Star Trek: The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy #12: Breakaway Read online

  “No, Mother.” Deanna stared straight into Lwaxana’s eyes, looking for something in their depths. She knew she was hitting close to home when she felt a hint of guilt leak through her mother’s shields. “Tell me the truth. You’ve got to say it out loud or you’ll never accept it.”

  Lwaxana broke eye contact and quickly rose to her feet. “I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.” Walking over to a table, she began rearranging roses in a gold vase. She seemed unusually absorbed in the task.

  “Do you know what the funniest part of this whole thing is?” Deanna said casually. “I’ve finally decided what to specialize in at the Academy. You’ll never guess who helped me make the choice. You.”

  Lwaxana turned. “Me?”

  “Don’t you see? It was because of all our arguing that I took the Borocco-Kai test in the first place. I thought that no matter how horrible it was, I would show you that I could handle it. But you know what?” She shrugged, amazed at herself. “I kind of enjoyed it. I mean, it was difficult, but it was the most exciting experience I’ve ever had. I helped my team beat the scenario. And,” she added, “I think I helped a few people along the way.”

  “Well,” said Lwaxana, scrutinizing her new rose arrangement, “your Starfleet career is off to a blazing start. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but I want you to be happy, too. Mother, our relationship can’t go on like this. Be honest with me, please. Why did you come here?”

  It started small, just a hint of emotion, a mere drop that leaked through shields much stronger than Deanna’s own. And then Deanna was hit by a great wave of grief as those shields broke down. Strangely enough, the assault of her mother’s emotions didn’t hurt. Deanna’s own shields held firm, and she knew without a doubt that her own power held them there,

  Lwaxana’s eyes brimmed with tears as she confessed, “Oh, Little One, I don’t want to lose you. If something happened to you out there … well, when your father died, you were the one who pulled me through. Don’t you realize that? I miss him so much … but with you at my side, I never feel lonely. You’re all I have left.” She gave a helpless little shrug, unable to say more.

  Deanna reached out for her mother. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Lwaxana held her tight. “No, thank you, Little One. I suppose I knew I’d have to admit the truth sooner or later.” She gently pulled away, sniffling. “I’ll quit my teaching post at the Academy tomorrow, all right?”

  “Are you sure—”

  “Yes, I’m sure. If I’m going to be honest, I might as well go all the way.” Taking a deep breath, she plunged on, “I contracted for the post just so I could be near you. Oh, that’s absolutely ludicrous, I admit, but … I missed you too much.” She plopped down on the couch, looking for all the world like a bored child. “Besides, teaching is infernally dull!”

  Deanna laughed. “You were good at it, though.”

  “Good? I was excellent. I was exceptional!” Lwaxana pondered a moment. “Hmm … maybe if I picked a more interesting subject I could—”

  “Don’t you dare,” Deanna warned.

  “And why not, Miss Selfish? Maybe I’m simply not cut out for xenosociology.”

  “No, Mother!”

  “But think of it—mother and daughter, out there among the stars—”

  “No, Mother!”

  Lwaxana threw her hands in the air, a graceful gesture that somehow still came across as comical. “Well, that’s it, then. I’m beaten! But you say I did help you choose your specialty at the Academy?”

  Deanna felt her cheeks flush. “All right, I suppose it’s my turn to make a confession. Here it is: You’ve been right all along, Mother.”

  “Of course I have!” Lwaxana blinked. “About what?”

  Deanna chuckled. “About all the advice you’ve given me over the years. No matter what I ever tried to do, you had some opinion about it. I used to hate that, but now I understand what you were trying to do.”

  Deanna grew serious. “Everybody, including me, needs advice. I accept that now. But knowing when to give advice and how to give it has been the problem between us all along. I want to help people, as you’ve helped me, Mother, but I want to be sure the people I advise really want my advice. I’ve recently heard about the new Galaxy-class starships that are being built at the fleet yards on Mars. They say those ships will be the first to have full-time counselors on board. I want to be one of those counselors.”

  A moment passed before Lwaxana responded to this announcement. “You won’t consider a nice safe desk job at Starfleet Headquarters, hm?”

  Deanna shook her head. “Nope.”

  Lwaxana sighed. “Oh, very well. Mr. Xelo will just have to keep me up to date on your whereabouts as you flit from one end of the galaxy to the other.”

  Deanna wasn’t sure if sailing through space in a ship the size of a small nation could be considered flitting, but she took her mother’s words as a sign of acceptance.

  “Ship’s Counselor Deanna Troi,” she said, feeling the words on her tongue, smooth as Thalian chocolate.

  “Ship’s Counselor Deanna Troi.” She smiled.

  It had a nice ring to it.

  About the Authors

  Delivered one Christmas morning by reindeer instead of a stork, Bobbi JG Weiss has spent most of her life avoiding reality and to this day still keeps up a personal correspondence with Rudolph. Clinging to the belief that cartoons are real, that cats speak English, and that coffee bestows superpowers, she is fit for no profession other than that of writer. With her husband she has penned novels, comic books, animation, trading cards, CD-ROMs and dumb little comic strips for orange juice cartons. One day she hopes to become a cartoon.

  Stolen from Gypsies as a child, David Cody Weiss was raised in suburban comfort until his teens. Then his true heritage claimed him and he broke loose of the middle class straitjacket, going forth and having many jobs (no two alike!). When he acquired a wife (and partner), he decided that becoming a writer was better than working for a living. His goal is to become independently wealthy, and he thanks you for buying this book.

  About the Illustrator

  TODD CAMERON HAMILTON is a self-taught artist who has resided all his life in Chicago, Illinois. He has been a professional illustrator for the past ten years, specializing in fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Todd is the current president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. His original works grace many private and corporate collections. He has co-authored two novels and several short stories. When not drawing, painting, or writing, his interests include metalsmithing, puppetry, and teaching.