Taking Wing - Michael A. Martin [61]
“Why not? We live in a galaxy that supports thousands of sentient species. Here aboard the U.S.S. Melting Pot, we’ve built a sort of cultural atom-smasher—a laboratory designed to create clashes of customs and manners, if you really think about it.”
Keru found himself troubled and intrigued at the same time. Bralik may have been loud and coarse, but he had to concede that she had a point. There’s no shortage of opportunities for conflict with a crew this diverse. But he still tended to think of Titan’s diversity as a strength rather than a weakness.
“So, what are you saying, then?” Norellis asked.
Bralik set down her drink and said, “If we’re supposed to be out here looking for new life and new civilizations, then what are we learning if we don’t take parts of their customs away with us? Isn’t the best aspect of exploring the chance to take away the knowledge that things can not only be different, but also that those differences can be celebrated?”
Everyone at the table sat quietly for a moment. Keru realized he had forgotten to chew his last bite of salad, and resumed. Ledrah finally looked his way, then gestured toward Bralik. “Before you ask, yes, she is always like this.”
Norellis scooted out of his seat. “I’m off for another round. Would you like another drink, Commander?”
Keru smiled, gesturing toward his still mostly full tankard. “Not just yet, thanks.”
“Get me a Core Breach,” Ledrah said.
As Norellis wandered toward the bar, Keru looked back at Bralik. “That’s a very progressive way of thinking for a Feren—”
“He likes you,” Bralik said, interrupting. “He’s too shy to say it himself, so I figure I’d better tell you before he gets back to the table.”
“Excuse me?” Keru asked, confused.
Bralik tilted her head to one side. “For someone who came out of stellar cartography, you’re surprisingly inept at connecting the dots, Ranul,” she said, speaking slowly as though addressing a willfully obtuse child. “He wants to court you.”
“Court me?”
Ledrah put her hand over Bralik’s mouth, stifling whatever her next comment was. “Bralik shouldn’t have said anything, Commander. Just forget it.”
Keru’s mind whirled. The last thing he expected during dinner was to be told that a junior officer wanted to “court” him. Much less one in whom he had zero romantic interest.
“Okay,” he sighed. “Let me just say that I appreciate your efforts at matchmaking, however unorthodox they might be. But Ensign Norellis and I are not, and will not, be involved in anything other than a professional relationship.” He stared intently at Bralik. “And if you’re his friends, you’ll find a way to tell him that, without being so unmannerly as to hurt his feelings.”
Bralik’s eyes locked with Keru’s, then moved over to Ledrah. The engineer finally removed her hand from Bralik’s mouth—whereupon the Ferengi woman began speaking immediately. “Sorry if we misjudged your preferences, Commander. Nidani is single, too, if she’s more to your liking. She also—”
Ledrah clapped her hand back over Bralik’s mouth, a look of murder flashing in her eyes.
Norellis reappeared, holding a tray with drinks for himself and Ledrah, as well as a second hefty tankard that appeared to be intended for Keru.
“Hey. What did I miss?”
“You are rarely exasperating, Will Riker, but when you are, you are in a very big way.”
Troi plopped down on the settee in a huff.
“What?” Will asked, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m just not sure it’s such a good idea.”
Troi was glad that they were meeting in the senior counselor’s office rather than in their quarters. At least here, where her spirits were buoyed by the room’s soothing light-blue color scheme, an aquarium stocked with freshwater fish from a dozen worlds, and shelves crowded with hardcopy books and Betazoid art objects, she felt far more comfortable adopting a professional tone with her husband. She took a deep, cleansing breath through her nose, then