Data had deactivated the alarms not 10 seconds after they had started, but it was already too late. Disgruntled crew members began streaming onto the bridge, wondering what danger required their attention. A few of the members weren't even completely dressed in their uniforms, having thrown them on while still half asleep. Riker had a silk bathrobe draped around his shoulders, obscuring his uniform, and Worf's hair looked as if it had been styled with a blind barber using a phaser. Wesley, Beverly, and Tasha looked mostly put together. Troi was nowhere to be found, which was not a surprise, as that woman could sleep through anything.
"What's the problem?" Geordi asked, staring straight ahead, as he had forgotten his VISOR in the mad scramble to get to the bridge.
"Nothing's wrong, Q decided to pay us a late night visit and left us a gift," Picard answered. The crew looked around the bridge and finally saw Lore. There was an uproar as everyone who had managed to grab their phasers aimed them at Lore.
"Stand down!" Picard commanded, raising a hand. Everyone relaxed slightly, but still kept their phasers out. Riker looked at the captain expectantly.
"What is he doing here?" He asked hostilely.
Picard sighed.
"Q found him and thought it would benefit us if he brought Lore here. Data refused to let Q dispose of him," he summarised.
"He can't hurt any of us," he added. The crew hesitantly put their phasers away and walked to stand by their stations. Data strode over to quietly fill Geordi in on the situation. Lore remained in the center of the bridge, silent with his arms crossed.
"What are we going to do with him, sir?" Wesley piped up, glancing at Data's brother. Lore grinned menacingly back at him.
Picard pondered the question for a few moments, bracing his elbow against his wrist and rubbing a finger over his mouth absentmindedly.
"We'll have to find a way to live with him until we can come up with a better idea," he said, finally. Of course, there were noises of dissent from the crew that Picard silenced with a raise of his hand.
"This is only temporary, so please, show Lore a civility he has not shown to us," he said. His crewmates nodded begrudgingly, clearly not happy about the whole ordeal.
"Lieutenant Commander Worf, please escort Lore to one of the empty living quarters and make sure he is comfortable. Counselor Troi, alert everyone else to Lore's presence," he instructed, descending to sit in his chair. He looked slightly disgusted as he sat, likely remembering Q being all over it.
Worf and Deanna went to fulfill their assigned tasks, Worf grasping Lore's arm none too lightly and started dragging him to the lift.
"Ow!" he yelled, surprising the others. Worf scoffed.
"You can't feel pain, android," he sneered. "You're basically Lieutenant Commander Data but without a shred of kindness."
Lore scowled at that.
"Do not compare me to my brother, oaf," he hissed. "I am superior to him in every way."
Worf and Lore's bickering were cut short as the lift door closed behind them. The crew would have laughed if they weren't so malcontent with the whole situation. Seeing as everyone was already awake, they tried to resume their duties as if nothing had happened, and continued their day as normal.