Enigma - Michael Jan Friedman [1]
Gerda Idun was foiled—with Nikolas’s help, as fate would have it—and she was returned to her proper universe empty-handed. But that was only after Nikolas had done himself the disservice of falling in love with her.
From that point on, the ensign’s life on the Stargazer had been a little bit of hell. After all, Gerda and Idun Asmund, who looked exactly like Gerda Idun, were still serving alongside him on the ship. And every time Nikolas bumped into one of them, in a corridor or a lounge, he was painfully reminded of what he had lost.
Picard had been aware of Nikolas’s discomfort. However, he had assumed that Nikolas would get over it, as Picard had gotten over his own lost loves. So he was surprised when the fellow walked into the captain’s ready room a few days ago, sat down opposite him, and asked for his discharge from Starfleet.
Picard was torn by the request. Ever since Nikolas had beamed aboard the Stargazer, the captain had identified with him and seen promise in him.
Nikolas had been reprimanded a few times for getting into fights, that was true. But Picard had his share of ill-considered dust-offs at that age, and he had eventually grown past them. He had seen no reason why Nikolas couldn’t do the same.
Then Gerda Idun had appeared, and Nikolas changed. The day she was slated to leave, his orders called for him to report to engineering. Instead, he went to the transporter room from which she was departing, determined to speak with her.
And days later, after the captain had specifically warned Nikolas about getting into any more fights with his fellow crewmen, he had managed to get into not one such conflict, but two—both of them with Lieutenant Hanta, who should have known better as well.
Picard had considered the idea of encouraging Nikolas to transfer to another ship. However, that would have solved only a portion of the fellow’s problem. Even if Nikolas had been removed from the presence of the Asmund twins, he would still have been distracted by his memories of Gerda Idun.
And an officer on a starship couldn’t afford such a distraction. Not when it might place his colleagues in deadly danger.
Finally—feeling he had no choice in the matter—the captain had given in. He had approved Nikolas’s resignation from the fleet. But he had done so with a heavy heart.
Under normal circumstances, Nikolas would have been compelled to remain on the Stargazer for weeks. It usually took that long to arrange a series of handoffs with other starships in the transport of a low-priority passenger.
However, there had been a change in Picard’s orders, requiring him to go halfway back to Earth. That had drastically expedited Nikolas’s departure—bringing about this day, this time, and this unfortunate moment.
Standing there alongside Goetz, the captain considered Nikolas for a moment. He couldn’t help feeling that he had failed somehow—that he had let the younger man down, rather than the other way around.
No matter how one looked at the situation, it was a shame. Picard turned to his transporter operator.
“Is the Manitou ready?” he asked, referring to the ship with which they had rendezvoused minutes earlier.
Goetz nodded. “She is, sir.”
Picard turned to his former ensign and said, “I wish you well, Mister Nikolas.”
Nikolas’s brow knit, as if he were feeling a pang of regret. Or maybe it was simply an indication of how impatient he was to be off the Stargazer.
Finally, he said, “The same to you, sir.”
The captain acknowledged the gesture with a nod. Then he glanced at Goetz and said, “Energize.”
Picard watched a column of golden light take shape around Nikolas, immersing him in its brilliance. After a moment, he began to fade away. Little by little, his features became indistinguishable from the light.
Then the light faded too, leaving nothing in its place.
Picard sighed. But it wasn’t just Nikolas’s departure that compelled him to do so. After all, the Stargazer was slated to receive a transport subject as well as