PRIME DIRECTIVE
Chapter 6
The Inner Council's banqueting room was a pillared octagonal hall surmounted by a cupola and lit by what looked like dozens of electrical sconces. Governer Sathene was waiting for them at the door.
"I trust you were able to rest, Captain," he greeted Picard as soon as the secretary who had accompanied them had disappeared. "Commander… Commander… Lieutenant. Allow me to introduce you to some members of the Inner Council you haven't met. We were hoping Aunun Arun Lesté of Planetary Coordination would be back today, but his business will keep him away for a few days longer I am afraid. But here are Kamarzin Arun Rassa of Law and Justice and Keder Arun Anagar, from Elmen Archipelago, of the Economics department, and this is Zor Arun Rigeté, in charge of Seas and Islands Affairs."
"A pleasure," Picard said readily, trying to meet the three mens' eyes in turn. Rigeté gave him a wary nod. Anagar avoided him, and in fact took the first opportunity to draw back. Rassa, on the other hand, stared at the four of them with undisguised and excited curiosity. "I'd better warn you," he said the moment the introductions were over. "There are things I want to ask you. I hope you'll have an hour or two for me."
"I shouldn't be at all surprised, Minister. From what we have been talking about with the Governer's secretary we will be here for a little while."
"And this," Sathene continued before Rassa could answer, "is Hirun Ta'Nemek Gontha, the Cabinet's Hurso representative. A minister in all but name, as I am sure you know from Governer Ongar's message."
"We do indeed", said the captain, wanting very much to ask if things had changed at all since then. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Ta'Nemek."
"Likewise," Gontha replied with an abrupt little inclination of his head. "Incidentally, Captain, Speaker will be quite all right as an address. There's really no such title as Ta'Nemek, although of course it's supposed to sound better than a simple Nemek."
"As you wish, Speaker," Picard answered, a little startled without letting it show. He also noticed the look Governer Sathene gave Gontha. A moment later the brief uneasiness had been glossed over by the two politicians.
"Please, Captain, take a drink," the governer said, taking two small metal goblets from a tray presented to him by a waiter and handing him one of them. The Hurso and the three officers helped themselves. "The drink before dinner is a custom of this world," explained Sathene. "It is a symbol of hospitality and harmony. I believe," he added with the first flash of humor Picard had seen in him, "it was also meant to convey that nobody is out to poison anybody as it is always taken by everyone at the same time, out of identical cups. May this visit of yours prove beneficial to both our worlds, Captain."
"There's little anybody could add to this, Governer," replied Picard, and drank. He had been prepared for something quite strong, but the liquid in the goblet still took his breath away. He could hear Troi at his elbow gasping slightly. Even Riker's eyes widened in momentary disbelief.
"Some drink, Governer," the first officer managed. Eyes watering a little, the captain could only agree – and be grateful that Sathene's attention was elsewhere for the moment.
"You don't like it, Commander?"
"On the contrary," Riker replied promptly, if a little hoarsely. "I do. We have something that's rather like it." He took a quiet step in front of Troi, who was still fighting for breath.
"And do you serve it at similar occasions?"
"No. For occasions such as this we have something a little less, er, powerful. But the principle is the same."
"It seems we have quite a lot in common after all," Sathene said, pleased. "It is a pity you will not be staying with us much longer, Commander."
"Oh, but I will – a couple of days certainly," said Riker. "After that – well, someone's got to look after the ship."
"We will try to show you a little of our world while we can. Captain, my secretary tells me that you have been displaying incredible patience over that schedule of his. I still have a feeling we are asking rather much of you."
"You are asking exactly what we were sent here to establish," Picard answered serenely. "Contacts, mutual understanding, an opening. That's what we do, after all. Commander Troi, the lieutenant and I will be very happy to stay a while longer."
"While your ship remains in orbit?" asked Hirun Ta'Nemek Gontha, in what seemed to Picard like a deliberate effort to join the conversation.
"Well, actually, I've been wondering if we could take a closer look at this system," said Riker. "With your permission of course, Governer. I'll tell you one thing, it can be infernally boring, waiting for the captain for days on end."
"I'll have to speak with some of my colleagues, Commander, but I don't suppose that will be a problem." Sathene cast a quick look over his shoulder. "That's the steward signaling. Shall we sit down?"
The table was polished wood with metal inlay, oval, a little lower than what Picard was used to, and set on a slight dais, and the ministers seemed to know their places despite the unusual dinner party. He found himself at one end of the table, with Riker on his right, Worf on his left and Troi almost hidden from sight by Riker's broad shoulders. The governer was opposite, and the place on Troi's right was taken by the quiet Anagar of Economics. Picard noticed the smile his counselor gave the minister, and Anagar's sudden interest in an arrangement of small decorative metal bowls in the center of the table.
"This dinner," Sathene explained, "will be made up of traditional dishes. We thought it the most, well, appropriate approach. – I very much hope I am not putting you to any… that is to say," he added, a little hesitatingly, "will you be, er, comfortable eating our foods?"
Picard smiled. "We will," he assured the governer, to Sathene's evident relief, watching as waiters appeared at precisely the same moment behind everyone seated at the table and a tiny, beautifully chased metal bowl of what looked like clear yellow soup was set before him. A short metal spoon appeared along with it. With a certain relief the captain noted that the drink in the high goblets of frosted glass and metal looked like what they had found among the refreshments in their quarters as well – water, by all appearances, but with a faint, pleasant, slightly tangy flavor. "Governer," he said, "would you tell me what this is?"
"It's water," Sathene said, sounding a little startled. "I… I'm not a chemist, Captain, but water…"
"Forgive me," Picard corrected himself, amused. "I didn't put this very well. Water I'm familiar with. But this taste –"
"Ah!" For a moment Sathene almost grinned, unmistakably, and one or two of the ministers did the same. "I see. It's a fruit called lissé. Very hard, quite pungent, in fact barely edible at all. But perfect for flavoring, especially as its juice is mildly antiseptic."
"In poorer regions well water is not always entirely safe," Gontha added matter-of-factly. "When the water is flavored it usually means you can drink it without worrying."
Sathene rose to his feet when the waiters had withdrawn. "Gentlemen," he began rather formally, and silence fell immediately as the ministers rose as one. The Enterprise four followed suit, and the captain noticed that many of the sconces had been extinguished, leaving the hall in twilight and the table alone illuminated. "With this meal," said Sathene, voice ringing beneath the cupola overhead, "we accept the gifts of the land we have undertaken to rule and to guide, and the burden of responsibility that goes with the gifts. Let us remember those obligations, and our duties to those that look to us."
"Yes, let's," Gontha said rather brusquely. Several of the ministers murmured affirmations before resuming their seats und picking up their spoons. Picard would have liked to look at Troi, to find out if she shared his fleeting unease, but it would have been too conspicuous. The soup was hot and spicy, seeming to scald his throat as he swallowed. It was good, if not quite the type of food he would have chosen on the evening of a blazing day – although the hall must have some kind of ventilation system; the temperature was quite bearable.
"I have been thinking," the governer said over the clinking of spoons, "and I have decided to postpone the cabinet discussion that was scheduled for tomorrow. We'll still convene, but we'll use the opportunity to answer any questions you might have about us, and –"
"As well as ask a great many of our own," Halé interposed with grim amusement.
"And do the groundwork for our mutal understanding, as you put it earlier, Captain," Sathene continued pointedly. "Thank you, Minister, that was quite unwarranted."
"They'd have to be fools not to expect it," Halé replied, unimpressed. "Tell me one thing, Captain. Whatever you usually do on that vessel of yours, you've had your share of diplomatic assignments, am I right?"
Picard looked up, eyes crinkling. "Yes, Minister. I can't fathom what it was that gave us away, but yes, you are."
"What is it you people do?" the youngest of the group – Kamarzin Arun Rassa, the captain reminded himself, Law and Justice – asked, evidently grasping the opportunity. Riker took over without so much as a glance from his captain.
"Well, most of the time we gather information," he said. "Scientific, cultural, deep-space exploration. And we serve as a diplomatic envoy wherever necessary, which is where those assignments come in, Minister. And sometimes the Enterprise is involved in all sorts of emergency scenarios. We've been known to ferry vaccines," said Riker with a brief grin, and Picard thought he could hear a very soft snort coming from Worf on his right.
"Just how many vessels do you have? I mean, vessels like yours, capable of interstellar flight?" inquired Rassa.
"I can't honestly answer that. I have no idea," Riker replied, and Picard decided to change the subject before the conversation touched things they couldn't discuss – as it probably would very soon if Rassa had his way.
"We'll have time for all that," he assured the minister. "In fact I have a feeling you know quite a lot about us already" – and just then the waiters reappeared like silent ghosts, removing the empty bowls and replacing them with small, ornate containers topped by equally ornate lids. They had three feet and came with an instrument that had a spoon at one end and a paddle-shaped blade at the other, and when he lifted the cover he found a soft-shelled, pale pink, globular item the size of a small peach.
"This is crai," Sathene explained, and he realized that the governer must be watching him closely. "The unhatched reproductive capsules of the buruk… that's a large gill-breathing creature inhabiting the southern seas."
Eggs, he thought, and a moment later corrected himself, amused: Well, caviar, actually. He looked over at the governer, and saw Sathene slicing the thing's shell – carefully and slowly, evidently quite aware that he was being watched in his turn. When Picard copied the maneuver he discovered a pale jelly-like substance inside enclosing a walnut-sized kernel. It looked and smelled edible enough, but nobody was eating it. Instead, the ministers used the combined spoon and knife to extract the kernel which alone was eaten. He realized that the ornate containers that had been set on the table too were used to dispose of the rest, and followed suit with a mental shrug.
"This buruk," Troi said, all polite interest, "how large is it? I've seen large fish before, but this must be spectacular." The question was aimed at her neighbor as much as the governer, but Minister Anagar didn't answer, becoming very interested in the contents of his goblet instead.
"It grows to about twenty meters," Sathene said after a rather noticeable pause. "It's edible, actually. Some of the islanders still hunt it." He sat back as the waiters returned, waiting for them to remove the remains and the containers and refill the goblets to prepare for the next course. It consisted of what looked like bits of meat on small square plates, accompanied by strips of flatbread and skewer-like utensils with intricate wooden handles. The governer gave Picard a covert look, saw the captain watching him, and picked up his skewer.
"Is it… that is to say, would you mind telling me something, Counselor Troi?" Minister Rassa asked quite suddenly from the other side of the table.
Troi looked up, smiling. "Probably not, Minister. It depends."
Picard thought he could see Sathene's face tensing at that, and from the minister on Sathene's right – Rigeté, he remembered after a moment, the man who hadn't said a word so far – he heard a brief sound like a snort or a cough. Rassa swallowed, hesitated and took the plunge. "What does a counselor do?"
"Oh!" Troi put her skewer down. "A number of things. A counselor is responsible for the well-being and, well, equilibrium of a ship's crew. Imagine a mission of… well, some duration – it can be quite stressful. I am also involved in crew evaluations. And then of course the counselor acts as an adviser to the captain on all sorts of decisions – diplomatic, command, quite a variety of them."
"And you do all these things? You… advise your captain?"
"Yes." Troi picked up the skewer and carefully speared a piece of meat, seemingly oblivious of the utter silence all around, and the fact that not one of the ministers was eating at that moment. "I have been working on the Enterprise for seven years now," she added before putting it in her mouth.
"Ustak," Rassa said, in a tone Picard couldn't quite interpret.
Troi swallowed her bite. "I beg your pardon?"
"You are ustak to your captain," he said, and now Picard thought he had it. Astonishment coupled with reckless curiosity, and an element of nervous exhilaration – a man venturing into unknown territory. A moment later he added: "A professional adviser. Every minister has a couple of them. The ligor has about a dozen."
"Thank you." She tilted her head inquiringly. "In the correct sequence that would make me… Deanna Ustak Troi, is that correct?"
"Yes," said Rassa, a little breathlessly, the precise moment Hirun Gontha snorted: "Not exactly."
Troi raised her eyebrows in mild curiosity, and Riker tilted his head to say: "Now that sounds interesting."
"Begging your pardon, Commander, but the term that would fit the bill in this case would be ustaket. And I am very much afraid it doesn't exist."
"It's grammatically feasible," Rassa said curtly, reaching for his own skewer. "I really don't see… but never mind. Forgive my curiosity, Counselor, I had no intention of embarrassing you."
"But you didn't." Troi dipped up some sauce with a strip of her bread before looking up again to smile at him. "Not at all, Minister. We can continue any time you like. By the way, this is delicious. What is it?"
Picard breathed a sigh of relief. He had felt Riker on his right bristling uncharacteristically. Sathene accepted the new opening with alacrity.
"It's the flesh of a local bird called leké, about this size" – and he outlined something halfway between a chicken and a turkey. "As a matter of fact this is a traditional Hurso dish. Gontha here would be able to tell you all about how it should really taste."
"Well," Gontha admitted, apparently somewhat placated, "you may be served it again if you do any traveling at all on this world."
"I hope we will," said Picard. "In fact your secretary mentioned a few possible tours, Governer."
"No doubt," Sathene replied rather dryly. "Of course I don't know how many turns you intend to spend here, Captain –" and it came out sufficiently casual to make a few of the ministers snort. Even Riker grinned, and a minute later the waiters cleared the table and brought the next course. It looked and smelled like a type of vegetable stew, served in tiny metal bowls with elaborately worked bases and accompanied by spatula-shaped spoons.
"By the way," Minister Halé asked, "what the hanmat did you mean when you said we know everything about you already, Captain? We don't know a thing. You've dropped in on us out of nowhere."
"Well, not quite out of nowhere," Picard replied serenely. "After all you knew quite well where to find us. It was a remarkable engineering feat on the part of Governer Ongar's scientists."
"He had some good people on his team," admitted Sathene.
"He was a visionary," Minister Anagar said quite suddenly, speaking for the first time, and the Enterprise party almost started.
"And an idealist, no doubt." Picard leaned forward a little to catch the minister's expression.
"And an idealist, Captain Picard. He could see beyond this world's troubles."
"Until they caught up with him," Halé said dryly.
There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. Then Sathene put his spoon down. "I don't think we need to bother the captain with that," he said, and although he kept his voice perfectly polite Picard had a feeling that he was dealing out a fierce rebuke.
"Belet-Irune would be the first world we visited without troubles of its own," he calmly put in. "And there have been a great many of them, and I am not making an exception of my own."
"What's your world called, Captain?" Minister Rassa asked, sounding as eager to add to his store of knowledge as he was to gloss over the momentary unpleasantness.
Picard smiled briefly. "Terra."
Rassa was opening his mouth to ask his next question when the Hurso representative snapped: "To the best of my knowledge even Governer Ongar didn't hesitate to bother these people with the facts about this world, Sathene!"
There was another silence, brief but telling, just long enough for Picard to hear the governer drawing one carefully controlled breath. Then Sathene said icily: "I really believe these things can wait, Gontha" – and as if to underline the point he flung up his hand to signal, curtly, for the waiters. Who had, of that the captain felt quite sure, appeared without having been signaled for every time before. The silent figures materialized a moment later.
Picard leaned back in his rather uncomfortable chair while his near-empty bowl was removed, feeling a little stunned. At the same time he made a mental note to get to the bottom of the issue as soon as possible.
"Naturally Governer Ongar is of some interest to us," he said gently. "After all he was the man who contacted us in the first place."
Gontha gave one brief tense nod. "Forgive my outburst, Captain. In many respects he was a great man, and I have no wish to deny him this honor."
"Good for you," Minister Halé remarked with an undertone of sardonic humor that did more to restore a semblance of harmony than Sathene's attempt at damage control. Gontha responded with an unwilling little snort and lifted the lid off the container that had been set before him.
"Lieutenant Worf," the irrepressible Rassa asked over the rim of his goblet, "if you don't mind my asking, what does a Chief of Security do on a vessel like yours?"
Picard felt Worf start. The Klingon had probably come to the comfortable conclusion that he wouldn't be required to speak all evening.
"It is my duty to watch over the ship and its crew." Worf frowned at the fifth course. It was soup again, thick and cream-colored this time. "The security officer handles communications and sensor equipment too. But protecting others is my chief duty."
"So your work can be dangerous?" Rassa was looking at Picard and Riker as he said it.
"Just occasionally," Riker said lightly. "There are always a few unweighables involved."
"Why don't you tell us a little more about your civilization?" Picard interposed before the conversation could drift further towards yet another fraught topic. He had no intention of telling Sathene and his ministers more about the dangers of starship duty than absolutely necessary. "After all we are the strangers here. This visit is about your world, not about ours."
"Very well," the governer said after a moment, readily enough it seemed. "What is it you would like to know?"
- - - - - - - -
"Christ," Riker groaned, much later, when the four of them had finally found their way back to their quarters and had managed to get rid of the attendants assigned to them. Two of Worf's security were quietly walking up and down the corridor outside the anteroom, having been shown there not by Worf or Riker but by the commander of the Council Guard, Talië Ras Iban. "Just let me know if there's some other way we can screw up tonight. Not that anything comes to mind" – and the first officer dropped into one of the chairs by the fountain and stretched his legs.
"Are you going to ask for my opinion on this evening, Captain?" Troi inquired.
Picard nodded wearily as he sat down on the edge of the basin. "Yes, Counselor."
"Well, they were all tense before we joined them, which is at least part of the reason there were so many lost tempers." Troi's voice was a little more clipped than usual, and if she was aware of it she made no effort to control it. "Not surprising, of course. The governer, Minister Halé and the Hurso representative all have their own agendas regarding this visit, and they are not entirely compatible. Minister Rassa is exactly what he appears to be – quite simply bursting with curiosity. And Rigeté and Anagar are afraid of us, but of course you noticed that. They are all pretty much overwhelmed by the situation. There is also an amount of bad conscience from several of them – as if they felt they had raised expectations they cannot fulfil."
"We're not here to inspect them."
"No, Captain, and you did your best to convince them of it. But the point is not whether or not you are expecting anything. They want to present themselves in a certain way, and they are terrified of not meeting the criteria."
"Governer Sathene tries to present a unified front," commented Riker. "That was pretty obvious. And they're not as unified as all that, not even about our being here. Not even about having invited us in the first place I should say. There's something about this Thana Ongar that has them all on edge. Now I really want to know what's been happening here since then."
"Well," Troi said slowly. "I have been doing some calculations. According to the probe material a normal term of office for a governer is three gola – three of their turns. They can be reelected several times, unless that has changed since then. Earlier today Sathene mentioned that he is the fourth governer since Thana Ta'Arun Ongar, who was in office seventeen gola ago, and I think he also mentioned his first term of office, meaning that he is now in his second at least. It may be relevant or not, but it does imply a lot of fluctuation before Sathene became governer, doesn't it?"
"Only one of those predecessors could have had a second term," Riker said after a moment, thoughtfully. "Or else somebody didn't even complete his first. Yes. You do get the impression they've been through some tumultuous times fairly recently. And this Gontha fellow – what's eating him, for Heaven's sake?"
"A lot of things, Will." Troi appeared to be considering for a moment. "I won't give you any specifics," she said then. "Tomorrow perhaps when I have sorted through it all. It's been a long day."
Picard slid off his perch. "Let's get some rest, shall we?"
- - - - - - - -
