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welcometojurassicparker · 9 months

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In the Arms of the Father.

A 1000+ word short story about Lore and Arik Soong (who somehow managed to time travel to the 24th century). Bonus: B-4 mention.

The desultory disposition incarcerating the android in some sort of feedback loop, caused him to pace restlessly back and forth in front of the tall window. At irregular intervals, he became stationary and tossed a melancholy look at the view, watching the sun dip behind the precipitous mountain ridges which he was so keen on defying. In all honesty, he wasn’t convinced that the grounds of the android’s affinity for the mountains lay solely with his fascination for the sublime — he was cognisant of Lore’s episodic indulgences during which he’d entomb himself in layers of Romantic poetry. Lore was constantly at war with himself, his emotions, his traumas... And although he seldom — if ever — divulged anything about his past, his vindictive endeavours, his liaison with the Crystalline Entity, and his deliberate act of betrayal — if one could call it that —, he knew better. The android had grown attached to the mountains, because they were a sanctuary where he could practise his habitual propensity of dissociation without anyone reproaching him; he could wallow in his sorrows without anyone interrupting him…

Quietly, Arik regarded the boy; Lore seemed exceptionally disquieted this late afternoon; his broad shoulders were taut with tension, his dark, customarily slicked back hair dishevelled, as if his slender fingers had careened through it in an apprehensive, almost obsessive, kind of way. Strands of brown decorated his iridescent forehead — a hairstyle bearing a slight semblance to his, apart from the fact that his was silver instead of auburn. His eyes, phosphorescent in the dusk-drenched room, were imbued with an emotion that could only be identified as the onset of a panic attack.

The last several days, he’d noticed that Lore had grown more aloof, more unsociable, sequestering himself from the others, preferring solitude over company — in Lore’s case, not the best remedy to overcome psychological afflictions and placate wayward emotions. Arik had tried to reach out to the boy, more than once, but thus far, his attempts had been futile; Lore was distrustful of humans — and justifiably so. He’d allowed himself to be bricked in inside an impenetrable fortress constructed of his own misery. It was truly a sorry sight to behold; the android had so much potential… If only he was willing — if only he’d try to let Soong help him…

Lore hadn’t discerned him yet, standing, idling in the opening of the door, observing him in a similar way an exobiologist would clandestinely observe intelligent extra-terrestrial lifeforms — as he knew Starfleet did… And they called his experiments unethical. No, intruding on other people’s privacy — whether they had been informed of it in advance or not — was morally correct… However, the fact that the android appeared so thoroughly preoccupied with his own thought processes, so much so that his sensors hadn’t alerted him of Arik’s arrival, was cause for concern. The poor boy was utterly lost, and nothing could hoist him out of the well he’d tumbled into.

Carefully, as not to startle the android and send him into a frenzy of agony, Arik rapped his knuckles on the door, a gentle noise, unobtrusive — this action garnered Lore’s attention instantaneously. ‘What?!’ he growled aggressively, clearly Arik had caught him at a bad time.

Arik didn’t let Lore’s tone of belligerence deter him, and simply offered him a lopsided smile.

‘Oh nothing,’ he said unperturbed, his dark eyebrows ascending. ‘I was merely wondering if you’d care to keep me and your brother company — Bee wants to try roasting s’mores, in the traditional fashion, but I don’t want a repetition of last time, when he ate everything and clogged up his entire digestive tract,’ he reminded Lore, who had initiated a self-induced glaring contest. ‘The mess afterwards was horrendous. So, I need your help. You comin’?’

He questioned Lore had even contemplated his proposal, because the answer was distributed before he’d properly finished his sentence.

‘No,’ he spat.

Lore’s laconic state was another reason for concern… Usually he was talkative, bordering on the dramatic, yes, but talkative…

‘You’re being particularly monosyllabic today, Lore — what’s wrong?’ he asked, approaching the android — a bold move, for he wouldn’t be the first Soong to suffer fatal injuries at his hands.

A momentary silence ensued.

He could tell the android was conflicted, indecisive; he was fighting an internal, an imaginary adversary that withheld him from, prohibited him from talking to him. Lore’s pale lips parted and for an ephemeral moment his yellow eyes scintillated with something that he would’ve interpreted as a distress call, but at the very last second, Lore changed his mind, refurbished that façade of irrepressible, ineradicable anger, and closed his mouth again.

‘No, just leave me alone.’

Arik heaved a soft sigh, shrugging his shoulders insouciantly, and yielded to the android’s request.

‘OK. Goodbye, then.’

Soong span around and headed for the door, but he’d barely traversed halfway across the room when an insecure stammer disrupted the silence.

‘W-wait.’ His words a plea rather than a demand.

He stopped dead in his tracks, a delicate smile of relief tugged at the corners of his mouth. Slowly, the turned around to face the android, his heart shattering at the dismal state he was in. For the first time, Lore looked forlorn, frail; he seemed to diminish in size, quivered under the weight, the burden, that had bedevilled him, that had haunted him, tormented him since his first day of activation. And now? it had finally compromised him.

‘Would you… like to talk about it?’ Arik hazarded.

With a feeble roll of his drooping shoulders, Lore averted his gaze, and the subsequent silence that permeated between them spoke volumes — a feat words never, not in this lifetime, not in a million years, not ever, could have accomplished. The android had finally collapsed, capitulated to the ungovernable inundation, the onslaught of incandescent emotions that no longer tolerated being oppressed by his tyrannical rule.

His light brows puckered in an attempt to rein in his emotions, but he’d already sanctioned them to effervesce, to nip air at the surface of the bottomless ocean he’d had been drowning in for far too long. Gingerly, a sinewy streak of yellow trickled down his cheek, an image that made Arik’s features distort with painful compassion. He could tell the android was still holding back, he loathed feeling weak — who didn’t?

‘C’mere, Lore,’ he said, inviting Lore to seek consolation in his arms.

Surprisingly enough, a reiteration of his invitation was not required; the android launched himself into Arik’s embrace at a staggering rate and clung to him like a small child — like Udar… Compunction fused with irrevocable sorrow overwhelmed him, not only for his Augments — regardless of what they’d done —, but also for Lore. Especially for Lore. He wrapped his arms firmly around the android. The boy buried his face into his chest and let out the most desolate and miserable cry he’d ever perceived. Tears welled up in his own eyes, and he closed them.

Incontrollable convulsions rocked Lore’s entire body as he wept — no — wailed; his hands trembled incessantly has he clutched on to the back of Arik’s shirt. In turn, Arik rubbed the android’s back comfortingly with his right hand, while kneading the nape of Lore’s neck with his left. His heart ached for the android, but at least this was the first step in a long process of rehabilitation…

#a story by welcometojurassicparker #arik soong #lore tng #star trek #star trek the next generation #lore star trek #star trek au #star trek fanfiction #star trek tng

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