The Children of Hamlin - Carmen Carter [1]
“Who is attacking them?” demanded the captain. “The Ferengi?”
“Unknown. It’s an automatic signal, probably from an ejected buoy. We’re still trying to raise a response from the ship itself.”
“Very well, Number One. I’m on my way.” Picard broke contact and erupted into a fast-paced walk.
“Good night, Captain,” Crusher called after him.
“Oh, yes,” Picard paused in mid-stride and looked back over his shoulder.
“Don’t wait for me,” she said without changing the pace of her leisurely stroll. “The Enterprise is your patient, not mine.”
Picard managed a parting wave, then walked on, duty wiping all thought of Beverly Crusher from his mind.
Wesley Crusher had been creeping silently through the cabin day area when the beep of an emergency medical call pulled his mother out of her bed. Ducking back into his room, he listened to the muffled sounds of her conversation with T’sala and the accompanying shrieks of a Vulcan infant who was too young to control pain or distress. His mother left their quarters a few minutes later.
After counting to thirty, Wesley peered out of the cabin and checked to see if she was still in the vicinity. To his relief, she was gone-nevertheless, his heart was beating faster than normal when he stepped out into the corridor and headed toward the turbolift. He surely felt old enough to manage his own time without having to account to his mother, but she might not agree. So the easiest course was to keep her from finding out he was leaving their quarters.
The ship was quiet this late at night, but there were still people moving from one section to another. No one he passed was bothered to see him-despite his youth, Wesley was as tall as many of the adults and his striped cadet shirt emphasized his connection with the crew. His reputation as an earnest, precocious student helped lull any remaining suspicions.
Dnnys was waiting at the appointed place, a deserted crew lounge on Deck 21. “I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I was delayed,” said Wesley.
A knowing grin broke out over the other boy’s face. “Yeah, I almost got caught, too. But after the last whipping Tomas gave me, nobody believes I’d try to leave the passengers’ quarters again.” He snapped to mock attention. “So where do we start, Mr. Crusher?”
“Engineering,” said Wesley. He had mapped out their course while lying in bed, passing the time until the rendezvous. “I can get you into certain nonrestricted areas, but you’ve got to be on your best behavior because you’re going to be noticed.”
“Who me?” asked Dnnys with wide-eyed innocence. He looked down at his traditional Farmer clothing of faded blue pants of roughly sewn cotton and a wool overshirt with a red and black patchwork pattern.
“I would have brought a change of clothes, but I don’t think it would have made much difference.” Wesley pointed to the Farmer boy’s shaggy brown hair. “You’d need a haircut, too.”
Dnnys shrugged off his appearance. “Can we visit the bridge?”
“No way,” said Wesley emphatically. “The captain has declared it off limits to all kids. Before I was an acting ensign, he yelled at me for even looking at the bridge from the turbolift.” He paused, then continued. “I didn’t mean to boast. About being an ensign, I mean.”
“You didn’t,” said Dnnys. “Not much, anyway. If I could work on a starship’s control center, I’d crow like a morning cock.” He paced to the threshold of the lounge. “Come on, let’s get going. I haven’t got much time before I’m missed.”
Wesley lagged behind. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? You could get into a lot of trouble.”
“Oh, I’m always in trouble for one thing or another,” sighed Dnnys. “I’ve gotten used to it.”
Wesley shrugged-and, since Dnnys showed no signs of backing down, led the way to the outer perimeter of the engineering section. The night crew was certainly not going to challenge Ensign Crusher’s entrance, and they gave his companion little more than a curious glance before returning to their duties.
“The central shaft