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“I do not believe I should attend it. I do not believe that Commander Gomez will want me on the team in my diminished state.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course you should be at the meeting. You’re still one of us. Let Gomez make the decision about the team—that’s her job. Nothing COs hate more than their subordinates anticipating them.”

110 had not thought of that. “I will accept your advice. Thank you.”

Grinning broadly once again, Bart said, “My pleasure.”

Unfortunately, 110 did not feel any more settled with this decision made. He was quite sure that Commander Gomez would not want him. After all, of what possible use was a single Bynar?

CHAPTER

3

Sonya Gomez entered the briefing room at 0750, figuring Kieran Duffy wouldn’t have arrived yet. In this, she was correct—in fact, the room was empty when she entered—and so she went to the replicator with a clear conscience. “Computer, hot Earl Grey tea, please.”

“That’s not a hot chocolate, is it?” came Kieran’s voice from behind her.

Sonya tried very hard not to yell. She also resisted the urge to dump the contents of the now-materializing mug all over the second officer.

Kieran had a huge smile on his face as he approached her from the still-open entrance. “ ’ Cause you know what happens when you order hot chocolate.”

“Ten years, Kieran. It’s been ten years since I spilled hot chocolate on Captain Picard.”

“And yet the joke remains funny.”

“To you, maybe,” she said, dolefully sipping her tea.

“All right, I’m sorry,” Kieran said, hitting her with those puppy-dog eyes that she’d never been able to resist. “Forgive me?”

Rolling her eyes, Sonya went to sit at the table. “What’m I gonna do with you?”

“Well, I have some creative suggestions. . . .” Kieran said as he sat down next to her. Sonya noticed that he had a padd in his hand.

The doors parted to allow Geordi and P8 Blue in, which came to Sonya as something of a relief. The conversation with Kieran was starting to get a little too comfortable for her.

Geordi was in the midst of a laugh, which didn’t surprise Sonya. Pattie had a nasty sense of humor, and Geordi was probably the only person on the da Vinci who hadn’t heard all of her jokes yet.

Sonya had hoped that the S.C.E.’s next task wouldn’t come until after they had stopped off at Starbase for a number of reasons, one of which was that Geordi La Forge wouldn’t be onboard anymore. She liked and admired Geordi, and he was certainly of great use on their last mission, but she felt so damned awkward around him. After all, he had been her first CO out of the Academy, and now she outranked him. It didn’t seem right, somehow. Geordi himself wasn’t making a big deal of it, but Sonya always felt like she was walking on eggshells around him.

Pattie had walked in on her hind legs, as Nasats generally did when they walked alongside other humanoids, since even at full height they were shorter than most. However, once she came into the room, she skittered on all six to her specially designed seat at one end of the table.

“Duffy, Gomez,” Geordi said as he went to sit down, nodding to each of them. “Hey, that’s not hot chocolate, is it?”

Sonya banged her head against the table. Geordi, of course, had been present for the infamous hot chocolate incident. “No,” she said through clenched teeth, “it isn’t.”

“Good. ’ Cause you know what happens—”

“—when I order hot chocolate. Yes, I know.”

“See?” Kieran said. “I told you it was still funny.”

Geordi peered at the mug. “That’s Earl Grey, isn’t it?”

Sonya nodded as she took a sip.

“That was Sonya’s way of making penance,” Kieran explained, even though Sonya really didn’t need him to. “She avoided hot chocolate like the plague, and started drinking the captain’s favorite drink.”

“Now I’m addicted to it,” Sonya said ruefully.

Pattie made the tinkling sound that passed for a chuckle among Nasats. “The price we pay for the follies of our youth.”

Glaring at Kieran, Sonya said, “Some of us pay more than others.”

Within minutes, the rest of the S.C.E. crew arrived, as did Captain