The next few chapters are the big 'flashback' parts where much will be revealed. However, the events we witness here are only a tiny snippet of a much larger story.
Some pieces of Tasha's backstory are included. It is information that we will learn long before it is revealed to Data.
He won't find out for some time to come (The Course We Set – S3) – but I hope it helps to shape her character and explain why Tasha carries this heavy sense of misplaced guilt.
This also includes some serious info-dumping about Turkana and Tasha's ancestors. This topic will be further explored in storylines when Ishara is introduced in Legacy as well as prequels. (This does fly in the face of 'Doctor Jenna Yar' from Phase II but *shrug*).
There's also a hint in this chapter regarding Tasha's unusual relationship with our favourite omnipotent trickster...
And to answer a few questions – No. The focus of this story is not shifting exclusively to Tasha. It will always remain Data/Tasha focused with small deviations for an ensemble cast.
Data will get his own big angsty arc too in the future (and plenty of happy moments as well). There will be a TON of information on the Soongs and Data's ancestry coming. In fact, I'm so excited for the Data & Pulaski friendship arc that's in the sequel! We're just not that far yet!
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Please be advised this portion of the story is a dark turn. I want to assure you – this series has a happy ending. But this part is filled with pain and loss.
Content Warning: Strong language, violence, abuse, child abuse, CSA, sexual assault, torture, graphic injury, enucleation, pregnancy/childbirth, miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, self-harm, suicide, character death, murder.
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"Do you remember what I said – that I loved her from afar?" Richard asked.
He shifted uncomfortably.
"It wasn't always that way," Richard began.
-X-
2350 | Romulus
Richard Castillo was frozen in place.
"Which one of you was it?" Morak asked in a disturbingly calm tone of voice.
He paced back and forth in front of the line of prisoners in his office. It was quiet save for the sickening sound of Tasha wheezing on the floor.
"I will ask you again, which one of you was it?" Morak demanded.
There was only silence.
Morak whipped out his disruptor. He fired without hesitation, dropping Jimmy Fredericks to the floor. He was one of the survivors of the Enterprise-C.
He'd been fresh from the Academy – only twenty-one years of age when the ship went down.
Tasha hissed as Morak gripped the back of her hair, dragging her across the floor.
"If you won't tell me, then I will kill everyone here one by one until I find the thief responsible," Morak spat. "You will beg me to stop."
Tasha was breathing hard through clenched teeth. Her mouth and nose were bloody from the beating she had sustained.
"We're not begging you for anything," Tasha said in defiance.
She collapsed to the floor as Morak released her.
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...
