by David
second skin. The sword was shorter and
broader than those she was used to, the shape of the
shield slightly different. But these were minor
differences indeed, and she felt suddenly much more
confident as she looked around her, her hand
hovering over her sword hilt in a manner which
for years had been as natural to her as breathing.
The Magna Romans were moving into orderly
but not too rigid formations. Gaius ended up
next to her. "You're in my five," he said
quietly. "You know the finger-five?"
"As a starship tactic, not on the ground,"
she answered, equally low. "But I'm sure
I can adapt."
He smiled at her, then moved on to check
the rest of his troops. After two more minutes
he took his place at the head of the formation,
giving a subtle signal, and they began
moving.
As her eyes adapted to the dim light of the
forest, Jenny could see that it was not at all
trackless; faint trails, some animal, some
human, were apparent everywhere on the forest
floor. She had not the faintest idea where they
were going, but Gaius Aldus led the way with
surefooted confidence, and she kept formation as
best she could, summoning all her old
skills, stepping carefully to avoid noise.
What are we doing? she wondered as they
moved. Obviously this is some historical
military scenario, but when and where is it set?
What's our mission?
At a point where two trails diverged,
Gaius gave a curious signal which
Jenny was quite sure was not Starfleet regulation,
and the group halted. At another signal, the
second finger-five darted off into the woods
along one of the trails, while Gaius' group
knelt down, moving slowly and carefully
into positions of concealment.
"Now what?" Jenny asked him, whispering.
"Wait."
Soon she heard a group coming along the
trail, laughing and talking in a language she
did not understand. It sounded like Earth's modern
German, but she could make out no words.
Before the group came in sight, there was the sound
of a quick movement from the direction in which the other
group of Magna Romans had gone. The
laughter from up the trail changed to shouts and
screams.
Then there was the sound of metal striking
metal, and finally the unknown group came in
sight, falling back in ragged array as the
Magna Romans threw javelins at them and,
in some cases, closed in for hand-to-hand combat,
thrusting with their swords to deadly effect.
There were about twenty of them, tall, strongly
built men wearing animal skins and carrying
spears or long swords of a material that
looked like bronze. Two had apparently been
carrying a slain deer; as Jenny watched, they
dropped the animal and drew their swords.
Though the Magna Romans were severely
outnumbered, they fought in a disciplined group,
holding a line and covering each other, while their
opponents apparently lacked any such
organization. The enemy tried to turn the fight
into a series of single combats, but the tactic was
failing miserably.
Jenny started to rise, but Gaius grabbed
her arm in an almost painful grip. "Wait!"
Then he scuttled away on his belly to a
different vantage point, watching the fray
intently.
The other Magna Romans were herding their
opponents, Jenny realized then, driving them
toward the positions held by Gaius' five.
Gaius waited until they were about five
meters from the concealed positions, and then rose and
shouted, "Cast!"
Almost as one, the Magna Romans hurled
their javelins, taking the tall barbarians
completely by surprise. Even as she
straightened her powerful arm, casting her last
javelin, Jenny flinched a bit from the sight;
their opponents might be only holodeck
simulations, but the blood was very red and had a
startlingly accurate odor, while the screams
of the wounded sounded painfully real.
But adrenaline rushed into her system and then
there was no time to think at all. The barbarians
were undisciplined but brave, and Jenny found
herself face-to-face with one, a mightily
built man with a shaggy blond beard, who
slashed at her wildly with his bronze sword.
She knocked the blow aside easily with her
buckler and thrust for his face. He jumped
back, and she saw a new respect come
into his eyes.
His next attack was cannier, a feint at
her belly and a slash for her throat, but that,
too, she blocked, feeling the old excitement
and exhilaration of hand-to-hand combat, and thrust
straight in for his stomach, low and vicious.
His sword was too high to block, and they were
too close for him to jump back; she thrust the
sword in and up, driving the sharp blade deep
into his vitals, and he dropped his sword,
sucking in a last breath in a strangled
half-gasp as blood gouted from his mouth.
She pulled her sword out of the crumpling
body, staring around wildly, but the battle was
over. The barbarians lay "dead" on the
ground, already shimmering around the edges as the
holodeck dissolved their "bodies."
One of the Magna Romans was lying on the
ground, very still, and another one was doubled over in
agony, his face white as he held on to a
realistic-looking spear that had apparently been
driven through his abdomen. He was making odd
noises, as though he was trying to scream but
couldn't make the proper muscles work.
Before Jenny had a chance to react, Gaius
said sharply, "Holodeck, open exit.
Simulation, end."
The door opened before them, and the forest scene
disappeared, along with Jenny's weapons and
equipment. Only she and the Magna Romans
were left, standing on a bare holodeck--but the
injured personnel were still not moving, and the
rapidly spreading pools of blood under them were
undeniably real.
Gaius rushed to the other side of the
corridor, slapping his hand against a computer
panel. "Medical to holodeck," he said
urgently. "Two critical."
"On our way," said an answering voice,
and then all was silent except for the horribly
labored breathing of the man with the abdominal wound.
The medics were there in seconds, quickly but
gently lifting the two men onto flotation
stretchers and moving them into the turbolift.
Jenny collapsed against the wall, breathing
hard. "Gaius, those men ..."
Gaius put a steadying hand on her shoulder.
"Marius should be all right. Julius ..."
He shrugged.
She looked at
him, swallowing hard against the
sourness in the back of her throat, trying
to understand. "The safety interlocks aren't
supposed to let things like that happen!"
He shook his head. "My captain had the
interlocks taken out of the programming. It's
entirely possible to die when using our
holodeck."
"Now you tell me," she whispered, breaking
away from him. Then she was running, sprinting
down the corridor toward the transporter.
Confused feelings coursed through her. She was
appalled by what she had witnessed. Yet, she
still felt a tingle of excitement at the memory
of fighting side by side with Gaius.
The only thing she was sure of was her desire
to get back to the Enterprise, where she could
sort through her confusion in peace.
Chapter Six
But Jenny found no serenity aboard the
Enterprise.
There was only one thing to do. She made an
appointment to see Counselor Deanna
Troi.
Deanna listened to Jenny's story, keeping
a straight face with some difficulty. When
Jenny finished, Deanna said, "Jenny, have you
ever been in love before?"
"No, not really. I ... Before? What do you
mean, before?"
"I mean that you're in love this time."
"But, Counselor, how can that be? That
doesn't make any sense!"
"Often it doesn't, although in this
case I think it does. You and Gaius
Aldus have so much in common--background,
training, interests. You're a very attractive
woman."
"I am?" Jenny said in surprise.
Deanna laughed. "Yes, you are. And
Gaius is a very attractive man."
"Oh, he is!" Jenny said
enthusiastically. "And he's both an
excellent soldier and a serious student of the
theater, and he's so ... so--"
"I'm sure he is," Deanna said
dryly. "So you have a great deal in common, as
I said. When you and I were part of the group on the
Centurion for that banquet, I could sense the
physical attraction between the two of you."
Jenny blushed. "Yes," she muttered.
"I'd never experienced anything quite like it."
"And," Deanna continued, "since then,
you've been thrown together often because of the work you're
doing. I would be more surprised if nothing had
come of it."
Jenny looked at her eagerly. "So you
think it's all right, then?"
Deanna laughed. "Perfectly all right,
Jenny. I don't know why you think you need my
permission, but you have it."
Jenny left with a happy glow, but Deanna
sat back to think about more practical matters,
which Jenny had not raised. What if this romance
did progress, and the two decided to marry?
Starfleet had a policy of posting married
couples to the same ship, but in this case, which
ship would it be? Would Gaius Aldus be
willing to leave the service of his captain and
lifelong friend? On the other hand, would Jenny be
happy if she accepted service under Captain
Sejanus on a ship full of Magna
Romans?
When the communicator in his cabin whistled,
Picard was trying once again to take a nap.
Why do I bother? He forced himself to his
feet. "Picard here."
"Lieutenant Worf, Captain. I'd like
to speak to you."
"Fine. I'm on my way."
"No, sir," the Klingon said quickly.
"I'm not on the bridge. I'd like to come to your
quarters if I may."
Klingon personal problems? Life just
refuses to get simpler. "Certainly,
Mr. Worf. I'll be waiting for you."
But it wasn't exactly a personal
problem that Worf wanted to discuss.
When he showed up a few minutes later,
he stood in the doorway looking self-effacing
and nervous.
"Come in, Mr. Worf," Picard said with a
touch of impatience, "and let the poor door
close."
"Sir." Worf stepped in quickly. He
waited for the door to slide shut behind him, then
said abruptly, "I'd like to be assigned to the
surface, sir."
Picard was not entirely surprised, but he
pretended to be. He gestured to one of the two
well-padded armchairs, and when Worf had sat
down, Picard said, "Your role aboard the
ship is essential, Lieutenant."
The Klingon shook his head. "I don't
believe so, sir. I have subordinates who
are quite capable of handling my shipboard tasks for
extended periods. In this case, I feel
I'm needed on Tenara."
"Are you saying, Mr. Worf, that Ensign
de Luz is not capable of handling the job
we've assigned to her down there? Remember that
it was on your recommendation that she was given that
job."
"I did not overestimate her ability,
Captain," Worf said, his pride in his
subordinate quite apparent. "But I think we
did underestimate the task itself."
"According to de Luz's reports, the
defensive installations are all in place and
properly manned. Commander Riker is
supervising other teams from the Enterprise and the
Centurion, helping the Tenarans improve
their agriculture, transportation, education,
and communication. In short, Lieutenant, I
can't see what precisely you feel you can
contribute. I must also tell you that I'm
uncertain about how the Tenarans will react to you.
They're not exactly a cosmopolitan people with a
wide experience of alien cultures and beings."
Worf almost smiled. "You're afraid
I'll terrify them, sir?"
Picard did smile. "In fact, yes."
"That's exactly why I want to go
down there, Captain. What I can do--what
Jenny de Luz and the others don't have the time
to do--is teach the Tenarans how to defend themselves
against personal attack by M'dok. In other
words, the sort of attack that Quillen told
you about. Most of the Tenarans are too peaceful
to defend themselves under any circumstances, but some
of them react differently. Remember the crowd
of Tenarans who almost attacked Jenny,
Captain. They have the capacity to fight and
defend themselves.
"They'll find me frightening, menacing. But if
I can train some of them to defend themselves against
me, to fight back if I pretend to attack
them. Then they can do it against M'dok too. And
those Tenarans I train can be dispersed across the
planet to teach the methods, in case of another
M'dok ground attack."
Picard sighed deeply. An army of
Tenarans trained in personal combat by a
Klingon and dispersed across the planet, he
thought. What are we doing to the nature of
Tenaran society?
Centuries ago on Earth, a soldier had
; reported to his superior, in all seriousness,
"We had to destroy the village in order
to save it, sir." That episode had stood
since then as symbolic of the folly of which
military organizations were capable. Would
future generations read about Captain
Jean-Luc Picard's destruction of a
society's pacifist nature in order
to save it? And if so, would Picard be
remembered not only for that folly, but also as the
man who had corrupted the nature of
Starfleet itself by betraying its own peaceful
ideals?
Picard looked up at Worf. "Your
arguments have force," he said. "But at this time,
I cannot advocate--"
"Captain Picard, to the bridge,"
Data's voice came over the communicator.
"What is it, Lieutenant?"
"We have picked up two M'dok ships
approaching Tenara."
"Computer verifies that they are both M'dok
attack craft, on a direct atmospheric
entry trajectory," Worf said.
"Full energy to screens,"
Picard snapped. "Red-alert status.
Contact Centurion and warn them, just in
case--"
"They've just contacted us with the same warning,
sir," Worf interrupted. "And put up their
own shields," he added.
Picard smiled slightly. "Worf, be
ready to fire on the M'dok ships as soon as
they come into phaser range--but only at low
power. I want to warn them away, not damage
them."
Worf's face remained impassive as his
fingers played over the tactical console.
"Yes, sir."
The M'dok ships drew rapidly closer.
Picard stood up and stepped forward, as if the
few steps he took toward the main
viewscreen were bringing him closer to the M'dok.
"Open a hailing channel," he ordered.
"Channel open, sir." It was Data, at
the ops console, rather than Worf at
tactical, who replied. The android had
switched control over subspace communications
to his own console, freeing Worf for any coming
action.
"This is Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the
USS Enterprise. You are about to enter an
area we have classified as a red zone. I must
ask what your intentions are."
Seconds passed with no reply. On the
main viewscreen the spidery shapes of the two
M'dok ships became clearly visible.
"At the limits of phaser range, sir,"
Worf said. "And they've raised their
shields."
"No change in course?"
"No, sir." This time it was an Andorian