The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [21]
Set a course for Starbase two-oh-nine, the captain said. And dont spare the horses.
Idun saw Leach frown. He was a man who liked to deal in hard facts, not colorful colloquialisms.
Warp eight? the first officer ventured.
Warp eight, the captain confirmed. Ruhalter out.
Leach turned to Gerda. You heard Captain Ruhalter, Lieutenant. That survey of Beta Aurelia will have to wait.
Aye, sir, said Gerda, bringing up the appropriate cartography on her monitor and charting a course. A few moments later, she sent the results to her sisters console.
A comment went with it Warp eight. Sounds serious .
Idun sent a return communication Preceded by an eyes only message not fifteen minutes ago .
Surprised, Gerda looked up from her monitor and glanced at her sister. For the first time in months, a smile spread across her face.
Gilaad Ben Zoma, the Stargazers chief of security, heard a beep and looked up. Come in, he said.
A moment later, the doors to his small, economically furnished office slid apart, revealing a compact, baby-faced young man with short, sandy hair in a uniform that seemed a tad too big for him. He looked uncomfortable as he stepped into the room.
But then, Ben Zoma mused, Lieutenant Peter Pug Joseph probably had an idea as to why he had been summoned. The security chief smiled to put the man at ease and gestured to a chair on the other side of his desk.
Have a seat, Mr. Joseph.
Yes, sir, said the younger man. He sat down, but he didnt look any more comfortable than before.
Ben Zoma leaned forward. As you may have guessed, I called you here to talk about what happened last night.
Joseph looked contrite. Yes, sir.
You know, said the security chief, its good to be alert, especially when were dealing with something as tricky as the inlet manifold. But sometimes, its possible to be a little too alert.
Sir, Joseph replied, I thought there was a real danger
Ben Zoma held his hand up, silencing the man. I know exactly what you thought, Lieutenant. And I must say, I admire the quickness with which you responded. But for heavens sake, youve got to be a little more certain before you sound a ship-wide alarm.
But, sir, Joseph argued respectfully, if there had been a problem with the inlet manifold
Then it would have been picked up by our engineers, the security chief assured him. He reached for his computer monitor and swiveled it around so the other man could see its screen. Just as they would have picked up that field coil overload you were certain you saw a couple of days ago and that apparent injector malfunction over which you shut down the warp drive.
The other man sighed and slumped back into his chair.
Then, Ben Zoma went on as gently as he could, there was the time you called an intruder alert without verifying your sensor data. And the time before that, when you thought an unidentified ship was approaching and it turned out to be a neutrino shadow.
Joseph hung his head.
The security chief was sympathetic. Not too many years earlier, he himself had been a fresh-faced, junior-grade officer.
I dont bring up these incidents to make you feel bad, Ben Zoma explained. I just want you to see that youre overreacting a bit. Granted, a threat to life and limb occasionally rears its head on a starship but it cant be lurking everywhere .
Joseph nodded. I see what you mean, sir.
Good, said the security chief. Then weve accomplished something.
The younger man looked up, his eyes hard and determined. Ill do better, he vowed. I promise you that.
Im sure you will, said Ben Zoma.
But in reality, he wasnt sure at all.
Chief Medical Officer Carter Greyhorse hadnt intended to walk into the ships gym. Distracted as he was, he had believed he was entering the neighboring biology lab, where he meant to review the work of a Betazoid biochemist who claimed to have synthesized the neurotransmitter psilosynine.
The doctor had expected to be greeted by the sleek, dark forms of a computer workstation, an industrial replicator and an electromagnetic containment