This was painful but beautiful to read. Excellent job. I thought it was very well done and quite in character.

Since reading through this whole piece (and, admittedly, having my typical reader's melt-down over how wonderful it is) I've been reading other reviews and feel I lacked a whole lot of eloquence in expressing myself.
I've now read this several times through - and actually had to watch First Contact again (I'm not sure I'll ever be able to watch that movie quite the same way again) -
The big thought that keeps thumping around inside my head is this: this piece really embodies the subconscious horror I felt watching First Contract for the first time. You brought forward an issue - Data's violation and rape - I didn't even realize I'd been wrestling with and gave it some breathing room. I don't like that those scenes are referred to as a "romance" by the writers and even Spiner himself. That term just never felt... right.

The other thought I keep coming up against: I wish to God this could have been *in* the movie! I wholeheartedly believe this is spot-on enough that it should have been in there, and it pains me to no end that we will never see this portrayed on screen by the actors themselves...

And, I kept using the word, "magnificent" in my review dump during my initial read-through, but that's because that's what this is, magnificent. The wording and detail is exceptionally eloquent, perfectly poignant, and beautifully in character (despite grammatical issues others may have griped about). From Troi's ringlets, to the descriptions of Data's "long nose" and "glowing yellow eyes" and the shattering of his of innocence, to Data's body language, to *all* of chapter two, to Data's evasiveness, to the final reveal and Data's melt-down into tears, the devil's in the details and these are beautifully written. And I think good writing should be rewarded with all the love that can be mustered!
There are so many details in this that I just absolutely love. Thank you!
KM

"A small sound escaped him, a sound between a sigh and a groan."

Simply beautiful. This story is definitely going to be one I reread over and over.

Data studying the fish tank and the implication that he takes after Picard made me smile. Nice to have a few smiles in here. :)
And then there's this: "The emotion's that roiled beneath Data's neutral surface were dark and ugly." Which is such a lovely line. Applause! Applause!

"...corrugated Klingon brow." - This is such a vivid description. Your word choice is spectacular.
"sulphurous eyes" - I just love this phrasing.
"... Data rip an alcove from the wall in one smooth motion, lift it over his head, and walk across the room without apparent effort." - Great image! Just fantastic!
I loved that brief reference to Data needing a shower at the end of working, as if to just get the smell off.
The tension of Data hiding his painting is palpable. I could feel his anxiety. The line, "He was actually trembling." just kills me...
The emotion in this chapter is magnificent.
Aww! Poor Data! The scene with Troi actually had me in tears, it is so perfectly written and poignant! If it were possible, I would *love to have seen that scene filmed...
I wish I could like this story more than once. Like, once for every chapter might be enough.
Another magnificent chapter. Really, really lovely. :)
...I hope my long reviews aren't bothersome... The final two chapters will probably get the same treatment if this keeps up. :)

"Golden eyes narrowed on either side of that long, faintly absurd nose. He looked oddly like Lore in the moment before he smoothed the expression over. He was getting steadily better at controlling his reactions over the two years he had had the emotion chip, and Troi suddenly felt an odd pang of regret…Data was losing his innocence."
-Ahhhhhh! Oh my gawd! This is so beautiful! Just, thank you!

I love this! I love the way you've handled this and the way you've written Data. I've never liked most of what they did in the films, or rather, how they handled rather good ideas in the films. And I really don't agree with what bringing in the Queen did to the Borg as a villain. But I love seeing the ramifications of those plot points being dealt with so wonderfully. Thank you, thank you, thank you! For almost pointing out that Data was violated, harmed, raped, and that there would have been really, serious consequences for him too.
I love your style and phrasing. And I commend you for writing all the characters so well thus far (realizing I'm only one chapter of four in...) - I have a spectacularly hard time reading Star Trek when characters are not quite themselves.
Wonderful work!

Very nice work so far! I'll have to "fave" this and read the rest later tonight. I love how you keep Data in character, even with the emotion chip, especially how he is still coping with it (ie, turning it off when the emotions overwhelm him).

Great start!

This is a very good story. I didn't like how the movie just casually threw that scene in there and never dealt with the aftermath of Data's rape. It reminds me of how callous our society is towards male victims, so First Contact always made me upset on behalf of the stronger sex. It was nice to read a story that focused on his healing.

In spite of the grammatical errors that riddle this piece, the characters were fairly believable, the plot moved at a good pace, and the emotional scenes were well-placed. I would have liked to see a little more of Geordi, but overall, I enjoyed this fic a great deal.

I am not sure, should I thank you or not, because now I am addicted to this particular text. That tells something about it.
Thank you. I owe you those words.

Wow, this story was amazing. I really enjoyed it :)

Oh my. This fic is just so…intense. Intense and amazing. Data was emotional and yet, he was still Data. All the pain of what happened truly hit me. I admit, I cried. But take that as a compliment, because your writing was so good that it could evoke those emotions. The friendship between Data and Captain Picard really came through, in that they have these shared experiences. All in all, really well done!

Excellent. I have always thought that Data and his emotion chip - especially with the Borg queen - had been sadly ignored. She obviously invoked some powerful feelings in him, and it would certainly take time for him to process all that had happened. Everyone was so in character in this story. Very impressive.

Excellent story! I quite enjoyed reading this :D

This is one of the few Star Trek fics I've read and I have to say it was well worth reading.