Reunion - Michael Jan Friedman [33]
Neither Worf nor Morgen answered—at least, not audibly. But when Crusher left sickbay, she left alone.
Picard was the first to enter the lounge. It was quiet-almost unnaturally so. Outside, seen through the observation ports, the stars bore silent witness to his carefully controlled anxiety. He crossed the room.
Taking his place at the head of the conference table,
gazing at its polished surface, the captain had an over-whelming sense of deja vu. He could almost feel the years peeling away, the dimensions of the room shrinking … faces swimming up at him. Those of Ben Zoma, Simenon, Greyhorse, Idun, Pug and-of course — Jack Crusher …
“Is Ensign Morgen all right, Doctor?”
“Fine, was said Greyhorse. “He was just a little shaken up. “And Lieutenant Asmund?” asked Jack.
Picard could feel Idun tense at the mention of her sister-but she gave no other sign of her concern. “likewise, Captain. Shell live to stand trial for the attempt on Morgen’s life. was “Good. I am glad to hear that she will survive. was He had to be careful what he said. After all, it was Gerda who’d committed the crime-not her twin.
“I’ve got two men assigned to her night and day,” reported Joseph. He glanced at Greyhorse. “The doctor’s not pleased about it, but I told him those were your orders. his
The captain nodded. “Indeed.”
“What about the Klingons?” asked Simenon. “The Victorious and the Berlin are only hours away, was responded Ben Zoma. “They’ll be escorting the good ship Tagh’rat to the borders of the Empire, where it will become an imperial matter. But the word from the emperor is that the splinter group will be dealt with harshly. After all, he wants this treaty as much as we do. was “What a damned sorry mess,” said Greyhorse.
“Could have been worse, was said Jack. “She could have succeeded.” “Dwe, was said the Gnalish.
Suddenly, Joseph stood. “Sir, was he said, addressing
Picard, “I want to take full responsibility for what happened If there are any repercussions-was
“We will all assume responsibility,” interrupted the captain. The security chief seemed mute for a moment. He hung his head, and when he spoke again, it was in a softer tone. “It’s just that I don’t know how this could have happened…” “dis . . could have happened,” said a voice outside the lounge. Drawing himself up to his full height, Picard saw Riker entering alongside Data. The android’s brow was wrinkled ever so slightly. “It does seem highly unlikely,” remarked Data. “What does?” asked the captain.
Both Riker and the android regarded him.
“That what happened in the holodeck could have been an accident,” said the first officer.
Data nodded as he pulled out the middle seat on the side of the table facing the stars. “That is correct, sir. It is possible that Lieutenant Worf inadvertently misprogrammed the holodeck, calling for a Level Three scenario to automatically follow Level Two. However, he could not have inadvertently instructed it to ignore his command to abort.” Seating himself, he went on without pause. “The holodeck computer’s mortality failsafe is designed to resist such instructions, to make them difficult for the user to implement-in order to avoid just this sort of occurrence.” Riker sat too—at his usual place, on Picard’s left. “Of course, there could have been a malfunction-but you know how rare those are. We check the holodecks on a regular basis. Certainly, we would have caught on to a flaw that profound.”
Halfway through Data’s observation, Dr. Crusher, Counselor Troi, and Commander La Forge filed into the room. Geordi had something in his hand.
“And even a simple malfunction,” said the android, “would not account for Chief O’Brien’s inability to end the program from without. That would have depended on a different circuit entirely.” “In other words,” expanded the first officer, “both circuits would have had to go haywire at once. A pretty big coincidence.” “Yes,” confirmed Data. “The