The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [116]
“Yes, ma’am,” said Taurik. He took down another helmet from the locker and moved, somewhat tentatively in the unaccustomed gear, to where Data sat. By the time Deanna had closed her own helmet and run the suit’s autocheck sequences, Taurik had finished with Data.
“Ensign, activate your suit’s mavlock,” she said, pressing a button on the front of her own suit. “Computer, turn off artificial gravity.” Instantly she felt buoyant in spite of her suit’s lock on the floor, and she had to overcome a surge of nausea. Although Data was now light enough for them to move him, his mass was unchanged, and maneuvering was tricky. Together, she and Taurik pulled Data to the runabout’s tiny airlock and attached tethers to their suits. Deanna tied a third tether around Data’s waist but did not attach the other end to the runabout.
“Let’s move him farther away,” said Deanna, her voice tinny and distant through the suit’s radio. With awkward movements, they pulled Data several meters and leaned him against a rocky ledge. “Ensign, you’re better in a suit than I am. Can you tie his tether to this rock, just in case?”
When Taurik had finished, Deanna sent him back toward the runabout. Then she knelt down to look into Data’s face. Obviously he wouldn’t be able to hear her, but maybe his eyes were registering something. She switched off her helmet radio so Taurik wouldn’t hear and then said slowly, “We’re coming back for you, Data. We can do this. Remember Picasso.” She forced a smile, just in case he could see her, and then she turned away.
Just before she entered the airlock, Deanna pulled a small sample container from the belt at her waist and scooped up some of the regolith that had been displaced by the runabout’s skid.
Deanna spent the entire trip back to the rings second-guessing herself. There had been another tense exchange with Maher, during which she’d told him that Data was remaining on Beta “for further study.” A suspicious Maher had reminded her that she’d told him that Data wasn’t functioning.
“We fixed him,” she’d lied, signaling Taurik to cut the connection.
Taurik, too, had doubts about her proposed course of action and had requested permission to speak freely.
“Commander,” he said, “have you considered the possibility that Director Maher will contact Captain Picard, but will relay only partial information? Even if Maher will not attack Beta himself while Lieutenant Commander Data is there, he may convince the captain that Beta presents enough of a threat to warrant destruction and fail to mention Lieutenant Commander Data’s presence there. I have occasionally observed that people who are normally rational sometimes invent faulty chains of ‘logic’ when they are affected by strong emotions, particularly grief.” He stopped for a moment, then went on. “And Captain Picard will have no reason to suppose that anyone is on Beta when he detects our runabout near the rings.”
“Maher is an administrator worried about his people and his facility,” Deanna stated definitely. “He’s trying to bully us because he thinks he’s right, but he won’t allow the Enterprise to fire on Data any more than he would do it himself.”
“But Commander—”
“I understand your concerns, Ensign, and yes, it is a risk. But I believe it’s remote. Remember, I can sense his emotions, and he’s more worried than anything else—he’s not a cruel man. So this is a risk we’re going to take. There’s a lot at stake, and Data of all people would understand why this is important. Besides, if the Enterprise comes back, we should be able to hail it ourselves on short-range communications. Prepare to lift off.”
When Taurik did not move immediately, Deanna looked straight into his eyes. “That’s an order, Ensign,” she said calmly, “and I expect you to follow it.”
“Aye, Commander,” he said, his doubts apparently assuaged.
As Taurik eased the runabout off the moonlet, skillfully compensating for the disabled