Sending Data to Troi for her counsel was a calculated move on his part. The half Betazed would attribute his actions to his emotional response to the situation. Even though, the actuality was different, the narration was mostly truth. The best lies always held a kernel of truth. Everything, he told Data leading up to the destruction of the colony had been honest. It wasn't the safest route to take but it did make him feel better. Emotions could be damn inconvenient at times.

He leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. The shuttle would arrive with his guests within hours. No matter what the repercussions of his admissions, he would be safe. Excitement coursed through him. He had a list of places he wanted to visit right away. There were so many things to do. He now understood the illogical adage, *There's never enough time in the day*. He could forget the past and lose himself to the wonder of the universe.

10101010

Picard looked up from his contemplation at the sound of the door chime. "Come.

Deanna Troi entered, her expression a mass of worry, and what could be described as sorrow.

"Counselor." This just couldn't be good.

Behind her, entered Data. "Sir, Data has something to tell you. I ask that you consider that he came to me first, at request of Lore. I believe, Lore may have given us the answer to what happened on Omnicron Theta… in what may be a significant personal sacrifice on his part.

"I'm listening," Picard leaned back in his chair.

101010101

"It had been one hour, thirty-seven minutes, and forty-nine seconds… by his internal chronometer. Lore sighed. By now, Data and possibly Troi would be informing Picard of the tragic story of Omnicron Theta. He expected a comm any moment, ordering him to the Captain's ready room. Pointless and tedious. He decided to save time and just head that way in advance. Might as well get it over with, he'd contacted his 'friends' in route and they were clear about his course of action. If nothing else, it would be amusing to see Picard's response.

"Lore headed towards the turbo-lift with determined strides. He would most likely have to leverage his familial connection to Data in order to move forward with his plans. They would want something in return. Celebrity would make it harder to move around unnoticed, at least in the highly populated areas of the federation but sooner rather than later, people would get bored and move on to other entertainment. He could play the fool for a little while longer.

"Data!"

Lore rolled his eyes. This again? The replicated yet expensive looking clothing should have been enough of a clue even at a distance that he was not his brother. He turned and instantly his eyes narrowed. It was a face burned into his net like the face of every colonist who treated him as less than real.

"Data, I really need to talk with you about…" Maddox stopped up short. The stance and the expression on the familiar face before him was all he needed to see to know that this wasn't Data. Picard was right. Absolutely amazing. "Lore? You're Lore," he stated, looking the android up and down.

Lore was outright scowling now. What the hell was Maddox doing here? Had he been found out? Were they planning on delivering him to Maddox for dissection? Fear flitted along his circuits. It was every nightmare he'd ever had about Organics, come to life in one man. Fear turned to anger. "Why are you here?"

"For you, of course," Maddox offered an excited smile.

Lore's fists closed and he took a step forward, "Explain. Now."

Maddox finally seemed to note the less than cordial look on the android's face. But he wasn't deterred in the least. Had he been less bigoted against artificial intelligence, he would have realized the increasing danger. "I came to find you. To…" he seemed to grope for a less demanding word than 'order.' "To explain to you, my position in Starfleet and what I am tasked to do with regard to artificial intelligence. Specifically, intelligence based on your schematics. Yours and Data's."

"I. don't. care. What. you've. Been. Tasked. To. do," Lore's voice had dropped low, each word clipped and deadly. "Who sent you here? Was this Picard's doing?" How could he have miscalculated so badly? He would overload the Enterprise's engines and burn in space before he would allow his autonomy to be taken from him! He would not be rewritten!

Maddox was now frowning. "I am here representing the Daystrom Institute. Believe me, if I relied on Picard for introductions, we'd never have met."

Lore's mind was painted red. It was as if every circuit in his body was sparking hot with energy. He'd only been this angry once before. It hadn't turned out well for anyone involved.

"I'm not sure what Captain Picard has told you or if you understand my position, Lore. But we need to talk about…" Maddox forged ahead.

"WE, do not need to do anything," Lore hissed. "I know exactly what your position is, and what you hope to do!" "You think, I don't know what you tried to do to my brother?"

This was not what he expected. This was so much more. Lore was outright antagonistic, clearly angry. For Lore's neural net to process something as complicated as the emotion he was seeing; it was nearly a feat of magic with current technologies. This machine wasn't reacting with a set of prescribed responses. It was reacting to him as a living, sentient organism might. Maddox was beside himself. The possibilities had now increased a hundred-fold. He had to make the android see what was at stake. Maddox shook his head lightly. He was not going to walk away without the knowledge, not this time.

"All I tried to do was to replicate your kind."

The expression on Lore's face had gone from twisted in anger to utterly blank. "Over your dead body."

"Maddox's mouth fell open. Had the android just threatened him? "Excuse me?

It took every ounce of restraint that he had, not to reach out and snap the human's head off his shoulder's. This was done. He was done. No more playing with the humans nor trying to entice his brother. Picard had made a tactical error that would cost him his ship and the lives of his crew. He only wished he'd be there to see it all. But the thought that this monstrous example of humanity at it's finest would also pay, gave him cold satisfaction.

Lore smiled and a power surge caused his eyes to flash with gold fire. Maddox took a step back. "Let me make this simple for you. I am not subordinate to you. Not now, not ever. The very sight of you, makes me ill. I will not tolerate your bigotry. And I will never relent to you. Now stay away from me."

His eyes flashed again as energy coursed through his frame. He was aware, he was dangerously close to overloading some of his circuits but at the moment, didn't give a damn. He hated the man that stood before him. Yes, that's what he felt. Hate. Rage…. fear. The sounds of B4 calling out to him the night that the colonists took him, resounded in his head. Monsters! All of them!

Lore took another determined step, right into Maddox's face. All the color drained. The man looked like a pale, gaping fish. His eyes continued their light show, but Lore said nothing. Maddox had backed himself against the bulkhead. There was nowhere to go. The android smiled.

1010101010

Picard ran his hand over his bald plate for the seventh time. Data had finished relating everything that Lore had told him. The story fit. Maybe, it fit too well. But he had faith is his crew. Deanna's theory about Lore's unstable behavior and his likely seeing his older sibling, B4, dissected by the colonists would explain a lot.

"While I know it might not be wise to attribute human response in Lore, from all indications his behavior smacks of PTSD," Troi offered. "It explains what I was sensing."

"I would also concur with that assessment," Data nodded. "Though, that may not be the whole of it, as Lore is not human nor are he and I that similar. His responses are unique and often emotional driven."

"Perhaps," Troi continued. We've been addressing him, all wrong." She looked to both Data and Picard to make her point. "One thing we have to remember in dealing with him is while he looks and acts like a man, from an emotional standpoint, he really isn't. Lore has actually only really 'lived' a few years."

"It would be a mistake to think of Lore as a child," Data addressed Troi. "Even if his emotions are not functioning at an adult level, he would be fully cognizant of any actions he takes.

Troi offered Data a small smile, "Where emotion leads, logic doesn't always follow. A child or not, Lore was in his formative years on Omnicron Theta, during which time, he was subjected to what he deems to be the murder of his brother.

Picard leaned back in his chair and raised his eyes to the ceiling, "At the hands of the people that were, in a way, rearing him."

"Yes. That would be accurate enough. It would explain why he didn't offer the truth… and his aggression. He doesn't trust us not to do the same to him."

Picard locked eyes with Deanna. A calculating expression on his now intent face, "Then, why now?"

The comm pinged. "Not now."

Riker cut in. "I'm sorry, Captain, but you may want to hear this."

"What is it, now?" he sighed.