The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [71]
No matter how strong they might be.
Besides, Picard thought, Santana had caused the deaths of Captain Ruhalter and several other crewmen, and injured a great many more. It wasnt easy to forget that.
I will try to keep an open mind, he told her, his tone as devoid of emotion as Jomars.
The woman sighed. Under the circumstances, I suppose thats the best answer I can hope to get.
Heard didnt know what to say to that. But as it turned out, he didnt have to say anything at allbecause at that moment, an argument was breaking out on the other side of the shield control device.
Are you out of your mind? someone hollered.
Insulting me will not mask your ineptitude, came the response.
Picard couldnt identify the first voice right off the bat, but he could certainly identify the second one. Quite clearly, it was Jomar, and his tone was an edgy one.
Circumnavigating the control device, the second officer saw what the dispute was about. The Kelvan was tapping away at one of the colonists keypads, erasing work that had already been done.
If you cannot follow directions properly, Jomar added, do not participate in this activity.
The Magnian in question, a dark-haired man who had been introduced to Picard as Armor Brentano, looked around angrily at his fellow technicians. Did you see what he did to my screen? Hes insane!
No, said Jomar, looking up from the keypad. I am meticulous. Perhaps it is you who are insane.
Brentano took a couple of steps toward the Kelvan. Am I the one who just wrecked half a days work?
Perhaps it was half a days work, Jomar remarked coldly, but it was not half a days progress.
Picard had heard enough. Calm down, he told the combatants, moving forward with the intention of getting between them.
Santana reinforced the commanders sentiments with her own. Cut it out, both of you. Were not going to beat the Nuyyad by squabbling.
But Brentano and the Kelvan didnt seem to hear themor if they did, they werent inclined to take the advice to heart. The colonist planted a finger hi Jomars chest.
You think you know everything, he shouted, dont you? You slimy, tentacled son of a
Brentano never completed his invective.
One moment, he was standing nose-to-nose with the Kelvan, poking his forefinger into Jomars sternum. The next, the colonist seemed to disappear, completely and utterly.
Picard couldnt believe his eyesand he wasnt the only one shocked by what he had seen.
What did you do to him? demanded Santana.
The Kelvan turned to her with his customary lack of passion. I did this , he replied calmly. And he pointed to a small, coarse-looking object sitting on the ground.
Picard took a closer look at the thing. It had four triangular faces, making it a perfect tetrahedron.
What the blazes are you talking about? snapped another of the Magnians. Wheres Brentano?
He is here, Jomar told her, unperturbed by the womans display of emotion. However, he has assumed a less disagreeable form.
The colonist still didnt understand. But Picard, to his horror, was beginning to. Kneeling, he picked up the tetrahedron and turned it over carefully in his hands.
What he means, the commander said, is that this is Brentano. He looked up at the Kelvan. At least, it was.
The colonist screwed up her features in disbelief. What are you talking about? she asked Picard.
He didnt blame her for reacting that way. A hundred years earlier, Captain Kirk had to have doubted his own sanity when he discovered that his ship had been littered with tetrahedron-shaped blocks and was told that they were distillations of his crew.
Just as the block in his hands, Heard surmised, was a distillation of Armor Brentano.
He put the tetrahedron back on the ground, then looked up at Jomar. Change him back, he said.
The Kelvans eyes narrowed, but he didnt answer.
Change him back .
He was insolent, Jomar remarked.
Nonetheless, Picard insisted, his tone unrelenting.
The Kelvan reached for one of the studs on his belt. A moment later, as if by magic, Brentano was standing in front of them again, looking a trifle dazed but otherwise unharmed.