Survivors - Jean Lorrah [80]
There was, however, another possibility: if, in a moment of weakness, an otherwise honest Adin had succumbed to the lure of riches; if, as some evidence at his trial suggested, he had been led to believe that the Starbound could be taken without loss of life; then his current pattern of activity could be a combination of remorse and the same greed that had led him to deal with the Orions.
And the evidence at Adin’s trial had been conclusive.
Data’s speculations could have no bearing on his actions: Adin was a fugitive from both Starfleet and the Federation, and Data’s duty was to arrest him-next time, preferably, when he had some chance to take him in.
He was annoyed that he hadn’t fooled Tasha into thinking his action naivete, especially as it had not accomplished his intention of making Rikan reconsider the man he had hired. Either the warlord already knew Adin’s background, or else did not care, considering the reputation of “Adrian Dareau.”
Data was concerned about Tasha Yar. She was the consummate Starfleet officer, her first priority the safety of the Enterprise and its crew, her first duty to Starfleet. If she was sometimes overeager, that was preferable to slackness. Yet now she had given her word not to escape.
But so have I, Data reminded himself. Adin’s men had, after all, gone inside Nalavia’s palace to capture Tasha, and then carried her off in her own shuttle. They were ruthlessly efficient, and Data had no doubt that they would either find an escape-proof cell to lock him in, or else disable him. The Vulcanoid, Sdan, had expressed a desire to “examine” Data, in terms which left no doubt that he meant to take him apart to see how he functioned. Limited freedom was certainly better than being locked away or incapacitated.
Furthermore, these people opposed Nalavia. Data had no doubt now that Rikan and Adin were the lesser evil; it was simply disturbing that Tasha had apparently decided that before the crucial evidence was in.
For the time being, Data joined in the plans to remove Nalavia’s drug from the water supply. Sdan, once he accepted that Data was not a toy to be dismantled, worked with the android through the night, transferring the manufacturing and distribution information from Data’s memory banks to the very fine computer system in the strategy room.
“I do not know why Nalavia has such an out-of-date system,” Data commented.
“Serves ‘er purposes,” Sdan replied, “an’ it’s Trevanbuilt-come with the palace. Besides, she can’t get one of these babies legally. This is the latest Federation technology, traded only to Federation planets, not even to allies.”
“Then where did you get it?” Data asked. “Or should I not ask?”
“Built it!” Sdan replied. “Me an’ Poet got no record in the Federation. Barb or Pris, neither, come to that, but if you can’t use it to bust somebody’s head, they’re not interested. So Poet an’ me, we hit the tech expos, then come back and build our own versions of the latest the Federation has to offer.”
“Inside the Federation, that would be illegal,” Data pointed out.
“Ain’t inside the Federation, are we?”
“You could make a great deal of money by selling this technology to the Ferengi, the Orions, the-“
“Look, Computer Brain, if all we wanted was money we’d just steal it! Hell of a lot easier and safer. Ain’t you twigged yet we’re not some gang of common criminals?”
“And if you did sell the technology,” Data pointed out, “it would not be exclusively yours, to provide to your … clients.”
Sdan grinned. “True. Y’know, Data, you might have the makings of a devious mind there. Stick around long enough, and we may invite you to join us!”
“I think you are hoping that if I stay long enough, you will come upon an excuse to take me apart.”
Sdan looked him up and down with a solemn nod. “Yeah. There’s always that.”
Tasha Yar spent a second night