Immortal Coil - Jeffrey Lang [28]
“All primary and backup systems are performing at optimum levels,” La Forge said. “No problems with the interface between the positronic brain and Data’s neural net.” Scanning farther down the summary, he noted, “Some stresses showing on his emotional subroutines, but, again, well within tolerance levels. I’m going to run my results through the ship’s computer, just to be sure, but unless it shows that I missed something, I expect to be able to give Data a clean bill of health.”
Picard nodded. “Very good, Mr. La Forge,” Picard replied. As the engineer withdrew to a console on the far end of the lab, the captain turned to McAdams and said, “Lieutenant, you’re dismissed. It would seem that we will not be needing anyone to watch Commander Data, after all. Please drop by my ready room at the end of your shift so I can speak to you about a special assignment.”
“Very good, sir. Thank you.” Smiling, she rose. “See you around, Commander La Forge.” Then, more warmly, McAdams finished, “See you later, Data.”
Picard cocked an eyebrow at Geordi to see if he had any idea what was going on, but the chief engineer just shrugged, grinned and turned his attention back to the diagnostic display.
The captain smiled. “So. How are you feeling?”
Data, who was still staring at the door, suddenly turned and looked at him. “With all due respect, Captain, that information does not seem to be relevant.”
Ouch. I suppose I deserved that one. Picard sighed and grabbed one of the swivel chairs in the lab. He sat opposite his operations officer and took a moment to collect his thoughts before admitting, “Counselor Troi has helped me to see that perhaps it should be, Data. I’ve just come from speaking with Admiral Haftel. I believe I’ve convinced him that you should be allowed to look into the Maddox affair personally, pursuing whatever lines of investigation you see fit. It wasn’t an easy decision, and Admiral Haftel will be looking at the results of your investigation very closely.”
Data reached up to disconnect the lead from his cranium. “Thank you, sir,” he said. “I hope I will be able to reassure the admiral. May I make a request?”
Picard nodded.
“I would like to ask that Lieutenant McAdams assist me in the investigation. I believe her talents and background in security would be valuable.”
Picard smiled. “Precisely the assignment I was going to discuss with the lieutenant,” he said. “The Enterprise will remain in orbit and at your disposal for up to three days. If you haven’t found anything by then, we close the investigation. That was the compromise I made with the admiral.”
“I understand, sir,” Data said. “I will not give you a reason to regret your decision.”
“You never have, Data. Just trust your instincts,” Picard replied. “As I do.”
Chapter Ten
AFTER THE CAPTAIN LEFT HIS LAB, Data, uncharacteristically, did not stir for several seconds, his thoughts racing. At once, he was pleased that Captain Picard was allowing him to pursue the investigation, but was also concerned that he had to put his newfound insight to the test in such a manner. Additionally, there was the question of what other crimes might have been committed. Did he possess the resources to pursue this trail, especially considering his current state of mind?
Since no answer was forthcoming, Data assigned a processing cluster to its consideration, then compressed and archived several files that were running parallel ( including an analysis of a reconfiguration of the Enterprise’s Bussard collectors, a review of the works of Tom Stoppard and the composition of a sonnet about his mother), and dumped them into long-term storage. These were all things that could wait. There were other considerations demanding his attention, not the least of which were his unexpected emotional responses to Rhea McAdams.
A cursory self-diagnostic revealed that a surprising number of his standby processors