Immortal Coil - Jeffrey Lang [6]
The turbolift stopped at deck three for two crewmen who were so caught up in a discussion about the mathematics of a multidimensional time/space fold that Picard’s presence had barely registered on them before he stepped off the turbolift on deck four. Acknowledging the nods, Picard moved aft along the corridor, stopping briefly to speak with Lieutenant Commander Keru about a report he had sent concerning the holographic diodes in stellar cartography. It was nothing serious yet, Keru assured the captain, but some of the diodes were past their recommended service date and were losing efficiency. Picard stayed just long enough to assure Keru he was aware of the situation and that something would be done soon.
Reaching the end of the corridor, Picard stepped into a narrow maintenance lift and dropped down into the control room that overlooked the primary shuttlebay. The two crewmen on duty looked up at Picard and nodded, but didn’t rise since they currently had a shuttle on the beam and were guiding it in. In the bay, Picard could see four figures: his first officer, Commander William Riker; the ship’s counselor, Commander Deanna Troi; the chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge; and the Enterprise’s new security chief, Lieutenant Rhea McAdams.
Now there, Picard reflected, is someone I will probably not have to remind Number One to speak to about staying with the Enterprise. During the two social encounters Picard had enjoyed with McAdams while Riker was present, it had been quite obvious that his first officer was quite taken with the lieutenant.
Like Heyes and several other recent additions, the pretty, deceptively petite McAdams had joined the ship just ten days ago during the crew rotation at Starbase 105. The lieutenant was the third security officer who had rotated onto the Enterprise-E since the ship had left the San Francisco Yards two years earlier. The first, Daniels, was currently on indefinite paternity leave. The second, Rowan, had been a fine officer, but, somehow, had not jelled with the rest of the command crew. It might have been, Picard decided, that he had been too much like Worf, who had been part of his senior staff for seven years on the EnterpriseD. The similarities in style had thrown everyone off-balance. Rhea McAdams was about as unlike Picard’s former security chief as it was possible for an entity with two arms, two legs and a head to be. Where Worf would have growled, McAdams grinned.
Picard had first realized that he might have found the right fit when, during her first week on duty, the Enterprise had encountered a Breen destroyer whose commander was spoiling for a fight. Where Worf would have had his finger on the quantum torpedo launcher from the first second, McAdams had opted to explain to the Breen commander, one Thot Vog, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Sovereign-class starship and the Breen destroyer, paying particular attention to how much damage a brace of quantum torpedoes could do. In the end, the Breen had backed off.
Picard stayed in the control room long enough to be sure that all was well with Data’s shuttle, then exited and walked down the stairway to the flight deck. La Forge spotted him first and called out, “Captain, hello.” Troi, in the midst of a conversation with McAdams, smiled brightly. Deanna looked, Picard thought, uncharacteristically bleary, probably because she was currently pulling duty as officer of the watch on gamma shift. Riker stood slightly apart from the group, staring out at the field of stars shimmering faintly through the hangar’s force field. Picard noted that Riker had his head tilted slightly toward Troi and McAdams, just enough to hear if his name came up in the course of their conversation.
Riker nodded to Picard as the captain approached, and Picard noticed a small bandage on the left side of Riker’s forehead.