Enigma Ship - J. Steven York [7]
It was something he wouldn’t trade for anything.
The turbolift doors slid open and Corsi stepped onto the bridge. Gold knew from the look on her face that something was bothering her, yet she hesitated to approach him.
“Back so soon, Corsi? Come. We’ll talk.”
Gold stood, a bit reluctantly, and gestured to the door of the ready room. Corsi followed as he crossed the short distance, and stepped inside.
“I was wondering, Captain, why I didn’t receive a specific assignment regarding Enigma.”
Gold stood near the doorway. He faced Corsi, her concern clear in her expression. “You’re my chief of security, Corsi. You know your job.”
“Exactly, sir. We’re moving into a threat situation. I should be part of the planning.”
“You know your input is always welcome, Corsi.”
“I meant a specific part of the planning.”
“This mission has potential hazards, yes, but this Enigma object isn’t something I’d classify as a threat. It’s made no overt hostile moves, demonstrated no weapons capability, nor even the ability to move at warp.”
Corsi frowned. Her face was tight, drawn. She worried too much, relaxed too little. Gold wondered if it was his job as captain to try and change that.
“Captain, a volcano isn’t hostile either, and yet it can be plenty dangerous.”
Gold nodded. “Corsi, I understand how you feel, but this is still an engineering problem, and perhaps I put you in the middle of engineering problems too often. There are times that’s necessary and appropriate, but I don’t see that this is one of them.” He watched her frown deepen. “When you’re put in the middle of an engineering problem, Corsi, I sometimes wonder if it compromises the engineering, and if it compromises the security concerns as well. Let the individual teams handle the engineering matters.”
“Even when I know they’ll be putting themselves in danger?”
“I said you know your job, Corsi. Be watchful, keep them safe, but give them the space to work. You’re a professional, but so are they. Trust them as you trust yourself.”
“Bridge to captain.” It was Lieutenant Ina, at ops. “We have an incoming transmission from the Chinook. “
He could still read doubt in Corsi’s face, though she’d never question his orders. He smiled reassuringly. “Let’s try something different this time. It could be good. You never know.”
As Gold stepped back onto the bridge, his smile faded, and he slipped back into business mode. “On screen, Lieutenant.”
It had been a number of years since their last encounter, but he recognized Christa Otis, captain of the Chinook. He tried to remember the circumstances. Some casual gathering of senior officers on Starbase 96? He was twenty years Christa’s senior, which still made her a seasoned officer by most standards. Still, he felt a certain fatherly affection for her. He briefly considered making small talk, but something in her expression told him this wasn’t the time. Worry lines wrinkled her forehead, and her skin seemed pallid.
“David. I didn’t know they were sending you, but I’m glad. Right now it means a lot to me that I’m turning this situation over to someone I trust.”
“What’s wrong, Chris?”
Her jaw clinched, and she looked away from the screen. “I’ve got orders to get under way to Salem II, David, maximum warp. Unless we can stop the blight there immediately, three hundred million people are going to starve come harvest time. There’s no choice at all.”
“Chris—”
“I’m leaving without two of my people, David. They were setting navigation buoys around the thing when they, and the buoys, just vanished.” Gold could see the effort it took for her to control her anger,