NEW: but for the grace of god... [R] TNG; Data, Lore; Epilogue 8/8

[mlo...@ic.sunysb.edu]

RATING: R, for adult themes, profanity (Chapter 3: NC-17, for sex and
violence)

DISCLAIMER:
These characters, their ship, and their universe belong lock, stock and
barrel to PARAMOUNT-VIACOM. I am bending them to my will for fun only,
not profit (unless you consider the release of writer's angst to be
profit.)

Please see intro for the rest of the stuff.

Please keep headers intact.
*****

but for the grace of god...
by Melinda Loges

Epilogue

You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
Once the flame begins to catch
The wind will blow it higher.

"Biko"
Peter Gabriel

Geordi had known. Before the computer and the engines had gone down.
Before he'd reached Data's quarters, empty of all personal possessions.
Before he'd seen the piece of heavy parchment, lying beneath the
communicator on the desk.

He had known, but he hadn't wanted to believe.

He sat at the desk, staring at the paper--at the long, fluid lines of
Data's script. *He would handwrite it, damn him.* He read the letter
again, for the third time.

Geordi,

By the time you read this, you will be very angry with me. You will
have a right to be. I am sorry to leave this way. I can only hope
that you will try to understand why I felt I had to do this.

He said to me once that exploration was really about what you could
open yourself to find, rather than what you went looking for. I have
to try to reach him, Geordi. I have to open myself to him. He is my
brother, and that has to mean something.

About the engines, what can I say? I have no choice. You will never
forgive me for that, I know, but one day, when we see each other
again, you may demand whatever penance you wish.

And we will meet again, my friend. Trust in that.

I love you, Geordi. I always will. Never forget that.

Data

The door opened and Geordi looked up.

"Well?" Captain Picard said.

"He's gone, sir. There was just a letter to me and this." He pushed
forward a data padd. "It's for Juliana Tainer. His mother."

Picard stared at it for a moment. "And the engines?"

"All down. Along with the sensors, and navigation. There's a security
lock on the computer's command functions."

"His logs?"

Geordi sighed. "Deleted. Everything for the last six months. He wasn't
leaving any bread crumbs."

Picard looked up. "The coordinates for Dr. Soong's lab? Are they still
in the memory banks?"

Geordi entered the request. "Yes, sir, they're here."

Picard walked around the desk. "Bring up the engineering logs from that
mission."

"Yes, sir."

"Computer, release command functions, this station only. Authorization:
Picard, Alpha two priority."

"Alpha two clearance recognized. Please enter security code."

Picard read the code from the logs, the same code Data had used six years
before.

"Security code confirmed. Computer lock released."

Picard smiled. "One to you, my friend," he said to the screen.

"Sir?" Geordi said.

Picard looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You knew he was leaving."

Geordi stared. "Sir, I didn't--I mean... I wasn't sure..."

"Well, I was. He told me in no uncertain terms." He looked up.
"Computer, reestablish security lock-out." He turned back to Geordi. "We
have orders to find them. Using whatever means are necessary. So get my
ship moving again, Commander. Now we know where to look." He headed for
the door. Just before it opened, he turned.

"Where to look last."

*****

(Stardate 41242.4, U.S.S. _Enterprise_ NCC 1701-D, Captain Jean-Luc Picard
commanding. Personal living quarters of Lieutenant Commander NFN NMI
Data.)

A man was singing.

"I say tomato, and you say tomato. I say potato, and you say potato."
The man laughed. "A very old joke. But then you also have trouble with
their humor. Am I right?"

His twin answered. "Quite true. I keep trying to be more human, and keep
failing."

"Do you realize, Brother, that I can help you become more human?"

"And do you realize, Lore, that I am obligated to report all of this to
our ship's Captain?"

The man shrugged. "I assumed as much when I began studying you." He
walked around the desk between them. "What is the mission of your ship,
Brother?"

"Exploration."

The man laughed softly. "This is not exploration."

"What would you say exploration is then?"

The man leaned over and whispered in his twin's ear.

"The real measure of exploration, dear Brother, lies not in what you seek,
but rather, in what you allow yourself to find. And the possibilities
are endless..."

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