Ship of the Line - Diane Carey [46]
Deanna Troi shriveled where she sat. Her hands turned white in her lap, her fingers tangled, and she pressed them hard against her thighs. “Sir … after what he did to you …”
“I know what he did to me,” Picard snapped. “That’s how I know what he’s doing to our missing people. I’m going. Your orders are not to attempt talking me out of it. I don’t even want to hear the points of argument. Stop thinking them.”
Silence fell again. No one knew what to say, though all of them listened in anguish to the arguments in their own minds. Riker could almost hear Troi’s mind clicking and Crusher’s nearly screaming.
Feeling as if his veins were about to burst, Riker weighed a hundred versions of his request before making it. Finally, there was no other way but to ask outright. “Sir … permission to go with you into Cardassian space.”
“That’s appreciated, Number One,” the captain said sternly, “but this isn’t the Federation volunteer corps. This is Starfleet, and you have your assignment. I expect you to go with Bateson cheerfully. Go on the shakedown cruise, and the next time you’re offered command, take it.”
Startled, Riker clamped his mouth shut on anything else he might’ve said.
Beside him, the two women stared at Picard.
“Captain …” Troi began a sentence, then let her tone do the speaking.
Picard snapped her a glare. “Counselor?”
She hesitated now. “We’ve always been a family as well as an assignment …”
Embarrassed that she was defending him from the captain’s rebuke, Riker bristled but didn’t say anything.
The captain riveted Troi to her seat with a long stare. “We’re not a family, Counselor. Starfleet isn’t a social club. Our command staff is a close-knit unit of service who have been lucky enough to remain in each other’s sphere for many years. That doesn’t abrogate our responsibility as officers, or make our relationship to each other superior to our duty. Our ship is gone and we must expect changes. Mr. Riker has been given an assignment where his talents are needed. You, Mr. Data, and Mr. La Forge are also assigned to the Enterprise-E, and I expect you to serve Captain Bateson with every bit the loyalty and energy I have enjoyed from you. Now, am I going to have to repeat that anytime soon?”
A stunned silence fell briefly, a silence they knew would have to be broken. The captain would not let those words hang without a response.
Riker knew Crusher and Troi were waiting for his cue. He slumped back in his chair. “No, sir.”
Crusher folded her arms and Troi sank back also. “No, sir,” they half-heartedly echoed.
“Thank you,” Picard responded. “Captain Bateson has assigned sixty-nine members of his Bozeman crew to the starship, short of two who found other pursuits and retired from Starfleet. His first officer, Gabriel Bush, second officer Mike Dennis, and science officer John Wolfe have all been working feverishly to upgrade their abilities to modern standards. The starship will also be manned by over three hundred additional starship crew members from … well, our time.”
“Three hundred?” Riker interrupted. “That ship takes over a thousand.”
“Not for a shakedown cruise. The scientists, medical personnel, analysts, and general maintenance crew won’t be going on board until she receives her first duty assignment. Only department heads and technical specialists will be aboard for now. Captain Scott will remain on board as chief engineer, and Mr. La Forge will be assistant chief. Counselor, Captain Bateson doesn’t want a ship’s counselor on duty, so you’ll be part of the medical staff. Mr. Data—well, he can do the work of almost the entire science staff, so they’ll be fine. We don’t know yet whether these assignments will be permanent, but I expect all of you to treat them as if they are. Dr. Crusher, on the other hand, you’ll be going with me into Cardassian space.”
Letting out a long sigh, Crusher muttered, “Thank God …”
Ignoring the knots in his arms, Riker tried to control his voice, his tone, the pacing of his request.
“Captain,