Author's Note: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!
You lot are simply the best!
A couple notes on this Chapter:
Schizoid Man is one of my all-time favourite episodes of TNG. William Morgan Shepard is brilliant – creating such a rich, unforgettable character in his limited time onscreen. Brent Spiner got another chance to flex his acting skills. And there's that adorable flash of Tasha in Data's memory sequence.
For me, this was always confirmation there was always canonically more between them than we were initially led to believe.
-X-
Timing
Schizoid Man was originally an S2 episode with Doctor Pulaski.
But we're taking this one out of order to better accommodate it to my canon divergent timeline. I needed it to occur after the nanocyte incident but before we hit our S2 sequel The Crucible.
And let's just say this story also works better without our favourite couple worrying about feeding schedules and bedtime routines.
This is a multi-part instalment. It is such a pivotal moment for Data, I couldn't bear to do anything less than three chapters.
So you'll notice that in addition to being out of sequence, this storyline is also stretched out to cover a longer period of time. The bulk of the original script revolves around transporting Kareen Brianon from Graves's World to Starbase 6. So we're going to spend some more time exploring that.
-X-
Graves/Data
This is a difficult story to write. For much of the tale, you've got two distinct people existing within one body.
To complicate matters, our other characters are unaware of this duality. There's no easy 'switch' between them.
Therefore, when Graves is speaking or moving he is referred to as such. When others are observing this behaviour or talking about him, he is referred to as 'Data' because they believe this is Data.
In the original script, Darnay's disease is said to attack the mind. Therefore, I've chosen to elaborate on that. Ira's behaviour is erratic because he's truly struggling. He's trying to hold onto his mind in spite of the fact this disease has impacted his decision-making ability and overall cognitive health.
As always, thank you for your ongoing support in this series!
-X-
Tasha Yar sat down at the table in Data's quarters. She clicked to boot up her tablet and then turned to the replicator.
"Raktajino, oversized. Flavour of the day," Tasha ordered. "Hazelnut sprinkles."
Tasha stopped.
"Belay that order. Computer, what is the flavour of the day?" Tasha asked.
"The flavour of the day is Blueberry Muffin," the computers.
"Cancel the hazelnut sprinkles. Let's do banana instead," Tasha requested.
A familiar shimmering sound filled Data's quarters as the drink materialised.
Tasha closed her eyes and relished in that first blissful sip of the rich liquid.
Her moment of peace was cut short by a loud burst of music from her tablet.
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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...
