Distant Shores - Marco Palmieri [55]
Dina’s eyes widened, apparently thrilled to be recognized. “Yes, sir, I’ve been Captain DeSoto’s first officer for a little over two years now.”
“I’m surprised to see you, sir,” Mark said. “I mean, it’s good of you to be here for Kath- “
Paris shook his head. “It’s not just for Kathryn-my son was on Voyager.”
That surprised Mark. “I didn’t know.”
“You couldn’t have-his involvement in the mission was classified. Technically, I shouldn’t be telling you about it, but it’s been a year, and it just- ” Paris got a faraway look in his eyes, then muttered, “Excuse me,” and left the room.
Mark stared after him. “Well. That was weird.”
Dina snorted. “Weirder than you think. His son was a Starfleet washout. Actually, he was worse than that-he caused an accident, got some people killed, and then lied about it. He came forward eventually, and got cashiered out. Last I heard, he’d been arrested working for the Maquis.” Dina shook her head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the admiral pulled some strings to get the kid to help Janeway out when she went on her little Maquis hunt. That’s probably why he’s so wrecked.”
Mark nodded. “Probably.”
Dina wandered off, and then Davey walked up to Mark. He was passing a piece of meat back and forth from one hand to the other without actually eating it. “Excuse me-Mr. Johnson, right?”
“Mark is fine.”
“Right. Look, I’m sorry if I was rude back there, I’ve just been very agitated-I know Dad’s okay out there, I just-I just know it. I mean, Voyager was built specifically to withstand the plasma storms, it can’t just be destroyed without any kind of trace like that-especially with the tetryon emissions.”
Before Mark could reply, Gres spoke at as loud a volume as his soft voice would allow. “May I have everyone’s attention please?” The Ktarian stood in the middle of the room, holding a glass of what looked to Mark like Saurian brandy, and had to repeat his request several times before the room quieted down.
“I would like to thank all of you for coming. I would also like to thank Quark for his fine catering job.” The Ferengi bowed slightly. Gres continued: “The pain of the separation from our loved ones, of not knowing their true fate, is a difficult one that we have all had to bear. Today, for the first time in a year, that pain is lessened a bit for being able to share it with all of you. I have felt very much alone this last year, without my dear Samantha, but today I feel a good deal less lonely. I also convey a message from Captain Sisko, who could not be here today.”
Mark blinked in surprise, both at the message and at Sisko’s apparent promotion.
Gres went on. “He wanted me to reassure all of you that Starfleet has not given up the search and has not given up on the Voyager, and that they will do everything in their power to find our families and friends and return them to us.”
Mark raised his glass. “Hear, hear!”
Several others in the room, including Davey next to him, repeated that.
“Mark, I’d like you to meet Carla.”
Mark looked up from his workstation in surprise. He hadn’t heard Ramiro come into his office. He’d been so engrossed in the annual report that he probably wouldn’t have noticed if the sun went nova. “What was that?” Then he registered that there was someone else with Ramiro, and she was named Carla. “Uh, hi, Mark. I’m Carla.”
Ramiro laughed. “And the sad thing is, ‘Carla’ here is one of the finest minds on the project.”
He stood up from his workstation, rubbing his eyes free of the sand that really should not have been there in midafternoon. “I’m sorry, Carla, I’ve been caught up in this annual report, and it has to be perfect or- “
“I know,” she said. “I’m here to help implement the new phase of Taisha Mifflin’s project.”
It took Mark a moment to process this. “Wait, she’s a molecular biologist?”
“Nah,” she said, “I’m just a janitor, but I lie real well on my resume.” For the first time, Mark noticed that she had a dazzling smile. Then he noticed the rest of her-her porcelain skin, her blond hair, her sky-blue eyes, her perfect cheekbones-and he decided that she