Metamorphosis - Jean Lorrah [29]
“Ah,” he said, “you are cold. Shall we not retrieve materials to build a fire?”
“No,” she replied, shivering. “It is a temptation, Data. We must make do with what we brought or what we find along the way. The Quest would be finished for me if I stepped through the portal.
I would be at home, failed, all my journeying gone for nought.”
Data nodded. She was the expert on Elysian Quest lore, after all. “Very well. Then let me try the other door.” He spoke to it as if he addressed the holodeck portal. “I am Lieutenant Commander Data of Starfleet. Will you open to me?”
Sure enough, this door slid aside, just like the doors on the Enterprise. It did not lead to the ship that he 80 called home, however. There was nothing but a whirling dark mist that not even his android vision could penetrate. As they watched, a vortex formed—and within it distorted forms and faces: The stars. The computer station in his cabin. Captain Picard.
Wesley Crusher. Tasha Yar. Darryl Adin.
And Geordi, VISORI-ESS, his sightless eyes open and staring at nothing. Out of the mist, the figure of Geordi gained substance and held out its hands.
“Data. My friend. When you have need to see beyond sight, use this.” His VISOR appeared in his hands.
Automatically, Data put out his hands-the object dropped into them.
But it was not Geordi’s VISOR that Data held as the door before them slid shut again with a clang. It was … a metal cylinder, apparently empty. Data peered through it, but saw nothing except Thelia looking back at him.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I do not know,” he replied honestly. “Perhaps we will discover a use for it later.”
“The one who gave it—do you trust him?” Thelia asked warily. “With my life,” Data replied.
She nodded. “Then keep it. You will certainly need it before your Quest is through.”
Data slid the cylinder into the holster beside his tricorder-and when he looked up, wall and doors were gone. The trail continued upward. “I think we are intended to go on now.”
So they continued on the ever-steeper trail.
It narrowed and the roof lowered until they had to crawl single-file through a tunnel, coming out into a
small cavern of crystal formations of exquisite beauty. To one side was a smooth slab of rock perfectly sized to make a camp for two people-if there were only a way to warm it. To add to the chilling effect, the formations looked only too much like ice and snow.
When Thelia dragged herself into the cavern, she did not climb to her feet but sat with her knees drawn up, huddled into her cloak. She was shaking with cold and weariness. “We must stop,” Data told her. “You need sleep, Thelia.” “It’s t-too cold,” she protested. “The gods m-must intend that we go on to a warmer area.”
“It may be that they are testing our ingenuity. My body continues to generate heat. If we wrap up in your cloak together, I can keep you warm enough that you can sleep.”
“You are not tired,” she said flatly.
“No. I do not tire as you do, nor do I sleep. I shall keep watch.” “Then I am delaying your Quest.”
“Thelia, it is obvious that the gods want us to quest together. I thought you overcame your fear of touching me when you helped to repair my arm. What do you fear now?”
She frowned. “It is strange … it is as if my mother disapproves. Ali, I remember: when I wished for the seja doll I slept with to come to life, she took it from me, and told me all the terrible legends of dolls brought to life. Do you have seja in your land, Data?” No. “They are animals with soft wool, and often children’s toys are made in their image. Mine was dressed like a prince, and he was the one I made up the most stories about. To me he was a handsome 82 prince from a far land who rescued me from great perils and then quested for permission to marry me and join our lands.” She smiled sadly. “Joining Atridia with the land of Tosus was the great concern of both my father and my mother, and everyone in our land, from the time I can remember. As a child, I dreamed