Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [112]
“My house is just a little bit up the road; let me give you a few other things. Way to thank you for the advice.”
“That would be most gracious of you,” Picard said.
“Never hurts to thank a Young God,” the farmer said, tossing the grain on the ground and starting to walk. “Might be some rain in it.”
Picard did not reply, inwardly sighing at the notion of his “god-hood.”
Some twenty minutes later, the captain and the boy had some dried meats, additional fruits, and a small skin full of the farmer’s wine. The farmer hadn’t said much else, and Picard did not see any telltale signs of a wife or children in the small three-room house. He recognized it as a rather solitary experience, making him feel more than a little sad for the man.
Chanik was thrilled with the additional supplies and was chattering on about how this would make their stay in the City nicer. He admitted there might be some wild berries or fruits in the City, but mostly weeds covered the streets.
“You seem to know so much,” Chanik said.
“I have been well taught, and in my years, I have experienced quite a bit,” Picard replied with a smile.
“Who taught you?”
“My parents, teachers, things I learn by observing. You seem to know much for one so young.”
Chanik looked up in eager anticipation. “Do I?”
Picard realized that much of what he learned was through life experience. He doubted that anyone spent that much time showing Chanik how to accomplish much. That spoke of a certain intelligence, which would benefit the boy over the years ahead. Still, Chanik had to survive to grow and for that he needed something more than a nomad’s life. Even one life can alter a society’s direction, Picard knew, but he had to skirt the Prime Directive since he required Chanik’s experience with the City.
The captain himself didn’t mind the delay too much but was now trying to make up for time. After another hour or so, Chanik excitedly pointed out the first glimpse of the City’s silhouette. Sure enough, spires and skyscraping buildings were topping the horizon. The captain estimated the City to be perhaps half a kilometer in width and another hour or two away. He withdrew the tricorder and scanned ahead, receiving no sign of active power sources. His estimates seemed to be right on the mark so there’d be several hours for him to search the City before dark.
He frowned, though, when his device also showed two figures some meters ahead, hiding behind some of the taller bushes. Even here, he mused, highwaymen existed to prey on the innocent.
“My sister would be considered quite the catch, Ambassador.”
“No doubt,” Worf replied. He had allowed Captain Grekor to come to the newly dubbed lead Petraw ship to conduct further studies of their navigational systems. Any race that traveled farther and farther away from home had to have sophisticated tools at its disposal.
On the other hand, it also invited more discussions from the overweight, overbearing warrior, seeking some way to restore glory to the fallen House of Krad. Worf was interested in many things but finding a replacement mate for his late wife Jadzia Dax was at the bottom of such a list. He suffered the comments in silence, totally ignoring the beseeching looks Grekor shot his way.
“You will find their star charts of the Beta Quadrant to be very thorough,” Worf offered, hoping it would be a sufficient distraction.
“Already copy them to the Enterprise, did you? Share them with the others?”
“We felt it fair to share our findings with the entire allied fleet,” the ambassador said stiffly.
“Feh. More Ferengi to worry about.”
“You will find, Captain, that the Ferengi have done a remarkable job opening up previously untouchable regions. They are a resource to use as much as they are an irritant.”
“Spoken like a true ambassador.” In truth it was spoken by someone who had hoped that praising the Ferengi would make him seem a less viable mate for the captain’s sister, but Worf simply grunted in reply.
Grekor attached his recording device to the navigational computers and instructed the frightened Petraw to begin downloading.