A/N: Thank you all, sincerely, for sticking with this story. It has been a long time since I've been so inspired to write something. I apologise, I promised an update for 15/1 and that came and went. I'm quite sorry for the delay. To make up for it, this chapter is about twice as long as normal.
If you like my work or want to dive deeper with my comics, art (including "Data and Geordi's Holodeck Adventures") or like to discuss writing in general like & follow the Tartan Tart on Facebook or Twitter TheTartanTart.
-----------
Data stepped off the turbolift and onto the Bridge. Captain Picard was in the Command chair with Commander Riker seated to his right.
Worf took in Data's appearance and cocked an eyebrow.
"We were on the holodeck," Data said.
In his rush to reach the Bridge and assess the situation, he had not stopped to change into his standard Starfleet uniform.
"Mr Data," Captain Picard acknowledged, "Please relieve Ensign Trotter."
Data relieved Ensign Trotter and assumed his position at the operations station and accessed the readings from the incident. As his hands dashed over the panel, Data suddenly paused.
This caught the attention of Captain Picard.
"Data?" Picard prompted.
Data turned in his chair to address the Bridge.
"Sir, the energy readings at the time of the incident have a similar structure to the readings we observed on the planet," Data explained.
Captain Picard tapped his combadge.
"Lieutenant La Forge, please report to the Bridge," Picard said.
"Sir, Lieutenant La Forge was injured on the holodeck when the ship entered freefall. He is currently in Sickbay and incapacitated," Data said.
He worked to reroute his focus from thoughts about Geordi's injuries to his duty to the Bridge.
"Lieutenant Yar and Chief O'Brien were also injured, but their injuries were less severe than those of Lieutenant La Forge," Data said as he went on.
Picard nodded in acknowledgement.
"Do you think you can analyse a way for us to study this phenomenon without putting the ship at risk?" Picard asked.
Data took a moment to ponder the question.
"You wish to return to learn more about it but only if we are able to do so unaffected," Data surmised aloud. "I will determine the cause of our loss of controls and functionality and see if I can come up with a solution."
"Make it so," Picard ordered. "Ensign Trotter, resume your position at the control station. Mr Data, get down to Main Engineering."
"Sir, permission to change into uniform?" Data requested as he stood.
"Please," Picard said.
-----------
Data had changed quickly and joined the crew in Engineering to determine what had caused the incident. Data learned that there had been a number of injuries across the ship.
"Where's Lieutenant La Forge?" assistant chief engineer Shimoda asked. "We've been trying to reach him."
"He was injured during the freefall," Data said.
"Is he alright?" Shimoda asked as his eyes widened with concern.
"Doctor Crusher is tending to him," was all Data could manage to say.
YOU ARE READING
The Complication
Fanfiction"Am I the 'complication'?" Data asked. Following the events on Ligon II, Data struggles to reconcile the discrepancies between Tasha's verbal and nonverbal communication. Furthermore, his attempts to better understand what's happening lead to him fr...
