Survivors - Jean Lorrah [107]
How they underestimated Armus!
When the thing struck Tasha, Data and Riker turned their phasers on it, while Dr. Crusher rushed to the fallen Security Chief. The attention of the men was on the fact that their weapons were ineffective; neither of them realized that Tasha was seriously injured, let alone-
“She’s dead,” Dr. Crusher reported to the Captain. Data heard not surprise, but total lack of belief in her voice, saw the same in Riker’s face.
They transported aboard, and Dr. Crusher folded Tasha’s limp body into Data’s arms. Operating on standard procedures, he carried her to sickbay, placed her on the treatment couch, and started for the bridge to report to Captain Picard.
But the Captain was emerging from the turbolift into the corridor outside sickbay. “How is she?”
“I do not know,” Data replied. “Surely Dr. Crusher can revive her.” It was not a kind lie; he assumed Tasha had suffered cardiac arrest from an electrical shock, an easily-corrected condition.
“Come on, then, Data,” said Picard. At the android’s raised eyebrows he added, “We may not be able to do anything, but I, for one, do not intend to wait on the bridge for a report.”
So Data followed Picard back into sickbay, realizing that he, too, wanted to know Tasha’s fate first-hand.
Data went to stand beside Riker, feeling helpless. As one effort after another failed to revive Tasha, Picard joined them, knowing as surely as Data did that Dr. Crusher continued her efforts long after all hope was gone. Data looked from one man to the other, seeing in their strained looks a refusal to accept the death of a friend until Dr. Crusher finally announced, “She’s gone.”
“Gone?” Picard asked as if he still could not believe it, forcing Dr. Crusher to explain further, her voice tight with unshed tears.
Data said nothing. He was uncomfortable with human grief … and his own feelings were a tumult such as he had never experienced before. He continued in that state until the strategy meeting called by Captain Picard.
Data remained silent, while the humans all began to speak at once. He felt alien among them … until Picard broke into the babble. “Lieutenant Yar’s death is very painful for all of us. We will have to deal with it as best we can, for now. Until the shuttle crew is safely beamed aboard this ship, our feelings will have to wait. Is that understood?”
There was silence-and then, when Picard began asking for suggestions, Data was heartened to see his crewmates do exactly what he did: put all else aside, and concentrate on the effort to bring Deanna Troi and her pilot safely home to the Enterprise. He was no more automaton than they; all understood that sorrow for the dead must wait while they sought to save the living.
On returning to the planet, Data had his first direct experience with sadism. Armus was a textbook case-but with its combination of power and hostages, it was invulnerable to textbook solutions.
And it seemed fascinated with Data. Although it viciously exercised its power against Dr. Crusher, Geordi, Riker, each time it involved Data in the torture. Then Captain Picard joined them-and provided the solution.
“I want to see my people in the shuttle,” Picard demanded.
“Entertain me,” Armus answered-
- and Picard merely shook his head and murmured a negative.
From that point on, Data knew how to deal with Armus, and so did Dr. Crusher. Armus might be able to control them physically, but they did not have to allow it to control their feelings.
The creature must have known it had met its match from its first confrontation with the Captain, for after testing Data and Dr. Crusher it ignored Geordi and released Riker, allowing the four of them to beam up to the Enterprise so it could take on the Captain, one on one.
Hearing the Captain’s report of that confrontation later, though, at the final debriefing, Data found once again that he did not understand. “Sir,” he said, “it appears that you did to Armus what Armus attempted to do to us: you controlled it by frustrating