Star Trek: TNG: Cold Equations II: Silent Weapons by David Mack

Author:David Mack
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books

15

Tattered veils of smoke lingered between smoldering trees, masking the full extent of the damage to the once-verdant rooftop arboretum. Beverly Crusher strode along the main path, stepping over branches blasted loose from the trees, weaving around debris scattered in the pandemonium that had followed the shooting, and checking on the dozens of medics tending to the wounded and the dead. Nine agents from Bacco’s protection detail had been hit—five fatally—in the wild crossfire during Piñiero’s escape. Four soldiers from the Gorn Imperial Guard had been killed, and seven others had been seriously hurt.

Now the rooftop was swarming with armed security and medical personnel from the Enterprise and the Hastur-zolis, as well as investigators from both ships and the Orions’ civilian police force. President Bacco and Imperator Sozzerozs, along with the surviving members of their respective retinues, had been spirited away to the relative safety of their private suites on the bank’s secured sublevels. The most prominent casualty, unfortunately, was Szamra, whom everyone had been counting on to sway key opinions in the Gorn Imperial Senate. The venerated nizor lay beneath a tablecloth liberated in haste from a nearby buffet table.

Picard stood near the main entrance to the arboretum, answering questions from and offering advice to the bank’s executives and its security director, Akili Kamar. Crusher watched her husband for a moment, torn between gratitude and resentment. If he hadn’t tackled me, she reminded herself, I’d probably have been Piñiero’s first victim. But as much as she wanted to see him as a hero for saving her life, she couldn’t forget that he had chosen to shield her rather than act to stop Piñiero. More damningly, he had saved her instead of protecting the president.

She knew she could rationalize away his actions, if she wanted to. Technically, as Starfleet officers they were sworn to obey the civilian government and uphold its laws, but the life and person of the president were the responsibility of the Protection Detail. It might even be legally proper to argue that Picard’s responsibility as Crusher’s commanding officer was to protect her life and vouchsafe the Enterprise and its crew. But legalisms and sophistry were no longer any comfort to Crusher. There was no undoing what had been done, and even though Picard had made no error and committed no offense against Federation law or his Starfleet oath, he still had shattered her conception of who he was. Instead of a hero . . . she had a husband.

A feather-light touch on her arm made her turn to see the Enterprise’s assistant chief medical officer, Doctor Tropp. The grouchy, middle-aged Denobulan regarded her with the bleary gaze of someone roused from a deep sleep. “We’re done with triage. The ones that are safe to be transported are being moved up to the ships, since we can’t send anyone to the local hospitals without raising red flags for the media.”

“I understand. How many are we still trying to stabilize?”

“Two of Bacco’s agents, and one of the Gorn.”

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