> >Matt arched an eyebrow. "Of her own accord?" he asked. > Lasiter added, "She was recalled by her government for some unclarified activity relating to bonding. At least that is what they fed to Renaud, who let them go." Lasiter said in such a way that Brennan could tell that it was still a sore subject.
Matt chose to ignore the bits from Lasiter and from Carrhae about Renaud not interfering. Not his business. >Matt sighed. "Well, that certainly complicates things." Matt looked to Sam. "In our discussion," he told him, "you admitted to having reservations - as did I - that either of us would be able to tell if there truly was any undue influence placed >upon you. I don't have the telepathic skills to be certain, but I know of several >reputable and, more importantly, discrete, Vulcan physicans who do. One is now en >route here. I took this as an excuse to have her lecture at the Medical Academy, so >we have a legitimate reason for her visiting." "So what's involved with determining if I am or am not under the influence of the Venasian Ambassador? Just how is the argument to be made to President Montgomery that while I am 'comprimised' I can still serve as the CinC of Starfleet? What is going to make him stop laughing at us, and more importantly, what is going to make him *not* fire the lot of us?" Lasiter siad sitting dowin in one of the comfortable chairs next to the couch. The body language and tone in his voice were yelling out information about his state. He was both extreamly angry- at the situation, at being locked in by his friend, by being bonded in the first place, by seeing all of the work he had done at SF Command about to go down the tubes, all for nothing.... He was also very sad- to see a career coming to an end in a flaming ball of fire, to losing the one thing he had left after his wife and son left- Starfleet. Matt frowned in thought. "Sulin will be here in less than twenty minutes," he told them. "Would it be acceptabe for her to examine you - that would involve a mind meld, probably a rather short one, limited to the nature and the degree of the bonding - before the President is contacted? The President and I have spoken before," Matt told him. "As surgeon general, I'm his physician as well, and he trusts me. If Sulin says there is no undue influence from this bond, we can tell the president that all in one neat, tidy bundle. If, however, Sulin finds some influence, well... " He didn't need to complete the sentence. (eh? could this be, oh, what's that word? A compromise?)
