XXIX
"Lore does, after all, have a history of violence."
"Now, this is ridiculous, Captain. I don't know what your Ensign thinks she saw, but Lore attacked me and my assistant was merely trying to defend me." Maddox stood with his hands held behind his back as he casually made the rounds of Picard's ready room. He stopped near the aquarium on the wall and seemed to take an interest in the fish.
"Lieutenant Hall claims otherwise." Picard said as he took his seat behind his desk.
Maddox shrugged, "I'm sorry, Captain. I'm a cyberneticist, not a psychologist. Perhaps your Counselor can explain why this young woman is so sure of something that didn't happen."
Picard's face darkened in a way he rarely allowed. He had know men like Bruce Maddox his entire life; intelligent, obsessed, self-absorbed. In actuality, Maddox reminded him of Lore.
Picard tapped the comm, "Commander Data, Lieutenant Hall, report to my ready room."
Were it possible for the automatic door to slam open, Picard would have sworn it did. Hall moved briskly into the room, passing behind Maddox's back without giving him so much as a glance. She stopped in front of Picard's desk. Data stood back, also looking away from Maddox.
"Sir." Hall stood at attention.
"At ease, Lieutenant." Picard instructed. He noted Maddox's dismissive air before he returned to Hall, "Now, would you tell me once more what happened in the corridor?"
Hall's expression was stern, "I was in the turbo lift on my way to deck four in order to visit the station. When the turbo lift doors opened, I saw Captain Maddox, Lore, and his assistant several yards down the corridor. Captain Maddox was pointing a weapon of some kind at Lore's back—."
"Ridiculous!" Maddox sneered, "He slammed me against the bulked. My neck—."
"He did that after you tried to shoot him!" Hall tossed back.
"Captain Maddox." Picard said, stopping them, "I will hear Lieutenant Hall's entire recollection. Proceed."
Maddox scoffed and turned back to the fish tank. Hall continued.
"Lore turned before Captain Maddox could fire. He knocked the weapon from his hand and pushed the Captain against the bulked. His assistant retrieved the weapon from the deck and shot Lore before he could reach it."
Picard was silent for a few moments and gave Data a searching look . He believed her, and so did Data. Picard could not be certain why, but the dagger way in which Data shot glances at Maddox spoke to it.
"Captain Maddox, would you like to explain—."
"—Actually, Captain, no. I wouldn't. This entire interrogation is ridiculous. It isn't as if I harmed him in any way. The neutrino cascade merely fused a few filament connectors in his motor function cortex. It's a simple repair. I could have him restored in merely a few hours."
"Lore does not need your assistance." Data said suddenly.
Maddox's eyes narrowed in a flash, but just as quickly softened. A plastic smile pulled at his lips. "Are you certain? I've been studying Lore's internal systems for years, so it stands to reason that I would be best equipped."
"I agree." Data replied, "It is quite clear that you know Lore's internal systems better than anyone. After all, it is unlikely that many others would have known the exact frequency of the carry band inside Lore's motor function cortex. It is also highly convenient that you happened to be carrying a neutrino enhancer specifically calibrated to that frequency."
Hall scoffed under a breath.
"'Lore is a threat.'" Maddox chimed, "Is that not what you said six months ago, Data? Can I be blamed for wishing to protect myself? Lore does, after all, have a history of violence. Recent violence."
"If you're referring to Reed, that was not his—."
"Lieutenant." Picard cut in, "That will be all."
Hall looked as if she would object, but she quickly caught herself. She nodded, "Aye, Captain."
"You're dismissed."
Hall nodded once more and headed toward the exit. She managed not to look at Maddox as she left.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Data stepped forward. "I did not receive a message announcing your arrival at the station."
"I wasn't aware that I had to announce my comings and goings."
Picard held up his hand, "What exactly is the purpose of your visit, Captain?"
"Please, Captain, I prefer Doctor." Maddox said. He paced a few steps near the aquarium, his hands held behind his back in a professorial air, "I was hoping to meet with Lore for an examination. I would like to perform a few key diagnostics, especially in relation to the changes I made to his ethical subroutines."
"I find it very unlikely that Lore will agree to any exam." Data said.
Maddox narrowed his eyes for a moment, as if he were genuinely confused about something. He scoffed, "Well, of course he won't agree. It falls to you as his legal overseer to instruct him to do so. Surely you understood when you volunteered to take him on that periodic exams would be required."
Data visibly bristled, and it was not something Picard was used to seeing. Data's brow furrowed and the hinge of his jaw moved as he clenched his teeth. "I am afraid you have wasted your time. I have no intention of ordered Lore to submit to any examination."
All of Maddox's phony pleasantries drained from him in an instance. He threw up his hands, "Don't be foolish! If there is no standard record of his progress I can easily petition the court for a rehearing, and I promise you I will win this time."
"Is that a threat, Doctor?" Picard said.
"A fact." Maddox countered, "In fact, I'm a little surprised by you, Picard. I would have expected that you would jump at any chance to get Lore off your ship."
"I think I have heard just about enough." Picard leveled his eyes at Maddox, "I want you off my ship."
Maddox stiffened, "You can't be serious."
"If you don't remember where the air-lock his, I can call for Lt. Worf to escort you there." Picard deadpanned.
Maddox looked at each of them for a moment. It was not surprising when he spun around and left the room without further courtesy. As soon as he was gone, Data lowered his head and looked crestfallen.
Picard dropped into his chair with a sigh, "A would be collector."
"Sir?"
Picard shook his head, "I was just remembering the incident with Kivas Fajo. I can't help but think that Dr. Maddox wants Lore in his collection."
Data frowned, "I am afraid there is a significant difference, Captain. Fajo had a significant interest in keeping me alive."
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I'm going to kill you, Maddox!
"I'm almost done." Geordie said to no one as he hovered over the open side of Lore's skull. He held a tiny tweezer-like tool, which he used to pull out and manipulate a hand full of wires no thicker than hairs. He shook his head, "This is one hell of job. The entire filament bundle is completely fused."
Son of a bitch!
"Will you be able to repair it?" Hall asked. She was standing on the main floor of the science lab, several steps below the platform where Geordie worked.
"Yeah, that's not a problem. It's just the worse possible place." Geordie shook his head again, "You see, this filament bundle was designed to last, well, forever. So I'm guessing Dr. Soong didn't place a very high priority on making it accessible. You have to know what systems to disconnect and in what order to get to it without shutting down the basic network connectors."
"You mean without making him brain dead." Hall fumed.
Geordie stopped working and looked up at her. "Yeah, that would pretty much be the same thing."
"Did you get a chance to examine the weapon that Maddox used?" She asked.
"A neutrino cascade inducer." Geordie scoffed, "It's not a weapon, at least it's not supposed to be. It would be harmless to you or me."
"But Maddox knew exactly what he was doing with it." Hall folded her arms across her chest and took a few steps up the platform, "I think he was trying to kidnap him."
"What?" Geordie actually lowered his hands and stared at her, "I think that would be pretty extreme, even for Maddox."
"Actually, I think that would be tame considering what he tried to do to Commander Data years ago." She noted his questioning look and continued, "I did some background reading before I went to the Captain's ready room."
He turned back to Lore's skull, "Don't get me wrong. I think it's definitely within Maddox's moral compass, or lack there of, but it would be too much of a risk to his career. Data holds a lot of sway with some pretty high people, even if Captain Maddox isn't one of them."
"What would there be to risk? He could have transported Lore away and simply returned him with erased or corrupted memory files when he was done dissecting him." Hall spat the last few words as if they left a bad taste in her mouth. She looked down at Lore, whose eyes were firmly fixed on her. Of course, he lacked the ability to look anywhere else. He could not even blink. "He can hear us, you said?"
Geordie nodded, "All of his brain functions are completely intact. He's just immobile."
Where is Maddox? What have they done with him? Lore starred at Anna with as much intensity as he could, but her eyes were on the floor.
"Damn." Geordie stood back and lowered his tools.
"What is it?"
"Nothing serious. When the bundle fused it also burned out part of the casing. I'll have to go to engineering to get another."
Hall nodded and Geordie stepped out of the room.
Lore waited as he starred, helpless, at a single spot on the far wall. Too many hours had passed, as his rage was quickly devolving into miserable frustration. He was almost glad that he lacked the ability to make a facial expression, for he could not imagine that he would have been able to hold a decent one. Helplessness was not in his makeup, nor was the ability to handle defeat. That was what had happened; Maddox had defeated him in the corridor. He wanted to rage as much as he wanted to cry.
"Lore?"
I'm here, Anna.
She came to the side of the examination table and leaned down to better be in his view. Her hands were together, holding something, but Lore could not shift his eyes to see it.
"After you were transported here, I found this on the floor in the corridor." Anna said. She lifted the small brass pen box into his view. She ran her fingers over the silver pen.
Oh, no….
"I'm afraid the case was broken. It's beautiful." She gave him a reassuring smile as she set the pen into its velvet mold and placed the twisted lid over it.
No, no! Lore railed against the overwhelming sense of injustice. How could this have happened to him? What had he done to deserve all this! Oh. Right….
Anna looked up from the case and smiled at him. It was a kind of sad, sympathetic smile, "I didn't know you were interested in calligraphy."
You know me better than that, Anna. It's for you. He felt the smooth warmth of her fingers as she slid the pen box into his hand and settled it gently back at his side. She squeezed his hand and gave him another reassuring smile.
Oh! Lore's heavy rage began to melt as he decided to focus on the smooth contours of her fingers. What was it he had been angry about?
The lab door hissed open as Geordie entered the room. Anna quickly pulled her hand back to her side. There was silence as Geordie continued his work and Anna watched from several feet away. Nearly an hour passed before the comm chimed.
"Larson to Hall."
Lore growled inside.
"Go ahead." Anna replied. There was suspicion in her voice.
"Could you meet me in the junction room thirteen?"
Anna sighed heavily, "John, I can't really help you right now. Besides, I'm not on duty."
Ha! Nice try, Larson!
There was a long pause. "It really won't take that long. Please?"
Anna was about to issue another refusal, when Geordie reached out and tapped her badge, muting the comm. "It's you birthday, Hall."
"Sir?"
Geordie sighed heavily, "I wasn't supposed to say anything, but it doesn't look like you're going to go along. They're throwing you a surprise party. You really should go."
Lore's proverbial heart sank. He had known nothing about that. Anna groaned and shuffled her feet, clearly irritated by the surprise.
"Come on, Hall." Geordie said, "Dr. Crusher is going to be there, and Guinan. Lore will be fine. I shouldn't be much longer."
Take your time, LaForge. They don't want me there.
Hall sighed again, "All right. Thank you, Commander."
"Don't worry about it. Just try to act surprised, okay?"
She nodded and headed for the exit. Lore returned to his painful reverie and redirected just a little bit of his ire toward Lt. Larson.
What a miserable day….
