Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Data's Journey
By : K_nz
Category: Star Trek > The Next Generation
Views: 1351 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for full Disclaimer
Chapter List
- 32
- 33
- 34
Tala was three years old and was scampering around Neara as she performed the daily Riaka. She was flapping her arms in a circle, squealing as she did so. Suddenly, she tripped on her own feet and fell to the floor, her chin striking it with enough force to dislodge a tooth. It went skittering across the floor and Tala let out a wail of pain. As she cried, Neara quickly scooped up the tooth then her daughter and took her to see Dr Crusher, attempting to soothe her along the way.
Data was at his station on the bridge when his head jerked up, he swiveled out of his seat, and went to the turbolift. Picard called after him, but Data went on, oblivious.
“Worf, will you go with him?” Picard asked. “And keep me apprised. It’s never a good sign when Data starts behaving oddly.” Worf nodded and followed Data onto the turbolift.
They exited the lift, walked down the hall, and entered Sick Bay. When they got there, Worf saw Neara and Tala, the child with blood running down her chin and her face wet with tears.
“Daddy!” she howled, her arms outstretched to Data. Neara turned and saw Data standing there, looking but not seeing, with Worf behind him.
Data’s head tilted, and he came to. He saw Tala and Neara in front of him, Tala sitting on a Sick Bay bed, and went over to comfort his daughter. “How did I get here? I was just on the bridge.”
“You abruptly walked off the bridge and came here,” Worf elucidated. Then he hailed Picard to inform him of the situation.
“Tala must have activated my homing chip,” he surmised. Tala wrapped her arms around Data’s waist and buried her face in his stomach as he comfortingly caressed her back.
“I thought you had deactivated that chip,” Neara said.
Data gave his head a slight shake. “I thought so too. Apparently, Tala can reactivate it.”
“You will need to make a stronger defense, or perhaps remove it,” Neara advised.
“A wise precaution,” Data agreed.
Crusher returned with the tooth and an instrument to replace it, and with some gentle prodding, Data got Tala to cooperate with her. Tooth successfully reinserted, Tala wrapped herself around Data and he carried her back to their quarters.
Tala’s neural net had started growing six months ago. But now, it was growing rapidly. If this growth meant she could access his programming or manipulate his systems, Data would have to ensure very strict safeguards indeed.

Data watched as Tala stumbled again. She was stumbling much more frequently and Data was concerned. Tala’s neural net was growing into the motor coordination area of her brain, but Dr Crusher assured him she just needed time to learn and adjust. She reminded him he had to learn ambulatory skills when he was first activated, and this part of Tala would need to as well.
But it still troubled him. If she was learning, then why was she stumbling more? Surely it should be less as time went on. He had initially been concerned about her neural net not growing, but now he was concerned with how fast it was growing. It had doubled in size over the last three weeks. That rate was undoubtedly unsustainable. But he was not sure what to do other than wait to see if the rate soon slowed. An emotion of anxiousness dogged him. It was times like these he realized the convenience of being emotionless. He would not change the fact he now had feelings, he just wished he could turn them off at will.
Neara returned home from duty and greeted them happily. “Hello family!” she sang and gave them both kisses. “Do you know what you would like for dinner tonight?”
“Chocolate pancakes!” Tala cheered. Riker had made them for Tala and Thad at a recent breakfast their families had together, and Tala could not get enough.
“You had them for breakfast this morning Tala,” Data reminded. “I think you should have something else.”
“But I like chocolate pancakes Daddy. Chocolate pancakes, chocolate pancakes,” Tala chanted and scampered around the room, flailing the stuffed animal she was holding.
Neara was in the kitchen and said, “I think we will have Ahmrian pancakes with vegetables. We need to keep your ‘kana up ka’lee – you are a growing child.”
“We can put chocolate on them,” Tala said and stopped suddenly, choking, and fell to the floor. Data rushed over to her and Neara flew over.
“She is not breathing,” Data said and he picked Tala up and ran with her, Neara flying in front, to Sick Bay. He applied CPR as he ran, Tala’s little limp body not responding.
Crusher and her team worked on her immediately, but to no avail. Tala had to be placed on a ventilator. A scan of her brain showed a branch of her neural net had traveled into her brain stem, hampering the autonomic nerve function of her respiratory system.
Crusher asked, “Neara, can you make a psi doorway to take us to Donaerua?”
“We just came back from Ahmria yesterday. I do not have the energy to do it safely, but I must try,” Neara declared and took in a breath to begin the process.
Crusher laid a hand on her forearm. “That won’t be necessary Neara. We don’t want to do anything risky.” She tapped her badge and hailed, “Crusher to Picard. We have a medical emergency. We need to get to Donaerua immediately.”
“Of course Doctor,” Picard responded, and set a course for the planet at warp nine. “I’m going to Sick Bay to see what’s happened. You have the bridge Number One.”
Crusher explained to Neara and Data what had happened and said, “We need to get to Donaerua so I can use the device to remove the errant strand. Then we need to place some kind of shunt to ensure the neural net doesn’t grow anywhere it shouldn’t.”
Data and Neara looked worried. “Will she be OK Doctor?” Data asked.
“We have no time to waste. The growth is unpredictable and very fast. But hopefully, with Tala being in this state, it will have stalled the progression,” Crusher responded.
Crusher went back to monitoring her patient, and Picard entered Sick Bay. He saw Tala on the ventilator and nodded gravely to Neara and Data. He went over to Crusher and she informed him of the situation.
Riker hailed him, “Admiral Haftel wishes to speak to you about your sudden course deviation.”
“Of course he does,” Picard muttered. In a silent exchange, he raised his eyebrows in question to Crusher and she nodded her acceptance.
“Transfer him to Dr Crusher’s office. I’ll take the call there,” he sighed and walked to the office. Picard took a seat and opened the channel.
“Admiral, I…,” Picard started and was cut off.
“Why aren’t you on your way to the Suponia moon?” Haftel barked. “The Cardassians will be there in twelve hours, and the colonists are rightfully worried. They’ve made it clear they see this colony as an invasion into their territory. We need a Federation presence to keep the peace until this issue can be hammered out.”
“We’ve had a medical emergency and need to reroute to Donaerua. Surely there is another vessel that could take our place?” Picard questioned.
“The next closest vessel would take fourteen hours to reach them. Just drop your patient off at the medical facility on Starbase 24 on the way,” Haftel instructed.
“But we need the specialized equipment on Donaerua. I’m afraid there’s no alternative,” Picard stated.
“Donaerua… isn’t that the planet Data went to to get expert help with his neural net? Are you saying this medical emergency is Data?” Haftel interrogated.
“It is a matter of life and death,” Picard obfuscated.
“Surely not Picard. I can’t imagine Data will cease to function if he doesn’t get to Donaerua. Just turn him off until we can get another ship to spell you at the Suponia moon, which won’t take long – then you can take him there,” Haftel reasoned.
Picard was forced to admit, “It isn’t for Data. It’s for his daughter.”
There was a pregnant silence on the line as Haftel’s ire grew. “What have you done?” he asked menacingly.
“I take complete responsibility…” Picard began and was interrupted by the wave of Haftel’s hand.
“No, I don’t want to hear it. Take the child to get help, and then I expect you, Commander Data, and the rest of your senior officers to attend a tribunal to determine who knew what when and the punishment for pursuing Borg technology,” Haftel commanded. “We’ll also need to determine whether the girl would be better off placed under our watch. We’ll expect you to attend this tribunal as soon as Data’s daughter is in stable condition. Haftel out.”
There had been no way around it – Picard had no option but to tell the Admiral about Tala. He desperately wished this secret had never been revealed. At least if it could have waited until the child was grown, then there wouldn’t be this added complication. Now, not only would he have to fight for his career and the careers of his officers, but also the right for Tala to remain with her family. One of whom knowingly disobeyed Federation regulations.
This was going to be an uphill battle, but the fact these regulations denied Data the right to have his own family was patently wrong. That was why Picard had helped him in the first place. This was a time to stand up for what was morally correct, and he would not back down from the fight.

Picard gathered the senior staff in the conference room, minus Data who remained in Sick Bay, and informed them Tala’s secret was out, resulting in a tribunal.
“Data and I are prepared to take full responsibility and deny any of your involvement or knowledge,” Picard stated.
“Thank you for that Captain, but I’ll stand with Data,” Riker affirmed. “The Federation regulations are wrong in this case. They’re clearly discriminating against the fact Data isn’t a biological being.”
Crusher agreed, “I realize Data is unique, but they should have added a provision to encompass his reproduction with a biological being as medically necessary. Or at least, at this point, they should do it retroactively. I have no regrets helping Data and Neara with their reproduction. As a matter of fact, I’m very proud I was able to help them. I plan to let the tribunal know this.”
“I’m with Doctor Crusher on this one,” Geordi agreed. “They should retroactively add a provision for Data’s sake. Of course I’ll be standing up for Data. He’s so happy he has a child. How could anyone see that as wrong?”
“The Federation is acting out of fear of the unknown, and that’s never a good place to make decisions from,” Troi said. “I want to be there to help guide them through their insecurities and make them understand this is simply a child with her two loving parents. There’s nothing to fear. I’m going to stand with Data.”
“It would be unimaginable if the Federation were to disallow a Klingon to have children with their mate. I will stand with Data,” Worf confirmed.
Picard nodded and smiled. “I knew I had the finest crew in the fleet, but without a doubt I can say, you are the finest people I have ever known. You show the highest moral character, and I am honored, as I know Data is, by your support. Let’s spend some time getting our arguments ready for the tribunal.”

It took the Enterprise six hours to reach Donaerua, and Data’s family and Crusher immediately beamed down. Crusher went to work right away removing Tala’s errant strand while Soong figured out the shunt material and how they would function. Crusher finished, and Tala was removed from the ventilator but was still unconscious. Soong discussed the shunts with Crusher, who went about creating them in Tala’s brain. They were observing her scan with satisfaction.
“Was it successful? Will Tala be alright now?” Data asked.
“It went very well. I believe she’ll be doing great,” Crusher answered. Data and Neara hugged with joy and Neara shed some tears. She went over to Crusher and hugged her, then hugged Soong.
“Now that the Federation knows about Tala, I suppose I’ll be forced to leave this planet. And I was just getting used to it,” Soong lamented.
“It would be a prudent course of action,” Data agreed.
“We’ll wait for Tala to wake up and then check to make certain everything’s OK. Then we can get back to the Enterprise,” Crusher informed.
Crusher and Soong went over to the couches to sit and have some tea. Neara and Data were standing beside their sleeping daughter, touching her arm.
“I do not wish to be parted,” Neara told Data. Neara and Tala would be dropped off on an Ahmrian portal planet before Data and the rest went to Earth for the tribunal. “Why not come to Ahmria and forget the tribunal? All of your family can come as well. You can all leave Starfleet and live happy lives on Ahmria.”
“I do not believe they want to give up their careers with Starfleet. I do not wish to give up my career either, although I may have to,” Data said. “I need to stand by my family, as they have stood by us. I need to convince the tribunal they were only trying to help me, and that any punishment they wish to mete out for breaking the regulation should fall on me and me alone.”
“But no one should be punished for this, ka’lee,” Neara said and touched his cheek.
“We will do our best to convince them of that,” Data replied.
“Even though I will not physically be there, I will be there, watching over you,” Neara informed. “I will bring you home, if I have to. I will bring you all to Ahmria if I have to.”
“Let us hope that will not be necessary,” and Data kissed her tenderly.
- 32
- 33
- 34
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Data's Journey	By : K_nz Category: Star Trek > The Next Generation Views: 1351 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for full Disclaimer

Data's Journey