At the end of Descent and Nemesis the brothers are strewn so far apart that any attempt to bring them back together would seem inconsistent with what is considered canon. But it is my hope that I can write a story to tell how a family can be sewn back together through the invisible threads which bind us all.

Lense

Chapter 1

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"Maybe he's not supposed to be like you, Data... maybe he's supposed to be exactly the way he is."

Sitting up, suddenly wide awake, B-4 pondered the meaning of Commander LaForge's words. They were the words of Data's closest friend after he had decided to allow B-4 to undergo a core memory download procedure. The procedure had taken place nearly a year ago, just before Data's death.

B-4 let out a long sigh, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. Data had expected the procedure to successfully integrate his abilities and memories into his own. Initially, the procedure failed; however, it had given him the necessary programming for the development of his own neural net. No one was aware that Data's programming had slowly been working at B-4's positronic matrix, building something entirely new. Eventually, and without being able to pinpoint the exact moment, B-4 came into existence, and he remembered, albeit with detachment, the events leading to his arrival on the Enterprise.

It was such a strange feeling, being separated from one's body, but it B-4 neither noticed nor cared. Several pieces of his body were scattered in the surrounding area. The light of Kolarus III glared down into B-4's eyes and still he did not notice. The arid environment hissed, a hypnotizing sound. B-4's memories came and went. How long had he been lying there in the sand? Years? Or had it only been minutes? His internal chronometer was damaged and time crept by at a lonely pace.

The sun was at its highest point in the sky when a shadow crossed over his face. The blinding light was blocked by the tall figure as he was removed from the dusty ground. The one who had picked him up had familiar face.

"Fascinating." It said.

"Fascinating." B-4 echoed in a glitching voice subroutine. He had never seen anyonewho even remotely resembled him. It did not matter to him.

"All things considered, Data, I think you have nicer eyes." Beverly Crusher's warm, mother-like face was only a few inches from his own. He did not comprehend what she meant by her statement, but he was simply enjoying her presence with mild curiosity. B-4 was reassembled after a few lofty questions from his brother, none of which he was able to answer. He flexed his fingers, an interesting sensation.

B-4 rose from the couch in his guest quarters where he had been lying, staring into the dark. He curled over his torso, taking in slow, steady breaths. After a few moments, he opened a drawer in Data's work-desk which contained various items. A few books, a case of medals, and a small replica of a distantly familiar woman wearing a Starfleet uniform were contained in one; but another drawer had a single industrial-looking part inside of a container which also enclosed what looked like several memory chips. His brother's items held little meaning to him but the fact that they were Data's made them more sentimental. B-4 refused to let anyone to remove Data's personal belongings from his quarters, insisting upon being surrounded by his brother's former life. Over the course of the next few months, B-4 would remember bits and pieces of Data's previous life. One specific memory continued to surface; it was obviously one that Data had spent much of his time pondering as well.

Lore's body lay motionless, draped over a chair.

"I love you, Brother." His voice, emotionless and mechanical, held no pretense, and Data's gentle hands reached down to deactivate him.

"Goodbye, Lore."

Data had often questioned whether he made the right choice and B-4's thoughts were now reflecting the same doubts. As he mulled over his actions of the past few weeks spent with his brother, he was finally able to better put the events of his own life into focus. He recalled the conversation between himself and his Data.

B-4 awoke to find himself in a standing position. Looking to the side, he found Data observing his actions. B-4 attempted to move to straighten his neck, as his head was lolling to the side. He was unable to make his muscles perform their functions.

"Brother... I cannot move." At the time, B-4 felt an almost alarming fear at the expressionless mask plastered over Data's face.

"No," Data began without emotion. "I have only activated your cognitive and communications subroutines."

"Why?" B-4 asked sincerely, not expecting the response Data gave him.

"...Because you are dangerous."

He found it unsatisfactory.

"Why?" He asked again, his lack of understanding urging him to pry for more information, information that Data did not have the patience to give.

"You have been programmed to gather information that can be used against this ship." A long pause spiraled as B-4 tried to comprehend Data's words.

"I... do not... understand." B-4 finished lamely.

"I know." Data's words almost soothed B-4's fear. They held a sadness that opened a small window into Data's feelings for his brother, one that was not comprehended but rather felt. Perhaps B-4 could not grasp basic concepts; however, he was able to sense the emotions behind the humans he encountered and more importantly, his brother.

But the window had closed. Data continued with his interrogation. "Do you know anything about Shinzon's plans against the Federation?" he spoke coldly.

"No," B-4 gave a truthful answer.

"Do you have any knowledge of the tactical abilities of his ship?" He spoke with an equal amount ice in his tone. B-4 could hear the impasse in his voice and was subconsciously afraid that he may never hear his brother speak to him with genuine kindness again.

"No," B-4 replied again as though the answer was evident, his voice wavering as though he were on the verge of tears. "Can I move now?" he asked desperately.

"No."

Data reached for the small tool used to active B-4 consciousness. He began making adjustments in the small guidance access port located on the side of B-4 neck.

"What are you doing?"

"I must deactivate you."

"For how long?" The question struck Data by surprise; he had not given it thought. He doubted if it would ever be possible for B-4 to be repaired well enough to gain sentience.

"Indefinitely." He replied. There was a pause in B-4's questions as Data continued working.

"How long is th-" B-4 was cut off mid-sentence as his cognitive functions were terminated.

That had been his last conversation with his brother and his last memory before he was reactivated, under Commander LaForge's supervision. B-4 had never intended to put the Enterprise in any kind of danger and Data had known that, but in a cold, calculated decision, Data made B-4 a causality of risk management.

"B-4. Please, have a seat," Captain Picard gently urged Data's brother to take a seat at the desk in front of him. B-4 took the necessary four steps to sit down, placing his hands on his knees. Curiosity was evident on his soft face.

"I don't know if all this has made any sense but I wanted you to know what kind of man he was. In his quest to be more like us, he helped us to see what it means to be human." There was an echo of something on the captain's kind face that showed he desperately wanted B-4 to understand the meaning of what he had said.

"My... my brother was not human." Picard couldn't tell if this was a question or a statement.

"No. He wasn't... but his wonder, his curiosity about every facet of human nature allowed all of us to see the best parts of ourselves. He evolved... he embraced change... because he always wanted to be better than he was." Again, B-4 took his time to try and grasp the meaning of the captain's words.

"I... do not understand." the mechanical glitch smoothed out into a voice that so reminded the Captain of his old friend.

Captain Picard sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Well... I hope someday you will." Worf's voice patched through the Captain's comm on his desk informing him that the warp engines were online.

"We'll talk later." Picard said to B-4, not entirely sure he was even listening. The captain almost made it to the door of his ready room before he heard a snatch of a familiar song.

B-4 paused and repeated "Never saw the sun..."

"...Shining so bright." Picard supplied the rest of the line for him.

"Never saw things..." B-4 continued his melody in broken humming sounds, like a child might do with a half-remembered song.

"Going so right." Picard finished and B-4 echoed it back to him.

As Picard exited his ready room, he gave one last look at the android before heading off toward Engineering.

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B-4 was fond of the Captain. He had only spoken with him once or twice, purely because he was too shy to seek him out more often. He regarded Captain Picard highly, but was not comfortable speaking with him about more personal issues. He had so many unanswered questions about his family so he decided to go to one person aboard the ship that he had recently come to trust.

"Geordi," B-4 had not come down to ten forward without reason. The chief engineer raised his electric blues eyes from his glass of dark liquid.

"Yeah, B. What's on your mind?" B-4 looked solemnly at the man whom had been Data's best friend and wondered if he would ever be a real friend of Geordi's, like Data had been.

"I would like to know about my brother." Geordi sighed and considered the question for a moment.

"You mean Data?"

B-4 simply shook his head in the negative.

Geordi stiffened when he realized what B-4 had meant by the inquiry. "Lore." It was not a question.

"Well, B, what would you like to know? I don't know much about him myself."

"One specific memory continues to occupy my thoughts, Geordi. It one that I believe Data had spent much of his time on as well. Do you know what Lore's last words to his brother were?" Geordi only shook his head, a morbid interest pulling him in to what B-4 had to say.

"He told him that he loved him. And Data could never figure out what that meant. Neither can I."

"I don't know, B... I find it hard to believe Lore was even capable of harboring those kinds of emotions for anyone…" A long silence spiraled as Geordi tried to find the right words to describe his thoughts. "Lore was... well I think he was either a disturbed person from something he may have experienced in his life or he was just wrong from the moment he was first activated... He is responsible for the deaths of a lot people."

B-4 searched Geordi's face as he spoke, looking for anything that might give away what he was feeling. "What happened to him?" He asked.

Geordi's eyes narrowed very slightly. He continued dispassionately, "Lore was disassembled. Data deactivated him after Lore manipulated him into doing some horrible things. Lore took advantage of Data's desire to feel emotions." B-4 considered this for a moment.

"Where is he now? I would have thought Data would try to help him overcome whatever is bothering him." He said innocently. "Or try and repair him if the issue was technological..."

"Lore was sent to the Daystrom Institute to be studied further. I'm sorry, B. He has proven time and time again that he is simply too dangerous to be dealt with," Because you are dangerous... B-4 supposed that it was like Data to be so detached, to simply abandon his unmanageable brothers.

"Promise me you'll leave it be. There are some things that just can't be fixed." B-4 caught Geordi's knowing gaze, and with determination he told his first lie.

"I promise."