Survivors - Jean Lorrah [69]
His deduction was confirmed when they entered the castle, and one of the women stopped before a large blank screen. She flicked a switch; sensors and detectors came to life. They had been expecting him, all right-and known he could elude normal surveillance. On his last mission he had almost been destroyed by the most sophisticated, self-improving weapon ever devised. That he had eluded and helped to destroy … only to prove vulnerable tonight to a simple net!
Irony. There was a human feeling Data understood only too well at this moment.
He was taken into the castle, through a number of large halls and corridors, to a series of rooms overlooking the cliff. In one of these, a fire crackled in the fireplace. Three people were ranged before it, apparently visiting casually, comfortably.
One of those people was Tasha Yar.
She did not appear to be held prisoner. Rather, she was seated on a settee facing the fire, her feet drawn up under her, staring into the flames as she sipped pensively at a drink in a small, elegant goblet. She was wearing a long, loose dress of a softer gold color than her uniform … the first time Data seen her in a skirt since-Tasha turned as the group entered, and her eyes widened with surprise. “Data! Are you all right?!”
“Yes, I am all right,” he replied, realizing her concern was due to his dirty and disheveled state. “Merely chagrined. I came here to rescue you.”
“Yes, well, there is some question as to whether or not I require rescue,” she told him. “Lord Rikan,” she said to an old man seated on the other side of the fire, “this is my colleague, Lt. Commander Data.”
The man rose, tall and imposing despite his advanced years. “I am most interested to meet you, Mr. Data. I hope we may have the opportunity for discussion. I have never met an android before.”
“How do you do, sir,” Data replied politely, taking his cue from Tasha.
“And this,” said Tasha, turning to the man standing behind her near the fire, leaning on the mantelpiece, his face in the shadows, “is Adrian Dareau, better known as-“
But when Data focused on the man’s face, his pupils automatically opened to allow him to see clearly even in the dim light. He knew that face from Starfleet Security files-an open file, besmirching Starfleet’s otherwise perfect record of policing her own.
Ignoring the four weapons still covering him, Data stepped forward, interrupting Tasha, shifting instantly into command mode.
“- better known as former Starfleet Commander Darryl Adin,” he supplied, “the most wanted criminal in the Federation.”
And that gave Data a duty to perform, no matter how hopeless its full implementation might be: “As an authorized representative of Starfleet, I arrest you, sir, on the charge of unlawful flight from custody after being found guilty in a properly-convened and conducted court-martial, on twenty-one counts of murder, two counts of conspiracy, and three counts of treason against the United Federation of Planets.”
“Data!” Tasha gasped.
But Data took no notice of her, his attention fixed on the very dangerous man before him.
Darryl Adin simply stared at him, dumbfounded, for a moment … and then his mouth quirked. His eyes crinkled as he looked Data up and down, choked bursts of humor escaped his control-and finally he simply threw back his head, and laughed out loud.
Chapter Eight
TASHA YAR had had no idea what Data was doing during her day of captivity, but she knew that Nalavia could not keep him ignorant that she was missing. She decided to assess her situation before determining her next move.
After that most uncomfortable breakfast, Rikan had offered to show Yar his home, explaining as he took her from one magnificent room to another how things had changed on Treva since he had been born in this very