"Thank you, Counselor," Redik said as they stepped out of the holodeck, "for allowing Dr. Filio and I to take up some of your time."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Troi replied. "Many of my patients find their holo programs quite relaxing, as I'm sure many Cromebians would as well. Would you like me to accompany you along the way to your quarters."

"No, thank you, my dear. I believe we've taken up enough of your time. I'm sure you have other patients who need you."

"Very well, but if you have any other problems, I'm available to help you through them. I look forward to seeing the both of you again."

Both Cromebians nodded their thanks and watched as the Starfleet officer walked away. Once she was out of sight, Filio leaned toward his colleague and said, "I think it's time for a private conference."

*****

Deanna went straight to Worf's quarters and sitting on his sofa, she took her shoes off to make herself at home. Without any empathic sense of his own, Worf went to the replicator and ordered her a hot chocolate. He knew it was the one thing that would help her relax. As he brought the drink to her, he asked of her, "How did the Cromebians react to the holodeck?"

"Thank you," she said, accepting the hot chocolate. After taking a sip, she replied, "Better than I expected--better than they should have considering Filio's reaction in sickbay."

Worf sat down beside her and taking her feet into his lap, began massaging them. "Perhaps that is a good sign. They could use holodecks to aid them in learning of other cultures before they visit them."

"I hope you're right. They seem so eager to join and yet so naive about what that would mean for their people. I've never felt such mixed emotions about anything before. A part of me wants to see them admitted to the Federation, while the other part of me worries that their exposure to any technology more advanced than their own may have devastating consequences."

"They are too peaceful by nature," the Klingon added. "If they are to become members of the Federation and members of Starfleet, how will they react to hostile aliens during battle? Will they cower and allow themselves to be fired at rather than harm another living being? What little we've already gathered on the Riis, I'd give them greater odds of surviving in a space battle than the Cromebians."

"But they have their own superstitions, Worf. They haven't even evolved to the point of developing any sort of hunting rifles yet. They still use flint to build fires and sharp blades to hunt. Nevichi's first report on the Riis describes how absolutely terrified they were of the citizens of Brakinz and their technologies."

"I didn't mean that we would actually invite them on a space mission with us. I simply meant to use them as a comparission to the Cromebian's reaction to our medical technologies and any other type of bloodletting. The Riis seem far more warrior like than the Cromebians."

Contemplating this notion, Deanna took a long sip of her hot chocolate. "As I said, I'm torn between the two sides of this issue. I am only glad that I am not the one who will have to make the final decision."

"As am I," the Klingon agreed. "So how did your brunch with your mother go today?"

"She's quite upset with me. She's probably right. I should have told her about us a long time ago. I was so afraid that she might interfere. I know she means well, but what if her overbearing nature had caused you to lose interest in me before we had a chance?"

"Deanna," Worf said, soothingly, bringing his hand to her cheek. "Do not worry yourself over such things. I am yours, and I will not let your mother manipulate us in any way. We won't keep any more secrets from her. We will have to let her know that we will make our own decisions--our own lives."

"Thank you, Worf," she said, leaning toward him to kiss him, "for understanding about my mother. She might have scared a lesser man away."

Worf growled lightly, but with a tone of sexual prowess. Smiling, Deanna pressed her bosom against him, and together they laid on the sofa entwined in passion.

*****

"How do we use this thing to talk to people?" Filio asked as he and Redik stepped up to a commpanel.

"Please state the person with whom you wish to communicate," the computer voice responded.

"Oh," Redik exclaimed. "Ah, we wish to speak with Admiral Houston."

A moment later, the admiral's voice said, "Admiral Houston here."

Redik leaned toward the panel as if talking into a speaker. "Admiral, sir, this is Redik and Dr. Filio. We wish to speak to you. . .ah, in private. Do you have a moment?"

"Of course. Do you remember the way to my conference room?"

"I think so."

"If you're not sure, just ask any commpanel along the way and the computer will direct you to the correct location."

"We'll do that," Redik replied.

"Are we supposed to turn this commpanel off somehow?" the doctor asked.

"Negative," the computer responded again.

"Oh, thank you," Filio said nervously as he backed away from the machine.

"I believe we need to go this way," Redik said, pointing to his left.

Anxiously, Filio followed him, eyeing every commpanel they passed suspiciously as though he expected it to respond to anything he said. With that fear embedded in his mind, he said very little to his colleague as they wended their way around the station toward the admiral's conference room.

Nervously, both Cromebians entered the admiral's conference room. They found him sitting at the table, waiting. Redik studied the human's face and wondered what the man thought of him. He knew that this man's opinion of them would greatly influence the final decision of their petition for admittance.

"Please, have a seat," the admiral said with a smile and pointed at the two chairs across from him. "I want you to feel relaxed, so we can discuss this as friends."

"Um, I'm relieved to hear you say that," Filio said as he pulled out a chair. "Because my colleague and I have finally recognized our need to discuss our reaction to our exposure to your technology."

"We are willing to admit," Redik began, "that we have been rather naive to the possibilities of the myriad of differences that we will certainly encounter among the Federation."

"Of course, " Filio took over again, "my reaction to your medical technology is a prime example of this." He chuckled nervously, attempting to be casual about the matter.

"I am relieved to hear the both of you admit these weaknesses," Houston responded. "Since your arrival, I have thought of little else other than my pending recommendation of your petition. I have had little sleep. I do not want to reach a decision arbitrarily, nor base it on incomplete information. It would not be morally right to judge your people based on the observed reactions of only you two.

Both Cromebians sighed with relief almost simultaneously. "We were not sure we were doing the right thing by coming to you," Redik admitted. "You could have easily thought we were begging and that might destroy any chance we had."

"But we have decided," Filio added, "that if we admit our weaknesses, it could increase our chances. If we show a willingness to work toward overcoming them, maybe your opinion of us and that of your leaders will improve."

The admiral steepled his fingers, obviously in deep concentration. "How will you go about showing your willingness? And even more importantly, how do you propose to spread this willingness among your entire race?"

The two Cromebians looked to one another, unsure how to answer the admiral's question. After a long, awkward silence, the admiral said, "You don't have any plans in that regard, do you?"

"I suppose we will need to bring this matter up to the members of our high council first," Filio answered. "Together, with them, we could devise a program to slowly introduce your technologies to our citizens to help them prepare for eventual integration."

The admiral leaned back in his chair. "Hmm. This might have possibilities, depending, of course, on whether or not your high council members are as willing as you. I will bring your proposal up to the other members at Starfleet Headquarters.

"Thank you," Redik replied.

"Yes, thank you," Filio reiterated.

Both aliens stood, and as they pulled in their chairs, Redik said, "I feel much better now."

"Yes. So do I," the doctor agreed.

"One last thing, Admiral" Redik said. "Since we're guests on your station, that gives us the privilege of using any of your recreational facilities, correct?"

"Of course."

"Then it's all right if we wish to visit your holodeck again?"

"I hope you enjoy it," the admiral said with a smirk.

"Oh we will, we will."

And the two Cromebians turned to leave the room, whispering back and forth to one another. The admiral could only guess that they were debating over what type of holodeck program to run first. He chuckled over this as he remembered the program he had selected the first time he stepped into a holodeck. It was a secret he vowed to take with him the day his remains were beamed into outerspace.