Star Trek - TNG - 08 - The captain's Honor Read online

world. We will assist them in that effort when we

  reach Tenara--and that is all."

  "Seen from a certain perspective, the

  M'dok attacks do make sense, sir,"

  Data said. "Their attacks on Tenaran

  industry should discourage the inhabitants there from

  venturing out into space and carving even larger

  chunks out of M'dok territory."

  "Fear of losing more of what little they have left

  --to the Tenarans or to the Federation,"

  Counselor Troi added. "Perhaps this is their

  way of posting a "Keep Out" sign."

  "Why are the attacks coming now, though?"

  Geordi asked. "Just as Tenara has joined the

  Federation. Why not before, when we wouldn't have been

  obligated to protect Tenara?"

  Picard nodded. "A question I've asked

  myself, Lieutenant. Unfortunately, our knowledge

  of the M'dok's motives is very limited.

  Mr. Data?"

  "I have been researching, sir, but the task

  is most difficult. The M'dok have not

  permitted Federation envoys to their worlds in almost

  fifty years."

  "Understood. Keep on it."

  The intercom sounded.

  "Bridge to Captain Picard.

  We're now within sensor range of Tenara."

  "Thank you, Mr. Crusher. We're on

  our way."

  Led by their captain, the Enterprise

  officers returned to the bridge.

  On the viewscreen, Tenara was a

  blue-green-and-white sphere sliding away beneath

  the Enterprise, city lights glittering on the

  nightside and winking out as daylight raced across

  the planetary surface.

  Captain Picard took his command chair.

  "Any sign of the Centurion, Mr.

  Crusher?"

  "No, sir." The young ensign studied the

  instrument panel in front of him. "But I am

  picking up traces of debris in a low

  orbit around Tenara."

  "Thermal radiation indicates that it came from

  the explosion of a starship by photon torpedo

  approximately two hours ago," Data

  added, pointing at the screen, where a

  brilliant light had flared and then disappeared

  in Tenara's upper atmosphere. "That was one

  of the fragments."

  "Then the Centurion ... is gone?"

  Commander William Riker's question was more an

  assertion than a request for information.

  Data responded anyway, "That is a

  distinct possibility, sir. I must point out,

  however, that the quantity of the debris is

  significantly larger than would be expected

  from a ship the size of the Centurion. A ship

  three or four times that size would, in fact,

  seem to be indicated."

  A cautious hope grew in Picard.

  "Data, announce our arrival ... and,

  Lieutenant Worf, raise the shields, if

  you please."

  "Already done, sir," the Klingon said.

  Picard glanced at him with quiet

  amusement.

  "Starfleet regulations," Worf began,

  "specifically state that when entering a

  potential combat zone--"

  "Yes, Lieutenant." Picard waved off

  his security chief. Worf had recently

  developed the annoying habit of quoting from the

  manual quite regularly. Picard made a

  note to speak to him about it later.

  Data spoke quietly into the ship's

  communication system. "This is the USS

  Enterprise, code Open Flag. Does

  anyone read? I repeat, this is the USS

  Enterprise, code Open Flag, does

  anyone read?"

  There was a long silence.

  Then the speakers crackled into life. "This

  is Captain Sejanus of the USS

  Centurion. Come in, Enterprise."

  There were general sounds of relief on the

  Enterprise bridge.

  Picard pressed a button on his command

  chair and said, "This is Captain Picard.

  We're relieved to find you alive and

  unharmed, Captain. When we received your

  call, and found nothing but floating debris

  ..."

  The starfield disappeared, to be replaced by the

  proud and commanding man they had seen earlier. His

  face carried a restrained smile. "Yes,

  Captain. That was the ship that attacked us. Their

  captain was a brave opponent, but a bit

  ... overconfident. Gaius Aldus"--he

  gestured toward one of the bridge officers, a

  stocky, competent-looking man currently

  helping a subordinate at another console--

  "informs me that the ship's outlines most

  closely matched those of the M'dok

  battleships in use before the treaty--although this

  ship was substantially larger."

  "Battleships!" exclaimed Picard.

  "Indeed, Captain. As you know, whenever the

  Federation raises the matter with them, the M'dok

  insist that all they have are the police ships

  allowed them under the treaty. Clearly they've

  now built at least one battleship, a

  vessel of military destruction, and have used it

  to fire on a Federation vessel."

  "Captain Sejanus." Worf spoke from

  his station behind Picard. "You have achieved a great

  victory. If it was a M'dok battleship,

  you have defeated a ship which outgunned you by a

  factor of at least three."

  Sejanus' gaze shifted over Picard's

  shoulder to the Klingon. He smiled again.

  "Thank you, Lieutenant. The victory,

  however, is not mine. It belongs to the Federation and

  to my crew." He nodded in satisfaction at

  the crew members busily working behind

  him.

  Picard spoke again. "I would like to meet with

  you, Captain, to discuss how we can aid you here

  --and how we can prevent another confrontation between

  the Federation and the M'dok."

  Sejanus' face darkened momentarily. "I

  don't think a meeting between the two of us will

  solve the M'dok problem, Captain

  Picard. However"--the Centurion's

  captain smiled again--"I would be honored if

  you and your officers would join me and my crew for

  d inner this evening."

  "That is a most generous offer, Captain--

  one I gladly accept." Picard shared a

  smile with Riker and Troi.

  "Excellent! Shall we say eighteen

  hundred hours, then?"

  "Eighteen hundred hours, Captain,"

  Picard agreed. "We look forward to meeting

  you."

  "The anticipation is mutual, Captain.

  And please--come to us by shuttlecraft. We

  would like to receive you in the appropriate style."

  Picard nodded and Sejanus' image

  flickered out, replaced by a starfield.

  "A most impressive man," Riker said.

  "And a most impressive victory."

  "Agreed, Number One," Picard said,

  pursing his lips thoughtfully.

  "If this banquet is to be a formal

  occasion, sir, dress uniforms would be in

  order."

  "Hmmm?" Picard sat forward suddenly, his

  train of thought broken by his first officer's
/>
  query.

  Riker smiled. "I was suggesting dress

  uniforms for this banquet, sir."

  "Of course, Number One. Quite right."

  Picard leaned back in his chair and fell

  silent once again.

  Deanna Troi exchanged a concerned glance

  with Riker and turned to her captain.

  "Sir," she said quietly, "you seem

  troubled."

  "Hmmm?" Picard turned to look at his

  ship's counselor. "Oh, no, Counselor,

  it's just ..." He hesitated, trying to put his

  feelings into words. "I don't feel a

  victory celebration is in order at the

  moment."

  "I don't think that's what Sejanus

  meant by suggesting a banquet," Riker said.

  Troi shook her head. "On the contrary,

  Will, I think there was a definite element of that

  in his suggestion."

  "That's natural enough, Deanna," Will

  Riker said, his voice rising slightly.

  "They've just defeated a ship which heavily

  outgunned them. They're undoubtedly relieved

  to be alive--"

  "It's not relief I sense from them, W.

  It's satisfaction."

  "Of course they're satisfied,

  Deanna," Riker said. "That's the whole

  point."

  "Counselor, Number One." The captain

  stood suddenly, and looked down at the two

  officers. "We'll be able to assess the mood

  of the Centurion's crew, as well as find out

  more about what happened with the M'dok ship, at

  dinner."

  "Yes, sir," Riker said.

  "Of course, Captain." Troi nodded.

  "Good," Picard said. "I'll want both

  of you, as well as Lieutenant Worf,

  Chief Engineer La Forge, and Mr. Data

  to accompany me."

  "Sir," Worf interrupted, "I believe

  I should remain on board the Enterprise."

  Picard cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

  "Yes, sir." The Klingon folded his hands

  behind his back and stood at attention, then

  spoke, as if reciting from memory ""In

  a potential combat zone, the ranking security

  officer--"'"

  ""--is advised to remain on duty whenever

  possible,"" Data said, completing the sentence.

  "Starfleet Regulation Zed Alpha-Nine.

  I was going to bring it up myself, sir."

  "Were you?" Picard glared at the android.

  "Yes, sir." Data nodded.

  Picard opened his mouth to speak, but thought

  better of it and turned back to Worf. "Very

  well, Lieutenant. I would, however, like

  someone from security available to talk with

  Centurion personnel."

  "Of course, sir," Worf replied.

  "Good. The rest of you, meet me in

  shuttlebay six in one hour--in full

  dress uniform." He nodded to Riker.

  "The bridge is yours, Number One."

  Captain Picard entered the shuttlebay

  exactly fifty-eight minutes later, in

  full dress uniform. Troi and Riker were

  already there, as were Data and Geordi La

  Forge, chatting amiably next to the

  shuttlecraft.

  Geordi looked distinctly uncomfortable in

  his dress uniform. "I know the real reason

  Worf didn't want to go to this dinner," he

  said, fingering his collar. "He didn't want

  to have to get into this monkey suit."

  "Speaking of Worf," Riker said, scanning

  the airlock, "I wonder where that security

  officer is."

  As if in answer, a young woman strode through

  the airlock almost at a run and stopped

  suddenly, directly in front of Picard and

  Riker. "Ensign Jenny de Luz

  reporting, sir." She stood at stiff

  attention and fixed her gaze somewhere over

  Picard's shoulder.

  The captain and Riker exchanged an amused

  look.

  "At ease, Ensign," Picard said.

  Jenny de Luz looked to the captain to be

  no more than twenty-five years old. She was

  tall and lean, with pale skin and bright red

  hair, cut short in a shaggy style. Very

  much like Tasha's, Picard realized.

  Probably no coincidence.

  Picard was about to object to Worf's

  choice. There were plenty of other, more seasoned

  security personnel the Klingon could have chosen

  to attend the dinner in his place--and the inclusion of

  so junior an officer might be taken as an

  insult to Sejanus. Then he remembered that

  Jenny was from Meramar, a Federation colony with

  martial values similar to those of the Magna

  Romans.

  Not a by-the-book choice, Picard

  realized, but a good one nonetheless.

  He turned to Riker. "All right, Number

  One. Let's get under way."

  The six officers took seats in the

  shuttlecraft, Geordi and Data in the

  forward section. The chief engineer guided the

  shuttlecraft forward through the yawning

  shuttlebay door and into the brilliant

  starfield beyond. Just visible at one corner was

  an even more brilliant segment of the dayside of

  Tenara. And precisely in the center of the scene

  was a gleaming point of light, brighter than any

  of the stars the Centurion, shining in the light of

  Tenara's sun.

  The shuttle lifted and moved forward and out

  into space.

  The Centurion grew slowly larger on the

  shuttlecraft's viewscreen, until it

  filled the entire scene. The Centurion's

  shuttlebay doors silently scrolled open,

  and the Enterprise shuttle drifted inside.

  Behind it, the doors closed, their resounding bang

  audible as the bay filled with air. When the bay

  was fully pressurized, human figures

  marched in.

  Ensign Jenny de Luz looked

  curiously at the scene outside the shuttle.

  The officers of the Centurion were standing at

  attention, lined up to provide a ceremonial

  pathway for the visiting officers. No wonder

  Sejanus had wanted them to come over

  by shuttlecraft this kind of ceremony wouldn't

  have been possible in any other part of the ship.

  When visitors arrived on the Enterprise,

  she knew, Captain Picard and his senior

  staff waited to greet them in an informal

  group, not lined up at attention.

  And then Jenny became even more intrigued by the

  fact that the Centurion officers were dressed

  in armor that looked as though it had come from

  ancient Rome, with short straight swords

  at their sides. At the end of each of the two

  lines, there were crewmembers wearing outfits

  similar to those of the officers, though these men held

  two-meter spears and large rectangular

  shields. She could tell from the set of their

  faces and shoulders that they were enlisted security

  personnel.

  In the briefing she'd received from Lieutenant

  Worf, she'd learned that most of the officers and

  crew aboard the Centurion were from the planet

  Magna Roma. She'd thought this unusual,

  unt
il Worf had pointed up examples of the

  Intrepid and the Slisha, starships that had

  been manned entirely by Vulcans and

  Tellarites, respectively, races that

  preferred their own company to that of others. She

  had also discovered that upon re-commissioning

  this starship, the Federation had permitted the

  Magna Romans to rename this ship, once the

  Constitution-class cruiser the Farragut, in

  keeping with their own native traditions.

  After the briefing, she'd made a quick study

  of the library files on Magna Roma, and was

  amazed at the astounding similarity between Magna

  Roma's history and that of Earth. Except

  on Magna Roma, the Roman Empire

  never fell. There were scientific theories,

  she knew, that said such incredible parallels were

  to be expected, but to actually see evidence of

  this ...

  It made her wonder if she was looking at

  a reception detail or a troupe of

  historical actors.

  Deanna Troi gave her an amused

  glance, and Jenny realized that the counselor must

  have sensed the emotion, if not the thought.

  Though perhaps she can read my mind. I've

  always been so open, no emotional control at

  all. Like when Tasha died ... Jenny forced

  the thought and the memory away, and rose from her

  seat.

  Standing at the front of the small ship,

  Captain Picard gave his officers a

  resigned smile of puzzled amusement and

  nodded to Geordi.

  At the captain's command, the door rose

  slowly, revealing the full glory of the scene

  before them. What looked like a time-warped Roman

  legion was there in full array, with two

  especially impressive soldiers standing next

  to the shuttle.

  Both wore ceremonial gold armor,

  apparently made to fit the contours of their

  bodies. One stood firm and held a long

  staff, on top of which was a golden eagle

  resting on a crossbar reading SPQR. The

  other stepped forward, his hand on his sword

  hilt; all the other assembled personnel

  remained stock-still.

  His helmet covered only the top, back,

  and sides of his head, revealing him to be an

  eagle-faced man with a powerful presence, his

  eyes as steely as a Romulan's as he

  scanned the Enterprise officers. Captain

  Sejanus, Jenny realized.

  To the young security officer he looked

  remarkably like Captain Jean-Luc

  Picard.

  "Captain Picard," Sejanus said in a

  resonant and powerful voice. "And your staff

  officers Lieutenant La Forge,

  Lieutenant Commander Data, Commander Riker,