Work Text:
Duckie and Honey-bear:
Onboard the Enterprise, Juliana Soong sat in front of a console in Main Engineering across from her sons, Lt. Commander Data Soong, the ship's second officer, and Lt. Commander Lore Soong, the ship's assistant chief engineer. As one of the Federation’s top geologists, she'd been asked to assist the Enterprise in finding a solution to prevent Altrea IV’s core from cooling and solidifying.
“Duckie, Honey-bear, can you look at my calculations?”
“Of course, Mother.” Data rose and went to look over his mother's shoulder.
“Mom! Must you call me ‘Honey -bear’ in public? I’m 32, not 5!” Lore hissed quietly as he approached her, looking around in embarrassment, hoping no one heard. Juliana covered her mouth to hide a smile, but before she could speak, a chuckle was heard behind them. Turning , they saw Geordi approaching.
"Duckie? Honey-bear? Something tells me that there's a story behind those nicknames, Mrs. Soong.”
“Please, Commander La Forge, call me Juliana and yes there is a story.” Juliana said , as she smiled fondly thinking back to when her boys were little.
“Mrs. Soong, I mean Juliana, I'd like to hear the story.”
“Great, just great! Just what I need, my boss knowing my family nickname. Thanks Mom!”
Lore threw his arms up in the air, scowling.
“Son, you're being dramatic."
Juliana patted Lore’s hand, smiling fondly up at him.
“I agree with Mother, Lore. You are being…. dramatic. I do not believe Geordi will make fun of us or announce all over the ship, what our mother calls us or why.”
“Don't worry, Lore, I won't tease you ...much. I'm kidding!”
Geordi settled in the chair next to Juliana, chuckling and grinning as Lore shot him a dirty look . Smiling, Juliana Soong sat back as she began telling her story.
“Well, let's see. Their nicknames started when they were 5 years old. It came to be because of Data and some ducks....”
October 15, 2343:
“Where are we going?” Sha'Tara asked as she, Mariann, Data and Lore peeked around the corner.
“I have something I want to show you.” Data quietly said.
“It'll be fun, Sha'Tara.“ Mariann whispered .
Mariann and Lore were more interested in just sneaking out past bedtime, while Data had wanted to show them the new hatchlings of baby ducklings in the nearby pond. Not seeing anyone, they hurried as fast as their little legs could carry them out the door and into the cool of the early spring evening. Unknown to them, someone did see them and with the stealth only an android could muster, B-4 Soong quickly followed. Reaching the pond, Data led them to a marshy part, full of marsh grass and reeds. Gently pulling aside some tall grass, he excitedly motioned for the others to join him. In a nest of marsh grasses lay 7 ducks, 5 of them were the little ducklings .
“Oh Data ! They're adorable! “ Sha'Tara exclaimed.
“They are kinda cute.” Mariann giggled.
Lore rolled his eyes, feigning boredom, as Data started chattering all about ducks, while Sha’Tara and Mariann listened in rapt fascination. Looking around, Lore spied a tree along the bank about 15 feet away with a particularly nice looking beehive on one of the lower branches. One thing Lore had a weakness for was honey, especially fresh from the honeycomb. Grabbing his best friend’s hand to get her attention, he pointed at the tree as he spoke ,
“Come on, Mariann, let's ditch these two and go climb that tree! I see some honey I want. I'll race ya!”
Before he finished speaking, Mariann took off , running as fast her tiny legs could go, laughing as Lore ran after her. Some would say it was unseemly for the little princess, the heir apparent, to be running and climbing trees with her best friend or sneaking out after bedtime because one of her friends wanted to see baby ducks but at that moment she was just a little girl enjoying life with her friends. Reaching the tree, they scampered up the trunk and into the branches. Lore went straight for the hive, while Mariann sat on a thick branch, just enjoying the view . For a brief moment, from her peripheral vision she thought she saw a shadow moving in the moonlight . Frowning, she turned her head to look in the direction, tilting her head slightly to see if she could see or hear anything. All she could hear was Data still chattering away with Sha'Tara and Lore grunting as he tried getting some honey without getting stung by the bees flying angrily around him. Not seeing anything, she shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention to Lore. Just as Lore pulled out a comb, dripping with honey, B-4 stepped out of the shadows behind Data and cleared his throat as he tapped him on the shoulder. Data squeaked in surprise as he whirled around quickly hiding a little duckling he was showing Sha'Tara into his coat pocket, his eyes widening as he stared up at his older brother standing there with his arms crossed and a questioning eyebrow raised. Data felt his mind racing with thoughts on how to explain why they were all there.
“B! I…I….you see, there are these ducks and…and I just wanted to show Sha'Tara, Mariann and Lore. Please do not tell Mother or Father!”
Data stammered out, as he made sad puppy eyes at B-4. Sha'Tara nodded earnestly, her bottom lip quivered as she spoke,
“Honest, it's what Data said! Please don't tell on us.”
Up in the tree,Lore was starting to get stung. As he and Mariann swatted at the angry bees, Lore teetered on the branch as he started to lose his balance. He gasped as he started falling,one hand still clutching his hard sought treat, the other hand reaching towards Mariann . Through his link with Lore, Data realized what was happening and tugged at B-4’s arm, pointing at the tree as he spoke,
“B, Lore is falling!”
Whirling around, thanking the heavens above for android speed and agility, B rushed to the tree with his arms outstretched as Lore slipped out of Mariann’s grip and plummeted towards the ground.
“Lore!” Mariann cried out as she scrambled out of the tree . With a thump, Lore landed in B’s arms, looking completely unfazed, despite falling and the welts forming from the bee stings. Still holding the honeycomb, he grinned as he held it up triumphantly.
“Hey B! Look what I got!”
“Seriously Lore? You get stung and fall out of a tree causing me to have to catch you, and all you can think of is that honey? “
B gave his little brother a look of disbelief as Lore took a lick of honey off the comb as he shrugged and stared unapologetically up at his older brother.
“Dang right and it was so worth it!”
Sighing, B placed Lore on his feet and motioned for the kids to follow him down the path to the palace.
“You're hopeless, little brother. All right, you four, let's get home and you better hope our parents haven't noticed us missing.”
As they rounded the corner on the path and the palace came into view, the four children felt their hearts sink when they noticed a figure walking towards them.It was none other than Noonien Soong.
“There you all are! We have been looking everywhere! Lore , what were you thinking sneaking off and dragging the others along with you ! “
"But I….” Lore started.
"Father, it's not his fault. I...." B chimed in.
“I don't want to hear it. All of you inside now.”
Sullenly, the children followed Noonien into the main hall of the palace where Juliana Soong, Sha'Tara’s mother,Lady Katrina Illari, and Mariann’s parents,King Ashter Gonshorek and his wife, Queen Roswitha were waiting .
“My sons!''
Juliana rushed over to her three sons, checking them over as she approached. Seeing Lore’s stings and his quivering lip as tears spilled from his eyes,she knelt down and pulled him into a hug .
“Oh my poor baby, what happened?”
"I… I just wanted some honey, Mama. Then I got stung and fell out of the tree. But, B saved me . Papa, I’m sorry I made you mad.“
Lore sobbed , burying his face into his mother. Sighing,Noonien knelt beside his wife and placed a gentle hand on his son's back.
“Lore, my son, I only get upset because I love you. We would be devastated if something happened to you.”
Data stepped forward and looked at each of the grownups.
“Your Majesties, my Lady, Mother, Father, it is not Lore or anyone else's fault . I… I am the one who decided to sneak out and I convinced them to come with me. If B had not followed us, Lore would have been hurt and it would have been my fault. Please do not be angry with them.“
Turning to B-4, the queen asked, “Is this true, B?”
“Yes your Majesty. Data speaks the truth.“
"Little ones, come here.“
The Queen motioned for the children to step up to her. Looking at each child in the face, she spoke.
"First things first, Data, thank you for being honest. What was said to Lore, applies to each of you. That includes you too, B. We would all be devastated if something happened to any of you. What if B wasn't there when you fell out of the tree, Lore. How do you think your parents,brothers, Sha'Tara or your best friend,Mariann, would feel?”
She cupped Lore's face, wiping tears smeared with a bit of honey from his cheek. Before anyone could speak, a tiny cheeping was heard from Data's pocket.
“Oops.”
Present day:
“He still had the duckling in his pocket? So, what did you do?”
“Well, Data informed us in that logical tone of his,that he just had to keep it because it was too late to return it to the nest, because by now the duck had imprinted on him. Unfortunately, we knew he was right, so he had a pet duck for years! And because of that, we call him Duckie”
Geordi grinned at the mental image of Data at such a young age, already using logic in such a way. Juliana smiled at a memory of that night.
“And as for Lore's nickname, I'm sure you guessed already, but it's because of his love of honey, even to this day. When we checked in on the boys later that night, Lore still had that honey comb, and was sharing it with Data and B. He even tried giving some to the duckling!“
“Aw,who knew you were so sweet, Lore?” Geordi teased, earning a glare from Lore. A beep from a console interrupted them, indicating a test Geordi was running had finished. Geordi stood up and started to walk over before he looked over his shoulder.
“You coming….. Honey-bear?”