Myriad Universes 02_ Echoes and Refractions - Keith R. A. DeCandido [165]
“Do you mean to suggest…” Picard began, and paused in disbelief. “To suggest that this is Iconia?”
“I do more than suggest it, Captain,” Data said. “I can prove it. My colleagues and I had reasoned that there might well be a technological basis for the legend about 'demons of air and darkness,’ and that, if there were, that technology could be rediscovered and used to aid in our quest.”
“Wait a minute,” Crusher said, shaking his head. “You expect us to believe you found functioning technology from a civilization that vanished nearly a quarter of a million years ago?”
Data glanced in his direction. “My presence on the Enterprise is proof that we did, Wesley. As is the Romulan wardrone, rendered inactive by an Iconian software virus.”
“Captain! That’s impossible…” Lieutenant Sito began to object, but Picard silenced her with a quick glance and a raised hand.
“Data, your claims about the Iconians and their technology are intriguing, to be sure, but there are more pressing matters of interest before us. Such as what you and the rest of the missing androids have been doing out here all this time. To say nothing of what you meant when you said that only I could avert a war.”
Data nodded, hands rested palms down on the table before him. “It has been a little less than twenty-four hours since the Romulan wardrone, on a routine patrol of the Neutral Zone, chanced upon Turing and discovered our presence.”
“That’s a violation of treaty,” Ro objected, “sending probes into the Neutral Zone.”
“Yes,” Data allowed. “But I doubt that raising that objection will much affect the Romulans’ course of action, should they discover the existence of Turing’s android population.”
“I thought you said the wardrone discovered you yesterday?” Doctor Quaice said.
“Discovered us, yes,” Data said, nodding. “But the consensus of the Turing population was that the wardrone should be incapacitated before it could relay news of that discovery back to Romulus. It was regrettable, since we know that the wardrone is not responsible for its own actions in any pure sense, rendered all but a slave by its programming, but there was no viable alternative. We employed the Iconian software virus that was part of the planet’s original defense system, which we disabled and reprogrammed for our purposes shortly after arriving on the planet ten years ago.”
“What does it do?” Sito asked.
“It is an information transfer,” Data explained, “utilizing a small probe that downloads intrusive code into a target’s computer systems. Once in place the code begins rewriting the computer’s software, impairing operation. This particular transfer had been specifically coded for Romulan systems, and so was able to take out the wardrone’s communication capabilities in a matter of nanoseconds.”
“So the Romulans don’t know you’re out here, then?” Sam Lavelle asked.
“Not as yet, Lieutenant,” Data said, “but sources within the Klingon-Romulan Alliance report that, once contact with the wardrone was lost, another ship was sent out in search of it, which is due to arrive in short order.”
“Sources?” Picard repeated, suspiciously.
Data opened his mouth as though to answer, appeared to think better of it, then shut it again. “A discussion for another time, Captain.”
La Forge had been sitting back, scowling with his arms crossed and with mounting frustration, waiting for anyone to ask the question he was burning to have answered. But instead they were all going on about software viruses and ancient civilizations.
“Look,” La Forge said, pounding his fist on the table, “I still don’t understand why you disappeared in the first place!” He realized he was shouting, but didn’t care. Seeing Data again after all this time brought back the feelings of betrayal he’d experienced all those years ago. “You say you were on some quest. A quest for what? Just what are you doing down there,