The Devil's Heart - Carmen Carter [38]
“Yes, it is suspiciously neat and tidy,” said the captain. The call still had not come, and he began to admit that the delay worried him.
“So what do we do now?” asked Riker.
Picard appreciated the effort it must have taken for his first officer to maintain a neutral tone to ask this question. At warp eight the Enterprise could still reach Luxor IV in time for the poker tournament. “I’ve assured Commander Miyakawa that we’ll remain in the area another twenty-four hours to provide at least a token show of strength in the sector.”
“I’m glad to hear that, sir.”
Despite the personal sacrifice involved, Riker’s reaction seemed sincere. Picard knew the first officer disliked letting bullies go unchallenged. “Will you consider allowing shore leave privileges—” “Let’s continue this discussion later, Number One,” said the captain. He moved out from behind the desk at a brisk pace. “I should have received Data’s report on the Heart by now.”
Picard bolted out the door before his first officer could trail after him.
Data accepted as an axiom of his construction that he did not possess emotions; therefore, he could initiate yet another repetition of his laboratory procedures without an accompanying sense of frustration or anger. However, based on his experience with the crew of the Enterprise, the android greatly suspected that these were precisely the set of emotions that he should be feeling at this time.
Moving the equipment array into position over the specimen, he closely monitored his actions so that he might detect any departure from his previous routines. No difference. He had followed the same pattern of movement with the same precision each of the four times before.
Data repeated the dating measurement a fifth time.
A new result appeared on his viewscreen.
Entirely new. Over the course of hours, he had not been able to obtain the same age for the specimen twice in a row.
Since there was no reason to believe that a sixth attempt would reveal any new insights, Data concluded that another approach was required.
Unfortunately, the formulation of such an approach eluded him.
The android was pondering the nature of scientific inspiration when the doors of the laboratory parted to admit a swiftly moving Captain Picard. Judging from the somewhat grim set of the captain’s facial features, Data surmised there was no need for an exchange of pleasantries and launched into an immediate explanation of the project’s difficulties.
Picard’s expression hardened even more as he listened.
“The largest given value was twenty million years old,” continued Data. “Which would be consistent with the theory of the Heart’s involvement with ancient history. Unfortunately, the extreme variations raise considerable doubt as to the validity of any of the results I have obtained.”
“Obviously your equipment is malfunctioning, Mr. Data,” said Picard. He plucked the stone off the scan stage and carefully examined its surface for signs of damage.
“I ran extensive diagnostic tests subsequent to each of the anomalous findings. There is no sign of malfunction. Furthermore, my measurement of all other test objects has been consistent and predictable. There appears to be some substance in the specimen itself which interferes with the scan.”
“Earlier, you claimed it was nothing more than a rock.”
Data attempted a shrug. “Apparently the composition analysis was in error. I shall repeat that procedure as well.”
He extended one arm, reaching for the stone, but Picard took a step backward as if to evade him. “I think we should suspend any further analysis until you’ve straightened out the technical difficulties in the laboratory equipment.”
“Captain, the specimen would be useful in determining—” Picard stepped away again. “Until you can establish the nature of the malfunction, I won’t risk inflicting any damage to the Heart.” Cradling the stone in the crook of his arm, he said, “I’ll keep it in my cabin for now.”
Data searched for the emotion that might best suit this situation. The answer came to him just after the captain’s departure exasperation.