The Children of Hamlin - Carmen Carter [23]
“I should have introduced Translator Ruthe earlier in this meeting,” said Deelor. “She will handle all direct communications with the Choraii.” He stood up abruptly. “So, Captain, if you and the crew will simply mind the store, this venture will proceed smoothly and without incident.” Ruthe followed him out of the observation room without any prompting.
The departure of the ambassador and the translator set off another round of uneasy rustling from the assembled crew. Picard sensed their suppressed tension and waited for the inevitable explosion of emotion.
“I can’t believe we’re going to bargain with the aliens who massacred the Hamlin miners!” cried Yar.
Even Geordi was moved to an outburst. “And they’re actually going to make a profit from the attack. That’s wrong. Dead wrong.”
“Is revenge the right answer?” asked the captain. He was pleased to see Lieutenant Yar rein in her anger. The other members of the crew had also stopped to reflect on the mission.
The security chief sighed heavily. “Getting the children back is more important.”
“I still have a number of questions, Captain,” said Data. His composure contrasted strongly with the human crew.
“Yes, Data, so do I,” said Picard. “However, it appears Ambassador Deelor is not ready to answer them yet.” He rose to address the assembly. “We know the Choraii are capable of destroying a constellation-class starship and they came very close to disabling the Enterprise. Our first priority must be to create a better defense for the next encounter. For the moment, you will have to make the effort with what little information we already possess.”
The briefing was over. The group dissolved into smaller clusters as the officers headed toward their duty posts.
Captain Picard walked out of the conference room with the vague intention of returning to his quarters, but instead he found himself walking alongside Beverly Crusher. He dismissed the possibility that this action was anything other than random. After all, the doctor was the closest to his equal in age, so it was only natural to seek her out at times.
The ship’s corridors were well traveled, so the captain and Crusher could talk only of general shipboard matters, but once inside the relative privacy of her office, Picard broached the subject of Hamlin with a personal revelation.
“Nightmares?” exclaimed the doctor.
“Oh, yes, for years,” said Picard. “I had a rather active imagination and conjured up quite vivid images of the bloody deaths of the missing children. And it didn’t help that a neighborhood bully would threaten to ship me off to Hamlin, where hungry monsters were waiting to gobble up bothersome little boys.” He accepted Crusher’s amusement at his expense with only a twinge of embarrassment. “After all, I was only five years old at the time and somewhat gullible.”
Dropping the loose sheets of the Hamlin medical records beside her, Dr. Crusher threw one hip over the edge of her desk. “And yet, despite those fears, you went into space.”
Picard adopted her informal posture. Leaning against the entrance frame, he cast his mind back through the years. “Despite, or possibly because of those fears. I grew tired of being afraid, and tired of the boy’s tyranny. I chose to confront my nightmares.”
“How ironic. The children weren’t killed, but because you thought they were, you now have a chance to rescue them.”
Picard resumed his more rigid stance. “Not me. I’m just the storekeeper. My responsibility is to move the trading post into position. A Ferengi merchant would be more useful; at least he could drive another hard bargain with the Choraii.”
“A few pounds of lead is a small price to pay. The metal is practically worthless, toxic to human life. We could easily spare a hundred times that amount.”
“Yes, and if the Choraii had bothered to ask for what they needed fifty years ago, the Hamlin colonists would still be alive. Over a hundred people killed, slaughtered like animals. Hardly a worthless metal, Dr. Crusher-it has