Stardate: 58505.4

After the away team returned from the surface and Lore was secured in Holodeck Four, Captain Picard called the senior staff and Doctor Chipman to the observation lounge for a briefing. The Captain sat at the port head of the table, with Worf to his right and Counselor Veluna to his left. Doctor Crusher was seated to Veluna's left, and Data and Geordi to the two other seats on the fore side of the curved table. Security Chief Hagan sat on Worf's right.

As T'Mera lowered herself into the seat located to the right of Hagan and across from Data, she looked around the table and then over to Captain Picard, "Are you certain you want me to be here? I'm verbally and informationally armed."

"Yes, Doctor, I'm certain." Captain Picard glanced at everyone, then spoke, "Data's brother, Lore, has escaped from Galor IV and managed to get aboard the Enterprise. He's currently being held in Holodeck Four, with Ensign Murphy watching him, along with two holographic security guards that Doctor Chipman programmed." He turned his gaze to Data, "Commander Data, since Lore affects your life the most, the decision is yours as far as attempting to repair him is concerned."

"Lore seems sincere in his desire to be repaired," Data explained to the group, although his face bore a timid and apologetic expression, "So, I have given Doctor Chipman my blessing to make the attempt."

Doctor Crusher's jaw dropped, and she protested, "He threatened to kill Wesley! He shot me with a phaser! He's tried to kill you! You can't be serious about this, Data."

Data turned his head to the right, "I am serious about this, Doctor. I have already been through a debate about it with Doctor Chipman. I conceded to her logic."

Doctor Crusher's blue eyes flashed angrily at T'Mera, "What possible logic do you have for this?"

"The logic of fixing a malfunctioning machine. The logic of helping a sentient being who has asked for my help. The logic of using my skills to help turn someone into a contributing member of society, instead of leaving them sociopathic." T'Mera stated plainly, her hands folded on the table in front of her. "I would have liked to have been able to examine him before this briefing, so that I would have been able to say for certain what the malfunction is."

Worf glowered at T'Mera, "And what if fixing him makes him even worse?"

T'Mera shrugged her shoulders, "I can't imagine how it will, but if that's the case, we'll have to destroy him. Not deactivate, not dismantle… destroy. I realize the Federation has no death penalty, but right now, it seems that Lore is considered property and not a being with rights of any kind. Three times, Lore has been sentenced to a punishment without any trial or rehabilitation. If everyone at this table wishes him to be put to death, so be it. It can be accomplished either by a full wipe of his positronic matrix, or with simply vaporizing him if a full wipe doesn't eradicate his personality."

Worf nodded with satisfaction, "That is acceptable to me."

Data stared at T'Mera with consternation, then caught the quick wink of her right eye. He relaxed in his seat, remaining quiet for the moment.

Veluna spoke up, "I don't know much about Lore, or about androids, but I don't know that I'd be comfortable deciding to execute someone. This is doubly so, if there's a possibility for rehabilitation."

Captain Picard turned his attention to the Security Chief, "Commander Hagan, when you and Ensign Murphy escorted Lore to the holodeck, did you sense anything from him that would suggest he's being insincere or duplicitous?"

"No, captain." Hagan answered, "While I can't read his thoughts, his emotions are readable, much like Commander Data's. Lore has a great deal of anger and bitterness within him, with some sadness, but I also sensed genuine hope. In fact, it almost seemed as if he was trying not to be too hopeful, but was unable to curtail the feeling."

Geordi rubbed his beard thoughtfully, "As if Lore is afraid to get his hopes up, in case it can't be done."

Doctor Crusher leaned against the table to get Geordi in her field of view, "Geordi, you can't be seriously considering this. Because of Lore, Data nearly killed you."

Data frowned and glanced to the doctor on his right, "Thank you for reminding me what I was capable of when my moral and ethical subroutines were disabled, Doctor. It is not something I am proud of."

"I'm sorry, Data." Doctor Crusher lowered her head and pressed her lips together, then looked at T'Mera, "I get the feeling you're going to try to do this with or without us."

T'Mera shook her head, "Not at all, Doctor. I have permission from Commander Data, Captain Picard, Doctor Maddox and I have consent from Lore. The main difference is that if the majority of the senior staff are uncomfortable with Lore being on the Enterprise, I'll bring him to Galor IV and work on him there."

Counselor Veluna lifted her right hand with her index finger pointed, "If I might ask a question? I wasn't here for any of the past incidents with Lore, and I'd like to understand a bit more." Her dark eyes regarded T'Mera, "Doctor Chipman, I realize you haven't had time to find what's wrong, but what do you think is wrong with Lore?"

T'Mera leaned forward on the desk with her right arm, "When I worked on B-4, I found a fatal logic error in his ethical and moral subroutine programming. B-4 was a prototype with a less complex brain than Lore and Data have. A Reman rootkit was interrupting the subroutines prior to the point where the error was, which, ironically, enabled B-4 to function to a minimal degree. I won't know until I go into Lore's code whether he's got the same problem. My hypothesis is that Lore's ethical and moral subroutines are not working, at all. For all I know, Soong might have left them out of him, due to how they might have broken B-4."

The Counselor turned her head to regard Data, "I'm sorry for adding to your discomfort, Commander Data, but without a working ethical and moral subroutine, you were willing to kill a friend?"

Data stared directly at the table as he answered, "That is correct, Counselor. My best friend. After that… incident… I altered my own ethical and moral subroutines to the point that they cannot be disabled, and introduced a failsafe that makes them the priority if I lose most of my memory or cognitive functions."

Geordi looked across the table at T'Mera, "If you think you can do it, I'll support you and help you where I can. If there's even a chance that Lore can be changed into a decent person, or at least less of a homicidal maniac, then we should try it." He threw a sidelong glance at Doctor Crusher.

T'Mera looked back at Geordi, "That will remain to be seen, whether Lore will turn into a better citizen. No matter what, I'd like to install Data's subroutines into Lore. They're rock solid."

Captain Picard regarded Doctor Crusher, "I understand your reservations, but I think it would be best if this is attempted on the Enterprise, rather than on Galor IV. It is my understanding that Lore may require psychological counseling." He turned his head to address Veluna, "Will you be able to handle that, Counselor?"

"I believe so." Veluna nodded to the captain, "Like Commander Hagan, I can sense the emotions of Commander Data, and if he has emotional reactions that are similar to a human, I can work with Lore."

Chief Hagan spoke up, "Ensign Murphy is the only person in security who'd be able to stop Lore if he gets violent, so they'll be assigned to some of the security detail, especially when Doctor Chipman needs a break. When Doctor Chipman is present, then she and the two holograms will be able to handle Lore, and the guard detail can be anyone in security."

Doctor Crusher grumbled, "I can't believe we're going to help a murderer."

T'Mera canted her head, then replied to the Doctor, "I guess I do need to pull out my verbal weapons. Doctor Crusher, I'm quite sure that people said the same thing when you did an end run around Captain Picard and decided to save the Borg named Hugh. That very same Hugh that you insisted on saving would go on to be the one to create the disorganized rogue Borg cube that Lore was able to commandeer, correct? So, in a certain sense, you made those murders possible."

Doctor Crusher gasped, "You're going to blame me for that?"

"I wasn't planning to." T'Mera replied. "I was pointing out that something you did made it easier down the line for Lore to do everything. Just like Doctor Soong's mistakes made it easier for Lore to become what he is. There's also the matter of the emotion chip. Lore had taken Data's place and Doctor Soong had installed the chip in the wrong android. It was shortly after that when Lore attacked Soong. I have a suspicion that the emotion chip is responsible for Lore's actions with the rogue Borg. Doctor Crusher, I find it difficult to believe that you were willing to save Hugh, when the Borg have killed so many, yet you're not willing to allow me to repair a malfunctioning android."

"I still don't trust Lore." Doctor Crusher frowned and folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm not asking anyone to trust him, or to like him, or to be friends with him." T'Mera responded, still intently gazing across the table, "I'll be with him mostly round the clock, except for a few breaks here and there. He won't require anything medical."

A sigh emerged from Doctor Crusher, "What if he tries his usual trick? Impersonating Commander Data."

T'Mera nodded to that statement, "I can tell the three of them apart, easily, but that's a valid concern for everyone else. All I can say is keep the following in mind… If you really look hard, Data's right eyebrow is usually lower than his left. He rarely keeps his eyebrows even while he's making facial expressions. Data was raised by Starfleet and has served for almost forty years now; His movements are sharper and his stance is more military and stiff than Lore's. Data's movements tend to be very quick and tight, while Lore moves more fluidly and sometimes swaggers. Data also has a more gentle nature." She smiled at Data, then continued, "If you're worried, I'd suggest using a safeword or phrase that Data knows but which Lore wouldn't. That way, people can make sure which android they're talking to."

Captain Picard steepled his fingers on the table, "That's an excellent idea. Mister Data, set up some sort of safeword or phrase. We'll disseminate it among the crew."

"Yes, sir." Data answered with a quick head nod.

Doctor Crusher raised an eyebrow at T'Mera, "You didn't mention that Data's unable to use contractions."

T'Mera set her eyes pointedly at Doctor Crusher, "I didn't mention it because Data is able to use contractions, he just normally doesn't, and Lore can easily mimic his brother's way of speaking. Using the speech pattern as a guide would be like using "Data wears a Starfleet uniform" as a guide, too. Androids can take their clothes off and put other ones on."

"I hate to keep doing this…" Doctor Crusher spoke up again, "But what if Lore does something extreme, like, I don't know… transferring himself into Data's body and Data into Lore's body?"

T'Mera replied calmly, "He'd have to be able to get around the intrusion detection system I added to Data. There's only a slight chance he'd be able to do that, but Data could still use the safeword, in that case. If people think this situation is possible, then it might be best for Data to visit Lore only when I'm present in the holodeck."

Data placed his elbows on the table's surface, opened both of his hands, and lowered his head into his fingers, covering his face.

Geordi winced and placed his right hand on Data's left shoulder.

T'Mera pressed her lips together, watching Data for a moment, then continued, "The holodeck is configured to have a main detention area, where my workstation and Lore's holding area will be. If anyone wishes to observe the proceedings at any time, instruct the computer panel outside the holodeck to let you into the viewing area. The viewing area will be able to receive visuals and audio from the cell, but Lore won't be able to see or hear anyone in there." She looked around the table at everyone, "I also added a holo-communicator, in case it's needed for any hearings or other legal procedures. I'm in contact with Irene Shaw, who's done some work on Artificial Lifeform rights. The entire process will be recorded. I think that's everything, from my end."

Geordi raised his eyebrows, "Wow, someone still using the holo-communicators?"

"I realize that they were a fad, especially on ships." T'Mera smiled slightly, "However, for this purpose, they're one of the best ways to get everyone in one room. Since it's a holodeck, it'll avoid the disconcerting effects of someone standing on the bridge of a starship who shouldn't be there."

Captain Picard watched Data for a moment, then turned back to T'Mera, "Doctor Chipman, is there an estimate on how long it will take to find out if Lore's past behavior was due to programming errors?"

T'Mera pressed her lips together, with a slight knit of her eyebrows, "I would say I should know by the end of a week what the malfunctions are."

"Very well." Captain Picard leaned back in the chair, placed his hands on the arms and stood up, "All precautions will be taken, to make certain that Lore remains secure in Holodeck Four. Keep me posted, Doctor Chipman."

"Of course, Captain." T'Mera stood up, along with everyone else, then made her way around the end of the table to Data, giving him an apologetic look. Once the rest of the senior staff had filed out of the room, she placed her right hand on Data's left shoulder, "Some anniversary, hmm? Annelids galore."

"Indeed." Data moved to embrace T'Mera, "Please be careful around Lore. He can appear copacetic, while being manipulative and deceitful. I will be able to come visit after alpha shift begins."

T'Mera planted a long kiss on Data's lips, then pulled away gently, "I'll be extremely careful. See you at alpha, Bright Eyes."

For the first time since the briefing, Data's lips quirked in a smile that spread to his eyes. He escorted the holographer to the turbolift, then resumed his bridge post after the turbolift doors shut.