What's Past_ The Future Begins (Book 2) - Michael Schuster [28]
“Sorry for the interruption, Scotty,” said the bartender, whose name was Geren’zrix, “but there’s a message for you. Somebody from Starfleet, apparently. He said it was urgent.”
“It’s always urgent, Zrix. It always is.” Scotty sighed. “Please excuse me, zhutanii,” he said to the quad.
There was a com terminal near the faux warp core, to be used by the ER staff whenever they needed it. When Scotty arrived there, it was active, displaying the bulldog face of William J. Ross. What was the old gadgie up to now?
“I apologize for disturbing you at work, Captain Scott, but there’s something I have to tell you, and it can’t wait. If this wasn’t urgent, I wouldn’t have called you, trust me.”
Scotty felt that a sigh was in order right now, and he did not try to hide it. “I do have to say you didn’t pick an ideal time, Admiral. But I’m here, listenin’ to you, and so we had better continue this. What is it that you want?”
“I have made inquiries,” said Ross, leaving Scotty to wonder what on Earth he was talking about. “Somebody told me that you are not very fond of a certain member of the admiralty. Is that true?”
True to the old Fleet proverb, rumors did travel at warp ten, it seemed. “Who told you that?”
“Never mind. I have people who tell me things I need to hear. Mind you, I also have people who tell me things I want to hear, but those are not as welcome as the others.” Ross allowed himself a quick smile before his face returned to its usual state of stony seriousness. “In any case, I know of your, let’s say, ‘discussion’ with a certain female admiral, and I believe I have a good idea of what this is about.”
A short, deprecating laugh escaped Scotty’s mouth before he could stop himself. “I’m sorry, Admiral, but I don’t believe you do. And even if you know somethin’, you most likely don’t know everythin’.”
“Then why don’t you tell me? I’ll be in-system in a couple of days. I suggest we meet on Epsilon Ceti Outpost.”
“I don’t know. If this is just another trick of yours to get me back into action, then forget it. All due respect, Admiral, but I’m not a toy to be played with as you see fit.”
“I am quite aware of that, Captain Scott. Let me assure you that I’m not trying to trick you into returning to the Fleet. While I make no secret of my interest in getting you ‘back into action,’ as you phrase it, I consider myself honest enough not to resort to scheming and plotting like a power-hungry madman.”
“And I never accused you of bein’ one.”
“I know. Now, what say you to a meeting, Scotty?”
“Well, I don’t think it can hurt,” the former engineer said carefully, not wanting to sound too eager. The fact of the matter was that he welcomed the idea of meeting with Ross face-to-face, but for completely different reasons. Some things just didn’t have a big enough impact when said on a subspace channel. “Let me know when you’re here.”
“I will. Scotty, I’m really looking forward to this meeting,” the admiral said, apparently satisfied. “Ross out.”
When he returned to his place near the ER’s entrance, Scotty began to realize that a visit from Ross, no matter what the reason, could only mean trouble.
Crivens, what have I got myself into now? he asked himself. Ever since Ross had got wind of his resignation, he’d tried everything in his power—short of bribery and blackmail—to make him change his mind.
Was it Scotty’s fault if Ross didn’t realize he didn’t have a chance?
True to his word, Ross called him a mere two days later, asking him to be on Epsilon Ceti Outpost at noon, Central Risian Time. The U.S.S. Cerberus, Ross’s flagship, had arrived in the system, ready to beam the admiral onto the outpost. After telling Quincy that he really needed to do this, Scotty was allowed to borrow his private impulse flitter, which he piloted across the binary system toward the Starfleet outpost orbiting the smaller star of the pair at a distance of roughly four hundred