Unification - Jeri Taylor [22]
Picard turned to see Data’s imperturbable face regarding him calmly. “It would seem, sir, that we are to see a great deal of one another. May I suggest that an amusing way of passing the time would be to play a game? It involves arranging higher polynomials into sets of rational coefficients. I have found it so absorbing at times that the hours seem to pass like minutes.”
Picard let out a sigh. He walked to one of the chairs in the room—an ill-formed piece of furniture with no cushioning—tugged at his jacket, and sat down. “By all means, Mr. Data. That sounds captivating.”
Chapter Seven
SEEN UP CLOSE in the subdued lighting ofTen-Forward, Gretchen Naylor’s eyes were even more remarkable than they had seemed before. A pale green, almost translucent, framed by heavy, dark lashes, they were almost otherworldly. But Naylor was human, born and raised on Earth, in the North American agricultural paradise of Indiana. Riker had visited Indiana once as a schoolboy, and had been struck with the rural beauty of the rolling hills and verdant plains. With the advent of sophisticated replicator technology the need for vast acres of corn and soybeans had been obviated; land in the state had been converted to huge agricultural parks devoted to the production of flowers, herbs, and medicinal plants. A patchwork of color extended as far as the eye could see— burgundies, corals, silver greens—and the air was sweet with heady fragrances.
Perhaps it was living in such an Eden that produced people of such bountiful friendliness and generosity. Riker could still remember thewarmth and affection of the family he stayed with, the immediate accept-ance with which he was welcomed, and the friendships he maintained for many years. The people of his native Alaska were decent and honest, to be sure, and above all hardworking; but more of their energies had to be devoted to simple survival, leaving less time to the nurturing of friendships. He wasn’t sure he would have traded his childhood in Alaska, for it gave him disciplines and strengths for which he was grateful. But his visit to the balmy, fragrant hills of Indiana would stay with him all his life.
Gretchen Naylor was typical of Indiana natives in her straightforward honesty, but she didn’t have the easygoing, relaxed quality that he remembered from his youth. There was a drive to this woman, an underlying eagerness to achieve. That would have been a necessity, of course, for her admittance to Starfleet Academy. One did not beat out the twelve thousand applicants for each position by hanging back.
“… and then I was posted to the Reliant. I served there for two years as junior security officer. When a position opened on the Enterprise I couldn’t believe it. Everyone wants to be here. When I applied I didn’t really think there was a chance. But I got it—and my friends said they could hear me whooping all over the ship.” She smiled, a wide, bounteous smile that illuminated her face. She bent to sip her fruit drink, and little wisps of her dark hair fell forward over her face. Just as Riker had imagined.
“I’m sure it’s our good fortune to have you here, Ensign.” Riker was being careful to preserve the formality of the relationship. Naylor had been assigned—by Worf—to provide research and intelligence on the Zakdorn, the race who operated the surplus depot at Qualor Two. Riker had been secretly pleased with her choice, and the selection of Ten-Forward as a location for the briefing had been his; but he was still wary of the dangers of shipboard romance, and this green-eyed woman stirred him too deeply to ignore those risks.
“Would you like to hear what I’ve learned about the Zakdorn, sir?” She had picked up on the businesslike tone of his voice and was responding in kind. Bright woman. If they could have met in other circumstances… “By all means.” He settled back as she