How the hell does he always do that?
“Fish,” Desai said, employing the nickname she knew he hated and tolerated only from her, “you really shouldn’t be in here.” Making her way around the witness stand toward him, she realized how sharp her words may have sounded. With a smirk, she added, “How did you get in here, anyway? Were you some kind of ninja in a past life or something?”
Shrugging, the doctor replied, “I was a ninja in a past life. Don’t worry, I’ve only been here a minute or so. I managed to miss the rest of your fiendish plot to overthrow the universe, or whatever the hell it is you two are doing in here.”
Desai released a humorless chuckle. “Okay, so you’re not spying for the other side. Why areyou here? Isn’t there a baseball game or a chess match or a couple of kids playing hide-and-seek you could be cheering on somewhere?” She indicated the courtroom with a wave of her hand. “I didn’t think this was your kind of thing.”
His features taking on an expression of feigned shock, Fisher replied, “Are you kidding? Two opposing sides taking the field of battle, each armed with skills and healthy doses of guile and grit, facing off in the ultimate showdown of good versus evil, with the fate of a man’s very life at stake?” He waved away Desai’s suggestion. “All we need is for that boatload of Orion pirates to lay odds and take bets, and we’re set.”
When Desai laughed this time, it was from deep within her, and she felt the stresses of the day lift from her shoulders, if only for a moment. “Thanks. I needed that. Now, why did you really come down here?”
“Just wanted to see how you were doing,” Fisher replied.
Something in his voice and the look in his eyes told Desai he would prefer to have the rest of this conversation in private. She looked over her shoulder, a nod to Moyer enough to tell the lieutenant that Desai needed a minute alone with the doctor. Fisher waited until the younger officer departed the room before saying anything else.
“How are you holding up, Rana?”
“Fine,” Desai replied, hoping her response sounded more truthful to her friend than it did to her own ears.
Fisher’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as he regarded her. “Uh-huh.” He lifted his right leg until it was parallel to the floor. “And if you pull this leg, it plays one of those fancy piano numbers I always hear coming out of Manón’s.” Rising from the chair, he stepped forward and placed his hands on Desai’s arms. “This is me talking, kid. It’s okay to let the shields down.”
Reaching up to pat his right hand, Desai replied, “I’m dealing with it as best I can, Fish. I don’t really have a lot of choice in the matter.” The truth was that she had been expecting something like this to happen, had even been planning for it, to face head-on the prospect of Diego Reyes, her lover, standing trial. That said, it still was taking every scrap of willpower and determination not to succumb to the overwhelming need either to run to Reyes and hold on to him for support or simply to crawl under her bed and wait for all of this to pass.
Well, you can’t do the former,she chided herself for what felt like the hundredth time, and there’s no way in hell you’re doing the latter. Stop whining, and do your job.
“I know that look,” Fisher said, squeezing her arms in his gentle yet reassuring hands. “You just kicked yourself in the ass, didn’t you?”
Desai laughed again, pulling away from her friend before reaching up to wipe the lone tear she felt in the corner of her eye. “Yeah, I sure did. I was probably overdue for that, anyway.” Releasing a tired sigh, she looked up once more at Fisher’s weathered visage. “How is he, Fish?”
“About the same, I suppose,” Fisher replied, offering another shrug. He indicated the courtroom with a nod of his head. “Ready to get on with it. He’s resigned himself to whatever happens. I don’t think he gives a damn about himself, but he’s sure as hell worried about you.”
She nodded. “I’m worried about him, too.” She and Reyes had agreed not to see each other until after the trial. Now more than ever, their personal relationship could not be allowed to interfere even to the slightest degree with her carrying out her duty. Anything less would invite scrutiny and accusations of misconduct, which would do nothing except make the case against Reyes that much stronger. She knew the only way to see him was to get this unpleasant business over with, as soon as possible.
So, get on with it.
To his credit, Fisher said nothing as she once more waged this battle within herself, waiting in respectful silence until she once more found her bearing. Drawing what she hoped was a cleansing breath, Desai reached out and patted Fisher’s chest.
“I should probably get back to work.”
A small smile broke through Fisher’s veneer of calm and poise. “Me, too.” He began crossing the room, then stopped and turned back to her. “By the way, I lied before. I heard most of your opening remarks. If you’re worried about not being taken seriously at the trial, don’t be. Just do what you’re supposed to do, and you’ll be fine.”
Desai regarded him with a fresh look of uncertainty. “Even if it means nailing his ass to the wall?”
Moving toward the exit once more, Fisher did not pause as the doors opened for him. “If that’s your job, then yes,” he said as he left the room. “Diego would expect nothing less.”
“Damn you,” Desai called out as the doors closed behind the doctor. “I knew you were going to say that.”
13
Sunrise on Cestus III.
Standing in the expansive courtyard that was the center of the newly established Federation outpost on this world, Captain Daniel Okagawa drank in the crisp morning air, which contained none of the humidity that would saturate it later in the day. The temperature was cool but not uncomfortably so, and there was a serenity in his surroundings that reminded him of camping trips he had taken with his father. An early riser since childhood, Okagawa had always enjoyed mornings and the brief periods of tranquility they offered before the day’s business took over. He looked to the sun, which was just beginning to peek above the mountain range bordering the colony’s eastern flank, casting long shadows across the courtyard and the dozen or so free-standing buildings scattered within it. A mix of Starfleet personnel, civilian colonists, and contracted engineering and colony support staff moved between the various structures and the ring of buildings positioned just inside the tall, reinforced thermoconcrete wall forming the settlement’s perimeter.
“I’ve been meaning to mention, Commodore, that I find the wall to be an interesting design aesthetic,” Okagawa said to his companion, Commodore Howard Travers, as the pair emerged from the colony’s administration building. “You don’t typically see that sort of thing anymore.”
“Call me outdated,” Travers said, smiling as he placed his hands on his hips. “It reminds me of a castle or forts the army built to protect settlers pushing across the American frontier in the 1800s. That appeals to the kid in me, I suppose.” When he smiled, Okagawa could see a hint of mischief in the commodore’s eyes. Travers was a tall, thin man, who seemed almost to be swimming in his gold Starfleet uniform tunic. His blond hair moved a bit thanks to the gentle breeze coursing over the compound, and his smile reminded Okagawa of the Cheshire cat.
“Truth be told,” Travers said as they walked farther out into the courtyard, “I didn’t have much input into the colony’s design. When I was first told I’d be leading it, I met with the designers to go over the construction blueprints, and they’d already been working with the general layout. Constructing the buildings and living quarters into the base of the wall itself offered a better degree of protection from the weather, particularly the sand storms we’re liable to get.”