Three - Michael Jan Friedman [5]
“May I speak with you for a moment?” Kastiigan asked.
“Sure,” said the first officer. “I’ve got nothing urgent at the moment. What is it?”
The science officer lifted his chin. “I understand Lieutenant Vigo is going to attend a meeting on Wayland Prime.”
“That’s true,” Ben Zoma told him. “They’re demonstrating a new generation of phaser technology for Vigo and a few other weapons officers.”
[11] “I don’t suppose there is any possibility of danger there?” Kastiigan asked.
Ben Zoma was surprised by the question. “I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
The Kandilkari shrugged. “I just want you to know that if there was a possibility of danger, I would be perfectly willing to attend the demonstration with Lieutenant Vigo.”
The first officer smiled at the notion. “You mean as his bodyguard?”
“If you like. I just find the idea of our weapons officer facing some serious danger on his own a bit disturbing.”
“As would I,” Ben Zoma said. “That is, if there were any serious danger—which there isn’t.”
“Yes,” said Kastiigan. “You mentioned that.”
“So there’s really no need for a bodyguard,” the first officer added, just to make sure there was no confusion.
“Apparently not,” said the Kandilkari.
The room was silent for a moment. Ben Zoma felt compelled to throw some sound into it.
“Is there anything else?” he asked.
“Nothing,” the science officer assured him. “Thank you for your time, Commander.”
“No problem,” said Ben Zoma.
But as Kastiigan left him standing there in the shuttlebay, he found himself wondering just what in blazes they had been talking about.
Ensign Cole Paris couldn’t help liking the way things were turning out. He liked the fact that he had come to grips with his [12] chronic anxiety problem, born of trying to live up to the illustrious Paris name. He liked the trust Captain Picard had begun to place in him, making him the number-two helm officer on the ship behind the amazing Idun Asmund.
And he liked the fact that Second Officer Wu had decided to remain on the Stargazer, instead of returning to her old ship for the sake of a promotion.
Having Wu around gave Paris a comfort level he had never enjoyed before—not just since he had graduated from the Academy, but ever. It gave him the confidence to take on any challenge that came his way, and on a ship like the Stargazer they came his way all the time.
Paris was even getting used to Nikolas, his roommate. The guy wasn’t much for neatness or discipline, and he was a little too preoccupied sometimes with the opposite sex, but he did everything the senior staff officers expected of him—and more, if he could.
And if Paris needed a hand with something, he was sure that Nikolas would give it to him. There was something to be said for that as well.
At that particular moment, Paris was on his way to the bridge to give someone else a hand. Lieutenant Asmund had asked him to recalibrate the helm controls on one of the Stargazer’s shuttlecraft. Normally, that would have been a job for Lieutenant Chiang’s people in the shuttlebay, but Lieutenant Asmund was going to have to use the shuttle soon and she preferred that Paris take care of it.
It was quite a compliment, the ensign mused. Of course, Lieutenant Chiang might not think so. In fact—
Before he could complete his thought, he realized he [13] was about to bump into something. His reflexes taking over, he sidestepped the object.
It was only after he took stock of his surroundings that he realized it wasn’t an object he had avoided. Or rather, it wasn’t just an object.
It was Ensign Jiterica, inside the Starfleet standard-issue containment suit she was forced to wear in order to operate as a member of the crew.
Unlike anyone else on the Stargazer, Jiterica was a Nizhrak—a low-density being whose species developed in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant. In her natural state, she was a cloud of ionic particles larger than the confines of the ship’s bridge. Hence, the containment suit, which allowed her to interact