Part 14 (1/2)
The door slid open and Baldwin walked in, looking a little sheepish. He said, ”That sounds like your official captain-type voice.”
”I'm afraid it is, Eric. Please sit down.”
Baldwin sat in the chair across from Picard, lifted an ankle across a knee, and rested his hands in his lap. Picard contemplated him, trying to decide where to begin. He noticed Baldwin contemplating him and couldn't help smiling. He said, ”You've heard that the s.h.i.+p is running at less than its usual efficiency.”
”Shubunkin and I heard the announcement about not using the computer.” Baldwin shook his head. ”Unfortunately this was immediately after I'd asked a food slot for a cup of coffee.”
”What happened?”
”I got something brown and hot in a cup. It had no smell. I tried a little. It was like swallowing my own spit.”
”Must you be so graphic?”
”Trained observer. Sorry. What about the computer?”
Picard straightened his tunic and said, ”The mainframe of the Enterprise computer has been attacked by a virus. It seems that one of the things this virus is designed to do is eradicate any mention of your existence.”
Baldwin shook his head and said, ”I have a lot of enemies, Jean-Luc. Some of them are pretty d.a.m.ned clever. One of them wants to make trouble for me. I'm sorry.”
”You expect me to believe that after all you told me about wanting to disappear? You know you're pretty d.a.m.ned clever yourself.”
Baldwin continued to look at him as if he hadn't heard a word Picard said.
”Eric?” Picard said.
Baldwin slumped over in his chair.
Picard was just rising to see if Professor Baldwin was all right when Riker's voice came over the comlink. ”Captain Picard to the bridge, please.”
Picard touched a companel and said, ”Dr. Crusher to the captain's ready room.”
”We're a little busy right now, Captain.”
The door to the ready room opened and Riker came in, looking very worried indeed. ”Captain?”
”I'll be right there, Number One. Dr. Crusher, send someone as quickly as you can. Professor Baldwin has apparently fainted.”
As Picard walked out onto the bridge, he said, ”What is it, Number One?” Then he saw Dr. Crusher bending over Counselor Troi. Worf stood nearby, alert, ready for anything, one hand on his ceremonial dagger.
”She fainted,” Riker said.
”She's all right for the moment,” Dr. Crusher said, ”but I should get her to sickbay.” An orderly gently maneuvered Troi onto a null-grav stretcher and carried her away.
”What about Baldwin?” Picard said.
Dr. Crusher nodded and hurried across the bridge to the ready room.
”That's not all, Captain,” Riker said. ”We're cruising at warp eight.”
”Who gave the order?” Picard said as he sat down in his command chair.
”No one, sir. And we can't stop.”
Picard looked at his first officer inquisitively. Worf growled. Whatever the answer was, Picard knew he wouldn't like it.
Riker said, ”We can't stop because we're cruising at warp eight without using the warp engines.”
Chapter Ten.
AS A STARFLEET CAPTAIN, Picard had experienced many strange things, things that other people might have considered bizarre or even frightening. He was trained to react in a reasoned and appropriate manner to any situation, expected or not. Yet here was a situation that seemed so impossible on the face of it, Picard's first reaction was to be surprised, and then to be disbelieving. While he considered an appropriate response that would be more useful, he marked time by asking a simple question he hoped had a rational answer. ”What is our heading, Mr. Crusher?”
”Two two seven mark four, sir.”
Riker said, ”Back to Tantamon Four.”
”Mr. La Forge,” Picard called.
”Here, sir.”
”What is the condition of our warp engines?”
”Checking, sir.” After a moment of silence, La Forge said, ”This is impossible, sir.”
Picard and Riker shared a glance. Picard said, ”What is, Mr. La Forge?”
”We're traveling at warp eight, but the warp engines haven't been engaged.”
”Do you have any instant theories, Mr. La Forge?”
”No, sir. But I think this is a little out of the Boogeymen's league.”
”Agreed. So far our velocity is not life threatening. Continue to work on the virus.”
”Aye, sir.”
Riker said, ”The teardrop s.h.i.+p we encountered in the Omega Triangulae region traveled at warp speed without a warp drive. According to Data, that s.h.i.+p wasn't even equipped with one.”
”Indeed,” said Picard. ”There is an obvious connection. Moreover, you may recall that the humanoids aboard the teardrop s.h.i.+p were sleeping. Our people began to faint at approximately the same moment the Enterprise slipped into warp drive-perhaps at exactly the same moment.”
”Another apparent connection.”
Picard nodded. ”Yet the Enterprise is not an alien s.h.i.+p. It has not the means to move at warp speed without using the warp engines.”
”Evidently it does,” Riker said. He didn't look happy about it. Picard knew that he took every technical puzzle as a personal challenge, sometimes as a personal affront.
Worf said, ”The only teardrop s.h.i.+p in this area that we are aware of is the one on Tantamon Four.”