Geordi got off the turbolift and paused. What was I doing here again? He looked around confusedly. Then he cursed at himself. Damn it all! I can't keep wandering around the ship like some sort of drunk! I've got to… He stopped when he heard a noise. It was a soft thump, coming from inside one of the rooms in this corridor. Geordi walked quietly up to the first room in the row and put his ear up against the door; but heard nothing. He did the same with the next few doors and got the same results. Deciding he had imagined the noise in his unstable state of mind, he continued walking down the corridor until he got to his own quarters. Ah, this must have been where I was headed, he thought gratefully. He identified himself to the computer and the door slid open. However; as soon as he stared to walk in, he heard another thump; but it was louder this time. It sounded like it was coming from the adjacent room. As he hurried towards the origin of the sound he tried to remember whose quarters were right next to his, but his mind was far too gone to even try. He got to the door and beeped the alert. No response, but the room had gone silent. He beeped again. He still did not receive an answer.
"Chief Engineer override," he said nervously, and the door hissed open. He stumbled into the room and was greeted by the sight of Data being pinned to the ground by his identical twin brother; Lore. Data had a gag tied crookedly but tightly around his mouth, and his hands were being pinned down by Lore's less shaky ones. As soon as Geordi came into the room, Lore looked up and scowled. Data's eyes turned to Geordi as he struggled against his captor, but to no avail. His functions were barely adequate now, and he was severely restricted.
"Data?" Geordi was baffled. "What is Lore doing here?"
Data just gave him a strangled 'mmph' and continued squirming under Lore's body weight. He was pleased that Geordi had come to his aid, but the tilt of his head and the incoordination with which he walked indicated he was hardly a suitable rescuer.
"Oh, I see." Lore sneered. "The brave engineer has come to rescue the damsel in distress. Back away, La Forge. This doesn't concern you."
"This sure as hell concerns me," Geordi shot back. "Get off him."
"I think I will do whatever I please, engineer." Lore slurred coldly. "Now leave, or I will do more damage to your little Data than is truly necessary." He pulled out a phaser. It caught the light, and Geordi was momentarily distracted by the gleam of the metal in his VISOR. Then he started toward Lore.
Data was caught under Lore's body, helplessly twisting around and trying to push him off. Unfortunately, he was significantly weaker because of his state. He wondered why Lore was not as affected by this virus as he and the Terrans; had he come prepared for this? Data considered his options for escape. He couldn't tell Geordi anything due to the gag over his mouth, but he had the key to Lore's defeat. Like himself, Lore had a switch on his side that would completely disable him and essentially shut him down. He needed to get through to his friend.
Geordi started to sweat. I really should have thought about this, he thought warily. He inched closer to Lore, being careful not to stumble; yet this was no easy task. Lore held the phaser menacingly in the air, watching Geordi's every move. The air was thick with suspense, making Geordi bite his lip so hard a drop of blood appeared. He had no idea how he was going to do this. Suddenly he noticed something. Data was attempting to convey something with his eyes. He repeatedly looked at Lore's side, then back at Geordi. Is that a tear in Lore's shirt? he asked himself, not entirely trusting his VISOR right now. He looked closer. There was a faint outline of some synthetic skin, but something was in the middle; almost like a... A switch! Geordi realized. Lore has the exact same switch as Data. Now he needed to be close enough to Lore to get to it. He gave Data a slight nod, which made Lore give him a sharp glare.
"Think you have a plan, do you?" He snarled. "I'm not that easy. Stay back." He pointed the phaser directly at Geordi.
Geordi cursed himself for being unarmed. He had thought it unsafe to be carrying a loaded phaser when in such a state, never dreaming he'd end up in a situation like this. He was now a little more than an arm's length from Lore and Data, but unable to move; he had no doubts he would be killed in a matter of seconds if he did.
Abruptly, Lore dropped the phaser and clutched his chest. He sputtered, but Geordi had tackled him before he had the chance to fully oxygenate his systems. He laid limp on the ground, but Geordi could feel his synthetic heart still beating; although erratically. Data got up onto his elbows with some difficulty and tried to pull the gag off. He got it off about halfway and then gave up.
"Geordi, we must call the medica-" His sentence was cut off as a full security team burst through the door, followed by Dr. Crusher. She rushed to kneel by Lore, and pulled out her equipment.
"What happened?" she asked breathlessly.
"His heart has a major malfunction. He will n-not recover, doctor." Data said, his speech program not working efficiently anymore.
Doctor Crusher took out a hypo spray and injected a pale liquid into Data's neck. She then turned to the security team that had been standing in the doorway and signaled them to leave.
"Except two of you, please," she commanded. She glanced over at Geordi, who had rolled off of Lore when she had walked in. He was sweating heavily and mumbling to himself. She pulled out another hypo spray and shot it into his neck quickly. A few moments later, Geordi sat up and rubbed his head.
"Doctor?" he said groggily. "I have such a headache."
Beverly smiled at Geordi. "Yes, I suppose you would. You two were the last ones to get this.
Geordi looked around. Data was still only halfway sitting, but even through his VISOR he could tell the android's eyes were more focused. He smiled softly; his friend was safe. Then he turned back to the doctor.
"How did you find the cure?" He asked curiously.
"Well, it turns out the Enterprise had suffered from the same symptoms about a century ago." Beverly told him. "We found that what we had was just a variation of the same exact disease, so we changed the formula for their cure accordingly and-"
"Lore?" Data had sat up fully and was now kneeling beside his brother. Lore lay completely still.
The doctor and Geordi quieted.
"Doctor, he tried to take my heart and trade it with his. This incident would have happened to me had I taken his offer."
"Offer?" Geordi asked cautiously.
"Geordi... Would you assist me in taking Lore sickbay?" Data asked suddenly. He did not wish to speak of the emotion chip with the doctor around.
"Oh no you don't." Dr. Crusher spoke firmly. "Neither of you have been injected with the cure long enough yet. You two," she said, turning to the remaining security members in the doorway. "Take Lore to sickbay and leave him on the second bed please. Standard procedure." The security guards lifted Lore away and carried him out of the room. Data watched until the door closed behind them.
"Data, are you going to be alright?" In her time, Beverly had helped many patients get over the loss of loved ones (and not-so-loved ones); though not nearly as much as Troi. But never in her life had she consoled an android.
"Doctor, I will be fine. May I ask that you leave us now? My thanks for everything you have done." Data spoke monotonously, but Geordi sensed that his friend was having a bit of difficulty with this new turn of events.
Beverly paused. What had she expected? She shrugged and stood up. "Of course, Data. But do come by later." Then she exited the room, leaving Data and Geordi sitting on the floor; the latter at a complete loss for words. There was a tangible silence.
"I want to thank you too, Geordi." Data said quietly.
"Oh no; it was nothing. Honestly, we probably wouldn't have made it out alive if his heart problems hadn't acted so suddenly." Geordi almost laughed. To think that a perfectly built android such as Lore could obtain such a fatal malfunction."
"It was a gesture of great friendship to attempt to save me in your unarmed state, and I am deeply honored." Data said seriously. He felt a small flutter when he thought again of Geordi coming to his rescue.
Geordi's heart beat a bit faster. Data wasn't even saying anything romantic and he was already feeling lightheaded. But he was also slightly crestfallen.
"Data... is that all you feel?" he asked quietly.
Data did not respond. Instead, he sat in silence; trying as hard as his circuits would allow to feel something. Trying his hardest to feel love.
