Author's notes: Another one with a dramatis personae, just in case.
PRIME DIRECTIVE
Chapter 10
„You might be interested to hear, sir," Riker said over breakfast, "according to Data a team of local engineers spent the best part of yesterday on that airfield, trying to get into the Calypso, and when they couldn't they settled for a very thorough examination of the exterior."
"Did you expect otherwise?" inquired Picard, amused.
Worf gave him a mildly reproachful look. "Do you wish me to post a guard from now on, Captain?" he asked without much hope.
Picard didn't disappoint him. "I really don't think that will be necessary, Lieutenant. There isn't much they can find out that way, and after yesterday I wouldn't ask anybody to stand guard in this sun without a very good reason."
"My people would –" began Worf, and stopped. "Yes, Captain," he said, on a note of resignation.
"You're feeling better, sir," stated Troi, handing Picard another cup of spiced tea in exchange for the cakes and getting a trace of a smile and a very slightly embarrassed nod in reply. As if by silent consent the previous day had so far been mentioned only in the most general terms. There would be time for that later.
The captain was feeling very considerably better – which in itself wasn't saying much. By the time they had arrived back at Council House he had been nearly blinded with pain, and barely able to respond coherently when Sathene took his leave. Riker had turned up in his quarters soon after, with a hypospray – the origins of which were a mystery to Picard, but he hadn't had the will to go into it. It got rid of his splitting headache within a minute or so, leaving him fagged but clear. I wouldn't have thought myself that much of a wimp without all that technology, he thought with wry amusement as he sipped his tea.
"What is today's schedule, Captain?" asked Troi – who was looking remarkably fresh and rested, even if she did wear her hair pinned up today.
"I'm not sure there is one. But I shouldn't be surprised if that audience were to have a diplomatic aftermath."
"What did you find to talk about with the ligor for two solid hours, sir?" inquired Riker.
"He told me about this country, including his view of the Tala-Hurso question. It's a matter of some concern to him. He is aware of the fact that many of the people we are most likely to associate with may not share his views, and he wants to make sure his side is heard."
Riker gave his captain a searching look, but Picard gave no indication of his own opinion, or even of whether or not he had one. Instead he added: "I confess I was a little worried when the First Spouse summoned you like that, Counselor, but apparently you… got along quite well."
"Meaning, what did we find to talk about for two solid hours?" Troi replied with a smile. "Actually, I was going to bring it up. Do you think you may have a few minutes – later today, perhaps?"
"I very much hope so," Picard said, and correctly interpreting her look he reached for the platter of hot cakes once more, only to find it empty. Worf had been quietly demolishing the remainder of them, listening to the conversation and never saying another word. Troi turned up her eyes. Riker grinned. Picard took refuge in his tea, eyes crinkling.
Este Zikané appeared a little later, politely asking if they wished to join the governer or if they would prefer to spend the day on other pursuits. Riker thought he could see a distinctly amused look in his captain's eyes as Picard assured the secretary that they were entirely at the governer's disposal.
It was Sathene, Halé and Gontha again that day, waiting in the small conference room they already knew. The minister for Interior Affairs was sitting, massive and alert behind the table. The Hurso representative was seated too, off to one side, as if trying to be unobtrusive. The governer was on his feet by one of the windows, silhouetted against the lush pale foliage of the garden outside, but he turned the moment he heard them entering. There was a tension in the air they all felt – as if something had been decided with regard to them, something momentous. Picard silently acknowledged the warning look Troi gave him as they took their seats, but she had a feeling he didn't need it.
"I am delighted to see you all looking so well," Sathene said as he took his own seat. "Yesterday was a difficult day even for me, Captain, and I am used to the circumstances – believe me, I had no intention of subjecting you or your officers to these… hardships."
"I'm well aware of that," Picard replied politely. "But please believe me, Ta'Arun, we have been through much worse."
Brave words after last night, sir, Troi heard herself thinking, and sensed wry amusement from the captain as well – but of course the governer didn't know about that part of it. And Sathene merely replied with an all is well then gesture, and took a deep breath.
"I have… invited you here for a purpose today, Captain. That's not to say our earlier meetings were without purpose, of course," he added wryly. "But this is… different. Let me explain. In a way it is unfortunate you arrived at such a time. You're hardly catching us at our best. We can barely agree on how to meet you. Every meeting – great Tamur, every moment speaks of disagreement and divisions. We may be on the brink of civil unrest – again. We may not have noticed it until very recently, but it seems things are coming to a head right now, our problems catching up with us – not for the first time, I might add…" Sathene's smile looked more like a baring of the teeth. "And we are dragging you into our arguments even while we are trying to decide what to do. I am sorry, Captain – forgive me. This is not how I would have arranged it."
"It is hardly your fault, though," said the captain, and Troi thought, as she sometimes did, that she could almost hear thought moving on the edge of the feeling – wariness bordering on apprehension in this case, and something that might well have been what she was thinking herself: Are you getting at what I believe you are getting at, Governer? "The time of our arrival was very much a matter of chance, after all."
"Probably – but even so. Try to understand, please," said Sathene. "We are trying to build a viable future. I sincerely believe most people in this country do. I have no doubts at all regarding my colleagues on this cabinet. But to find a way of doing what you believe to be best, among pitfalls too numerous to mention… even to find out what exactly it is you want to do, in the long run, and keep it in mind…"
"It seems to me," Picard said cautiously, "that you already know what you want to do."
Sathene was looking very tense now, and there was no sound from his colleagues. "We know what we ultimately want to achieve, Captain. It is very difficult, it will take a long time and probably a lot of sacrifices. And forgive my saying so, I have been thinking that the time of your arrival here may yet turn out to be more than a matter of chance. To be quite blunt about it, I am under the impression that you could help us achieve it quicker, easier and much less painfully."
"What makes you think that, Governer?"
"The fact that you are here, that you accepted our invitation. Your technology. The sheer size of your Federation, the evidence that your society has the resources needed for the kind of work you do, and is willing to use them that way. Halé and I spent a couple of hours trying to get our minds around the kind of administration you people must have. I'm willing to bet you could effect… you could help us do away with a lot of the things that are hampering our progress – poverty, ignorance, backwardness. If you put your minds and your resources to it. And you would gain an ally." Sathene took a long, slightly shaky breath. "There. Now I've said it."
Picard looked down on his tightly locked hands. Troi bit her lip and looked at the captain, sensing without turning her head that Riker and Worf did the same. There was a silence.
"We can't," Picard said then, in a tone that was utterly decisive and still held an edge of regret. "I am sorry, Governer, but what you are asking is impossible. We can't do it."
"Just like that?" Sathene's voice rose a little. "What do you mean, you can't? Captain, are you telling me you couldn't make a difference? I would… Don't take this the wrong way, but I would find that hard to believe."
"You would be right, Ta'Arun. We could effect, as you put it, a lot of things. We just cannot, we must not, do it."
"Forgive me," Sathene said after a pause, and with an audible effort, "but is that your decision to make? Aren't you going to think about it at least?"
"There is nothing to think about." Picard looked up, his expression inscrutable, and Troi felt her heart going out to him. "It's not my decision, Governer – it is a decision that has been made for me by my superiors, and which I support. It's called the Prime Directive. We cannot interfere in the normal development of a society. All I can tell you is something you already know. It is well within your powers to achieve what you want to achieve. But we cannot do it for you, for a number of reasons. I am very sorry."
"I could almost believe that," Sathene whispered. Then, stronger: "Can you at least name some of your reasons?"
"Yes," Picard said slowly. "I can do that. One of them is very simple. As an officer, I have sworn to uphold the Prime Directive, with my life if necessary, and I sincerely believe it has prevented more damage than it has caused. I am bound by that oath. Another is this. We could conceivably equip your world with technology that would eradicate some of your problems. But believe me, it would create new ones. It would not eliminate the antipathies and the resentment. It would just uproot your entire society, leave your people stranded in an unrecognizable world. There is no technology that could deal with that. And as a civilization you would be cheated out of the experiences of years and decades – experiences you may need in the future. The solutions of one world may not be the solutions of another. The ramifications are endless, Governer. Nobody could take those chances, or accept that responsibility. You'll have to do this your way."
Troi could see Sathene's hands clenching for a moment on the table. "Is there anything I could say –"
"No." Picard's voice was hard enough to make Troi flinch, even though she had been expecting it. The silence was tangible, barely broken by what sounded like a sigh from Gontha in the background.
"Very well," Sathene said then, after what had to be a minute or more, his tone matching the captain's for a moment. "An oath is an oath. After all, we're not worse off than before." He managed what looked like a singularly wry smile. "But it had to be tried."
"Yes," Picard agreed softly.
Abruptly, Minister Halé asked: "Then why, Captain, are you here?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"The United Federation of Planets sends you here, to a world that's got to be pretty primitive by your standards." Halé's voice was all business, almost without bitterness. "You people must have a reason for taking an interest."
"You are there." Picard smiled a little. "You are there, in a part of the galaxy we know little about. That in itself would have been reason enough. Our mandate is to explore. That's what we do."
"But that was not the only reason."
"No." The captain was silent for a moment. "You invited us, Minister. You knew about us years before we knew about you. We wouldn't be here if you hadn't – we would never have set foot on your planet. But after your message reached us… anybody would take an interest after that."
"You did say something about having to consider a number of sources of our knowledge." Halé nodded. "It's not just you people, is it. Not just your Federation. There are other people too – possibly a great many other people. – Tell me something, Lieutenant," he said, abruptly turning to Worf. "Were you born on the captain's world – Terra, if I got that right?"
Worf's eyes met Picard's for the briefest of moments. "No," he said then.
"Thought so," Halé commented with grim satisfaction. "Tell you something. Before you leave here, Captain, I'm going to ask you what it takes to qualify for that federation of yours, and you'd better have an answer to that. Because you can take it from me, now Ongar has been proven right after all these turns we're not going to give this up."
"I believe you, Minister." Picard turned back to Sathene. "I also think you weren't going to bring this up so soon. What happened?"
Now Sathene exchanged a look with Halé and then with Gontha, without any pretense of doing otherwise. "The Major," he said. "Ras Hettith. I told you about him the other day. He's been busy since. I found the news this morning. What it comes to is that we could be in for another uprising."
"Naturally, we keep an eye on known followers of his," Halé explained. "Seems that several of them just disappeared from sight yesterday. Bad sign. And there's been a lot of activity… well. Let's just say we're prepared for just about anything at this point."
"It may not come to that," the Hurso representative said softly.
Halé shot him a brief look that might even have held a touch of sympathy, too brief to tell for certain. "That's right, it may not. But let's face facts, Gontha. We both know the fellow. Anyway," he continued, turning back to Picard, "we had this idea that… well, that with the sort of things you people might be able to do we could just… well, settle this. One way or another. Not once and for all perhaps but for the moment. May have been a little naïve, now I think of it."
Picard frowned a little. "What exactly did you think we could do in the matter, Minister?"
"I have no idea what you can do. But I bet you could do something to stop our old friend Ras Hettith from starting another civil war."
"Do you still believe his activities may be a result of our arrival here?"
"Shouldn't surprise me at all," said Halé. "Or at least, that'll be his excuse."
Sathene nodded once. "As I thought, he may well be… as a matter of fact, there are indications that he is working on some people's fears that you are allies of the… the ruling classes. The people who sought contact with you in the first place."
"If we were to help you put a stop to him we'd prove him right, wouldn't we?" Troi asked softly, and Gontha's head snapped round at her voice as if he had been slapped.
"Actually," he said sharply, "that is what I have been thinking."
"Governer," Picard said, "will you excuse us for a while? This is something I would prefer to discuss with my officers in private."
"Of course, Captain. As a matter of fact…" Another brief and tense smile. "I understand."
- - - - - - - -
They found Lieutenant Kioning in the anteroom, clearly waiting and surprised at not having to wait longer, but Worf immediately took him aside, leaving the center of the room to the others. The captain made for a seat, thought better of it and started to pace. Troi chose a stool and sat down, trying by her mere posture to convey calm and serenity. Riker slumped down on another stool and waited for Worf to finish his business with Kioning, barely concealing his impatience. It was only a minute or so before the Klingon joined them. Troi watched him taking up a position close to the fountain – not sitting down, of course; he never did that unless the situation demanded it, and he certainly didn't do it as long as his captain was on his feet. So he just stood there, ramrod-straight and scowling, hands at his sides, at what he considered to be ease. Troi looked away to hide her smile.
"Well," said Picard, coming to a momentary rest. "Conference. I believe there is no doubt that our… status has changed quite considerably."
"Captain, before we go on, I'd like you to know that it hasn't changed as far as Sathene, Halé or even Gontha are concerned. And they certainly don't blame us for these developments."
"Are you telling me they weren't disappointed at our refusal to intervene, Counselor?"
"No. They were certainly disappointed. Very much so. There may well be some bitterness now. But at the same time it was like… well, as if they hadn't really expected a solution that simple to be for real." She smiled a little. "Although Sathene was very serious when he said the Federation would gain an ally in exchange for our help."
"A useless ally," Worf put in. "They could do nothing for the Federation."
"He doesn't know that," she said, a little sharply. "It was an honest offer."
"An offer he made because he was hoping for benefits," Worf said inexorably.
"In any case it seems we have done the very thing we weren't supposed to do," said Picard, firmly putting the discussion back on track. "There is a very real danger that we caused this turn of events."
"Frankly, sir, and for what it's worth" – Riker's grin was more crooked than usual – "I get the impression that this turn of events was unavoidable. It might not have happened yesterday, but it would have happened – probably sooner rather than later."
"I am aware of that, Will. But we are all of us aware that it did happen yesterday, and that we may well appear to have acted true to somebody's propaganda, no matter what our intentions were. In that case we are even now playing a part in the minds and plans of these people. Thoughts?"
"We've been doing that before we even arrived here, sir," Riker said bluntly. "We've been walking into a lot of preconceived ideas. And Worf's quite right – if this Ras Hettith is trying to take advantage of our being here he doesn't appear to be the only one."
"Yes, I suppose they were going to ask for technological help in any case – or were they, Counselor?" asked Picard.
Troi nodded. "I am almost certain of it. Not for our help in fighting their civil war, of course – they couldn't possibly foresee that development. But we do seem to fit right into several parties' agendas."
"We cannot be held responsible for others' assumptions about us," stated Worf brusquely, with such utter certainty that Picard seemed on the brink of smiling for a moment before he replied.
"Can't we?"
Worf frowned, thought and stood his ground. "No, Captain. You said and did nothing that would have made us allies of these… Tala. If this Ras Hettith says otherwise for some twisted purpose of his own the responsibility is his."
"He may believe otherwise, Mr. Worf. Wars have been started over smaller misunderstandings."
"Then he is a fool. Even Ta'Nemek Gontha knows better."
"Ta'Nemek Gontha was here with us," Troi almost snapped. "He heard us and saw us. Hettith didn't. And whatever he may truly believe or not, a lot of people appear to believe him. We didn't cause this situation, but we became a part of it just by being here at the wrong time. Now we are involved in it. I really don't think we can simply wash our hands of this."
"Actually, I suppose we could get out. Now. Before we cause any more damage." Riker's voice was coldly matter-of-fact, deliberating even as he spoke. "Let's face it – there's no way we can undo this mess, and we have a very good chance of making it worse if we stay any longer."
"Are you playing Devil's advocate again, Will?" Picard asked softly, after a pause that was lost on neither of the other two.
Riker shrugged. "It's one option. Probably not the worst one."
"Probably not," the captain agreed, even more softly.
"You haven't told us what exactly your orders are for this mission, sir," Troi said carefully.
"My orders, Counselor, give me wide-ranging discretionary powers. I believe, though, that under the current circumstances Starfleet would strongly advise leaving immediately."
"Under the current circumstances they might just make that an order," Riker put in.
"Yes, Number One, that is a distinct possibility." Picard sat down at last, or almost sat down – perched on the edge of the basin, ready to take off again any moment. But he didn't. After a few moments he said: "Anything else?"
"Captain." Worf was frowning again, evidently uncomfortable with what he was going to say. "I do not approve of this Ras Hettith's actions. They are… dishonorable. But these people – this ligor in his palace and those who think like him – they offend me too. I would not wish to be counted as one of them."
"We'll have to remember that most Tala don't appear to think like the ligor, Lieutenant." And before Worf could reply the captain added: "Having said that, Mr. Worf – neither would I."
Worf frowned at him for a moment longer. Then he nodded, once, very deliberately, and transferred his attention to the fountain.
- - - - - - - -
Dramatis personae for this chapter:
Ulaz Ta'Arun Sathene: Head of Turië's government, or "governer"
Senna Arun Halé: Turië's Minister for Interior Affairs
Hirun Ta'Nemek Gontha: the official Hurso representative, or "speaker", on the cabinet
Ekur Este Zikané: the governer's secretary
Astorga "Ras" Hettith: „the Major", a Hurso leader
