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You Can't Fight a Tidal Wave	By : madradena Category: Star Trek > The Next Generation Views: 1693 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own ST:TNG nor Dreamland, nor the characters from either. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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When he entered Ten Forward, he felt he attracted a bit of attention: it seemed as if all eyes were on him as he crossed to the table where Geordi, Will and Beverly were sitting.
Will was smiling up at him with a broad grin: "Data! Come sit down!"
He contemplated the offer for a short moment, because he was not sure Geordi approved of his presence. While the doctor and Riker was smiling kindly at him, Geordi seemed to ignore him completely. His heart sank, but decided to stay anyways. "Thank you, Commander." he said finally on his usual silent tone and sat down.
"Where did you leave Lieutenant Jones?" Riker asked naughtily.
Data was a little surprised at his choice of words but answered nonetheless: "I did not leave her anywhere, Commander. She is having a session with Counsellor Troi."
"Oh, so she might join us in half an hour with Deanna then!" Riker concluded knowing exactly Troi's schedule.
Beverly shook her head "I don't think so, Will. Unfortunately, Emma needs to study. When she is finally done with the Differential Exam, I will persuade her to join us here more often. But till then, I'm afraid she won't have the time."
"Why does she need to take an exam?" Will asked curiously.
"You heard about the Epsilon Four colony." she answered simply.
"The one with that strange cult of the 21st century? Yeah, I heard about it. Always sounded quite creepy." he mockingly shook himself as if a tremor went through him.
"It WAS creepy, Will, believe me!" she went on "She got married to a man who originally was a colonist and later became a high-ranking official in the government of the colony. After they declared independence, and the Federation had no authority any longer, literally no one left the colony. Emma told me they were not physically restricted, but the cult worked in a way that most people were deprived of the means to leave, and even if they had the means, they actually didn't WANT to leave. Of course, she didn't stay because she was a follower of the cult. She stayed to help. She used the means she had and the knowledge she gathered in Starfleet to help in the colony's hospital, but it was forbidden to use technology beyond the 21st century. Imagine a world where they still had money, still had hunger and poverty... and barely any means to help the sick compared to the technology we are provided now."
"Amazing..." Will growled "Who would want to live in a world like that? I don't see the reason behind it."
"You know how such cults work, Will." Beverly turned her palms up gesturing as she explained "There have always been people who wanted to live a different life. In the 21st century, there were people who still lived as if they were in the 19th century. Do you remember the name, Data?" she looked at him unsure.
"The Amish, Doctor." he replied, and she nodded remembering. Then went on.
"And in the 23rd century some people longed for a life in the 20th century. Remember them? They were called the Brotherhood."
"Sure! They lived on an island on Earth until they ran out of raw materials." Will nodded remembering what all of them had to learn at the Academy's history lessons.
"Well, this cult was no different. Only they created an own colony for themselves." Beverly finished.
"The basic motivation behind such a cult is to gain power over peers." Data added "Controlling people with money and the deprivation of basic necessities is the simplest way to gain that power. The people within the cult start to believe that they are dependent on the leaders of the cult, and of course after the colony broke away from the Federation, it actually became the painful truth." He researched the subject when he started to be interested in Emma and was shocked to find where and how she had to live before joining the Enterprise crew. That was the moment he stopped wondering about why Emma was frightened of people, or why she tried to scare everybody away.
Beverly and Will smiled at him kindly - both of them were thinking about how much they missed Data's lengthy explanations. After a moment, the doctor went on "But to answer your original question, Will, as Emma stayed there for over a decade with this limited technology, she needs to catch up with where we are now in modern medicine. She does have a Medical degree, but in a decade, you forget a lot. The other option is for her to go back to the Academy for a refreshment year."
"Going back to the Academy as a Lieutenant with decades of experience? Sounds kinda appalling." Will winced. They nodded agreeing on that except for Geordi who sat there in silence.
Data looked at him trying to determine what he might be thinking, but the Engineer just looked over at the crowd in the room and pretended to ignore the whole conversation. An uncomfortable silence descended on them. Bev and Will exchanged a meaningful look as they both noticed the tension between the two friends.
"I was going to order another drink, Beverly, what would you say about helping me choose one?" Will offered a consciously obvious excuse, and Beverly chuckling assented "Oh, sure!" and they left the two men alone.
Geordi looked after them for a moment longer then cleared his throat "I guess I better go." he said dryly standing up.
"Please, don't!" Data looked up at him pleading "Please, stay!"
Geordi for the first time that evening looked into his eyes. After a long moment, he sat back opposite him. He pressed the tips of his fingers together "Is there anything I can help you with." he lowered his voice at the end of the sentence, it was not a real question.
"Yes, you could, Geordi. If you could just listen to what I need to say." Data asked, and he still had that pleading expression on his face that started to melt the ice around Geordi's heart. The Chief Engineer motioned for him to go on, so he did: "I know that you are angry at me." he said on a regretful voice "You have all the reasons to be. I only want to tell you that I am sorry. Especially about the way we parted the last time we spoke. I was wrong in asking you to remove my emotion-chip, and I was even more wrong in dismissing you the way I did. I found that you were right in more ways that you could possibly imagine. It is difficult to explain. Some of the emotions I have felt in the last few months I still do not understand. Therefore, I cannot explain them to you either."
Geordi sighed clasping his fingers - that ice around his heart was almost completely thawed away "Data..." he looked into his eyes "I know how messed up you must've been. I was not angry about that. I guess I was mad mostly, because I felt frustrated that I couldn't help you. It was like banging in a wall every time I tried to."
"I know. However, I do not suppose I can explain my actions thoroughly to you." Data shook his head reluctantly.
"You know... perhaps you don't have to. I guess it's enough that you are here talking to me now." Geordi smiled finally.
"Thank you, Geordi!" Data smiled back and felt genuinely glad that he managed to reconcile with his best friend.
"To tell you the truth, I'm really happy to see you out here. I guess it means you're feeling better, right?" Geordi asked a little cautiously.
Data had to think for a moment to be able to give him an honest answer "I also believe I have made progress in this regard." he replied finally on a silent voice.
"What about any other regards?" Geordi asked then backed away as he saw how reluctant his friend seemed to be "Look, if I'm asking too many questions, just tell me, and I shut up! For me, it's enough if we are sitting here in silence."
Data gazed away for a short moment then back at him and tried to smile a little "I do feel better, Geordi. Especially compared to the last occasion we spoke. I do not experience hallucinations anymore, and the frequency of the flashbacks became less since I have been going to therapy. Counsellor Troi believes I will make a full recovery very shortly."
Geordi nodded thoughtfully "Yeah, the flashbacks, tell me about it..." and Data realized that Geordi actually knew from experience what he was talking about. He suddenly felt the way he many times did while talking to Geordi: he was not all alone in the universe anymore, he found a brother in him that he never actually had in Lore.
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You Can't Fight a Tidal Wave