Reunion - Michael Jan Friedman [17]
She looked at the module in her hand. Reading the stardate, she decided that the message was about sixteen years old-which meant she would have received it on… where? Delos Four? Yes-Delos Four. Unbidden, memories flooded her mind like gentle rains. Rain. She chuckled. It hadn’t rained more than a dozen times during her entire internship in the Mariadth Valley, though the Delosians said that it rained there all the time. Of course, when one was as long-lived as the Delosians were, and used to places where it didn’t rain at all, a dozen times in four years may have seemed like “all the time.”
Her mentor, Dalen Quaice, had called Delos Four “the hottest, driest place in the galaxy.” She could see him bent over a zaphlid-calf, innoculating it for scale-fever and complaining about the heat. “It’s unbearable, Beverly. Have you ever been to Vulcan? No? Well, it’s pretty dry there too. But this place makes a Vulcan desert look like a rain forest.”
And without Jack it had seemed even drier, even more barren. Taking a deep breath, Beverly, slipped the tape into the mechanism next to her bed and waited for Jack’s voice to emerge from the speakers. When it did, she was surprised at how young he sounded. “Hi, honey. Greetings from the Stargazer; where we’re wrapping up with the Mandrossa —still. It turns out that their negotiation protocols are a lot more complicated than those of other races we’ve encountered, even establishing an agenda for further contact has kept us here for weeks. In the end, though, I think it’ll be worth it. The Mandrossa are way ahead of us in genetics, and we can teach them a few things about immunology. The. way it looks, both parties will benefit from the relationship. “Unfortunately, speaking of relationships, this puts off my shore leave awhile longer. But be patient. I can’t wait to see you and little Wes. By my calculations, he ought to be about up to my waist now. Just big enough to swing my old baseball bat—you know, the one I got when I was a kid. Do you think I can teach him to hit in five days? I’m certainly going to try.
“As for you, my love … I have a little excursion in mind. You see, Pug Joseph was on Delos conFour a while back, and he’s been regaling me lately with-stories about this place he rented in the mountain. Not necessarily the kind of stories you’d . tell your grandmother, but then, that’s Pug. Anyway, I did some research, and it appears his love nest is still around. What’s ore, it’s supposed to be beautiful there. Seems like as good a way to get reacquainted as any-and Wes won’t miss us overnight. Especially if he ends up getting a baby brother—or sister-out of the deal.
“Not too much else to tell you. Cad had a birthday, Morgen was promoted to lieutenant jay-gee and—oh, Greyhorse says he’ll be glad to answer any questions you have about being a doctor aboard a starship. His main advice is to avoid any vessel that has a Gnalish aboard-his words, not mine.
“I guess that’s it. Give my love to Wes and I’ll see you soon, I hope. I mean, how much longer can these negotiations go on? We already hold the Federation record. Miss you.”
Crusher took a deep breath, let it out. Stopping the tape, she had the mechanism eject it and replaced it in the box. Then she began putting herself in a more professional frame of mind. She was due in sickbay in a few minutes. Stopping at the entrance to the holodeck, Worf turned to the group that was trailing behind him.
“This,” he said, “is a holographic environment simu-lator. Known in the vernacular as a holodeck.”
The Klingon scowled. Why, he wondered, has this task fallen to me? He had asked the captain the same question a couple of hours earlier.
Because, Mr. Worf,, you have proven to be an expert guide. Commander Cadwallader said your tour of the communications system was nothing short of breathtak-+.
Breathtaking indeed.
Worf considered his audience. Dr. Greyhorse and Morgen seemed interested. However, Ben Zoma