Warning: contains spoilers for both Star Trek: Defiant #2 and Season Three of Star Trek: Picard!A new Star Trek comic has revealed Lore’s fate after he led the Borg insurrection. Lore, the evil brother of the Enterprise’s resident android Data, led a group of renegade Borg on a campaign of terror across the Federation – one that ultimately concluded with Lore being deactivated. Lore was not seen again until the final season of Star Trek: Picard, but now Star Trek: Defiant #2 reveals what happened to Lore in between the insurrection and the God War raging across the galaxy.
The issue is written by Christopher Cantwell, drawn by Angel Unzueta, colored by Marissa Louise and lettered by Clayton Cowles. The clone Emperor Kahless, of the Klingon Empire, has created a fantastic weapon capable of slaughtering godlike beings, including the Crystalline Entities. Now, Kahless has adapted his weapon to mimic the Entities. Worf and Spock, of the USS Defiant, reason they need someone knowledgeable about the Entities on their side; Data is already spoken for – which only leaves Lore. Spock and Worf take the Defiant to a heavily-guarded Section 31 facility, where Lore is being stored. It is revealed that after he was deactivated in the wake of the Borg insurrection, his remains were collected by Section 31 and brought to this facility. Spock and Worf then break Lore out, and recruit him to their cause.
Lore Joins Worf After Being Studied by Section 31
Lore is one of Star Trek’s greatest villains – a dark and twisted mirror of Data. Both were created by noted cyberneticist Noonian Soong – the only difference was Lore had emotions. These emotions, coupled with Lore’s android-derived super strength, led him to seeing himself as above humans, and he promptly summoned a Crystalline Entity to destroy the colony he was built on. The Enterprise found Lore and reactivated him, unleashing the ruthless android on an unsuspecting galaxy. In the sixth season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lore led an army of renegade Borg, who had been severed from the collective, on a mission of terror across the galaxy. Data and the crew of the Enterprise were successful in once again stopping Lore, deactivating him and seemingly leaving him on a distant world. Yet now, fans learn this was only the beginning for Lore.
Why Did Section 31 Want Lore?
Section 31 appropriating Lore makes perfect sense. Like Data, Lore is an android and one of the most sophisticated pieces of technology in the galaxy. Noonian Soong’s work was light years ahead of everyone else. There was at least one attempt by Starfleet during Star Trek: The Next Generation’s run to study and potentially weaponize Data, but these efforts were for naught and Data’s right to exist was affirmed. Section 31 no doubt saw a grand opportunity with Lore – they planned to study him, but perhaps to recruit him as well? Thankfully, Worf and Spock have removed Lore’s emotion chip, which makes him far easier to control. Section 31 could have taken a similar approach, which would have given them a terrifying edge.
As stated earlier, Lore returned – and promptly died – in the final season of Star Trek: Picard. It was revealed at that time Lore was being held in another heavily guarded Section 31 base – this time with Data, Lal and B4. Clearly Section 31 finds the murderous android irresistible, and have been integral to his fate after leading Star Wars‘ Borg insurrection.
Star Trek: Defiant #2 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!
