Pantheon - Michael Jan Friedman [188]
They knew a storm was coming, the second officer reflected. They just didn’t know how fierce a storm it would be. But then, he had a storm of his own to worry about.
He approached Simenon without the engineer seeming to notice him. “How are we doing?” he asked, his voice echoing.
Simenon turned and stared at him blankly for a moment. Then he held up a scaly hand as if asking for Picard’s forbearance, closed his eyes, and concentrated on something.
Never having seen him act that way before, Picard became concerned. Just as he was about to hike up the hill and try to rouse him, the Gnalish opened his eyes again.
The second officer studied him. “Are you all right?” he asked.
Simenon snorted. “I’m fine. I was just trying to show our friends here how to link a couple of EPS circuits.”
Picard looked at him. “You were…showing them…?”
The engineer scowled. “Telepathically, of course.”
“Ah,” said the second officer, as understanding dawned.
It made perfect sense, now that he thought about it. In a telepathic society, teamwork would bypass the spoken word. He was a little surprised that an alien mind fit in so well with the others, but he was hardly an expert on the subject.
“Come down here and bring me up to speed,” said Picard.
Simenon seemed reluctant to abandon his work, but he made his way down the hillside nonetheless. When he reached the second officer, he said, “You don’t really want to know how the work is going…do you?”
“I do,” Picard told him. “But as you seem to have guessed, I also want to know about your coworkers. No doubt, you’ve gotten some insights into them by virtue of their telepathic contact.”
The engineer looked back over his shoulder at the Magnians. “I’ve gotten some insights, all right. I’ve learned that they’re a private bunch, as Eliopoulos told us. They don’t like to expose any more of themselves than they have to. But I’ve seen enough of them to say they’re also among the most courageous people I’ve ever met.”
Picard looked at him. “Courageous…?”
Simenon nodded his lizardlike head. “I know. Just a few hours ago, I was saying you were crazy to get involved with them, and now I’m extolling their virtues. But it’s true about their courage. The Nuyyad may be on their way with an armada at this very moment, but these people don’t let it faze them. They just go about their business as if they were fixing cooking equipment instead of shield projectors.”
A glowing assessment, the second officer reflected. Perhaps too glowing. By the engineer’s own admission, he was seldom inclined to admit that he had been in error. Yet here he was, admitting it—and with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, no less.
Simenon indicated the open access panel with a gesture. “If there’s nothing else, I ought to get back to work.”
“By all means,” said Picard.
But as he watched the engineer climb the hillside, he had to wonder…was his crew really in danger of being influenced by the colonists? Was that something he needed to be concerned about? Or with an entire ship full of people to look after, was he just being a mother hen?
As he weighed the possibilities, his combadge beeped. Tapping it, he said, “Picard here.”
“This is Ben Zoma, Commander. Shield Williamson just contacted us. He wants to know if we’re ready to beam up his engineers.”
The second officer had expected the call. After all, the Magnians couldn’t supply the Stargazer with parts until they saw firsthand what kind of damage had been done.
He frowned, suddenly reluctant to give the colonists access to his ship. If his suspicions had any basis in reality…
But what was the alternative? To refuse the assistance they had risked so much to obtain? To spurn what they so desperately needed if they were to survive and warn the Federation?
“Inform Mr. Williamson that we’re ready,” Picard told his friend. “But see to it that his people are provided with an escort everywhere they go. And I mean everywhere.”
“Acknowledged,” said Ben Zoma, in a tone that assured the second officer that his order would be taken seriously.
“And beam me back up as well,” Picard added.