by David
to him, "Do you know what one of the Tenarans told
me today?"
Gaius shook his head.
"There hasn't been a crime recorded on
Tenara in three hundred years. Nothing--
murder, robbery, and certainly not riot. And
yet look what almost happened here."
Gaius shrugged. "Tenara was lucky. It was
isolated from the rest of the Galaxy and hence from
reality. The ancestors of these people came from
Earth, just like yours did. They're no different
from you genetically. They're not some superior
life form. So now reality has appeared, and
they're reacting to it in a normal human
way."
Jenny shook her head
impatiently. "That's not what I meant.
You're right their isolation is over, and they're
going to have to pay a price for that. But that's not the
inevitable result of contact with the rest of the
Galaxy. There're plenty of worlds where it
doesn't happen at all!"
Gaius smiled grimly. "Perhaps, not having
tasted of it earlier, the Tenarans are unusually
susceptible to violence."
Jenny shook her head again. "No! It's as
if it's some sort of virus that we brought with us
from the outside."
"You're wrong, Jenny," Gaius insisted.
He looked at her face, noted the lines of
weariness. "You're tired," he said gently.
"You've been working nonstop all day. You need
a rest."
Jenny managed a smile. "I think you're
right about that."
The two were silent a moment.
Jenny was suddenly aware of her proximity
to Gaius and turned to look at the sun setting
over the valley. The sunsets she remembered
from Meramar were unexceptional. Darkness came
swiftly to the perpetually overcast sky, as if
the sun were simply switched off.
Not so on Tenara, where the sun was dimming
reluctantly and going out in a blaze of rich
blues and purples. As Jenny watched, the
purples turned to reds and golds, and she
felt the cares of the last few hours leave her.
For now, she was content to stand and watch the sun's
last rays play out over the trees of the
valley.
It almost looks like Paradise--except
for the weapons we've brought down here.
As if he'd been reading her thoughts,
Gaius spoke. "This is such a beautiful
world. Why don't you go out and enjoy it?"
"I'd like to," Jenny said.
And then, before she could stop herself, she thought
Before we change it forever.
Chapter Five
Captain Jean-Luc Picard studied the
satellite pattern depicted on the screen
before him. The web of satellites the
Enterprise and Centurion had set up
around Tenara over the last week was in
strict compliance with Starfleet regulations, and a
computer analysis of the resulting defense net
had given the satellites another mark of
approval.
Then why do I feel as if that is not
enough?
He glanced again at the pattern of the
satellites' orbits, examined the encryption
of the carrier waves of their sensors, and pored
over the mechanical stress readouts of their
casings. But they told him nothing new.
Not for the first time in the last week, he wished
someone other than Commander Riker had led the
away team to Tenara. He valued all his
staff officers, but missed his
second-in-command's input at moments like these
--when his instincts were at war with his training.
A soft beep sounded behind Picard.
"Incoming communication from the Centurion,
sir," Worf said.
"On-screen."
The picture of the Centurion, about one
hundred kilometers ahead of the Enterprise,
vanished from the main viewscreen and was replaced
by the stern features of Captain Sejanus.
"I have logged my approval of the
satellite-detection net," Sejanus said.
"If you will now add yours, Captain, our
engineers can begin powering up the system."
"I would like to run one further safety check
with my chief engineer, Captain," Picard
said. "If it meets with his approval, we'll
put the net on-line."
Sejanus frowned.
"I thought all safety checks had been
completed, Picard," the Centurion's
captain said, a trace of impatience in his
voice. "We need to have the system operating as
soon as possible."
"We need to have the system operating
safely, Captain," Picard said. "One more
check."
"Your caution is commendable," Sejanus
said, but he was clearly not pleased. "I leave
it to you to bring the system on-line. Centurion
out."
Picard opened a channel to engineering.
"Mr. La Forge, how are we doing?"
"All set on this end, sir. Just give the
word."
"Lieutenant Worf?" Picard asked,
swiveling in his command chair.
Worf studied his console. "According to my
readouts, the monitor system for the net is
functioning perfectly."
"Naturally," Geordi said, his voice
carrying a touch of amusement. "Did you
expect any less?"
"Excellent work, Mr. La Forge,"
Picard said.
"I didn't do it all myself, Commander. The
Centurion personnel had most of the basic
system already designed."
"Of course." Picard nodded. Over the
past few days, a team of engineers from the
Centurion had been working with the Enterprise
engineering personnel in the design and
implementation of the satellite-detection net.
And maybe that was the problem, he told himself.
Maybe he just didn't trust the work the
Centurion people were doing.
Ridiculous. He was letting the fact that
he was personally uncomfortable with Captain
Sejanus get in the way of his job.
"Congratulate them for me as well,
Lieutenant," Picard said. "Begin powering
up the satellite network."
"Right away, sir." Geordi hesitated
a moment, then spoke again. "Captain, what
about the exchange of technical personnel?"
Picard frowned. A few days ago,
Geordi had reported he'd been contacted
by Brutus Nothus, the chief engineer of the
Centurion, who had suggested that the two
ships exchange technical personnel
to facilitate the work on the satellite
network.
"Do you still think such an exchange would be
useful?" Picard asked.
"After the work they did here?" Geordi sounded
somewhat surprised by the question. "Captain,
they've put some security features on this
net that are light-years ahead of what we've
got. Plus, the phasers on the satellites
are all linked together in such a way that the
I've seen on a system this size. I'd
love the chance to find out more about how they pulled that
one off."
Of course, Picard thought.
Security interlocks, highly efficient
weapons systems--they would be expert at such
things.
"Such exchange of personnel is a
fairly common procedure, sir," Worf
said, "Regulations stipulate--"
"I know the regulations, Lieutenant,"
Picard said impatiently. He shook his
head. You're acting unreasonably. This
won't do, Jean-Luc! A bit of personal
animosity, and you behave in this silly way.
Come now! He could almost hear the voice of
Monsieur du Plessis quoting one of those
hoary old maxims he so favored Envy
is more irreconcilable than hatred.
Picard nodded. "Very well. Mr. La
Forge, contact Brutus Nothus and begin
bringing some of their people over here to work with your
subordinates."
"And what about sending some of our people over there,
Captain?"
Picard paused in thought, then said, "Not
yet." He closed the channel before Geordi
could question his reasons.
Sorry, monsieur, he thought. That's
as far as I feel able to go for now.
"That's as far as I'm going," Riker said.
He flopped down on a large boulder and
dropped the pack he was carrying beside him.
Gretna shook her head and studied the
valley floor below them.
"We'll be there in a half an hour, Will,"
she said.
"You said that half an hour ago." Riker
wiped the sweat from his brow and took a sip from the
canteen hanging on his belt. It was hot, and
he was glad to be wearing native clothing--
shorts, loose cotton shirt, and moccasins
--rather than the standard Starfleet uniform.
Otherwise, I'd have drained my canteen
about ten miles back.
Gretna sat down by his side and pulled
a roughly sketched map out of her knapsack.
"According to this, the village should be just past that
stream." She pointed down the valley at a
riverbed perhaps a mile distant. "A lot has
changed here over the last few years--that's how
I lost my bearings."
Riker knew what she meant. They
had passed evidence of the M'dok attacks
everywhere on their journey across the countryside--
patches of razed forest, the burned-out
remnants of a village--yet the land was
indescribably beautiful. They were journeying
across what was once Tenara's breadbasket, a
valley about four hundred miles outside
Zhelnogra. Their survey was intended to help
the Federation evaluate what the Tenarans needed
to rebuild their world and what aid they would
require, though from what Riker could see,
nature was capable of taking care of most of the
M'dok-inflicted scars herself.
"This is a beautiful country--better than
any holodeck illusion," Riker said
quietly.
"Better than any what?" Gretna
asked.
"Never mind," he said, shaking his head. It
would take a long time to explain the workings of the
holodeck. "All right," he said, climbing
to his feet. "A half-hour--but that steak you
promised me had better be as good as
advertised. Because I'm--"
"--starving," she said, smiling. "When we
reach Carda, you'll have the best food and drink
the inn can provide--I promise you."
Gretna, he had discovered, had lived in this
part of Tenara for a few years, before moving back
to the capital where she'd been born. He had
discovered many things about her over the last few
days--none of which were lessening the powerful
attraction he had felt at their first meeting.
"Look." Riker pointed. A thin plume
of smoke was visible just past the river below.
"That's Carda," Gretna said. "Come
on."
About twenty minutes later they came to a
small clearing and a group of five or ten
buildings.
The M'dok had obviously been here as
well. Carda was a ruin.
"Oh, no," Gretna said.
There were ten people gathered on the front steps
of the largest building, talking among themselves.
One by one, they fell silent as Gretna and
Riker approached.
One man, short and balding, detached himself
from the crowd and stepped forward to meet them.
"It's Larten," she said
quietly. "He was the leader of the saavta
here."
As the man drew closer, Riker could see
he walked with a slight limp. There was also a
scar (fairly recent, from the look of it),
running down one side of his neck, and his eyes
were hollow and sunken, as if he hadn't slept
for days.
"Gretna," he asked calmly, "what do
you want here?"
She stopped in her tracks, dumbfounded.
"What do I want here?" she asked. "I
came to see you, to help you."
The man stepped back and eyed Riker--and in
particular the tricorder he held--with a
mixture of suspicion and resentment.
"What's he doing here?" Larten said.
"Larten, what's the matter with you?"
Gretna asked, bewilderment showing on her
face. "Is this how you treat guests now? Is
this how you treat me?"
"We don't want him or his weapons
here," he said coldly. "And if you're with him,
we don't want you here either!"
"I don't understand. What--"
"Sari is dead because of people like him!" Larten
shouted, his face red. "Our homes are gone--
and you ask for welcome?"
"He is nothing like the ones who destroyed your
village, Larten," Gretna said.
"He has weapons like theirs!" Larten said.
"Now, go!"
Behind him, the other men stepped forward, forming a
line behind Larten.
"I think we'd better do as he says,"
Riker said quietly. "Come on."
Speechless, Gretna let him lead her
away from the village.
"What's the matter with them?" she asked.
"They're angry and upset, Gretna. I
can't really blame them, after what's happened."
"They're acting like children!" she said.
"To blame the Federation for what's happened here
..."
Riker shook his head. "As I recall from
my briefings, a certain Gretna
Melkinata was also once strongly against a
Federation presence on this world."
"But not now."
"I'm glad about that," Riker said.
"Otherwise, you might have deliberately lost
me in the forest."
"Please don't joke about it, Will!" she
said. "These are all my friends, and I did
side with them--before the attacks, before I saw
everything the Federation had to of
fer us." She was
silent a moment. When she looked up, her
eyes were full of tears. "Before I met you."
Will Riker didn't know what to say to that. But
he did know what to do.
Setting down his pack, he took her in his
arms and kissed her.
It had been inevitable that Jenny would
accept.
Counting herself, there were ten of them lined up in
front of the holodeck entrance, with Gaius
Aldus leading the line. Decurion, she
thought suddenly, wondering if it was a reference from
some Roman history course she'd had or
simply a rank her mind had created.
She was also, she realized suddenly, the only
woman. She wondered briefly if the others
resented that, if they perceived her as an intrusion
into their fraternal structure. Any such
resentment, however, was being kept well hidden in
Gaius' presence.
Over the last few days Jenny had finally
gotten around to using his first name. And now she was
accepting his offer to train with the Magna
Romans.
Gaius faced them all briefly. "We will
be practicing scenario alpha
seven-point-three." From their faces Jenny
could see that the Magna Romans were all
intimately familiar with that scenario, whatever
it might be.
He continued. "Your weapons will be waiting for
you inside, as usual. We will move in two
finger-fives. Felicitas." He turned
back to the door and said, "Holodeck entrance,
open."
The doors slid aside smoothly,
revealing a dense forest. As always, Jenny was
amazed at the accuracy and detail of the
simulation. She could smell the leaves, and at
the edge of her vision, something that might have been a
deer flashed by. She stared around her as they
moved inside.
"Holodeck entrance, close,"
Gaius said, and the incongruity disappeared,
leaving them apparently in a huge, nearly
trackless forest.
The Magna Romans bent down and picked
up objects from the ground, nodding their
approval. Jenny looked down and realized that
by her feet were a gladius, the Roman short
sword, and a sheaf of javelins. There were also a
small shield and a suit of armor made of
tough leather covered with riveted metal scales
--this would be quieter than the segmented plate
armor she had seen the Centurion personnel
wearing during the reception.
After a few seconds' study of the gear, she
began putting it on; there had been a time when
she had worn very similar equipment as a