The Complication

Questions

Author's Note: Thank you for your continued support with this series. All of your reviews, likes, kudos, and messages are wonderful!

I'm sorry. I lied. The Traveller arc was supposed to be a two-part storyline.

It's three!

After hitting nearly 20k words, I decided it was necessary to split the conclusion into two chapters.

This chapter and the next are the conclusion of the Traveller storyline and we're exploring Data & Tasha's relationship in a new way. Playing a wee bit fast and loose again with canon. You may notice some subtle differences in the sequence of events and dialog in comparison to the actual episode.

It's a long, heavy chapter – but there is fun and fluff on the horizon.

Trigger warning: Strong language & mentions/flashbacks of sexual assault.

Walsh is a bad guy. I wanted to introduce a mix of both the "episodic" feel of the show with a handful of overarching story arcs – Bruce Maddox/Data's trauma, the idea of "family" and what that means for DaTasha, the found family vibe of the entire crew, and Walsh as a big baddie.

This chapter and the last focus on The Traveller, please note there are mentions/flashbacks of sexual assault. In this chapter, we're working in the context of Walsh is now in the brig. Both Data and Tasha will be working through both the personal and professional consequences of it. Please be advised if this triggers you, you may want to skip over those scenes.

So, what's next? We still have a long way to go with "The Complication." The next few chapters will see the appearance of Q, Angel One, and an original adventure involving a black hole that introduces the start of a romance for Geordi.

As always, if you like my works or want to stay up to date with art, comics, or just like chatting about the fandom you can like/follow at charliefenwick.com or @TheTartanTart on Twitter.

-----------

Tasha rolled onto her back and blinked several times.

She heard them moving off, their footfalls growing more faint with each passing second.

In the distance, there was the steady drip of water as it ran off the stalactites that hung over the underground spring.

Everything hurt.

Tasha could taste blood in her mouth.

She brought her hand up to feel her face and hissed.

Fortunately, it felt like she hadn't lost any teeth, but her jaw was bruised.

Tasha couldn't see out of her left eye – there was too much swelling. And she was certain her hand was fractured.

"We have to get you to Gudrun," Ishara said as she emerged from the shadows.

Gudrun was a wise woman. A healer. She sold herbs and teas, poultices and plasters, and more placebo than medicine in Tasha's opinion.

Tasha shook her head.

"No, we're leaving now," Ishara insisted. "Besides, we can make good time. Not like we've got much left to carry."

She looked around bitterly at their decimated camp.

"I still have it," she added as she thumbed her locket.

It was the only thing of value the two owned anymore as their supplies, Tasha's beloved bow, and most of their tools were now gone. It was worth at least a few months' rations.