Brother?

"Yes, I am here."

Brother, you did a very good job. I am proud of you.

"You are proud of me?"

Yes, brother, I am very proud of you, but now, I need you to do something.

"I do not understand."

That is okay, brother, I know. Right now I want you to try something for me. Please, look over at Spot.

"Okay."

B4 looked up and to the sofa. Spot lay there and contently licked his paws after a full meal of Feline Supplement 58. She seemed to enjoy the close replicator approximation of salmon and other northern water fish from Earth. He walked to the cat as he lazed and gently stroked his fur. He felt pleased at the soft texture, but it seemed the pleasure came from far away and yet close by. Then, his hand picked the cat up and held her close to his chest. He did not understand it, but he did not choose to pick up Spot. It was as if something else was controlling his left arm, like a marionette.

"What is wrong, brother?"

Nothing, my brother, everything is exactly as I had hoped.

"Should I tell Geordi that I am not functioning correctly?"

Not yet. Don't tell anyone just yet, but do not worry. No one will hurt you.

"Okay" and he lifted his right arm to stroke Spot from head to toe.

~xxx~

Captain's Log: Scans of the trans-warp conduit as it closed clearly indicate Phoenix and the two assimilated Starfleet ships returned to the Delta Quadrant. I am quite certain, however, that Phoenix will keep his promise and return here and soon, most likely with reinforcements.

Picard stood up and walked intently through the door and onto the Bridge. Except for himself, the crew was hard at work repairing the damage to the Enterprise as they prepared for the next match-up with Phoenix and the Borg.

"Report" he barked out, a little more forcefully than he intended.

"Most of the systems are back on-line. Shields are functional and weapons are back up to 73%. Most of the other ships in the fleet are in similar conditions and the ones that aren't are returning to Starbases for repair."

Picard listened intently to his First Officer. Although he was competent and had served Starfleet for years well, he just didn't have the flair of Wil Riker. At times like this, he sorely missed his friends like Riker and Troi.

"Very well, I'm going to stroll about the ship and make a visual inspection. You have the Bridge."

Picard stood and walked to the turbo-lift. He didn't know in particular where he wanted to go, he just wanted to get out of the way on the Bridge. Only when the ornate double wooden doors of Ten-Forward opened did he remember even requesting deck ten in the lift. He was almost surprised to see Guinan at the bar, like she always seemed to be.

"Guinan, I didn't expect to see you. Aren't we at general quarters?"

Guinan smiled and retrieved a glass of brandy, as if she knew that he would be here and want the beverage.

"I said it before, I was never very good at 'restricted to quarters', as my husbands will attest to. Maybe that's why I decided to stay single after my tenth or eleventh try as a faithful wife."

Picard smiled and took a long sip of the brandy. He felt the comforting warmth as it slipped easily down.

"Somehow, Guinan, I just don't see you as the 'wild' type."

Guinan walked around the bar and sat down in the seat next to her friend Picard. Now that Troi was gone, she had become Picard's counselor by default. It was a job she didn't get paid for, but she still gladly accepted her new responsibility.

"I wouldn't have expected it of you either, but we both know better than that, don't we?"

Picard took another long sip and could almost hear the ticking of his mechanical heart. It was his constant reminder of his wilder days and the new respect he had gained of Nausicans.

"So, what's bothering you, Jean-Luc?"

"Phoenix. If all goes well, I will use my knowledge of the Borg and the combined firepower of Starfleet to destroy Phoenix and the last vestige of Data as well. Data sacrificed his life to save me from the Scimitar as well as most of the crew of the Enterprise. My way of repaying that debt may be to destroy him finally."

Guinan smiled and shook her head.

"That's not Data over there in that Borg ship. That thing is something else and believe me when I tell you, when Data finally does die, it won't be by your hand."

"How do you...?" Picard was surprised. As far as he knew, Guinan had no way of knowing about B4 and his apparent contact with Data, if it was indeed Data that was communicating to B4.

"Just trust me, Jean-Luc, Data is still very much alive and he is getting more powerful by the moment. When the time is right, he will be right at your side and my guess is that he will live a long and productive life. He may even outlive me."

Picard smiled and gently touched Guinan's hand. He could almost feel the wisdom coursing through her.

"Just how old are you, Guinan?"

"Now, Jean-Luc! Even you are old enough to know that it is impolite to ask a woman that! I'm twenty-nine and I will continue to be twenty-nine for at least another three or four hundred years."

Picard drank the last of his brandy and squeezed his confidants hand.

"Of that, I have absolutely no doubt."

~xxx~

B4 continued walking about his quarters and practiced picking up and manipulating object. He still couldn't understand why his left hand and arm were no longer controlled by him although he could feel everything in his left hand with his touch sensors. Indeed, when he needed to, his brother would relinquish control back to him. After a few hours, B4/Data was functioning as well as any single unit, maybe better than B4 functioned before.

Now, brother, I want you to go to find Geordi. Just open the door and let the man outside know that you are going to Engineering to talk to Cmdr. LaForge; he will go with you. Geordi has left orders to escort you there whenever you needed to go there.

"Alright, brother. Will Geordi be happy?"

Yes, brother, I believe Geordi will be very happy indeed.