Day of Honor 01_ Ancient Blood - Diane Carey [10]
“Uncle Ross!” Alexander called, unable to control himself until the process finished.
The lights swirled around a solidifying form, then washed the form in one last sparkle and dissolved, leaving a human of average height and build standing in the chamber, wearing a bright yellow plastic hat with a conical top and a wide brim in the back and a flat plate on the front.
“Uncle Ross!” Alexander charged the platform.
“Lex! Look at the size of this boy!” Ross Grant dropped his duffel bag and jumped down from the platform, where he met Alexander with an encompassing hug. The boy’s lanky frame came right off the deck. The yellow plastic hat tumbled off Grant’s head and fell on its conical top on the deck. “Yike! Dropped your present.”
“A present?” The boy broke the embrace and dove for the hat.
“It’s a helmet,” Grant said. “Firefighter’s helmet. It’s over almost 180 years old. Belonged to my great-great-great uncle. He was a fireman in Seattle. See? Engine Company 9. I come from a whole long line of firemen and rescue workers. ‘Course, then there’s me, the computer wimp.”
“You’re not a wimp.” Alexander swept the yellow helmet off the deck and turned it over and over in his hands. “It’s for me? You mean it? Your family helmet?”
“Sure, I mean it. After all, you’re the closest thing to a son I’ve got.” Grant folded an arm around the boy. “That makes us family. So who’s better to have it than you? It’s your Day of Honor present. Your grandparents told me all about the whole deal, and I couldn’t just let a commemoration go sliding by, could I? Kinda like Christmas. Now, don’t forget to leave me milk and cookies tonight!”
“I won’t!” Alexander beamed at him and slipped on the helmet. “How does it look?”
“Like it was made for you, buck. Now, clear out of the way and let me say hi to this mutant gorilla over here. Hey, Wuff! We’re finally going to work together on a mission! Is this great?”
Worf reached out and caught the hand offered by their old friend. “Very great,” he offered. “It gives me reassurance to have you along.”
“Liar,” Grant laughed. “You’re nervous as hell. You shouldn’t have recommended me for this if you didn’t want an old pal along.”
“Grant,” Worf moaned, knowing this would come up, “I did not recommend you.”
Grant’s smile didn’t fade. “You didn’t? Come on! What’re the odds!”
“Evidently better than we expected.” Worf stepped past him and picked up the duffel bag. “This is a complete coincidence. As impossible as it is to believe, you actually possess the skills this mission needs.”
“Whoa—zing! Right in the heart. Don’t play games now—you need me this time as much as during the Preficon II incident.” Grant coiled his arm around Alexander again and struck a heroic pose. “I’m still putting out fires, just like all the Seattle Grants before me, except I put ‘em out with brains instead of retardants.”
“I’ll carry that,” Alexander announced, and took the duffel bag from his father.
“Oh—just a critical-mass second, buck,” Grant said, and made him put down the bag. He opened it and pulled out a package. “Here you go, Lex. It’s your Day of Honor present.”
“But you gave me the helmet.”
“The helmet’s from me. This one’s from your grandparents. It’s a holodeck program. Journals from one of your Earth ancestors. They thought that since you’re having a Klingon rite of passage, you ought to have something from your human side, too. I thought it was a nice idea. They’re always thinking of you, punk.”
“Thanks …” Alexander looked up at Worf. “Can I go see what’s in it?”
Worf nodded. “You may scan the content, but do not use the holodeck without supervision. Understand?”
“Can you do it with me, then?”
The innocent question sent a lance of regret through Worf as he felt the answer tighten his throat. “I have a mission on a planet.”
“On Sindikash?” Alexander anticipated.
“How do you know about that?”
“News gets around. The whole crew’s talking about what happened on that transport.”
“So much for security,” Grant chuckled. He smiled and jabbed Worf in the chest. “Isn’t that your