Chapter Two

Therashon ch'Serikth groaned as the two-wheeled combustion engine vehicle he was riding began to quiver under him as he turned the ignition. Reeves had promised him a "fun, relaxing time" in the holodeck.

Shon enjoyed spending leisure time with the lieutenant, because the sense of friendship it created made the sickness of being apart from his bond a little more bearable. This however, was somewhat on the crazy side.

Next to the Andorian on another vehicle was Reeves, unaware that Shon's vehicle was starting to come out from underneath him.

Andorian generally didn't indulge in fantasies like this. They'd been too concerned with the secular world of learning to make the most of their bonds and their lives. Because of arising genetic problems that made reproducing harder, Andorians spent most of their lives preparing to have children. And due to the fact it required four genders to reproduce, the Andorian population had dwindled in the last few centuries from three billion to a little over ninety million. Recent breakthroughs in genetics, however, had made it easier, and bonds were still being tested to see if they could become more fertile. Shon and his bondmates were on the waiting list to have the gene therapy done so that more of his race of Andorians could be created, but it would still be long before they could be tested. When that time came however, he had every intention of returning to Andor to engage in the sheltereth in order to procreate.

Shon himself was dressed totally strangely, wearing similar clothing to Reeves, made to fit his trim Andorian build. It was a far cry from his Starfleet uniform and his ceremonial chen garb. He tugged at the clothes uncomfortably, he felt completely uncomfortable in the clothing. A leather jacket, a helmet that crammed down his antennae and pants made of something called denim. He had come aboard the starship to prove that he could explore the galaxy and be a great leader like his idol, General Therrashran ch'Torketh, otherwise known as General Shran, not to gallivant about in some harebrained holo-fantasy. He sighed right before the vehicle that Reeves called a "motorcycle" came out from underneath him, causing him to fall down onto his back.

Reeves stopped and came back around to where Shon was laying down. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Shon nodded his head, "Yes, I'm fine."

Reeves offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Don't worry," Reeves said, "You'll get the hang of it."

Shon raised an eyebrow and then proceeded to lift his motorcycle and get back on.

Three more attempts later, Shon hung his head and sighed yet again. "I can't take this anymore! Computer, end program!"

The motorcycle and its surroundings suddenly vanished before Reeves could object. "Why'd you do that?" Reeves questioned.

"Because this is idiotic, never ask me to do this again. I'll leave my 'fun and relaxing times' to poker night!" exclaimed the Andorian as he stammered off to the exit of the holosuite. The doors opened as he approached with a loud, mechanical noise. He stomped out into the deck corridor. Several nearby crewmen immediately backed away when they saw him exit with an angry look on his face. Shon, however, took no notice of them as he trudged towards the nearest turbolift.

Meanwhile, David Reeves stood bewildered at the sudden outburst. He stood still for a moment considering, but decided to leave it be. He headed out of the holosuite and was able to catch a glimpse of turbolift doors closing after Shon. The human decided it would be smart not to risk getting the Andorian any angrier. Having heard of their capability for violence, he decided it would be best not to upset him further. He instead, headed for another 'lift.

He entered the 'lift and thought about whether he should go back to his quarters or somewhere else. There were still some parts of the ship he really hadn't gotten to explore. The computer in the 'lift politely asked him his destination with a soft, soothing voice. He turned about the small, circular car and took a look at the Enterprise layout that was on the LCARS menu behind him. He was on Deck 6, which was mostly crew quarters, holosuites, and a few labs.

Suddenly, Reeves's comm. badge chimed. "Ch'Serikth to Reeves," he heard the voice of Shon say softly.

David smiled and tapped his comm. badge in response, "Yes, Shon?"

He heard Shon sigh slightly over the comm., "Sorry about all that David. I..." He trailed off, looking for the right words. "I'm just not used to gallivanting around in holodecks and falling on my back."

Reeves laughed, "Oh, don't worry about it Shon. We're from different cultures. And I doubt you have anything similar to a motorcycle on Andoria."

"No, we don't," Shon said. "And actually, we call our homeworld Andor."

"Oh, really? It's just what they'd taught me in grade school," Reeves laughed.

"Well," Shon started, "They need to fix that. And next time, I get to pick what we do for fun."

v v

Jean-Luc Picard stood solemnly at the site of where the house Picard had grown up in at Chateau Picard. Now all that remained was a patch of grass upon what had been ground where lives were lived. His eyes watered as he stood upon the ground where his brother and nephew had burned to death seven years before. Now a family who had been working with the Picards on the vineyard for centuries was running the vineyard.

Picard hung his head as his eyes watered. Thoughts of his family that had existed surged through his mind as he stood there and recalled the knowledge that he was the last of his line. He then collected himself and raised his gaze toward the sky.

"To absent friends," he whispered to himself.

He was caught off guard as a hand was rested on his right shoulder. He quickly turned to see Geordi La Forge gazing at him sympathetically.

Despite having ocular implants, Geordi's eyes were fully capable of expressing miniscule emotions. Right now they displayed sympathy. He then smiled and nodded slowly to his captain, "Come on, lets get out of here."

Picard nodded without a word as he wiped tears from his eyes. He slowly turned from the site and walked away towards the aircar that he and Geordi had rented. He never looked back.

As they entered the aircar, Geordi finally spoke up, "I got a communiqué from Admiral Janeway. She needs to see us immediately. It's something to do with B-4."

v v

Picard tugged his uniform as he and Geordi entered Admiral Kathryn Janeway's office. He smiled broadly and extended a hand for the admiral to shake. "Good to see you again, Admiral," Picard said as she took his hand.

"Good to see you too, Jean-Luc," she replied.

Geordi extended his hand to the admiral and greeted her with a quick shake, a nod, and a simple "Admiral."

"Please, sit" Janeway said with a smile, gesturing towards the two chairs before her desk. They say down as she sat. "I'm sorry to cut your shore leave short, gentlemen, but there's business to be attended to."

"What's the problem, Admiral?" Picard asked, his interest suddenly perked.

Janeway inhaled deeply before she spoke, "I'm going to get right to the point, gentlemen, B-4 has gone missing."

"Missing?" Picard and Geordi both asked at the same time.

The admiral shook her head, "Well, not so much missing as escaped with a good head start."

"What's happened?" Picard asked.

"We don't know," she began. "The cyberneticists at the Daystrom Institute had made a break through because he'd completed singing 'Blue Skies' and he had shown signs of more of Data's memory. But what was more shocking was when they examined him."

"What happened?" Picard asked.

Janeway turned a viewer toward them and brought up an image of circuits and wires. Picard couldn't make any sense of it, but he looked over at Geordi.

"Amazing," Geordi began.

"What is it?" Picard asked.

"It's a layout of B-4's positronic brain," Geordi answered.

Picard didn't know much of anything about cybernetics; he couldn't make heads or tails of a picture of a bunch of jumbled circuits.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand," Picard began.

"B-4's memory engrams have been reworked," Geordi stated, "These readouts look more like scans of Data's brain than B-4's."

"So, Data's memory patterns..." Picard began.

"Are replacing B-4's," Geordi finished.

Janeway leaned in at this, "B-4 stole an experimental warp 9 runabout from the Institute's hangar. We believe he's headed for Omicron Theta. We want you to track him down. We've got a high-speed transport waiting for you that will rendezvous with the Enterprise. From there you'll take the ship and go to Omicron Theta."

"Why would B-4 head for Omicron Theta?" Picard asked.

"It's possible that B-4 has a homing device much like the ones Data and Lore had that brought them to Dr. Soong," Geordi theorized. His eyes darted back and forth as he thought up what was likely happening. "A signal to return him to the point of origin if he requires repairs."

Picard turned back to the admiral. "How soon do we leave?"

Janeway smiled and handed him a padd, "As soon as possible." He rested her chin on the back of her hand, which she propped up with her elbows. "I knew you'd be eager to go."

v v

Picard sat with Geordi in the lounge of a high-speed freighter, which happened to be a route that would bring them to meet the Enterprise. He still shook his head, trying to make sense of what the changes in B-4 could mean.

"Geordi," he began, "If Data's memory is really replacing B-4's, then would it be possible that Data's mind would become dominate inside B-4's mind?"

Geordi though about it and nodded, "It's possible. Data does have more memory and personality pathways than B-4, and they're much more advanced. I guess it could end up in a sort of split personality manner. B-4 as a being could be completely destroyed by Data's memories and programming."

"And the phoenix rises from the ashes..."

The next day, Picard found himself onboard the Enterprise, in his familiar chair, four days sooner than he had expected. Commander Martin Madden had relinquished the seat to him as soon as the 'lift doors had opened. "Welcome back, sir," he said with a smile. "I kept your seat warm."

"Good," Picard chimed back to his executive officer, "Let's get down to business. Lieutenant Reeves, set a course for Omicron Theta, warp 8. Lieutenant ch'Serikth, set up an active scan for B-4's runabout. I want an immediate report if any trace of its warp signature is found."

"Yes, sir," replied both Reeves and ch'Serikth. They went about charting courses and setting up scans, as their duties bid them to do.

Picard sat back in his chair and thought about what had happened. It vaguely reminded him of the death and rebirth of Ambassador Spock, whose mind had been put into Dr. Leonard McCoy, and then returned to the body after they'd both been taken to Vulcan. Was it possible that a very similar event was happening as he sat there thinking?

v v

Commander Martin Madden sat at the observation deck table between Commander Worf and Doctor Clint Neilson as he listened to Chief Engineer Commander Geordi La Forge informed the senior officers of the Enterprise of the changes that were occurring within the android known as B-4. Across from him were Lieutenants David Reeves and Therashon ch'Serikth, and Counselor Laurence to the right of them.

He listened intently, trying to make sense of Commander La Forge's cybernetic technobabble about the stray android. He really didn't understand cybernetics that well, but was trying his best to understand. From what he could tell, the android had gone berserk and decided it needed to return to the place where it had been built, Omicron Theta, and they were to intercept it. Captain Picard and Commander La Forge both hoped that perhaps these changes signified an emergence of Commander Data's memories inside the less advanced android.

Madden had never met Commander Data in his years in Starfleet, in fact, he was Data's replacement. If it weren't for the commander's death six months before aboard the Scimitar, Data would've been the executive officer aboard the Enterprise.

In fact, Madden had never taken much care to research the commander until he had been told he would be assigned as the Enterprise's executive officer. Only then had he learned of the android's truly admirable service record; knowledge that inspired Madden to strive ever harder to be the best first officer he could be. Some had told him he was too stricken by duty, but if it weren't for duty, none of them would be there at that table.

He sat back when Commander La Forge finished his explanation, "So," he began, "What are we to do when we retrieve B-4?"

Captain Picard placed his forearms on the table and leaned in, "We're to return him to the Daystrom Institute." He then glanced to La Forge, "En route, we should try to find any clues as to what's happened to B-4."

The comm. suddenly signaled as Picard finished. "Sir," said the voice of the officer on duty in the bridge, "We've detected the runabout's warp signature and have adjusted course to pursue directly."

"Acknowledged," Picard replied. He examined all the faces at the briefing table. "Stations," he ordered.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Therashon ch'Serikth examined the sensor readouts as he seated himself at the operations station. He instantly could see a problem, "Sir," he began aloud toward Captain Picard, catching his attention, "He's got enough of a head start that we'll never catch him before he reaches Omicron Theta, but if we increased to maximum warp, we won't have much time to get away when he goes down there."

Shon saw his captain nod in agreement; "Make it so," he ordered.

Shon turned to Lieutenant Reeves and nodded. Reeves punched a few commands into his console and announced, "Increasing to warp 9.99. We might have a little shaky ride."

"Noted," Picard replied quickly. "Lieutenant ch'Serikth, what's our estimated time of arrival?"

"At present speed," began Shon, "We should reach Omicron Theta in thirty minutes."

"And how long until B-4's runabout arrives?" Picard asked.

"Fifteen minutes, sir," Shon answered. He gripped the edges of the armrests on his chair as the Enterprise accelerated to its absolute maximum cruising speed. In reality, it was very difficult to discern the speed differences, even at such a high velocity. But for some reason, Shon hated the idea of not holding himself in place when he knew he was going so fast. It was illogical, yes, but he had this inexplicable fear of the inertial dampers failing as they come out of warp, throwing him through the bulkhead before him because his body kept moving at warp 9 but the ship did. It was a stupid idea, but for some reason, Shon found himself gripping the armrests every time the ship went to warp.

He noticed David stealing a few puzzled glances at him as he monitored the helm. Shon shook his head and murmured that it was nothing, which got David to go back to his duties. He continued examining his own console, keeping a sharp eye for anything that might come up on sensors.

"Commander Madden," Shon heard Captain Picard say from behind at the command chair.

"Yes, sir?" responded Madden.

"I will be leading the away team when we reach Omicron Theta," Picard said firmly. And before Madden could get in a word, as Shon knew he would, he added, "And don't quote rules and regulations."

Shon got excited, he'd rarely gotten the opportunity to go on away missions, and whenever he did, something unpleasant always seemed to happen. It was as if Uzaveh himself was coming from the heavens to tell him that away missions were not a good idea for Therashon ch'Serikth. But seeing as some of the "mishaps" that had occurred before, he doubted Captain Picard would choose him for the mission.

He then listened intently, trying to balance doing his job and eavesdropping. He heard the captain tap his comm. badge. "Picard to La Forge," he said.

"La Forge here," responded the engineer's voice.

"Geordi," began Picard, I want you on the away team. You're the one most familiar with B-4's systems; I'll need you down there."

"Yes, sir," Shon heard La Forge say. He took a glance over at Reeves, who was smiling.

Shon then caught the captain swiveling in his chair out of his eye. "Mr. Worf," he said, "In case B-4 becomes violent then I believe your presence will be necessary."

"Yes, sir," replied Worf in a deep tone. It seemed to Shon that despite the Klingon's love for battle, he detested the idea of combat with the childish android.

Finally, Picard turned in Shon and Reeves' direction. "Mr. Reeves and Mr. Ch'Serikth, you both will be needed in retrieving the craft that B-4 his stolen. He may land the shuttle and he may leave it in orbit to transport down. Either way, I want you two piloting it back to the Enterprise."

Shon and Reeves both nodded and replied with a sharp, "Yes, sir."

"Oh, and Mr. Ch'Serikth," Picard began, with a smile on his face, "This time, I don't want to find myself or anyone else in a pit of Merosian fire slugs."

Shon heard a few chuckles come from the various officers on the bridge. Shon did his best to smile, despite the fact that his blue face was turning purple with embarrassment. "I'll do my best, sir," he replied hesitantly.