Double Helix 06_ The First Virtue - Michael Jan Friedman [56]
As he was about to resume his report, the door to his room chimed softly. Looking up, the captain wondered what new bit of bad news Ben Zoma might be bringing him.
“Come,” he called.
Then he remembered that he wasn’t in his quarters back on the Stargazer. He was in a suite First Minister Culunnh had obtained for him on Debennius II so the Benniari could reach him at a moment’s notice, and the door mechanism wouldn’t respond to his voice.
Rising from his chair, he crossed the room and touched a pad built into the wall beside the door. A moment later, the panel moved aside with an exhalation of air, revealing his visitor.
It wasn’t Ben Zoma, either. “Governor Thul,” said Picard.
The governor smiled. “Captain… may I come in?”
“By all means,” Picard responded, moving to one side so the Thallonian could enter the room.
“I’ve become persona non grata among both the Cordracites and the Melacron,” Thul observed as he came inside.
“As have I,” the captain noted, as the door hissed closed again. “Which makes it rather difficult to talk sense into them.”
The Thallonian took the seat against the wall, opposite the one where Picard had been sitting. “I’m afraid that peace-mongers are not much appreciated at the moment”
Picard grunted. “So it would appear.” He indicated a transparent decanter full of bright yellow liquid sitting on a wooden endtable. “Would you care for some wine, Governor?”
“Wine?” Thul replied wonderingly. “I thought tea was your beverage of choice, Captain.”
Picard smiled without humor. “Cabrid Culunnh had this sent up here a couple of hours ago. He said he hoped it might give me some consolation.”
“And has it?” asked the Thallonian.
The captain shrugged. “I’ve barely touched it.”
“Then let us rectify that oversight,” said Thul.
Picard nodded and poured two glasses of the stuff. Then he gave one of them to his visitor.
“To peace,” the Thallonian noted. As he raised his glass, it sparkled in the light.
“To peace,” the captain agreed, raising his glass as well. “May it be more than the empty illusion it seems at the moment.”
Together, they sipped the dry, tart beverage in silence. The wine wasn’t to Picard’s taste, exactly, but it wasn’t awful either. His father’s vineyards back on Earth had occasionally produced worse.
Staring into the depths of his wine, Thul spoke. “I cannot get it out of my head, Captain. There will be war soon. So many millions of innocents … what a waste of life.”
Picard didn’t answer. His mind’s eye was filled with images of the soft-spoken, wise Benniari. Because of their presence in the disputed territories, they would no doubt be among the first to perish-just as the First Minister had predicted.
“I’m tempted to intervene,” said the governor. “To stop it, somehow. And not just on behalf of Culunnh’s people. After all, there are Thallonians in danger as well-those who serve the Emperor in various ways outside the borders of the Empire.”
“I envy you that liberty,” the captain answered sincerely. “Unfortunately, my hands are tied.”
Thul looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“You spoke of the first virtue among your people,” Picard said. “We of the United Federation of Planets have a central tenet as well. We have vowed not to intervene in conflicts among other civilizations, unless we are asked to do so by one of the combatants-and clearly, neither the Cordracites nor the Melacron have asked for our aid.”
“The Benniari have,” the Thallonian pointed out.
“Yes,” the captain agreed, “and we will protect them if they are attacked. But beyond that…” He shrugged again.
“That must be terribly frustrating,” said Thul.
Picard smiled wryly. “You have no idea. But those are my orders and I will obey them.”
The governor finished his wine, then got to his feet and stretched. “I