Relics - Michael Jan Friedman [13]
In any case, time was a-wastin’. Working the controls one last time, Scott set the mechanism for a thirty-second delay and activated it. Then he took the dozen or so steps necessary to ascend the platform.
As he took his place, Scott surveyed the carnage all around them … the charred bulkheads, the still-sparking control panels, the burning bodies of the two poor souls who hadn’t made it the way they had. If he and Franklin could come through that, they could come through anything.
Franklin turned to him. “See you on the other side,” he said, managing a smile.
“Aye, lad,” said Scott. “On the other side.”
Chapter One
USS Enterprise 1701-D
Seventy-five years later
AT THE SOUND of his door chimes, Captain Jean-Luc Picard looked up from his monitor, where he’d been reviewing a monograph on accretion bridges in binary star pairs. Touching the appropriate panel on his control padd, he stored the file.
“Come,” said Picard, triggering the entry mechanism.
As the door slid aside, it revealed the visitor the captain had been expecting. He gestured to the seat opposite him.
“Won’t you have a seat, Mr. Kane?”
Ensign Damn Kane was a tall, athletic-looking young man with reddish hair, piercing eyes and a ready smile. At least, that was how he’d appeared to Picard in the past. Right now, the ensign looked all too serious, almost sullen.
“Thank you, sir,” said Kane, pulling out the chair and seating himself.
The captain leaned back. “How is your father, Ensign?”
Kane smiled, but the expression didn’t seem to come very easily to him. “He’s fine, sir. I heard from him just the other day via subspace packet. He’s been riding, golfing, hiking … you name it. He says he should have quit Starfleet a long time ago.”
Picard chuckled. “Indeed. The Ferris Kane I knew couldn’t have been pried loose from his captain’s chair with a crowbar. But then, people change, don’t they? I suppose the day will come when I’ll prefer the good life to Starfleet as well.”
Privately, he couldn’t imagine such a day-not even in his wildest dreams. But it wouldn’t have been polite to tell young Kane that, after his father had opted for a carefree civilian life back on Earth.
“So,” said the captain, “what prompted this meeting? You made it sound as if it were rather urgent.”
The ensign bit his lip. For a second or two, he seemed to hesitate. Then, suddenly, he got to his feet.
“I’m sorry, sir. I shouldn’t be wasting your time with this sort of thing. Just forget I ever came to see you … please.” And with that, he turned to walk out.
“Ensign Kane?” said Picard, his voice ringing out a little louder than he’d intended. But after all, his curiosity had been piqued. He wasn’t about to let this mystery go on any longer.
Kane stopped in his tracks and looked back at the captain. “Sir?”
“Sit,” Picard commanded.
Again, the ensign hesitated.
“That’s an order, Mr. Kane.”
Looking just a bit like a cornered animal, he sat. But it was a while before he raised his eyes to return the captain’s gaze.
“Now then,” said Picard, “you came to see me for a reason. Mind you, I will not force that reason out of you. It’s ultimately your choice as to whether or not you’d like to talk about it. But I would like to hear it.”
The ensign sighed. “All right, sir.” His temples worked. “It has to do with Commander Riker.”
Will? That was a surprise. “What about Commander Riker?” the captain prodded.
Kane cleared his throat. “I believe … he has something against me, sir. He seems to be harboring a certain … I don’t know. Resentment.”
That didn’t sound like Will Riker, thought Picard. “And how has this resentment manifested itself?” he asked.
The younger man sighed. “Sir, I graduated from the Academy at the top of my class. That wasn’t because I was the brightest or most talented cadet there. It was because I wanted it more than anyone else.”
“I am well aware of your accomplishments at the Academy,” the captain interjected, hoping to keep the conversation on a lighter note.
“Please, sir … let me finish. When I was assigned