by Various
"Very good, sir," she replied, and entered the commands.
Picard left Riker on the bridge and took a lift below. I By the time he arrived, Doral stood a forlorn figure on the platform. The younger saboteur stood sullenly in the rear. Two security officers remained off to the side, at full alert, and the transporter chief kept his hands on the controls.
"It's time," Picard said.
"I know," Doral replied.
"Mr. Data has already sent the coordinates to your entire fleet. He even took the liberty of organizing flight patterns that would provide maximum safety to the older vessels. You should be in excellent shape for the new adventure."
Doral looked at him blankly.
"This region of space has been through a tremendous ordeal over the last few years," Picard noted, his tone hard, without its soft, cultured tones. "One race after another has had to beat back the encroachment of the Borg, followed immediately by a quadrant-wide war initiated by people from the far side of the Milky Way. Between the two, we've lost too many innocents, too many dedicated officers and ships. But we're still here.
"Do you know why, Doral? Because, when we had to, we put aside the little differences between our peoples, trusted one another to go into battle side-by-side. And we persevered. We stopped the invasion and preserved myriad ways of life. Because ... it was the right thing to do.
"And when the Petraw came skulking into our space and preyed upon our trust, set one against another in a petty bidding competition, we once again managed to stand up to the threat... together. I find these moments invigorating because it means we are beginning to respect one another a little more every day.
"Know this, should you find your way here again, you will be greeted with less than open arms. If necessary, we shall draft even more races together to help keep the peace."
Picard took a deep breath, let it out slowly and watched Doral's still somewhat bewildered expression. There was a modicum of comprehension under the furrowed brow but not enough to satisfy him. It was time to bring this to an end.
"Consider this the beginning of the next step in Petraw history," the captain said to him. His expression turned hard. "You cannot return here - you will likely not be welcome by some of the neighboring governments. Seek your destiny and forget about your homeworld. Be realistic and look forward, not behind. There is so much to discover and experience, you can make your own history. But do so honestly and with integrity."
The Petraw leader just looked at him, the expression indicating surprise and bewilderment.
"We're sending you back to your ship. Please be out of this area within the hour." Picard looked over his shoulder to the chief. "Energize."
It took seconds for Doral to vanish from the Enterprise, and Picard realized he still felt mixed emotions, but mostly disappointment at what their desperation had brought to so many worlds. He might never know the death toll. The Federation could not administer proper justice and having them voluntarily leave this portion of the quadrant made the most sense. After all, the Klingons, the Romulans, and even the Carreon might demand Petraw deaths as payment for loss of sovereign lives. Already, he had heard rumblings that this might damage politics for a time.
Still, it needed to be done this way. He could not condone the Petraw's actions, nor could he be a party to their deaths. It would be an empty payment that benefited no one.
As he cleared his mind of such thoughts, he took a moment to enjoy the notion that everyone had returned to his ship hale and hearty. It was time for his loved ones to be together in safety. "Mr. Riker," the captain said as he entered the turbolift, "I'm on my way up. Why don't you take a moment and welcome the counselor back?"
"Aye, aye, sir," Riker answered, the humor filling his voice.
Riker couldn't wait to see his imzadi. Even though they had been separated by space, she had remained available to help him through the tough moments during the mission. He couldn't imagine life without her and he intended to do whatever it would take to make sure she remained a part of it.
Standing before her cabin door, he pressed the announcement key and heard the soft chime beyond the door. Within seconds, the door opened and a hard object was jabbed into his chest, his hands reflexively reaching out to grab it.
"What... oh ... are you ... ?"
"Mad at your lack of confidence in me?" Troi answered from within the cabin. Riker remained frozen in place, uncertain about her feelings right then and there. "Annoyed at being embarrassed by having this presented before my first command? Amused at your little joke? What do you think?"
Riker was left speechless.
"You're a commander," she said, stepping closer. "Make a command decision. Say something."
Still holding the crash helmet he had given Troi as a gag going-away present, Riker felt a mixture of amusement, abashment, and confusion. Remembering lessons from their years together, he answered from his heart. "I missed you."
Her hands reached over the threshold, grabbing fist-Ms of duty jacket, and yanked him right into the cabin. That's when he noticed she was wearing the diaphanous pale lavender item that left one shoulder bare and little to the imagination.
"Better put that helmet on," she said, letting go of the uniform as the door closed. "You're going to need it."
Picard sat in his ready room, looking at the tricorder images taken on the world on which he had found Chanik and the Master Resonators. He'd miss the youth and knew he had the power to go back and visit but also recognized that he would never do so. The captain could never imagine an instance when circumstances would force him to use the gateways. It was power he would hide, a secret he would no doubt take to his deathbed.
Instead, he would prepare a report to Starfleet Command, complete with recommendations for reparations and commendations for selected staff, starting with Troi. The Petraw ships had started forming as Data directed and they would be gone shortly. Once they were off long-range sensors, he could return to Earth and accept his next assignment. As with most his missions, whatever they gave him, it would never quite turn out as the mission specs spelled out.
And he wouldn't have it any other way.
***
