Homecoming - Christie Golden [56]
“No, actually, it really is not possible,” said Montgomery. “The Doctor has been deactivated.”
“What?” A chill swept through Janeway. “You haven’t deleted his program, have you?”
“Of course not. There’s still much valuable information we can get from him in due time. However, he has been deactivated for the present moment.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Obviously I can and have. Are we to continue playing this little game of semantics, Admiral Janeway, or will you be sensible and let me return to my duties?”
Janeway switched tactics. “You raise an interesting point, Admiral. It was my understanding that you were assigned to Project Full Circle. Chasing down holograms doesn’t seem like studying Voyager’s unique technology to me. How is the Doctor your problem?”
“He was originally designed to be part of the ship,” was the reply. “He was the EMH—Emergency Medical Hologram, in case you’ve forgotten what the initials stand for. Despite this new technology he sports on his sleeve, the Doctor is as much a part of Voyager as any computer console. He, and all other holograms aboard Voyager, therefore fall under my purview.”
The expression on his face conveyed the truth—he believed what he was saying. The Doctor was nothing [167] more to him than a warp core or a tricorder—just another piece of equipment aboard a ship. What bothered her the most about his attitude was knowing that, not so long ago, she had shared it.
“Why are you detaining him?”
“We have reason to believe that he has been involved in the holographic strike. He has admitted he recognized Baines because he had a little chat with the son of—with him. The Doctor has also been known to stir up trouble with his writing before now.”
“Come now, Admiral,” Janeway said. “Freedom of speech is one of the Federation’s most honored tenets. You’re not suggesting censorship?”
“I find it interesting that his sequel deals with a holographic revolution at almost the same time one actually occurs,” Montgomery retorted.
“By that logic, all murder-mystery writers would be cold-blooded killers,” Janeway replied. “And if you think he was plotting a revolution, do you really believe he’d readily admit that he had ever met Baines?”
She hadn’t known about that until Cagiao had informed her, of course, but she trusted the Doctor. She knew he’d learned his lesson with Iden. She hoped that Montgomery hadn’t gotten to the ship’s logs about that particular incident, but his next words dashed those hopes.
“The Doctor has displayed sympathy for holograms before now,” Montgomery said maddeningly. “Certain of your own ship’s logs indicate that—”
“If you’ve read those logs completely, you’ll know that the Doctor had nothing to do with the deaths of the [168] Nuu’bari miners. While he did disobey orders, his intentions were admirable and compassionate. He wanted to protect people he saw as victims from further harm. B’Elanna Torres testified to the Doctor’s horror when Iden issued the order to destroy the Nuu’bari vessel.”
Anger flashed in the admiral’s gray eyes. “He aided renegade holograms at a potentially deadly risk to his own vessel. He was indirectly responsible for—”
And just that quickly, the anger burned itself out. Montgomery sighed, and for a moment looked just like an ordinary, tired man.
“This will get out sooner or later, I suppose, so you might as well know now. While we don’t know the full extent of what Baines did to access our systems, we do know of a few key entry sites. And we have recordings and witnesses who can put the Doctor at each of those locations.”
Janeway felt the blood drain from her face. “There must be some mistake.”
Montgomery shook his fair head and looked almost sorry for her. “No mistake, Admiral. These people swore under oath that he was there, and the recordings show no signs of being tampered with.”
“The Doctor has been staying with Lieutenant Commander Paris over the last few weeks, and before that, was with