Lost Era 05_ Deny thy Father - Jeff Mariotte [16]
Jennifer Sisko slept soundly in a comfortable bed, her baby snuggled up on her chest, wrapped in a blanket. All Kyle could see of the boy was a dark circle of a face, but he seemed to be a handsome baby-not that Kyle would have expected anything less than that from the union of Ben and Jennifer, as attractive a couple as one could hope for.
Ben’s face was in shadows as he stood with his back to the light, spine straight despite his exhaustion, and hands clasped behind his back, looking down at his wife and son, but in it Kyle could see a range of powerful feelings. Love, gratitude, relief, and respect, he thought. Then he remembered what Admiral Paris had told him, what seemed ages ago now. “What time was he born?”
Ben looked at a chronometer on the wall as if it had recorded the moment. “Twenty-three fifty-four,” he said.
“So, yesterday. Just. Congratulations, Ben. Your son was born on Father’s Day.”
Ben broke into a broad smile. “I guess you’re right.”
“It really is a kind of miracle, Ben,” Kyle said.
Benjamin Sisko nodded gravely. “Yes. Definitely a miracle. I just… I can’t even begin to find the words that describe what I’m feeling right now.”
“You don’t need to, Ben. I’ve been in your shoes.”
Ben nodded again and they stood in silence for a few moments, watching the mother and child sleep. But while they observed quietly, Kyle heard voices out in the hall. The one that caught his attention belonged to Dr. Trbovich, but instead of his usually folksy self, his voice was raised in something like alarm.
“Surely this can wait,” he said insistently. “The patient is resting after a very serious incident. I don’t want him disturbed.”
Kyle glanced up at Ben, catching his eye. Ben shrugged but both men kept quiet, listening.
“I’m sorry, Doctor,” another voice said firmly. “We need to take custody immediately. We have medical facilities in the brig if he’s still in need of treatment.”
The brig? Kyle wondered. Why…?
“You can’t just walk in and take away one of my patients,” Dr. Trbovich declared. “I won’t have it.”
“This warrant says we can,” a third voice chimed in. “Now, where is Kyle Riker?”
Chapter 4
Ben Sisko walked over to the room’s doorway, and Kyle’s heart jumped in his chest. The man was going to turn him in! But instead, Ben spoke in a soft voice. “Close.”
The door slid shut, and Ben turned to Kyle, his expression curious. “What’s this all about, Mr. Riker?” he asked in an anxious whisper.
Kyle blew out the breath he’d been holding. “I’m not sure, Ben. There’s some sort of… it seems ridiculous to say ‘conspiracy,’ but that’s what it’s looking like… against me. A couple of nights ago a Starfleet crewman tried to kill me in my apartment. Ridiculous charges have been leveled against me by some anonymous source, who went straight to the admiralty. And tonight someone beamed a bomb into my place, nearly finishing the job. I know I haven’t done anything to merit being arrested by Starfleet Security, so I have to believe that if I let those men in the hall take me away, I won’t be coming back.”
“But… that’s crazy,” Ben said. “Starfleet doesn’t just make people disappear. There are rules, procedures. Due process.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you,” Kyle told him. “This isn’t normal, though. There’s something going on, something that isn’t right. I don’t know what it is or who’s behind it. But whoever it is wants my head.”
He watched Ben carefully as the younger man processed this data. Out in the hall, they could still faintly hear the security officers arguing with Dr. Trbovich.
“Ben, you don’t know me that well, but I hope you know I’m an honest man,” Kyle pleaded. “I just want to stay free of all this until I can figure out what’s going on. Even if they don’t kill me, if they lock me up I won’t have a chance to defend my name. But since there have been two attempts on my life in the past two nights, both seemingly with Starfleet participation, I think killing me is the likeliest outcome.”
Ben