The BLTS Archive - Somnambulism by Quoth (qtheraven@geocities.com) --- Disclaimer-- None of it is mine, it's all Paramount's, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The pairing is Data/Yar (sort of). Exactly what that means will become clear in the story. This story is pretty depressing, and involves death. I do mean that, so let the reader beware! --- Haze. Grey haze, obscuring his vision. Nothing but haze. He must be dreaming. This was how his dream program often started. Or was it? Data could no longer remember. He felt as though the haze was not only in the air, but was also drifting within his head, slowing and choking his thoughts. He wandered the Enterprise in a daze, unsure of where to go. Not that it mattered. Nobody seemed to be here. Deserted. Why? Data puzzled over that. There was some significance to why there was nobody here, he was sure. He tried to recall the elusive memory, but his memory banks could not seem to access the information, shrouded in fog. How strange. And extremely inconvenient. So he drifted vaguely around the ship, visiting the empty bridge, corridors, Ten-Forward. Without the beating life of the crew aboard her, the ship was almost silent, humming its own life tune to the beat of the engines. And another beat, out of time with the ship. Startled, Data realised that he was not alone, that there was a biological life form very near him, just behind him... And she stepped around in front of him. "Hello, Data. It's been a long time," she said, smiling mischievously, eyebrows lifting slightly, toward her blonde hair. Data could only stare, stunned. Tasha was here? "Yes, it has definitely been a long time since we last... met. But I remember, I promise you," she said, her smile turning predatory for a moment. Data backed away for a moment. This dream-Tasha was not acting 'like herself', as Geordi would say. Still, it had been so long since he had seen her... "Tasha," he said tentatively. "You are looking... well." She laughed. "Of course I am, Data. This is your dream, isn't it? Naturally you want me to be looking well. So I am." "What has happened?" It was a ridiculous question to ask, of course, and his mind recognised it. Being dead, Tasha could not tell him what was happening. Then again, this *was* his dream, was it not? "Oh, you'll find out in time. But that's not what I'm here for, is it?" Smiling, she took his hand and led him into the quarters that suddenly appeared right in front of them. Her quarters, before -- "Well, don't be so shy, Data," she laughed, shedding her clothes quickly. "It isn't like we haven't done this before." "But... you said... it never happened." Tasha paused for a moment, looking almost... angry? "Ah, yes," she muttered. "I'd forgotten about that." Data was confused. How could she have forgotten? He had never been able to, it had burned into his memory circuits permanently, one of the most significant moments of his life, but not for favourable reasons. But now Tasha was speaking again. Looking him in the eye, she said clearly, "Data, I'm sorry for saying that. I didn't mean it, I was just embarrassed. If you want me to apologise, I will." "No," Data said quietly. "That is not necessary." Tasha nodded, looking a little pleased. "In that case, if you'd like to, I'd like to have sex with you..." she hesitated a moment before speaking. "Again." "As would I," Data whispered. Slowly, he lifted his hands to his shirt, removing it carefully and laying it aside. He saw her features slide into a pleased, greedy smile as she viewed his body, something which pleased him a little, despite all his programming that told him that vanity was foolishness. Stripping himself of the rest of his uniform, he saw that she, too, had removed what had remained of her clothing and was standing waiting for him. Smiling softly, he went to her. He supposed that it was not ethical for him to be dreaming this, but it had been so long, and he had been so sure, that time, that she had cared. Even if it had been merely the intoxication talking. Tilting her chin up imperiously, she wordlessly demanded a kiss. Eager to oblige her, Data did just that, starting gently, slowly. He slid one arm carefully around her, tentatively stroking her breast with his other hand. She gasped in pleasure even as she grabbed at the back of his head to pull him down further towards her. Almost instantly, Tasha took control of the kiss, forcing his lips wider open with her own, tightly grasping his hair to prevent his escape. Data let her take the lead, allowing her to plunder his mouth and claim it as hers. It did not matter if this was all a dream. At least here it was possible for someone to care. Breaking free of the kiss, she pushed him onto the bed, lying on his back, ready for her. He waited, sure he knew what she had planned, but instead she grinned at him like a cat gazing at its prey and straddled his face. Data allowed himself a small smile underneath her, where she couldn't see. Yes, he recalled, she had very much enjoyed this particular sexual activity... "Data..." Her voice was husky with desire. "Do I have to spell it out for you, or do you understand the word 'now'?" Laughing softly, Data lifted his head and extended his tongue, licking the blonde hair and what lay beneath it with ardour, holding her hips carefully with his hands. Her moans from above told him that he was doing well, and he continued with arousing strokes of his tongue as he paid particular attention to the places he knew would get the most reaction. He was right, and soon she came with a loud shriek as he slid his tongue inside her, just a fraction. He let go of her once she had finished shuddering, and she rolled of him, looking pleased and satisfied. Grinning cheekily, she noted his erection and reached over to stroke it lazily. Data moaned. Yes, this felt good... right... He gasped with pleasure as she knelt above him and began to lower herself onto his cock. He began to thrust into her as she smiled wickedly and began to move above him, eliciting more moans from him. He had missed this so much, missed the intimacy. No one after Tasha had cared... as she herself had appeared not to care afterwards. But she cared now -- she must, or she would not have returned. Would she? His thoughts were brought abruptly back to the here and now by her loud cries of pleasure, and he knew that he himself was very close. So close... Her back arched as she cried out in climax yet again, shaking until the shocks of pleasure passed. With that, his own orgasm coursed through him, and he revelled the closeness of the moment as she slid off him and plundered his mouth one last time. He had a... hunch... that his dream sequence was almost over and savoured for one last time the view of her: her expressive face; her triumphant, pleased grin; her tousled blonde hair; the sweep of her elegantly pointed ears... Pointed ears? Shocked, Data jerked his mind free of the remnants of his dream program to find himself naked, strapped tightly with duranium restraints to a chair, to find "Tasha" smirking at him as she dressed herself in the uniform of the Tal Shiar, a mockery of her human-blonde hair and face. The only part of Sela that was human. Data could only stare open mouthed in shock as in a rush his memory banks recalled what had happened. Poison in the form of nerve gas being beamed onto the Enterprise through the gap in the shields. Such a simple method of attack... and so brutally effective. Every living creature on board except him had died within seconds. Once it had become apparent that the others had all died, he had quickly triggered the self-destruct, but had not been able to prevent the shields from collapsing completely and he had been beamed from the ship seconds before the explosion. He had materialized in a cell somewhere, and all his escape attempts had proven futile. Soon he had been strapped to the chair and divested of his Starfleet uniform, despite his resistance, as the Romulans had began to interfere with the workings of his positronic net. The last thing he remembered before the haze of the dream program took him was the sound of footsteps entering the brig... "Well, Data, I told you we would meet again some day," Sela purred as she straightened her uniform. "I am glad that we finally had a chance to... personally... settle our differences after our last two meetings." She turned to the technicians that stood prepared to open his skull. Her voice lost its gloating edge for a moment, became authoritative and cold. "Take any information that could be useful to us and download it into our mainframe. Then wipe his personality module and reprogram him to service us." A crafty smile spread over her face. "Keep the sexuality routines. I may want him as my servant, come to think of it." "No..." But the denial that automatically left golden lips was pointless, and they both knew it. Synthskin was roughly torn from his head as leads were attached in place with clinical cruelty. An ominous humming filled the air, signalling not the death of a body, but of the continued existence of that body and the death of its soul. The last thing Data saw was Sela smiling at him over her shoulder as she left the brig, and the last thing he heard was her voice. "Don't worry, Data. You were every bit as good as my mother's journals said you'd be." --- The End