Boogeymen Part 24

"Aye, sir." La Forge left.

Wesley said, "What about me, sir?"

"You were present at the beginning, Mr. Crusher. I thought it only fair that you be present at the end."

"Thank you, sir."

"And, Ensign Crusher?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Next time you see fit to install an unorthodox program in the computer, make sure it can't get loose."

"Yes, sir."

Later, back on the bridge, Shubunkin stood next to Counselor Troi taking everything in, not nearly so arrogant as he'd been when Picard first met him. The captain thought he might be considering what Baldwin had said about making enemies.

Picard said, "Transporter room two."

"Here, Captain. Professor Baldwin is ready."

"Good-bye, Professor," Shubunkin said. "Looks as if you are going on another great adventure."

"I guess it's kind of a habit," Baldwin said good-naturedly.

"Good luck, Eric," Picard said. "I look forward to your report."

"So do I. Let's get this over with. And don't let Counselor Troi say good-bye to me, or I'll change my mind and stay."

Troi's mouth twitched and almost became a smile, but she said nothing.

"Energize," Picard said.

After Baldwin was on the planet, Enterprise stayed in orbit around Tantamon IV for almost half an hour. During that time Picard thought about what his ship had just been through; but now that the excitement was over, his mind kept returning to the Dixon Hill scenario and to Rhonda Howe. He wondered if she had been flushed from the system along with Wesley's Boogeymen.

Troi interrupted his thoughts, saying, "I feel it, the same way I felt when I went into the warp trance, but different too, less frantic."

Data, at Ops, said, "Teardrop ship taking off, sir."

"On visual," Riker said.

The teardrop ship rose around the curve of Tantamon IV. Sensors followed it for a moment, and then it was gone.

Wesley said, "It's there and then it isn't."

"Warp without warp drive," Shubunkin said.

"We will have to make do the old-fashioned way," Picard said. "Best speed for Memory Alpha."

"Aye, Captain," said Wesley. He was grateful that at warp eight the Enterprise would not take two weeks to get there, but it was still a milk run.

When his watch was over, Wesley went down to see Ensign Winston-Smyth. She was not in her cabin, giving him cause to be grateful that the computer was up again; he would never have known where to look for her if it hadn't been. He found her in Ten Forward sitting by herself in a dim corner of the room sipping a sunny yellow drink that had a paper parasol in it.

"Ensign?" said Wesley.

She looked up at him and tried to smile welcome, but he could see it was an effort. Her face had no more expression than an empty petri dish.

"May I sit down?"

Winston-Smyth sighed and pulled herself together. She flashed Wesley a real smile and said, "I guess I can't go off line forever."

Wesley sat down and watched her sip her drink. Beyond her the warp eight star rainbows arced across the windows. He said, "What was it like?"

"What?"

"Being in command of the Enterprise."

At first Winston-Smyth seemed not to know what Wesley meant. Then she shook her head and said, "I wasn't any more in command than someone riding an amus.e.m.e.nt planet adventure."

"You had the bridge to yourself."

Winston-Smyth sighed again and said, "It was pretty scary, Wesley."

"The Boogeymen. I know."

"No, actually I was kind of glad they were running things. When they vanished all of a sudden, I had no idea what to do." She sipped her drink. "Kind of makes me wonder if I'm in the right racket."

"It wasn't a fair test. Captain Picard left you in command only because there was no one else to do the job."

"Yeah, but still ..."

"You know," said Wesley, "Captain Picard was an ensign himself a long time ago."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning a long time from now, you'll be ready to be a captain."

Winston-Smyth shrugged. "Maybe," she said.

"Yeah, maybe." This entire conversation reminded Wesley of the one he'd had with Geordi back when they'd first discussed the Borders scale and Boogeymen. Only this time, Wesley was the one giving the sage advice. He said, "You'll know when you're ready. Starfleet doesn't give out Galaxy-cla.s.s starships like lollipops."

The observation seemed to please her. It pleased Wesley, too, because he knew he was right, just as Geordi had been right. Wesley didn't need Boogeymen or the Starfleet training programs at the moment. In good time he'd go to the Academy and move up through the ranks, and when Starfleet Command gave him his own ship he'd be ready for it. He took a certain amount of comfort in knowing that wiser heads were watching over him.

With the heavy stuff out of the way, Wesley had time to notice that Ensign Winston-Smyth was not just a fellow officer but a pretty young woman. Just thinking about turning their meeting into a social encounter made Wesley sweat. But he would never forgive himself if he lost this opportunity.

He said, "What's that you're drinking, Barbara?"

"A Vulcan Sunrise. It's good."

"I'll have one, too."

After that, Wesley and Ensign Winston-Smyth talked for a long time. They started by discussing what it took to be a good commander, but as happens in good conversations, the topic wandered.

When Picard's watch was over he went to his cabin and had his clothing slot st.i.tch up Dixon Hill's brown double-breasted suit and fedora. When he got to holodeck three, Picard said, "Computer, Dixon Hill scenario involving Rhonda Howe."

Picard held his breath for a moment; then the computer twinkled and said, "Scenario ready." The holodeck opened, showing Dixon Hill's office. Picard could smell the ancient decay of the run-down building and hear the noise of internal combustion traffic. As he was about to enter, Dr. Crusher hurried up, also dressed in 1940s garb.

"Dr. Crusher, how delightful." Picard didn't really know whether he was delighted or not. He'd hoped to get to know Rhonda Howe better. With Dr. Crusher along, that would be impossible. On the other hand, she looked wonderful in her forties outfit. Perhaps Rhonda Howe would not be necessary.

"I had the computer notify me if you asked for your Dixon Hill clothes. After hearing about Rhonda Howe, I thought you might go back to that scenario when you had the time."

It was only a holodeck scenario, Picard thought. He could run it again if he had to. "Very well, Doctor. Shall we see if we can discover whodunit?" Picard offered his arm to Dr. Crusher and she took it. Together they walked onto the holodeck and into Dixon Hill's office.