Section 31_ Rogue - Andy Mangels [127]
As Hawk spoke, Picard sipped his tea. “A few days ago, I was approached by Ambassador Tabor to join a secret organization within Starfleet. Commander Zweller is a part of it as well. It’s called Section 31.”
Chapter Eighteen
Half an hour had passed since Hawk had interrupted Picard’s relaxation so completely. The young officer had been telling his captain as much as he could about the conversations he had shared with Tabor and Zweller, with Picard interrupting only to ask pointed questions.
Through his astonishment, Picard was again impressed by Hawk’s memory, which allowed him to remember details about the meetings that others might have forgotten. But that admiration was pushed into the background as Picard learned whatever scraps and pieces that Hawk knew about the heretofore secret organization known as Section 31.
Of course, Hawk had no way of knowing that Batanides had already come to him first with her knowledge of the organization and her suspicions. But Hawk’s account of his discussions with Tabor and Zweller forced Picard to wonder what more Batanides knew about the group than she had told him; she was in Starfleet Intelligence, after all. And yet, she had seemed so sincere in her surprise over Tabor’s and Zweller’s actions. And unlike the two men, Batanides had never tipped her emotional hand to Counselor Troi, nor had she roused the suspicion that she might somehow be blocking her thoughts, as Zweller had done.
The captain paced back and forth. Hawk had quit speaking a few minutes ago, and had the presence of mind to stay silent while Picard considered his options. Still, the young man looked at him expectantly, like a child anticipating a scolding.
“Why didn’t you come to me with this sooner, Lieutenant?” Picard asked.
Hawk looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry, sir. The ambassador made such a point about this being a top-secret organization. I didn’t want to betray that confidence. And I wasn’t sure that you didn’t already know about it. At first, anyhow. And things got so complicated so quickly. I didn’t know who to talk to about it and-“
“Lieutenant, despite Ambassador Tabor’s assertion that he was working for the Federation’s greater good, did it ever occur to you that he might simply have been a traitor? And that Zweller might be one as well?” Picard was staring down at the junior officer. “What proof did you have that either of them was working in the best interests of the Federation or Starfleet? Especially given all the conflicts their actions have dragged us into?”
“I didn’t have any proof,” Hawk admitted quietly. “Except that nothing they said seemed wrong, exactly. They had a good answer for everything.”
“Most traitors do. But rules exist for a reason, Lieutenant, as do chains of command. That’s why-“
“At the risk of getting myself into further trouble, sir,” Hawk said, interrupting, “one of the things they pointed out to me repeatedly was how often you and Commander Riker have both broken the rules in pursuit of the greater good.” He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Picard raised an eyebrow and regarded the lieutenant in silence. He considered lecturing Hawk about the unique decision-making skills of senior officers, or discoursing on the sorts of extenuating circumstances that might motivate one to… bend a regulation now and then, when particularly hazardous situations demanded it. But he couldn’t.
Because he realized that the lieutenant was absolutely right.
I do sometimes take risks or bend the rules, and damn the admirals. Surely, he always had good reasons to make those decisions. But one man’s sound justification was another’s bad excuse.
“Sir?” Hawk stood, looking directly into Picard’s eyes. “For what it’s worth, I did come forward, even if not right away. I suppose I hesitated because Ambassador Tabor had me nearly convinced that the ends can justify a Starfleet officer’s means… sometimes. But after talking things over with Commander Zweller, it seemed to me that for Section 31, the ends always justify the means. And I decided then