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Scotty took a sip of his scotch. “I must say, Geordi, that’s quite the feather in your cap.”

“But?” La Forge prompted Scotty, as that word had been implied in his tone.

“Well, you do know what you’d be leavin’ behind, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah.” La Forge studied his synthale, using his ocular implants to view the ebb and flow of the molecules that made up the beverage. “I mean, aside from Commander—Captain Riker and Deanna, I’d be leaving all my friends behind here.” He smiled. “Unless he plans to poach a few more people. But still—”

Scotty shook his head. “That’s not what I mean, lad. You’d be leavin’ behind the engine room.”

“I’ve been running the engine room for fourteen years, Scotty. Maybe it’s time to move on.”

“Tch.” Scotty picked up his glass and started swirling the drink around in the clear, square-sided glass. “I fail to see the virtues of movin’ on from somethin’ you love. Remember what I told you way back when, right before I buggered off in that shuttle you lent me?”

La Forge smiled, remembering the words clearly. “That being the chief engineer of a starship is the best time of my life.”

“Aye, it is,” Scotty said, a smile of his own peeking out from his mustache. “And fourteen years? ‘Tis but a drop in the bottle. I was chief engineer of the Enterprise for two decades, and her successor for another seven. And in retrospect, choosin’ to retire after they decommissioned the Enterprise-A was not the smartest move I ever made.”

Chuckling, La Forge said, “Well, it was good for the rest of us. I mean, if you hadn’t retired, you wouldn’t have been on the Jenolen and been here all this time giving us the benefit of your wisdom.”

“Quite true, lad, quite true.” Scotty sipped some more scotch. Actually, the word “sip” was misleading—it was closer to a gulp. La Forge, who was able to discern the precise composition of the drink, had no idea how Scotty could even swallow a little of it at a time, much less the amount he did imbibe. Maybe his liver’s made of duranium.

He took a sip of his own ale, and then regarded Scotty. “The thing is—I do like running engineering. I’ve got no complaints about that, but—” He blew out a long breath, puffing his cheeks. “I’ve always thought about having my own ship someday, and that’s not gonna happen if I stay where I am.”

Scotty looked at La Forge as though he had sprouted a second head. “Laddie—you have your own ship! We’re sittin’ in it! Oh, aye, Captain Picard technically has command of the thing, but you and I both know better, do we not?”

“I know what you mean, Scotty, but it’s still not the same thing.”

“Believe me, lad, I know it isn’t.” Now Scotty’s look grew grave. “‘Tis far far worse.” He set the scotch glass down. “Do you know what five words I dreaded most from Captain Kirk back in the day? ‘Mr. Scott, you have the conn.’ “

La Forge frowned. “That’s six words.”

Scotty sighed dramatically. “I’m an old man, Geordi, you cannot expect me to be able to count.”

“Right, because doing math isn’t a skill an engineer really needs,” La Forge said with a smile.

“Are you gonna sass me, lad, or are you gonna listen to my sage advice?”

La Forge held up his hands. “Sorry. Really, I just—” He hesitated, unable to find the right words. Been doing that a lot the last twenty-four hours.

“I understand, Geordi, truly. Which is why I’m tryin’ to tell you this story. Now, where was I?”

” ‘Mr. Scott, you have the conn.’ “

“Aye.” He drank down the last of his scotch, then signaled for another. “The captain was fond of leading away teams—we called them landing parties back then—and since Mr. Spock doubled as first officer and science officer—”

La Forge’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding!”

“Oh aye, he did both. Did ‘em both well, too.”

Shaking his head with amazement, La Forge said, “I’m intimidated enough by the idea of being first officer on the Titan without adding a second duty to it—and the Enterprise had, what, three hundred people?”

“Four hundred, actually. Quite the man, Mr. Spock.”

“He’d have to be.” La Forge couldn’t imagine that. The first officer was the one who