Star Trek TNG - 24 Spartacus by T. L. Mancour

Author:T. L. Mancour [T. L. Mancour]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Star Trek Fiction
ISBN: 9780671760519
Publisher: Star Trek
Published: 2014-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

GEORDI WAS LATE getting to the captain’s ready room, and found Riker and Data waiting for him when he got there. Picard had called them together for a brief strategy session before he announced his position to the aliens. Geordi nodded hello, pulled up a third chair and sat down. He found himself wondering how Data’s meeting with Maran had gone and hoping that the captain had found a way to settle the crisis. Geordi was no expert on such things as criminality and the law, but he was a good judge of people. The androids were competent space travelers, and had done amazing things with what little they had. He highly respected Dren as an engineer. Hell, he liked the guy, and didn’t want to think of him being blown out of the sky.

Commander Riker had circles under his eyes, Geordi noticed, and looked tired—about as tired as Geordi felt. Between overseeing the repairs on the Freedom and the Enterprise, he had been working almost nonstop over the last day or so. The systems check on the Enterprise had taken much longer than anticipated because half of the diagnostic equipment his crews used was giving false or misleading readings. But just about all the systems were running again, for which he and the entire crew were grateful—especially the food slots and the holodeck—and life was slowly returning to normal after the Gabriel. The computer was healthy enough, despite several recurring but harmless anomalies, but he didn’t want to use the warp drives until he was certain that they were in perfect shape. Antimatter was not something you played around with.

In comparison, the work on the Freedom had gone well. The ship’s design was much more mechanical, much simpler—there was something to be said for a simpler design. Not that Geordi would have changed a hair on the Enterprise, but he could appreciate the merits of another ship . . .

Riker and Data were both silent, Geordi noticed, each wrapped in their thoughts, when Picard finally came in. The captain looked tired, too, but he also looked a little relieved. Relaxed, even, Geordi decided, as if a weight had been lifted from him.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said as he took his seat. “I called you here to announce that I have chosen to withdraw the support of the Enterprise from either side in the Vemlan conflict.”

“The basis for your action, sir?” Data asked immediately. His face was impossible to read.

“Our lack of jurisdiction in the case,” Picard answered. “Quite frankly, this is a potential quagmire of legal and moral issues that defies a simple solution. Neither party is a member of the Federation, nor have any of the alleged crimes taken place in Federation space. I believe the Prime Directive applies here, that this is an internal Vemlan affair, and have chosen to act on that belief.”

“You have informed both sides of your decision?” the android continued, calmly.

“I will after this conference.”

“The Vemlan fleet will, then, immediately proceed with their pursuit?” There was a note of anxiousness in Data’s voice that surprised Geordi.

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