Section 31_ Rogue - Andy Mangels [96]
Assuming that we get out of the current circumstances alive, Picard thought, I expect you to go quite far, Mr. Hawk.
“Captain, could I ask you a question?” Hawk said, setting his activities aside for a moment.
Picard could see that something was bothering the younger man. “Certainly, Lieutenant. What’s on your mind?”
“Assuming we succeed… what are the chances of anyone ever locating this subspace singularity again?”
“Commander La Forge is of the opinion that it won’t be detectable again for centuries. If ever.”
“I…” Hawk hesitated, then seemed to find the courage to go on. “Commander Zweller spoke with me shortly after the mission briefing.”
Picard thought he knew where this was heading. “And he believes that we may be overreacting to the threat posed by the singularity.”
“I think he may have a valid point,” Hawk said. “May I speak freely, sir?”
“Of course.”
“We’re about to destroy this thing, for all intents and purposes. Doesn’t that fly in the face of our overall mission of exploration? It might even be questionable under interstellar law.”
“With the fate of the universe at stake, Lieutenant, I’d gladly face the consequences of my decision in a court of law,” Picard said. A moment later, he added, “I take it Commander Zweller brought these matters to your attention as well.”
“Yes, sir. He did.”
“And are you strongly in agreement with him?”
Hawk looked uncomfortable. “I just thought… I think that the question needed to be raised. Once we do this, there’s no turning back.”
“You’re right. There is no turning back.” Picard sighed and looked through the scoutship’s forward viewports through steepled fingers. “Lieutenant, I’m not insensitive to your concerns. I’ve wrestled with the same issues myself. This mission goes against all of my instincts as an explorer. If I thought there were any safe way to preserve this phenomenon for scientific study, I would. But I can’t. The risk is simply too great.”
“Still,” Hawk said glumly. “If we could find some way to save this thing, and harness its power for some peaceful purpose…” He trailed off into silence.
“Lieutenant, are you acquainted with the writings of Lord Acton?”
“‘Power tends to corrupt,’” Hawk quoted, nodding. “‘And absolute power corrupts absolutely.’” A smile slowly fanned across the younger man’s lips.
“Strange,” Picard said. “That old caveat always struck me as more chilling than humorous.”
Hawk looked mildly embarrassed, and his smile abruptly vanished. “That isn’t it, sir. It’s just that…” he trailed off again.
Picard frowned. “Yes?”
“It’s just that Commander Zweller told me that you’d probably quote Lord Acton to me if I spoke to you about this.”
Picard’s combadge overrode his tart response before he could deliver it. “Crusher to Captain Picard.”
“Go ahead, Doctor.”
“I just heard that you’re planning to fly the mission yourself,” the doctor said, her tone slightly chiding. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to enter the cloaking field. We don’t know what effect it will have on your artificial heart.”
“Doctor, what does the cloaking field have to do with my heart?”
“Cloaking devices tend to give off tetryon particles,” Crusher said. “And that energy field is made up of literally thousands of cloaking devices.”
“Then why wasn’t I harmed by the tetryon emissions that led us to this scoutship?”
“The tetryon counts inside the cloaking field could be much higher,” she countered. “You could be flying into a veritable soup of tetryons.”
The only thing Picard disliked more than medical conversations like this one was having them in front of other members of his crew. “Damn it,