Reunion - Michael Jan Friedman [35]
it would be the gravest of injustices to punish Idun for her sister’s crime—and I have not changed my mind in that regard. If there is evidence to incriminate her, fine. But let us not judge her on her choice of sibling alone.”
“All right, then,” said Riker. “What about the oth-ers?” Those at the table exchanged glances. It was not an easy thing to hold up one’s fellow officers as murder suspects-particularly when the Stargazer survivors had become so well liked. And Picard sympathized; he was no more eager to hear such accusations than his officers were to voice them.
But someone had committed an act of violence on his ship. He could not allow that to happen again. “Commander Riker asked a question,” said the captain. “I want answers.” He turned to Troi first. “Counselor?”
The Betazoid sighed. “Mr. Joseph is not a happy man, sir. He is bitter-disillusioned.”
“Over his failure to advance his career?” said Picard. Troi nodded. “Apparently.”
“Do you think,” asked the captain, “that his unhappi-ness would manifest itself this way?”
“It is difficult to say. I do not think Joseph resents Morgen in particular. If he has focused his resentment on anyone, it is Commander Cadwallader.”
“Then again,” said Riker, “Morgen was below him once in the chain of command just as Cadwallader was.”
“And when one is irrational,” offered Crusher, “one may lash out at anyone. his
Troi shook her head. “Joseph is not irrational-at least, not as far as I can tell. But he is angry. At times, extremely angry.”
Riker indicated the mess of wires and black boxes. “Does he have the knowhow to make something like this?” “He is not an engineer,” said Picard, “if that’s what you mean. But security work does involve a knowledge of ship’s systems.” “Greyhorse has some technical knowledge,” the doc-tor offered. She shrugged.
Obviously, she did not believe Greyhorse was a viable murder suspect. The captain couldn’t exactly blame her. “What about Simenon?” asked Data, who had remained silent almost from the time he sat down. No surprise, thought Picard. Matters of motivation were not exactly the android’s specialty. “He would certainly have the expertise,” said Troi. “But does he have a motive?”
“The Gnalish and the Daa’Vit have never been best of friends,” Beverly remarked. “I remember Jack express-+ some misgivings about Morgen and Simenon serving together.”
The captain looked at her. It was the first time she’d brought up Jack’s name since the Stargazer contingent came aboard. “True,” he said. “On the other hand, there was never any violence between the two peoples-thanks to Federation intervention. Nor did those misgivings ever be-come material. In fact, Morgen and Simenon always had a healthy respect for each other.”
“What about the Daa’Vit angle?” suggested Riker. He looked at Picard. “We know that Morgen has opposition at home. Would his political enemies go so far as to hire an assassin?” The captain mulled it over. “I suppose it is possible,” he conceded. “And the Daa’Vit are sufficiently spread
out among the Federation for any one of our guests to have had contact with them.”
Riker looked to the intercom grid in the ceiling. “Computer-has anyone in Captain Morgen’s escort been to Daa’Very?” The computer responded instantly in a pleasant fe-male voice. “Captain Ben Zoma, Commander Cadwallader, and Chief Joseph visited Daa’Very one year ago on the Lexington. his
“Their purpose?” asked the first officer. “To deliver medicines requested by the Daa’Vit government.” Picard nodded. Pug on Daa’Very, he thought. How could he help but read into the situation? Bitterness often made a man vulnerable. And if the proper incentive was offered into the bargain … No. The captain would not prejudge Joseph any more than he would Idun. Pug had served him well on the Stargazer; he deserved better. And yet, he could not allow his feelings to get in the way of his duty. Picard cleared his throat.
“I must say,” he told the others, “it is extremely difficult for me to believe that one of my former officers is