Pantheon - Michael Jan Friedman [192]
He would still speak with Williamson, to at least let the man know what had taken place. Despite Picard’s concerns about the Magnians, this alliance was still important to the Stargazer.
And he didn’t want Jomar’s penchant for insensitivity to wreck it.
Thirteen
Picard watched Shield Williamson’s reaction from across a large and ornate wooden desk.
“With luck,” the man said, “what the Kelvan did was an isolated incident and we’ll see no repeats of it.”
“That is my hope as well,” the Starfleet officer told him.
Williamson sat back in his chair. “Actually, Commander, I’m glad you’re here. My engineers have pointed something out to me.”
“Oh?” said Picard.
“They see an opportunity to not only repair your equipment, but to modify it—much as your people are modifying our shield technology to make use of the Kelvan’s vidrion particles.”
“Which systems are we talking about?” asked the second officer.
“Sensors and tractors,” said Williamson. “However, I should tell you…for these modifications to be of any utility, you’ll require Magnian operators.” He paused. “And from what I gather, you’re already uncomfortable with our presence aboard your ship.”
Picard was surprised by the remark, but he absorbed it without flinching. “Am I to assume you’ve been reading our thoughts?”
The colonist smiled. “We haven’t had to. It’s apparent in the way your people look at us, the way they follow us wherever we go.”
“As I instructed them,” the second officer admitted.
“Because you don’t trust us?”
Picard sighed. “Because I cannot afford to.”
“An honest answer,” Williamson observed.
“To an honest question,” Picard replied.
They both fell silent for a moment.
“Consider this,” Williamson said at last. “We’re operating on faith as much as you are. Once we help you repair your warp drive and your weapons systems, what’s to keep you from taking off for Federation space…and leaving us to defend ourselves against the Nuyyad?”
The second officer frowned. “Which could be why you want to place some of your people on the Stargazer…to keep us from reneging on our bargain when the attack comes.”
The Magnian’s eyes narrowed. “Touché.”
Picard shrugged. “My apologies. It seemed to be the obvious response.”
This time, the room seemed to echo with their silence.
“Any agreement,” said Williamson, “is only as strong as the intentions of the parties involved in it. If there’s some way I can convince you we mean only good…”
Unfortunately, Picard couldn’t think of one.
“Mind you,” he said, “I want to trust you. My instincts tell me to trust you. I just don’t have the luxury of trusting you.”
And his trust had been watered down by recent events, though he didn’t feel compelled to mention that.
Williamson smiled a little sadly. “Does that mean that you’re turning down our offer?”
The second officer couldn’t deny the appeal of sensor and tractor enhancements, considering they didn’t know how many Nuyyad vessels they might eventually be facing—or how powerful they might be.
He took a moment to weigh the benefits against the risks—and made his decision. “In the interest of defending Magnia as well as the Stargazer,” he said, “I’ll accept your operators.”
Williamson nodded. “You’ve made the right choice, Commander.”
I certainly hope so, thought Picard.
Lieutenant Vigo sat with his back against the curvature of a Jefferies tube and watched another piece of conduit casing go sailing past him.
A couple of colonists were waiting to receive the component farther down the line. Even from a distance, the acting weapons chief could see the concentration on their faces—a concentration that had been there since earlier that morning, when the Stargazer beamed up a supply of replacement parts from the planet’s surface.
“How’s it going?” asked Lieutenant Iulus, a curly-haired security officer, as he made his way toward Vigo from a perpendicular tube.
“Rather well, it seems,” said the Pandrilite, watching the Magnians snatch the piece of casing out of the air and fit