Star Trek The Next Generation - 97 - A Time to Hate by Star Trek

Author:Star Trek
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780743462907
Publisher: Star Trek
Published: 2004-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

Picard was fuming. When he told his senior staff they were to convene in three hours, he didn’t mean three hours and five minutes. Still, Crusher was missing, and she was the most important member of the staff, given the topic for discussion. Everyone was busy, and he hated pulling La Forge away from the engines—he really needed to ask about the plasma injector problem, but it wasn’t immediately vital. Data was clearly running the ship effectively, but Picard hadn’t taken the time to inquire as to the crew’s mood. In fact, the captain had been falling more and more out of touch with everything but the Council, and they were moving with less than deliberate speed. He’d much prefer to handle things aboard the ship, but he had time for only the most important matters. He had hastily drunk a cup of soup while going through the last communiqués from Starfleet before checking in with the recovering Ambassador Morrow and then called down to verify that the Council halves had, as expected, done nothing while he was away.

Once that was clear, he asked Troi to come back aboard and do a fast analysis of Crusher’s issues concerning her plant seeding scheme. The last thing he wanted was to approve a solution and then discover it would violate some cultural taboo. The concerned look in her eyes when she grasped the issue didn’t tell him which side she favored, and maybe that was for the best.

Still, a part of him wanted to postpone the meeting until Riker had been found. The captain had become so used to having the first officer’s insight that it felt wrong not to have him seated by his side. The hours had ticked by and any hope he had of a miraculous rescue evaporated, especially when Lieutenant Vale was the first to enter the observation lounge. She gave him a wan smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

Everyone who had been planetside looked exhausted, and Picard hoped that when this mission ended, Command would allow them some shore leave.

Finally, a whoosh of the doors and Crusher entered the room, hair flying, hands thrust deep into her lab coat pockets. She muttered apologies as she passed Picard and took her seat to his right.

“Everything okay, Doc?” La Forge asked.

“Fine,” she said a bit breathlessly. “I was helping Tropp finish with a patient he rescued.”

“The impaled one,” La Forge added. “Nice work on that, I hear.”

“She was a mess, but she’ll live,” Crusher finished.

“That’s certainly good to hear,” Picard said, regaining control of the room. All eyes turned his way, expectant. “After I present the facts, I will need everyone’s considered opinion on what we do next. Either choice will have long-lasting consequences to both races.

“The liscom gas Dr. Crusher discovered in the bloodstream has acted like a narcotic. It has effectively drugged these people into peacefulness. They grew up believing their history, which says it was an enlightened view of the universe that led to the peaceful colonization of Delta Sigma IV.

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