Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [116]
He then turned to the rest, who just watched in silence. Picard also spotted Chanik finally coming into view. It just dawned on him how much ground he must have covered but was thankful for the advantage.
“And you,” he said in a cold tone. “You would let this man exercise faulty judgment? First and foremost, this woman should have a say in defending her honor. Second, if your custom is for the stoning to happen, then she needs a fair chance to survive. What he was using would have killed and there’s no justice in that!”
With that, Picard walked over to the infant, whose cries had grown intermittent. He scooped it up and instantly the baby grew silent. Gently, he checked for bruises, saw none, and walked back to the woman. She was sitting up now, and gingerly, he handed over the child. “Tell the truth” was all he said to her.
“What are you?” one of the women asked.
“Just a traveler and I am on my way,” Picard said. He shot a glance at Chanik, giving him a warning look that said speak nothing of god-hood. The boy nodded once, clearly struggling with himself not to speak. Picard appreciated the boy’s enthusiasm but had had enough chatter about deities for the day.
People spoke up, asking questions of the stranger in their midst, but Picard ignored it all. He did not want to get further involved in their lives, disgusted as he was with their notions of justice.
“She might have deserved something,” Chanik opined as they moved away.
“Yes, a fair hearing. Chanik, the accused must have a chance to speak in their defense. The accusation itself is not enough to prove guilt or innocence.”
“Really?”
“People can make accusations to cause trouble, put others in danger. Where I come from, we have a very complicated set of laws so the innocent are protected and the guilty are found out with facts, not guesses.”
“Wow, that’s very involved. How do you keep all those things straight?”
“Protecting our laws is a trade given much importance in my land.”
“All those laws and rules and things could make my head hurt,” Chanik said.
“Or give you a reason to live,” Picard said. “Still, you’re too young to worry about a trade. Besides, first we must complete this adventure.”
The City was close now and all he wanted to do was arrive and begin his hunt.
La Forge strode from the turbolift directly to the ready room, where Riker waited. The acting captain was studying reports with a small stack of padds littering Picard’s desk. The engineer knew Riker was normally a most effective first officer, but the current situation kept him from being at his best.
“Welcome back,” Riker said with a tired grin.
“Wish I had better news, but I think the Mercury ‘s scrap.”
Riker looked up at that, placing the padd on the tallest stack.
“Captain Brisbayne must be pretty mad.”
“Stoic is the word you’re looking for,” La Forge said, as he took a seat. He saw that everything else in the room was its normal neat perfection. “Brisbayne cursed the fates a lot but is now prepping the crew and their gear. We’ll have to make room for them.”
“Captain Troi can only take so many, and we can handle the rest. I’ll have the quartermaster work on details.” Riker looked directly at La Forge, hardness replacing exhaustion in his expression. “Did you study the sensor readings?”
“Data’s right about the magnetic seals failing,” La Forge began.
“But it seems they all went at once, not in any sort of cascade as would be normal. The details are scant, but it’s the best I can determine.”
“So it was sabotage.”
“Yup.”
“Can we guess as to who?”
La Forge settled back a moment, deciding whether or not to voice his concerns. He decided better get it said now than later. “It can’t be the Petraw, we have them locked down. I think we need to look at the Carreon.”
Riker nodded, silently agreeing with the assessment. “Landik Mel Rosa fought well, even lost a ship. I’m surprised he’d do anything right now.”
“But we don’t know him, and don’t really know the people.”
“True. Okay, let’s say it’s the Carreon. How could they accomplish this?