Year: 2380

Stardate: 57541.2

"No, Data." T'Mera sifted through the morning's messages, fresh from the shuttle. "We're not training B-4 to do that. The interface will have to do."

Data replied to the holographer, "Are you certain? I do not wish to be depriving you of any of your biological needs."

"First of all…" T'Mera scrolled to the next message, "You're meeting my needs just fine. Secondly, I don't think it's right to use your brother's body that way, since he has no idea what it's about."

"It is also my body, for the time being." Data stated as a counterpoint.

T'Mera raised her right eyebrow and leveled her gaze at the android, "That body belongs to the prototype named B-4. Yes, you're sharing it now, but it's more like you're hitching a ride in him, rather than an actual sharing. Whatever possessed you to copy and paste your entire neural net into him? You couldn't have known you were going to be killed, and I know you didn't keep actual backups of yourself."

Data replied, while B-4 played with a few colorful blocks, "I had expected that if my memory engrams were successfully integrated into his positronic matrix, he would have all my abilities. Synaptic Scan Transfers have been fairly successful, before."

T'Mera shook her head, "Not when you do them on top of an active neural net that has someone already in it. You should have wiped his entire matrix before copying yourself over. That would have given you better results, although you would still be running slow."

"But that would have meant effectively killing B-4." Data replied.

"Really?" T'Mera scrolled through another message, "And what do you call doing a dump of yourself into him in the hopes that you'd somehow magically overwrite everything except his personality? And didn't you tell me that Ira Graves had done something similar to you, nearly eradicating your own personality?"

The android was silent for a few moments, then spoke, "I concede your point." When B-4 looked up, Data got a quick glance at the message screen. "That is something from Counselor Troi?"

T'Mera rubbed her chin, "This is an old report I was double checking. I'm not sure if I should tell you about it, since it's about you."

Data replied, "I just viewed it." then recited the report. 'I've watched Data with the B-4 and I'm troubled. Data's desire for a "family" is very strong. I'm afraid he may be investing too much in the B-4, which is like a slow child. Data, in his own way, has assumed the position of a parent or guardian. I'm afraid he has expectations based on his own experiences. He'll be disappointed when the B-4 cannot meet those expectations.' It seems that the desire for a family is detrimental?"

T'Mera opened a new window in the display, "I think she meant that you were expecting too much of B-4, as far as him being a brother you can share things with. According to this file, your family is considered to be the following: Father is Doctor Noonian Soong. Mother is Doctor Juliana Tainer, previously O'Donnell and Soong for surnames. An older brother named Lore. Then for a child, there was Lal."

"That is correct, although now B-4 could be an even older brother." Data responded. "Juliana began as a biological woman, but when she died, my father created an android body for her and did a synaptic transfer into it. It was nigh impossible to tell that she was not human. In fact, she did not even know she was an android. My father kept it from her."

T'Mera grumbled, "Oh good. Because what we need are replicants in the galaxy…"

"I am unfamiliar with that term, T'Mera." Data replied.

T'Mera smiled slightly, "I know which holovid to play, next time we do that at night instead of an interface." She returned to a solemn expression, "Data, is it that important to you to have an android family, as opposed to building a family with biological organisms?"

A few moments of silence passed, then Data spoke, "I would no longer be alone in my experiences. B-4 cannot share them with me. Lal ceased to function. My father is dead. My mother will die at the age a human woman does, never knowing she was an android. Lore is dangerous and must remain deactivated."

"That bothers me." T'Mera glanced at the android, then back at the files, "There's an ancient proverb about computers. "Garbage in, garbage out." Somewhere among Lore's subprocesses is the garbage that's making him dangerous, as you claim."

Data paused before replying, "Doctor Soong told us that we are virtually identical, except for a bit of programming. However, I am not dangerous, and Lore was."

T'Mera tapped her finger on the desk surface, "I'm willing to bet that your bodies are virtually identical, but that there's more than just a "bit" of programming difference. There's also the matter of environmental upbringing. You were raised by Starfleet, according to these files. Lore was raised by a narcissistic mad scientist. That would make a big difference, in my opinion."

"I had not thought of that." Data admitted. He waited a beat, then asked, "How are you feeling, by the way? I noticed that you barely touched your meal, this morning."

"It tasted funny." T'Mera told the android. "A bit metallic. I'll see if they can check the replicator."

Data offered, "Perhaps we could get you something from the atrium that is grown on the planet? I also have an idea for an activity for us to do."

"Oh?" T'Mera turned her chair to face him, "What would that be?"

"There are some interesting caverns in the Northeastern part of this continent. I was thinking that a hike there, followed by a picnic, would be a change of pace. With the exception of going to the doctor's office down the hall, you have not left this room since we arrived. I have noticed that such conditions are often deleterious to biological beings, especially humans." Data told her. "We also need to do it fairly soon."

T'Mera raised an eyebrow, "Caverns? You have to be kidding."

"I have not mastered kidding enough to attempt it. I also have a confession." Data added, "I received a visit from Q, and he suggested I take you there."

"Q?" She leveled her gaze at him.

"He is a highly powerful entity from a race of omnipotent, godlike beings called the Q Continuum." Data explained.

"Yes, I'd read about them. And you believe we should do as he says? I've heard he's somewhat of a trickster type." T'Mera tilted her head to the right.

Data responded, "He can be that, yes. He turned me into Friar Tuck, once. However, there was something in his manner when he spoke about the caverns that seemed to infer that he is trying to point me in a specific direction. In addition, as I have noted, you could most likely use the break from all this work."

T'Mera leaned back in her chair, "If I hop on the logic train, it would dictate that when a godlike being suggests you go check something, you should. I'll see what the policy here is for overnight trips. It's not like I'm needing a lot of medical care, yet." She paused, "Too bad Q couldn't restore you."

Data hesitated, then told her, "He did offer, but I felt the price was too high."

"Hmm. Is there a price for the caverns, then?" T'Mera asked as she pulled up another file on the display.

"We will not know that until we are there. It is a risk, but as you said, logic dictates investigating." Data replied and then added, "B-4 and I do not require anything special for the hike to the caverns, but you will need to bring warm clothing, water, food, a tricorder and light, and possibly a sleeping pad, if we decide to remain overnight. We will carry everything you wish to bring. You may also want to use a walking stick."

"Good idea, Bright Eyes." T'Mera closed out the files on the display, then got out of the chair, "I'll go make arrangements, so they know where we're going. Then I'll pack and we'll go."

While T'Mera gathered the supplies and made arrangements, Data and B-4 waited patiently. Thirty minutes later, she was dressed in layers for the hike, and a backpack had been strapped to B-4's back. The monitors were removed from B-4, with the exception of Data's voice synthesizer.

They left the grounds of the Medical Center and headed to the Northeast. After a short while, T'Mera began to whistle a tune.

Data spoke as they walked, "That is a catchy tune. What is the name of the song?"

"I think it's called The Best of Buddies." T'Mera told the android, then inhaled the crisp Ba'ku air, "It's whistled much faster than it's sung."

"I never did learn how to whistle well enough." Data lamented.

T'Mera looked over at B-4, then asked, "Was your mouth the same as B-4's?"

"Yes." Data replied, "My mouth was the same. Why do you ask?"

T'Mera navigated around some rocks, using the walking stick for better balance, "I've noticed the android mouth is very dry compared to ours. I think a mouth and lips needs a certain moistness to whistle? Think of it like reed wetting on a woodwind. When you have a body again, try drinking some water before whistling."

The android was silent a moment, "Hmm. I had not realized it, but now that you explain, it makes a great deal of sense. All this time, no one told me."

T'Mera chuckled softly, "Most people don't think about how moist organic life is. Or, I suppose, how dry androids are. I do have to think about it."

"Oh?" Data kept alert for any dangers to them, but the area seemed fairly safe. "Why would you be thinking of such things?"

T'Mera smirked slightly, "Do you know how many erotic holosuite programs I've written? I'll put it this way… the interactive holograms for those need to be moister than other types."

Data began to recite, "You have a total catalogue of two hundred and forty holosuite programs, written over the course of twenty years, which consist of one hundred entertainment programs translated from earlier varieties of media, seventy-five of an atmospheric or environmental nature, twenty of an educational or instructional nature, eight original adventures written by you, and thirty-seven of an erotic, sexual or therapeutic nature, including the translation of "Vulcan Love Slave", which won you the Latinum Plegg Lobes Award of 2364, and garnered a Holosuite Critic aggregate rating of ninety-five percent."

T'Mera snorted after he was finished, "Well, I guess you do know how many I've written."

B-4 stopped to check some bright flowers, so T'Mera stopped with him. Data continued to speak, "I do not have access to your work in fixing malfunctioning artificial intelligence."

"That's fine, Data." T'Mera watched over B-4, "I didn't keep track of that, either. I fixed mostly non-working holograms, Galaxy-class computer malfunctions, the exocomps… now you..." When the android began to move again, she started walking. "Do we know where we're going or we're just blindly bumbling?"

"Bumbling, although Q specifically mentioned kelbonite." Data answered. "The entire distance to reach the cavernous area is approximately sixteen kilometers. Once we get closer, we can use the tricorder to scan for kelbonite deposits." He paused, "You fixed the exocomps?"

T'Mera weaved her way through a thicket of wildberries, "Dr. Farallon couldn't quite figure out how to stop them from gaining sentience. I sent her a patch that kept their heuristic nature but blocked the emergence of self-awareness. She wanted disposable, mobile tools, not living beings. If she ever does decide she wants them sentient, all she has to do is revert my patch. I made it very modular."

"That is a shame." Data replied, "While I understand wanting them to be merely tools, there might have been a way to work with them as living beings."

T'Mera reached out to take B-4's left hand with her right, "In an ideal world, yes. However, your own full rights haven't even been determined, and you're a walking, talking person. The hearing only legally determined that you are your own property. Photonics aren't doing all that well, although I hope my test will change things for them. The exocomps are, literally, Maddox's "box on wheels", and have even less chance, right now. It's best to leave them as tools for the time being."

Data responded, "You are most likely correct." He could see her in his peripheral vision, "How are you faring? Do you need to rest?"

T'Mera shook her head, "I'm fine. I used to be in very good physical condition. I'll make it to the caverns without needing to stop."

Data initiated part of his romance subroutine to squeeze T'Mera's hand gently. They walked for a couple of hours, occasionally singing as they hiked. As they approached the foothills of the mountains, he suddenly spoke. "B-4, please stop!"

B-4 stopped in place, causing T'Mera to nearly trip.

"B-4, please crouch and stare at the ground approximately half a meter in front of us." Data commanded, and the prototype obliged. "T'Mera, I can see faint markings of what might have been a trail. There are two distinct depressions in the ground, as if made by a terrain-based vehicle. The path leads to the East from here."

T'Mera bent to check, then said, "All right. Let's go that way, then." She took out the tricorder and held it up in front of her, "Readings are difficult, due to kelbonite. Picking up a bit of fistrium, as well."

Data guided B-4 by voice, as they followed the faint trail to a wall of rocks. "The trail ends here, but there is a slight incongruity to the surfaces of the rock."

T'Mera walked up to run her hands along the wall. "I see what you mean. It's made to look like a natural formation. Very clever. If you hadn't said something, I wouldn't have noticed." She frowned, then said, "There's a place up here to put a hand, but it doesn't do anything when I place my hand in it."

"B-4, please go to T'Mera and let her put your hand into the print in the rock." Data commanded.

B-4 replied, "All right." and walked over to T'Mera. She took his left hand and lifted it to match the print in the rock. His hand fit perfectly, and a few creaks and clicks sounded, as the rockface door moved inward, revealing a hidden cavern.

"Intriguing." Data watched, then said, "B-4, please enter the cavern."

T'Mera followed the android into the cavern, turning on the flashlight at the end of her tricorder, "How long do you think this has been here?"

Data answered her as they walked through the rock tunnel, "If I were to gauge it by the plant growth over the tracks and around the door, I would estimate it to be at least fifty years old. The growth suggests that the last time someone was here was over forty years ago." A black panel with a glowing red button sat a meter above the floor, in the wall. B-4 instinctively pressed the button, which began a sequence of lights illuminating the interior.

"It seems the power cell still works." T'Mera mused. She checked the tricorder, "Not picking up any lifeforms, although the kelbonite could be masking them. I'm picking up fistrium, rhyolite and limestone in the rocks, and calcite deposits, as well as some hydrothermal vents in here."

"The vehicular trail leads farther down this tunnel." Data prompted B-4 to move in the direction of the tracks.

T'Mera followed the android until they found the source of the tracks.

B-4 reached out to touch the shiny object, while Data stated, "Curious. A four-wheel, two axle all terrain ground vehicle capable of seating one person, with cargo space in the back. Solar fuel cell is currently at half-charge."

T'Mera passed the vehicle, holding up her tricorder, "There's another hidden door here, with a large room behind it. Similar handprint as the rock wall."

B-4 turned his attention away from the vehicle and walked over to T'Mera, offering his left hand to her. She wrapped her right hand around his wrist and then assisted him in placing his hand in the print on the door's panel. The sliding door opened with a slight 'whoosh' sound.

"Level of dust and other growth still consistent with the theory that no one has been here for nearly fifty years." Data announced as they entered the next room.

T'Mera let out a soft whistle as they entered the room. Beakers and jars of chemicals were stacked on one of the tables. Bookshelves held several paper books and binders filled with loose-leaf papers. Incongruous among the books on human anatomy, genetics, brain chemistry and other sciences were two books; Of Human Freedom and The Silver Chalice. A few planters held the brown remains of potted plants, while anatomy, brain and nerve charts leaned against the walls. Toys and other knick-knacks were scattered about in a haphazard manner, and every surface and corner held clutter of some sort.

B-4 moved towards a bookshelf, reaching out to play with a Newton's Cradle toy.

T'Mera bent down to check a large metal trunk, but the lid was too heavy to lift. "B-4, can you come over here and give me a hand?"

Data suddenly said, "This cannot be…" and fell into silence.

B-4 grabbed something from the bookshelf, walked over to T'Mera and held out what he had picked up; An android hand, identical to his own. "Here is a hand."

T'Mera looked up at B-4, then at the hand, "Thank you, B-4, but it was an expression of speech. I meant, can you help me open the lid of this box?" She took the hand from him, then stood back as the android opened the trunk. "Data, did you see this?"

"T'Mera, given that I am inside B-4 and see what he sees, yes, I see it." Data answered. "I will have to check the bitanium decomposition to be able to tell how old the android parts are."

"All right. That can be done later." T'Mera placed the hand on the floor, then looked inside the trunk. She pulled out one of plastic items from within, "It's an epidermal mold?"

Data replied, "Find one resembling a face and see if it fits over B-4's cranial unit."

T'Mera dug through the trunk, then pulled out the plastic face and turned it around to fit over B-4. "Perfect fit." She sighed, "Don't tell me we're going to find one of the two missing prototypes here."

"I would not be able to tell you, since I do not know, either." Data replied.

B-4 offered helpfully, "I will not tell you, T'Mera."

T'Mera blinked, "Say, Data, do you have a set of molds of yourself? We might actually need these, to make your new body."

Data seemed to think for a moment, "I do not have molds of myself, so you are correct. These will help, if they are the exact specifications I used to have."

T'Mera stood up and searched the walls, "Let's see if we can shed more light in here." She moved a slider on the wall and the ceiling lights increased illumination.

"Thank you." Data said, "B-4 and I will look through these."

T'Mera smirked as she moved to a nearby desk, "When they made you, they threw away the mold… some of it grew back?" she joked, then opened one of the desk drawers.

Data responded, "An hysterical joke. Ha. Ha. Ha."

"I thought you'd like it." T'Mera pulled out some items from the drawer, and spread them on the desk to investigate.

"Given all the evidence, thus far, I postulate that this was once a lab for Doctor Noonian Soong." Data told her, as B-4 pulled out the epidermal molds to check against his own body parts.

T'Mera gasped in shock, "For the love of Pete…"

Data asked, "Who is Pete?"

"Fine…" T'Mera snorted, "For the love of Olivaw… and you better damn well know who he is. Anyway, I found some very old Orion identity forgery devices. Laminators, mag strips, coders, imager… you name it, it's here. As well as a few previous IDs, some from the twenty-second century, some from the twenty-third, and a few that are more current." She held up one of the identity cards, then her jaw went slack.

B-4 walked over to see the card in T'Mera's hand.

Data paused, then said, "This cannot be."

The name on the card was Arik Soong, and next to the name was a picture of a white-haired, blue-eyed man who bore a shocking resemblance to Data and B-4.