Tooth and Claw - Doranna Durgin [30]
La Forge hesitated, then shook his head. “There’s no room. Commander Riker was flying a full shuttle on the way out; we need to make sure there’s room for everyone on the way back, if we’re right about the Rahjah going down.”
“Mr. La Forge,” Picard said, and then he, too, hesitated. He knew the answer to his question… but he had to ask anyway. “Those fields… is there anything the Enterprise can penetrate with her scans? Any way in which we can help?”
“Captain, those fields are meant to keep orbiting ships from doing just that,” La Forge said ruefully. He shifted; his next words were chosen with obvious care. “There is something the Enterprise can do, though. Captain, before I left, I spoke to Commander Riker about a project I’d requested. He said he’d discuss it with you. I was wondering if you’d made a decision about implementing it.”
The charting project. “I had not,” Picard said. The project would offend the Tsorans beyond measure, and probably destroy any chance of pleasant discourse between the Tsorans and the Federation for years to come.
If they found out about it.
“I’m still considering it,” he said, after a moment. “The factors are complicated.”
“I understand.” La Forge stepped back from the viewscreen, distracted by something out of sight. “They’ve got a scooter pod ready for me to tear down, Captain. Unless you have any other questions, I’d like to get right to work on this.”
Picard glanced at Atann and Tehra. “Have you any final questions?”
“No,” Atann said. “But we know no more than we knew before.”
That was something to get into later—not with which to delay La Forge. “Let me know when you have the Collins ready to go,” he said by way of dismissal, and cut the connection at La Forge’s already distracted nod. Troi, although she remained standing, moved back from the desk slightly so as not to unduly intrude on the conversation. “ReynKa, ReynSa,” he said. “I realize that you must be preoccupied by the events on Fandre, but I would like to at least open discussions about the charted territory.”
“Yes,” said Atann, but both Tsorans were out of their chairs. “We will be in touch, Captain.”
And they left. With no more fuss or explanation than that, they left.
Picard glanced at Troi, who lifted both shoulders in a mild and eloquent shrug. “They weren’t easy to read,” she said. “Distressed by the potential situation on Fandre, but not entirely convinced there is a situation on Fandre. My guess is that they simply couldn’t switch gears quickly enough to discuss the charts. They’d already gone from hosting an historical reception to hearing that their son may have crashed in an isolated area filled with that world’s fiercest predators.” Another shrug. “Give them some time, Captain. It seems to be important to them.”
Time. Time was one thing of which he had too little. The desperate Ntignanos, trying to flee their planet, could not afford to wait on intransigent Tsorans, or even to afford the distraction of the Enterprise captain. The Ntignanos needed help now.
Maybe it was time to think about La Forge’s request for probe-assisted, high-speed charting.
Chapter Six
Riker peered out the front viewport, glad to see that the Legacy inhabitants didn’t seem to have recovered from the crash; there was no sign of movement in the dark green foliage surrounding the shuttle.
Which didn’t mean there wasn’t danger. As far as Riker could tell, the place was learning with carnivorous life just waiting for juicy, defenseless humanoid morsels to expose themselves. He could well understand how a hunter could take six men to watch his back and still gain prestige from the kaphoora. From what he’d seen at the museum, even the Fandrean rangers avoided exposure —for as much time as they spent within the preserve, most of it was in the air. or behind the scooter pod shields … making observations, charting changes, and collecting data for Legacy management. Only occasionally did they venture into the jungle on foot, and any adjustments to the preserve—culling a