Reunion - Michael Jan Friedman [21]
Wesley smiled.
Without excusing himself, Geordi withdrew and headed for the nearest unoccupied workstation. He had a feeling that Simenon might be a little more open with the ensign if it was just the two of them.
Besides, he had work to do.
Strange,” said Picard. “As I recall, Mr. Joseph was always quite punctual.”
Standing on the other side of the battle bridge, Asmund shrugged. “Something must have held him up.
The captain frowned. “Apparently.” He looked at his former helm officer, and gestured to the captain’s chair. “Care for a seat?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. Thank you.” She looked around. “Actually, this reminds me more of the Stargazer than anything else.” Picard nodded, leaning back against one of the periph-eral station consoles. “I have remarked on that myself, Idun. But then, that makes sense, doesn’t it? When we separate the battle section from the primary hull, speed and efficiency are at a premium—just as they would be in a deep-space exploration vessel.” He-folded his arms across his chest. “There’s no room here for the sort of luxury we enjoy on the main bridge.”
Asmund went over to the Conn position, leaned over
the console, and looked at the empty viewscreen. “I like this better,” she said. “Without the luxuries.” She ran her fingers over the dormant control panels. “Yes. It feels more comfortable.” Picard watched her. It seemed that she belonged here —much as Worf had seemed to belong here, on those occasions when it had been necessary for him to man the battle bridge. “And when you separate,” said Asmund, “the battle section retains the full range of ship’s capabilities? Weapons, propulsion, everything?”
“That’s correct,” said the captain. “The battle section is equipped with both impulse and warp drive engines, a shield generator, two photon torpedo launchers, and a complete spread of phaser banks.” “And the saucer section?”
“No warp drive. No photon torpedoes. But just about everything else.” Picard sighed. “I wonder what Vigo would have said about all this.”
Asmund looked back over her shoulder. “He would have wondered why you needed a primary hull in the first place.”
The captain nodded. “Or, for that matter, living quarters.” He smiled at his own joke.
Idun stared back at him, stony-faced as ever. Picard looked at her. “Idun,” he said. “I don’t like to see you acting this way.”
“Which way is that?” she asked softly, turning back to the console. “Like an outsider,” he said. “Apart from everyone else.” She sighed. “Captain … I am apart from everyone else.” He looked at her. “Why do you say that?”
Asmund stood up straight, returned his gaze. “You know why.” He smiled gently. “Idun, that was twenty years ago. No one holds that against you.”
“That’s what Captain Mansfield told me when I received Morgen’s invitation. But he—you— you’re wrong. Both of you.”
“Morgen invited you to be part of his honor guard. Would he have done that if he intended to shun you?” “Captain Mansfield said that too. But it’s not just Morgen. Back at the starbase, Greyhorse was … I don’t know. Different. Not the way he used to be. Even Simenon was … distant. Aloof.”
“Has it occurred to you that you haven’t seen them in almost a dozen years? That they may have changed? That you may have changed?”
Asmund frowned. “X… occurred to me, yes.” “Nor are Simenon and Greyhorse our two most congenial former comrades. I would not use them as a barometer of how the rest of us feel about you.” She nodded. “Perhaps not.” A pauses “With all due respect, Captain, I’d like to talk about something else.”
Picard regarded her. He knew that Asmund, like Worf, could not be pushed. She would obey an order, if it came to that. She would go through the motions —but inside she would resist that much harder. “As you wish,” he said finally.
Just then the turbolift comdoors opened* Turning at the same time, they saw Joseph emerge from the lift.
He grinned sheepishly. “Hi. Sorry I’m late.” He looked from one of them to the other. “I didn’t miss anything, did I?”
The guided tour completed, Dr. Crusher