Star Trek: The Q Continuum Read Online Free PDF

ready room slid open and Deanna stepped inside. “Thank you for joining us on such short notice, Counselor,” Picard said. He waited patiently for her to sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, next to Geordi. The door slid shut behind her, granting the three of them a degree of privacy. “Mr. La Forge has informed me of an unpleasant incident involving Lem Faal and I wanted your input on the matter.”
    Geordi quickly described Faal’s confrontation with Lieutenant Barclay to Troi. “It’s probably no big deal,” he concluded, shrugging his shoulders, “but I thought the captain ought to know about it.”
    “Quite right,” Picard assured him, feeling more than a touch of indignation at the Betazoid scientist’s behavior. Granted, Mr. Barclay’s awkward manner could be disconcerting, but Picard was not about to let Faal abuse any member of his crew, no matter how prestigious his scientific reputation was. Had Faal actually struck Barclay, he might well be looking at the brig now. “I appreciate your effort to keep me informed,” he told La Forge. No doubt Geordi would rather be attending to matters in Engineering, where there was surely much to be done to prepare for the experiment. Picard looked at Deanna. “Counselor, what impression have you formed of Professor Faal?”
    Troi hesitated, frowning, and Picard felt a twinge of apprehension. Lem Faal had not struck him as particularly difficult or worrisome. What could Deanna have sensed in the man? Some form of instability? If so, he was concealing it well. “Is there a problem with Professor Faal?” he pressed her.
    Her flowing black mane rustled as she shook her head and sighed. “I can’t put my finger on anything, but I keep getting a sense that he’s hiding something.”
    “Hiding what precisely?” Picard asked, concerned.
    “That’s what I can’t tell. Unfortunately, Faal is a full telepath, like most Betazoids, which makes him harder to read. To be honest, sometimes I can half-convince myself that I’m only imagining things, or that I’m merely picking up on the normal anxiety any scientist might feel on the verge of a possible failure.” She watched Picard carefully, intent on making herself clear. “Then I get another trace of…well, something not quite right, something Faal wants to conceal.”
    “Are you sure,” Picard asked, “that you’re not simply sensing some deep-rooted anxieties Faal may have about his medical condition? Iverson’s disease is a terrible affliction. It can’t be easy living with a terminal diagnosis.”
    “I’ve considered that as well,” Deanna admitted. “Certainly, he has to be troubled by his illness and impending death, but there may be more to what I’m feeling. When he admitted his condition during the briefing, I didn’t get the impression that he was letting go of a deeply held secret. He may be concealing something else, something that has nothing to do with his condition.”
    “What about his family?” Picard asked. He had been less than pleased to read, in his original mission briefing, that Professor Faal was to be accompanied on this voyage by his two children. The devastating crash of the Enterprise -D, along with the heightened tensions of the war with the Dominion, had inspired Starfleet to rethink its policy regarding the presence of children aboard certain high-profile starships engaged in risky exploratory and military missions, much to Picard’s satisfaction. His own recommendation had come as no surprise; although he had grudgingly adapted to the family-friendly environment of the previous Enterprise, he had never been entirely comfortable with the notion of small children taking up permanent residence aboard his ship. Or even temporary residence, for that matter. “How are his children faring on this voyage?”
    “Professor Faal has children?” Geordi asked, caught by surprise. “Aboard the Enterprise?”
    “Yes,” Troi said, both intrigued and concerned.