Chapter 3
So, this is what a starship is like, Alley thought to herself.
Alley had been on the Enterprise for six months, the required minimum for a post on a fighter starship. That had been Alley's goal, but now she found a starship as welcome as "battlegrounds" that M'Kal had trained her on long ago on Romulus.
To be truthful, it had been as Alley had expected; people were cautious of her, avoiding her or looking away when she caught them staring at her. Alley had just shrugged it off, going about her business as usual. Alley had sensed a strong feeling-a mix of repugnance and distrust-in Commander Riker when she first met him in the transporter room. He had stood quite stiffly, and regarded her with a cautious eye. That feeling had dwindled down, now that both had gotten used to each other, but it was still there. His orders to her at the helm had a bit of bitterness to them, as if Riker would have her confined to quarters if it weren't for Captain Picard.
Yes, the captain had thought that maybe Alley could make a fine officer after all, if she was just given a chance. Or at least, that's what Counselor Troi had told her.
Counselor Troi had become Alley's friend, right from the start. Of course, Alley hadn't had that many friends, even now.
Let's see, Alley ticked off her count in her head, Counselor Troi, Guinan, Lt. Worf is friendly in the holodeck and gym when engaged in the Klingon arts; Lt. Cmdr. Data is friendly to everyone; am I missing anyone?
Four friends. Not that many considering the ship consisted of about one thousand people.
One thousand twelve, to be exact, said her Vulcan side.
Close enough, replied her human personality. Anyway . . .
Alley got back to the helm controls, for if the ship started to go off course, Lt. Cmdr. Data would certainly notice, and then Cmdr. Riker would swoop down on Alley. Of course, he would only do that in his mind, Alley knew, because it would breach the military, Starfleet style to do it literally. He would actually ask her politely, with a slight touch of annoyance and bitterness in his voice, and then move on as she corrected her error.
Deftly and lightly tapping the controls, Alley maneuvered the Enterprise into hailing and sensor range of the starbase.
"Put us in standard orbit, Lt.," came Riker's voice from behind Alley.
"Aye, sir," she replied as Lt. Cmdr. Data tapped his controls to send information to her station. Using that, she guided the ship into the requested orbit.
"Sir," the gruff voice of Lt. Worf cut in, "the admiral is hailing us from the starbase."
"On screen," replied Picard as both he and Riker turned to the screen. The admiral's face appeared on the screen. Picard was about to greet him, but the admiral got there first.
"Hello, Captain. May I have a word with you in private?"
Picard looked at Riker with a puzzled look and agreed to the admiral's request. After asking Lt. Worf to route the transmission to his Ready Room, he and Riker left to see what the admiral wanted.
Must be important business, Alley thought, because usually they exchange the greetings and then catch each other later on in person. I wonder what is so important . . .
It would be illogical to involve a lieutenant in such matters that require a private conversation between an admiral and a captain, Alley's Vulcan side cut in.
I know; it's just that we irrational humans tend to have a little bit more curiosity then you ever-so logical Vulcans.
Curiosity in matters which do not concern oneself is illogical.
Oh, shut up. Alley could feel laughter coming from inside her, as if another part of her was watching this conversation between her Vulcan and human instincts. But Alley used her Vulcan techniques to contain the feverish laughter to a small smile.
"And you want her as a guide?"
Picard sat behind his desk, puzzled at the order that Admiral Haden had given him. Riker stood in front of the desk, with his arms crossed over his chest with a wary and cautioning look.
Haden had told Picard of a possible defect on Romulus. Supposedly, this defect was giving false information to the Romulan Underground and true information about the Federation and Starfleet's positions to the Romulan military. Haden wanted Picard to go to Romulus to find and capture this defect since he had been on Romulus before during his mission to find Ambassador Spock.
But Haden had also wanted him to take a guide, just in case.
Riker shook his head in a clear no, warning: "I strongly think that that would be a bad idea," while strongly emphasizing the word bad.
"Lt. Falan has an excellent background in Starfleet so far, and she would be the perfect choice as a guide, having grown up there," Haden replied. "I do admit that there is some risk involved, but I think Lt. Falan would do well."
"What about Lt. Cmdr. Data?" Picard inquired, looking at Haden on the screen. "He was with me when we went to Romulus."
"And we know he's trustworthy," Riker added.
"Yes, but we will need him for something else," Haden said, leaning back in his chair.
"Something else? You mean as a distraction?" Picard asked.
"No, not exactly," Haden said. "Actually the defect found out about our intent to reveal him to the Romulan Underground, so of course he went running straight to the Empire. Before he left he had hinted of a plan to strike the Federation."
"And you need the Enterprise to go and see if that plan is true. So, Lt. Falan and I will be the distraction." Picard resigned, looking disappointed.
"Yes, Command thought that if we went ahead with the original plan, then the Romulans would be looking the other way."
"I guess then that I can't exactly say 'no,' can I?" Picard resigned. Haden lightly shook his head and gave Picard a half-hearted smile.
"I'm sorry, Captain, but orders are orders. Haden out."
The screen went blank, and Picard looked at his first officer. "I think we'll brief the senior staff on this first, and then brief Lt. Falan," Picard said at last. Riker nodded in agreement, although Picard could tell that Riker didn't like the idea either. Picard had wanted to give Lt. Falan a chance at Starfleet, but he didn't actually to go on a mission with her as his only accompaniment.
It had been six years since the last time the U.S.S. Taledon had been ordered to deal with cloaked Romulans. Vidar didn't seem particularly happy with this encounter either.
He briskly walked down the bridge towards the helm station, pausing to punch in a destination. Lt. Decker looked over the course and laid it out, only pausing when the ship's new destination finally sank in. While adjusting the specifics, Decker glanced up at the captain, giving him a confused and inquiring look.
"Yes, I know it's way out there," Vidar replied to his helmsman's unasked question, "but that's the way the wheel turns."
"And I'm guessing the wheel coming from Starfleet has rolled on us," finished Cmdr. Hunter. Vidar glanced at his first officer and silently agreed. "So, where are we going?" Hunter piped, always the eager and helpful one, Vidar recalled.
"Neutral Zone."
"Really? We've haven't been there in a long time; why would they want us there?" As he sat down in his captain's chair, Vidar gave Hunter a glance that told him to think about it, and Hunter picked it up quickly. "So I take it that it's raining over there."
"Of course it is," Samuel O'Connor filled in as he stepped from the turbolift. "Didn't you see the weather forecast?"
"No, I was recovering from my beating in the gym," Hunter replied, looking over in the doctor's direction with a sarcastic yet roguish look.
"Of course," Dr. O'Connor replied, feeling confident and just a little smug after his win over Commander Hunter in fencing. "The forecast for today is clouds of suspicion and white-hot lightning tempers."
"What do Romulans look like when wet?" thought Lt. Taran out loud, with a hidden question inside.
"The Romulans aren't that dumb, Taran," Decker cut in before anyone could answer. "You know they remembered to bring their cloaks with them."
Despite the unwelcome orders to face the Romulans at the edge of the Neutral Zone, the bridge atmosphere was quite normal. Officers in the fighter fleet often talked in metaphors and with smiles, even as they went out to battle a formidable enemy. Only in the direst of times-like in the battle-did they act seriously and more like their deep-space exploring starship counterparts. The theory went that at any time, a fighter could be called out to a battle. In the case that that fighter happened to die in the battle, he tried to have as much fun as he could before his fate was completed.
But in this silly banter, the fighters had created a code among themselves. They often used metaphors and codes, so if an enemy happened to be listening in, he would think it was all gibberish. Also, it helped provide a happier feeling to dismal matters.
Even in the unspoken dialogue was a code. Most fighter captains and their officers could talk for hours on end-without grunting a single syllable. Just a look or simple nod could speak volumes.
Many of the starship captains-those out in deep space, exploring- thought the fighter life was like a light switch turning on and off. Some fighter crews got as many as twenty crew members a week because of the casualties of defense, so some would think that relationships wouldn't last long enough to be deep enough for true friendship.
The good part about this was that some enemies believed this as well.
"Bridge to Engineering."
"Aye, Balder here."
"It's time for that rain check, Mr. Balder," Vidar said, remembering that day when the Ajax had detected something that looked awfully like a cloaked Romulan ship. The Ajax's sensors had been correct; there was a Romulan ship. Actually there had been four Warbirds. Vidar himself had to join the fighters in the fight outside the two starships. Captains often wanted to join the fight as a fighter right in the midst of fire, not as what they called a bystander-commander, or a commanding officer watching the battle from a safe spot. Despite this yearning, captains weren't allowed to do this unless there were no fighters left to dispatch.
That battle had been a little bit more for the Taledon fighters to cope with. To give it credit, the Ajax had helped, but there was only so much that a starship could do. Fighters could weave in and out of enemy fire as if they were born to slip and slide. They could catch the crucial points of a battleship in a short burst of phaser fire before the fighters whisked away to safety.
Unfortunately, most of the fighters had had a hard time finding that safe place. Vidar had lost twenty-six fighters, which is the most he had ever lost out of his battalion. A fighter battalion was different from the military definition; a fighter battalion was comprised of five companies, or one hundred twenty-five fighters. A company consisted of five teams, with each team containing five fighters. So in the end, Vidar had lost one man over one fifth of his fighter complement.
The Ajax had suffered a lot of damage too, mainly damage to ship but not without their loss of men and women, be it less than the Taledon's. Because of this, Vidar had promised the Romulans to a rain check on the captain's comeback for this intrusion into Federation space.
"Well, it's about time we got the chance to go back!" Balder replied. The chief engineer had agreed with Vidar that the Taledon crew would pay the Romulan back for their mischief. "I'll ready the weapons, shields, and drive," he answered to Vidar before Vidar could command him. Hunter smiled at the captain, silently assuring him that the crew would back him up.
"How long until we reach the Neutral Zone?" Vidar asked Decker.
"One hour, twenty-six minutes," Decker replied after a few seconds of calculation.
"What to do for one and a half hours?" Vidar mumbled quietly as he leaned back in his chair.
"You could wipe that smug smile off the good doctor's face for me," Hunter whispered, smiling as he leaned toward the captain.
Vidar leaned back and whispered back in his best fatherly tone, "You would feel much better if you beat him yourself, Cmdr."
Decker straightened and shot Vidar a look that seemed to say, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it before."'
Smiling at his first officer's reaction, Vidar relaxed, and both men turned their gazes to the main screen, both too anxious to do anything else but contemplate on the bridge, with only the blinks and bloops of the stations in the background and the endless stream of stars to guide them.
Alley briskly walked along a corridor on her way to the Observation Lounge. Commander Riker had called her to discuss something only about a minute or so ago . . .
"Actually, it was one minute, forty-three point two five eight six seconds."
"I said about, which means 'around' or ' approximately.'"
"I am aware of the various definitions."
In her mind, Alley rolled her eyes, watching this conversation between her two natural cultures roll out before her mind's eye.
Anyway, Riker's voice had seemed a bit too professional for Alley's liking. And, she had to admit, it was only right after her shift had ended- the shift on which she had witnessed the unusual lack of pleasantries between the admiral and the captain.
Alley came to the turbolift and waited for it to arrive. Just as the doors opened, she heard footsteps behind her. She went through the doors and stepped back holding the doors open for the person behind her.
Which just happened to be Commander Riker.
Alley silently gulped and tried to maintain her nerves inside, while on the outside her Vulcan teaching went to work to conceal all traces of emotion.
Riker turned and nodded to the young lieutenant and then turned back to the turbolift doors as the turbolift moved up to its destination.
Standing there was unnerving for Alley. She didn't exactly fancy starting a conversation with the commander-for one, she didn't have anything to say, and two, every time he was near her, he seemed to be in a more serious mood than a talkative one.
As the turbolift doors opened, Riker said curtly, "Follow me, Lt," and walked out onto the bridge. Alley did as she was bid, following the silent and moody commander-not across to the Observation Lounge as Alley expected, but down the ramp towards the captain's ready room.
Uh, oh, Alley thought, this can't be good.
Commander Riker stopped at the ready room doors and waited a few seconds to be recognized by the internal sensors. As the doors opened, he motioned for Alley to go in first.
Captain Picard swiveled in his chair to face the lieutenant, Alley merely gazed at the captain with her best Vulcan look.
By instinct, Alley began assessing the Captain. M'Kal had taught her to gauge everything around her whenever she felt uncomfortable, and boy, did she feel nervous now. Captain Picard was staring at her with a look that seemed to be a mix of several different emotions.
Let's see, Alley ticked off all of the different messages in his gaze. There's judgement, yes, a lot of that; um, a little bit of confidence, finally, and . . .
Dislike?
It wasn't really the fact that he disliked her that surprised Alley, because, well, who didn't? It was that it was just dislike. It didn't really go far enough to be called hatred, just as if he would rather be doing something else.
Well, something's got to be going on here, Alley thought to herself again. Riker was just about bathed in an aura of severe dislike for the Lt., while Picard merely sat here with a little dislike.
And it annoyed Alley.
"Sit down, Lt." Picard said, still gazing at Alley. Alley did as he said and returned her expectant gaze to him. Riker stood in the same spot, behind Alley with his hand on the back of her chair.
And then they waited.
Sometimes, I wonder what it's like to be completely human. Then you wouldn't have to worry about keeping your emotions and nerves hidden, Alley pondered.
Then Counselor Troi walked in, nodded to both men as she approached and sat down on the couch behind Alley and Riker.
Of course, Alley concluded, they will need to know if I am lying or not. So much for the trust and confidence in me.
"Do you know anything of the Romulan Underground, Lt.?" Picard inquired, still gazing at her, but with his fingers laced on top of his desk.
So this is why you have such a serious demeanor, Alley thought. Something must have gotten botched.
"Yes, sir," Alley replied, noting both of her superiors' reactions to this. Even thought both concealed their surprise quite well, Alley could tell that neither of them had expected that response. Alley could feel with her sixth sense that Riker had looked at Troi, who, seen from the corner of Alley's eye, had nodded approval of Lt. Falan's statement.
"There has been a situation that requests Starfleet's attention concerning the Romulan Underground," Picard went on, obviously choosing his words very carefully. Alley raised her eyebrow in a Vulcan fashion, indicating that she was listening. "Ambassador Spock has requested a Starfleet officer to come and meet with him."
At this statement, both of Alley's eyebrows shot up. She was too intelligent to say the obvious question, so instead she answered it. "I suppose that means that all other options of communicating with Starfleet have been discarded," she stated, continuing in her Vulcan manner.
"Yes," Picard replied, leaning back in his chair. For a second, Alley thought he seemed impressed, but then the notion flickered away. "Starfleet Command has picked me to go-"
Because you've been there before, Alley thought.
"-and you are to come as my guide."
Although Alley contained her surprise, she had to give the captain credit for saying that. She had learned that her superiors, the ones on the starbase on which she had served before the Enterprise, had often told her it was just a mission that anyone could have done, and they had decided to give her some away-mission experience, giving a pathetic excuse that was as transparent as glass to Alley. But for her superior to actually admit that Starfleet Command had picked her out of the however-many-people-there- were that they could actually trust? That was a little too much for Alley to believe.
"Sir, wouldn't Commander Data be a better choice?" Alley asked, knowing she was starting to push it.
"Why would you say that, Lt.?" Riker asked with a warning in his voice, crisply enunciating the 't' in 'lieutenant' as Picard looked on, waiting for Alley's response.
"Well, didn't he go with you to Romulus before?" Oh, yeah, Alley thought, I'm pushing it.
Evidence of her thought was made clear by Riker's surprise. He jerked back as if he'd been slapped and walked around to Alley's left, turning so he was facing her.
"And how do you know of this?" Riker barked.
"My hometown has a strong connection with the Romulan Underground," Alley started.
"I'm sure it does," Riker mumbled, looking at Picard.
"And," Alley continued as if she had not heard Riker, "word was passed around about Ambassador Spock. Included in that word was something about a Starfleet captain. I merely assumed it would be you since the rumors were pointing towards the Enterprise. Then I concluded that Commander Data would be the best choice as a guide because of his superior cognitive and combative abilities."
Riker was close to fuming, Counselor Troi was impressed and sitting with her arms folded across her chest, and Captain Picard leaned back in his chair, a somewhat amused expression on his face.
"Yes, Lt.," Picard finally broke the silence, "but Starfleet believes you would be a much better guide, Romulus being your homeworld, of course." Alley merely nodded approval at this. "Since you know more than Starfleet thinks you do, you turn out to be the perfect choice after all." With that, Picard leaned forward. "You will report to sickbay at oh eight hundred hours tomorrow to prepare for this mission."
Alley nodded again, waiting for the wave of disapproval from Riker. Surprisingly, Riker didn't say anything.
"Dismissed."
Alley got up from her chair, nodding at Riker and Troi saying, "Commander, Counselor," respectively and walked out of the room.
When the doors finally closed after Lt. Falan, Picard dropped his diplomatic demeanor. He leaned back in his chair, silently sighing to himself. Riker still standing to the left of the Lt.'s chair, and Counselor Troi was waiting patiently on the couch as before. Then Riker finally broke the silence.
"And she's not lying about any of this," he asked, posing the question at Troi.
"As far as I can tell, no," Troi replied, standing up. "In fact, she was intrigued by some of your reactions."
"Intrigued? What do you mean 'intrigued'?" Riker demanded, getting a little defensive.
"She just seemed to expect that you weren't going to trust her very well," Troi replied, as if trying to explain to a three-year-old that he just couldn't have a cookie.
"Which happens to be the one thing she thinks that I agree with," Riker turned to Picard, "even if this mission goes perfect."
"Agreed, Number One," Picard replied. "Apparently the Romulan know a little more than we think they do. But I still have that hunch about her."
"If you want my opinion, sir," Riker straightened and became a little more professional, "I think you should go with Data and leave Lt. Falan here."
Picard nodded some and then said, "But my decision stands."
Now Riker looked like he was fuming. But he kept it in like the military commander he was and merely nodded to Picard and walked out onto the bridge.
Then Picard turned to Counselor Troi and asked, "Am I doing the right thing?"
"I would think so," she replied. "Lt. Falan is very trustworthy to me. If you just trust her, I don't think you'll have any problems."
"I sure hope so," Picard replied.
So, this is what a starship is like, Alley thought to herself.
Alley had been on the Enterprise for six months, the required minimum for a post on a fighter starship. That had been Alley's goal, but now she found a starship as welcome as "battlegrounds" that M'Kal had trained her on long ago on Romulus.
To be truthful, it had been as Alley had expected; people were cautious of her, avoiding her or looking away when she caught them staring at her. Alley had just shrugged it off, going about her business as usual. Alley had sensed a strong feeling-a mix of repugnance and distrust-in Commander Riker when she first met him in the transporter room. He had stood quite stiffly, and regarded her with a cautious eye. That feeling had dwindled down, now that both had gotten used to each other, but it was still there. His orders to her at the helm had a bit of bitterness to them, as if Riker would have her confined to quarters if it weren't for Captain Picard.
Yes, the captain had thought that maybe Alley could make a fine officer after all, if she was just given a chance. Or at least, that's what Counselor Troi had told her.
Counselor Troi had become Alley's friend, right from the start. Of course, Alley hadn't had that many friends, even now.
Let's see, Alley ticked off her count in her head, Counselor Troi, Guinan, Lt. Worf is friendly in the holodeck and gym when engaged in the Klingon arts; Lt. Cmdr. Data is friendly to everyone; am I missing anyone?
Four friends. Not that many considering the ship consisted of about one thousand people.
One thousand twelve, to be exact, said her Vulcan side.
Close enough, replied her human personality. Anyway . . .
Alley got back to the helm controls, for if the ship started to go off course, Lt. Cmdr. Data would certainly notice, and then Cmdr. Riker would swoop down on Alley. Of course, he would only do that in his mind, Alley knew, because it would breach the military, Starfleet style to do it literally. He would actually ask her politely, with a slight touch of annoyance and bitterness in his voice, and then move on as she corrected her error.
Deftly and lightly tapping the controls, Alley maneuvered the Enterprise into hailing and sensor range of the starbase.
"Put us in standard orbit, Lt.," came Riker's voice from behind Alley.
"Aye, sir," she replied as Lt. Cmdr. Data tapped his controls to send information to her station. Using that, she guided the ship into the requested orbit.
"Sir," the gruff voice of Lt. Worf cut in, "the admiral is hailing us from the starbase."
"On screen," replied Picard as both he and Riker turned to the screen. The admiral's face appeared on the screen. Picard was about to greet him, but the admiral got there first.
"Hello, Captain. May I have a word with you in private?"
Picard looked at Riker with a puzzled look and agreed to the admiral's request. After asking Lt. Worf to route the transmission to his Ready Room, he and Riker left to see what the admiral wanted.
Must be important business, Alley thought, because usually they exchange the greetings and then catch each other later on in person. I wonder what is so important . . .
It would be illogical to involve a lieutenant in such matters that require a private conversation between an admiral and a captain, Alley's Vulcan side cut in.
I know; it's just that we irrational humans tend to have a little bit more curiosity then you ever-so logical Vulcans.
Curiosity in matters which do not concern oneself is illogical.
Oh, shut up. Alley could feel laughter coming from inside her, as if another part of her was watching this conversation between her Vulcan and human instincts. But Alley used her Vulcan techniques to contain the feverish laughter to a small smile.
"And you want her as a guide?"
Picard sat behind his desk, puzzled at the order that Admiral Haden had given him. Riker stood in front of the desk, with his arms crossed over his chest with a wary and cautioning look.
Haden had told Picard of a possible defect on Romulus. Supposedly, this defect was giving false information to the Romulan Underground and true information about the Federation and Starfleet's positions to the Romulan military. Haden wanted Picard to go to Romulus to find and capture this defect since he had been on Romulus before during his mission to find Ambassador Spock.
But Haden had also wanted him to take a guide, just in case.
Riker shook his head in a clear no, warning: "I strongly think that that would be a bad idea," while strongly emphasizing the word bad.
"Lt. Falan has an excellent background in Starfleet so far, and she would be the perfect choice as a guide, having grown up there," Haden replied. "I do admit that there is some risk involved, but I think Lt. Falan would do well."
"What about Lt. Cmdr. Data?" Picard inquired, looking at Haden on the screen. "He was with me when we went to Romulus."
"And we know he's trustworthy," Riker added.
"Yes, but we will need him for something else," Haden said, leaning back in his chair.
"Something else? You mean as a distraction?" Picard asked.
"No, not exactly," Haden said. "Actually the defect found out about our intent to reveal him to the Romulan Underground, so of course he went running straight to the Empire. Before he left he had hinted of a plan to strike the Federation."
"And you need the Enterprise to go and see if that plan is true. So, Lt. Falan and I will be the distraction." Picard resigned, looking disappointed.
"Yes, Command thought that if we went ahead with the original plan, then the Romulans would be looking the other way."
"I guess then that I can't exactly say 'no,' can I?" Picard resigned. Haden lightly shook his head and gave Picard a half-hearted smile.
"I'm sorry, Captain, but orders are orders. Haden out."
The screen went blank, and Picard looked at his first officer. "I think we'll brief the senior staff on this first, and then brief Lt. Falan," Picard said at last. Riker nodded in agreement, although Picard could tell that Riker didn't like the idea either. Picard had wanted to give Lt. Falan a chance at Starfleet, but he didn't actually to go on a mission with her as his only accompaniment.
It had been six years since the last time the U.S.S. Taledon had been ordered to deal with cloaked Romulans. Vidar didn't seem particularly happy with this encounter either.
He briskly walked down the bridge towards the helm station, pausing to punch in a destination. Lt. Decker looked over the course and laid it out, only pausing when the ship's new destination finally sank in. While adjusting the specifics, Decker glanced up at the captain, giving him a confused and inquiring look.
"Yes, I know it's way out there," Vidar replied to his helmsman's unasked question, "but that's the way the wheel turns."
"And I'm guessing the wheel coming from Starfleet has rolled on us," finished Cmdr. Hunter. Vidar glanced at his first officer and silently agreed. "So, where are we going?" Hunter piped, always the eager and helpful one, Vidar recalled.
"Neutral Zone."
"Really? We've haven't been there in a long time; why would they want us there?" As he sat down in his captain's chair, Vidar gave Hunter a glance that told him to think about it, and Hunter picked it up quickly. "So I take it that it's raining over there."
"Of course it is," Samuel O'Connor filled in as he stepped from the turbolift. "Didn't you see the weather forecast?"
"No, I was recovering from my beating in the gym," Hunter replied, looking over in the doctor's direction with a sarcastic yet roguish look.
"Of course," Dr. O'Connor replied, feeling confident and just a little smug after his win over Commander Hunter in fencing. "The forecast for today is clouds of suspicion and white-hot lightning tempers."
"What do Romulans look like when wet?" thought Lt. Taran out loud, with a hidden question inside.
"The Romulans aren't that dumb, Taran," Decker cut in before anyone could answer. "You know they remembered to bring their cloaks with them."
Despite the unwelcome orders to face the Romulans at the edge of the Neutral Zone, the bridge atmosphere was quite normal. Officers in the fighter fleet often talked in metaphors and with smiles, even as they went out to battle a formidable enemy. Only in the direst of times-like in the battle-did they act seriously and more like their deep-space exploring starship counterparts. The theory went that at any time, a fighter could be called out to a battle. In the case that that fighter happened to die in the battle, he tried to have as much fun as he could before his fate was completed.
But in this silly banter, the fighters had created a code among themselves. They often used metaphors and codes, so if an enemy happened to be listening in, he would think it was all gibberish. Also, it helped provide a happier feeling to dismal matters.
Even in the unspoken dialogue was a code. Most fighter captains and their officers could talk for hours on end-without grunting a single syllable. Just a look or simple nod could speak volumes.
Many of the starship captains-those out in deep space, exploring- thought the fighter life was like a light switch turning on and off. Some fighter crews got as many as twenty crew members a week because of the casualties of defense, so some would think that relationships wouldn't last long enough to be deep enough for true friendship.
The good part about this was that some enemies believed this as well.
"Bridge to Engineering."
"Aye, Balder here."
"It's time for that rain check, Mr. Balder," Vidar said, remembering that day when the Ajax had detected something that looked awfully like a cloaked Romulan ship. The Ajax's sensors had been correct; there was a Romulan ship. Actually there had been four Warbirds. Vidar himself had to join the fighters in the fight outside the two starships. Captains often wanted to join the fight as a fighter right in the midst of fire, not as what they called a bystander-commander, or a commanding officer watching the battle from a safe spot. Despite this yearning, captains weren't allowed to do this unless there were no fighters left to dispatch.
That battle had been a little bit more for the Taledon fighters to cope with. To give it credit, the Ajax had helped, but there was only so much that a starship could do. Fighters could weave in and out of enemy fire as if they were born to slip and slide. They could catch the crucial points of a battleship in a short burst of phaser fire before the fighters whisked away to safety.
Unfortunately, most of the fighters had had a hard time finding that safe place. Vidar had lost twenty-six fighters, which is the most he had ever lost out of his battalion. A fighter battalion was different from the military definition; a fighter battalion was comprised of five companies, or one hundred twenty-five fighters. A company consisted of five teams, with each team containing five fighters. So in the end, Vidar had lost one man over one fifth of his fighter complement.
The Ajax had suffered a lot of damage too, mainly damage to ship but not without their loss of men and women, be it less than the Taledon's. Because of this, Vidar had promised the Romulans to a rain check on the captain's comeback for this intrusion into Federation space.
"Well, it's about time we got the chance to go back!" Balder replied. The chief engineer had agreed with Vidar that the Taledon crew would pay the Romulan back for their mischief. "I'll ready the weapons, shields, and drive," he answered to Vidar before Vidar could command him. Hunter smiled at the captain, silently assuring him that the crew would back him up.
"How long until we reach the Neutral Zone?" Vidar asked Decker.
"One hour, twenty-six minutes," Decker replied after a few seconds of calculation.
"What to do for one and a half hours?" Vidar mumbled quietly as he leaned back in his chair.
"You could wipe that smug smile off the good doctor's face for me," Hunter whispered, smiling as he leaned toward the captain.
Vidar leaned back and whispered back in his best fatherly tone, "You would feel much better if you beat him yourself, Cmdr."
Decker straightened and shot Vidar a look that seemed to say, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it before."'
Smiling at his first officer's reaction, Vidar relaxed, and both men turned their gazes to the main screen, both too anxious to do anything else but contemplate on the bridge, with only the blinks and bloops of the stations in the background and the endless stream of stars to guide them.
Alley briskly walked along a corridor on her way to the Observation Lounge. Commander Riker had called her to discuss something only about a minute or so ago . . .
"Actually, it was one minute, forty-three point two five eight six seconds."
"I said about, which means 'around' or ' approximately.'"
"I am aware of the various definitions."
In her mind, Alley rolled her eyes, watching this conversation between her two natural cultures roll out before her mind's eye.
Anyway, Riker's voice had seemed a bit too professional for Alley's liking. And, she had to admit, it was only right after her shift had ended- the shift on which she had witnessed the unusual lack of pleasantries between the admiral and the captain.
Alley came to the turbolift and waited for it to arrive. Just as the doors opened, she heard footsteps behind her. She went through the doors and stepped back holding the doors open for the person behind her.
Which just happened to be Commander Riker.
Alley silently gulped and tried to maintain her nerves inside, while on the outside her Vulcan teaching went to work to conceal all traces of emotion.
Riker turned and nodded to the young lieutenant and then turned back to the turbolift doors as the turbolift moved up to its destination.
Standing there was unnerving for Alley. She didn't exactly fancy starting a conversation with the commander-for one, she didn't have anything to say, and two, every time he was near her, he seemed to be in a more serious mood than a talkative one.
As the turbolift doors opened, Riker said curtly, "Follow me, Lt," and walked out onto the bridge. Alley did as she was bid, following the silent and moody commander-not across to the Observation Lounge as Alley expected, but down the ramp towards the captain's ready room.
Uh, oh, Alley thought, this can't be good.
Commander Riker stopped at the ready room doors and waited a few seconds to be recognized by the internal sensors. As the doors opened, he motioned for Alley to go in first.
Captain Picard swiveled in his chair to face the lieutenant, Alley merely gazed at the captain with her best Vulcan look.
By instinct, Alley began assessing the Captain. M'Kal had taught her to gauge everything around her whenever she felt uncomfortable, and boy, did she feel nervous now. Captain Picard was staring at her with a look that seemed to be a mix of several different emotions.
Let's see, Alley ticked off all of the different messages in his gaze. There's judgement, yes, a lot of that; um, a little bit of confidence, finally, and . . .
Dislike?
It wasn't really the fact that he disliked her that surprised Alley, because, well, who didn't? It was that it was just dislike. It didn't really go far enough to be called hatred, just as if he would rather be doing something else.
Well, something's got to be going on here, Alley thought to herself again. Riker was just about bathed in an aura of severe dislike for the Lt., while Picard merely sat here with a little dislike.
And it annoyed Alley.
"Sit down, Lt." Picard said, still gazing at Alley. Alley did as he said and returned her expectant gaze to him. Riker stood in the same spot, behind Alley with his hand on the back of her chair.
And then they waited.
Sometimes, I wonder what it's like to be completely human. Then you wouldn't have to worry about keeping your emotions and nerves hidden, Alley pondered.
Then Counselor Troi walked in, nodded to both men as she approached and sat down on the couch behind Alley and Riker.
Of course, Alley concluded, they will need to know if I am lying or not. So much for the trust and confidence in me.
"Do you know anything of the Romulan Underground, Lt.?" Picard inquired, still gazing at her, but with his fingers laced on top of his desk.
So this is why you have such a serious demeanor, Alley thought. Something must have gotten botched.
"Yes, sir," Alley replied, noting both of her superiors' reactions to this. Even thought both concealed their surprise quite well, Alley could tell that neither of them had expected that response. Alley could feel with her sixth sense that Riker had looked at Troi, who, seen from the corner of Alley's eye, had nodded approval of Lt. Falan's statement.
"There has been a situation that requests Starfleet's attention concerning the Romulan Underground," Picard went on, obviously choosing his words very carefully. Alley raised her eyebrow in a Vulcan fashion, indicating that she was listening. "Ambassador Spock has requested a Starfleet officer to come and meet with him."
At this statement, both of Alley's eyebrows shot up. She was too intelligent to say the obvious question, so instead she answered it. "I suppose that means that all other options of communicating with Starfleet have been discarded," she stated, continuing in her Vulcan manner.
"Yes," Picard replied, leaning back in his chair. For a second, Alley thought he seemed impressed, but then the notion flickered away. "Starfleet Command has picked me to go-"
Because you've been there before, Alley thought.
"-and you are to come as my guide."
Although Alley contained her surprise, she had to give the captain credit for saying that. She had learned that her superiors, the ones on the starbase on which she had served before the Enterprise, had often told her it was just a mission that anyone could have done, and they had decided to give her some away-mission experience, giving a pathetic excuse that was as transparent as glass to Alley. But for her superior to actually admit that Starfleet Command had picked her out of the however-many-people-there- were that they could actually trust? That was a little too much for Alley to believe.
"Sir, wouldn't Commander Data be a better choice?" Alley asked, knowing she was starting to push it.
"Why would you say that, Lt.?" Riker asked with a warning in his voice, crisply enunciating the 't' in 'lieutenant' as Picard looked on, waiting for Alley's response.
"Well, didn't he go with you to Romulus before?" Oh, yeah, Alley thought, I'm pushing it.
Evidence of her thought was made clear by Riker's surprise. He jerked back as if he'd been slapped and walked around to Alley's left, turning so he was facing her.
"And how do you know of this?" Riker barked.
"My hometown has a strong connection with the Romulan Underground," Alley started.
"I'm sure it does," Riker mumbled, looking at Picard.
"And," Alley continued as if she had not heard Riker, "word was passed around about Ambassador Spock. Included in that word was something about a Starfleet captain. I merely assumed it would be you since the rumors were pointing towards the Enterprise. Then I concluded that Commander Data would be the best choice as a guide because of his superior cognitive and combative abilities."
Riker was close to fuming, Counselor Troi was impressed and sitting with her arms folded across her chest, and Captain Picard leaned back in his chair, a somewhat amused expression on his face.
"Yes, Lt.," Picard finally broke the silence, "but Starfleet believes you would be a much better guide, Romulus being your homeworld, of course." Alley merely nodded approval at this. "Since you know more than Starfleet thinks you do, you turn out to be the perfect choice after all." With that, Picard leaned forward. "You will report to sickbay at oh eight hundred hours tomorrow to prepare for this mission."
Alley nodded again, waiting for the wave of disapproval from Riker. Surprisingly, Riker didn't say anything.
"Dismissed."
Alley got up from her chair, nodding at Riker and Troi saying, "Commander, Counselor," respectively and walked out of the room.
When the doors finally closed after Lt. Falan, Picard dropped his diplomatic demeanor. He leaned back in his chair, silently sighing to himself. Riker still standing to the left of the Lt.'s chair, and Counselor Troi was waiting patiently on the couch as before. Then Riker finally broke the silence.
"And she's not lying about any of this," he asked, posing the question at Troi.
"As far as I can tell, no," Troi replied, standing up. "In fact, she was intrigued by some of your reactions."
"Intrigued? What do you mean 'intrigued'?" Riker demanded, getting a little defensive.
"She just seemed to expect that you weren't going to trust her very well," Troi replied, as if trying to explain to a three-year-old that he just couldn't have a cookie.
"Which happens to be the one thing she thinks that I agree with," Riker turned to Picard, "even if this mission goes perfect."
"Agreed, Number One," Picard replied. "Apparently the Romulan know a little more than we think they do. But I still have that hunch about her."
"If you want my opinion, sir," Riker straightened and became a little more professional, "I think you should go with Data and leave Lt. Falan here."
Picard nodded some and then said, "But my decision stands."
Now Riker looked like he was fuming. But he kept it in like the military commander he was and merely nodded to Picard and walked out onto the bridge.
Then Picard turned to Counselor Troi and asked, "Am I doing the right thing?"
"I would think so," she replied. "Lt. Falan is very trustworthy to me. If you just trust her, I don't think you'll have any problems."
"I sure hope so," Picard replied.