The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [83]
Simenon snorted. Captain Ruhalter was the same way.
Picard turned to him, his eyes flashing with restrained emotion. And what does that mean?
The engineer returned his glare. He had an opinion when he walked into a meeting, and he had an opinion when he walked outand as I recall, they were always the same.
The second officer seemed to take the remark in stride. I had a great deal of respect for Captain Ruhalter, as you are no doubt aware. However, he and I are by no means the same. When I come into a meeting, Mr. Simenon, it is with an open mind.
The Gnalish wasnt the type to let a matter go if he felt strongly about it. But to Greyhorses surprise, he let this one go. I guess Ill have to take your word for it, he said.
Picard nodded, clearly satisfied with Simenons response. Then he turned to the others. You are all dismissed, he told them.
As the doctor pushed his chair back and got up, he couldnt help wishing that the second officer had some secret weapon he hadnt informed them of. He was still wishing that as he left the room and returned to sickbay.
As the doors to his quarters whispered closed behind him, Pi-card made his way to his workstation, sat down and established contact with a terminal elsewhere on the ship.
A moment later, Ben Zomas face appeared on the screen. Weve got to stop meeting like this, he quipped.
Well? asked Heard, ignoring his friends remark. What did you think of my performance?
Ben Zoma shrugged. I thought they bought it.
You dont think any of them were suspicious?
Not at all. I think they believe that youre determined to attack the supply depot. Ben Zoma smiled. For a moment, even I believed it, and I was in on the game from the start.
The second officer nodded. So far, so good. Now lets hope the saboteur takes the bait.
In truth, he had no intention of attacking the supply depot. The only reason he had announced his desire to do so was to encourage the saboteur to rig another command junction.
That was what he or she had done the last two times a confrontation with the Nuyyad was imminent. With luck, the saboteur would be moved to give a repeat performance.
Except this time, Picard would have Vigo monitoring every command junction in the ship, looking for anyone who might want to crawl into a Jefferies tube when no one was looking. And when they found that person, they would have their saboteur.
Or so the theory went.
The question, said Ben Zoma, is how far are we willing to go with this charade? Halfway to the depot? Three quarters of the way?
The second officer posed a question of his own. And what will we do if no one has been tripped up by then?
Youre the acting captain, his friend reminded him.
So I am, Picard acknowledged, his demeanor as grave as the situation demanded. And as the acting captain, I think Ill worry about it when the time comes.
Greyhorse sat at his desk and tried to focus on the results of his psilosynine research. But try as he might, he couldnt keep his mind on them. He was thinking about Gerda Asmund again.
The doctor wondered what she thought about the idea of their going into battle. Was the Klingon in her looking forward to the challenge? Or was she as concerned about the prospect of facing all those ships as Greyhorse himself was?
He wished he could come up with something to make it a more even battleand not just for the positive affect it might have on the outcome of their mission. A contribution like that would make Gerda notice him. It might even earn him her respect.
The medical officer dismissed the notion with a deep-throated sound of disgust. Who am I kidding? he asked himself. He wasnt an engineer, as so many others had been in his family. He didnt have the expertise to add anything to the Stargazers arsenal.
He was just a doctor. He could treat the wounded as they were brought into sickbay, but he couldnt do anything about the odds of their getting hurt in the first place.
The only battle he had ever won was on a chessboard, back in medical school. His first-year roommate, a gregarious and energetic man