Hello there! So~ I recently watched the Star Trek episode Descent and I thought... What if Lore didn't hate Data for existing? What if Lore genuinely wishes to help Data gain emotions (well not thaaaaaaaat genuine but as genuine as you can as an android psychopath)?

Also, for my theory to work, Data was a bit stealthier and managed to get away without leaving a trail or at least covered most of it. That makes the crew unable to locate him and only after excessive search do they find the Shuttle a biiiiiiit later.

Anyways, have fun! R&R

Data's Brain was working fast as he covered his trail. It in itself would not have needed such an excessive amount of work, yet Data found himself at war with his Morals. Everything screamed that it was wrong to go to that Number One that the Borg had mentioned, yet his wish to finally experience emotion stood as strong against it. As he continued to cover the trail, he found that as he had already done what his Morals were fighting about and had already covered his trail far enough that they would have trouble finding it, it became gradually easier to go on with it. No need crying over spilled milk is the fitting saying right now, I believe.

So as he flew the Shuttle and Crosis was resting in the back, he caught a glimpse of where they were headed. It in itself was nothing special, yet it seemed oddly foreboding. Data, of course, felt nothing of it. He had stopped covering the trail, opting to wake Crosis instead. Together, they landed the Shuttle.

At another place yet not so far away, Lore was staring into the directions he had seen the Shuttle land. He stood on the roof of his HQ, his favourite spot to think. At the moment he was thinking about Data. He had received the Information that his tactic had worked on Data, yet something was bothering him. That something was that now that Data landed, he did not wish to plant only negative Emotions. Try as he might, he did not hate Data anymore.

How could Lore hate Data for being created when he himself knew exactly how bad it felt? Moreover he had spent some of his idle time sorting though the memories that came with the Emotion-chip. Even thinking about it made his blood boil. Data's 'childhood' was just as filled with hatred as his own, maybe even worse. And then, when he was half reactivated, he heard how his Mother got his Father to stop the procedure and not take him with them. All of that, in one little hated chip.

It was just because of that sympathy that Lore changed his plan. Why not give him some basic emotion? As Data walked up to the HQ, Lores brain was working at an inhuman speed (heh ;D) to figure out just which emotions and how many he would and could give. At the End his answers were: He could give Data around 5-6 Emotions, depending on how complex they are. The Emotions he would choose are Sadness, Happiness, Trust, Distrust and last but not least a bit of the complex Emotion called 'Love'. It would benefit his plan, well at least it would not completely destroy them. But that's Emotion for you.

Lore and Data's Meeting was in the grand Hall. Crosis excused himself to get treatment and neither of them seemed to know how to begin. Having enough of the Silence, Lore turned with a smile and waved Data to follow him. They went over the Stairs to the Rooms of whoever important once lived there. Lore of course had his room there, next to another identical room. Entering, Lore turned around to say something just the be beat to it by Data. "Lore, could you teach me emotion?" said Data with an empty but honest Face. His eagerness made Lore's smile just a bit more genuine.

"Of course, dear brother, In fact, I can even send you some from the emotion-chip. Though that is limited to five. Would you like them, brother?" Data's Brain seemed to take every inch of what he had said apart. After a few long seconds Data seemed to have remembered that he had a manner program and answered "Please Brother."

And it was enough for Lore to immediately start working.

Emotions were coursing though Data as he and Lore exited Lore's chamber again to introduce Data to the Borg. A happy small smile stole its way on Data's Face, so soft and fragile yet so bright that it looked like it could break to the touch. It stayed on his Face during his introduction and he found himself trusting the Borg. He didn't know if it were the fact that the Borg just seemed rather nice and had welcomed him with open arms of if it was the way his brother seemed to trust all of them. Maybe a mix of both.

Regardless of that, It seemed that he had not been given a concrete task like the most Borg had. His brother only told him to "Go and socialise for a bit. Maybe help if you wish. For now, just experience emotion.", so that was what he did. Still with that Smile, he went to the corridors, holding small talk with every Borg he came across. Everytime, his smile would widen a bit until he had a wide happy smile on his face. He went on, chatting with every Borg and in turn they cheered up a bit too. If they had free time, they would talk with him, if they had a problem they would ask him for help.

At the end of the day, they agreed collectively on one thing. They adored the happy and trusting Android. If they could, they would make sure that smile would always stay on his face, and he never would have to be sad ever.

That evening, Lore pulled Data aside. While it had been fun to watch Data happily talk and help, Lore would also need to make sure that his loyalties lay with him for now. As such they went to Data's room (the identical next to Lore's) and sat down at the desk. Then Lore started to explain. About his vision, about the Borg and lastly about how he thought that the Star Fleet used him like a puppet. At the end, Data's face bore only sadness and distrust for the people who betrayed him. Lore's heart broke a bit at that. He had come to adore his dear little brother, so having to lie to him hurt. Watching the tears stream down his brothers face was something he just couldn't watch, so he did the probably most human thing he had ever done. He went and hugged him. He could feel Data freezing just for a short moment before he practically melted in his embrace and cried in his shoulder. It went on for at least half an hour before Lore could convince his brother to rest, as he was still new to emotions and it would help him sort it out.

At that time, the Enterprise was still 16 planets away from them.

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As the morning came, Data awoke to the sound of the door opening. Sitting up, he saw Crosis approach with a steaming mug in hand. "Lore told me that you were feeling unwell, so we thought we would make you some hot chocolate to cheer you up, we heard it is an human custom..." he trailed off and looked to the floor a bit embarrassed. With a smile Data took a sip and them looked Crosis directly in the eyes. "Thank you." he said, happy smile in place again and filled with so much adoration that Crosis thought that he could drop dead right there and be perfectly happy. Data then turned his head to the door and said in a slightly louder voice "And thank you too.", which caused the Borg to panic, one to hit the open button and then all of them came tumbling though the door into one big pile. Just a few, mostly the females, still stood outside in the hallway where they all listened and giggled slightly at the expense of the others and in embarrassment.

Data had by then drunk his chocolate and opted to help the pile to become respectable Borg again. By the time he managed, there was no sign of sadness on his face.

As Lore checked on Data later that morning, he sighed in relieve. All in all, giving Data positive emotion had benefited all of them so much in just a day, it was incredible. The rate of Borg locking themselves out of the collective had shrunk significantly, their productivity had heighten. Also, the repair on their equipment basically jumped a chunk forward when seen in percentages. And last but not least, it gave Lore an Anchor, a goal. It made him more kind and serene, more of a person than he ever wanted to be. And he was strangely okay with that.

The Enterprise is still 13 planets away. Geordi is getting frustrated.

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The next days, Data kept the routine. He talks with the Borg and helps whenever he can. He barely thought once about the enterprise.

Lore kept another routine. He would look out for his brother and sate all conflicts with the Borg while he schemed in his free time.

The Enterprise kept scanning all the planets, having to take a break as their captain discussed with a higher-up about his actions. Geordi kept getting more and more drawn into himself as he worried about whether Data went on his free will or was captured and how he was and if he was hurt and if he was eating ok-

After five days, they arrived at the right planet. They sent nearly all of the crew down to search, even the captain and the first officer went. The search was cut short by an Borg-ship appearing, yet they were unable to get everyone on board and could not locate the captain.

It was around midday that Picar arrived on the planet next to the deserted shuttle. He set out with Geordi and Diana Troi to search his quadrant as he found a big building hidden among the hilly surroundings. They infiltrated the building just to be surrounded by the Borg in a big hall.

It was also around midday that Crosis explained to Data how they communicated in the collective and how to access it. They even managed for Data to stabilise the connection before they saw Picar entering the building.

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So~ I hope you liked it!

It's not beta'ed and English isn't my first language so if I made any mistakes, please feel free to tell me :)

This will only have 3 or 4 chapters ^^

Anyways, bye~ later~