Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. Reviews are welcome. I don't own any characters other than Fenix Flarestone. Enjoy and stay ethical y'all.

Chapter 12: Pride

Previously…

Back on the Enterprise, Geordi reported to Riker. "No luck, commander. The receptionist confirmed that Lore and Fenix checked in yesterday and checked out moments ago." "That means we just missed them. I don't understand how we couldn't find them yesterday. It's not that hard to spot these two..." Riker vented. "A white-skinned man in his mid to late thirties' with yellow eyes and a teenage girl with purple eyes would be hard to miss indeed." Data confirmed. Then he noticed something on his console, "There is a single Vulcan vessel in orbit, it is preparing to leave." Riker ordered, "Hail the vessel!"

On the Vulcan vessel, Lore and Fenix were drinking beers and getting ready to leave orbit whilst listening to Sugar Ray until they were interrupted by the Enterprise hailing them. "Lore, I think a Starfleet ship is hailing us. We should at least answer them so we don't seem suspicious." Lore continued to lazily spin around on his chair and sighed, "Bloody hell. Open the channel. Don't turn off the music, I like this song." Fenix suppressed a giggle and did as she was told. Opening the channel, she saw what she realized was second in command and greeted, "Hey there, what's up?" She flashed a cheeky smile before taking a sip of her beer. Lore laughed into his drink, getting it all over his face upon hearing her ridiculous greeting.

Everyone on the Enterprise bridge stood still with their mouths ajar, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. No one has ever witnessed anyone greet their Commander with such informality bordering on disrespectful whilst drinking beer and listening to laid-back music. To top it off, seeing a Data lookalike spinning in his chair looking unimpressed was icing on the cake for their amusement. Commander Riker was dumbfounded at what he was seeing, he opened his mouth and an answer came out much delayed, "Um... Hey… I mean- This is Commander Riker of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Is this Fenix Flarestone and Lore by any chance?" Lore stopped spinning in his chair then subtly pushed Fenix out of the way and off the screen to commandeer the conversation, deciding it was best for him to converse judging by her greeting, "Yes, that was Fenix and I am Lore. What business do you have with us?" he sternly questioned. "We were wondering if the two of you would come onboard the ship and meet our Lieutenant Commander Data, I believe you and him are the same Soong-type androids and he was very interested in meeting the both of you." cited Riker. Fenix pushed Lore out of the way to take a look excitedly, now visible in the screen, "No way, there's your brother in the back! He looks so much like you! Hey Data!" She smiled and waved, Data's eyes lit up and he waved back. "Can we meet him? That Riker dude says your bro wants to meet us!" Lore pinched the bridge of his brow as she continued, "Can we meet him? He seems nice!" Fenix pleaded grabbing his bicep. "You insufferable brat, calm yourself!" Chided Lore as he pushed her away with one arm rolling his eyes, "But I wanna see..." she wined off screen. Lore gave her a look to shush her. Looking back to the screen, he answered, "Yes, we'll come on board." "YAY! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Lore!" squealed Fenix as she jumped up from her seat, leaned into hug Lore and planted a kiss on his cheek. Lore cockily grinned upon receiving her gratitude. The Enterprise crew tried to hold back their laughter and amusement as Riker concluded, "Excellent! You may dock your vessel in the main shuttle bay. We'll be seeing you shortly. Riker out." With his eyes wide with a chuckle, he turned to counsellor Troi and inquired, "All humour aside… Counsellor, please give us a rundown on them." Deanna Troi chuckled, "Fenix is sincere and she's attracted to Lore." Then rubbed her temple, "His emotions were unusually loud. It was drowning out almost everything else." She paused and pondered, "One thing that irks me is that he became extremely protective of her when she greeted Data for some reason. Then, when she was thanking him, he became victorious and possessive. I'm sure Fenix isn't fully aware of how he feels but I sense a deep connection between them that can't be placed." Troi assessed. "Tell me, you said that he's extremely protective... how protective?" inquired Riker. "If he feels like she's getting taken away from him, he could get violent. He loves her but it's deeper than what humans would feel, it borders on almost like an obsession but not... I've never experienced that emotion before." elaborated Troi and put her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes suddenly feeling tired.

"That 'Riker dude'?" questioned Tasha Yar as she suppressed a chuckle.

"Let's face it, that the whole situation was hilarious but did anyone else think Fenix was really cute?" Wesley Crusher asked the crew as he blushed. "She's a bit young but damn she's a pretty one. I can see why Lore loves her." Riker confirmed with a grin. "Yes Commander, she is young." warned Troi with a glare.

"She is still just a mere woman-child. That is very inappropriate Commander!" Lieutenant commander Worf scolded. "Fenix is pleasant like a sunset, warm, full of… life. Her eyes are like amethyst crystals because they are purple." Data opinionated as he continued to work. Everyone stopped with their nonsense upon hearing that and smiled, returning to duty.

Data, Riker, Deanna and Worf waited patiently at the main shuttle bay while Lore and Fenix were scrambling to compose themselves after her unexpected and inappropriate greeting to the Commander. Lore commented, "I can't believe you'd addressed a Commander the way you did!" then used her voice and replayed her words, "Hey there, what's up?" Him and Fenix fell into another fit of laughter. She answered, "Well… why not? I'm not in Starfleet Academy or anything any more, right? And you laughed right into your beer! That was classy as fuck, Lore." Lore grinned, "I couldn't help it. Your informal greeting was unexpected." He finished and mused her hair, "But we need to get our shit together, Fenix. They're been waiting for us for far too long." "Yeah, I know… I'm almost done." Once calm, they opened the door and stepped out of the Vulcan vessel. Commander Riker was the first to introduce himself, then Deanna then Worf and Data last. "...And this is lieutenant commander Data." Fenix reached for his hand before Lore and smiled at him warmly, "Hello lieutenant commander Data. When Lore mentioned he had a brother I was so curious to meet you. I always wondered how you'd be." Taking her small hand, he corrected, "You may call me 'Data', there is no need for such titles."and placed his other hand on hers. The crew members noticed the difference in Data's curious change in his demeanour. "Alright Data, I like how we're how we're hitting it off." she smiled brightly. "Hitting it off?" Data questioned. "Oh, it means 'I like how we're getting along well so far.'" she explained. He slightly tilted his head, "Ah, I have never heard of that saying before. Interesting." Data noted and he awkwardly let go of her hand. Then it was Lore's turn to greet him. "Hello, little brother. I see you've been faring well. If father was here, I'm sure he'd be very proud of your accomplishments, after all, you've always been his favourite." Lore stated spitefully with a smile. Fenix looked at Deanna for help. Sensing her uneasiness and the tension emanating from Lore, she stepped in, "Why don't we get you two set up in your room for your stay." She gave Riker a glare, signalling him to disperse the crowd. "Yes, that sounds like a great idea. Worf, please escort them to their room." As the group dispersed, Lore winked at Data, a warning. Fenix gave Data an apologetic smile before she was pulled away by Lore.

Deanna sighed at the unexpected tension from Lore and said, "If that escalated any more, we would've been in some trouble. I don't understand why Lore carries such animosity towards Data. His thoughts are so loud that even I was able to understand what he said when he gave Data that wink. 'Keep your distance from her'." "What have I done to upset my brother so much? I only wanted to talk to him and Fenix." Data asked, unable to comprehend his brother's actions. "I don't know, Data. I'm going to talk to Fenix tomorrow. Maybe she can give us some insight on Lore. I'm afraid he will be very difficult to talk to from what we just witnessed." Troi reassured.

"Here is your room for your stay, it is on deck 2 room 3650." stated Worf. Fenix thanked him entered the room. She was unimpressed with Lore's treatment of his younger brother, "What the fuck, Lore? Why were you being such an asshole to Data? It's not his fault your father picked him as his favourite!" Fenix scolded Lore and continued, "You need to quit being so butt-hurt about it and get over it. I get it, life sucks the big one, it's not fair. Guess what? It never is." Lore turned around and looked at her with anger filled yellow eyes, knowing what she said was true but wasn't ready to accept it yet. He chose his next words very carefully, "You've never dared talk to me like that before. Is it because you found yourself a new android that can't feel emotions as I do? You think it'll be easier for you to be around him instead? Throw me out like a used-up machine? That's what it is, isn't it?" Lore's words dripped with venom. Fenix stopped and took a deep breath trying her best to not shed tears, she composed herself and began, "You're so good at that, Lore. You're so... damn good at manipulating me... always have been ever since the day I reactivated you." She sighed, "You're pulling your hang-ups on me because deep down you know what I said made sense but you don't want to admit it because it hurt, a lot. Truth is, everyone has their own demons that they need to face one day or another. If you don't it'll consume you and life becomes so miserable there's no point in it any more." He averted his gaze and slowly moved around the room, touching things as he listened, "You're a genius, Lore. I know you understand me. I just hope your pride doesn't get in the way more than it already has." He looked up to see her face full of disappointment and sadness, their eyes locked onto each other. Lore let her words sink in yet still angry. Fenix had a melancholy expression on her face when Lore didn't respond to her so she continued, "Any ways... I really hope this isn't the end of our friendship, you are still my best friend. That'll never change unless you want it to change, but I'm heading down to 10-forward to chill out a bit. You know where I'm at..." and left.

Lore watched her leave, still seething. He paced in the room, his eyes closed and jaw clenched tight. He was replaying their argument repeatedly. He knew she was right about everything she said. Fuck! She's right. Damn it, she's right! Pathetic... Can't even own up to my own short comings. Can't even admit that I was blinded by jealousy because of my own insecurities... Part of me says that I'm perfect. Like a plague that whispers to me... That she's wrong, that she's just an impudent woman-child who knows nothing. This feeling... prideful. This is pride... that she was talking about. He replayed all the memories he had of her. Remembering the first time he saw her when she was reassembling him to all the things they did together. When they first became friends, their first embrace, their pledge, their first kiss. I was wrong to treat her as such. She had tears in her eyes… He stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes widened. I hurt her. I hurt her. I hurt her. I hurt her. With his last thought, he hastily left the room and headed for 10-forward. He had to do something he's never done before, apologize. It felt very foreign to him and made him feel uncomfortable. Just push through it… she needs an apology from me. I did her wrong. I need to fix this. When he entered 10-forward, his eye twitched seeing the love of his life with the one person he never wanted her to be conversing with, his little brother. He clenched his fists and cussed under his breath as the watched the two.