“That many,” he said, sounding impressed, though it was an average tally by Selkie standards. “After all that, you’ve got to have some real insights. Any pointers for the new guy on what to expect? What to watch out for?”

“I, um…” Aili wrung her webbed hands together, hating where this was going. Why did he have to remind her of this? Of course, it wasn’t his fault; he couldn’t know what a sensitive area this was for her, since she had pledged never to tell him. Twenty-two years ago, when she had seduced him in the private, sea-connected swimming pool of the Federation embassy, she had played the nervous innocent, not letting on that he was just one of many. Not letting on that she was a libertine by her people’s standards, an irresponsible mother. The uninhibited sex lives of Selkies were the stuff of legend to young, libidinous starfarers; many of them didn’t understand that it was only the final-phase, post-amphibious Selkies who had that freedom, that it was different for Selkies in their amphibious phase. That phase, their species’ window of fertility, was only about two decades long, and Selkies were expected to raise large families. The amphibious phase was thus a time for selfless discipline and dedication to the young, with the free sensuality of their elders put on hold for the duration. Many amphibious Selkies longed for a respite from the discipline, a taste of the sexual liberty their elders enjoyed. Offworlders, who generally didn’t know better, were a favorite release valve, a chance to flout tradition and pro priety without consequences. For some reason, the alien colonists who lived in Pacifica’s resort towns, research bases, and the like—those who interacted enough with the Selkies to understand their culture—did not go out of their way to explain matters to offworld visitors; perhaps they felt it was the Selkies’ place, or perhaps they were simply objective enough to see the occasional dalliance as a necessary release valve. Or maybe they just appreciated the heavy tourism that the Selkies’ interstellar reputation brought to Pacifica.

Aili, though, had done it more than most—not just the odd, infrequent fling after several years of parenthood had left her aching for release, but hundreds of dalliances with alien males, females, and miscellanea, starting before her first child had even learned to walk on land. It hadn’t been cheating in the human sense; Selkies didn’t mate monogamously, and indeed rarely had more than two children with the same partner. And she didn’t feel guilty about the sex itself; that was just a natural part of life to her, one she still indulged regularly. What she regretted was her negligence, indulging herself while she left her children in the care of her siblings and neighbors, making one excuse after another until she had realized that she no longer needed to pretend because everyone knew what she really was. Everyone except the offworlders who didn’t understand or didn’t care.

Will Riker would have cared, had he known. But to him, it had been a pleasant, harmless interlude, a brief encounter he remembered fondly. (Well, not that brief. He’d lasted most of the night, actually one of her longer affairs.) She couldn’t confront him with the reality of what a sor did thing she’d involved him in. He would no doubt feel guilty, as though he’d taken advantage of her in some way. At least, it would spoil a memory that was wholesome and happy to him, and she needed at least one of them to feel that way about it.

But all she could remember now when she thought back on that night was that she’d been indulging herself while her two-year-old son was at Aili’s eldest sister’s home, crying and burning up from a lekipanaiinfection that kept the child up all night while his mother was off keeping Will Riker up all night. And now Will Riker was asking herfor advice on how to be a good parent?

He was watching her expectantly, his expression so innocent, so open. What could she say to him? “There’s nothing I—There’s no magic formula. I don’t know…I don’t know what your daughter will be like, what challenges you’ll face. Just…make sure you always try to do right by her. And…never take her for granted.”

He smiled. “I never could.”

Then he shook his head and chuckled. “It’s hard to believe you have grown children who must be parents themselves now. It doesn’t seem it’s been that long since we—uh, met.” He cleared his throat. “You must miss them a lot.”

She stared out at the sea. “You can’t imagine.”

CHAPTER E

IGHT

TITAN

“I’ve been getting complaints from the security staff, Tuvok,” Deanna said, resting her hands atop her belly and striving to maintain her serenity despite the fact that her daughter seemed to be trying to kick her way out of the womb. “They don’t understand why you’re still conducting holodeck combat drills involving the Borg.”

On the chair opposite her, Tuvok sat with his wonted erectness and cocked a brow. “I was not aware that tactical training procedures fell within your bailiwick, Counselor.”

“I’m more interested in understanding why you continue to train them to fight the Borg. There are no more Borg.”

“It is best to keep security personnel ready to face any threat. The Borg are the most formidable, adaptable threat Starfleet has ever faced, and thus are an excellent virtual opponent to train against.”

“If you can beat them, you can beat anybody.”

“Crudely put, but it approximates the principle.” He took a breath. “Also…we have encountered groups of Borg severed from the Collective before. We do not know if all such groups were affected by the Caeliar transformation. We can never entirely rule out the possibility that some aspect of the Borg may achieve a resurgence in the future. Or that we may encounter another cyborg race developing along similar lines.”