Fortune's Light - Michael Jan Friedman [67]
Her mouth became a straight, hard line. “See?” she said. “I knew you’d try this. That’s why I kept you under for so long.”
“You don’t understand,” he told her. “I think I just figured out how to find the seal.”
“Good for you. When Lyneea returns, you can tell her all about it. I’m sure she’ll be only too glad to test out your theory.”
“But we don’t know when she’ll be back or, for that matter, even if she’ll be back. You heard her say that time is running out? Well, it is. Lyneea won’t call on us until she’s done everything she can to help Criathis. And even then she may decide we’re not worth the effort.”
For a moment the doctor seemed to waver in her resolve. Then she shook her head. “Forget it, Commander. You’re still weak. You can barely use that arm. And your assassin friend is still out there; maybe next time he’ll be more thorough.”
“I appreciate your concern,” he told her, “but this is something I have to do.” Taking a deep breath, he tried to sit up again. This time he made it. “For Teller.” Pivoting on the couch, he planted his feet on the floor.
Crusher was faster. She placed herself in his way.
“Use your head,” she told him. “What are you going to do? Resurrect your friend by risking your own life?”
“No,” he agreed, gathering himself. He really was weak. “I can’t make his past go away, and I can’t bring him back from the dead. But I can make amends for him—by returning the seal to Madraga Criathis.”
“If you live long enough.”
Riker glanced out the open window at the snow-covered street below. Was the doctor right? Was there someone out there waiting for him?
Hell, hadn’t he wondered about that himself before she’d ever mentioned it?
“I’ll take my chances,” he told her. And with that, he got to his feet.
But Crusher wasn’t budging. “Don’t make me pull rank, Will. Don’t make me order you to stay here.”
Riker looked down at her, smiling gently. “It won’t matter if you do, Doctor. This isn’t about Starfleet. This isn’t even about Criathis. It’s about one man’s obligation to another man. I wasn’t a very good friend the last few years, or I would’ve seen how Teller was changing. But I’m going to be a good friend now.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s not just Teller I’m making amends for, Beverly. It’s me, too.”
Crusher frowned. “Silver-tongued Will Riker.”
“Not this time,” he assured her. “This time, it’s straight from the heart.”
She searched his face, came to a decision. “Yes, I suppose it is.” She grunted. “All right, Commander. You win. But if you’re going somewhere, I’m going with you.” And snatching up her pack, she began checking to make sure that everything was secure.
He hadn’t anticipated that. His first reaction was to assemble reasons she couldn’t go. But there were more reasons for him not to go, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.
Besides, he mused, she’d probably be as safe with him as she would be if she stayed in the suite alone. Which was to say, not very.
Her pack slung over her shoulder, Crusher straightened again. “Ready when you are,” she told him. “Back to the maze?”
He adjusted his sling to make it a little more comfortable. “Back to the maze,” he confirmed.
Stretching out on his bed, Picard took a deep breath. After a moment or two he felt himself start to relax.
It had been a close call for his first officer. He didn’t like close calls, particularly when he had no control over them.
As his body unwound, so did his mind. And some of the ship’s business that had been submerged during the emergency started to float to the surface.
The captain sifted through it. And stopped when he got to Data’s recent attraction to the holodecks.
It was a development he’d barely noticed at first. But the android was hardly a creature of habit, so anytime his behavior grew repetitive, it drew Picard’s attention.
And given the substance of Data’s last obsession with the holodeck …
Perhaps it was something that needed looking into. Filing the thought away, he went on to the next bit of command minutiae.
Rain clamored on the dugout roof, dripped off the edge of it in