"Of course I was terrified! It was the first time someone got hurt under my command. Do you seriously believe I would have been less concerned if it had been Liana or Arak?"
"No, of course not. All I'm saying is that I think you need more time to sort out your real feelings..."
"Yoko, I'm really getting tired of this back and forth," Pierre sighed, exasperated.
It's been three weeks now since the incident with the Cronians in which Joanna got hurt. Why Yoko wouldn't believe what he was saying was beyond him. Three weeks, meeting her almost daily and day after day ensuring her he loved her and he wanted to be with her, not Joanna anymore.
"No matter what I tell you, you'll just believe what you want to believe" he shrugged, finally, turning his head away to look through the window in his quarters.
"Pierre," Yoko said gently, as she did dozens times before. Like she was speaking to a child.
Pierre waved his hand impatiently.  "Leave it, please." He got up. "I'm just tired of begging for love," he added softly, without looking at her.
"You don't have to beg for my love, Pierre," she replied, getting up right after him. "You have it," she said, coming up to stand behind him. She reached out with her hand but hesitated and withdrew it without touching him.
Pierre stood motionlessly for a long while. Finally he turned back to her and looked into her eyes. "Now I know you're not playing with me. You're torturing me."
Yoko wanted to protest but he didn't let her. "Please, just go," he asked quietly. "Leave me alone."

* * *

"How do you feel, Pierre?"
"I feel fine, Counselor."
"Define 'fine', please."
"Well, I'm doing my job and I've stopped wasting my time on idle things."
"And what do you do for fun?"
"Not much recently but I don't require fun."
Aleyah sighed deeply. She thought she had finally managed to establish some connection with him recently but now he seemed to be back to his old shell again. Since his emotional breakdown, Pierre had apparently lost all confidence in the counselor's ability to help him in any way. Aleyah had a feeling for a moment that she did manage to change that but now she wasn't so sure anymore.
"You chose to withdraw, surely, it does involve negative emotions," she tried, nevertheless. "How are you dealing with them?"
"Fine."
"Which is?"
"Oh, let's just say I'm keeping them in a closet."
"And what if they grow too large for that closet?" She was getting desperate.
"Then I will hope that Lieutenant Torres is as qualified to conduct my purging procedure as Commander Rex was."
Pierre was sitting motionlessly in his chair. As still as only an android could be. Not a muscle moved in his usually rather lively face and his white, shiny eyes, were even more mysterious than usual. He looked as if he really didn't care what happens to him. Or at least that was the impression Aleyah got.
"So, you're predicting it will end up this way again?" She kept on probing.
"Oh, not for the next couple of years, I estimate." Pierre didn't change his position, there was not even a shrug of shoulders, not a change in his tone. "These systems are not that bad," he added flatly.
"What worries me is that you used to accuse some of us of not seeing a real person in you. And you were right on a few occasions. Now it seems that you're beginning to treat yourself like a mechanism. You intend to get it fixed when it breaks, is that how you see yourself now?"
"You know, counselor?" Pierre looked her in the eyes for the first time since he came to her office. "You may actually have a point there. When push comes to shove, I suppose I am just  a glorified robot..."

* * *
As an android, Pierre could easily run the ship while having a normal, personal life. Meeting his friends, going out to holodeck or the mess hall... For the last couple of weeks he chose to remain in his quarters, though, only activating his body for maintenance purposes. Most of the time, he only existed within the ship's systems.
"Enter." He knew who it was before he heard the chime.
"May I come in?"
"Hi Yoko. Of course, please, do," Pierre invited her politely, slipping his consciousness back into the android for her convenience.
"I missed you," she sighed, curling up in his armchair.
"Well, I'm still here."
"Yes but we don't talk anymore."
"What would you like to talk about?"
"Us?"
"No."
"Pierre..." her voice trembled a little.
"Don't."
"Alright then," she sighed with resignation. "What have you been doing recently?"
"Working."
"And when was the last time you visited the holodeck?"
"I don't require fun."
"But you used to like it?" Yoko insisted.
"I was indulging myself."
"How about indulging yourself again? I've found this fantastic sport program..."
"Thanks but I'm not in the mood."
"I see..." she just stared out of the window for a while, unsure what to say to him anymore. Finally, when the silence became awkward, he asked conversationally.
"What have you been doing?"
"Just the usual. The girls keep gossiping."
"They always do."
"Oh, and Chris took me to a swimming pool last week. We had a lot of fun."
"Good."
"I was thinking... could we perhaps continue my dancing lessons?" Yoko asked with renewed hope.
"You have learned everything I could teach you."
"Well, yes, but I need to practice?"
"You can use a holographic partner."
"Yes. Yes, I suppose I can... Pierre, why are you punishing me?" she finally had enough of his indifference.
"I'm not punishing you."
"Then why do you treat me this way?"
"I don't treat you in any particular way."
"I see. Well, I guess I should be going then," Yoko got up, holding back the tears.
A flat "Goodnight," was all she heard in return.

When the door closed after her, Pierre left his body lifeless on the sofa and got back inside the ship's computer.

* * *

A few days later Pierre went down to engineering to talk to Lieutenant Torres.
Since becoming the Explorer's chief engineer, Jeffrey Torres hadn't really changed all that much. He always had a smile and a warm welcome for anybody who needed something from him or just wanted to chat. Provided, of course, there was no emergency. Pierre, always up-to-speed with everything that was happening on the ship, chose a calm moment when he knew they could be alone.
"Is it possible to remove certain memories from my system?" he asked as soon as Torres acknowledged his presence. "I could isolate them for you to identify and then would you be able to delete them and restore the old paths?"
"Technically, yes," Jeffrey hesitated. "But it would create a personality conflict for you, Sir,"
"How do you mean?"
"Your emotional memory, Commander. If I'm not mistaken, the memories you're talking about do evoke certain feelings in you?"
"Yes," Pierre admitted reluctantly.
"Well, these feelings would not disappear if I deleted the memory," Torres explained, shooting a quick glance at a panel behind Pierre's back. Calm or not, he was still responsible for these engines and wanted to have everything under control. "You'd still feel what you're feeling, you just wouldn't know why," he continued, getting back to Pierre. "Depending on the intensity of these emotions, you might be in for a major crisis."
"So, it cannot be done?" asked Pierre with a trace of disappointment in his voice.
Jeffrey looked at him, surprised. "It can, but only along with the full purging procedure, Sir."
"I see. Well, will you do it for me?"
"If you order me to, Commander. And I will also need the captain's authorization. Personally, I don't recommend it."
"Why?"
"The number of such procedures is limited. The one we conducted recently should last you another couple of years. At some point, your system will start rejecting replicated bio-gel. If we're not back on Earth by then, you'll be lost," he shook his head, wearily.
"I see..." Pierre was about to turn around but Torres stopped him.
"May I ask you a personal question, Sir?"
"I thought we were already talking personal here?" Pierre lifted his eyebrows ever so slightly.
"Why would you want something like that? Not long ago you protested vehemently against any deletions in your memory banks. That's why we came up with replicating the bio-gel."
"I'm not talking about any major lobotomy here. There are just a few things I'd rather not remember..."
"With all due respect, Sir. We all have such things. We learn to live with them, eventually."
"Yes, but your memories fade with time," Pierre replied softly.  "Mine remain equally vivid forever. Things I'm talking about will hurt me just the same twenty or fifty years from now..."

* * *

"You asked to see me, Captain?" Kowalsky snapped to attention in front of Anthony's desk.
"Sit down, Jerry," the captain pointed him to a chair. "There's actually only one question I'd like to ask you: why?"
"Why what, Sir?"
"Don't play games with me, Jerry," Anthony's voice sounded tired. "You know full well what I'm talking about. Why?"
"Sir, I believe that a sentient computer is a walking security breech, just asking to happen," Kowalsky blurted out.
The captain eyed him carefully for a moment. Then he shook his head in disbelief and said. "You had signed up for a TCS training and accepted this assignment. If you don't believe it can work, why?"
"To prove my point, Sir," Kowalsky replied stubbornly.
"So," Anthony said slowly, putting a couple of padds from one side of the desk to another. "What you're trying to tell me is that all you wanted was to test the computer to prove your point?"
Kowalsky nodded.
"That doesn't explain what you did to Pierre as a human, though. Tell me, why do you hate him so much?"
"Hate?" Kowalsky suddenly raised his voice. "I don't hate him. I despise him! He is an arrogant, reckless, full of himself..."
"I get your point," interrupted Anthony. "But he's also a sentient, fully emotional being. At the time, he was also a human, like you and me. And yet you never stopped harassing him. You acted like a bully, Jerry, not a Starfleet officer. My question still remains unanswered: why?"
"Bully?!" Kowalsky exclaimed, obviously more agitated with each minute. "Oh no, Sir! I'm no bully!"
"You tortured him. Why?"
"Why?! He has everything none of us will ever have! He's stronger, smarter, capable of more than you, me or any human could ever be! He has to be under control!"
After this outburst, Captain Anthony fell silent for a long while. It wasn't until Kowalsky started fidgeting nervously in his seat, before he looked up at him again.
"Control?" he asked incredulously. "Is that what it's about, Jerry? Being in control?"
"Yes! If I can control him, no one will ever be harmed again!"
"You're the one who did the harm, Jerry," Anthony said softly. "Why don't you see that?"
"I?... I..."
"What is wrong? What are you so afraid of?" he reached out to touch Kowalsky's hand as if that reassuring gesture could calm him down. Kowalsky never seemed to notice it. He sat there for a while, his eyes wandering somewhere far beyond the captain's ready room. Finally, he spoke in a trembling voice:
"There is so much violence out here. Someone must protect us. If I can protect us, if you let me, Sir, everything will be alright..."
"Protect from what, Jerry? What are you talking about?" Anthony looked into his glassy eyes for a long while.
"My sister... When I was twelve..." Kowalsky finally started incoherently. "She was just a kid. I couldn't help her... they were stronger..."
"Who was?"
"Nobody should be made that strong. It's dangerous!" he finished unexpectedly.
Anthony realized there was something far more serious going on than he had ever expected.

* * *

"Pierre!"
"Kill... me..." he managed through rattling teeth.
When Yoko came to his quarters, she found him lying on the floor, writhing in convulsions. She leaped to his side, trying to help him up but he pushed her away.
"Tanaki to Torres! I need you in Pierre's quarters now!" she shouted through the comm link, trying to wrestle with the android. He was shaking uncontrollably. Yoko was terrified to see his eyes. They were dark gray.
"Calm down," she said. "We'll help you."
"N... nn... no!" Pierre stuttered. "You d... don't under... stand!"
"What's going on?" Lieutenant Jeffrey Torres asked immediately upon materializing in the room. He took in the situation in a split second and came up to the computer panel, switching it to LCARS. Then, he drew his tricorder and crouched to scan the android.
"He's got some kind of seizure," replied Yoko terrified, struggling to hold Pierre's head. "I found him like this."
"Alright, take it easy, Commander. Try to relax."
"K... kill me!" Pierre repeated, squirming violently. With his feet pounding rhythmically on the floor, his head twisting, his whole body arching incredibly, he looked like an epileptic.
"That's okay, Commander," Torres closed his tricorder, trying to speak calmly. "We'll find out what's wrong. I will deactivate you now..." he reached for the android's wrist but Pierre suddenly turned to him and seized his hand in a powerful grip.
"N...no!" he groaned. "Don't d... deactivate! D...ddestroy! Now!"
"Commander!" Torres fell on his knees, in pain. "You're hurting me!"
"Pierre," Yoko bent over to look into his face. "Let go of his hand."
"I c... can't!" he rasped. "D... destroy me!"
Yoko looked at Lieutenant Torres who was now wiggling on the floor next to Pierre, unable to say anything and she tapped her comm badge. "Tanaki to Anthony. Captain, emergency TCS deactivation, now!"
"Computer, deactivate TCS," they heard the captain's calm voice. "Authorization: Anthony seven, nine, omega, one, nine."
Pierre's body slumped lifelessly and Torres was finally able to catch his breath.
"What happened there?" the captain asked.

* * *

"What have you done to him?" Joanna stormed into Yoko's quarters, barely waiting for an invitation.
"What?" Yoko didn't understand.
"You must have hurt him," Joanna was clearly agitated. "He fell for you and you must have done something to hurt him! He's so sensitive!"
Now Yoko realized what she was talking about. She almost wanted to laugh but... she stopped for a minute, remembering their last conversation. Pierre was so... unnaturally calm and indifferent. Could it have been...?
"You think it has to do with his feelings again?" she asked, thoughtfully, forgetting to even ask Joanna to sit down. Not that she seemed to care. She was standing in the middle of the room, looking at Yoko accusingly.
"What else?" she snorted.
"I don't know..." Yoko regained her composure with difficulty. "Lieutenant Torres is working on it. It didn't look like anything that had happened to him before..."
"What did you do?" now Joanna was close to tears. Yoko realized she hadn't really come here to accuse her. She must have been just as terrified as herself. After all, Yoko knew she loved him, too.
"Come on, sit down," she said finally, pointing her to the sofa. Joanna obeyed her, holding back her tears.
"I don't know if I did anything," Yoko continued when they both sat down. "The last time I saw him we didn't part on the best of terms but it didn't seem to affect him that way. In fact, he was the one who rejected me, really."
"He did?" Joanna's eyes opened wide. "Why?"
Yoko shrugged and Joanna restrained herself.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I must be the last person you'd like to talk to about this."
Yoko smiled sadly. "No, not at all. It's just that... you see," she didn't know how to put it. "I'm not really sure what happened. I think he still loves you."
Joanna bit her lips. A wild hope sneaked into her heart but she didn't want to think about it now. Now it wasn't important. The only thing that mattered was helping Pierre. They will have time to sort things later. If they can get him back...
"Could you tell me what happened?" she asked softly. "Not between the two of you," she added seeing Yoko's embarrassed smile. "What happened to him?"
Yoko described how she had found Pierre in fit on the floor. "It looked like he couldn't control his body, not his feelings," she added. "He was pretty adamant about us destroying him. I guess he tried to tell us he's dangerous."
"Do you think he was?"
"I don't know. Maybe. He was virtually begging us to kill him. It was terrifying."
The girls sat quietly for a long while, thinking. Finally, Joanna asked. "Is there something I could do to help?"
"I don't know. Torres is working on this and I believe Tim is helping him, too. If they don't find out what went wrong, none of us can..."

* * *

The two engineers indeed worked together, dismantling the android and taking meticulous scans of all his systems. After six hours, they finally knew what had gone wrong. Unfortunately, it didn't mean they knew how to fix it...

"We believe it was the Cronians, Sir," Commander Rex reported during the staff meeting. "At least it's the last time Pierre had contact with aliens."
"How about the Claxians?"
"That's unlikely. They weren't able to penetrate his defense mechanisms, as far as we can tell. The Cronians apparently succeeded."
"What exactly did they do to him?" Anthony wanted to understand.
"In simple words," Lieutenant Torres explained. "They put a coded command line deep into his system. It was well hidden since neither he nor I managed to detected it earlier. Basically, they had ciphered in a direct order to destroy the Explorer by initiating the warp core breech. They delayed the activation to ensure that we don't find it too early and that the ship blows out after we have left their system."
"I still don't see why it couldn't have been the Claxians. He spent a lot of time connected to that crazy computer of theirs," the captain wasn't convinced. "Or someone else interfered later. After all, the Claxians had managed to clone him before, without us noticing anything."
"Yoko," Liana Rex interrupted. "You said something about the color of his eyes when you found him?"
"Yes," Yoko nodded. "It was strange. When he looked at me, they weren't shining anymore. They were dark..."
"Captain," Liana turned to Anthony. "I saw the same effect down on the planet, when the Cronians attacked him. When they left, his eyes were dark gray for a minute or two before he regained control of himself. He said they had done something to him but he didn't know what."
"He was checked up after that," Anthony opposed. "Nothing showed up."
"It couldn't have, Sir," Commander Rex shook his head. "We compared all the scans. It seems this command was just masked too deeply. In fact, we still haven't found it."
"You haven't?" Anthony raised his eyebrow. "Then how...?"
"We've scanned his subroutines, Sir. We only discovered the secondary path that led to..."
"We have found out what he was trying to do and why, Sir," Torres apparently had a knack for explaining things without techno babbling too much. Rex smiled and nodded for him to continue. "I don't think we'll be able to find the command line itself anytime soon but we traced his intentions, so to speak."
"When will you be able to get him back online?"
"That's a good question, Captain..."
"I wonder what it was that these Cronians were guarding so desperately," Liana remarked, thoughtfully. As a science officer, it was her primary concern.
"Why don't we go back and check?" Yoko offered, hoping secretly that it might bring the solution to the current problem with Pierre. "After all, they didn't keep their end of the bargain, why should we keep ours?"
"Because we're Starfleet, Lieutenant," Anthony scolded gently, watching her blush. "We tend to keep our word, no matter the circumstances."
"Yes, Sir," Tanaki whispered.
"What happens if you can't isolate that command?" Anthony turned to Lieutenant Torres. He made no mistakes. While Tim was a more experienced engineer and the two were working together, Torres was now the chief and getting Pierre back online was primarily his responsibility.
"I'm afraid we'll have to reset the whole program, Sir," he replied.
"But that would mean losing his entire personality!" exclaimed Yoko, terrified.
"We'll do our best not to let it happen, Yoko," Tim reassured her. Somehow, it didn't make her feel much better.

* * *
"So, you're saying it was a direct order?" Kowalsky asked slowly. He had been demoted but he wasn't relieved of duty. Liana may have preferred it that way but she had to accept his presence at her staff meetings. Not to mention, that among the science division, he was now her second in command. She confirmed. While Pierre was not their main responsibility, the scientists were trying to help, too.
"Then how come he could have disobeyed such an order?" Kowalsky insisted.
"He couldn't," Liana sighed. "That's why he ended up like this."
"No, Commander," Kowalsky shook his head. "That's not what I mean. We're still here, aren't we? That means he effectively disobeyed a direct order, whatever the means. How can we trust a sentient computer which can do that?"
"But Lieutenant," one of the Romulan scientists, Ensign Karina, said with a tone of irritation in her voice. "It's precisely his sentience that saved us all. A regular computer would have just blasted us all without second thoughts. Any thoughts, to be precise."
"That's right," Liana nodded. "We owe our lives to his sentience. He couldn't reprogram himself so he used his personality to overcome the programming. That apparently short-circuited him but in effect, our warp core is intact and we are having this conversation."
Kowalsky opened his mouth to say something else but Karina  was faster. "In fact, I believe we should write a few new subroutines for him so that he can be more independent."
"You must be kidding?!" Kowalsky was appalled. "We are to make it possible for a computer to disobey orders even more easily?!"
Liana cringed. Granted, such a solution might be risky but it was sure worth a try. Kowalsky's obsession with Pierre was far out of proportion. "I agree," she said. "If Tim and Jeff can't neutralize that command line, we may be able to help him overcome it."
"But..."
"Dismissed."
When the scientists started leaving, she motioned for Kowalsky to stay. Unnecessarily, though, since it was clear he wanted a word with her, too. She waited for the door to close after the last member of her team and said calmly, before he managed to open his mouth. "I want you to report to the counselor immediately."
"Commander..."
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant," she interrupted him softly. "I hate to do this but that's an order."
"Aye, Sir!"

* * *
After two weeks of painstaking search and research through all of Pierre's systems. Lieutenant Jeffrey Torres finally decided to partially activate the android in the hope that he might be able to provide some insight. The captain authorized the procedure under strict condition that no connection to the main Explorer's computer was to be possible.
With the help of Commander Rex, Jeffrey managed to isolate only a part of Pierre's personality files. Pierre's body was placed on a chair, in the middle of the room, behind a force field. All telepathic communication was blocked and so was the main computer. Every precaution had been undertaken and now they were about to activate the android to communicate with him.
"Are we ready?"
Liana, as the chief science officer was present in the engineering. So was, at her own, personal request, Tanaki Yoko. Both women observed the android with tension.
Jeffrey activated the computer and they all saw the android blink. He half turned his head and moved his hand but then something must have gone wrong and an alarm sounded. Pierre's head dropped back inertly.
"We're losing him!" warned Commander Rex, observing the schematics on his panel. Yoko clenched her fists unknowingly.
"Clearing up the resident signal," replied Jeffrey, manipulating his controls.
"It's not working!"
"Boosting data stream!"
"Now!"
Everyone sighed with relief seeing Pierre lift his head again.
"Can you hear me, Commander?" Timothy Rex asked.
The android awkwardly turned into his direction but it took him a moment to focus his eyes.
"I hear you," he confirmed in a strangely distorted voice.
"Low coordination," Jeffrey decided. "Trying to compensate."
"Do you remember what happened?" Rex interrogated Pierre.
"I... do," Pierre replied slowly - finding the words seemed difficult for him. "I am... disconnected?"
"That's right."
"You should... have... destroyed me," he made a rapid half move as if shaking his head.
"Jeff!" Timothy urged the chief engineer but Torres shrugged, irritated.
"It's the best I can get..."
"Are you in any pain?" Yoko asked seeing Pierre cringe suddenly. It took him a moment to localize her but he smiled when he saw her.
"No," he managed with effort. "But I feel... discomfort."
"We couldn't incorporate all your subroutines, that's why you're experiencing these problems," Jeffrey explained.
"I... understand."
"We won't keep you that way for long, we just need to ask you a few questions. Do you know what we're trying to do?"
"Yes."
Can you help us locate the code?"
"No."
"Pierre, concentrate, please. I know it's difficult but we need you. You know your systems from within. Do you have any idea where it could have been planted?"
Pierre squinted his eyes. "It's not... in the central processor. Too well... guarded," he managed. His voice was still cracked, he sounded like an old record.
"That much we know already," Torres muttered to himself, disappointed.
"I am... sorry. You can't... connect me..."
"No!" both engineers replied in unison.
"Then, I can't... help you..."
"Alright, we tried," Rex rubbed his forehead. "We just want you to know that we're working on it, Commander," he added, turning to Pierre. "We'll do everything to get you back online."
"Thank... you."
"I'm going to disconnect you now..."
"Tim," Yoko interrupted. "May I have a minute with him, please? In private?"
Commander Rex wanted to protest but he changed his mind, seeing her face. There was such a plea in her eyes, he just didn't have the heart to say no. He bowed his head and motioned for the others to leave the room. "Don't stay too long," he cautioned. "It isn't safe for him."
Yoko nodded. When they were alone, she came up to Pierre as close as the force field allowed her.
"Pierre," she whispered, to gain his attention. He was so disoriented, he only looked at her after a while.
"Yes?"
"We'll get to the bottom of this," she reassured him, reaching out with her hand, as if she wanted to touch him. Pierre smiled uncertainly.
"Yok... ko," he stuttered.
"Don't worry. Even if it's going to take us months, we won't stop working."
Pierre made a negative gesture, again only partially shaking his head.
"I'll be... gone... in months," he said.
"What?!"
"I am... disintegrating..."

* * *

"But, Captain..." Liana tried to protest. She had just explained what her team came up with, after working for the last few days, and now she found out that it all had been for nothing.
"I'm sorry, Commander," Anthony said firmly. "At this point, I consider offering Pierre more independence too risky. All these subroutines may in fact work towards his obeying that order after all. We will be helpless if something goes wrong."
"We've run all the simulations..."
"Liana," Anthony interrupted her softly. "None of your simulations are even close to Pierre's complexity. You can't possibly guarantee the outcome of such an experiment, can you?"
"No, Sir, I can't," she had to agree.
"Captain," Yoko came to her defense. "It's Pierre we're talking about here! We all know that a lot had gone wrong with him in the past but he's always been loyal, wasn't he? He's not only a computer, he is a person! Our friend! Why can't you just trust him?"
"Trust?" Anthony winced. "You have no idea how much I trust him," he said softly. "But it's not about trust..."
"Then what?"
"Programming," he sighed. "I realize he'd almost destroyed  himself to protect us. But it wasn't just a simple algorithm, as you may think: his personality versus his programming. Pierre's software also includes the basic imperative not to harm any living being and his teammates, in particular. We have no way of knowing how much that worked towards his disobedience as well. If we start messing up with his core program now, the results are unpredictable. Am I right, Commander?" he finished, turning back to Liana.
"Yes, Sir" she had to agree, albeit with a heavy heart.
"Captain," Yoko pleaded again. "He is slowly dying there. If we don't do something quick..."
"I know, Yoko. We'll do everything we can, I promise you that."

* * *

Counselor Purr felt like she was facing a wall. No matter how hard she tried, there was just no way she could get through to him. At this point she couldn't decide which one of them was more difficult to deal with: Pierre or Kowalsky.
"Jerry, I will have to relieve you from duty until further notice if you don't start talking..."
"Fine."
"I reviewed some of your holodeck programs," she tried to provoke him. All it gained her was a shrug. "There is no mention of a sister anywhere in your personal files," she probed.
"I never had a sister."
"But you told the captain..."
"I was upset. I didn't know what I was talking about."
"Alright," Aleyah decided to try one last thing. "Since you won't talk voluntarily, I have no choice but to recommend a telepathic session. Pierre is offline at the moment but I'm sure the captain will authorize this as soon as..."
"No!" Kowalsky jumped to his feet. "I won't let him touch my mind! You can't make me!"
"I won't, if you tell me what I need to know," Aleyah replied calmly, watching him carefully.
Kowalsky looked around wildly, like a trapped animal. Finally, he pulled himself together and sat back slowly.
"What do you want to know?" he asked, resigned.

Before he said anything, Kowalsky made the counselor swear she would keep it confidential. Except for the captain, of course. Aleyah soon realized that it wasn't only because the whole thing had been classified...

"My parents were civilian scientists on Mars Colony," Jerry began quietly. "They never cared much for Starfleet, believing there was enough left to discover without dragging yourself from planet to planet. However, one day, Starfleet came to them..."

* * *

"You want me to do what?!" Bob Kowalsky almost shouted at the young man in blue uniform.
"We want you to be on the shuttle, Sir," the officer repeated calmly. "It's your design."
"I don't design shuttles!"
"No, but you did discover the tachyon reaction that was used in the new propulsion system. We would like you to monitor the engines built on that principle."
"Come on, Bob," his wife tried with a reassuring smile. "It's not such a big deal. A trip to Earth and back should take us no more than... three hours. Is that correct, Lieutenant?"
"That's right, Ma'm," the officer smiled, slightly distracted by a five year old girl, tucking at his uniform.
"Maggie!" her mother scolded her gently, shaking her head.
"Dad, please!" Jerry's eyes were as big as plates since he saw a Starfleet officer enter their house. Contrary to what his parents believed, he had dreamed about entering the Academy since he was seven. He had been collecting every piece of information pertaining to new Starfleet expeditions, ship designs and diplomatic missions for five years now. An opportunity such as the one presented by the young officer, to actually fly a shuttle, a new, experimental shuttle, was not to be missed. Not even if his father disagreed.

* * *
"We never made it back in three hours," Jerry's voice was flat, unemotional. As if these events hadn't shaped his entire life. "Or rather we were back in five minutes after we departed. Only without Maggie."

* * *
Later that evening, Aleyah Purr had tears in her eyes when she reported this conversation to Anthony: "They spent two years in the past. The tachyon radiation interfered with the engines and it took them back to Earth in 2050's..."
"The AI war..." Anthony understood immediately.
"His little sister was killed by an android..."

* * *

"Welcome to The Union, Captain," the voice was not coming from the universal translator. The Uoia had managed to learn Federation Standard in a matter of days. "It's a rare honor to greet fellow explorers from that afar."
The being they saw on the viewscreen was creepy, to say the least. If anything, it resembled a crab with its gray shell and round, bulging eyes. Its torso was oval and it had some kind of a hole in the middle. From that hole, on three thick veins, protruded an extremely long neck. As the Explorer's crew had discovered, it served the Uoia very well. They had four limbs and each pair could be used as legs or arms. The prolonged neck could be flipped from either side of their body and placed their head on top, regardless of the body position.
"I am Cairack, the Elected One. I have been authorized to invite you all down to the planet. To establish official contact between our peoples," the Uoia continued politely. Their appearance notwithstanding, the exhibited impeccable manners.
"Thank you for the warm welcome, Excellency," Captain Anthony bowed with reverence. "We are equally honored to accept your invitation. I will dispatch the official delegation in an hour."
Anthony intended to have the channel closed but the Elected One waved his head, signaling that there was something else he wanted to say. Indeed, after a proper pause, he added.
"Forgive me, Captain, but I have one request to make."
"Anything I can help you with, Your Excellency."
"As you are aware, we have scanned your ship in detail."
Anthony nodded instinctively but then he remembered what little he had managed to learn of this species' body language and titled his head to the right, instead.
"We are aware of the telepaths you have aboard. We would like to ask you not to include them in your delegation."
Anthony, who had actually planned on having Vort with him, in the absence of Pierre, waited five seconds as per Uoia's protocol and said.
"May I ask why?"
The reply came a little sooner than it should have; a clear sign that the Elected One was nervous.
"We have had some unpleasant dealings with a species called Claxians in the past. My people are highly suspicious of any telepaths and I would hate it to hinder our friendly relationships right from the start."
Anthony wanted to tell him that they had neutralized that particular threat a few months ago but he thought better of it. There would be plenty of time for that later, no need to prolong these initial talks anymore.
"I will be pleased to oblige you," he bowed again. "Anthony out."
"Captain," Commander Rex got up from his seat. "All this seems almost too good to be true. I would rather have a telepath with us down there, just to be on the safe side."
Timothy was right. From the first moment, when Tanaki spotted an alien ship on the Explorer's long range sensors, everything had been perfect. The aliens responded to their hails, introducing themselves as one of the nations constituting The Union - a leading power in this part of the galaxy. Over the course of the next few days, a lot of information has been exchanged between the two crews, while the Explorer was being escorted with full honors to Uoia, the capital of The Union.
From what they learned, The Union had been built on very much the same principles as the Federation: to establish peaceful coexistence of various races and to seek growth and advancement together. Still remembering their first adventure with the Maartikans though, the Starfleet officers were almost afraid to believe it all to be true.
"Your reservations have been noted," Anthony turned to Tim. "And personally, I agree. But I don't think we have much of a choice. I hope to be able to convince them later that we really mean them no harm."

* * *

The next days were extremely busy for everyone. A lot of officers marveled that they were finally doing precisely what they had joined Starfleet for: getting to know other species, learning about their culture, history and science.
Soon, groups of various interests were matched. Doctor Darek, accepted on Anthony's special recommendation, visited Uoian hospitals and learned all he could about their fascinating physiology. Lieutenant Torres lead a team of engineers to visit their factories and shipyards. The scientists of all specialties had their hands full, too.
Lieutenant Tanaki Yoko, as the Explorer's tactical officer, was assigned to guide tours of Uoia who, in return, wanted to see their ship.
"This is our primary warp core," she presented for the fiftieth time this week. "It's interconnected with..."
"Excuse me, Lieutenant?"
For a Uoia to interrupt like this was considered extremely rude. Yoko decided that this individual must have been either very young or unusually emotional.
"Yes?" she asked, nevertheless.
"You are using a very antiquated computer system," the Uoia pointed to one of the LCARS displayes. "It doesn't seem on par with the rest of your equipment..."

* * *
"What's a female?"
Yoko couldn't help but laugh. The Uoia, with all their manners and protocols, could be surprisingly impulsive at times.
"It's a gender," she explained. Most of us are two-gender humanoids. A female is the one who gets pregnant and bears children."
"That's right!" the Uoia pulled his head up high, demonstrating ultimate surprise. "I remember now, the Praxa have something like this, too!"
"You don't have genders?"
"We are what you call..." he paused, looking for the word. "Hermaphrodites. By your standards I am both a male and a female."
"Now that's fascinating!" Yoko retorted and they both laughed.
The Uoia she was talking to was a young computer scientist who had first noticed the discrepancy between the Explorer's modern systems and relatively obsolete LCARS. His name was Proit and, since his initial tour, he had become a regular quest on the Explorer.
Yoko took him to the holodeck where they visited various places from their galaxy. Proit was eager to learn as much as he could. Together they explored the entire ship, discovered various foods in the mess hall and Yoko had to admit she was having a great time with him.
"Why are you so afraid of telepaths?" she asked once, when they got back from a fascinating holodeck trip to Betazed. "The Claxians never conquered your people, have they?"
Proit tilted his head slightly to the left, which meant 'no'.
"It was the last great war in this part of the galaxy," he explained. "We lost many people and will always remember that."
"I understand," Yoko replied sympathetically. "But you have to realize not all telepaths are out there to get you?"
"We do. But telepathy itself is such a great power and so abusive in its very nature. It may be a prejudice among my people but it's one that won't go away easily."
Yoko fell silent. She thought about Pierre and how their beginning relationship was anything but abusive. It sure was difficult at times, but... she realized how much she missed him. It was almost a month now and she was scared to think how much of him will be left when the engineers finally manage to get him back online...
"Did I say something wrong?" Proit's voice snapped her back to reality.
"No, I'm sorry," she replied softly. And then she told this strange creature all about her fears and hopes.

* * *
"They claim they can help us, Captain," Yoko finished her report at the morning staff meeting. "As I understand it, they have a little more advanced computers here, although not telepathic. They also had some dealings with the Cronians in the past. They may be able to repair Pierre's code.
"Lieutenant?" Anthony turned to Torres for his opinion.
Jeffrey titled his head to the right, out of the recent habit and everybody laughed. They had all been spending so much time with the Uoia lately, it was becoming an ongoing joke.
"We're after a preliminary meeting with a group of their scientists, Sir," he said when the officers quieted down. "Problem is, they would need unrestricted access to all our systems."
"Problem?" Yoko didn't understand.
"While they appear nothing but friendly, there is still some sensitive data we'd rather not share with them," this time Jeffrey Torres shook his head in a usual human gesture. "This is of course for the captain to decide but..."
"I see," replied Anthony. "How advanced is your work?"
"We have screened maybe one fourth of Pierre's systems, Sir and we don't seem to be any closer to the solution," Jeffrey answered. "I have a group of holo-engineers at work around the clock but there's only so much they can do."
"Any updates on Pierre's current state?"
"Nothing decisive, Captain. We estimate maybe three per cent of his subroutines have disintegrated so far but I'm hesitant to activate him to do a full check-up. This partial activity may be more dangerous for him than full deactivation."
"I see," Anthony said again. The officers fell silent. While everyone was excited about their adventure with the Uoia, they felt that one of them was missing. Despite all the past problems, Pierre was far more than a computer to most of them. He was their friend.

* * *

"Captain, I assure you my crew will not mess up with any of your files unless absolutely necessary," the Elected One said from the viewscreen. "We mean you no harm, we only want to help."
"I understand that, Your Excellency," the captain replied after the proper five seconds' pause. "However, no matter how friendly our relationships are, you surely do have sensitive information you would be hesitant to share with us, had the situation been reverse."
This time the pause was longer. The Uoia was thinking. Finally, he titled his head to the right, signaling his approval.
"You are right, Captain. But I would also love for the trust between our people to prevail. I am prepared to agree that you have one of your telepaths monitor my people while at work. Will that serve to convince you our intentions are noble?"
For a moment, Anthony didn't know what to say. In his entire career as a diplomat, he had never heard a more touching declaration. For these people to voluntarily accept a telepathic contact was like... for humans to agree to serve on a Borg cube. It was the only comparison that he could think of. The Uoia leader was patiently awaiting his reply.
"We are deeply grateful," Anthony said softly and bowed with sincere respect.

* * *

"Are we ready?"
Pierre's body was again placed in the middle of the engineering. No force fields this time, since the Uoia had assured everyone there was no danger anymore. Still, the connection to the main computer had been severed and the only thing they were about to activate was the android himself.
Commander Rex inspected his console one last time and nodded. Lieutenant Torres touched his panel.
Pierre opened his eyes and looked around.
"Welcome back, Commander," Torres said with relief, seeing no sign of trouble. "How do you feel?"
Pierre immediately accessed his self diagnostic program. Everything seemed to be working. "I'm fine," he nodded. "I'm not connected to the computer yet?"
"No but it's just a precaution," Rex relaxed as well. "We'd like to observe you for the next couple of days just to make sure."
"I understand," replied Pierre, getting up cautiously, trying out his long inert body.
"Unfortunately, some of your subroutines were lost. We will be working to retrieve them but for now we're not even sure what's missing. Do you feel any different?"
"No," Pierre replied slowly, stretching his muscles. "But it may be anything. It will probably turn out in the next few days when I'm back to normal life. How much is missing?"
"Less than we had feared: a little over two percent of the code. The Uoia did a really great job."
"The Uoia?"
"You have a lot to catch up on, Commander," Rex smiled. "Before we have you fully integrated, here are the latest reports," he added, taking a pile of padds from his console and handing them to Pierre.
"Pierre!" Yoko barged into the engineering and seeing Pierre on his feet, leaped at him so vigorously, she  knocked the padds out of his hand. Pierre had no choice but to catch her in his arms while the padds scattered on the floor around them.
Rex and Torres burst out with laughter and it was only then that Yoko even noticed them. "I..." she started, still clinching to Pierre, but Timothy waved his hand.
"That's alright, Lieutenant. Come on, Jeff," he turned to Torres. "We'll leave these two to... clean up this mess," he blinked, pointing to the padds laying around.
The two men left and Yoko hugged Pierre again. "I missed you so much," she whispered, standing on her toes to reach him.
Pierre wanted to step away but he changed his mind, seeing the longing in the girl's eyes. He bent over so that she could kiss him. When their lips met, he suddenly knew what subroutines had been missing from his system.

* * *
"You pleasure center?" the counselor repeated.
"That's right," confirmed Pierre. "To cut the long story short, everything that's supposed to be pleasurable, turns out to hurt me. Not much," he added seeing the worried look on Alyeah's face. "It's just a minor discomfort."
"Have you talked to Jeff?"
"Yeah. He's working on that. But my systems are complicated and it's not going to be easy. This time even the Uoia are at a loss."
"Surely they must have some schematics or something?" the counselor asked. "I understand they had a hard time finding the added code but restoring what's been lost should be much easier?"
Pierre shook his head. "Not really. It's still not a matter of my hardware. We do not have a complete copy of all my files, Counselor. That would require another computer to store."
"But they must have some kind of back ups?"
"Of the most important functions, yes. Apparently this is not one of them," Pierre smiled. "There is also a complete basic pattern for my programming packed up in the computer, but it can only be retrieved if I'm completely wiped out. It doesn't include my personality which had developed over time."
"I see," the counselor sighed. "So, what are your plans for now?"
" I guess I'll just refrain from... ehem... physical pleasures, I guess," Pierre grinned at her.
"Did you tell Yoko?"
This question immediately washed the playful expression out of his face. "No," he replied. "And I appreciate it if you didn't either. It's a rather... delicate matter. Besides..." he hesitated. "I don't think it's going to be a problem anytime soon."
"You intend to stick to your original decision, then?"
"Yes. I am a computer, first and foremost. It's really high time for me to concentrate on my job."