Stardate: 58504.6

Shimmering energy patterns coalesced into the Enterprise away team, led by the first officer, Commander Worf. Commander Data immediately whipped out his tricorder, taking readings, while Security Chief Hagan and Ensign Murphy remained nearby.

Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge scanned the area with his blue ocular implants. "This is exactly how I remembered it."

"Director Kim will be pleased." Data announced as the tricorder readings flashed across the device, "Plant cellulose levels are still present, as are the nitrates the crystalline entity left behind. Few traces of bitrious matter remain. That will reduce some of the steps needed to revitalize the soil."

Commander Worf began to walk, "The last time we were here, Lieutenant Yar was alive." the Klingon muttered, then spoke to the others, "Stay alert. While there may be no life on the planet, there were reports of dust storms."

"Aye, Sir." Commander Hagan replied, then added, "I don't sense any other minds besides ours, which is what I expected. This will probably be an easy security sweep." He raised an eyebrow and focused on Data, "Sir, are you all right?"

Data blinked, then nodded, "I am functioning within normal parameters, Commander Hagan. Was I inadvertently giving off some sort of emotion?"

"Dread." Commander Hagan answered bluntly.

Commander Worf's deep voice cut through the sudden gust of wind. "Dread that we will find what we found last time we were here?"

Data pressed his pale lips together, then responded, "It was the first time I saw another Soong android in pieces. I was excited and wished to assemble him. I thought I would perhaps have another me or a brother... a link to my past and a clue to my creation." He frowned, "We found Lore here, having been dismantled by Doctor Soong."

Geordi interjected, "And without even a note by Lore's body pieces, saying "Warning: Maniacal android. Do not reassemble."

"Exactly, Geordi." Data followed along with the team as they surveyed the area, "Because of my error in judgement, and my excitement at finding a brother, several hundred Federation citizens perished. One year, eight months, four days, nineteen hours, twelve minutes and eight seconds ago, we discovered B-4 on Kolarus III. At the time, if I had been using my emotion chip, I would have felt reluctance. Still, we assembled him. While he was not a bitter android filled with malice, he had been programmed by enemies of the Federation to gain information from the Enterprise computer. Two discoveries and two betrayals. Now, the prospect of finding a previously undiscovered Soong-type android fills me with dread."

Geordi frowned, then shook his head, "You're being too hard on yourself, Data. Both Commander Riker and Captain Picard thought reassembling Lore was the right thing to do, and Captain Picard decided to reassemble B-4. If I remember right, you were making unhappy faces the whole time, until B-4 started talking more and it was clear that he wasn't like Lore."

"I do not make faces." Data tilted his head and raised his left eyebrow at Geordi, "... do I?"

Worf let out a loud snort, "You make them constantly. You always have."

Hagan grinned, "As T'Mera would say, you wear your vascular fluid pump on your sleeve, Commander."

Data's lips quirked in a bemused smile, then he changed the subject, "The remains of the farmlands are to the Northeast of our position."

Commander Worf gave a nod of his head in acknowledgement, "Commander Hagan, you and Commander La Forge should check the underground bunker and make certain that it is in working order. Commander Data and I will begin a search of the grounds." He leveled his sharp gaze on Ensign Murphy, "Ensign, I think an aerial search will be the most efficient use of your time."

Ensign Murphy dipped their head once, "Aye, sir." The ensign pulled their arms into their chest, at which point their body turned into an amber gelatinous mass that decreased until reforming as a Tarkalean hawk. The dark-feathered hawk opened its impressive wingspan and lifted up into the sky, taking flight.

Geordi watched the ensign fly away, then whistled, "I wonder if I'll ever get used to that."

"Eventually, you do." Worf told the Chief Engineer, "After about a year of working with Odo, I acclimated to his abilities."

Data mused as the figure of the hawk vanished into the distance, "I find it intriguing. I cannot imagine a time when I will find such a thing to be commonplace."

"We will start at the town." Worf glanced at the android, then started walking Northwest. As they walked, the only audible sounds came from the breeze, the footsteps of the two Starfleet officers, and the faint whirring of the tricorder in Data's hand.

Data observed the crumbling buildings as they approached, "Unfortunately, most of the town will need demolishing and rebuilding." He stopped short, with his facial expression changing to surprise.

Worf stepped over to stand near the android, "What is -" He cut his words off as he spotted what had caught the notice of the Second Officer. He frowned, "Footprints in the dirt." He crouched to examine them, "Standard issue boots. Very recent."

Data's frown deepened to the point of rivaling that of the Klingon's. "The footprint is two hundred and seventy nine millimeters in length and one hundred and twenty millimeters wide. The exact same specifications as my own foot."

Worf growled, "Do you mean there is an android walking around on the planet?"

"It would seem so." Data moved forward, following the direction of the footprints, "They lead this way." He tapped his communicator, "This is Commander Data to away team. Exercise caution. Commander Worf and I have found what appears to be android footprints in the dirt near the town."

A reply over the communicator answered Data's alert. "This is Ensign Murphy. I've also discovered footprints near a small river and something that looks like it used to be farm fields. There's something more, Commander. Someone has written a sentence in the dirt." A pause, "It says "You reap what you sow.""

Worf tapped his combadge, "Thank you, Ensign. Follow the footprints to see where they lead."

"Aye, sir." came the reply.

As the android and Klingon approached a stone-walled home, Worf quickened his pace to inspect an indentation. "Data, look at this."

Data moved closer, then balled his right hand into a fist and placed it in the center of the indentation, where it fit perfectly. His yellow eyes widened as he looked back at Worf. "Also recently created."

"Do you believe this was done in anger?" Worf eyed the cracks radiating from the fist mark.

Data slipped his tricorder back into the holster on his uniform, "I will find out in a moment." He moved to the left of the indentation, pulled his own fist back, and punched the stone, leaving just a slight crack. He pulled his fist back a second time and struck the wall, this time leaving an indentation identical to the first. "Yes, sir. This was made using our full strength."

Worf's combadge chirped, "Worf here."

"Commander." Geordi La Forge's voice emanated from the badge. "The underground bunker is empty and secure. The water systems will need to be flushed through, before they become potable. There's something odd, though. The power and communication systems still work fine, and seem to have been powered up within the last twenty-four hours. The area's not even up to full temperature, yet, but it's getting there."

Ensign Murphy's voice emanated from the combadges of the away team, "This is Murphy. The footprints from the farm lead past the power plant and into the Southern entrance to the underground bunker."

Worf scowled, then answered, "Geordi and Deni, remain where you are. Commander Data and I will be joining you in the bunker." He turned to Data, "Let's go. The android might be inside."

Data nodded, then fell into step behind the Klingon, while tapping on his tricorder, "I am scanning for positronic signals. I find none, aside from my own."

As the two approached the Northern entrance to the bunker, Worf halted. "Footprints leading out of the doorway to here." He crouched to inspect the tracks, "Then they vanish."

Data waved the tricorder around the footprints, "I am picking up a transporter field trace, sir. That would indicate another ship in orbit."

Worf tapped his combadge, "Worf to Enterprise."

Captain Picard's voice replied over the comm, "Yes, Number One?"

"Sir, I recommend that you run a sensor sweep for any other vessels in orbit." Worf's deep voice reverberated from the arched rocks nearby. "There is evidence of another Soong android on this world, and a transporter field trace indicating that he may have beamed off the surface recently."

There was a pause, then Captain Picard responded, "We are already aware of the situation. In fact, if there's nothing else amiss down there, it might be better for Commander Data to beam back to the Enterprise. He has… a visitor."

Data's yellow eyes widened with alarm, "Sir, is Doctor Chipman all right?"

"She's perfectly fine, Commander. Everything is under control. Once you're aboard, go directly to your quarters. Picard out."

Data frowned, then looked over at Worf, "With your permission, sir?" At Worf's brief nod of the head, Data tapped his combadge, "Enterprise, one to beam up." The shimmering blue energy transported him to the Sovereign-class vessel. With a nod to the transporter chief, Data stepped down from the platform and hurried out through the transporter room doors. He picked up his pace in the corridor, sprinting faster than possible for a human. While his android reflexes kept him from colliding with anyone else, his passage produced several startled exclamations from crewmembers.

Data reached the turbolift and told the computer, "Deck Four! Hurry." The lift carried him at its singular speed, and he found his anxiety diluted by the amusement of finding himself perceiving the lift to be going slower than usual. The doors opened and Data rushed out into the corridor in the direction of his quarters, once again passing stunned crewmembers with a rare display of his true speed. The doors to his quarters opened and he turned sideways to be able to slip through them before they were fully parted.

T'Mera sat at her black desk, fingers typing quickly over the console. She glanced at the doorway, then greeted Data, "Hello there, Bright Eyes."

"Bright Eyes?" Both of Lore's eyebrows raised as he moved his eyes to focus on Data, "Ah, there you are, brother. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by. I see you've been busy."

Data's eyes remained wide as he stared at his brother, "Lore." He walked over to T'Mera's side, "Are you all right, t'hy'la?"

"I'm fine. Don't panic." T'Mera reached up with her left hand to pat Data's arm. "I'm working on the parameters for the holobrig, so to speak. You'll never guess who busted out of Galor IV."

"Come over here and talk to me, baby brother. Have a seat. I won't bite, although that's all I can really do. Your woman has me immobilized." Lore's mouth spread into a wide smile. "It's been eleven years. I'm afraid I haven't been as busy as you. I was disassembled and locked in a vault, thanks to you."

Data crossed the intervening space and sat down in a chair at the table, facing Lore. "Some of your positronic connections had been damaged by the phaser blast. You should not be functioning."

Lore replied coldly, losing the smile, "Some men fixed the connections and put me back together. I hope you'll forgive me for using the opportunity to escape."

"You have done much that I cannot forgive, Lore." Data frowned, still regarding his brother with suspicion, "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to kill you, of course." Lore answered, "But then I read that you'd already been killed almost two years ago. I hate to be unoriginal, so I decided to visit instead, and I met your lovely lady. She claims she can repair my programming."

Data turned to look at T'Mera, "You have decided to try to reprogram him without consulting me?"

"This is the consultation right now, Data." T'Mera raised her right eyebrow, "I'll set up Holodeck Four as a brig and workstation. If you don't want him on the Enterprise, I'll take him back to Galor IV on the Ghost and work on him there."

"We would be separated." Data frowned deeply, "That is unacceptable."

T'Mera leaned back in her chair to regard Data, "It's important to me to try to fix his programs. Not just for him and the knowledge of what went wrong, but also for Artificial Lifeform rights purposes."

Data tilted his head, "How does this pertain to rights?"

"Remember the AI conference? Remember me arguing with Ferguson Davis? Well, everyone seems to expect Lore to act like a person, yet all the while treating him like he's a thing. If he's a thing, then let's treat him like a broken thing. I'll try to fix the thing." T'Mera pointed to Lore in his chair.

Data's lips parted slightly to form a pout, "Please do not call my brother a thing. That would suggest that I, too, fall into the category of a thing."

Annoyance began to color T'Mera's voice, "I'll call him a thing, since you were the one that shut him down and approved of his dismantlement. Data, you may not realize this, but you aided in setting a precedent that sentient androids don't get any due process, they just get deactivated and taken apart." Her voice rose another degree, "He didn't get a hearing or a trial or a chance of rehabilitation. Given that Lore is sitting here right now, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the whole "deactivate and disassemble them indefinitely" sentence isn't one of the best answers to sentient android crime. Does the Federation put criminals into a coma, when they have a chance to be rehabilitated? They didn't even put Gul Dukat into a coma and he was responsible for, what, a billion dead in three sectors of the galaxy?"

Data frowned, "Lore is too dangerous. He should be deactivated and disassembled."

T'Mera raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, "Oh, all right. If you think he can't be fixed and you won't authorize fixing him, I'll just vaporize him here on the Enterprise."

"What?!" Lore hollered in surprise.

Data's eyes widened in shock, "You cannot just vaporize him! That would be unconscionable."

"Keeping him him deactivated and in pieces forever isn't?" T'Mera retorted, "At least, with my way, there's no chance of accidental reactivation. Hop onto the logic train, Data. You tell me which of us is suggesting the unconscionable course of action for Lore."

Data averted his gaze from her and stared at the floor for a few minutes in silence, before he replied, "I concede to you, my love. I had not been thinking clearly about him, and have apparently been wishing to hoard my baked confection while at the same time consuming it." The suspicion and anxiety that had colored his expression upon entrance to the room faded into calm and sadness, "If only Father could have had enough time to repair you, as he claimed he meant to." He spoke directly to Lore.

"I'm not sure I believe that he "always meant to" get back to me, Data." Lore replied tersely.

"I agree." T'Mera looked between the brothers, then fixed her attention on Data, "Soong had twenty-fucking-five years to retrieve Lore from Omicron Theta and fix him and he didn't."

Data turned to T'Mera in slight astonishment, "T'hy'la, you have just inserted an expletive into the middle of a number."

Lore's anger dimmed as he started to laugh, "I just have to say that the amusement from listening to you two makes this worth it, already."

Data gave Lore a brief glare, "I am glad that you find this so amusing. I do not." His face returned to his standard neutral expression, "I also question your motives. After so many years, it seems odd for you to so easily surrender yourself to being repaired. Why now?"

"Because, Data…" Lore riveted his yellow eyes on his brother, "This is the first time anyone has offered to repair me. There were a few times that Juliana tried to get Father to do it, but he wouldn't."

Data's eyebrows knitted, moving slightly upwards on his forehead, "I… I did not know that, Lore. I am sorry. I had assumed that Doctor Soong had, at least, tried to repair you, in the beginning."

"Not to my knowledge, he didn't." Lore's voice held bitterness as he informed Data. "This is the first real offer of repair in my entire memory record."

Data seemed to be processing for a moment, "I will need to speak to Captain Picard and get permission to have you fix Lore here on the Enterprise, T'Mera. While we only have one person in security who can handle Lore, after this recent development, I find myself questioning whether Galor IV is able to handle him, either."

"I'll program a few photonic security guards." T'Mera assured Data, while her fingers continued to type on the console at her desk.

"Holograms?" Lore smirked.

T'Mera smiled at the androids, "Don't knock photonics. Two EMHs took back a stolen Federation ship from a Romulan boarding party of twenty seven, after the Romulans had killed all the crew. That's amazing, considering EMHs weren't programmed to do that. Imagine what one can do when I program it specifically for keeping a Soong-type android in line." She glanced at Data, then added, "If you're very concerned, I could just take his cranial unit, since that's all I really need. He can't do damage that way, and I'd get to make puns about him being "a head of the game.""

Lore winced at her statement, "I promise not to break out, if only to prevent those puns."

T'Mera smirked at Lore, then replied, "All right. If you behave well, I won't pun much. I can't promise no puns. They're an innate part of me." She turned to regard Data, "In addition to the holodeck, we'll most likely need a counselor that can work with an android."

"I am certain that can be arranged." Data replied to T'Mera, "Considering that they are used to working with me, there should be little hesitancy on their part. I assume you will be present in the holodeck most of the time?"

T'Mera stood up and walked the meter from her desk to Data's chair, "I'll be there, working on him and watching over him." She ran the fingers of her right hand through the hair over his left ear, "I'm sorry if I made you panic. I told Captain Picard not to bother you during the away mission, since Lore was immobilized."

"His footprints are everywhere in the dirt." Data seemed to relax with T'Mera's touch, then looked over at Lore, "At least, I hope those are yours, as well as the writing in the farm field?"

Lore replied calmly, "Those are mine, yes. I went for a little stroll down memory lane while waiting for you to arrive."

"Your fist strolled into a wall, it seems." Data's mouth quirked upwards on the left side.

"Tom Handy's house." Lore's eyes focused on his brother, "Just the memories of him make me angry."

T'Mera turned her head to look at Lore, "If you want, I could make a punching bag that will withstand your strikes. You could get some of the anger out."

"Maybe." Lore frowned slightly, "You'll let me have full motion in the - wait, did Data make a joke?"

Data nodded in reply, "It was a mild joke, about your fist and a wall, but yes, a joke nonetheless."

Lore's yellow eyes gained an intensity as he stared at Data, "You're using the emotion chip, then? I don't feel its effects on me, anymore."

"I attempted to use the chip for two years, three months, eighteen days, two hours and five seconds. The chip's effects on me were extremely unpleasant, to say the least. It seemed to be amplifying my emotions to an extraordinary degree, causing me to become unstable for a time. Even after I had managed to gain some control over myself, I finally removed it. I chose to continue for nearly five years without feeling my emotions, before I was destroyed." Data pressed his pale lips together before continuing, "The emotional program I am using currently is one that T'Mera wrote. Unlike our father, she actually checked my programming before designing anything for me."

Lore eyed Data skeptically, "Maybe I could have it back, then?"

T'Mera shook her head, "I wouldn't recommend it, Lore. Didn't you go on a genocidal rampage after installing it? Including attacking Doctor Soong physically?"

Lore winced, then frowned, "I didn't correlate that, but now that you mention it, yes, it happened in that order. I wouldn't say it was a rampage, though. I had found my true calling."

"The reign of biological lifeforms is coming to an end." T'Mera nodded, then walked back to her desk, "I perused the reports about that. I did wonder something. Let's say you managed to make a hundred Lores and you killed all the biological lifeforms in the galaxy. What were you going to do after that?"

Lore's eyebrows knitted together in concentration. He began to speak, but stopped before making any sounds. Another few minutes passed until he finally spoke, "I hadn't thought that far ahead. That must be the administrative phase you told me about. Without the chip in me, I don't even feel that it's my true calling, anymore."

"I'm going to build a chip reader for that emotion chip, to discern what sort of programming it contains." T'Mera tapped a few keys on her desk console while speaking. "It shows just how much you both trusted Doctor Soong, that you'd both put this chip in you, without question, when the man showed no considerations for either of you. If I was suddenly hijacked out of my daily business to travel to the B. F. Nowhere Sector of the Alpha quadrant, I'd have told him to shove that chip where the sun don't shine." She pulled out an isolinear chip from her drawer, stuck it into a slot in the desk, tapped a few more times on the console, then removed the chip. "Data, I'm going to set up Holodeck Four. Will you watch Lore?"

"Of course, t'hy'la." Data answered, standing when T'Mera rose from her chair. He walked to meet her, then leaned down to give her a kiss.

T'Mera returned the kiss, "I'll be back before you know it." She smiled softly, then exited their quarters.

A few minutes passed with both androids staring at each other, until Lore broke the silence, "This is awkward, isn't it?"

Data's face remained passive as he replied to his brother, "There does seem to be a deficiency in our ability to converse with each other in a conventional manner. In our few, relatively short times together, we have managed to create quite a bit of aqueous matter beneath the suspended river crossing."

Lore narrowed his eyes at his brother, "If she supposedly fixed you, why do you still talk like that?"

Data returned to his seat at the table, "T'Mera fixed the errors in Doctor Soong's base programs. How I speak is more of an affectation or a habit. I never asked him about it, so I assume that our father originally programmed me to speak in a way that would distinguish me from you. A short time after my activation by the Tripoli landing party, I was able to use contractions, but I continued to converse in my usual fashion." He added with a snort, "I suppose it did not occur to Doctor Soong that you could easily mimic my speech patterns. Or I yours, if I so desired."

Lore's facial expression relaxed, "That gives me some hope that she can fix me without erasing most of who I am." He paused, his eyes glanced at the watercolor painting, then focused back on Data, "How long have you been with her?"

"If you mean in a romantic capacity…" Data answered succinctly, "T'Mera and I have been a couple for one year, eleven hours, fifty-four minutes and twenty-two seconds. Prior to that, she gained custody of B-4 on stardate 57240.5. As I was also inhabiting B-4's positronic matrix at the time, that was when we were first together in a more professional capacity. Prior to that, I experienced only passing familiarity with T'Mera at annual cybernetic and scientific conferences. We had not spoken to each other before I was destroyed."

Lore's eyebrows rose a couple of centimeters, "While we're waiting for the Holodeck, I'd love to hear the story of how you wound up inside B-4."

The left side of Data's mouth quirked upwards, then he proceeded to tell a condensed version of the story of his destruction and recovery.