2.
"How long until we reach Telvan III, Commander?"
"18 hours, 23 minutes, sir."
"Increase to warp six."
Data swivelled around from his station to face the captain. "I would advise against it, sir. After the damage we have sustained, the engines are still –"
"I am aware of the state of the engines, Commander, thank you. Carry out my order, Ensign."
"Aye, sir."
Before Data turned back to his console, he shot a glance at Riker. Riker nodded imperceptibly, and tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible as he addressed the captain.
"Captain, maybe we should check with Geordi before increasing speed. We're already limping badly enough as it is, almost everything except life-support and sickbay is shut down or running on minimum, and that's just to keep warp four."
"I assume you were not paying attention a moment ago, when I assured Mr. Data that I am perfectly aware of the state of the engines. That extends to the rest of the ship. We will maintain warp six."
Riker's comm-badge beeped. "La Forge to bridge!" Geordi did not sound happy.
Picard stood up. "Commander, please explain the situation to Mr. La Forge. I'll be in my Ready Room."
Riker waited until the doors had shut behind the captain before answering. "Hold on, Geordi, I'm coming down. - You have the bridge, Mr. Data."
"Aye, sir."
Geordi was waiting for him, arms akimbo, and Will wouldn't have been surprised to see steam rising from his head. As soft spoken and gentle as Geordi usually was, he took the abuse of his engines as a personal insult.
"Warp six? You shouldn't have come down here, Commander, because I'm going right up to the bridge and I'm telling the captain…"
"That wouldn't be such a good idea right now."
"Oh, and warp six is? Look at these readouts! We're burning out fast, Will!"
Geordi shoved a PADD into Riker's chest. Riker took it and looked at it. After a few minutes he sighed heavily.
"Ok, why don't we do this? You go down to warp four point five, and I go up and try to explain to the captain why we have to go down to warp four point five. How does that sound?"
"Well, not as good as full-stop and a week of repairs, but…" Geordi relaxed slightly. It seemed his engines where not going to die a slow and painful death after all. Not today, anyway.
"What is the matter, anyway? Why the rush? I thought we'd sent the Pushkin to fill in for us at Telvan III".
"You didn't read the report, Geordi. The last report indicated they had six thousand sick people in a small country hospital planned for two hundred, with a medical team of ten, plus the Starfleet research team, consisting of five more people. The Pushkin doesn't even begin to cover their necessities. Besides, since we don't have communications, we have no way of knowing if the Pushkin actually got there. Last we heard, the situation was barely controlled, the illness was contained and most cases were not fatal. But it's a very resilient virus, it keeps mutating, and there's a good chance people are starting to die as we talk."
"Ah, well, maybe I should have read – "
"Hey, Geordi, you were busy keeping this ship together! If you'd taken the time to read every report on your desk in depth, we'd be debris floating in space right now."
Geordi smiled. Will Riker always knew how to make you feel better when you really needed it. He nodded at the First Officer and was turning to go, when Riker said: "You didn't see who signed the report either, did you?"
"No."
"It was Beverly Crusher."
"Bev- wait a minute, you mean Beverly is with the Starfleet research team on Telvan III?"
"As soon as the illness broke out, they put her in charge. She's been there for the past two months."
"Two months? Oh my God!"
"Yep. And that's why he's so – upset. He just wants to get there as fast as he can." Riker gestured upwards to indicate the upper levels and bridge. "We all do, really. Only he's more – intent."
Geordi nodded. "Well, these engines will not be thankful, and in the end we'll need two weeks of repairs instead of one, but I think maybe I can pull off warp five. How about that?"
Will pounded Geordi's shoulder so hard that the engineer swayed briefly on his feet.
"Now you're talking!"