survival fifteen years earlier could have led to Data's survival here.

I had Picard mistakenly believe it was Data who was killed because it wasn't clear to me how much of his reaction in the scene just after he's beamed back is his reaction to Data's death, how much is Shinzon, how much is just battle weariness, etc., so the best way I could find to handle the reaction was to keep the emotional factors similar.

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