by David
tradition. I myself am named after a great man
in our history--our greatest leader, in my
opinion."
Data said, "On Earth, Lucius
Aelius Sejanus was a monster who tried
to overthrow the Emperor Tiberius but was
exposed. He was imprisoned and then strangled
in his cell, presumably upon Tiberius'
orders, after which his body was given to the Roman
mob, which tore it to pieces."
Gaius shuddered in his seat, as if what
Data was describing was happening to Captain
Sejanus.
"You see, Lieutenant, that is the
precise point where the history of our two
worlds parted company," the Centurion's
captain said. "On our world, Sejanus
succeeded. He had the mad old Emperor
Tiberius murdered and made himself emperor in
his place. A cruel act, but one necessary
to save Rome. Sejanus continued the cleansing
by killing off all of the old emperor's
family. He drove out the Christians and the
other foreign religions and strengthened
the old gods once again, thus strengthening
Rome."
"And the dictatorship," Data said.
"And the dictatorship," Sejanus conceded.
"But surely that's enough of politics for now."
He snapped his fingers, and the servitors
sprang forward. "Especially when there is
food such as this to be enjoyed."
The young women began carving energetically,
placing huge portions of meat on each
guest's plate. As they served, other young
women hurried into the room, bearing pitchers from
which they poured generous helpings of dark red wine.
When all had been served, Marcus
Julius Volcinius stood and raised his
glass. All of the Magna Romans stood as
well. Picard gestured to his officers, and
they followed suit. "To Lucius Aelius
Sejanus," Marcus said loudly. "To the
Senate and the people of Magna Roma. And
to victory." He and the other Romans drank
deeply.
After a moment of hesitation, Picard sipped
his wine. His officers immediately did the same.
Then Picard spoke quickly, before the Romans
could sit. "To the United Federation of
Planets and democracy. And to peace."
There was an awkward moment of silence. Then
Sejanus chuckled and drained his glass.
With that, the ice seemed to be broken. The
conversation became general and convivial, and the
Magna Romans and their guests ate and
drank with enthusiasm.
But Gaius Aldus had noted Jenny's
distaste of Marcus Volcinius. "You don't
like him, do you?"
Turning in surprise, she replied, "I
must learn to hide my feelings better."
Gaius smiled, "No need. He's a
blustering fool and no one of significance. As
a diplomatic attache, he has no real
qualifications, but he is Captain
Sejanus' cousin--a distasteful example of
nepotism."
"Another archaic tradition that you still cling
to?" Jenny countered.
Gaius flashed a smile. "As I said,
we are trying."
Jenny returned his smile. "Tell me
about your defeat of the M'dok. You were
severely outgunned."
"We let their own arrogance defeat them.
Using temporary power sinks to simulate
battle damage, we drew them in close enough
to destroy them."
"Your idea?" she asked.
"A technique I developed," he
answered with pride in his voice.
"But was a death blow necessary? Could you take no
survivors? They would have been a valuable--"
"Survivors?" Gaius' disbelief was
plain on his face. "Lieutenant, we were at
war. Would you take the time to judge whether or not
your blow was a crippling one? And risk the
lives of your own crew?"
Taken aback, Jenny replied, "I
only suggested the possibility--"
"We were attacked!" Color rushed
into Gaius' face as he brought his hand down on
the table.
Jenny stared at him in open-mouthed
surprise.
Gaius took a sip of wine and composed
himself for a moment. "I must apologize for my
outburst. I have served with Captain Sejanus
my whole life. He and the crew of the
Centurion have become my family, I have
no other." He managed a slight smile.
"I'm afraid that I can promise no
leniency to anyone who raises a hand to them."
Jenny returned his steady gaze. "Then I
admire your loyalty."
"I suspect it's a quality that you share,"
Gaius said.
Before Jenny could respond, her attention was
drawn by the rather loud voice of Marcus
Julius Volcinius across the table. He was
gesturing with a greasy, unidentifiable bone and
saying to the table at large, or perhaps to the entire
room, "Now, take these Tenarans. They're
just too decentralized. There's no authority,
no one person in charge we can talk to. So
they're easy prey for such fierce creatures
as the M'dok. The Centurion can't stay here
forever, can it, now, Captain Picard? No, of
course not," he rushed on, answering his own
question. Like many of the other Magna Romans,
Marcus was growing flushed, his eyes overbright.
Picard, who had sipped his wine all
evening, looked disapproving.
Sejanus' cousin's words had been clear and
unslurred, Jenny observed, almost as if they
had been thought out carefully beforehand. She
wondered ...
"Nor can the Federation afford to keep ships
here indefinitely, defending a people who are unable
to defend themselves," Marcus went on. "Their very
organization--or lack of organization, I
should say--makes it impossible for them
to organize in their own defense. The gods
help those who help themselves. So do Magni
Romani."
True enough, Jenny thought, that part about
defending themselves. She was about to say so aloud, but
then Commander Riker said part of it for her. "We
can all agree about the problem, Lie utenant,
but I don't see a simple solution.
Tenara is now a member of the Federation and thus
has every right to expect the Federation to protect
it. Moreover, the Federation never dictates the
governmental policy of its member worlds,
only that each government respect and protect
its citizens' rights. We have to deal with Tenara
as it is, not as we wish it to be."
Marcus waved his hand in dismissal. "Yes,
yes, of course, Commander. We're here
to defend them and to rebuild their world. This is
supposed to strengthen them against future
attack, but I say that we have to do more for them.
For their own sake, the Tenarans have to change.
We should teach them, help them to change themselves
so
that they can provide for their own defense.
Romans have always been good at organization, and
at teaching it."
"Usually," Data said calmly, "through
conquest. Hardly an acceptable option in
Tenara's case, sir."
Sejanus now broke into the conversation.
"Agreed, Lieutenant. But we do have another
choice."
"Which is?" Picard asked.
"Change the M'dok," Jenny blurted out.
All heads at the table turned to look at
her.
"Hear, hear," Gaius said, smiling at
her. "If the M'dok will not keep to the treaty
voluntarily, we must force them to."
Geordi shook his head. "You're talking
about war, Lieutenant."
"And what do we have now on Tenara?"
Sejanus asked.
"We have a situation we must try
to resolve," Picard said sharply. "We do not
have war."
All at once the room fell silent as the
two captains continued staring at each other.
The communicator on Picard's chest
beeped once, shattering the quiet. "Excuse
me, Captain," Picard said to Sejanus.
He touched his chest. "Picard here."
The voice that came from the communicator was
unmistakable.
"Lieutenant Worf, sir. We've just
received an urgent message from Starfleet
Command."
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Picard
turned to Sejanus. "Forgive me,
Captain, but it seems we must return to our
ship immediately."
"Of course, of course," Sejanus said
quickly. "Duty must come first. We can complete
our discussions at some other time."
Picard nodded. He touched his chest again.
"Enterprise. Transporter room. This is
the captain. Six to beam back from the
Centurion, immediately."
Chapter Two
"Let's hear that message, Mr.
Worf," Picard said. The captain and his
staff officers were all back on the bridge.
Jenny de Luz had taken up a position behind
Worf on the upper deck, at the mission
operations station.
"Aye, sir. Audio only, on speakers
now."
The voice was strong and self-assured, the
voice of a man used to getting his way.
"Captain Picard, this is Admiral
Howard Delapore. Starfleet Command has
determined that the situation at Tenara is
critical. The Enterprise is hereby
ordered to stay within the system and to help the
Centurion defend Tenara. Don't let
anyone in. This applies to the entire
Tenaran planetary system. From now on,
only the space beyond the orbit of the outermost
planet of the system is to be considered
unclaimed territory. You are
authorized to do whatever the situation requires
in order to defend the system itself."
Delapore's voice lowered. "I want you
to understand how important that is, Picard.
Command is placing a very high priority on this
mission. You and Sejanus are two of the best
we have, as are your ships and your crews. Good
luck. Delapore out."
"That's all, sir," Worf said. "A
second, coded message is attached, for your
eyes only."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Picard
replied.
"Delapore?" At the engineering station next
to Jenny, Geordi groaned, so softly only
she could hear him.
"Closing off the system--aren't we risking
war, sir?" Riker asked. "Given what you
told us during your briefing."
Picard sighed. "We're certainly a step
closer to it than we were before."
"I remember Delapore from the
Academy." Riker smiled slightly. "A
no-nonsense type."
"We had another name for him," Geordi
said. "Old Iron--"
"I think we've all heard that name before,
Lieutenant," Picard said sharply. "There's
no need to repeat it."
"Yes, sir," Geordi said. "Sorry."
Jenny remembered Admiral Delapore
(and his nickname) from the Academy. He was one
of the senior instructors, a stocky
gray-haired man who made it clear that he
considered himself a man of action, one who
preferred military missions to exploratory
or diplomatic ones. Now, Jenny thought,
he has a military situation to deal with, and
he's thriving on it.
"Sir," Worf said. "Captain
Sejanus is calling from the Centurion.
He wants to know if we'll be rejoining him
for the rest of the banquet."
He wants to know what was in the message
from Starfleet Command, Jenny thought.
Sejanus' face filled the viewscreen.
He was calling from the banquet hall; behind him,
the dinner was still in full swing.
"Captain Picard," he said, his voice
deep and grave, "I hope there's no
trouble."
Picard responded instinctively. "No
immediate trouble, Captain. It seems we've
been ordered to remain here on Tenara and assist
you in your defense of the planet."
Sejanus froze for a second. Then the
Magna Roman relaxed and smiled.
"I don't see that there's a military
necessity for that, Captain Picard, but
Starfleet is, of course, subject
to Federation Council control. Politics must
be taken into account." He nodded in understanding.
"Of course, we're glad to have you aboard. I
have a briefing set up tomorrow with my crew, and then
a meeting with the planetary council. Perhaps you
could join us."
"Of course, Captain."
"Good. Then will you rejoin us now, Captain
Picard? The evening is still young, and the feast far from
over."
"I think not, Captain." Picard affected
a smile of resignation. "I need some time
to review the situation."
"As you wish. I'll have one of my men
return your shuttlecraft." Sejanus bowed
slightly. "Until tomorrow, then, Captain
Picard."
"Until tomorrow, Captain Sejanus."
As the transmission ended, the viewscreen
resumed its display of the stars and the
Centurion.
Picard stood. "I suggest we all turn
in. I suspect tomorrow is going to be a long,
difficult day."
"Aye, sir," Riker said. "Data, you have
the conn."
Jenny began following the two officers to the
turbolift.
"One moment, Ensign," Worf said.
She turned.
"As my presence will be required aboard
ship for the duration of the mission," Worf said,
"I would like you to supervise all planetside
security arrangements."
"Yes, sir," Jenny said. "Thank you,
sir."
"I suggest you prepare yourself by reviewing the
appropriate sections of the Starfleet
manual," Worf added. He turned to the
mission operatio
ns console and called up
a portion of the text. "For instance, you will see
here ..."
Jenny sighed, and began reading over the
Klingon's shoulder.
The libraries of a Federation starship are,
without exception, extremely well-stocked.
A device somewhat smaller than a human
thumbnail can hold a quantity of information
several times greater than all that which was contained in
the Library of Alexandria. A much tinier
device can process this information and quickly
provide it for absorption by a human
operator.
Marcus Julius Volcinius served as
cultural attache on special assignment
to the Centurion. An intelligent,
determined, and (by virtue of being the scion of
one of the most patrician families of
Magna Roma) very well-educated young man,
he liked to think that he could absorb quite a bit
of information.
He had left the banquet scarcely an
hour ago, bored with the endless drinking and pointless
banter. Besides, all the talk about changing the
Tenarans, and Magna Roman tradition, had
given him an idea.
"Computer."
"Working."
Machines, he thought with satisfaction, could
always be relied upon to keep their place, never
to overstep their bounds.
Except that walking computer, Data.
"Computer, tell me about the spread of the
English language on Earth."
If there was a pause, Marcus couldn't
detect it.
"English is the descendant of multiple
languages principally Anglo-Saxon,
Latin, and various Celtic tongues. It was
the primary language of England, one of three
nations on a small island in the North
Atlantic Ocean. In an ongoing process
of colonial expansion beginning late in the
sixteenth century and continuing until the early
twentieth century, England established herself as
the supreme political, military, and
economic power in the world.
"With the expansion of English power, the
language spread as well, eventually
becoming the universal language of trade,
science, and international politics. By nature
a dynamic and flexible language, it
provides the basis of current Federation
Standard, continuing to adapt to new words, new
concepts, and new cultures."
It was obviously a capsule lecture,
probably quoted verbatim from a statement
made by some university professor, and it did
not tell Marcus everything he wanted to know.
He thought for a bit, and then asked, "Did the
