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Of course, I turned down three captaincies before I finally saw the light,he thought. If he could finally change his mind, then why couldn’t she?
Akaar and Ross exchanged a glance, then looked back at Riker, neither saying anything. Ross blew on his raktajinoand sipped cautiously.
“There were exigent circumstances behind their decisions,” Riker said, feeling defensive in the silence. “In fact, I’m going to pay a visit to one of them shortly. This time I feel certain that the candidate in question will accept my offer.” Please, Christine, take the job!Riker thought to himself.
Akaar’s mahogany-brown eyes focused on Riker like a pair of mining lasers. “May we assume, Captain, that the u
He’s trying to bait me,Riker thought, though he wasn’t about to allow either admiral to provoke him into losing his cool. “I assume, Admiral, that you’re referring to the presence of my wife on my senior staff.”
“I am, Captain,” Akaar said. “I have seen other command officers make similar perso
Riker wondered if Akaar was referring to Lieutenant Nella Daren, who had served as the Enterprise-D’s head stellar cartographer about a decade ago. Daren’s brief romance with Jean-Luc Picard had resulted in both her and the captain going their separate ways over the very issue Akaar was raising now. But my relationship with Dea
Families serving together on starships was nothing new to Starfleet, but seldom the captain’s family, and Riker knew that was Akaar’s point.
“I am well aware of the pitfalls, Admiral,” Riker said evenly. “Nevertheless, I’m completely satisfied that Commander Troi is my best possible choice for the dual role of diplomatic officer and senior counselor. Her record speaks for itself. As does mine, I think.”
Riker had been shifting his gaze from one admiral to the other as he spoke. He made certain his next utterance was directed squarely at Akaar. “The fact that Commander Troi and I are married will have absolutely nobearing on any decision I might make.”
Both admirals sat impassively, concealing their reactions with the skill of master poker players. A moment of silence passed, and Riker decided to take the bull by the horns. “Please forgive my bluntness, but I find it hard to believe that the purpose of your surprise visit was to quiz me about my senior-officer roster.”
Akaar leaned forward, uncrossing his legs again and resting his large hands on his knees. “No, it is not, Captain. The reason we came was to discuss your first assignment.”
Riker’s brow furrowed. “It was my understanding,” he began, “that I would be receiving specific orders about our mission from Admiral de la Fuego, once we arrived at Starbase 185.”
“No,” Ross said tersely, interrupting—and making Riker’s heart sink precipitously. “There’s going to be a delay, Captain. Admiral de la Fuego has already been advised that you won’t be reporting to Starbase 185 on schedule. You have a new mission.” He set his mug down on the desktop and leaned in slightly, drawing closer to Riker. “Understand that for now, most of the information about this mission is being distributed on a purely need-to-know basis, and all you need to know at this moment are the basics. You may inform members of your senior staff and your crew what we’re about to tell you. However, many of the details are quite sensitive, based on intelligence that’s currently in flux, and therefore may not be made completely available to you or your crew until this ship is ready to sail.”
Riker leaned back in his chair, pulling away from Ross in the process. “I take it that despite this ship’s stated purpose, the mission we’re about to undertake will be neither exploratory nor scientific?”
“You are to proceed to the Romulan Neutral Zone, Captain,” Akaar said emphatically, pointedly not responding to Riker’s obvious but not-yet-stated concerns. “In response to Praetor Tal’Aura’s request for a Federation-Romulan dialogue, the Federation Council and Starfleet Command have placed Titanat the head of a small multilateral diplomatic and humanitarian convoy. I do not need to tell you how dangerous it would be if the Romulan Empire were to dissolve. The resulting political upheavals could spread large amounts of unaccounted-for weaponry across the quadrant. But this is a very real possibility. Your mission, in part, is to alleviate the social and political chaos that now threatens to sweep Romulus, Remus, and the rest of the Empire because of Shinzon’s assassination of the Romulan Senate, and the power vacuum left in the wake of his own subsequent demise.”
Riker was already regrettably all too well aware of Shinzon’s crimes; the crew of the Enterprise-E had been directly involved in stopping the mad, self-anointed praetor’s murderous bid for galactic power.
“We expect that the task force will be greeted by a contingent of Romulan ships in the Neutral Zone,” Akaar said. “And we anticipate that they will then conduct Titanand her convoy to Romulus itself, where you will conduct the diplomatic phase of your mission.”
“I’m curious as to why we’re sending relief ships,” Riker said, already begi
“Romulus has not descended into complete chaos— yet,”Akaar said. “But the supply chains within empires are notoriously vulnerable to political instabilities. Should the regime on Romulus topple altogether, the aid supplies carried by your task force may well become essential, at least in the short term. We anticipate, in that event, that whichever Romulan and Reman leaders emerge from the subsequent power struggles will respond to our goodwill with the appropriate gratitude.”
Ru
Chaos.Riker found his own mind verging on it at this moment. The Enterprise’s last mission to Romulan space had been traumatic enough for that ship and her crew, bringing about the deaths of Lieutenant Commander Data and scores of others. Not to mention the psychic rape that Shinzon himself had inflicted on Dea
He was about to be sent into one of the most politically volatile places in the galaxy, with an untried new ship and an untested crew—nearly all of them dedicated explorers who had prepared for, and expected to undertake, a mission of an entirely different order.