Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [110]
Kathryn saw the naked fear that only a parent can know take its hold on Admiral Paris. He glanced at his console, considering sending a transmission to the Academy, but then shook that off, preferring to go in person. "Let the commander know I'm on my way."
"Sir, do you want me to come with you?" Kathryn felt she should at least offer support.
"No. Thank you. I'll see you at the review board tomorrow." And he was gone, fear propelling him. Kathryn had the sudden insight that she was glad she had no children, and wasn't hostage to the powerful concerns of parenthood; it was more vulnerability than she felt she could tolerate. She turned to Commander Klenman.
"Will you let me know what's happened? I'll be at the Officers' Quarters tonight."
"Of course, Captain." Klenman was clearly worried, too. She'd spent more than ten years with Admiral Paris, and was devoted to him and his family. Kathryn left the office with a heavy heart.
The news that evening was tragic, but it was to spare the Paris family for now. Tom had been leading a fighter squadron in maneuvers; one of the cadets had made a miscalculation, which led to an error, which led to an accident, and two of the vessels collided, killing the pilots. Tom had risked his ship to prevent the mishap, but to no avail. Admiral Paris was pale and grave the next day when she entered the conference room where the review was to be held. She went immediately to him. "I'm so sorry about the accident, sir," she said. "It must have been hard on Tom."
Paris nodded. "It's always difficult to lose people under your command-I'm afraid you'll find that out eventually-but it's one of the risks. Tom did his best, but sometimes these things happen. He'll have to work through it, but in the long run it will toughen him."
Kathryn nodded and then turned to stand at attention as two other admirals entered. She was pleased to see that one was Admiral Finnegan, whom she'd met so long ago on her first trip to Mars, and with whom she'd had dinner the night before her father and Justin were killed. "Good to see you, Captain Janeway," said Finnegan. "Of course you know Admiral Paris, and this is Admiral Necheyev."
Kathryn nodded to a trim, blond woman with sharp features and piercing eyes. The woman exuded authority without effort, a fact Kathryn found herself admiring; she wondered if she projected that same easy confidence, and feared she didn't. On this, her first command, she'd often felt she had to work at being authoritative.
"We're just waiting for the tactical officer," continued Finnegan. He was going over some last-minute figures." This remark puzzled Kathryn. Last-minute figures? Regarding tactical operations? Why would there be any issue with that part of the mission?
As her mind raced with these questions, the door opened and a man walked in. He was a dark Vulcan, and didn't appear to be a young person; yet he held the rank of ensign. Admiral Finnegan turned to him genially. "Captain Janeway, may I present Ensign Tuvok."
Kathryn extended her hand and felt it taken firmly by the Vulcan. His eyes were dark, and seemed to Kathryn to be opaque: they were not a window to his soul so much as a barrier to it. He was erect and formal, his voice a deep and fulsome baritone. "Captain," he acknowledged simply, then set a stack of padds on the table.
Admiral Finnegan called the review to order, made a few complimentary remarks about Kathryn, then turned to Tuvok. "The bulk of the review involves Mr. Tuvok's area of expertise, so I'll turn the proceedings over to him." Kathryn was puzzled-what was going on here? Tuvok began to speak, and in a few minutes her cheeks were flaming and her heart thudding in her chest: she was furious. She worked to control her temper as the Vulcan's rich voice droned on and on. "dis.. and tactical logs indicate that there were no test firings, no battle drills, and only two weapons reviews during the mission. All told, there