CHAPTER TWO

William Riker sat in the dark at a corner table. Ten Forward was empty. Looking in to his empty glass, he frowned. The wrinkles over his brow deepened and he got up and crossed the room to the bar and poured another beer. He sat down with a sigh and pondered the question. Should he accept? It was the third time the chair was offered, maybe the last time. What was he scared of? Was he scared? Intimidated? No. He had proved many times his ability to lead, to make the hard decisions. Then why the reluctance to take command? There were those who said he could be the next Kirk or Picard. Was he afraid of looking like the fool if he couldn't fill those shoes? Maybe. Maybe he didn't want to fill somebody else's shoes. What was it captain Picard had said? 'A man must create his own legacy, and once created it is his own. The accomplishments of other men are their own and no man can take that away, or live up to them. Not because he is not good enough, he is just not them. A mans own accomplishments are what make him, not those of others.' Riker knew these things to be true, but still, there were those, his father among them, who expected more. The fact was he did not want to leave the Enterprise. Being first officer on the Enterprise was more coveted than being captain on half the ships in Starfleet. Still there was the nagging question, should he accept? The doors to Ten Forward hissed open and Geordi LaForge walked in looking tired and worn. He nodded to Riker as he stepped behind the bar and poured a drink.

"your keeping chief engineers hours I see." LaForge said as he walked to the table, "May I join you?"

Riker nodded to the chair opposite and Geordi sat down and removing his visor began to rub his temples.

"Rough night?" Riker asked.

"The Captain's got me working on this X-wing fighter. The technology is a bit more primitive than ours, but no less complicated, and I just got the universal translator programmed to understand that droid of his."

"He seems like little more than a kid, doesn't he?" Riker said.

"Skywalker? Yea but he seems alright. Seems anxious to get home, gets a real bad feeling from the Borg, he says. And some problem back home I guess, Seems they got their own version of the Borg."

Geordi leaned back in his chair and adjusted the visor a little.

"So what's got you keeping these kind of hours?"

"Pondering a question Geordi." Riker answered.

"They offer you the chair again?"

Riker raised an eyebrow and looked at Geordi.

"Don't be surprised Commander, you know as well as I do that a starship is like a small town, there are no secrets." Geordi said.

Riker smiled over his beer and tossed off the last of it. Leaning back in his chair he stared out in to the deep black of space that had been his home for the past ten years and sighed.

"Geordi I don't want to leave this ship."

"Then don't" Geordi said matter of factly.

"You make it sound easy." Riker said.

"Commander I learned a long time ago that there is a balance between what we need to do for ourselves and what we need to do for our careers. There has to be, otherwise both will suffer. I say if your undecided maybe you should stay, at least for a little while. Your a good officer, I doubt this will be your last opportunity."

"Your a wise man Geordi." Riker said.

Geordi smiled at the compliment and finished his drink.

"I have to get back to the shuttle bay commander, the Captain wants this report by 0800." Geordi said. Maybe you should try getting some sleep." He added.

"I will, Geordi, Thanks."

"Sure." Geordi said and walked out.

After the doors closed, Ten Forward fell silent once more. The man who could be Captain sat in his chair and stared out once more at a tiny star that twinkled in the vast reaches of space. He thought of getting another beer, but decided he'd better take Geordi's advice and get some sleep, he was on duty again in three hours. Commander William Riker stood and walked across the room turning to look once more at the tiny star, he smiled and disappeared into the corridor. Ten Forward was still and quiet in the early hours. Had Commander Riker stayed a few minutes more, he would have seen his star grow just a little and change course. An intercept course!