There were adjustments that had to be made initially, that came as no surprise. For one thing, augmentation was illegal in the universe Data was accustomed to. Being revealed as an augment could rob one of well-deserved honors and citations. Here augments were run of the mill. If someone wasn't a Heavy Gravity Worlder (meaning that they were sturdy and dense and could navigate easily in two Gs, and their metabolism was incredible to feed that stocky bulk), then they had their reflexes enhanced, the ability to breathe water, or were tweaked clones. Cybernetic enhancements for more than just keeping the body maintained were common, such as for strength or for data navigation. And there were androids. There were still prejudices against AIs, and they couldn't efficiently navigate slipstream without the intuition of an organic, but there were many of them. Androids, and androids with brains that could link to ships with massive cosmic intellect, and all of them could feel.

It was nice to just... blend in, Data found. He was still unique, his positronic system still wonderfully compatible with other systems and strange in the way that it evolved and altered. His appearance still not modeled to look like that of a human precisely, but markedly different in that he had gold skin. And while they didn't have warp drive (yet another little tidbit that he was sure they could "develop" for interstellar rather than intergalactic ships) he had Avon to help navigate slipstream.

When they found a ship that was, of course.

Tarn-Vedra, or Seefra 1 as it was called by most locals even though the other Seefra planets had long since been destroyed by the impending sun, was still grappling its way out of a terrible state of affairs. Drought, acid-rain, 300 years of technological fear and agricultural strife. People fighting to hold whatever land they could, though the reintroduction of the Systems Commonwealth and the deciphering of Vedran technology had greatly improved the state of the planet. Her native sun had returned and weather regulators were going into effect. What was once dust was now beginning to flourish, water no longer a rarity worthy of fighting battles over, and science and progress once again had a foothold on the planet that had been unceremoniously jammed into the nether-regions of space.

It really had been the best planet for a few determined survivors to begin a new life. Dayna, of course, absolutely loved it and found a place to settle and conduct her own research. Avon he wasn't sure about. Data enjoyed being settled, and actually owning a piece of land. He'd never even been offered his father's properties after they were defined as Noonien's, and even if he'd been given rights by Starfleet they held all of the Soong research, even from generations past, whatever they could find, as their own. Down to his laboratories. Here he had his own lab, his own house, his own spouse, his own cat which was far too smart for his own good and remained constantly barricaded inside for fear of someone stealing it. There was still that little something missing; a ship so that he could travel, as he couldn't abide by staying in one place for too long, and a functional offspring.

Here, artificial intelligence was more reliable. There was a better chance of him creating another Soong-Type android and having someone there to assist in correcting the mistakes. The first step in both getting a ship and that offspring was contacting the Perseids.

Which was how Data ended up with some gray skinned figures roaming around their quaint little cybernetics and engineering laboratory.

"So you say you have the capacity to complete our Tesseract machine? Enough so that structural integrity for organics will no longer be placed at significant risk?"

"Yes. I've known of them as teleporters or transporters, but I would be glad to help."

"For this sort of technological development, a ship seems a meager price to pay, we'll gladly supply you with one," Dr. Roen said. It was a bit unusual, seeing the pharoah-like chin protrusion in accompaniment with a distinctly feminine figure. Though he didn't know whether she would be offended by him likening her to Hapshetsut from Earth's own history... But then again, she was a Perseid. At his worst, he was less socially inept and inadvertently insulting with his observations.

"I am hoping that in exchange for the ship we may also develop agreeable terms for future research interaction."

"Is your skin supposed to be that color," he companion interrupted, another Perseid, though this time male. "Or was it do to insufficient supplies and erroneous design."

"It is supposed to be that particular hue." Data agreed, smiling at the other scientist in his best cordial look, which looked decidedly forced. "I will have to discuss with my husband."

"We would also consider making the exchange for your cat!" Roen recommended anxiously. "With the destruction of Earth even researching extinct creatures is almost an impossibility. Did you genetically engineer her?"

"Yes, I did," he lied. The lie was easier to accept than the truth. "And I am afraid I am extremely attached. The results are unstable, and she's extremely unique."

The Perseid was still smiling even through her very apparent disappointment. "Ah, I see."

Data was thankful she let it drop. "I am certain my husband would also like some equipment to assist in his own research, which I have no doubt would be reasonable to accommodate." He looked over his shoulder, seeking out said husband in hopes he would arrive before the strange scientists sputtered out an even more unusual and accidentally abrasive observation.