Three - Michael Jan Friedman [61]
Chapter Fifteen
GREYHORSE WAS JUST LEAVING sickbay for his quarters when he saw Gerda in the corridor up ahead of him.
She was wearing a formfitting, gray and scarlet gym ensemble, an outfit she hadn’t worn in quite some time—though the doctor didn’t know why, considering how good it looked on her.
He hadn’t seen Gerda since she stormed out of his office the day before. Normally, one of the things he liked best about sickbay was that he didn’t have to interact with people very often. But in this case, it had prevented him from putting his love life in order.
Greyhorse resolved to rectify the situation now, while he still had the chance.
Loping down the corridor to catch up with Gerda, he made sure there was no one else around. Then he caught her by the arm and spun her around, knowing [183] how much she liked it when he acted like a Klingon warrior.
“I want you to listen to me,” he said.
Gerda stared at him, obviously surprised that he was behaving so aggressively.
“You were wrong about me,” Greyhorse said with an intensity even he hadn’t expected. “I’ve never even thought about her.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“I mean it,” he told her. “Not even once. You’re the only one I want to be with. The only one—”
Gerda held up her hand. “Doctor,” she said, “I’ve got a feeling I’m not who you think I am.”
Only then did Greyhorse realize that he had made a horrible mistake.
Gerda Idun looked up at Greyhorse and saw his features contort into a mask of embarrassment.
“S-sorry,” he stammered, “I thought you—
“Doctor,” she said, “please—”
But he continued to sputter. “That is, I—
“It’s all right,” Gerda Idun said as firmly as she could. “I’m fine. No harm done.”
“Yes,” said the doctor, still looking a little off balance. “Yes, of course. But you’re sure you’re not—?”
“Not at all,” she insisted. “Really.”
He nodded. “Good. Very good. Then I’ll ... see you around, I suppose.”
“I suppose,” she said.
A moment later, Greyhorse was moving down the hall with long, purposeful strides, putting the situation [184] behind him as quickly as he could. She watched until he disappeared around a bend in the corridor. Then she smiled.
Obviously, she had stumbled onto something the doctor didn’t want her to know about. In fact, if the look on his face was any indication, he didn’t want anyone to know about it.
Except the person for whom his affection had been intended—either Gerda or Idun, apparently. There was no way at this point to know which one.
Of course, Gerda Idun could have investigated the matter further, and she had to admit to a certain curiosity about it. However, the doctor had been kind to her, and it was none of her business with whom her counterparts carried on their love affairs.
Even if their choice wasn’t exactly the one Gerda Idun would have made. She shook her head, bemused.
Of all people ... Greyhorse?
Picard looked around the briefing room table at his command staff—minus Vigo, of course, and Simenon, who was working on reconfiguring one of the transporter systems. But Joseph was present, having recovered almost completely from his injuries.
“As you know,” the captain said, “we have been unable to reason with the Balduk—in part, perhaps, because they now outnumber us nine to one. Nonetheless, I have made a commitment to get Gerda Idun home and I intend to fulfill it.”
No one balked at his stance. But then, he hadn’t expected them to do so. To the best of his knowledge, [185] everyone liked and respected Gerda Idun—Joseph in particular.
“But,” he said, “I cannot do that without gaining access to the anomaly. Therefore, we must devise a method of getting past the Balduk without allowing the Stargazer to be destroyed in the process.”
Kastiigan raised his hand. “Before we get to that,” he said, “there’s something I should point out.”
Picard looked at him. “Go ahead, Lieutenant.”
The science officer reached for the hologram projector in the center