The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [118]
“I’ll explain,” she said. “But first we need to get Data off that rock.”
In sickbay, Deanna sat next to the portable anbaric chamber, a thin pane of glass separating her from the table on which Data lay.
As always, the suddenness with which Data woke and sat straight up startled her.
“Data,” she said with a tired smile. “How are you feeling?”
For several seconds, Data’s eyes gave the impression that he was looking inward as his diagnostic subroutine assessed his condition, then he looked back at Deanna. It was wonderful to see thoughts behind his eyes again.
“I am fine, Commander,” he said. “My memories are somewhat fragmented but I am in the process of reindexing them.” He looked around. “I appear to be in an anbaric chamber.”
“Yes,” she said. “You were in a vacuum for a little over four hours, Data. Doctor Crusher thought the chamber would help your skin repair itself more quickly. I hope you aren’t uncomfortable?”
“No, Commander.”
“Data…I’m sorry. I put you at risk, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I thought it was necessary.”
“At risk?” he asked.
“Yes, Data. I left you on the moonlet, completely unprotected. Well, almost completely. Director Maher had threatened to destroy Beta and I left you there as, well, as a hostage.”
“Why, Commander?”
“There’s life in the rings, Data. We’re not sure what kind of life yet, and the sensors couldn’t detect it at all until we told them what to look for, but there’s a life-form that we think has been spreading slowly across the rings, probably for thousands of years. Geordi and Taurik have been making such wild speculations that I can hardly keep up with them. They think the rings may have been seeded at some point by comets carrying organic compounds, and that radiogenic decay of some of the rings’ elements provided a heat source strong enough to allow cellular reproduction. When the outpost scientists moved Beta, the life-form seemed to sense that it was being taken away, and it reacted by causing outgassing. It was trying to get back to its own kind, but it didn’t know how.”
“Intriguing,” said Data. “Doctor Aaron must be very excited as well.”
Deanna’s face fell. “Doctor Aaron is dead, Data. He died during the crash.”
“I am sorry, Commander.”
Deanna was silent.
“I hope you do not blame yourself,” Data said. “You could not have known. We could not have predicted the moonlet’s reaction.”
“You’re right, Data,” she said. “But it’s difficult.”
Doctor Crusher came over to the chamber. “Good morning,” she said with a smile. She peered at the readout in the lower left corner of the chamber’s window. “We’ll bake you for another hour, Data, and then I’ll let Geordi get his hands on you again. I think he’s repaired you just fine, but he wants to double-check. It’s good to have you back.”
“It is good to be back, Doctor. I look forward to conversing with my colleagues about the recent discovery in the rings—”
“Speaking of which,” Deanna broke in, “I have to go, Data. I have to file the report that will assign Prime Directive protection to Heaven’s rings. There are plenty of people interested in watching what will happen here over the next thousand years.”
“Congratulations, Commander,” said Data. “That is quite an honor.”
“I also need to talk to Doctor Aaron’s family,” Deanna said. Beverly threw her a sympathetic look. If anyone could understand what that would be like, it was the doctor.
“You’ll do fine,” she said, touching Deanna’s shoulder briefly before walking away.
“Yes, Commander,” said Data. “With your training, I imagine you are well suited to the task.”
“I’ll give it my best, Data,” she said. “If Picasso could, then I can.”
Friends with the Sparrows
Christopher L. Bennett
Historian’s note:
This tale is set several months after the events of the feature film Star Trek Generations.
CHRISTOPHER L. BENNETT
Christopher L. Bennett has been lucky