Q & A - Keith R. A. DeCandido [17]
“You will find, Commander,” Worf said, “that all standards are high on the Enterprise.”
“Is that why you came back?” Kadohata asked. “Forgive my asking, but I had thought you were pursuing a career in diplomacy.”
Before Worf could answer, Jordan returned with everyone’s drinks. La Forge quickly grabbed his raktajino mug and took a sip of the powerful Klingon coffee. While La Forge didn’t think much of Klingon food—too much squirming and moving—the Klingons knew how to make a cup of coffee.
After their drinks were served, Worf explained, “Becoming an ambassador was never meant to be a permanent career. The position was offered by Chancellor Martok and Admiral Ross, and I therefore could not refuse. I was able to serve both the Federation and the Empire—but when the opportunity presented itself, I returned to Starfleet.”
“Well, I, for one, am grateful,” La Forge said, holding up his mug as if proposing a toast. “Can you imagine what Command would’ve sent over as a first officer if you weren’t available after Data…?” The words caught in La Forge’s throat.
Crusher leaned forward. “Geordi?”
“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just—” He let out a long breath. “It’s been tough getting used to it, y’know? Data was supposed to outlive all of us.” La Forge rushed on. “It’s all right, though. Honestly, with B-4 trundled off to the Daystrom Institute, it’s gotten easier. I think the toughest part of losing Data was having his evil twin around.”
Crusher smiled. “I thought Lore was his evil twin.”
“Yeah, good point,” La Forge said, grateful for the opportunity to laugh. “I guess B-4’s the idiot cousin?”
“Every family has one,” Miranda said. “Vicenzo has this loony named Fred for a cousin, and—”
Before Kadohata could go on about her cousin-in-law, Jordan came by with the food. La Forge saw that while taknar gizzards were more palatable than most Klingon food, they were still pretty disgusting. Luckily, the spices in the two jambalayas overpowered the smell of the gizzards that just sat there oddly glazing on Worf’s plate. Geordi wondered when Worf stopped eating non-Klingon dishes. What happened to Worf while he was on DS9? Always taciturn and extremely private, La Forge never asked. So much change…
Well, except for the prune juice. Guinan had introduced Worf to the beverage, which the Klingon had proudly pronounced to be “a warrior’s drink.” It had become a running joke on the EnterpriseD, but Worf had the last laugh, as prune juice had become a major export to the Klingon Empire in recent years.
Looking at Crusher’s dish, Worf said, “That is a most—unique method of preparing lIngta’, Doctor.”
“It can be fun to mix and match,” Beverly said as she speared her lo mein with a fork. “If I remember correctly, the jambalaya that Geordi and Miranda are eating uses spices from Andor, meat from a free-range animal on Zalda, and Bolian rice.”
“Kriosian rice, actually,” Worf said. La Forge shot him a surprised glance, and Worf added, “Captain Sisko prepared the meal on several occasions on DS9. He said the Kriosian rice was…fluffier.” He took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and frowned. “The replicators have never been able to re-create it precisely.”
Kadohata had an expression of disbelief and joy on her face, as she had just taken her first bite. “You mean there’s a version of this that’s even better? This is heavenly!”
Worf returned to the previous topic of conversation. “Sending B-4 to the Daystrom Institute was a prudent course of action. It was as if Data’s jatyIn was aboard the vessel.”
“Except it was just like Data’s body but not his personality,” La Forge said.
“Unacceptable,” Worf said.
“It was a way of keeping Data alive. Preserving his memory—literally, since Data downloaded his memories into B-4.”
La Forge pushed his food around.
Miranda dared to break the silence. “I don’t understand, not his personality?”
Geordi shook his head. “We never figured out Graves’s trick.” Ira Graves, before his death, had downloaded his personality into Data’s body. But Graves had left no documentation on the procedure, so it wasn’t replicable.