Gauntlet - Michael Jan Friedman [87]
Nikolas was still stunned from the beating he had taken, but he had enough of his faculties about him to understand what Obal was saying. He couldn’t abandon someone who had defended him, no matter what repercussions might have followed.
Might yet follow, Nikolas amended inwardly.
After all, Caber was an admiral’s son with a spotless record. If anyone was going to get the benefit of the doubt, it would be him. But Nikolas and the Binderian had the truth on their side.
Surely, the ensign thought, that has to count for something.
Joseph nodded. “I’ll be sure to include that in my report.”
Obal turned to Nikolas. “Come. I’ll help you get to sickbay.”
Smiling through his pain, the ensign thanked him.
“You’re welcome,” said Obal, smiling back.
Nikolas didn’t think the little guy would be able to help him much, considering the difference in their weights. But after what Obal had done for him, the ensign certainly wasn’t going to turn him down.
With the help of Joseph and his new friend, Nikolas got to his feet and began the arduous trip to sickbay.
Picard was going over repair reports in his ready room when he heard a familiar chime. “Come,” he said.
It was Valderrama. As always, she looked a little tentative as she entered the room.
“Please,” the captain told her. “Sit down.”
The science officer took the seat opposite his and smiled warmly. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“Nothing at the moment,” he said. “I just wanted to ask you a question, if that’s all right.”
She shrugged. “Of course, sir.”
Picard leaned forward. “Tell me, Lieutenant, how did you get the idea to use radar as a replacement for our sensor devices?”
Valderrama shrugged. “I’m not sure, sir. I guess you could say it was an inspiration.”
The captain wished she had given him a more concrete response. “What would you say if I told you that Ensign Jiterica claims otherwise? That she says she had the inspiration first?”
The science officer reddened. “I don’t understand.”
Picard frowned. “A little while ago, Ensign Jiterica ran into Commander Ben Zoma and asked if her radar idea had proven useful. Commander Ben Zoma told her that, to the best of his knowledge, it was your radar idea.”
“Which it was, sir.”
“Nonetheless,” the captain continued, “Ensign Jiterica insisted that she had come up with it. She insisted that she had given it to you, trusted you with it. Nor did she understand why you were trying to take credit for it.”
The science officer shook her head. “That’s not the way it happened, sir. I hate to say it, but Jiterica is lying.”
“Normally,” Picard said, “I’d be inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. However, Jiterica’s personal logs, which are time-coded, corroborated her story. The ensign had the idea first and gave it to you, her superior. And you claimed it for yourself.”
Valderrama didn’t try to defend herself this time. She just stood there, looking at him.
The captain frowned. “Can you enlighten me as to why you would do something like that?”
Valderrama looked away. It took her a few seconds to get a reply out, and when she did it was husky with remorse.
“I didn’t think you would keep me on unless I did something spectacular,” she said. “All I did was grasp at the first straw presented to me.”
Picard took a deep breath. “I can tolerate a great many things from my crew,” he told Valderrama. “However, a lack of ethics isn’t one of them. I would advise you to repair to your quarters and begin packing your things.”
The woman’s brow creased down the middle.
“If I were you,” the captain went on, “I would resign my commission rather than face charges. But either way, I can assure you that you’ll be leaving the Stargazer.”
Valderrama didn’t object to his decision. She just turned and left his ready room.
As Picard watched the doors slide closed behind her, he couldn’t help thinking that he had witnessed a tragedy. He couldn’t absolve Valderrama of her guilt. Clearly, she had brought her troubles