Data's Journey

Data and Neara had been together for four blissful months. Neara had known from the start that Data was her bonding ka’sha. She had sent her psi wave (as Data called it) across the universe in search of him. Well, she had not known it was him, but someone or ones with whom she would have that connection. After recovering, to a point, from her psi injury something in her felt compelled to find him.

She could have chosen not to – she knew what this decision meant. But it felt almost outside of her control. Now she could not imagine her life without him. She also knew she did not desire additional mates. This was good, because it would not be fair to them as Data and her connection was too close to include them equally.

Since they were bonding ka’sha, she wanted to have the Ahmrian bonding ceremony. It was a special ritual that was rarely performed. But she knew Data was attached to human customs – probably because not only was he humanoid, he also was found by humans, he lived and worked with many humans and, most importantly, his father was human. He always aspired to become more human, so he would definitely want to have a human wedding. Certainly they could do both ceremonies.

But was it not the human custom that one asked the other to wed? Yes, she had seen this in their movies. She would ask Data if he wished to wed her. But how should she do this? She wanted family and friends there, since it marked a special event for Data. Another step towards him becoming more human. Her family could watch on screen. She would invite friends to join them in the observation lounge where she would ask him. When she invited them, she would ask them to keep it a surprise and ask them if there was anything special she needed for this event. She wanted to do it soon, so she would schedule it five days from now.

The days passed quickly and the proposal date had arrived. All of their friends had gathered in the observation lounge, her family watching on a screen at the front of the room. It was suggested Neara supply champagne for a toast to the couple and some finger food, and she had done so. Neara told Data there was a special event she wanted them to attend, and they walked in, hand-in-hand, to the awaiting guests.

Data was surprised to see Neara’s family on the screen. Neara waved at them and they waved back. She smiled and nodded at the others in the room. Data looked around and saw all of the faces staring at Neara and him.

“I assume you now realize this special event is for us,” Neara smiled.

“Yes, it appears so,” Data observed.

She turned to him and held both his hands, “I wanted to ask you a very important question.” She paused, and then dove in, “Data, will you wed me?”

“You mean, will I marry you?” Data clarified.

“Aww fatat,” she swore in Ahmrian and stomped her foot, “I get it wrong! Yes, will you marry me please Data?”

“Yes, I will marry you,” he accepted with a smile and everyone cheered. Neara’s family were singing a celebratory chant that ended with zaza!, which was the Ahmrian word for hurrah, while Neara and Data kissed. Everyone then lifted their glasses and toasted the couple.

Shortly after, with joyful wishes and an Ahmrian wave, Neara’s family signed off. It was late in Ahmria and they did not speak much English. They had only wanted to be present for this important event in Data’s life. The rest of the guests were chatting amicably when Picard asked, “I realize you’ve just become engaged, but do you have any idea where you’d like to be married?”

“We had not previously discussed it,” answered Data. “I did not even realize Neara would want to marry. It is not done on Ahmria. But I assume Neara would want the ceremony there.”

“Oh, I have spent most of my life there,” Neara waved the idea off. “I would like adventure – somewhere different. Perhaps Earth? I have never been there. It would be exciting for me and my family.”

“Ah, a destination wedding,” Riker mused.

“Where would you go on Earth?” Crusher asked. “There are lots of lovely places to choose from.”

Neara looked to Data for suggestions, and he was formulating some answers when Picard spoke up, “Perhaps I can make your decision easier. I would like to extend my familial home, Chateau Picard, as the destination for your wedding. It would be an honor if I could provide it as my wedding present to you.” Picard’s brother had recently passed, their father’s will stipulating that the chateau would then revert to Jean-Luc. His sister in-law and nephew had graciously remained at the chateau to run the vineyard. They made regular visits to their extended family, so he was certain they wouldn’t mind leaving for a week if he asked them.

Data and Neara looked at each other, Neara with a big smile on her face. “Do you like?” she asked.

“Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea,” agreed Data.

“Then yes,” Neara happily answered Picard, “we gratefully accept your present.”

“In five months, we’ll have our scheduled maintenance at Earth. Do you think you’ll want to do it then?” Geordi asked.

“Yes, it is perfect!” Neara exclaimed and turned to Data. “See, this is meant to be. Things are working out already,” she said with a gleeful smile. Data smiled back – another milestone in his journey to becoming more human.

Neara and Data were back in their quarters together and had just made love. As they were holding each other, Neara discussed potential plans for their Earth ceremony.

“I would like to have the Ahmrian bonding ceremony. But I assume you would like to have a human wedding ceremony. So I thought we could have both,” Neara suggested. “We could have the Ahmrian ceremony the first day and the human ceremony the second day. Would that be acceptable to you, La’Ma?”

Data was not particular about what they did, but he had always envisioned a human wedding ceremony if he were to marry. He was also curious about the Ahmrian bonding ceremony. Having both would be a most unique experience. “I would appreciate having both ceremonies. I think that is a very good idea Neara.”

“Wonderful. Now that is settled, do you have any thoughts on a familial name?” she asked.

“Seeing as I do not have a last name, would you like me to take Ahta?” Data questioned.

“There are many Ahtas,” Neara reflected. “When children are named on Ahmria, they take the familial name of the parent whose name is least represented in the population. The next child would get the next least represented name and so on, depending on how many parents there were and how many children were had. That way, the familial names always stay in the ma’ta, the record.

“You are unique in Ahmria, and I think you should be represented in the ma’ta. I realize in human custom, when it is a woman and man pairing, many wives take the familial name of their husband. As you know, Ahmriana do not change their names. But I believe in this instance, I should follow the human custom and we should have a new name that represents us as a family. I was thinking we could use your father’s last name, Soong.”

“That seems logical,” Data agreed.

“But it would not work as an Ahmrian name, because its vibration is not open and giving – it does not end in ah. So I suggest we be Na Soonga. That way, it will be a combination of the two of us. A true representation of our new family in the ma’ta,” Neara proposed.

“I think that sounds fitting. I quite enjoy our new name,” Data concurred.

“Data and Neara Na Soonga. I like it!” Neara said with a smile and joyfully kissed Data.