Myriad Universes 02_ Echoes and Refractions - Keith R. A. DeCandido [122]
Still, the battle had been won. That was all that mattered.
Victory is life.
He ordered his crew onward to their next assignment.
15
Palais de la Concorde Paris, Earth United Federation of Planets
When Jean-Luc Picard was eight years old, he went on a class trip to the Palais de la Concorde. Although the class did not get to meet President Laikan-which was a great disappointment to the children-they did meet several members of the president’s staff as well as the Federation Council. It was a very fondly remembered experience of Picard’s childhood.
He never imagined that sixty years later he would be standing in the president’s office in an official capacity.
At the moment, the president himself was not present, though they had been assured by his chief of staff-a somewhat hyperactive Trill woman named Emra Sil-that he was on his way. So Picard stood with Worf, off to the side of the office, which overlooked the Paris skyline.
Growing up in France as he had, he was used to that particular view: the Tour Eiffel, of course, as well as the River Seine, the Batiment Vingt-Troisieme Siecle, and of course, the Champs-Elysees, which ran under this cylindrical fifteen-story structure.
Instead, he gazed upon the tense faces of those in the room. Seated in the two chairs that faced the president’s desk were the aforementioned Sil and Ambassador Krajensky. Standing near Picard and Worf were Kira, Quark, and Odo, the last being the only one who didn’t look tense, though Picard supposed that that was due more to his seemingly unfinished facial features. Certainly, he was as aware as anyone of the gravity of the current situation; after all, he had spent several months trapped in a containment unit in order to provide proof of Kira’s information.
Quark also didn’t look tense, exactly. His visage mainly showed fear.
On the other side of the room stood two admirals-William Ross, who had replaced Leyton as Commander, Starfleet; and Charles Whatley, the current liaison between the Palais and Starfleet Commandas well as Councillors T’Latrek of Vulcan and Matthew Mazibuko of Earth, two of the permanent members of the Federation Security Council. T’Latrek had been serving in the Federation government since Ra-ghoratreii’s presidency in the latter part of the twenty-third century, and Picard knew hers to be one of the most respected voices on the Council.
For the fourth time in ten minutes, Sil said, “I’m sure the president will be along any minute.”
“This is a matter of some urgency,” Krajensky said tightly. His face carried the same sour expression it had for much of the journey to Earth from the Cardassian border. Picard was unsure if he was annoyed because Picard and his people questioned Kira behind his back or because his mission of peace was short-circuited by Cardassian intransigence-or both.
“Yes, but there is a war on,” Sil said tartly. “In fact, there would appear to be two.”
Picard felt a bitter taste in his mouth. They’d heard about the destruction of Starbase 375, as well as the Lexington and da Vinci, while en route to Earth. The news had hit Picard particularly hard. Eric Hahn and David Gold were both old friends of many years’ standing, and Gilaad ben Zoma was even more than that: He’d been Picard’s first officer on board the Stargazer for the two decades that Picard had been her captain. That, just on the heels of Elizabeth Shelby’s death…
With a grimace, Picard forced the feelings of grief and regret and anger into the overstuffed box. He was in the Palais, about to report to the Federation president. He could not afford the luxury of grief right now.
The side door whooshed open, and three plainclothes security guards came into the office, quickly followed by three people: a Grazerite, an Andorian, and a Triexian. The first was,