Homecoming - Christie Golden [52]
“Kath,” Mark said, “what’s going on?” His crisp outfit was limp and wet, and his dark hair was plastered to his head. Carla clutched Kevin, who was snuffling loudly. The child had ceased fussing and now was unhappily silent. Both Carla and Mark looked as if they were quite frightened but trying desperately to remain composed.
Most of the rest of the patrons weren’t bothering with the latter half of that particular equation. They were alarmed and angry, and there was no one to speak to, as the holograms stood silent and sullen and didn’t even bother to reply when confronted.
“The Doctor’s with Tom Paris,” said Janeway. “I’ll transport in and have a little chat with him. Maybe he [153] can help shed some light on this problem. Janeway out.”
She turned to her friends. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I may know someone who can help. I’m going to go see him right now. I’m sorry our evening turned out so badly.”
“Kathryn,” said Carla, “do you think that man was telling the truth? That there will be a holographic revolution?”
“He may be trying to stir one up,” Janeway replied, “but he can’t control every hologram out there. Besides, it’s hard to be too afraid of anyone you can turn off with the touch of a button.” She forced a smile. “I’ll let you know when I learn anything.”
Mark nodded. He picked up Kevin from Carla and held his son protectively close.
Janeway looked at the press of people. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 13
THE DOCTOR HUMMED to himself as he polished Chapter Three of Photons, Claim Justice. While he had absolutely no desire to be actively involved in a revolution, he had to admit, Baines’s passion had stirred the creative juices. His sequel had been going nowhere, meandering around with many false starts. Now the Doctor had an exciting plotline—his photonic main character, whom of course anyone experiencing the novel would portray, would be a key player in a peaceful revolt.
Naturally, there would be some hard parts. Nothing worth winning came without cost. And there would be someone who would try to lead Our Hero astray, promising that they shared the same goals when in reality this villain was after violence and bloodshed. Our Hero would be seduced at first, but along about [155] Chapter Five would realize the villain’s true destructive nature and be instrumental in both bringing the villain to justice and obtaining rights for all sentient photonic beings.
He reread a section and nodded his head. “Magnificent,” he said. “This one is Pulitzer-worthy.” He couldn’t wait to play it, but that would have to wait until he had access to a larger facility. Tom Paris had fitted only enough holoemitters to enable the Doctor to move about freely. They’d need many more to re-create the lovingly detailed city and the other richly developed characters the Doctor envisioned.
The door chimed. The Doctor frowned. Tom hadn’t given him any express orders as to what to do about visitors, so he glanced up to see who it was. He saw three uniformed Starfleet officers, so of course he immediately called, “Come in.”
The door hissed open. The three men were all of a sort: similar height, gray, mustard-and-black uniforms, black-brown hair, solemn expressions.
“Starfleet security,” one of them said.
“Is there a problem?” the Doctor asked politely.
“That remains to be seen,” the officer said cryptically. They came in and one of them pulled out a tricorder and began to take readings. “May I assume you are the holographic Doctor who served on Voyager?”
The Doctor clasped his hands behind his back and stood on his toes once or twice. “You may,” he said airily.
“I’m Commander Antonio Juarez. These are Lieutenant Commanders Branson and Young. We have some questions for you, if you don’t mind.”
[156] “Not at all. Always delighted to serve Starfleet.” He indicated a chair, but they all remained standing. One of them went over to look at his computer. “Do please be careful,” he called. “I’ve just entered some information