Part 2 (1/2)

And in that instant Picard knew that nothing was decided, nothing was inevitable.

As the moment pa.s.sed, Keeyah seemed to have come to a conclusion. He said, ”Let us discuss it.”

The Gorn gestured for Picard and the others to move to the table at the other side of the room. The captain made an effort to take slow and steady breaths. Feeling himself relax by degrees, he made a mental note to thank Jack Crusher for the phaser.

Chapter One.

Stardate: 47821.

Earth Calendar Date: 2370 CAPTAIN PICARD STOPPED outside the door and tapped his communicator. ”Number One, I'm outside, may I join you?”

”Certainly, sir,” came the response.

Taking another step, Picard waited for the holodeck door to open. A moment later, he was looking out at a rocky ledge. His first officer was sitting at the brink of it, looking down into the bone-dry valley below. The place was hot, the air thin. And somehow, it looked familiar.

Of course, thought Picard, realizing the reason for its familiarity. I'm not the only one who has been studying history.

”Research, Number One?”

”More like a review, Captain,” replied Riker. As the captain entered the scenario, the younger man turned his attention to what was going on farther along the ledge. From the intense look on Riker's face, it was obvious that he was deep in concentration. Then, abruptly, he shook his head.

”Freeze program,” he said, getting up to stretch his legs. Joining him, Picard saw what his first officer had been studying.

A Starfleet officer was leaning over the cliff. Barechested, the man was in the middle of waving his tunic to something down below.

The captain peered down over the side of the cliff. At least 150 meters below, a Gorn stood looking up at the bare-chested officer.

Abruptly, Picard realized that something was wrong with this scene: Captain Kirk had never baited the Gorn in quite this way, at least not in the official Starfleet records. Then it came to him that the uniform the frozen officer was waving was not Kirk's command gold-but Starfleet Academy's maroon. And on closer examination, Picard saw that the mysterious officer was clearly William Riker as a first-year cadet.

He grunted. ”That first encounter with the Gorn was still a simulation in your Academy days, Number One?”

”It still is, as far as I know, sir.” Riker shook his head. ”This was not one of my finer moments. I was trying to lead the Gorn to a crude trip wire.”

”Did the trap work?”

The first officer grinned. ”Perfectly. Of course, it didn't stop him for a moment.”

Picard smiled in return. ”I had my share of troubles with this simulation as well.” He took a moment to scan the holodeck scene. The captain had been reviewing the official records on the monitor in his quarters, though he decided now that it might be worthwhile to run the sequence in the holodeck after all. He would almost certainly have time before they reached Gorn s.p.a.ce.

”Number One,” he said, ”would you accompany me to my ready room? I would like to begin preparations for the summit meeting while we have plenty of time. I prefer not to leave anything to chance.”

”Of course, sir.” Riker turned back to the scene for a moment. ”Computer, end program.”

Without a sound, the planetscape around them vanished, leaving the two men standing in the empty holodeck.

Picard led the way into the corridor. ”I've been doing some review of my own, Will. Captain Kirk's encounter has always fascinated me.”

Riker sighed. ”I always had trouble with the Metrons' editing. If they'd let us watch just a few more minutes, it would have saved us all a lot of trouble at the Academy.”

The captain shrugged. ”Perhaps ... though we did see a great deal. Kirk's situation came down to a choice and a set of consequences. Anything could happen-he could live, or die. His s.h.i.+p and crew would be won or lost. The moment we see is uncertain, yet full of possibilities-including the one possibility that Captain Kirk saw but we do not.”

Riker eyed his commanding officer. ”And we never will know what that possibility was. The Metrons stopped sending the signal, and Starfleet sealed the records. We don't know what he did.”

”True,” Picard conceded. ”However, we are privileged to see the moment when the choices came into focus. I suspect Captain Kirk merely seized the moment and did whatever he had to do. Or, perhaps, the only thing he could do.”

The first officer looked rueful. ”That kind of thinking didn't help me in the Gorn simulation at the Academy. My adversary killed me twice before I beat him.”

Picard halted in mid-stride. ”You defeated the Gorn on your third attempt?”

Riker nodded. ”I was actually in the middle of trying to reproduce the primitive cannon Captain Kirk had prepared, when I realized what a pointless exercise it was. Besides the risk the cannon posed, the chances of hitting anything-let alone a moving target-were astronomical. Instead, I went through the motions with gunpowder but no projectiles. When the Gorn came close enough, I set off the cannon for effect. In all the smoke and haze, I clubbed him with a rock.”

”You ... won?” As the two men reached the turbolift door and entered, Picard shook his head in disbelief. ”Bridge,” he said.

”Won is a strong word,” Riker amended. ”I beat the Gorn captain all right. But as a result, the Gorn fought a simulated war on the Federation. By the time I finished counting the casualty figures, I had learned my lesson.”

The captain turned to him. ”And what was that, Number One?”

”I'm still not sure, sir. I'd say it was another example of the no-win scenario, but we know that there was at least one solution that didn't entail the destruction of a Starfleet vessel or the beginning of a war. That was Captain Kirk's solution.”

Picard folded his arms across his chest. ”On to business, Will. I want you to become almost as familiar with Gorn concerns as I am. It's not my intention to be the only one who can carry out this a.s.signment.”

Riker s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably, Picard noticed. ”Something, Will?”

”May I be frank, sir?” Riker asked.

”Of course,” Picard nodded.

”This summit is happening now solely on the basis of your meeting with the Gorn twenty-five years ago. It was the strength of your work and personality that kept us from going to war then.”

Now it was the captain's turn to feel uncomfortable. ”It wasn't quite like that, Number One. A great deal of the credit goes to the Gorn. They did most of the work in actually creating the agreement. I merely stumbled onto a method of communicating with them.”

The turbolift opened and deposited the two men on the bridge. Picard moved toward his chair but didn't sit down. This would not take long.

”Mr. Data, report.”

Commander Data took his eyes off his control panel at the ops station and turned his head to face his captain. ”Sir, we have begun our detour around Metron s.p.a.ce. At warp four, we will reach the coordinates provided by the Gorn in six-point-four days.”

”Plenty of breathing room,” Riker interjected.

The android gave a practiced nod. ”Yes, sir.” He looked directly at the captain. ”Enough time that I would like to suggest investigating a very large ma.s.s-one which was not charted when the Stargazer explored this sector of s.p.a.ce under your command.”

At that, Picard decided to sit down after all. ”Did we miss something, Data?”

”Quite possibly, sir. However, the ma.s.s is giving very low energy readings. In all likelihood, the Stargazer's sensors would not have been sensitive enough to detect it except at very close range.”

The captain noted that Riker had sat down beside him.