Stardate: 58540.3

Omicron Theta Terraforming Station

Sunset painted the sky of Omicron Theta with reds, oranges and yellows fading upwards into the indigo of the coming twilight. Most of the engineering team assigned to the power and water systems for the installation had ceased work and returned to the underground bunker. Geordi La Forge finished replacing one of the valves on the water treatment pipes and looked up just in time to see the dimming sunlight become obscured by a tan, murky dust cloud. "Bensen! We have an incoming dust storm!"

Bensen crawled out from under the distribution pumps, "How long do we have until it gets here?"

Geordi gathered his tools and placed them in the kit as he watched the dust cloud roll towards them like a gigantic wave, "We should have just enough time to get inside."

Bensen grabbed his own tool kit and hurried back along the suspended scaffolding to the main platform to meet La Forge. "Let's go, then."

As the two engineers made their way to the Southern entrance of the underground bunker, dust blew past them, reducing visibility for Bensen. La Forge's implants endowed him with the ability to see through the thick particulate matter, and Bensen followed closely behind him.

"We made it." Geordi pressed the button on the panel by the door, then turned his back to the door. "I'm picking up a heat signature. Someone else is out here." He cupped his hand around his mouth, "Hello?"

A woman scampered up to the doorway, in the midst of a coughing fit. "H-..."

"Don't talk." Geordi reached for the woman's arm, "Let's get inside first." He pulled her with him through the open doorway, and Bensen pressed the interior panel, sealing the doorway behind them. As he cleaned the dust from his clothing, Geordi looked closely at the woman who had joined them. She stood a few inches shorter than him and appeared to be just past middle-age, with silver-grey hair pulled tightly back into a neat bun.

The woman began to flick the dust from her shirt and pants, "Ship's sensors didn't pick up that storm. I thought it was safe to come down to the surface."

"There's no way to predict dust storms." Bensen wiped his hands on his clothing, "At least we all made it in before the worst came through."

Geordi studied the woman's dark amber eyes for a moment, "Are you with the terraformers? I don't recognize you."

"Oh, no." The woman held out her hand to La Forge, "I'm Lynn Darnell. I'm supposed to meet with Captain Phillipa Louvois on the Enterprise, but she's in a meeting and I'm several hours early, so I figured I'd come down to the surface and see how the terraforming is being done."

Geordi shook Lynn's hand, "I'm Commander Geordi La Forge, from the Enterprise and this is Bjorn Bensen, Chief Engineer for the terraforming team."

"Nice to meet you." Lynn returned the handshake, then reached for Bensen's hand. "Is it all right if I peek in on the work you're doing? I wouldn't want to distract anyone."

Bensen shook Lynn's hand with a nod, then beckoned her to follow, "I'm sure it'll be no problem. Come this way. Director Kim is using an old geology lab as the terraforming control center."

Lynn fell into step with Bensen as La Forge brought up the rear. The trio soon reached the open doorway to the terraforming central control. A two meter high model globe of Omicron Theta occupied the center of the lab, while several workstations lined the walls.

Juliana stood next to Luisa Kim by the rust-colored globe, "This area over here is an alluvial plain that we never tapped, but there's a few aquifers underneath. Most of the underlying rock is porous."

Luisa pushed the curved metal interface over the indicated section, "All right. Marking that area for some of the reservoir basins." As she noticed the incoming trio, she pursed her lips, "It looks like you all were caught in a dust storm."

Chief Bensen's cheeks dimpled as he smiled, "It popped up unexpectedly. How are things going in here?"

"It's coming along well." Luisa looked back at Juliana, "Doctor Tainer, have you met Chief Bensen, yet? I think he's been outside the whole time you've been down here."

Juliana moved to meet Bensen and held her right hand out to him, "No, I don't believe we've met. I'm Juliana Tainer. Nice to meet you."

Bensen took Juliana's hand, gave it a single shake, then gripped it firmly. "Another cybernetic hand?" He brought his left hand up to inspect her hand in detail. "This is amazing work."

"Cybernetic?" Juliana's blue eyes widened and she stared at her own hand as Bensen's fingers traced her palm.

Lynn took a few steps back from the blond-haired engineer, "That's a bit more than weird."

Geordi shouted, "Wait! Bensen, don't-"

Juliana's eyes unfocused, her jaw went slack, and she teetered forward as she lost consciousness.

Bensen managed to catch the geologist before her body hit the floor. "She's fainted! We might need a medical team here."

"Dammit." Geordi ran to help with Juliana, then noticed Bensen's confused expression, "It's a long story, but she doesn't know she's an android. Her creator designed her to shut down if her true nature was discovered."

"I'm sorry." Bensen lowered Juliana gently to the floor. "I didn't know…"

Lynn peered over from a couple of meters away, "Her creator?"

Luisa stared in disbelief, "I didn't know, either. Is there anything we can do to help her?"

Geordi shook his head, "It's all right, Director Kim. Doctor Soong designed her to fool everyone into thinking she's human. Unless you know advanced cybernetics, there's not much you can do for her." He tapped his combadge, "La Forge to Data."

Data's voice replied, "Go ahead, Geordi."

"I'm in the terraforming control center. Doctor Tainer's collapsed." Geordi let out a sigh.

A few moments passed before Data answered. "Thank you, Geordi. I will beam down to you."

Lynn bit her lower lip, "Um, I don't want to be in the way. Is it all right if I just look around the installation?"

Luisa Kim headed to the doorway, "Of course. With Doctor Tainer, um, indisposed, I can't do much here, at the moment. Let me show you around the facilities. Follow me."

Lynn dipped her head to Luisa and moved to follow the terraformer. "It was nice meeting you, Commander La Forge and Chief Bensen. Good luck with her."

A few minutes later, Data entered the lab and made his way to where Geordi and Bensen waited by Juliana's side. "What has happened here?"

Geordi gave Data a quick pat on the back in greeting, "When Chief Bensen shook her hand, he told her she had a cybernetic hand. She shut down almost immediately."

"I'm really sorry, Commander." Bensen shook his head, "I didn't realize it would be a problem."

Data bent to examine Juliana, "It is all right, Chief Bensen, although I am curious to know the method which enabled you to determine that her hand is cybernetic. She has a feedback processor that is designed to send out a false bio-signal, making her indistinguishable from a human."

Bensen held his right hand out to Data. "When I was just starting out as an engineer, I was involved in an accident that cost me my hand. It was replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis that gives me the ability to detect and analyze the atomic structure of anything I touch."

Data's eyebrows shot upwards, "That is how you knew that I was an android when you first met me. I can also see how such an ability is useful for someone in your field."

"Very useful." Bensen frowned as he placed his right hand on Juliana's forehead, "What do we have to do to wake her up?"

Data shot Geordi a brief glance then turned back to Bensen, "I believe it would be best if we do not reactivate her immediately. While this is an unfortunate incident, it does present us with the opportunity to have T'Mera check Doctor Tainer's programming." He scooped Juliana into his arms, then stood. "I will take her to the Enterprise, now."

"All right, Data." Geordi gave Data a single, quick nod of his head, then looked back at Bensen, "The dust storm should be over by now. Let's get back to working on the water treatment valves."

Data returned the quick nod, then carried Juliana out into the hall and back to the transport site. "Data to Enterprise. Two to beam up."

Stardate: 58541.1

Enterprise Holodeck Four

Lore paced silently around the holodeck detention area as T'Mera worked diligently at her workstation. A set of monitors adorned Juliana's head, similar to the ones that Lore wore attached to his open ports. He drew his attention away from the android geologist to fix an intense golden-eyed stare at the security guard arriving for the new shift. The young ensign's hand moved to rest on the modified tricorder hooked to his belt as he followed the android's movements with narrowed eyes. Lore continued the lap, passing the curved table on his way back to T'Mera. As he approached, T'Mera's mouth opened slowly, followed by a slow inhale. Lore came to a halt beside the holographer, "That's the fourth yawn in the past half an hour, T'Mera, and your eyes are blinking more. I think you need to get some sleep."

Another yawn stretched T'Mera's jawline, "Ensign Murphy is busy today, so I have to stay."

"Data will be here." Lore leaned against the wall and faced the sleepy holographer, "Unless you're afraid to leave him alone with me."

T'Mera fiddled with the lemniscate charm dangling from her choker, "There is some concern that you'll knock Data out and try to impersonate him."

A genuine grin spread across Lore's face, "You think Data's stupid enough to fall for that a third time?"

"It's not a matter of Data being stupid." T'Mera returned her focus to her display, "It's about you being devious."

Lore pushed himself away from the wall, "It's your turn to take a leap of faith. Yes, I'm devious and my past exploits don't exactly lend themselves to anyone trusting me, but if I really wanted to deceive you and Data, wouldn't I keep quiet and wait for you to pass out?" He pointed his thumb towards the security guard, "And I'd still have Ensign Twitchy over there to contend with, as well as your photonic guards."

T'Mera rubbed at her eyes, "Fine. After I give my report to Data, I'll go rest."

"It's alpha shift now." Lore glanced past the security guard to the holodeck exit. "He should be here, soon." A smirk formed on his lips as the doors parted to allow Data entrance. "Right on time, brother."

"Good morning, Lore." Data continued walking until he reached T'Mera, then bent to kiss her. "Good morning, t'hy'la."

T'Mera smiled as she returned the kiss. "Good morning, Bright Eyes. Would you like to hear my findings on Juliana's programming?"

Data straightened to full height, "I am most anxious to hear your report."

T'Mera swiveled in her chair to face the android brothers, "I'll just launch into it, then. It was easy for me to separate Juliana's synaptic scan… Her biological programming, so to speak… from what Doctor Soong added. There's a program that shuts her down when it's triggered by physical injury or sudden shock discovery, but there's also a secondary program running whose purpose is to reset her if she starts to suspect what she is during solitary moments. That secondary program also nests the thoughts and memories that caused her to realize her true nature and erases them from her accessible memory engrams. Each time that happens, her system produces an event log for Soong. Over the past year, the frequency of her self-discovery has increased. That's what's causing her short term memory lapses and why they're getting worse, as well as why she doesn't remember making jewelry."

"What about her not remembering that Data and I were active together?" Lore folded his arms across his chest and crossed his feet at the ankles.

T'Mera stifled a yawn, "There's been some deliberate tampering with her memories where you're concerned, Lore, as well as the memories centered around the escape from Omicron Theta. The true memories are nested, but she's been given some holographically created ones in their place. I can only assume that Soong did it because the memories were causing her distress, or creating arguments. There's no way to know for sure without asking Soong."

Data's head twitched in a sharp movement to the left, "Will you be able to remove the programming and restore her original memories?"

T'Mera rubbed at the back of her neck, "Easily. There's even stack traces for me to follow. Did you decide if you want to continue to pretend she's not an android?"

Data's lips parted as he hesitated, "I have not been able to reach a resolution on that subject." He paused, then resumed speaking, "I do notice, however, that you are showing signs of fatigue. While it is true that your body temperature and metabolic rate do not decrease due to your cybernetic anatomy, as a biological synaptic transfer you will eventually suffer from a decrease in mental acuity after an extended period of time without sufficient slumber."

"I already told her to go to bed, Data." Lore leveled his gaze at T'Mera.

"Now it's in stereo." T'Mera pushed her chair away from the console as she stood. "I'll go take a nap. Maybe by the time I get back, you two will figure out which way you want Juliana reactivated."

Data dipped his head in a single nod, "Pleasant dreams, t'hy'la." He watched her walk to the exit and vanish through the doors, then turned back to address Lore. "I am still having difficulty in deciding which reactivation scenario should be chosen for Mother."

Lore stuck his tongue into the left side of his mouth, "I don't see what the hardship is. Maybe you should just dismantle her while she's deactivated and consider her finally gone."

"She is our mother, Lore." Data frowned at his brother, "How can you say such a thing?"

"My lips and tongue move and I push air through my vocal synthesizer." The left side of Lore's mouth rose into a smirk, "Data, Juliana died around four decades ago. This is just an android."

Data's right eyebrow lowered as he studied Lore's face. "She is a living being, even if her body is artificial. It would be akin to killing her."

"Oh, so any android except me has the right to live?" Lore stared back at Data with equal intensity.

Data's eyebrows realigned themselves, "I am very sorry that I treated you in that manner, as it was not the right thing to do, no matter what your crimes were. Given that you are dissatisfied with my past treatment of you, why do you recommend such a fate for her?"

"I guess it's because I don't see a way around it." The anger in Lore's voice diminished, "If she keeps suspecting the truth, she'll eventually kill herself just from triggering the program. There could be more accidents in the future that shut her down, and who would be around to figure it out? They might even bury her, thinking she's a biological organism who died. If she reactivated on her own, she wouldn't be able to dig herself out. Or they might cremate her. Or any other number of bizarre methods the organics have of disposing of their dead."

"I see your point, Lore." Data let out a long sigh, then pressed his lips together, "Once again, I have not been able to separate what would be best for Mother from what would be best for me … or us."

"You just want the easy way out." Lore rubbed his chin, "I have an idea. Let's call B-4 and ask him his opinion." He walked over to T'Mera's workstation, sat in her chair, and called up the subspace communications system. "Once I have the parameters set, it'll just need your command codes."

"What are you doing, Lore?" Data cocked his head, then moved towards his brother.

Lore's fingers flew over the console, "I'm setting up the holographic interface and tactile protocols, including event logging for your lover."

Data's left eyebrow quirked upward, "You have been watching T'Mera work."

Lore gritted his teeth, "Of course I have, brother. I like to learn new things. Don't you? Doesn't B-4?"

"Yes, of course." Data circled around behind Lore's chair, "It is just that, when you express such sentiments, it sounds far more menacing."

Lore rolled his eyes, "Just give me the permission to call B-4 and don't worry about how menacing I sound."

Data leaned forward, "Close your eyes, please." Once his brother's eyes had shut, Data quickly keyed in the sequence to open the subspace channel. "You may open your eyes now, Lore."

Lore opened his eyes and leaned back in the chair. "Now we just wait for him to indicate whether or not he'll accept the communication from us."

"I am surprised you want his opinion." Data clasped his hands behind his back in the standard 'at ease' position. "You have been quite vocal about B-4 being slower than the both of us."

Lore leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest, "I suppose I have." He inhaled and exhaled deeply, "The current problem isn't one that can be solved with speed, so B-4 will be just as capable as we are, if not more so." The console beeped and Lore unfolded his arms to tap one of the touchscreen buttons.

B-4's holographic image materialized near the table. "Hello, Data and Lore." He canted his head at Data, "It hasn't been fifteen days, so I don't have much of an update."

Data gave B-4 a soft smile, "We have not called for an update. We require your assistance, if you are not currently occupied with any pressing matters."

B-4 shook his head, "I was analyzing a piece of music for an elective study. It can wait. What sort of assistance do you need?"

Data indicated the unconscious woman on the chaise, "This is Doctor Juliana Tainer, the woman who was married to Doctor Soong and who helped him to create the three of us. We are having difficulty deciding whether or not to tell her about her true nature."

B-4 looked back and forth between his two brothers, "Why ask me for help? I have no memory of this woman and never met her. There's no emotional factor for me as to whether she knows her true nature or not."

"Exactly. We need you as the tie-breaker." Lore flashed a hollow, toothy smile at the prototype. "You may find it hard to believe, but Data and I are in disagreement about how to handle it."

B-4 tossed a glance at the unconscious woman on the chaise, "I remember the conversation from Ba'ku. This is the woman who died and our creator made an android of her, like you did with T'Mera?"

"Correct." Data moved to stand beside the prototype, "However, this was done without her consent, as she was comatose and dying at the time. Our choices are to remove the shutdown command our father programmed into her, tell her that she is an android - and risk that she will be unhappy - or to repair her and reset her while concealing the truth of her existence."

B-4's eyes oscillated slowly, "Doctor Soong felt it best to keep the truth from her, so that she would be happy?"

"That is correct." Data clasped his hands in front of him.

"Are we certain that she would be unhappy as an android?" B-4 inclined his head, observing his younger siblings.

"No, we are not." Data shook his head.

B-4 went silent and still for a moment before speaking, "Do we consider Doctor Soong to be correct in his assumption that she would be unhappy as an android?"

Lore let out a loud, derisive snort, "He was known as Often Wrong for a good reason, and he didn't take her wishes into account that much when she was alive and unhurt, so I'd be inclined to say that it was a decision he made based on his own desires. Anyway, Father made an android body for his own continuation, so how bad can it be?"

B-4 stepped away from the chaise, "The solution seems obvious to me, but I could be missing something that was not yet stated. Take the shutdown program out of her and activate her. Tell her the truth about what was done to her, and then ask her what she wants out of the possible options. Can T'Mera put the program back in, if she wants to be alive but thinking she's human?"

"I am certain that T'Mera could accomplish that task." Data's eyes widened at B-4's question.

B-4 placed his hands on his hips, "That is the way, then. In all this time, no one has asked what Doctor Tainer wants. Rather than guessing and making the decision for her once more, why not ask her opinion?"

"That is an excellent idea. Thank you, B-4." Data smiled, then checked Lore's reaction.

Lore shrugged, "That works for me." He eyed B-4, "You're still wearing that hat."

B-4 placed his hands on the red knit cap, "I like my hat. Since it bothers you, I will remove it." He pulled the hat off, then stuffed it into the right pocket of his jumpsuit.

Lore smirked, "That's better, but your hair's a mess. Don't you brush it?"

"No." B-4 stepped over to the punching bag and pressed his fingers against it. "Sometimes, Emily will brush it, if she thinks it's too messy."

Data started to speak, when the sound of the holodeck doors opening caught his attention. "T'Mera cannot possibly have taken a full nap in so short a time span…"

Lore's nose twitched as he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. He bolted upright and ran to Data's side to get a better view of the woman walking towards them. His yellow eyes widened as far as possible as he took in the silvery hair, amber eyes and soft smile on her face. His jaw dropped and he walked towards her, as if in a trance.

Data quirked his left eyebrow and shot a look of confusion at the equally baffled B-4, then focused his attention back on Lore and the grey-haired woman approaching their position.

Lynn Darnell raised both of her arms as she reached Lore. The sleeves of her shirt slid back with the movement, revealing a gold and silver braided bracelet with yellow and brown gemstones on her left wrist. She grasped Lore's shoulders and smiled up at him, "Ohey, Lore."