"Soong Family Values"
by Christina Teresa
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Introduction "Soong Family Values" is a romance featuring Lt. Commander Data's parent's, Noonien and Juliana Soong. It takes place shortly after the episode "Inheritance" in which it is revealed that Juliana Soong, now Tainer, is an android. "Soong Family Values" is just for fun and is not intended to infringe upon any copyrights owned by Paramount Television. Original story © Christina Teresa, 2001. This story first appeared on The Alt Star Trek Creative Newsgroup. Comments are encouraged and appreciated: csteresa@yahoo.com * "Juliana, I have bad news." Dr. Juliana Tainer looked up from her computer terminal with concern on her face. "What is it, Pran?" "I have to attend an emergency meeting of the city council tomorrow evening," her husband said, "It seems there's some argument about who the new aqueduct is going to be named after, so I won't be able to go to the opera with you." Juliana smiled. "I knew you disliked Atrean opera, but I had no idea you hated it that much." "Despite what you may think, I didn't plan this," he said, "I'd much rather spend an evening with you than the council, even if it is spent listening to the discordant shrieks and howls you call music." Just then, they heard a buzz at the door. "Were you expecting anyone?" Pran asked. She shook her head. "I'll get it." She went to the door and pressed the control button. When it slid open, Juliana let out a little scream and clutched her heart. "Oh...my...God!" Pran rushed to his wife's side. "Who is- oh...my...God!" Dr. Noonien Soong, looking like a man of thirty-five, smiled. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" * "Noonien, what have you done to yourself?" Juliana was sitting in her living room across from her ex-husband with her present husband pacing the floor behind her. "Isn't it obvious? I perfected my synaptic scanning technique and transferred my memories into a positronic matrix." He smiled. "I had alot of time on my hands in the jungle. It was either this or gardening." "I remember you talked about the possibility of a complete memory transfer in theory, but you weren't sure if it would work," she said, still looking flustered, "I'm just so shocked to see you considering Data told me you were dead." It was Noonien's turn to look surprised. "You saw Data?" "Yes, the Enterprise was here a few months ago," she replied, "he told me he met you in the Terlina System." "Did he?" Noonien asked nervously, "what else did he say?" Juliana raised an eyebrow. "What else happened?" "Oh, nothing important," he said, then quickly changed the subject, "so, what do you think?" "I'm not sure what to think, except that you look awfully young," she said, trying to sound disapproving while trying to avoid Noonien's playful blue eyes. "Did you expect me to make myself look ninety?" He ran his fingers through his unruly hair. "I put a little gray around the temples to add an air of maturity." Pran ceased his pacing and scowled. "Maturity? You don't know the meaning of the word. Experimenting on oneself is considered very bad science, Dr. Soong." "Perhaps, Dr. Tainer, but I've always been a bit of a maverick." "A bit of a lunatic, you mean." "Pran!" Juliana snapped. "One man's insanity is another man's brilliance," Noonien countered. "Stop it, both of you," she ordered. "I'm sorry, Juliana. I didn't come here to cause a problem between you and your husband." Noonien stood up to go. "I would like to get together with you before I leave Atrea, just to talk," he glared at Pran, "if your husband approves." He gave her a slip of paper with his address on it and left. * Noonien stood in front of Juliana's house for a few moments after the door had closed. That's the best she could do? The guy looks like a Ferengi! He reached into his pocket and took out a small box. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. * "Juliana, you're not really going to see him, are you?" She couldn't help but smile. "Pran, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous." "Me, jealous of a machine?" He snorted. "Please don't delude yourself into thinking of it as your ex-husband. It is merely an android programmed to think it is Noonien Soong. It is not the real thing." Juliana was greatly disturbed by that remark. Technically, Pran was right. She had been so shocked by Noonien's sudden appearance that she hadn't really thought about it. 'It' really wasn't the real thing. Her ex-husband was dead. "Nevertheless, I feel it's important for us to talk." Pran sighed. "If you feel you must, you have my permission to see him." "I wasn't asking for your permission," she said, irritated, "I was merely informing you of my plans out of courtesy." * Juliana met Noonien at a little cafe in the bohemian part of Atrea's capitol city. The cafe had plants hanging all over it, making it look more like a greenhouse than a restaurant. It reminded Juliana of the restaurant on Mavala IV she and Noonien went to right after their wedding. She was certain that was why he chose this as a meeting place. She was both annoyed and amused. "Brings back alot of memories, doesn't it?" he said. Juliana sat with her arms and legs crossed, her drink untouched. "Noonien, I didn't come here to reminisce. I came here to ask you to please stay out of my life. My husband and I were less than thrilled at your unexpected return from the dead." He smiled. "I do know how to make an entrance, don't I?" She glowered at him silently. "I'm sorry if I caused a problem between you and your husband, really. I just had to see you. I wanted to make sure you were happy and healthy." "Well, you've seen me. Now please, do as I ask and leave Atrea." "I can see you're healthy, but you're not happy, not really happy." She sighed. "Believe it or not, there is life after Noonien Soong. I'm really happy." "I don't know how you could be," he said, "Pran seems awfully humorless." "I wouldn't say that," she replied, "Pran is reserved; a quality you would do well to emulate." "Do you love him?" "Of course, I do." Noonien took her hand and gazed into her eyes. "Do you love him more than life itself? Is he the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning and the last when you go to sleep at night?" He grinned wickedly. "Does he make you scream so loud you wake the neighbors?" Juliana blushed and giggled. "I had forgotten about that." Then she pulled her hand away, suddenly serious. "I'm not an amorous young girl anymore. I'm a mature woman with different priorities. I want security and stability as well as companionship. Pran gives me all that. All you ever gave me was chaos and after a while, not even that." "I know I wasn't the perfect husband," he said, "but I've changed too, Juliana, you have to believe that." She laughed. "How can you sit there in your present state and tell me you've changed?" "Because I realized that you were and are the most important thing in my life. I didn't do this for myself, I did it for you." He paused. "I love you and I want you back." Juliana's grip tightened around her drink. She was tempted to throw it in his face, but she broke out in contemptuous laughter instead. "I will not even grace that with a response." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Before I leave, there is one other thing I wanted to discuss with you. I don't know what happened between you and Data; I don't think I want to know, but I do think you should go see him. I'm sure our son would like to know that you're still alive." "Our son?" He smiled. "I was planning on it. In fact, I was hoping you'd come with me. I guess that's out of the question." "I think that's a safe assumption." She got up to leave. "Good-bye Noonien." He put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Juliana, I don't want us to part in anger, again. I was wondering if you would like to go to the opera at the civic center tomorrow night. I know how much you love music. Just two friends spending the evening together." She shook her head and laughed. "I doubt Pran would see it that way, besides I'm already going with him," she lied. "We'll make it a threesome. It'll be fun." "Don't even think about it," she warned. "Please, Noonien, if you really love me as you say you do, leave me alone. Don't spoil what I've built for myself here." Juliana rushed out of the restaurant and took the public transport home. It took all of her self control not to scream in anger and frustration. Damn him! Why couldn't he have said these things to me thirty years ago? * Juliana went to the concert alone the next night, but immediately thought she should have stayed home. She felt so uncomfortable sitting by herself, desperately trying not to search the crowd for him. He probably won't show up. After all, I was positively hateful to him last night. Noonien had a way of bringing out the worst in her. "Juliana?" It was her husband's voice. "Pran, what are you-," she let out an exasperated sigh, "Noonien, that is so juvenile." "Made you look," he said, smiling, "I saw you come in alone. Where's your husband?" "He was called away unexpectedly." "I guess he won't mind if I take his seat." He sat down next to her. She glared at him. "Noonien, I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again." "Did you?" he asked innocently, "I forgot to mention that I have this subroutine running that automatically deletes anything that might adversely affect my neural net." "This is all a big joke to you, isn't it?" "On the contrary, Juliana, I'm here because I couldn't stand leaving Atrea with you angry at me. I want us to part as friends this time. Surely we can sit here and enjoy the music together. I promise to behave myself." "People know me here," she protested weakly, "what if someone sees us together?" "Juliana, you're not doing anything wrong by being here with me. If anyone asks, you could always tell them I'm your cousin," he slipped into a broad Irish brogue, "Paddy O'Donnell visitin' from the Old Sod." She laughed in spite of herself. "Pran's right, you are insane." * Juliana lost all track of the opera's plot a quarter of the way through. She found it impossible to concentrate with Noonien sitting next to her. Her heart was pounding, her palms were sweating... Why am I so nervous? We aren't doing anything wrong. We're just two friends at the opera. She stole a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. He certainly didn't seem distracted. She still wasn't quite used to seeing him look so young. When they had first met, he had been almost fifty. She always thought he was handsome, but now...oh dear. Juliana had to remind herself again that she was looking at an android replica of Noonien. She glanced at him again, but at his clothes this time. She had to bite her lip so as not to laugh. He never did know how to dress. When they were married, she had tried to get him to wear something a little more fashionable, but he insisted on wearing the same type of horrendous ensemble. The billowy white shirt and quilted vest were old-fashioned, but passable; but those pants and those ridiculous sandals. Oh well. Juliana did what she had always done. She pretended he was wearing something else. He turned and smiled at her. She looked away, embarrassed. I should have stayed home and read a book. * "I'll walk you home," Noonien offered after the opera. "No," she said, "I think I'd better take the public transport." "Please, oh please?" he begged. Juliana rolled her eyes. "All right, you can walk me home." Pran's meeting wouldn't be over for a while, so there wouldn't be any awkward questions to answer. While they walked, Noonien caught Juliana glancing at him several times. "What are you looking at?" She blushed. "I can't help thinking that you did this to yourself solely to make me feel old." "You're not old. You look beautiful." He smiled. "If you weren't a married woman..." "But I am a married woman," she said firmly. They spotted the Atrean equivalent of an ice cream parlor a few blocks away from Juliana's home. "Let's go in," he said, "I know you want to." She shook her head. "No, I can't afford the calories or being seen with you. I might be able to explain to Pran about the opera if I have to, but..." "I have an idea." Noonien took her by the hand and led her across the street to a little park. It was deserted. He found a grassy spot and told her to wait there for him. "Where are you going?" "To get ice cream. I'll be back in a minute." He rushed off before she could protest further. Juliana sat down on the ground and laughed. This is ridiculous. I'm a married woman of sixty-seven waiting in a deserted park for my ex-husband-no, an android to bring me ice cream. I shouldn't be here. A few minutes later Noonien returned with a cup of ice cream. "I'm not sure what kind it is, but at least it looks like vanilla. That is still your favorite, isn't it?" "You remembered." He sat down next to her. She held out her hand for it, but he pulled it out of her reach. "I'll feed you," he said. She sighed. "I'm more than capable of feeding myself." "I'm practicing for when you're old and senile and I come to visit you at the Home for Aged Scientists." He scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and brought it to her lips. She ate it reluctantly. It was either that or have it drip down the front of her dress. "You're trying to seduce me." "Maybe." He smiled mischievously. "Is it working?" "No, it is not. In fact, I find it rather silly for a man your age to be acting like a lovesick teenager." "Then why are you still here?" Juliana parted her lips and started to answer, but nothing came out. Good question. Noonien put down the ice cream and took advantage of her hesitation. He slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her. Instead of pushing him away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. After a moment, he withdrew slightly, but kept his arms around her. "God, I missed you." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I missed you, too." "Juliana," he whispered, "let me make love to you." Suddenly, Juliana's romantic fog cleared. What am I doing? She pushed him away violently and jumped to her feet. "How dare you do this to me? How dare you waltz back into my life after thirty years and expect me to throw away everything for you? You haven't changed. You're the same selfish little boy you've always been!" "Juliana, I-" "When I left you on Terlina III, I hoped and prayed for five years that you would come after me; that you would prove I was more important to you than your work, but you never did!" "There's a very good reason for that." "And what, pray tell, is it?" He hesitated. "I don't think this is the time or place to discuss it." "That's a pity because you won't have another chance. I don't ever want to see you again. I don't love you anymore, Noonien." Juliana laughed. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You're just a machine! My ex-husband is dead!" "Are you saying that to convince me or yourself?" "Oh please," she snorted and started to march off, but turned to deliver her parting shot. "It looks like you've blown it again, Often Wrong." * Noonien sat on the damp grass and watched the only woman he had ever loved storm out of his life. Again. Often Wrong. I can't believe she called me that. Juliana knew how sensitive he was about that unkind nickname and had never used it before, even in a fit of anger. She's scared, but she'll be back.He pulled out the box with the microchip inside of it; the microchip that would reverse Juliana's aging program. I wonder what she'll call me when I tell her she's an android. * When Juliana arrived home, Pran was not there. She quickly changed and went to bed. Her husband arrived shortly afterward. Juliana pretended to be sound asleep when he tried to rouse her. When she finally did drift off two hours later, her thoughts were of Noonien Soong. * "How was the opera?" Juliana was sitting at the breakfast table daydreaming over a cup of tea. She jumped at her husband's question. "Fine. Rather dull, actually. How was the meeting?" "Surprisingly productive," said Pran, "There's to be a reception next week to dedicate the aqueduct." "How nice." Juliana was barely listening to her husband. She was busy reliving the events of last night, especially the kiss. Just the thought of her in Noonien's arms awakened powerful feelings. It was amazing how easily he could distract her after thirty years. She reminded herself that he was just a machine, but that was becoming increasingly difficult to believe. "Juliana, is there something wrong?" She smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm just feeling a bit tired." Juliana felt a pang of guilt. Even though she never felt the same passion for Pran as she had for Noonien, her husband was a decent man. He didn't deserve unfaithfulness even if it was all in her mind. Over the next week, Juliana tried her best to put Noonien out of her mind, but the harder she tried the less successful she was. She tried to bury herself in her work, but she found geological surveys inadequate ammunition against the onslaught of obsessive thoughts. * "Why aren't you dressed?" asked Pran, "We're due at the reception in less than an hour." Juliana was sitting in the living room, staring off into space. "Juliana, you need to get dressed." "I'm not going," she said quietly, "I'm not feeling very well." "You haven't been yourself for days now." Pran sat next to her and took her hand. "Do you want me to call the doctor?" "No," she said, "I want you to go to the reception without me. I'll be fine. I just need to rest." Juliana thought she saw a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, but then he smiled and nodded. "If you're certain you'll be all right." "Really, I'll be fine." The moment Pran left for the reception, Juliana headed for Noonien's flat. She was racked with guilt over her adulterous actions, but her desire to see him again was even more overwhelming. * When Noonien opened the door, he glared at her coldly. "Are you here to verbally abuse me again?" She shook her head. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" He moved aside and motioned for her to enter his one-room flat. Juliana sat down on an ugly, but functional chair. She began to wring her hands and look around the room in apprehension. Noonien stood in front of her, arms folded across his chest. "So, why are you here?" "I'm not really sure." She sighed. "All I know is that I haven't thought about anything else but you this past week." His stern expression melted into a smile. He knelt down and looked into her eyes. "Now you know how I've felt for the past thirty years. Not one day went by that I didn't think about you." Juliana took his face in her hands and kissed him passionately. When she withdrew, she looked into his eyes anxiously. "Make love to me now before I change my mind." Noonien looked surprised by her sudden request and took a few seconds to respond. He stroked he cheek softly. "Juliana, there's nothing else I would rather do right now, but there's something I need to tell you first." She stood up, pulled him to his feet and tried to drag him toward the bed. "Whatever it is, it can wait." He didn't budge. "I'm afraid it can't." He took her by the hand and led her to the couch. He sighed heavily. "I don't know how to tell you this." "Tell me what?" He hesitated. "Do you remember when we escaped from Omicron Theta and you were injured?" "Of course." Noonien took a deep breath. "You didn't survive that injury." Juliana was completely bewildered. "What are you talking about?" He looked down at his feet then turned back to her. "Before you...died, I constructed an android body and used the synaptic scanning technique to transfer your memories into a positronic matrix." Juliana covered her mouth with her hands as the reality of his words hit her. "Before you say anything," he said quickly, "I want you to know I did because I loved you. It was the only way I knew how to save your life. I know now I should have told you the truth immediately, but I--" "You're lying to me!" she screamed, "I'm human!" He shook his head sadly. Juliana rushed to the full-length mirror on the closet door. She frantically studied herself for some sign of artificiality. "I couldn't be..." She looked at her wrinkled hands and touched her silver hair. "I've aged over the years. I've had medical scans. I feel human!" "You have a feedback processor that gives off a false bio-signal. I constructed you to be human in every way. I even installed an aging program." Noonien went over to her and took the small box out of his pocket. "I created a chip for you to reverse the aging- if you want it." She turned on him with a sickened expression on her face. "You had no right!" "I had no right to save your life?" he said calmly, "I will not apologize for that. I did it because I loved you." "But you didn't love me enough to tell me the truth before now," she said angrily. "I wanted you to be happy," Noonien said. "Then why didn't you just leave me alone?" She started to cry and ran out the door. * Juliana wandered around the Atrean capitol city in a state of shock. She had lived on Atrea for the past twenty-five years, but the familiar sites seemed unreal. She seemed unreal. What am I? When she arrived home several hours later, Pran was there waiting for her. "Where have you been?" he demanded. "I went for a walk." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You were with Soong, weren't you?" Juliana was too dazed to confirm or deny it, so she remained silent. "At the reception tonight, Grainne Kundrie told me she saw you at the opera with a young, human man." He paused, visibly seething with anger. "How could you do this to me? You made me look like a fool!" Juliana imagined she could feel her positronic brain analyzing Pran's words. My husband is accusing me of adultery. After he's heard what I have to tell him he'll wish that's all it was. "I'm terribly sorry I ruined your evening, but for the record, my 'affair' with Noonien consisted of exactly two kisses." Pran considered it for a moment. "If that's the case, I'll forgive you for your mild infidelity if you swear you'll never see him again." Juliana managed to laugh lightly at the absurd situation. "That's very kind of you, but you may not want to commit yourself until you've heard what I have to tell you." * Pran stared at Juliana blankly. "You're an android?" he said for the third time. "I'm afraid so," she said casually. Her marriage was quickly falling apart, but Juliana was almost past caring. She knew she would care later, but right now she felt numb. He shook his head. "No, you couldn't be. I would have known. I would have never-" "Married a machine," she said, finishing his thought for him, "don't feel too bad, I didn't know either." How could I not have known? "This doesn't have to change anything between us. No one else need ever know." Juliana reached out for him, but he recoiled from her. "I'll know." Pran turned away from her. "I'm sorry, Juliana." * With nowhere else to go, Juliana went back to Noonien with suitcase in hand. When he opened the door, she was torn between the desire to throw herself in his arms or to drop kick his head across the room. Just the thought that the latter was physically possible made her feel infinitely better. He moved to take her suitcase, but she pulled away. "Don't touch me!" She pushed her way past him into the flat. "I take it you told Pran." "You're powers of deduction are truly astonishing." Juliana threw her suitcase down and spun on him. "Pran apologized, but said he couldn't possibly remain married to a machine." "I'm so sorry, Juliana." She laughed. "You're not sorry. This is exactly what you wanted, so please spare me the crocodile tears for my destroyed marriage." "I meant that I didn't mean to hurt you." She ignored him. "Speaking of destroyed marriages, I'm curious about something. I always thought you let me leave you on Terlina III because you loved your work more than me. Now that I find I was your work, did you let me leave because I wasn't the real Juliana, just a reasonable facsimile?" Noonien looked horrified. "No, that had nothing to do with you. As for you being the real Juliana; when I look into your eyes now, I see the same, beautiful soul of the woman I first fell in love with and married." She wanted to believe him, but couldn't help thinking that they were both deluding themselves. "Then why did you let me go?" "Because I felt guilty," he replied, "I felt responsible for what happened to you and the rest of the colony. I just wanted to hide and I wanted you to hide with me. When you decided to leave me, I couldn't tell you the truth. I didn't want you to think I was trying to force you to stay." Juliana felt her anger fade. "I've spent the last several hours trying to hate you for what you did to me, but for me to say that I wish you had let me die thirty years ago would be a lie." She sat down on the bed. "I suppose you'd better install that chip. I refuse to travel around the galaxy with you having people think that I'm a cradle robber, or worse, that I'm your mother." He sat down next to her with a cow-eyed expression on his face. "Does this mean you forgive me?" Juliana smiled, but it was a dangerous smile. "Oh no. I'll probably forgive you someday. In the meantime, I will make your life a living hell." Noonien grinned sheepishly. "I guess a roll in the hay is out." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'll think about it." ~Finis~ |