Beverly watched as the officers filed out of the conference room. Zev nodded at her with a professional sharpness, and a Vulcan woman with incredible skin tilted her head briefly at Beverly before they both headed off to the bridge. Another man exited with such a sullen expression, she knew based on Jack's description that he must be the flight officer, Vigo. She craned her neck around the doorway cautiously to find that Jack was still in the meeting room talking quietly but earnestly with Captain Picard. She moved back out of sight and stepped away from the door a few paces, intent on avoiding the consequences of overhearing whatever they were talking about.
Suddenly, Picard's voice boomed, "this conversation is over," and moments later, Jack came striding quickly out of the room, red-faced and clearly angry.
He skidded to a stop, seeing her lurking in the vicinity of the briefing room. Jack's expression changed for the better, and he made an attempt to calm himself. She resisted the urge to reach for his hand to offer her support. "Hey! What are you doing up here?"
She gestured to a clipboard she had tucked under her arm. "The CMO ordered me to get the Captain scheduled for his physical as soon as possible. Preferably before the next mission."
Jack shook his head slightly. "Are you kidding?"
She straightened. "Of course not."
Jack smiled and brushed her upper arm with his hand. "Sorry...just, Schreiber's got you doing his busy work. It's not fair."
"I appreciate your concern, Jack. But it's just an administrative assignment. I can handle it."
"Of course, I didn't mean to suggest anything else." He glanced back in the direction he'd come from. "Just watch out, he's totally locked in."
"What do you mean?"
"He's focused on the mission and doesn't want to talk about anything but that. And Kor, his mysterious Klingon friend I told you about last year just died suddenly, and Jean-Luc is acting as if nothing happened."
"Is that...normal for him?"
"Well, yeah, but this mission we're headed for is a colony in Klingon territory and he just announced we're making a detour to Kronos."
"Oh! The Klingon home world?"
"Yes, and Kor's home planet. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly in the know on this one, Bev. As far as I can tell the only people who have been fully briefed are Jean-Luc, T'Pel, and Zev."
Beverly could see Jack's emotions were in turmoil, and he was struggling with something. She finally squeezed his hand and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I hope your day gets better."
*
When she peeked her head back around the doorway, the captain was sitting down examining a smooth object in his palm. Apparently sensing someone was there, he quickly put it back in his desk, and said, "Who's there?"
Beverly took a deep breath and stepped into view.
"Do you have a few minutes, Captain?"
He didn't look up at her. "Just a few," he muttered, now looking distractedly at a thin computer screen.
"Good," she said, sitting down at the table in an empty seat adjacent to him. "This shouldn't take long."
He looked up, suddenly looking surprised to find her there. "Good morning, Doctor Howard," he said in a bemused tone. He looked suspiciously around them, perhaps expecting a medkit. If he was relieved to find she wasn't carrying one, he didn't let on.
Get to the point, it's obvious he doesn't have a lot of patience. "It's about your physical sir." She smiled brightly. "Time to schedule the next one."
His face went blank. "What?"
"You're overdue for your physical sir. So, if you could check your calendar, we can set this up-"
"There has obviously been a...misunderstanding," he said as though he was getting ready to usher her out of the room. "I thought this had been taken care of."
She looked at him quizzically. "Not according to my records."
"Your colleague was here early this morning. Doctor..."
"Doctor Harris?" Beverly replied tightly, realizing her fellow liaison had been more ambitious than she had been.
Picard recalled the slim blonde woman had been very professional and to the point, which of course he had appreciated. "Yes. And we scheduled something already." He turned the view screen for her to see.
Beverly had to struggle to keep from laughing. "Three months away? Sorry, but that's not going to work. You're already three months overdue."
His expression appeared calm, but she could tell that he was irritated. "As I told you, the appointment has already been scheduled. Now if you will excuse me, I have some more important business to attend to-"
"More important than your health, Captain?"
Finally, he faced her squarely. "Are you always this direct?"
"Yes. Are you?"
"Yes," he snapped. He stared at her with a somewhat stunned expression before his voice grew even quieter. "As I am sure you have noted from my health records, Doctor Howard, I am in very good health."
She kept her expression even. "Sir...according to your records, you have a cardiac implant that has serious design defects that were corrected by subsequent versions. Dr. Schreiber has documented his repeated recommendations to you to have surgery to replace the implant, but you have refused. Last year you were stabbed and nearly died on an away mission, and the implant was taxed by that as well. Now, you still appear to be taking small doses of tricordrazine to maintain the acceptable functionality of your heart. I've spoken with Dr. Schreiber and he has agreed that we should discontinue use of the tricordrazine until after we've had a chance to properly examine you."
Jean-Luc blinked slowly, trying to make sure he had captured all of her rather astute, but speedy summary. "Why? Doctor Schreiber hasn't said a word about that to me." Schreiber is assigning his new recruits to carry out his least favorite duty-communicating with me.
"Tricordrazine is a powerful stimulant, and dosing for non-emergency situations is very touchy."
He leaned forward. "Touchy? Is that official medical terminology, Doctor?"
She pursed her lips and pressed on."For a person of your age and very good physical condition, taking this kind of drug on a regular basis shouldn't be necessary and could even be a risk to your health."
"Let me ask you this: have you experienced bouts of greying vision, irregular heartbeat, and irritability?"
Being a somewhat irritable person, he wasn't sure exactly how to answer that question. So he gave a subtle shrug, and immediately regretted it.
"Captain, I truly hope that you are taking this more seriously than you appear to be," said Beverly. "Let's not have this get to a point where you are passing out on your own bridge."
He suddenly felt intimidated, which as far as he could recall, had never happened. Ever. He cleared his throat. "Schreiber didn't seem to think the drug was a risk-it was his prescription after all. Now, within 24 hours of you coming on board this ship, you have changed my treatment?"
"You don't need continued medication for your heart, Captain. What you need to do is to have your cardiac implant either repaired or replaced."
He turned the computer screen back around, now looking bored with the conversation. "This ship is on its way to a very delicate negotiation, Doctor. I hardly think my superiors care about my artificial heart. However, they do care that I carry out my mission successfully."
"They don't have to care about your health, but I do." He sat back in his chair with raised eyebrows, still watching her with muted surprise. He's very closed off. Is he not used to being challenged on his own ship? "And I am telling you that if you don't have surgery immediately after this mission, your health will be in grave danger." She stood up, trying to keep her temper in check. She evened out her tone, although her hands were trembling.
"Now...will you allow me to reschedule your physical exam for three weeks from today? That is far more acceptable than three months, and should allow you the time to complete your mission."
He stared up at her for a few tense moments. "Fine," he said.
Feeling exhilarated by her small victory, she nodded. "Thank you, sir."
Still looking up at her, he said. "Hmmph."
As she was headed out the door he seemed to have a sudden change of heart, as he called after her. "Thank you for your candor, Doctor Howard. It is a welcome change."
*
Jean-Luc exhaled deeply after Beverly Howard left. He hoped he hadn't appeared as though he was holding his breath, but something about her continued to catch him off guard. He needed to sort some things out for himself, that much was clear. He couldn't afford to have every interaction with her be awkward and verging toward an argument. The problem was, he felt drawn to her. Time would tell if it was just a physical attraction that could be suppressed, or something more complicated. He silently cursed Schreiber again for this surprise transfer. He reminded himself again that he should be happy for Jack. He shut his eyes to calm his mind, but instead, her intense gaze appeared very clearly.
Reactivating his computer screen again, he focused again on studying his orders. According to the declassified records transmitted to him, only some of which he had been allowed to share with his command officers, the mission promised to be a difficult one. The Stargazer had orders to travel to the Satou system in Klingon territory, which was fairly close to the Federation border. The sector was home to a former Federation colony which had been all but abandoned over seventy years ago. The area had been annexed by the Klingons during its war with the Federation, and the Federation had left the humans alone in the interest of keeping the peace.
The human colonists now wished to join the Klingon Empire and had gone about doing so in a distinctly Klingon manner, aggressively attacking the very society they wanted to join. At least, according to Starfleet Intel reports. The Klingon High Command was not at all appreciative of this display and was on the verge of voting to wipe out the colonists.
In addition, both the Klingon Empire and Federation leaders suspected that the colonists were backed by the Romulans. The Federation hadn't had contact with the Romulans for decades, but the Klingons had, and the results of these sporadic interactions were never good. Both the Klingons and the Federation generally viewed the Romulans as deceptive, ambitious, and extremely clever, favoring psychological warfare over everything else. Jean-Luc had a very small frame of reference since everything he knew about Romulans came from historical texts and tactical training.
Before he reached his destination he had obtained permission from Admiral Yoshida to visit Kronos, the center of the Klingon Empire, to obtain information about Kor's death. According to Kor's parents, who were prominent members of the Klingon hierarchy, Kor had been murdered and declared a traitor to his people. He knew enough about Klingon culture, and Kor's family, in particular, to know that they would want to avenge him. As someone who had taken a friendship oath with Kor years ago, he knew he owed his friend at least an attempt to rectify what had happened and to clear his name. What bothered him more deeply was that Kor's parents might even expect more from him, but only time would tell.
He had mentioned this to Jack and found his friend was immediately angry. After what had occurred one year before, many in the crew, including Jack, had expressed suspicion toward Klingons. He and Jack had been seriously injured during a planet-side ambush that had immediately followed Kor's ship leaving the sector. Kor had left the scene for reasons unknown to Picard, and at the time he had certainly been angry. But some months after the incident, when the physical wounds had healed, Kor had sent him a few cryptic messages, giving him the sense that the Klingon was mixed up in something politically complicated, and possibly dangerous. Now with Kor dead, his fears had come true.
*
His upper back hit the mat with a dull thud, but before his head followed, he rolled to the side. To his slight surprise, his opponent just stood there watching from above.
"I am hungry," said T'Pel. "Would you join me for breakfast in the mess hall?"
He pushed himself up to his feet wearily and shook out his sore shoulder. "No. Let's do this again."
His second officer's expression changed only subtly. "Despite your repeated errors today, your perseverance is notable, Captain." She went into a defensive stance, and he advanced too quickly. She had already anticipated his attempt to throw her off balance, and she easily slipped aside.
He dropped to one knee and was able to pull her down to the mat, but it was not graceful, or artful. For an awkward moment, he stared down at her, their faces just inches apart. He jumped up abruptly and retreated to the corner. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's almost as if I've forgotten everything you've been teaching me."
He rubbed his palm over his hair and blinked away an image of Beverly. He was thoroughly conflicted. He felt at once strongly attracted to the beautiful woman in front of him, but could not stop fantasizing about someone else who was completely unattainable. And all of it was highly unprofessional. "I'm sorry, this isn't like me," he blurted out.
T'Pel of Vulcan moved into a cross-legged position on the floor and watched him with a bemused expression as he leaned back against the wall. "Captain, you do not seem well."
"Uh..." he pinched the bridge of his nose and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I suppose I am a bit distracted." He leaned forward, from a wave of nausea. It's only stress.
She stood up and walked closer to him. "Your rejection of my offer to join me for breakfast is perhaps ill-advised. You are likely just as hungry as I am... which explains your odd behavior."
He inhaled through his nose, trying to slow his breathing. He closed his eyes, and opened them when he felt something warm against the side of his neck.
T'Pel was holding her palm against his neck firmly but with an unexpected tenderness. When he kissed her, he felt almost overcome with desire, and was very conscious that it was too late to go back to the way things were. His life had changed.