Encounter at Farpoint (9 page)

Beverly snapped around to him, her cheeks flaming. “Wesley!”

“An excellent policy,” Riker said. “I feel the same way about ladies I’ve just met.” He looked at Beverly with an amused smile, and she was forced to smile back.

“Doctor Crusher . . .” Riker began. “Although we’re not officially part of the
Enterprise
yet, I thought there might be something useful we could do while we wait.”

Beverly glanced at him, one eyebrow rising in a question. “Useful? How, Commander?”

“Investigating some things I’ve noticed here.” Beverly moved away from him, toward a table in front of a shop dealing in exotic materials and fabrics. The bolts of cloth were lined up on the table, several standing on end to drape the fabric for best effect. Riker trailed after the doctor and waited while she glanced over the merchandise. “Captain Picard will be inspecting this station for Starfleet. Every scrap of information we can provide him will make his job easier.”

“Mmmm.” Beverly seemed more interested in the cloth. Quickly, Riker detailed the things he had personally noticed—the paintings, the mysterious appearance of the additional bowl of fruit with his requested apple. Beverly listened and appraisingly fingered a fold of tangerine-colored material.

“Don’t you see how questionable these incidents are?” Riker concluded.

“I’m afraid I don’t. What really happened? The Bandi came in and changed the decor in your rooms—at your request. A bowl of fruit that you hadn’t noticed—”

“I’m sure it wasn’t there.”

“A bowl that you hadn’t noticed,” Beverly went on firmly, “contained a piece of fruit you wanted. I really don’t believe Captain Picard will find that significant.” She picked up a bolt of maroon material and flared one end of it out to look at it in the light. “This would look lovely with a gold pattern in it,” she said to the waiting shopkeeper. The Bandi nodded and began to look further at the bolts of fabric he had on the table. Wesley watched the man with close interest as his mother turned to look directly at Riker. “I’m sure, Commander, there are reasons for a young first officer to want to demonstrate his efficiency, his astuteness, and his energy to his new captain.”

“Now just a minute—”

“But my duty and interests lie
outside
the command structure.” Beverly interrupted herself as she saw Riker staring past her at something that had caught his eye. The bolt of cloth that had been plain maroon before now had an intricate silver and gold figure worked into the background.

“Isn’t it nice that he happened to have exactly what you asked for?” Riker asked, with just a light touch of sarcasm.

Beverly glanced at him, then back at the merchant, who was smiling serenely and waiting for her decision. “Thank you. I’ll take the entire bolt. Send it to the
Enterprise
when it arrives, charged to Doctor Beverly Crusher.”

The merchant bowed and ticked off the information on a flat credit monitor that hung at his waist. Then he gathered up the bolt of cloth and took it inside the shop to be wrapped. Beverly looked around at Riker with a bemused expression on her face. Riker held out his hand, indicating a direction they could take. She nodded and walked with him.

“You were saying, Doctor?” Riker asked.

Beverly looked at him uncomfortably. “I was saying that you were inventing work in order to curry favor and impress your new captain.” Her chin came up and she met his eyes squarely. “I apologize for that, Commander Riker.”

“My name’s Bill.”

“Yes, I know.”

“That gold-patterned cloth wasn’t in the pile when we first looked at it, Mother. I’m sure of it,” Wesley said.

“I agree.” Beverly paused and looked back at the shop where the merchant had once more appeared behind the table to present his wares. “Maybe this
is
something Jean-Luc would be interested in knowing.”

“Jean-Luc? You know Captain Picard?”

Wesley interrupted proudly. “He served on the
Stargazer
with my father.”

Beverly put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and smiled apologetically at Riker. “Wes. Commander Riker isn’t interested in family history. I couldn’t say I know Captain Picard personally, Commander. We met, that’s all. And it was a long time ago.” She frowned thoughtfully. “That incident with the cloth
was
peculiar. Tell you what, I’ll keep my eyes open and let you know anything else I see.”

“I appreciate it—Beverly, isn’t it?”

She nodded, concealing a smile. Most senior officers were on a first name basis on any ship, but she had no intention of letting young Bill Riker get too familiar too fast. Still, his observations on the odd incidents that had occurred appeared to have some basis in fact. What were the Bandi, and what were their intentions with this staging station? Riker was correct in asking everyone he could contact to stay alert and report anything unusual for Picard’s attention.

“Sir—” They turned as Geordi LaForge hurried up to them. “The
Enterprise
is arriving, but—”

“Is this an official report, Lieutenant?” Riker interrupted crisply.

“Sorry, Commander.” LaForge pulled himself up to attention and delivered the message formally. “
Sir
. Lieutenant LaForge reporting the
Enterprise
is now arriving, but without the saucer section.”

Riker exchanged a quick, concerned look with Beverly. “Stardrive section only? What happened?”

“No information, sir. Captain Picard has signalled that he wants you to beam up immediately.”

“Our new captain doesn’t waste time,” Beverly observed.

“Which makes it a good rule for me, too,” Riker said wryly. “Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate your finding me so quickly.”

“Yes, sir,” LaForge said. “Sir, if I may, Ensign Hughes and I noticed something earlier that we thought worth bringing to your attention—”

Riker raised his hand. “File a report with me back aboard ship.” He touched the communicator worn on the left breast of his uniform. “
Enterprise
, this is Commander Riker on Farpoint Station. Standing by to beam up.”

“
Enterprise
to Riker. Energizing.”

The air around Riker shimmered and danced. Slowly the glittering beams covered his image, and then faded away into thin air. Beverly had never ceased to be amazed at the transporter process, even though she was fully aware of its operating principle. Starfleet technology was replete with wonderful achievements, but the method of disassembling the corporate atoms of an object or a living being, transporting them across vast distances of space, and then reassembling them perfectly was one of their greatest. She reached out to put her arm around Wesley’s shoulders and nodded to LaForge.

“If you’ll excuse us, Lieutenant—now that the
Enterprise
is here, we have to make our plans to beam aboard too.”

“It’s only the battle section, ma’am,” LaForge said. “We don’t know what they’ve been through . . . or where the saucer section is.”

Beverly looked at him levelly, her face untroubled. “Then I’m sure Captain Picard will enlighten us. When he feels it’s appropriate for us to know.”

N
O ONE EVER
remembered the instant of actual transportation. One was simply in one place when it began, and another when it ended.

Riker watched as the transporter effect drained away around him. Seen from inside, the glittering sparkle created by the beam was a beautiful dance of color and shifting light.

As the beam died, he flashed an automatic look of assessment around the room. It was larger than the ones on the other ships in which he had served. Its colors were muted pastels and beige and soothingly pleasant.

The transporter chief behind the control console nodded to him, but it was the tall blonde woman in ship’s operations uniform who briskly stepped forward to meet him.

“Commander Riker? Lieutenant Yar, chief of security.”

Riker stepped down from the transporter pad, extending his hand. “I’m pleased—”

“Captain Picard will see you on the battle bridge,”Tasha interrupted. “This way, please.” She turned on her heel and stalked off, the doors hissing open to admit her. Riker had to hurry to catch up, even with his longer strides. There was a turbolift across the corridor; and Tasha was inside it, impatiently waiting for him when he reached her.

“With the saucer section gone, can I assume something interesting happened on your way here?” he asked.

“That’s for the captain to explain, sir.” She turned her head to speak quietly toward the controls. “Battle bridge.”

Riker studied her frankly, but she did not seem to pay any attention to his scrutiny. “Yar,” Riker said thoughtfully. “I believe your security teams have won the Fleet championships three years in a row in the seek-and-protect exercises.”

“That is a fact, sir. We intend to keep it that way.”

“An enviable record, Lieutenant. Tell me, were you on the battle bridge when it separated from the saucer section?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Would you mind telling me what happened?”

“That’s for the captain to say, sir.”

Riker shook his head. Maybe they’re
all
a bunch of old burrhogs on this ship, he thought ruefully.

On the battle bridge, Picard was intent on the viewscreen before him. “Do we have clearance?” he snapped to Data.

The android nodded from his position at the Ops console. “Aye, sir. Into standard parking orbit.”

“Make it so.”

The turbolift doors snapped open, and Tasha preceded Riker into the battle bridge. “Commander Riker, sir,” Tasha announced crisply.

Riker came to a halt at attention beside Picard’s chair. “Riker, W. T., reporting as ordered, sir.” He expected the captain to offer his hand, but Picard merely glanced at him and then to Tasha.

“Is the viewer ready, Lieutenant?”

“All set up, sir.”

Picard noticed that Riker was still at attention and he waved his hand negligently. “Please stand at ease, Commander. First, we’ll bring you up to date on a little . . . ‘adventure’ we had on our way here. Then you and I will talk.”

“This way, sir,” Tasha said, instantly moving toward a viewer in the aft section of the bridge.

He doesn’t waste any words either
, Riker thought as he followed the security chief. She motioned him into a seat in front of the viewer and leaned in past him to key the viewer on. Riker prided himself on having a keen sense of smell, keen enough to determine the exact fragrance any woman was wearing. All he could smell on Tasha was the faint, pleasant aroma of soap and shampoo: Lieutenant Yar apparently disdained the standard little “feminine” touch and contented herself with just being clean.
Interesting
, Riker noted.

The viewer fluttered, almost whited out; then began running the bridge camera’s record of the most extraordinary scene Riker had ever witnessed. The alien who called itself
Q
appeared on the bridge and ordered Picard to take his ship back to Sol system or suffer the consequences. Riker leaned in closer in order to clearly hear all the details of the confrontation over the hum of routine ship’s business going on behind him.

Data turned away from the Ops console and addressed Picard. “Message from Lieutenant Worf, sir. The saucer section will arrive here in fifty-one minutes. The lieutenant sends his compliments.”

“Inform the lieutenant we’ll reconnect as soon as they arrive.” The captain pushed out of his chair and headed for his ready room, just off the port side of the bridge. As he passed Tasha, he said, “Send the commander to me when he’s finished viewing the encounter file.”

“Yes, sir.” Tasha glanced over to where the new first officer still hunched over the viewer.

Riker shook his head and spoke aloud to no one in particular. “He calls that ‘a little adventure’?”

Picard was seated at his desk in the battle bridge ready room studying a series of matter-antimatter fuel formulas on the viewer when a buzzer sounded at the door. He flicked the viewer off and called, “Come.”

The door slid open, and Riker entered. The captain waved him to a seat opposite the desk. Riker slid into it, studying the man under whom he had requested service. Jean-Luc Picard was fifty-five, balding, with a hawk-like face dominated by commanding, intelligent eyes. When he chose to display it, a charmingly rueful smile softened his normally stern expression. Of average height, he held his slim, tightly muscled body ramrod straight, giving the impression of more height. Riker had been struck by the enormous presence of the man when he first met him on the battle bridge. Here, in the smaller room, he felt Picard’s personality even more strongly.

The man was born to command.

“I’m sorry you had to be brought aboard in such a willy-nilly manner, Commander,” Picard said in a strong baritone. “I hadn’t intended to welcome my new first officer by arriving in half a starship.”

Riker smiled understandingly. “This is not exactly a run-of-the-mill happening, Captain.”

“It seems we’re alive only because we were placed on probation . . . a very serious kind of probation. And we’re still possibly under sentence.”

“Sentence of what, sir?”

“Never being allowed to fare out of our own star system again. The question is—how do we prove we’re worthy? And will we know we’re being tested? In any event, it appears Farpoint Station will be our testing ground—” A chime sounded, and Picard looked up. “Go.”

Data’s voice echoed over a comm line. “The saucer section is now entering orbit with us, sir.”

“Acknowledge.” He paused. “Commander Riker will conduct a manual docking. Picard out.”

Riker’s eyebrows went scrambling up in surprise. “Sir?”

Picard snapped a challenging look at him. “You’ve reported in, haven’t you? You are qualified?”