Part 8 (1/2)
Finally the curtain of Elaysians seemed to part, and a small procession zoomed toward them. Tangre Bertoran was in the lead, with his own hoverplatform, and about six a.s.sociates followed in his wake.
The white-haired Jeptah looked defiant as he approached Captain Picard. ”Ah, Captain, I knew we would meet again. We've shown up for our reciprocal tour of the s.h.i.+p. We would also like to use your weapon systems, as you used the Sacred Protector.”
The captain sat down in the hatchway and dangled his legs in midair. ”You do know how dangerous it is out here, don't you? Another avalanche of broken crystals could occur any moment. The only reason we would like you to leave is so that we can put up our s.h.i.+elds.”
Bertoran frowned, and the triangle on his forehead stood out in tight relief. ”You violated the sanct.i.ty of the Sacred Protector and the rules of the Jeptah.”
”And so you wish to violate our sanct.i.ty and our rules,” said Picard evenly. ”You've done so, in a most impressive way. We can't even leave, for fear that our thrusters and impulse engines will harm the protestors. Are your people tying themselves to the Enterprise?”
”The ropes are symbolic,” answered Bertoran. ”It means that you are bound to us by the rule of law. We have command of your s.h.i.+p while it is within our sh.e.l.l.”
”So what are your demands?” asked Picard.
”That you stop invading the Sacred Protector. That you allow us to inspect your weapons systems and engine room, and that you destroy the rift with your weapons.”
Picard felt Pazlar stir behind him, and he turned to see her sputtering with anger at this popinjay and his demands. He gave her a knowing smile and whispered, ”How far will any of them be able to get once they come onto the s.h.i.+p?”
She brightened immediately. ”Oh, they'll be miserable. They have no idea what it's like to move around in gravity.”
Picard turned to the mult.i.tude of Elaysians, floating all around like an a.s.semblage of angels. He rose to his feet and waved like a politician. ”We will be happy to meet the demands of Tangre Bertoran!” That proclamation was followed by a surprised clamor of voices and a startled look on Bertoran's face. Picard went on his best populist manner. ”But we can't take all of you. Perhaps your esteemed leader and a small party, but the rest of you must disperse, so that we can put up s.h.i.+elds.”
Now there was grumbling, and several Elaysians flew forward, vying for Bertoran's ear. He waved them back and proclaimed, ”They won't leave until after we've been aboard.”
”Sorry, no deal then,” said Picard flatly. ”We have to put up s.h.i.+elds as soon as possible. We're not going to fire weapons or do anything else until our s.h.i.+elds are up. You get what you want; we get what we want. That's only fair.”
Bertoran conferred with a few of his advisors, and Picard remained pleasant but stone faced. Finally the Jeptah turned to him and nodded, and his lieutenants spread the word. ”Disperse! Disperse!”
There was grumbling, but gradually the Elaysians began to take their ropes and fly away. While that was going on, Picard withdrew inside the shuttlecraft and tapped his combadge. ”Picard to La Forge,” he said softly.
”La Forge here,” came the answer.
”I want you to prepare Holodeck One to entertain some visiting Elaysians. We'll need a bridge simulation, engine room simulation, and the torpedo room.”
”They're all in memory from the recent training exercises,” said La Forge. ”Anything in particular?”
”This is just to buy us some time and keep them occupied,” answered the captain. He glanced outside to make sure no Elaysians were within earshot. ”We need to launch an unsuccessful attack against the rift-they're not to know it's a simulation. We'll direct-beam them from spot to spot, to alleviate the problem they'll have with the gravity. a.s.semble a good crew, and tell them what's going on.”
”Yes, sir,” answered La Forge. ”Too bad Reg is away-he'd be perfect for this.”
”We'll come in after the Elaysians leave. They're moving quickly, so you don't have much time. If need be, we'll go to the real torpedo room first-it's cramped and claustrophobic.”
”Don't worry about it, Captain, we'll be ready. I'm on my way to the holodeck.”
”Thanks, Geordi. Picard out.”
Pazlar stared in awe at the captain, and he gave her an innocent smile. ”They're not the only ones with advanced technology.”
Geordi La Forge stood on what looked like the bridge of the Enterprise, watching his handpicked crew go through the motions of flying the s.h.i.+p. On the viewscreen was the same scene of improbable blue skies that was on the real viewscreen on the real bridge. The last of the Elaysian protestors were soaring into the distance, mere specks in the clear, azure sky. All of the stations mirrored their duplicates on the genuine bridge, and La Forge checked the readings on an auxiliary engineering console. It all looked perfect, but the chief engineer still felt uneasy and distracted. His mind was still on several problems in engineering.
”They've put up s.h.i.+elds,” reported Ensign Ganadee, the bald-headed Deltan on ops.
”That means our guests are on the s.h.i.+p.” La Forge strode to the command chair and sat down, tugging nervously at his tunic. ”They're going to direct-beam from the shuttlebay. So look lively-they could be here any minute.”
”Yes, sir,” came several responses.
A few moments later, half a dozen figures materialized in sparkling columns in front of the turbolift. Four of them were Elaysians wearing billowy clothes, and the other two were Captain Picard and Counselor Troi.
”Captain on the bridge,” said the tactical officer.
La Forge recognized the woman in the white robe as Lieutenant Pazlar. She coped with the gravity much better than her fellow Elaysians. Within seconds, all three of them slumped to the deck, and the captain rushed to a.s.sist a white-haired individual.
”Ensign Ganadee, help our visitors,” ordered La Forge.
”No, no ... remain at your stations,” said the white-haired Elaysian, breathing heavily. His companions just sat on the deck, looking as though they had been stunned. ”The gravity ... is much worse than I expected.”
”I'm afraid we can't adjust it,” said Captain Picard. ”We need to be operating at peak efficiency.”
”Understood,” grumbled the white-haired man.
With considerable effort, Picard, Troi, and Pazlar got the visitors situated in empty seats at auxiliary consoles. The captain finally turned toward Geordi and gave him a surrept.i.tious wink. ”Report, Mr. La Forge.”
”We've just put up s.h.i.+elds,” said La Forge, ”and repairs are continuing on schedule. Hull repairs are finished, and we expect to have warp drive on-line in about eight hours.”
”You won't leave then, will you?” asked an Elaysian worriedly.
”No,” answered Picard, ”we couldn't if we wanted to, as long as that rift is out there. Allow me to make introductions: Commander La Forge, this is Tangre Bertoran, a Peer of the Jeptah and an Exalted One. The members of his party are Ebrek Optullo and Tereya Nolora. Commander La Forge is one of my most trusted bridge officers.”
”Thank you, sir,” answered La Forge, trying not to crack a smile.
”You have a very impressive bridge,” said Tangre Bertoran, gazing around at the detailed holodeck simulation. ”I wish I could get up and explore.” He turned to Melora Pazlar and shook his head in amazement. ”How do you ever get used to this horrible gravity?”
”I never get used to it,” she replied, ”but I learn to cope.”
Captain Picard rubbed his palms together. ”Before we get down to business, I believe you wanted to see engineering and the torpedo room.”
”Yes,” answered Bertoran. He tried to stand up, but the struggle against gravity was overwhelming. ”I would like to, but movement is so difficult. I a.s.sume your weapon systems and engineering are in good working order?”
”Every station on the s.h.i.+p suffered during our encounter with the rift,” answered Picard. ”But we have the resources to launch one quantum torpedo. Don't we, Commander La Forge?”
”Yes, sir. Everything is in readiness.”
Captain Picard looked gravely at the Elaysians. ”We're in no condition to go anywhere, and flying into the rift would be suicide. So we'll have to fire the torpedo from here. How will your forcefields react to it?”
Bertoran sat forward and groaned at the effort. ”It isn't normally a defensive forcefield, although it can be set for that. It's designed to let large, solid objects pa.s.s through while restricting the flow of gases and liquids. I a.s.sume your quantum charge can inflict zero-point disruption?”
”On a stars.h.i.+p, yes,” answered Picard. ”But our torpedoes are designed to pierce deflector s.h.i.+elds and s.h.i.+ps' hulls-they've never been tested on a dimensional rift before.”
”Of course not,” said Bertoran, sounding less confident than he had earlier. ”But it's worth a try.”
The captain stepped closer to the Elaysian and fixed him with his sternest gaze. ”I want it understood that if we try this, and it's unsuccessful, you'll stop telling me how to do my job. And you also won't surround the s.h.i.+p with Jeptah and stage more protests. We're all on the same team, and we're trying to solve problems, not create them.”