*Trigger warnings: Violence, domestic abuse.

Omicron Theta

Stardate: 13329.5

Lore waited outside the Biology Lab in the underground bunker, listening to the discussion taking place within, and biding his time until he deemed it advantageous to enter. He could tell from the voices of the two women speaking that the proper moment for ingress was approaching.

"All right, so this is the graph, then, Doctor McKlessky. Is there anything else I need to do?"

"Mm… yes. See those pesky outliers in the data? Erase those."

"Um, all right, Doctor."

Lore decided his time of entrance had come and he walked into the lab. "Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting anything, ladies?" Now that he was inside the lab, he visually identified each woman. He dipped his head in greeting at the older woman, "Doctor Jayne McKlessky…" and then looked over the young woman with the long, golden-brown hair, "Kila Marr."

Doctor McKlessky rolled her eyes, "Out, out. I don't have time to play with Soong's robot."

The joviality drained from Lore's face, "I'm not here to play. I needed to ask something about exobiology, but I can see that you two are the wrong ones to speak to."

Kila Marr gave Lore a tight smile, "Don't worry about Doctor McKlessky. What do you need? It's Lore, right?"

Lore moved to stand near Kila Marr. "That's right." He focused his eyes on Doctor McKlessky for a moment, "Do you mind if I speak with your student, then? Or do you still need her help in falsifying experiment results?"

Doctor McKlessky glared at Lore, then relented, "Make it quick."

Lore turned his attention back to Marr. "I have detected subspace transmissions that could possibly be the communications of a lifeform that travels through space."

Kila Marr perked up, "Oh? What did you pick up?"

"I first noticed these sounds approximately five months ago. There are intermittent, but repeating, patterns of resonating graviton waves." Lore leaned against the lab counter and began to explain.

Doctor McKlessky cut Lore off, "Are you sure it wasn't someone running a replicator in the physics lab? Or even music from the school?"

Lore's brows lowered with annoyance, "Yes, Doctor, I eliminated those as possibilities." He opened his mouth to speak, but the Doctor interrupted again.

"It could have been solar wind or perhaps a star going nova." Doctor McKlessky stated dismissively.

Lore pressed his lips together, "A nova for months? A nova that has an intermittent, repeating pattern? Solar wind that changes the pattern immediately after I send back the same pattern in graviton waves?"

Doctor McKlessky shrugged, "You probably overlooked something. The odds of something that communicates in graviton pulses is slim."

Kila Marr grinned, then offered, "Tin Man tinnitus?"

Lore looked down at Kila Marr and deadpanned, "That's quite humorous."

Kila smiled, "Just trying to lighten up the mood. What I can do for you is look through any records from Starfleet, and see if there's anything about lifeforms that communicate with graviton emissions."

"Thank you." Lore replied to Kila Marr, then turned to leave. As he walked out, he snarled at McKlessky, "Next time, Doctor, if you show me a lack of respect like that, I'm going to teach you some... permanently." As he walked out, he could still hear the two women speaking.

Doctor McKlessky muttered under her breath to Kila Marr, "That thing is a menace. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to see Tom."

Marr replied in a regretful tone, "Tom's already delivered the petition. Soong's supposed to be building a better android. It's kind of a shame. Lore was such a breakthrough."

"So was M-5." Doctor McKlessky replied dismissively, then went silent.

Stardate: 13524.6

Lore positioned himself in the small security room and watched the live feed from the various monitors. Missy had been feeling fatigued, so Lore assured her that he would take care of everything. Most of the colonists were going about their daily routines, with Kiran Cooke tending the fields and the Detorontos roaming through their vineyard. Scientists labored over experiments in the multiple facilities comprising the underground bunker. Edwin Matagaro and Juliana were hard at work, building the new android's body, but Noonian Soong seemed conspicuously absent. As he scanned the displays, two figures in the computer systems lab caught his attention. He turned up the audio as Doctor Lucien and Doctor Soong entered one of the small cubicles.

Ed Lucien dropped several large binders and a small box onto his desk, "Why are we doing this here, instead of the cybernetics lab, again?"

The object in Soong's hands was covered with a large cloth. "Well, I don't want Juliana to see this part. She wouldn't understand. She and Edwin are busy with the rest of the body, anyway."

"If you say so." Lucien flipped through the enormous binders filled with handwritten papers. "It would be far easier if you used a PADD, you know." He opened one binder and flipped through some of the pages, "Your penmanship is nearly illegible."

Soong placed the covered object on the large cabinet to the side of the desk. "Eh, a long time ago, I got out of the habit of using traditional recording devices. I've found that keeping it in my handwriting, on actual paper, reduces the amount of plagiarism or theft. Harder to take someone else's work when you can't just highlight and paste it."

Lucien ran a finger along the ink scribblings, "Wait. I recognize this code. This is the same exact software version we installed in Lore, line for line."

"That's right." Soong moved to open one of the other binders, "I'm not about to write another android from scratch. It would take a year to do that. I figure we can use the same build we did for Lore and simply remove all the emotional subroutines."

Lucien grumbled, "Just give me the key to the lockbox."

Soong fished around in the pocket of his vest, then pulled out a key. He handed it to Lucien, "Here it is."

Ed Lucien inserted the key into the lock, "You have no idea what you're doing, do you? You put so much complexity into Lore that you can't even figure out which of his subroutines are malfunctioning. Everyone thinks you're creating a brand new android… But all we're doing is making Lore again, only this time, subtracting from him." After the lock clicked open, he lifted the top and reached in to take a handful of isolinear rods, "Like we're playing pick-up sticks…"

Soong pulled a chair over and sat down, "Oh, and Juliana insists that this android have a creative aspect. See if you can't add in some subroutines for that."

Lucien narrowed his eyes at the cyberneticist, "Could you be more specific as to what a "creative aspect" is?" He placed the isolinear rods on the desk, near the slots. "Or should I be creative with what I think creativity is?"

"Oh, I don't know." Soong rubbed his chin, "Juliana plays the viola. Maybe give the android the inclination for music and art appreciation? He'll be heuristic, so he'll pick up more as he goes."

Lucien reached out with his right hand and lifted the cloth on the object to peek at it, "He."

Soong inserted the isolinear chips into the slots, "That's right."

Lucien dropped the cloth again, "You've been taking Juliana's plaster molds, sampling her voice and taking her body measurements, while planning this behind her back. What's she going to say when she finds out?"

Soong replied in a forceful tone, "She doesn't have to know." He whirled in the chair to face Lucien and lifted his right hand, pointing his index finger at Lucien, "Not now, anyway. I'll tell her when the time comes."

"She'll be upset." Lucien eyed Soong dubiously, but grabbed another chair and rolled it to his desk.

"She'll forgive me." Soong's voice softened. "She always has." As he began to work on the code, he added, "I figure I can let Juliana win on the subject of creativity, as a concession to her for not making this a female android. Maybe the next one after this will be female."

Lucien rolled his eyes, "How do you want the creativity put in? I'm not sure which subsystems it needs to connect with, in order to function."

Soong pulled one of the binders over and began to flip through it, then stopped and read a couple of pages, "Hmm. It's too tricky to integrate anything new. You know what? Just have the creative aspect subroutines circumvent the main build. It can be run independently, since it's just fluff. What's the worst that can happen?"

Lucien let out a guffaw in answer, "You're right. The worst thing would be that he'll create art without realizing it. I'm sure there won't be any other problems with skipping pesky security checks. This might even make it easier for him to improvise, since it won't be slowed down by other subroutines and imperatives in the build."

"See?" Soong ignored the sarcasm in Lucien's voice, "This time, it's all going to work perfectly."

Lore frowned and reduced the volume on the computer systems lab, then vacated the security room and finished the rest of his daily duties in the communications center.

Stardate: 13562.7

The long Omicron Theta winter was nearly over, and the hardier plants began to sprout green leaves as the planet's axis tilted towards its sun. Lore smelled a difference in the soil, and detected more activity among the small, wild animals around the colony. He glanced to his right, making certain that Evelynn was able to keep up with his casual pace.

Evelynn rubbed her hands together, then shoved them into the pockets of her warm jacket. "You're lucky, Lore. You don't get hot or cold."

"True." Lore smirked, "It's nice to be unaffected by weather or the elements." He noted with amusement that as he and Evelynn strolled the paths of the colony, people scattered to be out of their way.

Evelynn pursed her lips, "Unaffected by anything, really."

Lore opened his mouth to reply, when a female voice interrupted him.

"Lore!" Kila Marr called as she ran towards the path. "Ah, I caught up with you. Hello, Evelynn."

Evelynn smiled at Kila, "Hello, Ms. Marr. Is everything all right?"

"Yes." Kila Marr nodded to Evelynn, then directly addressed Lore, "I finished the research. There's no Federation or Starfleet record of any beings that communicate with graviton emissions. I'm sorry."

Lore offered Marr a slight smile, "Thank you for helping. I still haven't figured out what it could be."

Evelynn added to the conversation, "Whatever it is, Missy and I can't even hear it, yet."

Kila Marr grinned at the two, "Human hearing's not as sharp as android hearing, I guess."

"Get away from the women, monster!"

Kila Marr's eyes widened, "Although, I heard that." She turned towards the direction of the voice, then lunged to one side to avoid being hit with gravel.

A moment later, Lore was pelted with stones. He moved his body to shield Evelynn while turning towards the human throwing the small rocks. He ran the visual of the young man with dark hair, hazel eyes and taupe complexion through his memory banks, "Yoshiko Andrews. Age twenty-two. Studying to be a physicist." Lore's eyebrows rose as he smiled a toothy, acrimonious grin. "I see you've figured out projectile motion. Shall I apply some Newtonian physics to you?"

Yoshiko gripped a metal bar tightly in his left hand. "I said get away from the women. It's bad enough that you keep hurting Evelynn, but leave Kila Marr alone!" He transferred the rod to his right hand.

Lore closed his eyes, pressed his lips together, exhaled audibly through his nose, then shook his head while reopening his eyes. "And it started out as such a lovely day, too."

Yoshiko Andrews interposed himself in Lore's path, "I'm not afraid of you."

Lore's bright yellow eyes stared back, unblinking, at Yoshiko. "You should be."

Yoshiko lunged for Lore, aiming the metal bar at Lore's head.

"Oh, please." Lore ducked, then slapped the rod out of Yoshiko's hand with ease. "Beg me not to kill you." He closed his lips into a sadistic smile.

Yoshiko cried out in pain, gritted his teeth and glared at Lore with eyes that were beginning to water. "I don't beg."

Kila Marr stepped back off the path, an audible gasp accompanying the motion, "No, don't kill him. Rocks wouldn't have hurt you, Lore."

"The rocks might have hit you or Evelynn and could have hurt you." The smile faded from Lore's face, "If I kill him, that's one less human ruining my day. Would you even be missed, Yoshiko? Should I remove you from the undeveloped gene pool you emerged from?"

"Lore, please…" Evelynn pleaded, "Don't make things worse."

Lore's expression softened. "The advantage of being completely human." He approached Yoshiko, "It includes kindness. I give you your life, Andrews."

Yoshiko brought up his right leg in a counterclockwise roundhouse, "I won't let you keep hurting her!"

Lore grabbed Yoshiko's right ankle, then lifted the young man's entire body off the ground until Yoshiko hung upside-down. "For every action, there is an equal, but opposite reaction. My, we're getting quite the basic physics lessons today." He stared down into the man's face, "Now explain why you think I'm hurting the one human who's been willing to escort me."

"Everybody knows it!" Yoshiko sputtered.

Lore's brows knit close to the bridge of his nose, "Does this have to do with how clumsy she is on the stairs?"

"Nobody thinks it's stairs, you freak!" Yoshiko yelled back, "Now put me down!"

"You're ugly and your mother dresses you funny." Lore smirked, "Was that a satisfying way to put you down?"

Despite the serious situation, Kila Marr started to giggle. She slapped her hand over her mouth, attempting to stifle the sound.

Evelynn crouched to look directly into Yoshiko's eyes, "Are people saying Lore gave me bruises?"

"It's all over town. Everyone knows." Yoshiko winced, "Tell it to let go of me."

"Let go?" Lore grinned, "I know what "let go" means." He opened his hand, releasing the man's ankle.

Yoshiko landed on his head with a yelp, then rolled onto his knees and clutched his neck and cranium.

"Am I free to go, now?" Lore regarded the injured man. "May Evelynn and I continue our walk unmolested?"

Kila Marr ran to Yoshiko's side, "Come on. I'll take you to the infirmary." She gestured to Lore and Evelynn, "Just go. I'll make sure he's all right."

Evelynn tugged at Lore's hand, "We'll take the path away from town and go back to the bunker."

Lore tilted his head in acquiescence, then gently wrapped his hand around Evelynn's and let her lead him back to the underground.

Stardate: 13657.5

A heavy spring rain fell on Omicron Theta, which meant no walking and no sitting out on the array tower with Evelynn. The rain made no difference to Lore; He was equally content to sit in the security center with her as he was to be outside with her.

Evelynn sipped from a mug that held dark brown, steaming liquid. "Mmm. Nothing like hot chocolate on a rainy day."

Lore observed her with interest, "I'll take your word for it. Enjoy. It should go well with tonight's offering for entertainment. They're going to assemble the new android."

Evelynn licked her lips, "The female one?"

Lore shook his head and chuckled, "No. It's not female. Father's been lying to Mother and just arguing with her the whole time to make her think she stands a chance of getting something she wants." He switched to a sing-song tone, "But I know something she don't…" The surveillance equipment for the cybernetics lab showed Juliana putting finishing touches on the body, at the moment.

"There's so much metal and wiring." Evelynn remarked after taking another drink. "When are they going to put the skin on?"

"I'm not sure." Lore replied, then smiled as he noticed the chocolate milk mustache on Evelynn's upper lip. "I believe the bioplast is the final addition. That's why Mother has no idea it's male. The gender isn't decided until the outer, cosmetic materials are applied."

Evelynn licked her lips again, removing the mustache, "That makes sense. It's not like you all need the inner workings for reproduction."

"Nope. We just need human aesthetics and a bit of functionality. Hydraulics, if we're male." Lore leaned against the console and smirked as Doctor Soong entered the cybernetics lab, carrying the new android head in his hands. "He always loved that face."

Evelynn blinked in disbelief, "It's identical to you."

"Physically." Lore glanced at Evelynn, then back to the monitors, "But I know that your father and mine altered the programming. Ooh, shhhh! Mother is reacting." He turned up the audio levels.

"Noonian, I can't believe you did this! You have a son, already." The soft volume of Juliana's voice did little to hide the anger in her words. "You said the next one could be female."

"What do you want from me, Juliana? I said it's up to you." Noonian's voice was louder, but firm.

"What can I possibly say? You're standing there with his head in your hands. Once again, it looks exactly like you." Juliana countered, "I help you build them and you don't even give them a single feature of mine. It's always about your own image."

"It's still just the one, Julie." Noonian responded to his wife, "The other colonists have petitioned me to deactivate Lore. I think I know what went wrong with him, and this new one will be better."

"I didn't think you'd noticed what's been happening with Lore. He's become so cruel, so angry." Juliana's voice lowered to a near whisper, "They say he's hurt some of the children and their pets on purpose. And then there's the matter of Ed Lucien's oldest daughter..."

"Sshhh! I'm well aware of Lore's shortcomings." Soong shot back, "You don't have to tell me everything he's done. It's got to be the emotions and ambitions. I've seen this before, long ago. The new android won't have emotions. I'll see to it. This time, I'll get it right."

"Wait…" Evelynn frowned and leaned forward to stare at the display, "What matter of Ed Lucien's oldest daughter?"

Lore's eyes flashed with anger, "It's that stupid rumor about me being responsible for your bruises."

"Are they going to deactivate you? I told them that you didn't do anything to me." Evelynn folded her arms across her chest and snorted.

"It won't matter." Lore shrugged and watched the monitor. "They'll just think I threatened you to say that. You and I know that I didn't touch you, but my mishandling of Yoshiko Andrews didn't exactly help frame me in a non-violent light. I fractured the bones in his hand when I slapped it, and I believe the way I dropped him resulted in a concussion and brachial plexus compression."

"Don't be so flippant about this, Lore. They're looking for excuses to shut you off, and you keep giving them reasons." Evelynn blinked back tears and watched the activity in the cybernetics lab, "And now it looks like they're making your replacement."

"What would you have me do, Evelynn?" The anger in Lore's eyes turned to anguish as he looked at her, "I could kill everyone and destroy the new android. It seems like it's too late for me to be accepted." Pure anger returned to the yellow eyes, "And Father doesn't want to fix me."

"I'll help protect you." Evelynn reached for Lore's hand. "Just try not to do anything they'd shut you off for."

Lore took the offered hand and looked into Evelynn's eyes. "I'll do the best I can." A smile spread on his face, "But I do intend to be there for the new android's activation day. I'm curious as to how another me is going to act."

Evelynn gave Lore's hand a light squeeze, "Your twin brother. Born nearly a year apart."

"My brother." Lore seemed to ponder the idea, then smiled. "That has a nice sound to it."

Stardate: 13660.4

A little over a day later, the Soong family gathered in the work and living area of their quarters. Lore stood out of the way, near Juliana, as Doctor Soong put the finishing touches on the new android. The inert android was seated in the same reclining blue chair in which Lore had been activated, indistinguishable from his older brother. Lore leaned back, folded his arms across his chest and bent his left knee, bringing the sole of his left foot up to press flat against the wall behind him.

Doctor Soong placed the small tool on a table beside him as he finished turning the activation nodes inside the android's mouth. "Happy birthday."

The new android's yellow eyes darted back and forth, taking in its current surroundings. "I am accessing." The left side of his mouth lifted upward in a bemused, lopsided smile. "Happy birthday."

Lore snickered, "This seems familiar."

Juliana moved to Lore's side, "Lore, please."

Lore smiled, then relented, "All right, Mother."

Doctor Soong placed a hand on the android's chin, turning its head, "Does your internal chronometer tell you today's date?"

The android's eyes oscillated for a moment before it answered, "Stardate one-three-six-six-zero point four. Earth equivalent date is September first, 2336. Omicron Theta colony is currently in its early spring season."

Soong glanced at Juliana and Lore, then back at the new android, "Excellent. Now, stand up, rub your stomach and pat yourself on the head."

The android lifted itself out of the chair, took one step forward and tumbled face first onto the floor.

Lore threw his head back and howled with laughter.