grayness on his gloves, the more creeped-out he felt. Was all the organic material on his gloves from one person, or was it a composite of particles from everyone on the bridge that had drifted since the ship’s gravity failed, and eventually settled in a homogenous layer? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“Worf was right about one thing,”
Picard’s voice said, startlingly loud in his helmet speakers. Geordi jumped, and saw that the captain was standing next to the helm console, in his own EV suit. Geordi hadn’t even noticed him beam in.
“It’s an irresistible lure. One I freely admit I couldn’t pass up.”
“I was just thinking about Howard Carter, and Tutankhamen’s tomb.”
“Ah, ‘wonderful things.’”
“Exactly,” Geordi chuckled.
“So . . . what brings you back across here while you’re off duty?”
“I couldn’t sleep, and, to be honest, something about this ship . . . I dunno, it’s like it’s under my skin. The wonderful things, I mean, not the crew’s remains.”
“Sometimes,”
Picard said,
“it’s not just the treasures that draw us to the past, but a human connection. When we view the artifacts of Tutankhamen we don’t just admire the artistry and ingenuity of the people who created them, but we also pay our respects to who they were. We remember them.”
La Forge looked at the remains on the walls. Some of it had been removed for analysis and identification, but that just meant that more fragments of uniform were exposed to his light. Blue cloth with occasional red or yellow piping. “I think a lot more people will be remembering the crew of
Intrepid
.”
“Indeed they will.”
Picard stepped closer, looking at the dedication plaque.
“Being able to step into that which we ordinarily
just read in history texts is marvelous enough, but to be able to add a new page . . . That’s a special thing, Geordi.”
“I guess it is.”
“We’re standing in our own pasts, so to speak, only that past isn’t the past we thought it was.”
“Now we just have to work out what past it actually is.”
Picard gave a little chuckle.
“That, I’m content to let Starfleet work out.”
3
L a Forge awoke to the insistent chime of his alarm call from the ship’s computer, and felt surprisingly refreshed considering how late he had eventually gone to sleep after returning from his visit to
Intrepid
.
He decided to take breakfast in the
Enterprise
’s mess, rather than have a replicated dish in his quarters. Ordinarily the mess was used for diplomatic functions, but there were always a few people who preferred to have their food prepared by a chef. He was finishing off his coffee when he heard,
“Commander La Forge, please report to my ready room.”
He hurried up to the bridge immediately, and over to the ready room. Picard was behind his desk, but looked up as soon as La Forge entered. “Geordi,” Picard began, “we’ve had a response from Starfleet about the matter of the
Intrepid.”
La Forge noticed that Picard was keeping a stern expression on his face more so than usual, and wondered whether this was a good or bad sign. There was certainly a tension in the air, and a slight hesitancy. “Starfleet is sending a specialist ship, the
Challenger,
to take over investigationof the derelict. They feel that it warrants a long-term study.”
“Sounds like the right approach.”
“A medical forensics team on board will remove the biological remains of the crew for repatriation back to Earth, while the engineering specialists attempt to reactivate
Intrepid
’s systems and determine what happened to her.”
Geordi nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly what I’d recommended, Captain.”
Picard hesitated. “They have also . . . requested”—there was that tension again, giving lie to the “request” part—“that you be transferred to the
Challenger
on an extended attachment to the team being assembled to investigate
Intrepid.”
La Forge felt a sudden chill.
“Worf was right about one thing,”
Picard’s voice said, startlingly loud in his helmet speakers. Geordi jumped, and saw that the captain was standing next to the helm console, in his own EV suit. Geordi hadn’t even noticed him beam in.
“It’s an irresistible lure. One I freely admit I couldn’t pass up.”
“I was just thinking about Howard Carter, and Tutankhamen’s tomb.”
“Ah, ‘wonderful things.’”
“Exactly,” Geordi chuckled.
“So . . . what brings you back across here while you’re off duty?”
“I couldn’t sleep, and, to be honest, something about this ship . . . I dunno, it’s like it’s under my skin. The wonderful things, I mean, not the crew’s remains.”
“Sometimes,”
Picard said,
“it’s not just the treasures that draw us to the past, but a human connection. When we view the artifacts of Tutankhamen we don’t just admire the artistry and ingenuity of the people who created them, but we also pay our respects to who they were. We remember them.”
La Forge looked at the remains on the walls. Some of it had been removed for analysis and identification, but that just meant that more fragments of uniform were exposed to his light. Blue cloth with occasional red or yellow piping. “I think a lot more people will be remembering the crew of
Intrepid
.”
“Indeed they will.”
Picard stepped closer, looking at the dedication plaque.
“Being able to step into that which we ordinarily
just read in history texts is marvelous enough, but to be able to add a new page . . . That’s a special thing, Geordi.”
“I guess it is.”
“We’re standing in our own pasts, so to speak, only that past isn’t the past we thought it was.”
“Now we just have to work out what past it actually is.”
Picard gave a little chuckle.
“That, I’m content to let Starfleet work out.”
3
L a Forge awoke to the insistent chime of his alarm call from the ship’s computer, and felt surprisingly refreshed considering how late he had eventually gone to sleep after returning from his visit to
Intrepid
.
He decided to take breakfast in the
Enterprise
’s mess, rather than have a replicated dish in his quarters. Ordinarily the mess was used for diplomatic functions, but there were always a few people who preferred to have their food prepared by a chef. He was finishing off his coffee when he heard,
“Commander La Forge, please report to my ready room.”
He hurried up to the bridge immediately, and over to the ready room. Picard was behind his desk, but looked up as soon as La Forge entered. “Geordi,” Picard began, “we’ve had a response from Starfleet about the matter of the
Intrepid.”
La Forge noticed that Picard was keeping a stern expression on his face more so than usual, and wondered whether this was a good or bad sign. There was certainly a tension in the air, and a slight hesitancy. “Starfleet is sending a specialist ship, the
Challenger,
to take over investigationof the derelict. They feel that it warrants a long-term study.”
“Sounds like the right approach.”
“A medical forensics team on board will remove the biological remains of the crew for repatriation back to Earth, while the engineering specialists attempt to reactivate
Intrepid
’s systems and determine what happened to her.”
Geordi nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly what I’d recommended, Captain.”
Picard hesitated. “They have also . . . requested”—there was that tension again, giving lie to the “request” part—“that you be transferred to the
Challenger
on an extended attachment to the team being assembled to investigate
Intrepid.”
La Forge felt a sudden chill.
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