Crossover - Michael Jan Friedman [65]
Somehow, none of it managed to hit him. And in a matter of seconds, their adversaries were lying stunned at the end of the corridor.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the way they wanted to go, seeing as how it led deeper into the installation. But as his father had told him more than once, beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“This way,” he said, beckoning to the others—and headed in the direction of the fallen Romulans. Maybe they’d get out of this yet.
Then he heard the sound of footfalls behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that another pack of pursuers had caught up with them. Cursing, he turned to fire back at them.
This time, he wasn’t so lucky. A dark blue beam caught him in the shoulder and spun him around. A second one swept his leg out from under him. The last thing he remembered was twisting awkwardly in the air and wondering how much it would hurt when he finally landed.
Beverly Crusher had seen people storm into her office in sickbay before, usually out of anxiety over one of her patients. But Reg Barclay had never been one of them.
The tall, thin engineer was normally the timid type. Crusher had seen him mope around for days rather than pose a question about some trivial matter that was nagging at him. But not this time.
Either his personality had done a one-eighty, or what he had on his mind wasn’t trivial.
“Doctor?” blurted Barclay. “Is it true?”
Crusher studied him from behind her desk, but couldn’t find a clue as to what he was talking about. “Is what true, Reg?”
“Is it true that we’re leaving for Romulus?” he asked.
The doctor couldn’t help smile. “I doubt it,” she told him. “I’m sure someone would have let me know about something like that.”
The lieutenant looked as if he desperately wanted to believe her. “Are you sure?” he pressed.
Crusher nodded. “Pretty sure.”
Barclay heaved a sigh. “That’s a relief,” he told her. “I guess Nevins didn’t know what she was talking about.”
“Nevins?” the doctor echoed. “In security?”
The engineer nodded. “There’s a lot of talk in security these days. Come to think of it, in engineering, too. Lots of
er, rumors flying around.”
Crusher sighed. “About Admiral McCoy, you mean.”
Barclay looked apologetic. “Uh-huh. People say he’s … well, reckless. That he’s treating the mission as if it were a game. And it’s scaring people—a lot, in some cases.”
The doctor leaned back in her chair. Reg was right She’d heard the whispers every time she negotiated a corridor.
People were afraid, all right. Afraid and confused.
“I guess they don’t know what to expect of him,’ Barclay continued. “They don’t know what he’ll do next.”
Crusher grunted. “And he’s probably older than anyone they’ve ever known. That scares them, too, I’m sure.”
The engineer regarded her honestly. “I’ll tell you what Doctor—it scares me.” He paused. “If you ask me, I’d rather have the captain back.”
Crusher looked up at him. “I understand, Reg. Believe me, I do.”
After all, she’d been to Picard’s quarters twice already to see if she couldn’t lighten the load of his exile Unfortunately, it hadn’t helped much.
“Well,” Barclay said, “I’ll see you. And thanks.”
The doctor shrugged. “Any time,” she replied.
As she watched him go, she shook her head. She felt much the same way the engineer did, but she couldn’t show it. As an officer on the Enterprise, she couldn’t go around undermining its commander—no matter who it was.
On the other hand, she could judge him incompetent to run the ship. That was her prerogative as chief medical officer.
But she couldn’t do it—wouldn’t do it—unless he really was incompetent. And as far as Crusher was concerned, that wasn’t a matter of age or appearances.
Probably, she thought, McCoy wasn’t as sharp as he used to be. On occasion, he allowed his emotions to get the better of him. And he didn’t think twice about diverging from procedure—or even specific orders.
However, that was true of a great many officers. Whether she liked it or not, it wasn’t grounds for declaring the admiral unfit.
For all his aberrations, all his idiosyncracies,