The Devil's Heart - Carmen Carter [102]
“The Enterprise would be a sitting duck,” finished Riker. “Anybody with a peashooter could take us on.”
“Exactly,” said the chief engineer. “Not only that, without operational deflector shields, we couldn’t travel above impulse speed without turning to Swiss cheese. Even full impulse for a sustained length of time would risk serious micro-meteoroid degradation of the hull’s duranium substrate.”
“You haven’t left us with many options, Geordi.”
La Forge shrugged. “I thought miracles were your department, Commander.”
“It looks like I’ve used up my quota for now.” The first officer glanced over at the schematic and frowned. “Captain Picard will have to make this decision. I’ll get back to you after we’ve had a chance to talk it over.”
“No problem, Commander,” said Geordi with an amiable grin. “I’ll be right here.”
The engineer turned back to the master display just as another red light turned green. Slowly but surely, piece by piece, the ship was returning to normal.
The broad, curving windows of Ten-Forward provided the best view of space on the Enterprise, and it was a view that Deanna Troi usually enjoyed. Today, however, she found the scene outside the lounge to be a disquieting reminder of their present danger. The damaged starship was adrift in the midst of desolate space with the skeletal remains of a warbird as its only companion. Perhaps others among the crew were filled with dread at the sight, because only a few of the tables in the room were occupied, and the people sitting there were all facing away from the windows.
The counselor settled herself at the bar and tried to think of something to order. Out of the corner of one eye, she watched Guinan set two glasses in front of a couple at the far end of the counter, then drift back in her direction.
“What can I get for you?” asked the hostess.
She was dressed in an embroidered robe of forest green; a wide square-brimmed hat of the same color, only darker in shade, covered her head.
“I haven’t made up my mind,” said Troi. “What would you suggest?”
“Well, that depends. Are you more in an eating or a drinking mood?”
“I’m not really hungry,” Troi decided.
She wasn’t really thirsty either, but she would feel less awkward about her visit to Ten-Forward if she adopted some token excuse for her presence.
Guinan picked up a conical glass. “A drink it is. What about a Venusian fruit cider?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m in the mood for.” Troi’s enthusiasm sounded forced to her own ear, and it must have appeared equally insincere to Guinan, because she made no move to fill the glass.
“I get the feeling there’s something troubling you, Deanna.”
Troi sighed, andwitha guilty smile, said, “I’m supposed to be the counselor around here, remember.”
Guinan chuckled with a throaty voice that almost purred. “Even counselors need a sympathetic listener now and then.” She turned to pour the drink, giving Troi time to collect her thoughts.
The cider was delicious, and somehow talking seemed easier after a few sips of its delicate flavor. “Will Riker is worried about the captain’s fascination with the Devil’s Heart. He fears that it has become an obsession … and so do I.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Well, the course change which brought us out here,” Troi inclined her head in the direction of the windows, “was very troublesome. Captain Picard says it was to draw our pursuers away from vulnerable Federation colonies, but I can’t help wondering if there was another motivation at work, if he wasn’t actually searching for an excuse to delay giving up the Heart.”
The hostess dipped her head for a moment, and the flat rim of her hat obscured her expression.
When she looked up again, the concern she had tried to erase from her face could still be found in her dark eyes, yet she said, “I don’t believe Picard