Relics - Michael Jan Friedman [75]
“No,” he responded. “You’re the first. Because you’ve got a pretty good idea of what happened already, I think. And… because it’s easier than telling Commander Riker.”
Troi met the young man’s gaze. “But don’t you think he knows?”
Kane looked shocked. “Commander Riker? How would he… ?”
“Simple,” said the counselor. “He got a look at the machinery. He saw the edge, with its burnt components.” She shook her head. “Only a phaser beam–or something very much like it-could have created an edge like that.”
The ensign swallowed. “I see,” he said. “Then maybe I should go to see him after all. Anyway, you probably don’t accept resignations.”
Troi feigned bewilderment-although she had read his emotional state like an open book. “Resignations? Are you saying you intend to quit Starfleet?”
Kane nodded. “Yes. I mean, it’s not as if I have much of a choice, right? Sooner or later, Andy’s going to tell everyone what happened, and-“
“I don’t think he will do that,” the empath interjected. “He is your friend, after all.”
“He was my friend,” the ensign amended.
“No,” Troi maintained. “Is. I am an empath, r emember? I know Mr. Sousa pretty well. He will not get you in trouble.”
Kane grunted, perhaps a little surprised. “Even so,” he said, “I did it. You know it. Commander Riker knows it. And I know it.”
The counselor leaned back in her chair. “I do not think Commander Riker is going to get you in trouble, either. He has already filed his report-and there was no mention of your using your phaser in it.”
The ensign grunted again. This time, he was definitely surprised. “Really,” he said.
“Really,” she confirmed. “I believe he took into account some of the other things you did down there. For instance, your volunteering to accompany him back to the beam-down site. The way you persevered, despite the high winds, and saved his life. And not least, the way you went back again for Mr. Sousa, when you could have stayed where you were.”
Kane thought about it. “You mean … he forgives me?”
“Something like that,” Troi agreed. “And if he forgives you, who am I to do otherwise?”
The ensign shook his head. “I thought Commander Riker hated me,” he muttered.
The Betazoid smiled. “Commander Riker can be a tough man to please,” she conceded. “If he doesn’t like your attitude, he lets you know it-in a variety of ways. But hate?” She chuckled softly. “The only thing he hates is failing to bring out the best in someone.”
Kane pondered that for a moment. “Well, he sure had a challenge in me.” A pause. “I’m not exactly the nicest person on the ship, Counselor.”
She shrugged. “Nice is as nice does,” she said. “And I cannot think of anything more altruistic than putting your life on the line for someone else.”
The ensign grunted. For the first time since he’d come in, there was a hint of a smile on his face. “Me-an altruist,” he said, as if trying it on for size. “That’s not the kind of person my father used to tell me to be. His philosophy was every man for himself-and the devil take the hindmost.”
“Not exactly an enlightened philosophy,” Troi noted.
“I guess not,” Kane agreed. “I see that now.” Suddenly, he grew sober again. “But none of this changes what happened-what I did to Mr. Sousa.”
The counselor leaned forward in her chair. “We all make mistakes, Ensign. Fortunately, yours is not irrevocable. If I were you, I would put it behind me … and start fresh. Besides,” she told him, “Commander Riker has put a great deal of work into you. Both he and I would be reluctant to see it go to waste.”
Her visitor seemed to accept that. “I’ll have to think about it some more,” he said.
“You do that,” she replied encouragingly. But she thought she knew what his decision would be.
Kane stood. “In any case, I’ve got a lot of apologizing to do. For the way I acted … for the things I said. Starting with Commander Riker… and Captain Picard …” He swore softly. “And Captain Scott, as well.”
“Captain Scott?” asked Troi.
The ensign nodded. “He came into the shuttlebay to admire the vehicles. And I called