Chapter Seven: The Accident
Data told Lore about certain holodeck programs in hopes that he would utilize them to purge his aggression. Lore often used the fight programs, but found them to be inadequate in reducing his desire for confrontation. He figured it was because there was no possible way he could damage his sparring partner. Nevertheless, he continued to visit the holodeck on a regular basis. On one occasion, he arrived a bit sooner than usual and ran into a civilian by the name of Sonya. She was a petite, young woman. However, what she lacked in size, she made up for with spirit. It was quite clear that she'd heard the stories of Lore's past since she always cast hateful stares whenever their paths crossed. On that particular day — while Sonya was preparing to leave the holodeck — he overheard her talking to a friend about a rather embarrassing prank she pulled on one of her colleagues. She also spoke about wishing she could pull a prank on the captain since he always seemed abrupt with her.
"I'd love to get him just once, you know? Knock him off guard for just a moment." She chuckled with her male companion. "I don't know, maybe I'm just new on the ship and they give everyone a hard time, but it just seems so stolid and boring around here. Everyone's so uptight. At least that's how they are around me."
She noticed Lore staring at them and inquired.
"Well, what are you staring at?!" Sonya asked crudely.
"I'm still trying to figure it out." Lore sneered.
Sonya rolled her eyes in disgust as she finished stuffing her gym bag. However, her friend was terrified and ran out the holodeck.
"Paul, wait! Security's here! He can't do anything!" Sonya called, but he was gone.
"Oh really?" Lore smirked. "You think a few measly guards would be able to stop me, huh?"
After glancing at the four large security officers posted by the holodeck entrance, Sonya thought for a moment before nodding her head.
"Yeah. They'll blast your circuits before you could lay a hand on me." She said with a smile.
"I'm not afraid of them." Lore sneered.
"And I'm not afraid of you." Sonya snapped, inciting Lore to chuckles.
"Well, aren't you a tough cookie!" Lore chuckled condescendingly. "They only have the illusion of preventing me from doing some serious damage around here." Lore said triumphantly. "So, get your facts straight. The only reason why I'm not leaving the ship with a trail of carnage is because I choose not to."
"Oh? And why's that?"
"That, my dear Sonya, is none of your business."
"I'm not your dear!" She snapped.
"No. That you're not. But you know what you are?" Lore asked in an ominous tone.
For the first time, Sonya displayed a brief flicker of fear as she shook her head.
"You're out of time!" Lore hissed menacingly as he grabbed her arm. Sonya shrieked and the guards raised their weapons and ordered Lore away from her. However, they were prevented from firing since there was a high probability that Sonya would get hit. "Your holodeck time, that is. You've exceeded your time by eight minutes."
Before the guards could do anything else, Lore promptly released her arm, laughing anew. Though startled, Sonya didn't move far, determined to display what remained of her courage.
"Not afraid of me, huh?" Lore smiled. "Then what were you just doing, singing? That sure sounded like a scream to me."
"You caught me by surprise. That's not the same as fear." Sonya replied, her breathing slightly abnormal.
"Go on. You tell yourself that, but we both know the truth. By the way, did you notice how the guards couldn't do anything once I had you in my grip?" Lore smirked cockily. "Just remember that the only reason why you're still alive right now, is because I chose to let you live. Well? Aren't you're going to thank me?"
"Go to hell!" Sonya hissed before she stormed out of the holodeck.
"You're welcome." Lore chuckled to himself.
It was at that moment when Lore realized that he could gain satisfaction by simply playing mind games with people without physically harming them. It presented himself with a different possibility of gaining control of a different kind with minimal consequences. Suddenly, he realized the guards were glowering at him.
"What?!" He snapped. "It was a joke!""
Despite the incident, Lore had proven himself to be worthy of his own quarters in the many weeks that followed. He no longer had to share with Data. However, the new arrangement didn't stop his brother from keeping a close watch on him. In spite of that fact, Lore was able to pull a few harmless — but highly embarrassing — pranks on random non-senior members of the Enterprise crew. Among the most embarrassing was a glitch in the replicator system that replicated uniforms that dematerialized just minutes after one would exit their quarters. As a result, the corridors were busy with random people scurrying about in their underwear, desperate to return to their quarters for cover. Everyone suspected Lore, but none could prove his involvement, so it was ruled an unfortunate malfunction and was promptly repaired. Upon hearing some of the reports of such mishaps, the senior crew — even the captain — found the situations to be mildly amusing, but only just. Lore received a stern warning that if he were caught causing such chaos, that he would face serious consequences. Lore understood the warning and made a vow to himself that facing the consequences would not be necessary — since he didn't plan on getting caught.
One day, Lore entered the holodeck a bit earlier than usual and saw Sonya fighting a simulated Klingon warrior. He was impressed with her speed and stamina. Not bad… for a human. Lore thought. Sensing that someone else was in the room, Sonya became distracted when she saw Lore. The Klingon warrior took the opportunity to knock Sonya to the ground. Wincing in pain, she paused the program and approached Lore.
"Can I help you with something?" She asked. Her voice had a tinge of annoyance.
"From the looks of things, you're the one who needs help."
"You distracted me, wise guy. What brings you here? My session isn't over for another twenty minutes."
"I've never seen this Calisthenics program in action before. I was walking by and saw that it was running, so I decided to stop in and take a look."
"Alright, I'll show you a basic move." Sonya replied as she positioned herself in the center of the sparring mat and waved him over.
Sonya described a move before trying it out on Lore. She was stunned when she realized she was unable to bring him down.
"That's strange, it's supposed to work." Sonya stated as she continued to struggle.
"Like this?" Lore asked before tucking his leg behind hers and throwing her to the ground. The move took her completely by surprise and knocked the wind out of her. She was now pinned to the mat with Lore on top of her.
"Yes. Something like that." She answered as she stared up at Lore, who was smiling triumphantly. Seeing him up close made her realize how attractive he was.
His face was so close to hers, she thought he might try to kiss her. Before she could do anything, she was snatched back to reality when she felt herself being crudely yanked back onto her feet. Clearly, Lore wasn't interested in her.
"Well, why don't you try that move on someone your own size?" Sonya replied, still catching her breath as she gestured the Klingon warrior.
Lore sized up the large combatant in the center of the sparring mat and laughed.
"It's an interesting program, but a little soft for my taste." He said snidely.
"Soft?!" Sonya chuckled as she tried to nudge him towards the simulated Klingon. "Alright. Well, have at it." Lore thought she was joking until she pushed the matter further. "Well, go ahead. You're dressed for the occasion." Sonya said as she took a spot next to the wall, a safe distance away from the fighting area. She couldn't help but allow her eyes to trace along Lore's well-formed body, which was draped in a slate-blue Gi uniform. It was fitted along the torso, but relaxed in the legs. Lore shrugged as he positioned himself in front of the warrior.
"Computer, reset program and begin." Sonya replied with a smirk.
In just over a second, Lore overtook his opponent and slammed him to the ground. Sonya felt the floor vibrate from the impact. She gasped and couldn't believe how quickly Lore had won the match.
"See? I told you it's too easy." He boasted.
"No. Not so fast. You were fighting an opponent even I could've beaten… had I not been rudely interrupted." Sonya contested. "Computer, reset simulation and increase difficulty by twenty percent."
"Only twenty?" Lore smirked as he laughed. Sonya rolled her eyes.
"You might not be laughing in a few minutes. Computer, begin program." Sonya said with a broad smile which faded once again when he defeated his opponent in seconds. Determined to one-up Lore and put him in his place, Sonya set the opponent level to maximum. It took Lore a few additional seconds to defeat the warrior, but he defeated him nonetheless.
Sonya sighed before saying: "So what, you want a medal?"
Lore only chuckled as he walked off the mat and leaned against a wall.
"I'm sorry. I came here to have a glimpse at the program and ended up giving you an education on it." He said with a cocky smirk.
"Lore, if you must bug me; do it on your own time. My time in the holodeck is almost up and you're breaking my concentration." Irritated, Sonya returned to the mat. The warrior had automatically positioned himself in the center, as it was programmed to do after defeat. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to finish my workout. Computer, begin program."
In a split instant, Lore recalled that she had failed to reset the difficulty level to the default setting.
"No, wait!" Lore called, but it was too late. Sonya shrieked as the huge Klingon warrior hoisted her into the air and threw her before she or Lore could freeze the program.
Sonya prepared for the impact with the floor, but Lore stepped in to catch her. Seeing this, she panicked.
"Lore, no!" She shrieked in terror, but not in time. When her body clashed hard against his, it felt like she'd been hit by a freight train as his arm met her midsection. The wind had literally been knocked out of her and she was instantly rendered unconscious.
Lore lowered Sonya's limp body to the ground and sighed with mild annoyance.
"Not such a tough cookie after all. Why are you humans so damned weak?" He asked quietly as he crouched beside her.
Before he had the chance to call for medical assistance, the holodeck doors hissed opened. Lore raised his gaze from Sonya to the horrified faces of Dr. Beverly Crusher and Counselor Troi.
"Lore, get the hell away from her!" Beverly ordered lividly.
Lore calmly stepped away from Sonya and the two women rushed to her side. Counselor Troi called for security while Dr. Crusher scanned Sonya with a tricorder. The counselor read the results from over the doctor's shoulders and her eyes widened with disbelief.
"Lore, what have you done to her?!" Counselor Troi asked, demanding an answer.
Lore smirked bitterly while he thought: No good deed goes unpunished. He wasn't aware that his expression only made him appear guiltier.
"If you must know, I was trying to help her. The silly girl forgot to readjust the difficulty level of the program." Lore explained.
"It didn't sound like you were helping her. We could hear her screaming from the corridor. That's why we came in here!" Dr. Crusher exclaimed. "From the looks of things, we got here just in time."
Ordinarily, transporting within the ship wasn't something the Enterprise crew would do. However, Sonya was seriously injured and needed to go into surgery immediately. Time was of the essence and each moment that passed was a moment against Sonya.
Instead of being taken to the brig, Lore was immediately confined to the lab and strapped to the table on which he'd been reactivated. He was questioned several times by the captain, Cmdr. Riker and Data.
"I told you. It was an accident. I was trying to catch her from falling, but her impact against my frame was too great. That's the reason for her injuries." Lore explained casually.
"Lore, Sonya is undergoing intense surgery right now. If she dies, you can expect to face serious charges and not even Data will be able to save you." Cmdr. Riker stated plainly.
"I expect nothing less, Commander!" Lore hissed. "Believe it or not, I'm telling you the truth!"
"Forgive me if I don't!" Cmdr. Riker said gruffly.
"Sir, the facts indicate the possibility that Lore is indeed telling the truth. The holodeck program had been set to a level which Sonya was unable to handle. Upon checking the holodeck logs, it was revealed that Sonya herself altered the level of the program." Data explained.
"Maybe he coerced her into doing so."
"Coerced or not, Cmdr.; Sonya adjusted the difficulty level on her own." Data stated, annoyed at the commander's determination to implicate his brother despite what the facts suggested.
"Data's right, number one. We must weigh all the facts before accusing anyone." Capt. Picard replied. "Hopefully Sonya will survive the operation so she can tell us what really happened. Until then, I'm afraid Lore will have to remain restrained as a precaution."
The captain's voice indicated that his neutral viewpoint was obligatory and forced.
"Don't speak as though I'm not here!" Lore spat angrily.
The captain regarded Lore for a moment before exiting the lab with Cmdr. Riker, leaving Lore and Data alone.
"Well, brother. Aren't you going to follow them? Don't you believe I tried to kill Sonya?"
"No. I do not. I believe your account of the events." Data answered, much to Lore's surprise.
Fortunately, Sonya pulled through and was resting comfortably in sickbay. She clarified things by confirming Lore's version of the events. Immediately upon his release, Lore went to the captain's ready room and demanded an apology from Capt. Picard and his first officer, but they only told him that they were following standard procedures. This enraged Lore, but rather than lashing out immediately, he had other plans. He visited Sonya in sickbay one afternoon.
"Sonya, I need you to do me a favor." Lore stated.
"Usually when people visit patients they begin with: 'How are you feeling?'" She snorted. "A favor, huh? What's in it for me?"
"Let's just say we have a common adversary that's due for a bit of comeuppance."
"Who do you have in mind?" Asked Sonya, her interest clearly piqued.
Lore leaned close and Sonya jerked sideways, placing a hand on his chest.
"Hey, are you trying to be funny?"
"Don't flatter yourself!" Lore frowned with disgust before lowering his voice. "Here's what I want you to do..."
Lore leaned over and whispered something into her ear. He barely finished before Sonya started laughing hysterically while holding her sore ribs and grimacing. It hurt for her to laugh.
"Shh!" He hushed.
"Sorry, but that's just too funny! I can't do it though. It's way too risky and I'll get caught. I won't be as spry as I used to be for a little while… thanks to you."
"You won't need to be spry and you won't get caught… as long as you do everything exactly as I've told you. So, will you do it?" Lore smirked.
"Oh yeah! It's risky, but I can't pass this up." Sonya said through hushed giggles.
Lore caught the eye of several young women on the ship, many of which made several advances — all of which he crudely rejected. He resented the fact that most of them were only interested in him because he resembled Data — who also refused their advances due to incompatibility. Lore knew this to be a fact since he overheard the conversation of one woman who wondered just how extensive Lore's likeness was to his brother.
For the most part, Lore preferred to spend his time alone. He continued to keep himself entertained with frequent visits to the holodeck — where he often enjoyed the martial arts programs, which helped him release some of his anger. One day he went to the holodeck for his scheduled visit only to find that there was a woman still there. He was surprised to see it wasn't Sonya. The young woman had obviously exceeded the allotted time she had scheduled.
"Computer, end program!" Lore ordered harshly. The holodeck walls returned to its default black and yellow grid appearance.
Startled, the young woman whipped around and saw Lore standing there. She brushed her dark, shoulder-length hair away from her face as she regarded him with a flirtatious smile.
"Oh! Hi, Lore." She replied. "I guess I got a little carried away with the holodeck today. I'm sorry I ran over my time."
"Don't let it happen again." Lore replied flatly as she walked closer and looked up into his eyes.
"It won't. I promise." She replied with a warm smile before extending her hand. "I'm not sure if I already introduced myself to you before now, but my name's Breanne Wilson."
Lore sighed, ignoring her hand: "Breanne, this is the second time you've introduced yourself to me."
Abashed, the woman withdrew her hand and returned it to her side before looking away for a brief moment.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just…" Breanne stopped talking when she spotted a strand of Lore's hair out of place. She extended her hand in an attempt to tame it. "Your hair is perfect except for this one little…"
She gasped when Lore quickly seized her arm. The playful look on her face quickly faded.
"Do not touch me!" He hissed as he firmly, but gingerly moved her hand away from his head.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… never mind. I have to get going. I'll see you later, Lore. Enjoy your program." Breanne tremulously replied, before hastily leaving the holodeck.