13. Imzadi

Fira looked at Data's schedule. Date 15: Questions 90-99. Introduce cuddling.

"Cuddling?" She was so surprised that she said it out loud. Then she started to laugh, the thought of her imzadi saying the word "cuddling" so humorous that she couldn't contain the joy for several seconds. She proceeded to change into casual attire—a relaxed blouse and pants that she hoped would be appropriate for "cuddling."

When Data arrived at her quarters, she raised her eyebrows and said, "Cuddling?"

His eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, and she stepped aside to let him in. "You have had the schedule for several weeks, yet only now you are objecting?"

"I'm not objecting," she said. "I'm just…surprised."

The door closed, and he extended his arms stiffly in front of him. They'd been hugging for several dates now, but she was still trying to teach him about natural posture. Without saying a word, she looked him in the eyes to tell him that he was moving strangely. Already familiar with her nonverbal communication, he relaxed his arms and gently slid them around her waist.

"I am pleased to see you," he said quietly, still gazing into her eyes.

She put her arms around his neck and said, "Much better. I am elated to see you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Are you trying to 'one-up' my compliment in a demonstration of pride?"

She shook her head, then pressed her face against his chest. "No. My emotional responses are simply growing stronger as our relationship continues."

Unwilling to pull away from the embrace, Fira said, "Computer, play Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake." As the oboe solo began, she gently rocked back and forth. It took a moment for Data to realize what she was doing, but then he joined her in her semblance of dancing.

"Does this constitute cuddling?" She asked.

" 'Cuddle: to hold close in one's arms as a way of showing love or affection.' Yes, I believe this is cuddling."

"It's nice," she said. She asked how his work on was going—he had recently met with an alien delegation to trade technological blueprints, and he was modifying them to fit them to Starfleet Regulations—and then asked about his other projects. He always had a dozen going on at once, and even if it had only been a few hours since their last encounter, he had so much information to tell her than she could hardly absorb it all.

She loved it.

Data stopped their rocking and pulled away from her slightly. She looked into his face, and then he leaned down to kiss her. It was soft at first, but then his arms tightened around her waist. His hands pressed against her clothes, pulling her into him so that she fell backward and he held her. Her leg creeped around his. She gasped for air before plunging back in, her teeth grasping at his lips.

He pulled away as quickly as he'd pulled her in. "I am sorry," he said, no hint of the passion he'd just displayed in his voice. "I have moved too quickly. How is your telepathy?"

Fira's mouth was still open as she panted for breath. She hadn't been aware of anything but him for those few seconds, so it took a considerable effort for her to spread out her thoughts to the nearby crewmen.

"I think…I think we're okay," she said. "Ensign Mulak is down the hall, so he might have caught something, but it couldn't have been for more than a second."

"Good," Data said. He stared at her lips, and his own parted. Fira was about to leap onto him when he said, "I do not understand why my self-restraint failed. Perhaps we should refrain from further physical contact."

"I don't want to," Fira said, stepping back into him and putting her hands on his chest. "Data, I want so badly to give in to this. I have never had so little control of my emotions."

"Neither have I," Data whispered. His gaze lingered on her lips for an achingly long moment, but he pulled away again. "Until the crew is no longer at risk, we cannot."

Fira's mind whirred. She'd thought she could stick to Data's plan, that she could adapt her telepathy to encounter her new emotions gradually. But her lust was so strong she could barely stand. She was sure she was projecting her thoughts without even touching Data.

"How can I stop this?" she said. "I know you've been researching telepathy. Is there anything?"

Data's eyebrows shot up. "How did you know? I had meant to keep it secret."

Fira couldn't help but laugh. "There's never been something new you've encountered and not immediately read everything about in the Enterprise's database. So? A cortical inhibitor, force fields, anything that would…that would let me touch you?"

Data stared at her for a moment, then his head jerked sideways.

"Did you just turn off your emotion chip?" Fira said, taken aback.

"My emotions are clouding my judgment," Data said.

"And mine aren't? Turn it back on this instant."

"I must compensate for your temporary irrationality," Data said. "There are greater factors to consider than our emotions."

"'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?'" she quoted back at him. "No, you signed up for a relationship, you deal with it like the rest of us. Turn your emotion chip on." Her own words startled her, but her Vulcan composure had vaporized.

After a moment of hesitation, Data's head ticked sideways again, and then his face was once again contorted with emotion. In an instant, he pulled her to him once more and kissed her.

"There are ways…to negate…the projectile nature…of…your telepathy," Data breathed in between kisses. "But they are…temporary…untested—"

"Cortical inhibitor?" she panted.

"Would also inhibit your sex drive," he said plainly. "Your…power is too great…to be blocked by ordinary force fields."

"Distance?" she pleaded, and her mouth broke away from his as he kissed along her jawline. "Let's take a shuttle…say it's for a survey and get a few hours alone…"

"I could not," he whispered, and she knew that he would not break Starfleet protocols to fulfill his own desires. Not yet. His mouth trailed down her neck, and she finally pushed him away. Or rather, he was too firmly planted to move, so she shoved herself three feet away to prevent herself from losing control again.

"You're right," she said. "We can't." She expected Deanna to contact her telepathically at any moment. Resting her forehead on her hands, she reached out and probed the nearby minds. She had to fight through the haze of her own emotions, and kept getting emotional feedback instead of direct thoughts. The Vulcan down the hall was definitely aware of her now, although the others were still ignorant.

Just like that, Data straightened and spoke as if he were reciting information for the bridge crew. "Doctor Chen Ak'k'nu of the planet Ji has had several breakthroughs in the art of artificially generating the ability to receive and project telepathic information for non-telepaths. In essence, he has created a synthetic telepathic organ. Although the device has not yet been tested in more than a few humanoid trials, it is much simpler to adapt to my positronic net. Since I am already constructed of artificial parts, it was not a difficult task to create the appropriate program."

"Wh-" Fira started, completely taken aback from her emotional depths. "What are you saying? That…that you gave yourself telepathy?"

"Not yet," Data said. "But I have the device prepared and the program created. I had hoped to tell you in a more…romantic manner, but it seemed a suitable course to pull you away from your emotional difficulties."

"Emotional—Data, if anything this is making those difficulties harder," she said, although his words had certainly quelled her overwhelming lust. "Why would you do that to yourself?"

He cocked his head in confusion. "You speak as if it is a punishment, a burden. It is merely an additional sense, with which many species are naturally equipped. It would be a fascinating experiment even if I were not pursuing it for your sake."

"But you want to be human," she said, not knowing how else to argue the point. "Humans aren't telepathic."

"But you are," Data said. "Being human has become a secondary goal to being your lover."

Fira couldn't help it—she gaped. "But—but being human has always been your primary goal. For twenty-six years, that's what you've strived to become."

"And I still shall," Data said. "But you…are my imzadi."

This time when Fira kissed him, it wasn't with an uncontrollable rush of physical passion. That remained, beating hot in her lips as they closed around his, but her mind was serene. Silent. A peace she'd only known once before spread through her body as Data hesitantly settled his arms around her waist.

He broke the kiss, only to pull her closer into an embrace. "That was different," he said. "You are controlled. What changed?"

"Remember when I told you about my experience with the Borg?"

It was a testament to Data's programming that he did not flinch away in confusion. "Yes," he murmured into her hair. That moment seemed so long ago now, yet it had been the one that immediately leapt to mind.

"I didn't tell you the whole truth about my recovery."

"You did not recover by meditating on Vulcan poetry?" At this, he did pull away so he could look into her face, but his arms remained wrapped around her.

"That was part of it," Fira said. "Go back in your memory. You said it took me over seven hours to recover. At what stage in my recovery did you enter Sick Bay for your dermal grafts?"

"After you'd been in there already for six hours and fifty-two minutes," Data said. "Are you implying that my presence was related to your recovery?"

"Yes," Fira said. She rested a hand on Data's cheek, warm and smooth as any human's, but so much more beautiful in her eyes. "By focusing on you, I could ignore all of the other thoughts clamoring for my attention. Your complete isolation in a world of chaos brought me out of it." Her eyebrows creased as she searched for a way to say what she meant. "Since I've come to know you so much better, I've realized how different you are. You aren't an absence of consciousness, like the computers I deal with all day. They truly are a void, a black hole where thought and emotion does not exist. At first, I thought you were the same. But now…I feel you, Data, even without some telepathic chip. You're…warm. Soft. Gentle, calming—a being at complete peace even when your emotions change. And I can sense your emotions now. I didn't used to, because they felt so different than those that blaze from the other crew members like beacons. Your emotions exist on another plane—just as strong as any sentient's, but…" She shook her head, at loss for words, so she just smiled. "Beautiful. You're beautiful, Data."

"What am I feeling right now?" he whispered, leaning in with his intense yellow eyes.

She rubbed her thumb along his cheekbone. "Affection. Concern. Curiosity—always curiosity, I've never known you not to feel it." She ran her hand down his torso, entwining her fingers in the shirt over his stomach. "Here—heat, desire."

"But you can't tell what I'm thinking?"
She shook her head. "I'm not sure 'thinking' is even the right word for what goes on in that beautiful positronic net."

He raised his eyebrows. "Neither am I. Then you do not wish me to install the telepathic chip?"

"To what end?" she shrugged. "I love you as you are."

"So that I might sympathize with you," he said. "Experience this extra sense as you do. Understand you better. Perhaps I might even provide a sense of stability within our thoughts—an anchor for you to hold on to when your own mind becomes crowded."

"You already stabilize me," she said.

"But I also de-stabilize you."

She smiled, and another surge of heat pulsed through her abdomen. She wanted to wrap herself around him, to leave words to the wayside-to hell with whatever thoughts she broadcasted to the crew. But she didn't. "My mental slip with you was the first time I've had a problem with projecting thoughts, rather than receiving them. I wasn't for one moment distracted by the usual bombardment of nearby thoughts. My head was full of only you." She bit her lip, then pulled away from Data. "You've been running a secret project in the hopes of improving our relationship. It's only fair to tell you that I've done the same."

Data's eyebrows shot up. "What might you do to improve our relationship? Surely you are not considering alterations to the telepathic center of your brain. I spoke with Counselor Troi on the subject, and she said—"

Fira leaned forward and pecked a kiss on Data's lips to silence him, then said, "No. I was more concerned with…with the inequality of our lifespans."

She felt the palpable wave of surprise from him this time, searing against her ribcage like a minor electric shock. "I had considered that as well," he said, "but it hardly seemed to take precedence over more immediate concerns."

"I don't think we have the leisure of thinking in terms of 'immediate' or 'long-term' concerns," she said. A knot formed in her stomach as she said, "All immediate concerns will affect the long-term, and vice versa. I have no intention of letting short-sightedness inhibit the success or our relationship."

"Then what have you been working on?" he said. "Studies on improving the longevity of natural lifespans have been taken up amongst many species, but I have never heard of one succeeding without significant downfalls."

Fira moved to the computer console at the other end of her quarters. "Computer, activate Program Akané-Companion." A single holographic figure appeared next to the console. She was, pore for pore, an identical representation of Fira.

Data cocked his head. "Why did you create a holographic representation of yourself?"

"She is going to be my long-term project," Fira said, her breath coming out through constricted lungs. "Life-long, if that becomes the case."

"I don't understand."

Fira stepped in front of Data then, drawing his eyes to hers. "You don't wish to form such a close relationship with someone whom you will eventually lose."

His eyebrows creased. "Fira, I have expressed my willingness to—"

She placed a hand on his face to stop him. "I know. And I love you all the more for it. But this is my way of showing my love to you. I am going to completely recreate myself in this hologram. As I learn more about myself, so will she learn about herself. I will even program her to mimic age. She will be my living log. Everything I experience, I will download into her programming. She will, essentially, become a perfect copy of me." Fira stroked her thumb along Data's cheek. "One that can live as long as you."

Data's eyes moved from hers to the hologram's, his face a mixture of emotions that she felt rush into her mind like freezing and boiling water at once. "I am pleased that you would invest such a great deal of time and effort into doing something that only benefits me," he began, "and I am intrigued by the proposal. But I am troubled at the thought that you, or any person, might be replaced by a collection of computer code." He tilted his head and looked back at her. "Such an endeavor would require such a vast amount of coding that I do not know that one hologram could endure the programming. It would require an independent computer system; the Enterprise computer could not hold the amount of data required while still maintaining normal functions. Besides that, it would be limited to areas which contain holographic projectors; we do not yet have the capability to live amongst holograms entirely. I foresee only a twenty-one percent possibility that, even with the required equipment, this hologram could function as you propose."

"I know," Fira said, and pain lanced through her sternum. "But if it's what it takes for us to be together…"

Data took both of her hands and clasped them against his chest. "I would stay with you past the outer rim of the universe." He leaned his forehead against the top of her head. "Your thought and care in this matter is of the utmost significance to me, and I will not take it lightly. Allow me time to consider it more fully?"

Fira slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. "Of course." She closed her eyes. "You put as much thought into the development of that telepathic chip, and I quickly disregarded it. I shall continue to contemplate that as well."

He glanced once more at the hologram, then looked back to the real Fira. "Computer, deactivate Program Akané-Companion." With a quiet hiss, the hologram disappeared.

They stood in quiet contemplation for several moments more, foreheads pressed together as a world of unspoken thought passed between them.

"Marriage is a custom practiced almost universally amongst humanoid species."

Fira pulled back so she could look into Data's face. "What?"

Data's mouth quirked up at the corner. "Your expression is most amusing. You did not expect me to discuss the topic?"

"I suppose not," she said, then her own mouth quirked up at the corner. "It wasn't on the schedule."

He barked out a laugh—too harsh and artificial for the situation, but all the more endearing to Fira because of it. "For someone who was raised on Vulcan, you are not very good at keeping to schedules," he said.

"No, I suppose I'm not," she said. "I think I become more Betazoid every day that I'm with you."

"We have already gone well past the content of Date 35," he said. "Perhaps I underestimated the effect of emotional eagerness on both our parts. It is apparent to me that we are both dedicated to pursuing this relationship for the long term. Do you agree with that assumption?"

"I do."

"Then you agree that a public and legal representation of that dedication would be an appropriate step in the continuation of that relationship?"

Fira bit her lip, frothy bubbles welling up in her torso as she restrained a smile. "Are you asking me to marry you?"
Data opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. "Is my timing inappropriate? I have not yet discussed the matter with my peers as I had intended to. I merely sought to learn if you were amiable to the idea." He frowned. "I have several plans for a proposal in mind, but I hadn't intended to enact any of them until after Date 42—"

"Data," Fira said, smiling in earnest as she put a hand on his chest. "You're nervous. Really nervous. There's no need."

"Then you are amiable to the notion of marriage?"
"I am."

Data opened and closed his mouth once more. "If you are amiable, is there any reason I should not propose?"

She could barely breathe. "I suppose not."

"Would you prefer a human, Vulcan, or Betazoid proposal?"
"A Data proposal would be suitable," she said, and he raised his eyebrows.

He got down on one knee, taking both her hands in his. He leaned forward and whispered, as if he was speaking an aside on stage, "This is a traditionally human posture for proposals, and I thought it appropriate because it is a symbol of respect and adoration." Then, in a louder voice, he said, "Fira Akané. You are uniquely qualified to be my mate and partner in all regards. You stimulate me intellectually, emotionally, and physically. You are perfect, especially in your imperfections. I have never felt more human than when I am with you. I do not wish to cease in our romantic relationship. Will you pursue a life-long relationship with me?"

Fira bent down and kissed Data, long and hard. She pulled away and whispered, "Your proposal is graciously accepted." She kissed him again, and Data stood even as he kept his mouth pressed to hers.

Then Fira broke the kiss with a barking laugh.

"What is so humorous?" Data asked.

"Sorry," she said, covering her mouth. "I was just imagining us having a Betazoid wedding."

"Ah," he said, and then he smiled. "We would both be naked."

"It would be pleasant enough for me," she said, "But I don't think I'd like to see Picard's expression."

Data's face broadened in a comical smile, and he released another blast of artificial laughter. Fira joined in, letting down every barrier that told her joy was not something she could experience. It flooded her with warmth, and not for one moment did she get distracted by the thoughts of the crew.

"I was unable to express the full extent of my research before, since my mouth was otherwise engaged," Data said, then looked askance with a small smile. "There may be ways to prevent your telepathy from reaching others, but they are largely untested and would require considerable resources. These resources might not have been granted to a single individual. However, I have already drafted a proposal for the Captain's approval. Upon the occasion of our nuptials, we will be granted shared quarters. I have several ideas for modifying these quarters, including enhanced bulkheads and force fields used by the Chirr to inhibit telepathic abilities. Since the modifications would serve the interests of two crewmembers, they might be looked upon more favorably by the Captain. I am certain we could enlist the Counselor's assistance to see that these modifications are approved."

"So there are ways for us to…engage in physical activity without my telepathic abilities reaching the crew."

"It is quite likely," Data said. "But they might be unavailable to us if there was no guarantee that they would be used for a long-term investment."

"You knew I was going to say yes to your proposal."

"It would be illogical not to," he countered, then grinned widely at his own joke.

"I love you," she whispered. "Imzadi."

Data kissed her, then whispered against her lips, "And I you…imzadi."