Relics - Michael Jan Friedman [15]
Data had nodded. “Quite clear, sir.”
And ever since that juncture, he had made it his business to take care of all matters within his purview -leaving only the most important judgments to Captain Picard. Nor had the captain ever found it necessary to have that discussion with him again.
So it was that when Data discovered something unexpected in a routine sensor sweep, he initially made no mention of it to the captain. First, he isolated it. Then he recorded it. Then he verified that it was precisely what it seemed to be. And finally, he analyzed it.
Only then, when he was sure that he had come across something of genuine interest, did he decide it would be best to alert his commanding officer.
Darrin Kane was riding high. Higher, in fact, than Andy Sousa had ever seen him.
“I knew I could get somewhere if I talked to the captain,” said Kane. “I knew he’d bring that spit-and-polish sonuvagun Riker down a peg.”
Sousa found it hard to believe that a word or two from his fellow ensign had been enough to sway the captain. From what he’d seen, Picard wasn’t a man easily bamboozled.
“Are you sure he did bring him down a peg?”
Kane nodded. “Damned sure. The captain and my old man are buddies from way back. As far as Picard knows, I’m a real golden boy, a chip off the old block. There’s no way he’s going to let that bearded wonder off the hook.”
As they negotiated a bend in the corridor, a pair of female civilians passed them going in the other direction. Kane flashed a grin at them; they grinned back.
Sousa wished he could do that. He wished he could be that confident, that sure of himself. It just wasn’t in his makeup.
That’s why Kane would probably be a captain before his thirtieth birthday, and Sousa would be lucky to be a captain at all. Ever.
Sure, he’d made a good start here on the Enterprise.
He was well-liked, even praised from time to time for his work at the conn. But as Kane had told him on more than one occasion, nice guys finished last-if they finished at all.
“Hey, helm-jockey. I think this is your stop.”
“Huh?”
Sousa turned to see that he’d left his fellow ensign behind, standing next to the turbolift. He’d been so lost in thought that he’d forgotten where he was going.
“This is where you wanted to go, isn’t it?” Kane grinned. “Or have you discovered some kind of secret passage up to the bridge?”
“Very funny,” said Sousa. Feeling his cheeks grow hot, he avoided the other man’s gaze as he headed for the lift.
“See you in the rec after hours, helm-jockey. I’ll be the one with the big smile on his face,” Kane told him.
As the doors to the lift opened, Sousa turned back to look at his companion. “Yeah,” he said. “See you in the rec.”
Then the doors closed and Sousa was on his way up to the bridge, wishing he’d been cut from the same cloth as Darrin Kane.
“Captain Picard?”
Picard was still pondering Ensign Kane’s situation when he heard the android’s voice come in over the intercom. “Yes, Data?”
“Sir, there is something here you should see.”
The captain nodded. “I’m on my way.” Rising, he rounded his desk and headed for the exit.
Kane’s problem would have to wait. Mr. Data would not have summoned him unless this were a matter of some urgency.
As the ready room doors slid aside, he noted that the turbolift doors were parting as well. And as Picard crossed to Data’s position at the aft science station, the lift discharged two figures his first officer and Ensign Sousa, both of whom were due to begin their shifts.
With a glance at the captain, Riker saw that something was up. “Sir?” he said.
Picard didn’t answer. He merely gestured for Riker to join him. With the two of them converging on the science station, the android turned