Omicron Theta

Stardate: 14993.6

Rage swelled inside Lore as he marched to the communications center in measured, even footsteps. He noted that the security center had been opened and the weather reports were being transmitted; Lucien must have let Evelynn come back to work. A plan formed in Lore's mind; He would call the Entity here and put up the defensive shields, which would keep Evelynn and himself safe inside the bunker while all the other humans perished.

Lore headed to the subspace console and typed in the filter for the graviton pulse language. He leaned forward and spoke into the transceiver, "Crystal Entity Form… It's your friend, Lore. The humans on this planet have betrayed me, and I no longer wish to protect them. There are a mere four hundred and eleven of them, but the rest of the planet has enough organic matter to sustain you for quite some time. Because there are so few humans here, the probability of them retaliating against you is extremely low."

The Entity's harmonics responded over the same frequency: 'I will be there soon. You have my gratitude, Friend Lore.'

"Lore?" Missy Bickel walked haltingly out from the security center, leaning on a cane. "I thought I heard your voice."

Lore stared back at the old woman, "Where's Evelynn?"

Missy sat down on a nearby stool. "She sent me a message saying she won't be able to run the lab. I have to find a new replacement."

Lore leaped over to the short-range console and tapped in the frequency for the Lucien home, then felt panic rise within him. "Answer…"

"What's the matter, Lore?" Missy watched the android with concern, "Who were you speaking to, before?"

"Missy, you have to remain in here." Lore replied, "I need to find Evelynn."

The old woman's expression changed to confusion, "I was planning to stay here. I have to run the place."

Lore gave a curt nod of his head, then left the lab and headed to the Southern doors. A beautiful summer day with a cloudless blue sky greeted him as he stepped through the sliding doors. He calculated the quickest route to the Lucien household while avoiding the town, and set out at a determined stride.

Faint rumbling, like thunder, began to fill the area, and it grew louder with each passing second. A fierce wind blew, whipping the trees and plants, gaining strength with every second. Lore stopped running and looked upwards in amazement; The Crystalline Entity had arrived and its body filled much of the horizon. The shadow from the Entity covered the farms and town as its translucent body eclipsed the morning sun.

A bright blue beam emitted from the crystal trunk of the Entity and cut a slim swath along the ground, beginning at the farm fields, orchards and vineyards. As the beam passed, plant life withered or vanished and the soil turned dry and sandy. Lore heard the sounds of humans shrieking and shouting, with many of them abruptly silenced. Moments later, the emergency sirens sounded; The signal for the colonists to evacuate to the underground bunker. The school emptied out, as the teachers hastily escorted the children.

The energy beam crawled along the tree-lined paths leading to the town, leaving only shriveled, bare trees behind. As people were lifted and dissolved in the Crystal Entity's beam, the orderly hustle of survivors turned into a panicked stampede. The older and slower colonists became trampled in the rush, and the schoolteachers diverted the children to the more distant Southern entrance to avoid the dangerous crush building up at the Northern doors of the underground installation.

Lore ignored the carnage and started running at full speed on a straight course to the Lucien homestead. Just as he reached their street, the bright energy beam sliced across the yard, decimating all the organic life in its path. Lore cried out, "Evelynn!" and ran through the dust storm into the house, knocking the door down in his haste. As he ran from room to room, his despair grew; The house was now vacant of all living organisms. The few potted plants inside the home stood desiccated in their containers. Several empty wine bottles littered the floor of what looked to be a small study or den, along with evidence that the room had been recently occupied. Lore ran back outside, and sprinted in the direction of the underground bunker.

The Crystalline Entity floated to the Northwest, beyond the colony, and Lore could see dust devils in its wake. Colonists pushed en masse at the Northern entrance to the bunker, screaming and crying, trampling more people to death as they sought safety. Lore searched in vain for Evelynn, then ran to the Southern entrance. A smaller group converged at the doors, comprised of mostly teachers, teenagers and schoolchildren.

Lore waited at the end of the line to let the teachers and children enter the bunker in their orderly double-file. Once they were all inside, Lore squeezed along the wall of the main corridor. He weaved his way through the panicked humans as he hunted for Evelynn, but she was not among them. The bunker trembled for a moment, causing some of the children to scream in terror.

"Lore!"

Lore spun on his heels, to see the entrance to the communication lab opening. Missy Bickel stumbled through the sliding doors, then fell to the floor. Lore ran to her side and kneeled to check her. "Missy!"

Missy's dark eyes stared past him, into nothing, unblinking and lifeless. Lore placed his fingers on her neck and placed his other hand on her chest; He detected no heartbeat and no breathing. He rose to his feet and entered the communication lab, then tapped in the code for the security center. One of the consoles indicated that Missy had managed to engage the shields protecting the underground bunker. Lore hunted through each hidden camera display in an attempt to locate Evelynn, but the crowds of colonists were too thick. The few outdoor cameras that still operated were rendered useless from dust-covered lenses.

Lore left the small security room, then made his way back to the main corridor. He could hear Tom Handy's voice echoing against the metal walls as the large man herded everyone to the emergency shelters on the lower level. Lore pressed himself against the wall as he allowed himself to be corralled along with the other colonists to the next sublevel.

"Everyone! Calmly make your way to the shelter below! Gather in groups and start taking names and headcounts! Macipher, check supplies and rations. You three, come with me. We need to disguise the exterior entrances. Maybe we can hide in here until help arrives." Handy shouted from the rear of the crowd, then led a few of the colonists back upstairs.

Edwin Matagaro opened one of the cabinets, "We have three working replicators, assuming we don't lose all power." He started inventory, "We have ration packs enough for a week for the full colony, so we need to find out how many of us made it here." Relief spread across the man's face as he located Josh and Jae among the schoolchildren.

Lore followed Matagaro's gaze to the children. In an instant, Lore counted sixteen children, noting the Matagaro children, John Bickel, and Raymond Marr among them. None of Evelynn's five school-age siblings were present, nor were the three Detoronto children.

"Is this everyone?" Chris Finley moved among the huddled survivors. "My god, we lost twelve of the kids?"

Raymond Marr stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes, "They had to help their families on the farms today, Mister Finley. Including Janina and her family."

"Renny, can you help me take attendance?" Finley handed a pad of paper and pen to Raymond. "Everyone get into groups, if you can."

Renny nodded, took the paper and pen and began to move among the crowd.

Lore scanned and counted all those gathered in the shelter, but there was no sign of the Luciens nor the Soongs and Data. No one attempted to stop him as he climbed the stairs to the upper level's main corridor. Rumbling sounds from outside the bunker remained audible, as the Crystalline Entity continued to devour the surface of the planet.

As Lore approached the cybernetics lab entrance, a dust-covered Edward Lucien stumbled into the main corridor from the hall leading to the Northern doors, "There you are, you 'bomination…" His right hand gripped a standard phaser.

Lore could smell the ethanol in Lucien's breath, even across the corridor. "Where's your family, Doctor Lucien? Where's Evelynn?"

Lucien choked on his slurred reply. "They're gone… all gone… And it's all because of you!" He raised the weapon and fired at Lore.

Lore's shock at Lucien's words caused him to duck too late. When the beam connected with his left cheek, he was knocked back, but managed to regain his balance. "Are you insane? That phaser's set to kill!" His self-diagnostic routine activated his internal alarm, letting him know that some of his myofibril and facial control systems had been damaged.

Lucien gritted his teeth as he widened his stance to steady himself, "I'm gonna do what shoulda been done a year ago. Vaporize you."

Lore's left cheek twitched involuntarily, "You just missed your chance. Now, I'm going to do to you what should have been done the minute I noticed those fractures in your wife's bones and the injuries on your older children. I had spared you, because you're Evelynn's father." His voice cracked with emotion, "If Evelynn is dead, then there's nothing left in my life." A calm chill came over Lore's demeanor, "Everything good in me died with her. How unlucky for you and everyone else on this lousy colony." His left cheek twitched violently, resulting in a facial tic that forced both eyes closed, but he managed to fully dodge the next blast Lucien aimed at him.

The sound of phaser fire brought Juliana out from the laboratory. "What in the…"

Lucien's eyes darted to Juliana, "Stay back!" He lifted the phaser, aiming it at her. "You and Soong are next!"

Lore took immediate advantage of Ed Lucien's distraction to close the distance between them. His right fist connected with Lucien's skull at full strength, shattering the bones. As the man's lifeless body crumpled to the floor, Lore looked back at Juliana with a remorseless glare.

Juliana's blue eyes were wide with horror. Her mouth moved, but no sound emerged.

Lore bent down to check Lucien's body, "My only regret is that he deserved a far slower and more agonizing death." With a grunt of satisfaction, Lore rose to a standing position, kicked the man's phaser and watched it skim across the floor and vanish into the shadows further down the hallway.

Juliana gasped, turned and ran back inside the cybernetics lab. "Noonian! Noonian!"

As the sliding doors closed behind her, Lore could still hear the Soongs inside the lab as they spoke.

"Data's nearly done, I think. I believe I've removed his ability to feel emotions entirely. He won't be driven by ambition or desires. He's finally got the right balance of politeness, as well." Doctor Soong's placid manner contrasted the current situation.

"What do we do with Lore?" Juliana's voice held fear and worry. "He's killed Edward."

"Same as the others. Deactivation and dismantling. What a shame." Soong answered.

"My god, Noonian…" Juliana whimpered, "How can you be so calm?"

Lore gave Lucien's body one last kick, then fled down the hall to the communications center. He locked the door behind him, turned off the distress signal, then changed the access codes on the subspace radio. His fingers tapped on the subspace console, adding the translation algorithm he and Data had created. "Crystal Entity form. It's your friend, Lore, again."

The tinkling chimes of the Crystalline Entity replied over the speaker: 'Greetings, Friend Lore. I sensed you on the surface.'

"You could sense me?" Lore's eyes widened.

The crystal harmonics sounded: 'Your lifeforce is different from others. You are not organic, but you have a living field.'

Lore's eyes shut as his damaged myofibril caused another facial tic in his left cheek, "Ninety-eight colonists escaped the surface and are hiding underground. Would their lives give you enough of an energy boost to be worthwhile?"

The Entity replied: 'Yes.'

Lore hesitated for a moment before he entered the security room. He disabled the defensive shields, then walked out once more. He paused in front of the security center panel, and changed the passcode to a thirty digit string, before returning to the subspace console. "Crystal Entity Form… I have removed the barrier around the bunker. This will allow you to consume the remaining colonists at your earliest convenience. I don't know if I'll ever be able to speak to you, again. The humans are planning to kill me."

Harmonic chimes replied to the android: 'It will take me time to finish the surface, because I am small for my kind. Then, I will consume the ones who harm you. You have my thanks, Friend Lore.'

Lore closed the channel, then turned to face the doors to the corridor. Even with the soundproofing around the center, he could hear the angry colonists outside attempting to gain entry. With a quick calculation of the number of people in the corridor and the limited space inside the lab, he determined that he would be overwhelmed in under thirty seconds. He turned to look at the ladder leading to the array, then shook his head and waited.

Tom Handy's voice projected over the din, "Everyone get back. Let me through. I have the master codes to every door in this place."

Lore heard the beeps of the override code, and the sliding doors opened to reveal ten irate colonists, all armed and firing at him. A shot from one of the phasers found its target, hitting Lore square in the chest. His self-diagnostic subroutine alerted him to the system-wide failure of his internal processors and primary power coupling. Lore fell to the floor, immobilized but still conscious. Hands grabbed at his body, turning him and lifting him up.

Tom Handy sweated profusely as he ran to the consoles. After a few moments of pressing buttons, he cursed, "I can't send out a distress call. The damned android locked me out. He probably killed Missy, too. Let's bring that thing back to Soong, and then get back downstairs." Four of the colonist men carried Lore, while the other five headed to the sublevel.

"Soong!" Tom Handy seethed with anger as the group reached the cybernetics lab, "Either shut it down or I'm going to destroy it, myself!"

The four men carrying the android dropped Lore unceremoniously to the floor, then withdrew from the lab.

Soong looked over from his position by Data, "Look, I know he killed Lucien, but there might be evidence for self-defense th-"

Handy interrupted the cyberneticist, "This isn't just about Lucien and Missy Bickel. Your damned robot has cut off our subspace communications. Something's attacking the planet, and we can't even get a distress call out."

"Attacking the planet?" Soong blinked in confused, "Is that what those explosions were?"

"Yes!" Handy snapped back in response, "And your artificial "child" has left us without any help. If whoever is attacking finds us in here, we're all dead. There's not enough of us left to fend off an invasion."

Lore let out a short, derisive laugh, "It's one single lifeform, you idiot. It's not attacking, it's feeding."

Juliana begged Lore, "Please, tell us how to unlock the subspace radio so we can call for help."

Lore stared back at Juliana with angry yellow eyes, "Why would I do that? I'm the one that called it here to eat the colony." A smile spread along Lore's lips, "This is my revenge for how I was treated." The left side of Lore's face twitched again, "I go to my end knowing that, in short order, all of you will be nothing! Not even dust. Take heart in knowing that while you were all a waste of life, your deaths will be for a greater purpose… to feed the beautiful Crystalline Entity."

Doctor Soong bent down and grabbed the android's body under the arms, "You were supposed to have been humanity's bright future, Lore, not a repeat of my biggest mistake." He stood up and walked backwards a step, then waited until Juliana lifted Lore's legs and moved in sync with him.

Lore winced as the tic in his left cheek created another spasm that shut both of his eyes for a moment, "I would have proven myself worthy… if you'd given me a chance…"

Doctor Soong and Juliana lugged the immobilized android and deposited his body on the floor next to the storage unit.

Lore shouted in defiance, "Just get it over with, and you can be with your precious Data."

Juliana kneeled next to Lore and bent over him until her face was pressed against his chest. Her sobs became a mournful wail.

Soong procured two small tools from the table by the recumbent chair, then returned to Lore. He lowered himself to his knees, then opened the port on the left side of Lore's neck. With the turn of the small driver, a soft beep and an audible click, he deactivated the android.