This fan fic story chronicles Lore's life prior to his initial encountered with Data.
Contains mild violence and sexual content

Journey to the Dark Side: A Lore Story, REDUX
Written by: S. Bell

Chapter Three: Strange Malfunction

After Dr. Soong completed his examination of Lore, he seemed to be puzzled. All of his systems were in impeccable condition.

"Lore, do you think you were… upset?" he asked.

"Father, I don't know. I don't think so. I didn't intend for any of this to happen. I tried to let him go but I just… couldn't. I don't understand what happened." Lore replied as he struggled to figure out what went wrong.

"Well, that makes two of us son. Until we do, I suggest you remain inside for a few days, just to be on the safe side." Dr. Soong sighed as he patted Lore on the shoulder.

"Agreed."

The days came and went. Lore functioned normally during the entire time and he was given the okay to interact with others once again. As he walked through the colony, he heard people whispering about him and saw them cast angry stares at him. He acknowledged all this, but didn't allow it to occupy his thoughts. When he entered the atrium, he sat at his usual lonely table. Before long, he had an unexpected visitor.

"Hi Jacqueline," he greeted softly as he stood up and pulled a chair out for her, "how are you? Is Alex alright?"

"I'm okay Lore. Alex is fine, only his ego is injured." she said with a smile and Lore laughed softly, but she didn't notice, "Did Dr. Soong figure out what happened?"

"He performed several thorough diagnostics, but has found no anomalies."

"Well, Alex shouldn't have pushed you like that. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing for his actions?"

"Because he's too proud to do it himself, or maybe he's too scared to approach you."

As they continued to talk, Lore found Jacqueline's voice to be easy to listen to — even more so when she spoke his name. As he looked into her dark-brown eyes, he experienced a sensation that was new to him. He had observed many of the women in the colony, but there was something different about Jacqueline. Lore opened his mouth for a moment, but couldn't think of what to say. He began to feel that something was wrong with his system and he suddenly stood up.

"I — I must go. I'm sorry." he replied in a shaky voice before he walked away.

Jacqueline was left sitting there, feeling confused as she wondered if she had said something to offend him.

When Lore returned to the lab he approached his father with great urgency.

"Father, I need you to perform another system-wide diagnostic. Something's wrong."

"Has something happened again? Did someone get hurt?"

"No, but my system isn't functioning properly and my self-diagnostics aren't sufficient enough to determine the cause."

After Lore explained the situation, Dr. Soong proceeded with the analysis. However, the results were all normal.

"Lore, I can't find anything wrong with you and your speech processors are completely operational." Dr. Soong replied.

"Father, I'm sure I experienced a malfunction, but I'm unable to determine the cause. Perhaps this is linked to the incident at the lake."

Dr. Soong was completely baffled as he tried to come up with possible explanations for Lore's unexpected experience. Suddenly his face lit up. 'Could it be?' he wondered.

"Lore, describe the events to me one more time." Dr. Soong requested.

As Lore explained what happened in the atrium once again, Dr. Soong saw something he hadn't initially noticed. Whenever Lore mentioned Jacqueline's name, he would smile. It became clear to Dr. Soong that Lore was attracted to this woman. Was it a simple crush? Infactuation? Love, surely it was too soon to be love — or could it?

"Father?" Lore cut into his thoughts.

"Yes Lore?"

"Perhaps I should refrain from interacting with the members of the colony until I figure out what's causing these malfunctions."

"Lore, I don't think it was a malfunction. I think you've experienced something wonderful; an emotion!"

"Which one?"

"Son, I'm afraid only you can answer that. There are a wide range of emotions and at times even humans have trouble identifying which ones are being experienced at a given time. In time, you'll understand them. However, I think maybe you experienced an emotion at the lake as well and I suspect that it was some form of anger. Although emotions are beautiful, you have to be responsible with them. It's very important to control them enough to prevent them from clouding your judgment. But son, I'm proud of you! You've just made the next step to becoming more human!" Dr. Soong exclaimed as he held Lore by the shoulders.

With that, Lore was left to ponder his experience all the while looking forward to his next encounter with Jacqueline. As he thought about her, he smiled once again.