Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [13]
And to act on something other than the ever-shifting internal politics of their fractious, fragile new alliance.
Archer wondered, not for the first time, whether he had embarked on a fools errand by coming here.
Archers main recollection an hour after hed presented his case before the Coalition Council was that his audience had listened attentively for the most part, but had nevertheless seemed either unwilling or unable to deal head-on with the coming Romulan threat. Sitting in the copilots seat of Shuttlepod One beside Travis Mayweather, Archer silently dissected his own performance before the Coalitions massed powers-that-be as he watched the fog-shrouded San Francisco skyline drop over the horizon. He felt almost robotic as he went through the motions of assisting his helmsman in taking the small auxiliary craft back up into the parking orbit where Enterprise awaited.
Travis checked in with Lieutenant Donna “D.O. ONeill, Enterprise s third watch commander, who confirmed the shuttlepods approach vector. Then Archer secured his console and rose from his seat to face the rest of his senior officers, all of whom were seated aft of the cockpit area. TPol regarded him with an all but unreadable expression, while both Phlox and Hoshi watched him as well, their gazes radiating quiet concern. Malcolm stared distractedly out of one of the small portside windows, apparently lost in his own thoughts.
Archer took the empty seat beside his tactical officer. “Looks like my speech must have come off as badly as I think it did.
Reed turned toward him, displaying a bemused expression. “Sir?
“You seem to be brooding, Malcolm. Just like the rest of my audience.
“I wouldnt say Im exactly brooding, Captain, he said in his clipped British accent. “I was just thinking about these Breen that Minister Soval mentioned.
“Ah. Archer nodded. “What about them?
“I just wonder why the hell weve never heard of them before, sir.
Archer had considered that as well, but had already decided that he had to place some limits on his capacity to worry about the future, the unknown, and what might be the unknowable.
“Perhaps the Breen are obscure to humans because so little is known about them, TPol said. “Even the Vulcan Security Directorate possesses very little hard information about that species.
Archer nodded, accepting TPols explanation at face value. “Theres no point in jumping at shadows, Malcolm, he said. “For all we know, the Breen are really just Sovals favorite breed of saber-toothed Vulcan puppies, and he was just jerking our collective chains. Besides, weve got the annual inspection of the Altair VI outpost ahead of us, and then its back to the commercial freight corridors to prowl for pirates, Romulans, or whatever else turns up. Weve already got enough on our plate without borrowing any more trouble.
Reed smiled ironically. “Worrying just might be the biggest part of a tactical officers job description, sir.
Sir, he thought, nodding a silent acknowledgment of Malcolms commendable vigilance. Captain. When had his crew begun sounding so excessively formal in his presence?
It started after Trip left, he realized in a rush. Despite the fact that his working relationship with TPol had grown more close, open, and cordial than he had ever imagined possible, there was nobody aboard Enterprise who could fill the cold void created by Trips open-ended absence. Though he knew Trips death was merely a ruseas did TPol, Phlox, and Reedit felt real enough to inspire genuine mourning.
Captain. Sir. Captain. Nobody here feels comfortable just calling me Jonathan. Not even TPol, who had to have been grieving over Trips absence even more intensely than Archer was, her Vulcan emotional makeup notwithstanding.
He suddenly felt more disconcertingly alone than he had since hed