Chapter 2

As it turned out Jon Black ran a large club which fibered out through the city of Olympus and basically ran all of the underground operations. He dealt in drug trade, weapons trade, transportation, dilithium trade. If it was illegal, Bakers was involved in some way or another.

Lore glanced at the address scribbled on his palm. He looked up and knew he had come to the right place. The exterior of what looked like an abandoned warehouse and yet he could hear the sounds of bass from the music pumping through the ground under his feet. Without hesitation, he breezed past a large group standing outside the main entrance.

John Black was a man of about thirty-four years of age and had prematurely graying hair, which silvered his brown hair. His black eyes glittered with excitement at the concept of a new business partner. After patiently listening to Lore's story, while throwing down a couple of shots from a bottle of blue Romulan Ale, Black finally divulged an idea which had been spinning around in his mind for a few months.

"Lore… listen," He wrapped his arm around Lore's stiff shoulder, the alcohol permeating from his breath. "I have a little assignment for you, if you are up to it."

Assignment? "What's in it for me?" Lore knew better than to simply trust any thug off the street.

Black threw his head back and laughter shook his chest. "You're my kind of scrap, kid." He paused, as if he were in thought. "How does… a lifetime supply of dilithium sound?" Lore raised his eyebrow skeptically. "There is a planet, which we believe may contain large quantities of dilithium. We would just have to stake our claim first."

"Where?"

"Gamma-ZX330. The system is rumored to be inhabited by a race of humanoids." Black had to raise his voice a little over the sound of the music.

"Do they have warp capability?"

"No one is sure. If they do they use it rarely," Black's expression was sobering into a more serious front. "I've heard that the Federation sent a scout ship into the area for scientific research. They found the planet and returned. Prime Directive, you know? But here's the thing…. The planet is in the Gamma Quadrant."

He glanced at him sharply. "The Gamma Quadrant? What, you mean wormhole travel?"

"Exactly. Which is why I am asking you. You seem like the kind of scum that lives for that kind of space-exploration." The word 'exploration' resonated in his mind.

"How can you trust me?" Lore asked suspiciously. "How can I trust you?"

"You can't. That's the glory in it!" He threw his head back and laughed again, thoroughly enjoying Lore's apparent uncertainty. Lore got the feeling Black could see right through his façade and that he knew just how naïve he really was about many aspects of the universe. Black drifted over to a distressed-looking young woman, wrapping his arm around her and whispering something in her ear. He looked up at Lore once more and nodded. Taking the hint, Lore crossed the bar and used the back door to exit the building.

Outside, the cigarette smoke from a couple of tormented looking teenagers mixed with the smog of the city and filled the night air with a stiflingly thick atmosphere. The kids stood under a flickering orange street light which gave off a dull buzzing noise. One of the girls had on far too much makeup and it looked as though none of them had ever slept in their lives. "My kind of scrap..." Lore mused sardonically. The bass pumped from inside the building, leaving ripples in a small puddle on the asphalt. It was the middle of summer on Olympus and the night seemed to linger in a still calm, as though it were a monstrous animal that lye in a deep slumber, Lore's mind reeled… no… playing dead.

"Hey!" He ignored the boy whom had interjected his thoughts.

"Hey, he's talking to you!" The girl with the over-done makeup spoke in his favor. Lore turned his neck a tiny increment in their direction, showing them that they had only a minimal portion of his attention.

"What did Black want?"

"That's hardly any of your concern, Sonny." Lore sneered.

"Hey listen asshole, if you're here looking for a lay, I don't want you-"

"I'm not here for your little whore." He directed his statement at the eye-makeup girl standing next him. She shifted on her feet uncertainly.

"Go home." He spoke to her and only to her. The blonde girl took off down the alleyway, as though her life depended on it.

"Man, what the fuck-" The kid shouted but silenced as Lore advanced on him. In fear of Lore's darkening expression, he pulled out a phaser. The other woman, who looked much older than the others, probably in her mid-twenties, stalked back inside, her vibrant red hair bouncing behind her.

"Put it away," Lore asked him his expression darkening, almost begging for a reason to hurt him. The boy followed his friends inside the building, shoving his phaser back into his pants.

Lore breathed a sigh of relief at his newfound solitude. Looking up at the sky in curiosity, he observed that there were no stars; one could not see past the pink haze given off by the light-pollution of the planet. His brother crossed his mind… Data. He found himself wondering where his brother might be and wishing he could look at the stars now. Three and a half years had passed since he had any contact with Data. It had been almost a year since he last checked up on his activity in Starfleet. After attempting to hand the Enterprise over to the Crystalline Entity, their lack of contact did not surprise him.

Lore began to calm down again as the minutes slipped by. The red-headed female returned, peeking around the heavy, rusting metal door. "Hey, Bond! Jon wants to see you." Lore perked up. He unfolded his legs from his position leaning against the metal light-post and sauntered over to the door being held open for him.

"Do not call me by your nicknames." He tried to sound firm and intimidating.

"I would call you by your real name, but you haven't told me what it is yet." She looked up at him, lips pouting.

"Lore."

"Natalia." She had a firm hand shake, confident despite the horrible things that could happen to a woman in her environment. "You can call me Natalie… Jon!" She called to him from across the small room, which extended into the apartments next door.

"Natalie, I see you found my new friend, why am I not surprised?" She stepped forward to take a seat on the faded couch, accidentally brushing her hand across the small of Lore's back and giving him a wicked smirk over her shoulder.

"Lore, this is my niece, Natalia," Black glanced up at him with a knowing stare. "You see, in addition to supplying you with dilithium, there are… other benefits... to becoming my business partner." He smiled what Lore believed to be the greasiest smile he had ever seen. Lore resisted the urge to press his palm against his face. What did he care if Black wanted to throw a little extra sugar into the deal. Who knows, it could be fun.

"Sir, you have yourself a deal."

"Excellent!" Black boomed while Natalie gave a rather seductive smile.

Once Black began to reveal the details of the expedition to Lore, it became clear how dangerous this mission could be. Stable wormholes were very rare in this sector and if any factors in the wormhole changed, then Lore could end up stranded anywhere in the Galaxy. He resolved to make the Bajoran wormhole his first shot.

.

After a few days, as he was preparing to leave Olympus, Natalie stopped by his apartment. He invited her inside and she looked around, warily, as though afraid someone would jump her inside his house.

"So," she leaned against his couch, hand resting on its edge. "I heard you're leaving soon."

He smiled. "You can celebrate now." She did not reply immediately; but rather bit her lip uncertainly.

"I want to come." The smile slid from his face. His small studio apartment reeked of cigarettes, weed and whatever else the characters that stayed with him smoked up the previous night.

"Natalie, this could be dangerous."

"And you care whether or not I get hurt." She raised her eyebrow skeptically. The answer 'no' flashed through his mind.

"Of course I do," He remarked with sickly sweetness. He took her face in hand, kissing her lips gently. He chuckled and brushed her aside; it was just one huge joke to him. She, however, was not amused.

"I want to come." Her face was determined.

"If anything goes wrong, you will be stuck in a tiny ship with me for… 60 years." He smirked.

"Sounds fun." He sighed a little. He had no desire to mix up his agreement with Black.

"Listen, I need to visit earth when I get back, I'll take you with me then, but for now you should stay here. Who knows? Perhaps I'll be back just in time for your Christmas."

"Promises."

"It'll be fun, god knows I haven't had fun in a while." He smiled. She crossed the short distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I could get used to having something as fun as you around." She murmured, almost to herself. Something?

She chuckled lightly into his shoulder. For some reason the pleasant sound bothered him; it was as though he had been tossed a repulsive and tasteless item. He departed the next morning without saying goodbye.

Lore let the passage of stars ease his heavy thoughts. It had been a long while since he had reached so deep out into space. As he was caught up in his thoughts, Natalie crossed his mind again. The woman… he doubted himself in her presence; she made him feel inferior, like a tool to be used by its human possessor. He hated the feeling, it made him sick; but yet he like being around her. That feeling was something like masochism. In fact, he felt himself craving the next time he would see her. He knew it was unhealthy, but he did not care. He would return to her, he was sure of that.

Lore struggled to pull his thoughts away from Natalie as he came within transport range of the Bajoran outpost. "Bajoran outpost, this is a vessel from the Federation, serial number 3335-4990-8341-5595. Requesting permission to transport…"

The station remained silent. He repeated his message.

"Transport Vessel 5595, … permission … clear the wormhole. … reemerge in exactly 12 minutes." The message had an obscene amount of static and Lore found it difficult to make out. But after a few minutes, his sensors went off the chart. The next instant, the wormhole became visible as an inky black void in which he could not see the stars beyond. Instead, the pinpricks from the stars behind the disturbance bent around its exterior and created a blue halo of light circling its rim. Lore marveled at its beauty and set his ship on course. A first time for everything…