The Enterprise is searching for the S.S. Vico and....
finds it completely totaled in the Black Cluster. The only survivor of the destruction is Timothy, a young boy, who is in total shock from his parent's death. Timothy explains that the ship was attacked by an alien vessel and that they were boarded. However, despite the indication that the damage could have been made by disruptors at close range, the evidence indicates that Timothy is lying. Meanwhile, Timothy begins to go to the Enterprise school. Of course, he's moody and the teachers can't handle him, so it's up to the military to save the day, in the form of Data in this case. Timothy begins to worship Data and is copying him in all personality and abilities (as far as they can go). But, now, the Enterprise has encountered a deadly gravitational storm and it looks like the shielding won't be enough to handle the impact...

A pretty good episode, as it explores (again) the issues of traumatic events for children at the loss of their parents. And while Data is not exactly the most emotional person to play surrogate father in this role, he does have some understanding (at one point, Timothy is asking Data if he can feel any emotions. Since this is before the emotion chip being used by Data, he answers no and says that he wishes that he could, so that he could feel happiness or take pride in accomplishments. Timothy, on the other hand, wants to not feel bad or unhappy. Data then asks Timothy if he's feeling bad about something, to which Timothy essentially denies.)

Overall, a solid 4 star episode.