Encounter at Farpoint by David Gerrold Read Free Book Online Page A

idolized. “I
must
. . .” She turned to face
Q
. “. . . because I grew up on a world that allowed things like this court. And it was people like these,” gestur ing toward her fellow officers, “who saved me from it. I say this so-called court should get down on its knees to what Starfleet is, what it represents—”

    “
Silence!
”
Q
roared, and he waved his hand toward her. A fluttering electric blue weave enveloped her, and she instantly went rigid. Data jumped forward to catch her frozen body before it fell, then he gently lowered her to the floor.

    “She is frozen in a cryonic state,” Data said, “As Lieutenant Torres was.”

    Troi touched Tasha’s cold form and uncharacteristically flared with anger. “You
barbarian!
” she shouted at
Q
. “You call yourselves an enlightened race, and all you know how to do is punish anyone who offends you. That woman—”

    Picard gripped her arm, and she cut off her tirade. He shook his head at her. She sensed the urgent warning he was sending. Gathering her anger, she nodded back at him.

    “Criminals keep silence!” the Mandarin-Bailiff chanted.

    “Quite,”
Q
agreed. “I insist upon an orderly procedure in my court.” He nodded at Tasha. “
Civilized
beings know how to conduct themselves in the presence of their superiors.”

    “You’ve got a lot to learn about humans if you think you can torture us or frighten us into silence.” Picard looked back to Data, who was taking pulse and heartbeat readings from Tasha. “How is she?”

    “Alive—and stable, sir. Uncertain as to how long she can survive if left in this state.”

    The Mandarin-Bailiff turned to Picard. “You are charged, criminals. How plead you?”

    Picard ignored him. Around the courtroom, the spectators grumbled and buzzed in irritation. The spectacle they anticipated was not forthcoming, and they were angry.
Q
sensed their discontent and turned on the captain himself.

    “
How plead you?
You will answer the charges, criminals.”

    “Just a moment ago, you promised ‘the prisoners will not be harmed.’ We plead nothing so long as you break your own rules.”

    A low, irritated mutter swept the spectators again. The criminals were supposed to act as programmed, not in this rebellious manner. What was the matter with them?

    “I suggest you center your attention on this trial, Captain,”
Q
said coldly. “It may be your only hope.”

    “And I suggest you are now having second thoughts about it! You’re considering that if you conduct this trial fairly,
which was your promise
, you may lose.”

    Q
laughed, a short mirthless bark. “Lose?”

    “Yes,” the captain said. “Keep to your agreement, and we agree to abide by your decision.” He looked meaningfully at Tasha’s frozen body. “Assaulting a prisoner is hardly a fair trial.”

    Q
considered. “This
is
a merciful court,” he said finally. He waved his hand downward at Tasha, and a ripple of blue light played over her. The young woman stirred, eyelids flickering. She moved stiffly at first, as though the cold had not quite left her. Then she sat up slowly, with Data assisting her.

    The spectators had become disorderly again, shouting protests about this unseemly kindness on the judge’s part. Some of them were standing on the benches, shaking their fists at
Q
. The judge brought his hovering bench up over their heads and hugely amplified his voice. “
Silence!
” he roared. The entire courtroom trembled under the sonic impact of his order. The quarrelsome spectators sank down into their seats again, their heads low, exchanging frightened glances.

    Picard watched
Q
’s display of power impassively. He had seen bully boys throw their weight around before. And so far,
Q
had not struck him as truly superior, only more powerful. Superiority, as Picard measured it, was a matter of intelligence, consideration, and morality.

    In Picard’s mind,
Q
was coming up very short of mere human standards, much less the