Maker - Michael Jan Friedman [84]
“Foremost Elder,” said Picard, out of respect and gratitude.
“What was the outcome?” the Nuyyad asked.
“I will remain captain of the Stargazer.”
Dojjaron shrugged. “As you should.” Then his expression hardened. “We will meet again, I believe. But it will not be in the spirit of cooperation and common purpose.”
“You know,” said the captain, “I believed I had no chance of keeping my command. And yet, I have. It gives me hope that other impossibilities will come to pass.”
Picard was sure that Dojjaron understood what he was talking about. However, the Nuyyad didn’t comment. He just grunted again and walked away.
It was then that the three admirals began to file out of the courtroom. Mehdi went first, looking like a load had been lifted from his shoulders. Next came McAteer, who somehow found the wherewithal to smile despite his defeat.
And finally, Caber. He had no particular expression on his face, offering no insight into how he felt about what had transpired.
“Excuse me,” Picard told his colleagues.
Perhaps he should have let Caber walk away. But he couldn’t. Not until he had satisfied his curiosity.
“Admiral?” he said, hurrying to catch up.
Caber stopped and turned to him. “Ah. Captain Picard.”
“I would like to thank you for your vote of confidence, sir. I will do my best to prove worthy of it.”
“I have no doubt of it,” said Caber.
How can I put this? “I must say, sir, I was a trifle surprised…”
“Why is that?” asked the admiral.
“Considering what happened with your son…I thought you might hold it against me.”
“Hold it against you?” Caber dismissed the idea with a flip of his hand. “Why would I do that? My son is a brat, Picard. And a bigot as well, judging from your report. And the only reason he’d gotten away with those shortcomings for so long is because his name is the same as mine.”
“Then you…understand what I did?” asked Picard.
“Perfectly.” A look of regret crossed his face like a passing shadow. “I just wish one of his other captains had had the nerve to do it first.”
Picard didn’t know what to say.
“If you’ll excuse me,” said Caber, “I have to get going. I’m glad everything worked out for you.”
“Thank you,” said the captain.
He watched the admiral vanish around a turn in the corridor. Then he smiled to himself and thought, Remarkable.
Epilogue
COLE PARIS LAY STRETCHED OUT on his bed, thinking.
Nikolas had moved back in with him, his request approved by Commander Ben Zoma. In fact, Nikolas would have been sleeping in his old bed at that very moment were it not for his restlessness.
It wasn’t as bad as when he left the Stargazer, tortured by memories of Gerda Idun. However, he still had trouble sleeping, and he preferred a walk around the ship to any sedative Greyhorse might have prescribed for him.
Paris hadn’t told Nikolas about Jiterica. At least, not yet. But he had confided in Nikolas weeks earlier, asking him what he thought of the possibility of a relationship between a human and a Nizhrak.
Nikolas had told him to go for it. And Paris was sure if he told Nikolas now how he had ruined that relationship with his jealousy, his roommate would have chided him for it.
After all, Nikolas knew how precious a lover could be.
Paris had been a fool, but he would be a fool no longer. Getting up from his bed, he pulled on his boots and his jacket and started for the exit, determined to make things right with Jiterica no matter what it took.
But before he reached the door, he heard the chime that told him someone was standing outside it. A little annoyed at the delay, he said, “Come in.”
Then the door slid aside and Paris saw who was standing there, and his pulse pumped a little harder. “Jiterica,” he said.
He had come to pride himself on his ability to decipher her expressions. But this time, he couldn’t do it.
“May I come in?” she asked.
Paris didn’t like the tone of Jiterica’s voice. It was careful, guarded, as if she were doing her best to deal with