
that at least a few of those same people knew the truth behind the incident and why he had taken the
blame for it. Even Ross himself had offered the notion in the aftermath of that incident that perhaps the
time had come for Picard to retire. He had later retracted that statement, and his comment now further
illustrated his restored faith in theEnterprisecaptain.
In the admiral’s defense, he originally had good reason for his original thinking. Indeed, at the outset of
the affair she too had been among those with strong feelings that Picard had finally reached the point in
his distinguished career where it was time to step down, at least from active starship command. Her
thinking had changed after learning the details of the incident, of course, and in the days afterward she
had found herself in the unfamiliar position of being Picard’s ally, even his protector.
Her relationship with the renowned captain had been a strained one at times, though as the years passed
she had come to appreciate the man’s talents, experience, and wisdom. To this day she remembered
their exchange over Picard’s decision not to deploy an invasive computer program into the Borg
Collective that might have destroyed the Federation’s most feared enemy in one bold maneuver. To him,
the attack would have been one of genocide, killing uncounted millions of individuals who were in fact
helpless victims forcibly assimilated by the Borg. It was an unconscionable action in his eyes, one he had
steadfastly refused to undertake.
While Nechayev still fervently believed that Picard had acted incorrectly from a military standpoint, she
had come to respect what had motivated him to make that decision. For Picard, the Federation’s laws
and guiding principles were more than mere words. He lived his life and carried out his duties in strict
adherence to those ideals. It was a position that had run him afoul of his superiors on numerous
occasions, including the situation with the Ontailians and the demon ship.
Of course, none of that had prevented Picard from being caught up in the larger machinations of
interstellar politics. The proverbial powder keg that was the Ontailian governmental situation was still so
delicate that their secession from the Federation was a constant threat. In order to prevent Ontailian
leaders from losing the trust of their people in the aftermath of the embarrassing demon-ship incident and
perhaps causing enough internal strife that they were forced to renounce their Federation membership,
Picard had instead taken responsibility for the affair. His willingness, in Nechayev’s eyes at least, had
done much to prove not only his loyalty to the Federation but also his absolute competence to command.
I’m sorry to be counted among those who doubted you, Captain,she thought, hoping one day that
circumstances would allow her to offer that apology in person.
Listening to the melodic rhythm of the raindrops pelting her office window for a few moments, she said,
“I trust him, too, though I wonder what some of his detractors will make of his report.” She held up her
own padd. “The trouble he ran into during that rescue mission is going to raise some eyebrows.
Twenty-seven deaths, including two of his own crew.” Shaking her head, she added, “It has to be
weighing on him pretty heavily, I’d think, and while I know it wasn’t his fault, somebody might use that as
just another reason to second-guess Starfleet’s decision to give him back command of theEnterprise.”
Ross shook his head. “They’d be picking at nits. He saved nearly four hundred victims during that rescue
operation. While it’s tragic that anyone was lost, it wasn’t because Picard was negligent and I’d be
happy to take on anyone who said otherwise.”
“Something tells me that when push came to shove, you’d have plenty of company,” Nechayev replied,
smiling at the image their comments evoked. Rising to her feet, she added, “And with that in mind, I
suppose we should be heading to the morning briefings.”