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You Can't Fight a Tidal Wave	By : madradena Category: Star Trek > The Next Generation Views: 1693 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own ST:TNG nor Dreamland, nor the characters from either. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Just as Data and the Captain stepped out of the ready room, they found themselves face to face with Emma, who, without any further ado, simply threw her arms around Data's neck and gave him a long close-mouthed kiss on the lips. He was so completely unprepared for it, that he just stood there petrified, blinking like a carp in a shopping-bag. Strangely enough, the Bridge remained silent too - nobody knew how to react to the scene with the Captain around!
She let Data go, gave him a small smile then without even a glance at the Captain's face, leapt to Sonya and took her by the arm: "Your turn, Sugar! No chickening out now!" she told her and pulled her up to the nearest turbolift.
"Lieutenant, for a moment, if you would!" they heard the Captain, and Emma stopped only because Sonya forcefully grabbed her by the arm and turned her back to Picard.
Emma obeyed and looked questioningly at the elder man "Me?" she asked pointing to her chest with a finger - and that was the point, where Will Riker put his forehead into his palm to cover his grin, and all the others in the Bridge crew were starting to look as busy as they could for similar reasons.
"Yes, Lieutenant, you." Picard answered, and Data knew that when his voice was so forcefully calm, it never meant anything good. He looked from the Captain to Emma and back, gaping and wide-eyed, and put all his processors to work to think of something to say - but somehow his babbly nature cheated on him just at the worst of all moments!
To add insult to injury, Emma looked at Sonya instead of obeying her Captain right away: "If you don't do as I said, I'll hunt you down! And the whole ship's gonna know everything we were talking about! Understood?!" she asked peremptorily, then her expression softened as she smiled and gave Sonya's arm a gentle squeeze "Show some balls, if he can't find his! Go!" and letting the stunned woman go, she jogged back to, where Data and the Captain were standing.
"Would you care to join me in my ready room." the elder man asked.
"Captain!" Data blurted now bewildered - his voice had an alarmed, almost agitated undertone, and Emma suddenly found herself grateful for his apparent concern.
"That'd be all Mr. Data." the Captain nodded to him and disappeared inside, with Emma in toe. The younger man could do nothing but stare at the door closing after them.
"Do you have any idea what this was about?" Will stepped up to him questioningly.
"I wish I did, Commander!"
They both looked over to Sonya, who realized that any place was better than where she had to explain this utterly embarrassing situation, so she hopped into the turbolift conveniently arriving just at that moment.
'''''<OOO'''''>
"Thank you for taking your precious time to finally obey the order of your Captain, Lieutenant." Picard started almost tauntingly as he stood with his back to his wide desk, arms crossed. Emma was standing opposite him, a meter away from him, looking at him with rather a curious expression - certainly not an obedient or frightened one, Picard mused with a hint of surprise.
Emma winced a little then tried to give him an apologetic smile "You wanna know what this all was about, right?"
"No, Lieutenant, I do not wish to know what 'this all' was about. However, I'd be happy to be enlightened rather on whether you're aware of where you are?"
"I do, of course. In your office."
"More general than that, Lieutenant." Picard tried to lead her up to the solution stepping up to her.
"On a ship. In space? In the universe?" she smiled not really seeing, where they were going - when was the shouting gonna be coming?
"Stop right there, at your first guess. On a ship. And not just on some ship. This is the flagship of Starfleet. Are you also aware of that fact?" his voice started to take up a harsh quality but was still not shouting.
"I know."
"I know, SIR." Picard corrected her emphasising the last word.
"I know, Sir." Emma answered - smile gone.
"Could I ask you to try to act as if you were really aware of that fact, Lieutenant? As if you knew, where your good fortune has brought you."
Emma nodded biting her lower lip "I'm sorry, I really meant no harm." she told him trying to conciliate him by looking at him with the eyes of a puppy dog asking for a bone.
The Captain was not moved - he was not in a good mood, and didn't feel like tolerating her disobedience which, to his shock, seemed to grow with the reprimand rather than to shrink. "I don't care about what you meant to do. I don't know how your superiors tolerated the kind of undisciplined behaviour you are displaying, but here, it won't be tolerated, I can guarantee that for you." his voice was now hard, and he stared right into her eyes - and was surprised that she didn't even flinch from his look.
"Which one, Sir?" she asked on a voice unwavering, bordering on nonchalance "The one who died of Hepatitis seven years ago? He realized pretty quickly that after the Federation made a compromise with the colony of not interfering, we were pretty much all by ourselves. Hierarchy was the least important thing. Or the one who died of AIDS five years ago? He had a crush on me, so didn't really ordered me around. Oh, by the way, those two are names of sicknesses cured two centuries ago. Well, that is, on Earth, they are. Or perhaps you're curious about my last superior, who died, when we escaped over two years ago to cross to the Resistance? He was shot in the head in broad daylight on the street. He was the last Starfleet officer apart from me on the colony. After his death, I was my own superior, and I could bear with myself pretty well, thank you for your kind though somewhat belated concern. Sir." she closed her eyes regretting her last few words instantly - and Picard was secretly grateful for her bowing her head, because he could take the time to cover his utter shock on what he'd just heard. By the time Emma looked at him with a sincerely apologetic gaze, he already composed his features. "I'm sorry..." she whispered "I never meant to... I always speak before I think."
"Lieutenant, I understand that you had to live a very different life on the Epsilon Four colony from the one you're living on the Enterprise now." his voice was neutral, not reprimanding anymore but not sympathetic either. "Still this is no excuse for acting as if you were in a vaudeville. You are a Starfleet officer on a Federation Starship, and your wish of expressing your affection has to wait until you both are off duty and off Bridge. I expect you to abide by the guidelines I've laid out. Dismissed." he finished though he was not sure which one he didn't want to put up with any longer: her pesky personality or the uncomfortable notion she reminded him of that the Federation displayed inexplicable neglect with regards to the officers left on the colony a decade ago.
Emma turned and walked toward the door but couldn't help herself "Hard-ass." she muttered stubbornly under her breath as she was about to step to the door to leave.
"Lieutenant!" Picard snapped - this was it! This was just it!
Emma turned back to him slowly. He stepped up to her to face her "Would you care to repeat what you've just said?" he asked on a low voice.
She stared into his eyes for a long moment. She could say sorry. She could say she hadn't said anything. But this man was too much like her father. Full of authority, trying to intimidate her by his presence alone. And she never ran away from standing up for herself, not against her father and certainly not against this petite Frenchman. "I said, Sir, that with all due respect, if you weren't such a hard-ass about showing affection, you would be happy with a certain someone we both well know. Sir."
Several emotions flickered through the Captain's face before his features hardened as if his face was carved out of stone. When he spoke, his voice was just as hard "You now return to your quarters, Lieutenant. And you stay there until we arrive at Starbase 2261. Your service to this ship is officially over."
Emma gazed at him with a bitter expression, but tried to smile against the catch in her throat "You'd have made wonderful friends with my old man. Too scared to make yourself happy? You make others unhappy instead. I hope for the sake of that certain someone we both know, that you won't die the way he did: full of regrets."
"You're dismissed, Lieutenant!" Picard snapped, and Emma turned, her hair swirling behind her and marched out of his ready room. He stepped out after her and looked at Data who was still lingering about on the Bridge.
"Mr. Data. Would you care to escort the Lieutenant to her quarters." the Captain told him peremptorily and was again lost in his ready room. Will had the impression, he would have slammed his door in behind her, if it wasn't automatic.
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You Can't Fight a Tidal Wave