Encounter At Farpoint
by David Gerrold
A brand new ship called the Enterprise, along with the bulk of her brand new
crew, set off on its first destination; Farpoint Station, where they are to
pick the rest of the crew, as well as look into the planets mysterious history.
On route, Deanna Troi senses a great disturbance, but that is pushed to one
side when the crew meet the infamous Q, an omnipotent with undescribable powers.
When Q vanishes, the crew go into battle with an entity and have to separate
the saucer section from the stardrive section in order to protect the crew and
its families from the unknown assailant. Unable to out run and out manoeuvre
it, Picard finally surrenders.
Suddenly, Picard and his senior crew find themselves in a courtroom on trail
for crimes against humanity. Q allows Picard one chance of proving himself,
and every man that they have bettered themselves since the 21st century.
Finally, the rest of the crew board their new ship, and Riker's first challenge
is to rejoin the separated ship. The next is to face the woman from his past
and solve the riddle on the planet below.
When another alien vessel arrives and begins firing on the city, Q tries his
utmost to get Picard to destroy it. But Picard passes his probation test when
he refuses, and realises that the entity is trying to free its mate that is
trapped on the planet.
Notable Imzadi moments:
Page 111 to 112
Riker rolled over in his bunk the next morning when the computer woke him at
the hour he had requested. He groaned, wearily stretched his lanky frame and
sat up. He had dreamt of her again, waking often because he knew it was a dream
and he wanted to be free of it. But when he fell back to sleep, her lovely face
floated to the surface of his mind, smiling at him. He had left her behind,
transferring off the Yorktown without actually saying goodbye, running (he admitted
it) from her beauty and the feeling he had for her. He was ambitious and wanted
to move ahead, both in rank and in starships; and his logic told him he would
move faster and further alone. When she had called him "imzadi," he
felt he had to leave - and quickly. He wasn't sure of the word's exact meaning,
but its general import was one of permanent commitment. He hadn't liked himself
for leaving, but he had finally reconciled himself to that personal weakness.
Still, he had never been able to sleep well when the memories in his rebellious
mind brought back her image to smile at him.
~~~~~~~~~~
Page 116 to 117
The captain stepped aside, and Riker's heart dropped.
She was as beautiful in person as he recalled her in his dreams - her cascading
dark hair, her deep, black eyes, her gentle smile. Her small, perfect figure
still made him feel gawky and overlarge next to her.
Picard was saying something. Riker forced his face into what her thought passed
for a neutral expression.
"May I introduce our new first officer, Commander William Riker. Commander
Riker, Ship's Counselor Deanna Troi."
She extended her hand to him formally. She was not at all surprised to see him.
Of course, Riker realized, she would have know of his appointment in the counselor's
routine review of service files on new personnel. Was that why his dreams of
the night before had been so vivid? Her nearness would have enhanced his unconscious
perception of her.
Betazoids had a strong telepathic ability, but Troi's was diluted by her human
blood. Often she could perceive the feelings and moods of other people, even
aliens. However, someone with whom she was emotionally close could receive her
projected thoughts clearly.
They shook hands, and her voice whispered gently in his mind. "Do you remember
what I taught you, imzadi? Can you still sense my thoughts?" What she said
aloud was, "A pleasure, Commander."
"I, ah...likewise, Counselor," he stammered.
Picard eyed the two of them, intuitively aware there was something between them.
"Have the two of you met before?"
"We...we have, sir." Riker managed nervously.
So, Picard thought. He could guess something of the answer. No ship's
captain objected to relationships between officers. Riker, however, seemed somewhat
uneasy. He wanted to reassure his new first officer. "Excellent,"
Picard said neutrally. "I consider it important that my key officers know
each other's abilities."
"We do, sir," Troi said quietly. Riker shuffled his feet.
"Shall we?" Picard gestured at the turbolift and led the way toward
it.
Troi smiled serenely at Riker, and her voice touched his mind again. "I
could never say goodbye, imzadi."
~~~~~~~~~
Thank you Carol for putting this together =)