A Time for War, a Time for Peace - Keith R. A. DeCandido [57]
Riker returned the smile. “She’s quite happy about the promotion, sir. I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to have the usual promotion ritual, given the inspection team
“
Growing serious, Picard said, “Probably not, Number One. Anything that can be interpreted as frivolous should probably be avoided for the time being—though I suspect that Captain Scott, at least, would appreciate it.”
Letting out a breath, Riker nodded. “You’re probably right—on both counts. Anyhow, Deanna and her mother have been talking. Or, rather, Lwaxana’s been talking, and Deanna’s been listening.”
“Not an unusual state of affairs.”
“No,” Riker said emphatically. “But—well, we’ve decided to have the wedding on Betazed.” He chuckled. “Actually, we decided that a couple weeks ago, but it took a while for Deanna to get that through to Lwaxana. She’s been playing the injured mother role after Deanna hung up on her after the poker game.”
That surprised Picard. “Really?”
Quickly, Riker said, “It’s a long story. Anyhow, it’s all settled now, so with your permission, I’d like to set a course there, and engage as soon as the inspection tour is finished.”
Picard wondered what the story was behind Troi’s actions toward her mother, but trusted that if it was important, Riker would share it. Aloud, he simply said, “That could be another week at least, Will.”
Chuckling, Riker said, “It’ll take Lwaxana that long to get everything together, if not longer.”
“Mm.” Picard rubbed his chin. “It will, I assume, be a proper Betazoid ceremony?”
“Yup.” Riker adopted a grave tone. “A very open people, the Betazoids.”
“You may want to add an extra warning to Ambassador Worf.”
“Only if I get to tell him in real time.” Riker grinned. “I want to see the look on his face.”
“Understandable. Was that all?”
Riker hesitated. “I also wanted to talk to you about the Titan.”
“What about her?”
“Well, not the ship so much as her personnel.” He uncrossed his legs. “I have several positions to fill—including first officer.”
Picard nodded, understanding. “You wish to choose from among the Enterprise crew?”
“Yes, sir. That is—only if you don’t object. The senior staff is already coming apart at the seams with me and Deanna leaving, and Beverly going off to Starfleet Medical.”
“If she’s going.” Picard regretted the words as soon as he said them, if only for the slight bitterness he detected in his own tone of voice. The truth was, when Dr. Yerbi Fandau informed the captain that he was making a formal offer to Crusher to take his job as head of Starfleet Medical when he retired, Picard felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. To make matters worse, Crusher waited months before discussing it with Picard—though she had talked it over with other members of the crew. However, that did give him an advantage when she did finally talk to him about it at the end of the Tezwa mission. Mentally prepared, he had been able to say the supportive words that she needed to hear as opposed to the selfish answer he wanted to give.
If Riker noticed Picard’s bitterness, he gave no indication of it. “So—do you object, Captain?”
Picard had, in fact, been anticipating Riker’s request, giving the matter some thought ever since Admiral Janeway told him that she planned to offer Riker the Titan. Initially, his desire for Riker to have the best personnel available warred with his own desire to keep the Enterprise crew together. But he soon realized that the latter was pointless wish-fulfillment. He had been extraordinarily lucky in his career as a shipmaster to keep his senior staffs in place for longer than usual—both on the Stargazer and the two Enterprise s—but all good things had to come to an end eventually, and he would not be so churlish as to deny Riker the chance to start off his captaincy without restriction.
“Not at all—with one exception. Mr. Data is off limits. He’s long overdue for a first officer’s position, and I want to keep him on the Enterprise.