Pantheon - Michael Jan Friedman [75]
“There’s an answer, Jack. I know there is. I just wish I knew where to find it.”
Jack appeared to want to say something—as if he had the answer to the riddle. As if he knew who the killer was. But in the end, he couldn’t get it out. All he could do was shrug.
“It’s all right,” Picard said.
“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered at last.
“No.” The captain regarded his friend, missing him more than ever. “Really. It’s all right.”
Suddenly, the chair was empty again, though Picard wished mightily it were otherwise.
Eleven
Riker had wanted to come before this, but he couldn’t exactly leave the bridge in the middle of his shift to pursue personal matters. As he entered sickbay, he caught sight of Dr. Crusher.
She was just emerging from behind the critical-care barrier—the one that separated Cadwallader’s biobed from the rest of the facility. Noting his presence, Crusher regarded him. “Something I can do for you, Commander?”
“Yes,” Riker said, “there is.” He indicated the barrier. “I was hoping to visit with our guest.”
The doctor frowned slightly. “She’s sleeping now. She really shouldn’t be disturbed.”
His first impulse was to protest—but he subdued it, knowing it wouldn’t do him any good. Beverly Crusher could be pretty stubborn when it came to protecting her patients’ interests.
Besides, if Cadwallader needed her sleep, who was he to deprive her of it? His explanation of what had happened the other night could wait.
“If you need to know anything about what happened,” Crusher told him, “you can ask me.”
It took him a second or two to figure out what she was talking about. He shook his head. “No. Nothing like that. I just wanted to see how she was.”
Crusher looked at him for a moment—and she seemed to understand. “Oh,” she said. “In that case, why don’t you come back a little later?”
He nodded. “I’ll do that.” A second thought. “Would it be okay if I just peeked in on her?”
The doctor thought about it. “I suppose that I can allow that,” she decided finally. There was a twinkle in her eye as she said it.
The first officer smiled. “Thank you.” And under Crusher’s scrutiny, he advanced to the barrier.
Sticking his head around the side of it, he peered inside. As the doctor had informed him, Cadwallader was asleep. But her face was turned in his direction.
Riker sighed. To tell the truth, he had expected worse. But it was still something of a shock to see her lying there wan and weak-looking, when she had been spinning around a horizontal bar not so long ago.
“Commander…?”
He turned and saw Crusher standing behind him. “I know, Doctor. I know.” Reluctantly, he retreated from the barrier.
“Perhaps,” she suggested, “I could let her know you were asking for her.”
“I’d appreciate that,” he told her.
As they walked back toward the center of sickbay, Crusher looked up at the first officer. “There’s no need for worry,” she said. “Actually, our patient is doing quite well.”
He nodded. “That’s good to hear, Doctor.”
But he would continue to worry—and not just about Cadwallader.
There were the rest of the Stargazer survivors to consider as well….
Data sat in engineering, going over computation after computation in his positronic brain. He had been engaged in this activity ever since Geordi had sent everyone on the crisis team to bed.
“No sense in killing ourselves,” the chief engineer had said. “We’ll be able to think a little straighter in the morning.”
Simenon had agreed. Wesley too, though reluctantly.
But Data needed no sleep. So when Geordi and the others left for their quarters, he remained. And hours later he was still there.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t gotten very far. There were too many variables in his equations, too many unknowns. If only he had a better understanding of subspace dynamics…
“Pardon me.”
The android turned at the sound and saw Dr. Greyhorse standing behind him. The man shrugged his large shoulders.
“I guess everybody’s called it quits for the evening.”
“On the contrary,” Data responded, swiveling around in his seat. “I am still here.