Nightshade - Laurell K. Hamilton
Chapter One
Deanna Troi stood at a viewport gazing at the stars. They were utterly still-cold, harsh light without a planet’s atmosphere to make them twinkle. Troi had sought out this empty corridor and its fine view of the stars. She wanted a few minutes to compose herself before going to the bridge.
The ship was orbiting the planet, Oriana. Generations of civil war had nearly destroyed the planet and its people. Troi wanted to take the unperturbed peace of the stars with her onto the brid ...