A Time for War, a Time for Peace - Keith R. A. DeCandido [64]
Genestra folded his hands together. Now, he thought, we’re getting somewhere. “What kind would that be, Commander?”
“The one I ask myself every single damn day. And you know what the answer is?”
“What?”
“I have no clue. But I also know something else: Each one of them died doing their duty. Aiken was so fresh out of the Academy he was practically still putting his cadet uniform on in the morning. Razka’d been in Starfleet for well over a hundred years. I will bet you anything you care to name that if you told either one of them ahead of time that they’d die defending the ship and the Federation, neither the rookie nor the veteran would have changed a thing, because that’s what they signed up for.” She stopped pacing and put her hands on the back of the chair, her body now blocking the view of the gas giant. “I’m sorry they’re gone, and I wish there was some way to bring them back, but they died because they were good at their jobs. They died saving lives or attempting to save lives. I’m proud to have had each and every one of them on my team, and I will not let you use their deaths as an interrogation tool.”
The anger had, over the course of Vale’s diatribe, slowly transformed to righteous indignation. “A bit late for that, Commander.”
She frowned. “What?”
“That will be all,” Genestra said, wiping the display on the padd. “Thank you for your time.”
Confusion. “Hang on a second—”
Genestra smiled at her. “Commander, my concern wasn’t over the guilt you felt about the deaths on your staff over the past year. The guilt is to be expected—in fact, if you hadn’t felt it, I’d be a lot more concerned. But what did worry me was whether or not that guilt was in any danger of overwhelming your ability to do the job, particularly in light of your promotion. Some who receive a reward after so many people under their command didn’t make it find themselves crippled by the guilt. I think, however, that we’ve proven that not to be the case.”
Embarrassment. “Which you accomplished by using a transparent interrogation technique to get a rise out of me.”
“Something like that, yes.”
Vale shook her head. “You’re a real bastard, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told, Commander.” He gazed at the time stamp on his padd. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my next appointment will be here any moment.”
As it happened, that next appointment was five minutes late, to Genestra’s annoyance. But then, Genestra had come to expect that sort of thing from Captain Scott. History was not Genestra’s strong suit, so he had no idea if punctuality was something that Starfleet simply did not encourage in the twenty-third century, but it was certainly a concept alien to Montgomery Scott.
When he finally did arrive, Genestra said without preamble, “You’re late.”
Resentment. “Do not take such a tone with me, Mr. Genestra. We’re colleagues on this endeavor. You’re not my superior—in any sense, truth be known.”
Genestra ignored the rebuke, as he’d been ignoring Scott’s general disdain for the rest of the inspection staff for the past week, and called up Scott’s most recent report on the display. “I’ve been reading over your report, and I’m appalled that you haven’t mentioned Commander La Forge’s gross violations of procedure.”
“What’re you talkin’ about?”
Scott remained standing, so Genestra rose and held the display for Scott to see. “Hiring a Ferengi to ferry parts around the sector? Bypassing the quartermaster entirely for—”
“I’m aware of Mr. La Forge’s solution to the Enterprise’s supply issues.”
Genestra was amazed at Scott’s lack of concern. “And you didn’t feel this warranted a reprimand?”
Amazement. Confusion. “Of course not. On the contrary, I’m applaudin’ his initiative.”
“You must be joking,” Genestra said, even though he knew Scott had no humorous intent. “This is a gross violation of standard procedure,