Part 2 (1/2)
”The Enterprise has arrived here in answer to my request for a.s.sistance in dealing with the problem of the freebooters, Your Excellency,” said Gruzinov.
”Ah,” said J'drahn, noncommittally.
”We realize that you have already a.s.sured Captain Gruzinov of your full support in dealing with this problem,” Picard said, ”but as a matter of diplomatic courtesy, I wanted to be certain that we had your official approval to proceed.”
”Yes, yes, of course, by all means,” J'drahn replied, nodding emphatically. ”These freebooters have proved to be an annoying embarra.s.sment to my government, and a potential impediment to our continuing good relations with the Federation. We have done all that we could to deal with this irritating problem, but our resources are limited and, as you can see, the recent transfer of authority from my esteemed father to myself has brought about numerous administrative problems. In the last few years, my father's advanced age had made it difficult for him to keep up with all the pressing matters of state that had to be addressed, and as a result, we need to make up a great deal of lost ground.”
”I understand completely,” said Picard. ”And we shall do everything in our power to avoid adding to your burden. Our only intention is to help.”
”I appreciate that, Captain Picard,” J'drahn replied. ”I was concerned that the Federation might not understand our current situation. Needless to say, you have my personal a.s.surances of my government's complete support in your efforts, as I have already told Captain Gruzinov. We will do whatever we can to a.s.sist you in this matter.”
”Thank you very much, Your Excellency,” said Picard.
”Will you be remaining on N'trahn?”
”I am afraid not, Your Excellency,” said Picard. ”We must be getting back to our s.h.i.+p.”
”I see. And what are your plans?”
”We shall be conducting routine patrols of the sector and staying in communication with all incoming vessels,” said Picard. ”And in the event that any of the freebooters are sighted, we shall respond immediately.”
J'drahn nodded. ”Excellent. I am sure this will do a great deal to alleviate the complaints we have been receiving from the merchant fleet. I wish you the best of luck in your efforts, Captain. As I said, you have my complete support.”
”We are very grateful, Your Excellency,” said Picard. ”And now we have really taken up enough of your valuable time. With your permission, we will be returning to our s.h.i.+p.”
”It has been a pleasure to meet you, Captain,” said J'drahn. ”And please keep me advised of your progress.”
They took their leave of Overlord J'drahn and were escorted back out to the palace courtyard. From there, they beamed back up to the Enterprise. They had refrained from discussing their meeting with the overlord in the presence of the palace guard, but as soon as they stepped off the transporter pads, Troi turned to Picard and said, ”Overlord J'drahn was not pleased at our arrival, Captain. I distinctly sensed his unease.”
”You think he was hiding something?” asked Picard.
”I'll bet on it,” said Gruzinov.
Troi shook her head. ”I cannot say for certain,” she replied. ”He was extremely guarded. However, that could simply be his discomfort at the fact that his government has made no progress in dealing with the problem of the freebooters.”
”a.s.suming that he's even tried,” Gruzinov said.
”Well, what counts is that we have received his official sanction to conduct patrols,” Picard replied. ”We have gone through the proper channels, and now he cannot claim that we have acted without his authority.”
”I think you can count on acting without his help, as well,” Gruzinov said. ”Anytime I've needed anything from him, all I've heard about are his pressing 'administrative problems.' It has been his blanket excuse for doing nothing.”
They headed down the corridor toward the turbolift.
”Well, so long as he continues to do nothing, then at least he cannot get in the way,” Picard said. ”In any case, I would much prefer to deal with this problem in my own manner.”
”Are you satisfied with Lieutenant Dorn as a liason?” asked Gruzinov.
”Actually, I haven't had the chance to speak with her,” Picard replied. ”Counselor Troi was in charge of seeing to it that she was settled in.”
”She seems most efficient, Captain,” Troi said, speaking to Gruzinov. ”No sooner had I brought her to her quarters than she requested to be briefed concerning the s.h.i.+p's routine. She strikes me as a very serious and highly professional young woman.”
”Yes, she is rather humorless, isn't she?” Gruzinov said.
”Captain, I did not mean to imply-”
”It's perfectly all right, Counselor,” said Gruzinov, with a smile. ”Lieutenant Dorn is known around the starbase as 'the robot.' They call her that behind her back, of course. I am not supposed to know about this, but I have my sources.”
”Well, since you have brought it up, sir,” Troi said, ”I must confess that I feel a strong sense of defensiveness about her.”
”I had reached more or less the same conclusion,” said Gruzinov, ”though it took me a great deal longer. I envy you your Betazoid abilities, Counselor. They would certainly make my job a great deal easier. But I'm curious. To what would you attribute this defensiveness of hers? Speaking purely off the record, of course.”
”I have not spent a great deal of time with her,” Troi replied, cautiously, ”but my intuition tells me that she is concerned about being taken seriously. She is an very beautiful young woman, and both her age and her beauty, combined with her position of responsibility at the starbase, are probably contributing factors.”
Gruzinov nodded. ”Yes, I can see that. She is young, even for a first lieutenant, and she is a very attractive woman, which is not really an advantage for a chief of security. She was appointed to that position based purely on her record, which is quite impressive. She graduated from the Academy at the top of her cla.s.s. When I first met her, I must admit I had my reservations. I was not convinced she would be up to the job. But she has proved herself extremely capable. She survived a very difficult and dangerous a.s.signment on Artemis VI, bringing some murderers to justice. The mission resulted in the deaths of most of the landing party.” He sighed. ”Unfortunately, though she has been a valuable a.s.set to my command, she has not really been able to develop much of a social life. She seems to have a certain awkwardness in that regard.”
”You're saying she's all business, and her manner tends to put people off?” asked Riker.
”For a chief of security, that is not necessarily a problem,” said Gruzinov. ”At least insofar as her performance of her duties is concerned. However, she strikes me as a rather lonely person. I suppose, to some degree, I feel a little sorry for her. She does not seem to have any friends. Only acquaintances. Perhaps a change of environment aboard the Enterprise would do her good.”
”We'll try to make her comfortable, sir,” said Riker.
They stepped out onto the bridge.
”Prepare to leave orbit, Mr. Data,” said Picard. He turned to Gruzinov. ”Would you care to do the honors, Captain?” He gestured toward his chair.
Gruzinov glanced at Picard with surprise and then smiled. ”Why, thank you, Jean-Luc. It would be an honor.” He sat down in the command chair, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ”I must admit, it is a nice feeling,” he said, with a smile. ”Set course for Starbase 37, Mr. Data.”
”Aye-aye, sir.”
The s.h.i.+p left orbit and headed back on a course for Artemis VI.
”Captain,” said Worf, looking up from his console, ”I am picking up a distress signal.”
Gruzinov glanced up at Picard.
”Put it up on the screen, Mr. Worf,” said Picard.
The image that appeared on the viewscreen was that of a human Federation s.h.i.+p captain, dressed in a dark blue merchant-marine uniform and looking extremely agitated. ”... s.h.i.+ps in the vicinity! I repeat, we are under attack! Our position is-”
”Enter those coordinates, Mr. Data,” said Picard, quickly.
Data punched in the coordinates as the merchant captain gave them.
”We've been hit!” the captain said. ”Repeat, we are under attack and we've been hit! Mayday! Mayday! Any vessels in the area, please respond!”
Gruzinov immediately vacated the command chair.
”Mr. Worf, respond to that distress call and tell them we are on our way,” Picard said, taking his place. ”Mr. Data, warp factor six. Engage!”
”Yes, sir.”