TNG 20 - Spartacus (c) by Star Trek

Author:Star Trek [Star Trek]
Language: deu
Format: epub
Tags: \Star Trek
Publisher: Pocket Books.
Published: 2011-01-02T07:59:39.936000+00:00

After deliberating for a while on what to say, Captain Picard went to the bridge to inform the two contesting parties of his decision. It was not a chore he was looking forward to. Not only was it unpleasant to be the deciding factor in a war, but his decision was causing waves in his own command as well.

He found Ensigns Crusher and Marks at the helm and Ops, respectively, La Forge busily monitoring the progress of the systems check at the engineering console, and Worf at tactical where he was still diligently tracking the few remaining bugs that had not quite been eradicated from the security system.

They didn’t have warp drive yet, but nearly every other system was more or less functional. Though the storm was safely diminished, its effects lingered on.

Number One vacated the captain’s chair in favor of Picard and took his usual seat beside him. Crewmen went about their business as usual. The mood on the bridge was back to its normal, relaxed state, which heartened Picard. All things considered, he was genuinely impressed with his crew’s performance during the crisis. With a crew as fine as this behind him, how could a captain go wrong?

So many different ways that he couldn’t begin to think of them all, his conscience told him. Overconfidence is a deadly trap, Jean-Luc, one you can ill afford. Words from his first days at Command School came back to him with the relentless force of ocean waves. “The captain of a ship is always personally responsible for the lives of his crew, no matter what the situation.” He heard it in the breathy voice of Admiral Fortesque, his instructor in command theory, who had said those very words in every lecture he gave his young students. Fortesque had grimly offered example after example of all the ways the commander of a ship could be horrendously wrong while having the best of intentions. That was the “privilege” of command.

With that thought in mind, Picard ordered channels opened to both Captain Jared and Commander Sawliru. Soon the faces of the two commanders appeared side by side on the main viewscreen. Picard cleared his throat and addressed them.

“Gentlemen,” he began, “I spent a good deal of time listening to your stories yesterday, and then spent an even longer time considering the situation. I spoke with my staff advisers, and I have come to a decision.

“The USS Enterprise is a Federation vessel, commissioned by Starfleet. As such, I, its commander, have wide discretionary powers. I am even empowered to act on behalf of the entire Federation in certain cases.

“However, your current situation has nothing to do with Starfleet or the Federation. Any crimes committed, or wrongs done, were not done in Federation territory. Even now we are on the frontier, where no one has a just claim to the void. I therefore cannot intercede on behalf of either party in this dispute. It would constitute involving the United Federation of Planets in a dispute not of its making and could possibly endanger the lives of my crew.

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