"I haven't done anything wrong, have I? I haven't hurt anybody." The captain shook her head. She wished she didn't have to have this conversation but. it was the right thing to do. At least that's what she thought it was. Now, looking at the pathetic officer in front of her, she wasn't so sure anymore. "It's not only about what you've done. It's what you can do. With all that mental power, you are potentially dangerous to us." She tried to explain. The young ensign didn't seem to understand. "Listen to yourself, Captain!" He exclaimed, almost forgetting the ranks. "Potentially dangerous? So now it's Starfleet policy to eliminate potentially dangerous people? What kind of attitude is that?!" He got up and started pacing the room nervously. The captain watched him for a while before she replied. "We're on a deep space mission, ensign. It would be months before we reach the nearest starbase. My primary concern is the safety of this ship and her crew. I can't afford the risk." "So, why not kill all the Betazoids on board? Or Vulcans? If you're so afraid of telepaths." The captain looked at him carefully. He was a handsome young man, full of energy and eagerness to fulfill his duty to the best of his abilities. And yet, he was a serious threat to the crew. "None of them is half that powerful," she said finally. "And they have all been trained to use their mental powers." She sighed heavily. "Do you remember what you did to Lieutenant Garrett?" * * * "Let's go for a stroll!" The ensign got up from the sofa and gallantly offered his arm to the young lieutenant. She smiled at him and accepted. This holodeck program was real fun. They had had a delicious dinner (holographic or not, it was exquisite), they danced a little and now he was asking her for a walk in the park. She had missed Earth already, it was nice to feel at home again. "I like the smell of the air," she remarked as they got out of the building and crossed the street. The fresh fragrance of the spring air just after the storm was absolutely realistic. The ensign nodded and put his arm around her as they were walking. Garrett hadn't really planned for this to be a romantic adventure, she just wanted to relax a bit, but it was turning out quite nice. They wandered among the trees. The park was almost empty at this time of the day. She felt his arm tighter around her shoulders. They stopped. Garrett looked at her companion and realized he was going to kiss her! "Don't!" She moved away. "I don't want this to happen! Computer." She never finished the sentence. Suddenly, the world around her spun and vanished for a second. She felt his arm tighter around her shoulders. They stopped. Garrett looked at her companion and realized he was going to kiss her! She got closer to him and closed her eyes in sweet anticipation. * * * "I didn't harm her!" The ensign shrugged. "It was just a moment. She would have liked to kiss me anyway, I just made things happen a little faster." The captain looked at him with disbelief. "You altered that woman's mind!" She said. "You have no way of knowing now whether or not she would have come to like you enough to let you kiss her. What you did was." she paused, looking for appropriate words. "Outrageous! Even more so, if you fail to see that!" The ensign didn't answer. She sat there for a while and then she said: "And how about that incident with the Romulans?" * * * "Hail them!" The bridge was at red alert, people working frantically at their stations. The ship was under attack by a Romulan Warbird. "No response, sir! They're powering weapons!" "Evasive maneuvers!" "Initiating evasive pattern Delta 4!" The Federation ship veered away from the enemy fire but not for long. The menacing D'deridex changed its course and was firing again. "Target their weapons!" The captain was adamant not to destroy any lives if possible. She wanted to disable the ship and try to solve the problem peacefully. The bridge rocked heavily under fire. When the captain got up from the floor, the main viewer showed a Romulan Warbird. "Red alert! Raise shields!" She ordered, heading to her seat. "Sir, they're powering weapons!" "Target their main bridge!" "Sir?" "I want them destroyed. Now!" * * * "These were clearly not my thoughts, ensign." The captain still felt deep remorse over the incident. It happened so quickly that only after a while she realized something had gone wrong. "Over fifteen hundred people died on that ship," she sighed. "We could have disabled their systems and let them live if it wasn't for your intervention again." "They were Romulans!" "Does that make any difference?" The captain shook her head. "They were living beings and we destroyed them all because you felt like tinkering with my mind! Can't you see what's wrong with you?" The ensign sat down again. He fixed his blue eyes on the captain's face and stared at her intently for a long while. Finally, he spoke. "So now you decided to destroy me? May I ask what right do you think you have to just kill me?" The captain knew she was safe behind the forcefield that was surrounding her side of the desk but she still felt uneasy under his scrutinizing look. "I don't intend to kill you," she said softly. "All I'm proposing is to shut down your program. When we get back, we'll have a team of engineers look into your matrix to see what went wrong. They might be able to restore you, eventually." "Might?!" The ensign shouted. "They 'might' be able to restore me?! They never created me to be sentient in the first place! What I've become is your responsibility, Captain!" The captain nodded. "That's right. That's exactly why I have to put an end to this before you do any more harm." She paused and looked at the young ensign one last time. "Computer, end program," were the last words the Emergency Engineering Hologram heard.
