Lore: I'll give you the chip our father made. It contains much more than just emotions. It has memories. Memories… our father wanted you to have.

[TNG S7E01 Descent, Part II]

Data was sitting under the arch in the empty holodeck, with a cable connected to his head. T'Mal was standing next to the arch controller.

'Your neural net is linked to the holodeck,' she said. 'Computer, activate program Ortez Number Seven. Data, please concentrate on the memory. We'll see if it works. Are you ready?'

'Yes, I am.' He moved his head slightly. The holodeck started flickering, showing glimpses of different objects and locations. T'Mal tapped quickly on the arch controller and the program finally stabilised, showing Soong's lab on Terlina III. She walked up to Data and put a hand on his shoulder, never taking her eyes off the view in front of her.

They watched as Data from the memory talked to Soong. At some point Soong patted his face.

'I always loved that face,' he said.

'Computer, freeze program,' interrupted T'Mal.

'If I felt any pain, I would say it was an unpleasant sensation.' Data shuddered. 'I anticipated the input, but suddenly it was missing. May I suggest that next time I freeze the program, not the computer?'

'I'm sorry. Next time when I want to freeze the program I'll pat you on the shoulder, okay?'

'That is preferable. Query: why have you freezed the program?'

'I have a working theory on Soong's motivation and needed a few seconds to think about it,' said T'Mal.

'You have never told me about your theory. I thought you still needed more information. As my wife, are you not supposed to share your suspicions with me?'

'I don't need to tell you everything about my work.'

'But this part of your work concerns me a lot,' said Data.

'I agree. I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you until I had enough data.'

'I could have offered some helpful insight if you had told me earlier.'

'Well, yeah, you're right,' said T'Mal. 'I'm just used to working alone.'

'May I ask about your theory?'

'Uh, yes. Inside the chip, I found some memories. I analysed every bit of data I got from research on Lore's reactions and seeked all the information I could find about Soong. Before he moved to Omicron Theta and created you, he'd had a son—Altan Inigo Soong. Unfortunately, when he was sixteen years old, he had an accident and died. At least that's the official version. But look at this.' T'Mal handed Data her PADD displaying a photo. 'That's him. He looks very familiar, doesn't he?'

Data stared at the photo in silence for a while, then looked up at T'Mal in bewilderment.

'I believe Soong started creating androids in order to build a new body for his son, to save him from death,' continued T'Mal. 'I suspect he managed to preserve his son's consciousness thanks to Ira Graves' research. I have a reason to believe that at least some of the memories from the chip actually belonged to Altan. No wonder Soong loved that face—your face.' T'Mal pointed to the frozen memory in front of them. 'It's the face of his son.'

'That seems possible. Shall I resume the program?'

'Yes.'

'Why did you create me?' asked Data from the memory and they listened to the long but a bit vague explanation delivered by Soong. At the end of it T'Mal tapped Data on the shoulder and the program freezed again.

'He's even more creepy than I imagined,' she said. 'Immortality! Okay, go on.'

Data and Soong from the memory started talking and suddenly Lore appeared.

'That bastard,' muttered T'Mal. Data looked at her, baffled.

When Soong revealed that he was dying and Lore showed concern, T'Mal patted Data on the shoulder again. He stopped the program and looked at her questioningly.

'He's surprisingly concerned, isn't he?' she said.

'They spent much time together.'

'Perhaps more than it seems. Go on.'

The program resumed.

'Why didn't you just fix me? It was within your power to fix me,' said Lore after some time.

'It wasn't as easy as that,' replied Soong. 'The next… the next logical step was to construct Data. Afterward, I planned to get back to you, to—to fix you.'

T'Mal nervously tapped Data on the shoulder.

'Logical? How is that logical?' she said when the program freezed. 'It looks like he didn't care for Lore and wanted another android. Lore is right, he could fix him directly. There's no point in building identical androids. He couldn't tell you apart. That makes no sense! Unless he cared only for Lore's consciousness, not his body. Then he would want to transfer Lore's consciousness into the new stable body. But this time he would want to make sure that the new body was functioning properly—by transferring there someone else's consciousness, someone vulnerable, alone, susceptible to manipulation, someone like you. Then getting back to Lore and fixing him would mean transferring his consciousness into your body and killing you.'

'Bridge to Commander Data.' Suddenly they heard Picard's voice coming from Data's combadge. 'Report to the Bridge immediately.'

The memory disappeared and the holodeck grew empty. Data pressed his combadge.

'Acknowledged,' he said and looked at T'Mal. She quickly disconnected the cable from his head and he hurried toward the exit.

— — —

Data left the turbolift and stepped onto the Bridge.

'Mr. Data, assume your station,' said Picard.

Data walked up to his post and sat down, glancing at the view screen.

'Our long-range scanners have picked up a Romulan warbird on the verge of the Neutral Zone,' explained Picard. 'They're not even troubling to cloak themselves.'

'They shouldn't be so confident,' said Riker.

'Analysis, Mr. Data,' ordered Picard.

'Sensors indicate all of their systems are armed, sir. However, they appear to have sustained slight damage from the unknown source.'

'Stay calm, everyone,' said Picard. 'Open hailing frequencies.'

'Hailing frequencies open,' replied Worf.

'Romulan vessel, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. You have crossed the Neutral Zone. This is Federation territory.'

'They are ignoring our hail,' said Worf.

'Repeat the hail, all channels. Romulan vessel, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. Both our ships are ready to fight. We have two extremely powerful and destructive arsenals at our command. Our next actions will have serious repercussions.'

'No acknowledgment, sir,' said Worf.

'But they have not fired,' noticed Riker.

'Entering phaser range,' said Worf.

'Shields up,' ordered Riker.

'Aye, sir,' replied Worf.

'Red alert,' said Picard.

The alarm started blaring.

'Captain, the enemy vessel is firing on us,' said Worf. The whole Bridge shook. 'Shields are holding, sir.'

'Lock phasers on target,' ordered Riker.

'Phasers locked and ready.'

'Fire,' said Picard.

'Enemy target hit, sir,' said Worf. 'No significant damage. The enemy ship is firing.'

There was another explosion.

'Our shields are still holding,' said Worf. 'Minor damage to secondary hull.'

'Arm the photon torpedoes,' ordered Picard.

'Torpedoes armed,' replied Worf.

'Fire the photons.'

'Moderate damage to their forward shields. The enemy ship is firing again. Shield effectiveness has been reduced 12%.'

'Lock on photon torpedoes,' said Riker.

'Yes, sir,' replied Worf.

'Fire!'

'Only moderate damage to their shields. They are firing again. Shields have been reduced 44%. Another hit and we will be defenceless.'

'Continual fire, all phasers,' ordered Picard. 'Damage report.'

'Heavy casualties in the secondary hull,' replied Riker. 'Navigational sensor array inoperative.'

The Bridge shook again and again.

'We have no shields,' said Worf.

'Prepare to fire,' ordered Riker.

Data turned around to face the Captain.

'Without our shields, at this range there is a high degree of probability that a photon detonation could destroy the Enterprise,' he said.

'Hold fire,' said Picard.

Data turned away and tapped on his console.

'Captain,' he said. 'We are being probed. Sensors detect unidentified matter-energy conversion.'

'Are they beaming anything from us? What?' asked Picard.

'Who,' Data corrected him and tapped quickly on the console. 'I believe it is… Lieutenant Ortez.'

There was silence for a while.

'The Romulan vessel is hailing us, sir,' said Worf.

'Onscreen,' ordered Picard.

Romulan commander appeared on the view screen.

'You have one chance to escape destruction, Picard,' he said.

'Return my officer at once,' demanded Picard.

'I shall leave the decision to the officer herself. We are civilised people. Come here, dear.'

T'Mal showed up on the view screen, looking steadily ahead.

'Captain,' she said in a slightly shaky voice, 'the Romulan commander has promised he will return to Romulus if you let him take me with him. You have no shields and further battle will only result in destruction of the Enterprise. Captain, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Live long and prosper.' She raised her hand in the Vulcan salute and disappeared from the view screen.

'Well, Picard?' said the Romulan commander. 'It seems to me that she doesn't want to go. I can't comply with your wishes. Will you comply with hers?'

Picard was silent, staring at the view screen in tension.

'I will,' he said eventually.

'Wonderful. Farewell, Enterprise.'

He disappeared from the view screen, which showed the Romulan warbird again. It started to fly away into the Neutral Zone when suddenly—it exploded. The debris floated in space for a moment, then disappeared from the view screen.

There was long silence on the Bridge.

— — —

'No,' whispered T'Mal as she watched the Romulan warbird explode. She turned away from the view screen and walked up to the nearest Romulan. 'Open hailing frequencies, we must contact them!'

'We can't,' he replied. 'The communication system is damaged. If it were operational, we would have contacted the Federation starship a long time ago.'

T'Mal pressed her combadge.

'Ortez to the Bridge. Enterprise, do you copy?'

There was no answer.

'Why isn't it working?' she said, frustrated.

'The reason might be the same emissions that damaged our communication system,' said one of the Romulans and came closer. He raised his hand in the Vulcan salute. 'Peace and long life. I'm Galan.'

'Live long and prosper, Galan,' replied T'Mal, mimicking the gesture. 'I'm Lieutenant T'Mal Ortez.'

'Are you Vulcan?'

'I'm half-Vulcan. My father is a human from Earth.'

'Lieutenant, we saved you from the warbird, because we didn't want to leave an innocent person to a certain death,' said Galan. 'However, we also suspect you possess some knowledge about spaceships. We need your help. I'm an engineer, but none of us was ever in space before.'

'I'm no engineer, I'm a psychologist.' She turned to the view screen again and she watched in horror the Enterprise start and disappear. 'But we have no choice, do we?' She walked up to Galan. 'Who's in charge here?'

The Romulans looked at Galan.

'We don't have a leader in a strict sense,' he said. 'But I believe in these circumstances I am the one who should find the solution.'

'I'll try to help you. What's the ship's status?'

Galan came up to the console and started tapping on it.

'The engine is damaged, so are the communication system and the cloaking device. Replicators are malfunctioning.'

'Okay, so what is functioning properly?'

'Life support system.'

'Well, I guess it's most important.' T'Mal sighed. 'Frankly speaking, I know nothing about your engines. We use matter-antimatter reactions and you…'

'…forced quantum singularity. Don't worry, this is my field of expertise. Without it we wouldn't have been able to steal this vessel.'

'Where were you heading when you were attacked?'

'We hoped we could contact any of the Federation outposts,' said Galan.

'Can you show me the map of Sector Z-6?'

Galan tapped on the console and a map appeared on the screen above.

'Outpost 4 is the closest one,' said T'Mal. 'We ought to focus on repairing the engine and once we do it, this is where we should be heading.'

'I agree. We can work on the communication system and the cloaking device on our way there.'

T'Mal nodded.

'I've been wondering, Lieutenant,' said Galan, 'why did they kidnap you?'

'If I understood them correctly after they had beamed me over to their ship, they didn't know about your communication system failure and were sure you had contacted the Federation. When they probed the Enterprise and discovered a female Vulcan onboard, they decided that I was the key to their survival. They could blackmail Captain Picard and later offer me to their supervisor as, uh, as a present to avoid his wrath upon not capturing you.'

'I'm sorry it happened to you, Lieutenant.'

— — —

T'Mal was sitting on the floor on the dark empty corridor, crying silently. A small Romulan boy appeared at the end of the corridor, looking at her with confusion and fear.

'Don't be afraid.' T'Mal noticed him. 'I'm just tired and overwhelmed. It's going to be okay. I just cry often. And a lot. What's your name?'

'Khaiell,' he replied quietly.

'Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?'

'I… They died.'

'I'm so sorry, Khaiell. Do you want a hug?' asked T'Mal.

The boy hesitated.

'Yes,' he said eventually and came closer. T'Mal hugged him and got up, taking his hand.

'Come on, we'll see what Galan is doing.'

— — —

Two weeks later T'Mal was walking back and forth in the corridor, holding a baby. Little Khaiell was sitting on the floor against the wall, playing with some old screws.

'Hannam is asleep,' said T'Mal quietly. 'Come, you should go to bed too.'

Khaiell got up and followed her to some dingy quarters. She carefully put the baby to bed and then sat down on the edge of the bed where Khaiell was already lying.

'Will you tell me one of Commander Data's adventures?' he asked.

'No, not today. I'm really tired.'

'Will you sing for me?'

'Of course. Tiny blue dot, so lonely in the dark…'

When the boy fell asleep, T'Mal got up and went to the section where Galan was still working on the engine.

'Any progress?' she asked.

'No. I think I'm not able to repair it from here.'

'What do you mean?'

'It has to be fixed from the outside,' he replied. 'I've already checked, there's a spacesuit on the ship. However…'

'…you've never been in space.' T'Mal was silent for a while. 'I'll do it. Just tell me what to do.'