The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [76]
“Please see to Lieutenant Barclay, Ensign,” Lwaxana instructed her calmly. “Otherwise, I believe I have matters well in hand.”
Personal log, Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, Stardate 45376.5
By the time the real Tadigean delegates arrived, precisely when they were supposed to, Flev Ubaan and I had succeeded in reconciling the matter conversion and holographic imagery subsystems so that they were no longer incompatible. Along with the rest of the Cataria’s crew, Ubaan recovered from the terrorists’ psionic ambush with only a slight headache…and a somewhat improved attitude toward Starfleet “interference.”
Povz and his accomplices have been turned over to the Tadigean authorities. Seems they belonged to a rival faction that was bitterly opposed to opening up trade with Betazed and other foreign powers. From what I hear, the negotiations themselves are proceeding smoothly. According to Lwaxana—I mean Ambassador Troi—the Tadigeans are so impressed by the way we handled the terrorists that they’re even talking about joining the Federation at last.
As Ensign Ro and I prepare to return to the Enterprise, I like to think that Captain Picard and Commander La Forge will be pleased with the results of our assignment…
“I think you both should know,” Lwaxana Troi said as she bid them farewell, “that I intend to give Jean-Luc a positively glowing report of your performance here.”
“Thank you, Ambassador,” Barclay said. For a second, he wished that he hadn’t left his protective cap behind in the holodeck, but the feeling quickly passed. He didn’t find telepaths quite so intimidating anymore. As it turned out, they actually came in handy sometimes. “We’re glad to be of assistance.”
Lwaxana smiled warmly. “Are you quite sure you have to leave so soon? Our holodeck is working perfectly, thanks to your expert attentions. Perhaps you’d like to enjoy its restored capabilities before you embark on your journey home?”
For once, Barclay wasn’t even tempted.
“No, thanks!”
Turncoats
Susan Shwartz
Historian’s note:
This tale is set immediately after the events of the episode “Face of the Enemy,” during the sixth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
SUSAN SHWARTZ
Susan Shwartz has co-authored five Star Trek novels with Josepha Sherman and specializes in Romulans. She has also written novels such as Hostile Takeover, Second Chances, Grail of Hearts, Shards of Empire, and Cross and Crescent, which take readers from interplanetary finance and first contact to retellings of Lord Jim and a radical Grail quest, then to events leading up to and away from the First Crusade. She is also the editor of seven anthologies.
Published in ten languages, she has been nominated five times for the Nebula Award, twice for the Hugo, and once each for the World Fantasy and the Edgar. She has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, and has studied at Dartmouth, Oxford, and civilian seminars at the U.S. Army War College. She has also lectured at such places as Harvard, Princeton, Smith, SUNY-Binghamton, West Point, the Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Naval War College. For the past twenty years, she has worked in marketing communications on Wall Street.
She lives in Forest Hills, New York, loves opera, has notable art and shoe collections, and admits to being a third-generation Red Sox fan.
ENTERPRISE SPED TOWARD THE DRAKEN SYSTEM AT WARP 9, leaving the warbird Khazara far behind. The threat of battle was over. Stefan DeSeve had accomplished the mission Ambassador Spock had set him. Now, he fought the shakes. He