The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [34]
Thats correct, she said.
Prior to that, he observed, you served on the da Gama , and before that you graduated from the Academy with honors.
Correct again, Gerda told him.
Greyhorse looked up at her. It also says here that you were raised in a Klingon household?
Yes, the navigator said matter-of-factly, as if such things happened all the time. As children, my sister Idun and I were the only survivors of a Federation colony disaster. After several days had gone by, Klingons intercepted the colonys distress signal and rescued us. Apparently, we impressed them with our resourcefulness.
He grunted thoughtfully, seeing an opportunity to establish some kind of rapport with her. It must have been quite
Yes? Gerda prodded.
He felt himself wither under her scrutiny. Nothing, he said at last. Nothing at all.
It was no use, he reflected. He wasnt good at small talk. Truthfully, he wasnt good at any kind of talk.
If someone gave him a disease to cure or an injury to heal, he was as sharp as any physician in the Federation. But when it came to being a person, a social creature capable of interacting with other social creatures, he fell significantly short of the mark.
Greyhorse had come to grips with his shortcomings a long time ago. He had gotten to the point where they didnt bother him. But they bothered him now, he had to admit.
And it was all because of Gerda Asmund.
Doctor? she said.
He realized that he had been silent for what must have seemed like a long time. Yes, he responded clumsily. Sorry. I was just thinking of something. Er lets begin, shall we?
Gerda nodded. Indeed.
Ill bring a picture up on my screen, Greyhorse explained for the fifteenth time that day. You try to develop an impression of it in your head, using any means that occurs to you. And while youre at it, the internal sensors in this room will monitor your brainwaves.
She smiled a weary smile. I know. As weve established, I have undergone this test before.
He smiled back as best he could. So you said. And he began the examination.
Picard studied the small, blue-and-green world on the Stargazers forward viewscreen from his place beside Captain Ruhalter.
Establish a synchronous orbit, said Ruhalter.
Aye, sir replied Idun Asmund from the helm console.
Nalogen IV was an M-Class planet, which meant it was inhabitable by most oxygen-breathing species. Indeed, there was only one sentient form of life on the planet, and it required oxygen to survive. However, it wasnt an indigenous form of life. It had originated in a solar system one hundred thousand light-years away.
Nearly a century earlier, several ships worth of Kelvans had set out from their home in the Andromeda Galaxy to find a new place for their people to live. One of their vessels was damaged as it penetrated the galactic barrier and its crew was forced to abandon ship.
Since Kelvan technology allowed them to change form, they took on the appearance of humansa populous species in that part of the Milky Way galaxyand put out a distress call. Ultimately, they hoped to commandeer a starship and use it to return to their homeworld.
However, their takeover attempt was thwarted by Captain James Kirkthe same near-legendary Starfleet officer who had dealt with the menace of Gary Mitchell a few years earlier. Once the threat to his vessel was defused, Kirk arranged for the Kelvans to settle on a world in Federation space.
That world was Nalogen IV.
Hail the colony, said Captain Ruhalter from his captains chair.
Aye, sir, responded Paxton.
The comm officers fingers flew over his communications panel. A few moments later, he looked up again.
Ive got the colony administrator, Paxton reported. His name is Najak. But he says hed like to restrict communications to audio only.
Ruhalter frowned as he considered the viewscreen. Very well, Lieutenant. Tell him Ill comply with his request.
Heard had to admit that he was disappointed, if only to himself. He had hoped to get a glimpse of Kelvan civilization. Now it looked as