Crossover - Michael Jan Friedman [35]
However, he reminded himself, McCoy had served on the original Enterprise—and he was desperately trying to rescue his friend. As a result, the captain felt constrained to stretch the rules a bit in this case.
“As it happens,” he informed the admiral, “I have already begun working toward Ambassador Spock’s release.” He glanced over his shoulder at Worf, whose stolid figure loomed behind him at the tactical station. “Any response from the Romulans yet, Lieutenant?”
The Klingon grunted. “None, sir.”
“Well,” said McCoy irascibly, “I’ll just wait here till we get one. That is, if Commander Riker’ll be good enough to give me his seat.”
Picard exchanged a glance with his first officer. Rising, Riker indicated the empty seat with a gesture. “All yours, sir,” he told the admiral.
As McCoy sat down, he muttered something beneath his breath.
“Did you say something?” the captain asked him.
The admiral turned to him. “I said, in my day they served coffee on the bridge. And I could sure as shootin’ use a cup right now.”
Picard sighed and appealed to Riker again. With an expression of forced tolerance, the first officer headed for the replicator.
“And I want it hot,” McCoy added.
The captain nodded obediently. “Of course, Admiral. As you wish.”
Spock watched the shadowy faces of his students as they anticipated the ending to his lesson in the security of his quarters. “And so,” he said, “it is clear that the way of Surak is preferable to a life of passion.”
For a moment, he allowed the words to sink in. Then he awaited questions.
On Romulus, those questions had often been long in coming. His students there had been inclined to ponder their lessons at length.
Obviously, that would not be the case here on Constanthus, he thought. Not as long as Skrasis was among them.
Responding to the youth’s upraised hand with a nod, the Vulcan awaited Skrasis’s onslaught. What’s more, he wasn’t disappointed.
“If a system is intrinsically superior,” the youth said, “does it not make sense to spread it?”
“It does,” Spock agreed. “After all, that is what we are doing here. We are encouraging the spread of Surak’s wisdom. Or his system, if you prefer to think of it that way.”
But the Vulcan had a feeling Skrasis meant more than that. As it turned out, he was right.
“But the teaching method is slow,” the Romulan observed. “And if there are benefits to be derived from such a system, is it not better to spread it quickly?”
Before Spock could answer his question, Skrasis beat him to it.
“It would seem it is. And the quickest way of all,” he finished, “is through force. So, then, is it not appropriate to use force as well as the teaching method to spread the word of Surak?”
The Vulcan sighed. Though possessed of a keen and analytical mind, Skrasis accepted nothing at face value.
In this, he was different from D’tan, who had come with Spock from Romulus. In fact, aside from their intelligence and youth, the two had virtually nothing in common.
D’tan soaked up his lessons as the desert plains of Vulcan soaked up water during the rainy season. He accepted virtually everything he was told and had memorized nearly all of Surak’s writings—a formidable task that few raised on Vulcan even undertook.
Skrasis, on the other hand, questioned everything. Even the most basic tenets of Surak’s teachings, at times. It was his way to test a thing over and over again before allowing himself to rely on it.
What’s more, Spock welcomed the youth’s questioning. And not just because it helped to illuminate the issues at hand.
As the time drew near for their trial and execution, he had sensed growing unrest in his charges. Fear, anxiety, and frustration were all natural reactions for an emotional people facing death. And even the relatively disciplined and motivated unificationists were susceptible to these strong emotions.
The Vulcan had long ago made peace with the possibility of his own death. Having experienced the phenomenon, it no longer carried the same weight with him.
However, his students did not have the benefits of his lifetime of study