Part 17 (1/2)

T'sart now looked up. ”Klingons?”

”You may need to call in extra s.h.i.+fts.” Picard ignored the Romulan's obvious concern.

Beverly's head turned from T'sart to Picard. She felt the tension. ”Aye, sir.”

”Wait, Picard.” T'sart now turned his chair completely toward the captain and away from the computer on which he'd been working. ”Why are you taking on pa.s.sengers?”

Ignoring the Romulan, Picard continued to talk directly to Beverly. ”Seven Klingon s.h.i.+ps are trapped in a nearby dead zone. Four light hours away, their planet's seven matter antimatter reactors have lost containment.”

”Klingon fools,” T'sart spat. ”They didn't have a contingency for blasting their cores into s.p.a.ce if losing containment was imminent? They've destroyed their own planet.”

”The subs.p.a.ce Shockwave seems to have been easily dissipated by the dead zone,” Picard continued, deliberately speaking only to the doctor. He lowered his voice just enough that it should be difficult for T'sart to hear without listening closely. ”But the normal Shockwave is on its way. With the s.h.i.+ps in the dead zone, they haven't enough power for their inertial dampers.”

”You're expecting the Shockwave to push them out of the dead zone.” T'sart frowned. ”That it will, but at close to light speed. If they don't have inertial dampers, they'll be pounded to mush against their bulkheads. Having your doctor ready to fix broken legs won't help.”

”We'll be going into the dead zone to retrieve them,” Picard told her.

”You're insane,” T'sart hissed.

Picard looked at him a moment. He was angry. That was the first time he'd really showed anything but smug arrogance or mild annoyance. T'sart was upset. At what? His own mortality? Then why wasn't he enraged that Kalor had poisoned him?

Unsure, the captain continued to ignore T'sart. ”We'll be tractoring onto them. If we pour on the power, they should be able to collect some of that energy and transfer it to their inertial dampeners.”

”That won't be enough,” T'sart barked. ”And you'll be weakened in the attempt. You're risking the destruction of this vessel for them?”

Staring at the Romulan for a long moment, Picard decided to finally speak directly to him. ”Is that fear in your voice, T'sart? Surely not for our mission, not for the galaxy. Fear for yourself? I thought you didn't fear death.”

”You're a fool, Picard.”

”Why?” He took a step toward the angry Romulan. ”Because I value life that's not my own?”

”It's not your life you're risking, but the lives of every living thing in this entire galaxy.”

The more emotion that seethed into T'sart's voice, the more calm and matter-of-fact Picard made his own. ”I don't believe it's an either/or situation. But your argument might be more persuasive if we didn't know exactly how much you cared for any life but your own: nothing. However... your fear of death is interesting, T'sart. I'll be sure to remember it.”

They were silent for a time, until Picard's comm badge beeped.

”Spock to Picard.”

He tapped his badge. ”Picard here.”

”Captain, we have a problem. The Klingons are using their thrusters to go deeper into the dead zone.”

”I'll be right there.” Picard nodded to Doctor Crusher. ”Have sickbay ready,” he told her, then turned and left.

Picard found Kalor still in the captain's ready room off the bridge, slumped in Picard's desk chair. ”You want to explain what in h.e.l.l your s.h.i.+ps are doing?”

The Klingon looked up and squinted into the light. His face was flushed a bit purple and the flesh around his eyes and mouth seemed loose, doughy. When he spoke, he slurred. ”The honorable thing.”

”I'm trying to save them, and you're making it impossible.” Picard walked toward him.

”It is impossible.”

A frightened Romulan and a drunk Klingon. ”You seem to be agreeing with T'sart,” Picard said.

Kalor coughed, what might have been his weak attempt at a chuckle. ”Then he is not always a fool.”

”Or you both are.”

The Klingon shook his head. ”You have a mission. Complete it.”

”I can do that and save those s.h.i.+ps,” Picard said.

”I disagree. They're my s.h.i.+ps. I will do what... what I see fit.”

Picard nodded and leaned down over the desk. ”And this is my s.h.i.+p. And I'll do as I see fit. I'm saving those vessels. You can make that easier for me, or more difficult. But I'll do it, without or without your help.” He swiveled the computer around toward Kalor. ”Call them. Now.”

”Status, Spock.” Picard marched onto the bridge.

”The Klingons are maneuvering back this way, as quickly as they can.”

Picard nodded.

”They'll need to transfer all their battery power to their structural integrity fields,” Spock said.

Kalor nodded as he came out of Picard's office, suppressing an obvious stagger. ”I have alerted them.”

”Helm,” Picard said, ”plot a course into the dead zone. We'll lose power and maneuverability quickly. Stand by on tractor beams.” He turned to Spock. ”You're sure this will keep the Klingon s.h.i.+ps from careening out of control?”

”Negative. Once in the dead zone, we may not have the power to tractor seven separate vessels all being pushed at near light speed.”

With so many people lost on the planet... well, Picard wanted to save those he could, now that he wasn't option less He looked up toward the Klingon governor, who was leaning across the upper bridge handrail, supporting his bulk clumsily and without much dignity. ”We'll save whom we can.”

Kalor nodded. ”I know.”

Enterprise Runabout Kaku Romulan s.p.a.ce Sector 18 ”I'd like to trust you...” Riker sighed and looked away from Tobin's sad, almost childlike face. He felt as if he was having to tell a little boy he'd just accidentally killed his pet puppy.

”I would ... like you to trust me,” Tobin said, and seemed to be attempting a hopeful smile. He reclined in one of the runabout chairs, and so looked even more disarmed than his smile alone painted him.

Riker looked up at Deanna and she didn't give him the encouraging nod he was hoping for. He looked back to Tobin. ”We have a mission,” he tried to explain. ”It's very important. I can't take the chance that our meeting you isn't a coincidence.”

Lowering his head with a slow nod, Tobin seemed to be considering that. ”I do not know what I could say to prove to you my honesty and sincerity.”

What Riker probably couldn't explain, so he didn't want to try, was that there was nothing Tobin could say.

There was just too much at risk to invest even more time in this man and his s.h.i.+p. The problem was, they couldn't just leave him to go on his way, either.

”Tobin,” Riker began. ”It's not just a matter of your not being able to come with us ...”

The Romulan looked up, from Riker to Data, then to Deanna and back to Riker. ”You are going to kill me?”