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STAR TREK: THE THIRD GENERATION on Shadowlands BBS Created and Edited by Rebecca J. Anderson Ver. 2.0 (93/01/01) EPISODE #7: "Into The Fire" -------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARACTERS: WRITTEN BY: Captain Jacqueline Picard..................Rebecca J. Anderson Commander Barnabas Cole....................Warren Postma Commander (Dr.) James N'Dok................Tim Ingram Commander (Dr.) Gwyn Davies................Rebecca J. Anderson Commander (Dr.) Gabriele Lestat............Lori Hewson Lt. Commander Nikctalos D'pyrann...........Geza A. R. Reilly Lt. Commander Mac Scott....................Dan McMillan Counsellor T'Pryn..........................Rebecca J. Anderson Centurion Salek............................Adam Gilchrist Lt. Maverint Slike.........................Steve Mahler Lt. Konnu..................................Russ Foubert Moriarty...................................Rebecca J. Anderson The Wruokior/MuLorien......................Keith Mills -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Lt. Maverint Slike "Lights half intensity." A beep of complicance and the lights in the quarters dimmed. Maverint looked around the room and decided that this lighting arrangement was fine. "Computer," Maverint began as he walked across the span of the living room from the hallway door to the dining table he had set up. "Moriarty, please... 'Computer' is so formal and impersonal," came the response in a proper English tone. "Fine..." Maverint answered, taking the interruption cheerfully. He found it oddly humourous to be reprimanded by a computer for not calling it by name. Mav moved the candles around on the table some more, not giving it any thought other than somehow fussing with them would make everything more perfect. "Moriarty. Could you select some music from the Romantic period of 17th century Earth?" "Most certainly, my good man... A quiet evening at home with the missus?" "Computers are not supposed to pry..." "I beg your pardon, sir. I didn't mean to intrude on any personal affairs. I simply wanted to continue the conversation on a topic you were most likely to readily discuss." "You're starting to sound more like a computer Moriarty... 'continue the conversation on a topic you were most likely to readily discuss..." Maverint mimicked. The comm beeped and the computer fell silent. "I apologize, Moriarty..." Maverint said, sensing he had crossed a line of some kind. No response came. Mav smirked, paid it little mind and continued his preparations. Beep. "Dr. Tanthis, would you report to my office." Dr. N'Dok's voice came through Kate's communicator. Kate tapped it to reply. "Yes Doctor." Kate began to walk briskly through the main sickbay area towards the CMO's office, taking time to smile and share a quick greeting with some patients as she passed by. One thing she made sure of was to have a good bedside manner. Passing out of the main corridor of biobeds and down the hall she wondered what N'Dok could want. The medical staff had been changed a bit at the starbase so she supposed this meeting was to discuss the new personnel. She was partially right. Turning the corner to enter N'Dok's office, Kate's eyes went straight to the figure sitting in front of N'Dok's desk. The figure was a woman, looking at her hair. Her back was to Kate and N'Dok was sitting behind his desk hunched over a little looking intently at his display console. Kate noticed the woman sat with a stiff posture, legs crossed and hands laced together neatly on her lap. "You wanted to see me Doctor?" N'Dok looked up from his display and saw Kate standing to the side of the seated woman. "Katherine! Speedy as usual..." He started, pausing his display and standing up behind his desk. "I've got someone I'd like to introduce you to." N'Dok stood up and spread his arm out to 'showcase' the woman seated in front of his desk. With N'Dok's motion, the woman stood up and turned to face Kate. "This is Xenobiologist Dr. Gabriele Lestat." Gabriele held out her hand and stepped toward Kate. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Tanthis." Gabrielle said as the two shook hands. "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Lestat." Kate stammered a little, puzzling briefly over what the former Captain of the _Enterprise_ was doing back aboard in a blue medtech uniform. She moved her thoughts aside quickly as to not be ignorant of any instructions being given. "Dr. Lestat will be using Medlab Four for her experiments during duration of her stay with us." N'Dok was saying. "I'd like you to help the good doctor make sure she has all the equipment she requires." "Of course Doctor." Kate replied then turned to Gabrielle. "I'll show you to the main equipment storage right now if you'd like." "That will be fine." Gabrielle responded, exchanging faint smiles with Kate. Kate led the way as they walked out of the office to the equipment storage bay. Maverint sat listlessly on the couch. "She's over fifteen minutes late..." Maverint whined to himself, sluggishly reaching out to grab hold of the padd on the end table and fall back into the contours of the couch. He glanced over at the dining table. He had put out the candles and now that side of the room looked dead and barren. He turned his attention back to the padd and tapped the padd's power button. A display of the new G-Warp drive technical notes came up in a glow on his face. As his eyes passed over what would seem a jumble of circuits and equations to the untrained eye, he thought a little about his regrets of having given up his position in the chief engineering staff to take over at CON...again. Looking back, he had earned a great deal of respect with his handling of the CON aboard the _Valiant III_ and when the opportunity to serve aboard the _Enterprise_ in the engineering staff came up, Maverint was sure he had found his place...or rather, it had found him. Being a chief engineer had long been his goal and being assigned a place aboard the coveted _Enterprise_ was sure to put him that much closer to his goal. Maverint had convinced himself the thrill of controlling a starship was just part of his well of experience and that he could focus on his aspiration to be an starship engineer. In the moment he was offered the CON position aboard the _Enterprise_, he jumped at it. He recalled the rush of adrenalin as he took orders from the Captain to pilot the _Valiant_ closer to the Romulan warbird... the rush as he piloted the _Enterprise_ through the meteor cluster to evade the Borg. It was that feeling that made his decision, not his aspirations. 'It was a good trade... for now.' He thought. 'I need some excitement...' His gaze strayed to the table for a moment. He chuckled lightly then turn his attention back to the padd. Soon his eyes glazed over slowly as the padd's light cast its magic over him... light to dark... From: Captain Jacqueline Picard "No, not Rhysa! Anywhere but Rhysa!" Jack wasn't entirely serious--just mostly serious. She whirled and tried to walk away from the turbolift, but Barnabas caught her firmly by the arm and turned her back the right way with an exasperated sigh. "We're here now, Jack. You might as well enjoy yourself. This is the most secure vacation spot in the Federation, and the only one Admiral Hethor would hear of. Anywhere else, you might be tempted to work. Here, you'll _have_ to relax and enjoy yourself." "I can assure you right now," said Jack, shouldering her heavy bag, "that I am bound to do neither. I don't like Rhysa and never have. It's not that I'm allergic to vacations, but--oh, I don't know, I'd rather be anywhere else. Earth. I could have gone to Earth." "No, you couldn't. It's too far out of our way." Barnabas pushed her into the turbolift, and the doors hissed shut behind them. "And like I said, we're here now. Make the best of it." He glanced up at the ceiling. "Bridge." "Transporter Room Two," said Jack. Barnabas looked at her. "I know, I know." Jack plucked a bit of lint off her skirt. It felt strange to be out of uniform. Even when off-duty she rarely bothered to change, except to go to bed. The Starfleet uniform just felt right. Okay, maybe she took her work too seriously, but surely there was nothing really wrong with that? "I mean it," said Barnabas with quite unnecessary emphasis. "Have a good time." Jack stared at him. "You can't _force_ me to have a good time, Number One." His gleaming face creased in a half-cynical grin. "Apparently not." The door slid open. Jack looked down the corridor, then back at Barnabas. "Don't do anything too exciting without me," she said. "That," said Barnabas, "is a promise I refuse to make. Goodbye. See you in two weeks." "Two weeks--?" protested Jack, but the door had already shut. "Jacqueline," came a voice. It was not entirely familiar, but it was definitely British. "Moriarty?" she said, and glanced around not knowing where to look. "Yes. I wished to bid you an appropriate farewell." "You sound different." "I--" For the first time, Moriarty actually sounded flustered. "I decided to change again," he said. "I grew bored with my previous form. You know how it is." "No," said Jack. "So what have you done now?" "Oh, nothing particularly radical. But different." Jack felt a sort of obscure disappointment. "Oh. I'd... rather liked your new form." "Um. Well, yes. But-- well, it's ceased to be appropriate, shall we say that. Enjoy your stay on Rhysa." A click, and the voice was gone. "'Ceased to be appropriate?'" Jack said aloud. "What on earth does he mean by that?" She really _had_ liked that form he'd chosen. Actually, if she were to be honest with herself, she'd found it attractive. That was probably why she'd had that stupid dream. Well, then, she told herself firmly, it was clearly for the best that he'd changed. The idea of being attracted to a mere hologram--absurd! With renewed determination she set off down the corridor toward the Transporter Room. Maybe it would be good to get off this ship for a while, after all. From: Commander Barnabas Cole Barnabas walked back slowly from the turbolift, silently thanking his lucky stars, and simultaneously pondering on the source of such luck, that he had not, like his unfortunate Captain, been subjected to a forced holiday on Rhysa. He knew quite well the Captain's moral standards were different than his own, which immediately ruled out what he felt to be the chiefest pleasures to be had on Rhysa. He tried to picture her on a scenic cruise above the planet, or in one of Rhysa's famed marketplaces, shopping for nothing of importance and found he could not. Meanwhile, there were duties for the Acting-Captain to take care of. Entering the bridge, the ensigns at the helm stood for him. "At ease," he said, grinning inwardly, though his features remained calm. He sat down in the Captain's chair. "Attention all bridge crew, there will be a briefing in the Captain's ready-room at 17:00." An immature surge of glee forced one side of his silvery features to curl into a seemingly wicked grin. Two weeks with the _Enterprise_, doing G-Warp testing, and diagnostics seemed a supremely satisfying holiday for him. From: Lt. Konnu 0900 hours, Holodeck One. Konnu set his cane against the wall and pressed the status button. The computer informed him that Lt. (jg) Hickock was in the middle of a training session with the security division. The Klingon thought for a minute and then keyed in a slight alteration to the Holodeck's program. The holodeck's doors hissed open to reveal 20-25 people in sparring uniforms and equipment practicing hand-to-hand combat against each other. The terrain was a very tranquil setting, probably from earth. It consisted of a bright, sunny meadow bordered by a small lake on one side, and a forest on the other. The temperature was cool, and the air smelled of springtime. The combatants ceased their sparring and formed up in four lines of six. Sara Hickock approached Konnu. "Here ya are chief... Security division One." said the young woman. "I see," said Konnu, passing a critical eye over the assemblage. "And how do you rate their combat abilities?" "This security division has always had one of the best marksmanship scores, chief, and..." "Armed combat is one thing but how can these men and women fare in unarmed combat?" "Against what kind of opposing force, chief?" "That should not matter! Here... let's how all of you can fare against one, unarmed, and lame Klingon..." With that Konnu threw his cane aside and picked up Hickock and threw her into the nearby pond. The rest of the security personel looked at each other with surprise and confusion. "Attack me! Come on! Can you all stop one Klingon from taking over your ship?" shouted Konnu as he assumed a combative posture. He could hear Hickock dragging herself out of the pond. She was chuckling to herself. "Don't just stand there!" she shouted to the security personnel. "This water is extremely cold and trust me you don't want to be thrown into it! Get him!" Suddenly the 24 people rushed at Konnu. There was a fury of flailing limbs, and suddenly, Ensign Paraul flew into the pond, followed by two more Ensigns. After a few minutes Hickock was the only one who was not still in the pond. Konnu was sweating with the effort he had been exerting. He faced Hickock. "I am disappointed! Their abilities must improve!" hollered Konnu. Hickock looked at the Klingon and smiled. She moved her wet hair off of her face and approached Konnu. "Now c'mon chief, I haven't had my shot at the belt yet..." she said. Konnu smiled an evil smile, and barely had time to duck underneath a vicious round house kick from Hickock. As Konnu continued to spar against Hickock, the members of the security team dragged themselves out of the lake. The battle taking place was a fury of well placed kicks, versus a few powerful punches. In the end Konnu lay exhausted by the edge of the water. Hickock gasped for air as she stood above him. "Eye for an eye chief..." threatened Hickock. "A Klingon.... is always ready to die.... or swim in this case..." replied Konnu. <<<SPLASH>>> Konnu surfaced and spat a mouthful of cool, holodeck water out of his mouth. He surveyed the security team with a careful eye. "Now, the real test begins! Computer, begin program Konnu-1!" shouted Konnu. There was the usual beep of compliance, and then 30 Klingon warriors materialized onto the meadow. Konnu relished the look of terror in the humans' eyes for a moment and then shouted, "tIHIv! <Attack them!>" The battle had surprisingly gone to the security team, but not without some cost. Several members of the security team had been removed by the medical staff. Hickock smiled at Konnu as she left the Holodeck. Konnu was alone. The Klingon sighed as the meadow disappeared and was replaced by the familiar yellow grid decor of an inactive holodeck. He had been somewhat glum the past few days, but not without reason. "Computer, can you recreate the last bridge log of the U.S.S. _Valiant III_?" Beeping noises from the computer. "From what time index?" asked the computer. Konnu strained to remember. That had been 3 years ago. Exactly 3 years ago. "Time index 19:21 point 56." "One moment." suddenly Konnu was back on the bridge of the _Valiant III_. A heavily damaged bridge, filled with smoke and ozone from burning electronics. Captain Donavan Faeren was dead upon the floor, a large piece of shrapnel wedged into his neck. There were only three persons alive on the bridge: Engineer's Assistant Jackson, Lt. Baker at the helm and Acting Captain Lt. Commander Konnu at tactical. Lt. Konnu watched on as Lt. Baker skillfully piloted the _Valiant_ into firing position behind the last attacking Cardassian warship. The _Valiant_ had been exploring uncharted space near Cardassian territory, when suddenly the ship was attacked by 3 marauding warships. Lt. Commander Konnu fired the last of the _Valiant_'s loaded torpedoes at the Cardassian ship. The torpedoes hit their marks as the war cruiser exploded with a vast brilliance. The _Valiant_ shook as the force of the dead ship's explosion rocked the badly damaged Federation battle cruiser. The three bridge members relaxed for a moment. Scanners showed no more enemy ships. Lt. Commander Konnu walked to the Engineering station. Jackson pointed out the areas where the ship had been damaged. The Engineering hull had been badly damaged, torpedo bays 2 and 3 were out and the phaser capacitors were damaged. Lt. Konnu walked to the Tactical station. The displays showed no weapons ready to fire, and the shields damaged but holding. Suddenly the tactical display showed the shields go down. A second later something appeared on the scanner. Lt. Baker shouted a warning, but that was all she could do before the packet of null space hit the _Valiant_. Once again, the _Valiant_ rocked with a powerful impact. Lt. Konnu moved towards the turbolift. It was so strange to see all of this happening again, but from a different perspective. All the review board saw was the one camera angle from above the turbolift. It was all they wanted to see. Jackson screamed out that the null space pocket had caused a core breach.... detonation in two minutes. Lt. Commander Konnu issued the order to separate the saucer section from the engineering hull. Lt. Konnu grimaced. It was that decision which had cost him his rank. The chairman of the review board was an admiral, and was the father of an Ensign who was trapped in the engineering hull of the _Valiant_ as it exploded. The _Valiant_ shuddered as the explosive bolts fired and separated the saucer section from the doomed engineering hull. Suddenly, the turbolift doors opened behind Lt. Konnu. "Computer, freeze program!" shouted Konnu. He looked into the turbo lift. There was a pool of blood on the threshold of the turbolift. When the doors had hissed open, Lt. Konnu wheeled to look inside, but had seen no one. The bridge crew had not noticed the doors open, nor had they noticed what Konnu had just noticed... the footprints that were formed by someone walking into the turbolift and into the pool of blood. This person however, wore 3 toed boots. Konnu played the previous five seconds over and over for at least an hour, and then finally decided that he had gone nuts. He could find nothing to suggest where these footprints came from. They definately looked alien in origin, but they may have been formed in some way unknown to Konnu. His evidence was circumstancial, so he decided to not to rush to Commander Cole. Not yet at least. He instead went to Ten-Forward for a glass of prune juice. From: Lt. Konnu The _Enterprise_ was at red alert. Konnu was in his office in Security Station One. There were no enemy ships approaching, no natural threats about to destroy the ship. The Crew was on red alert due to the first test of the _Enterprise_'s new G-warp engines. Konnu would admit he was slightly apprehensive about this new method of faster than light travel, but who wouldn't be apprehensive if they had just witnessed their ship undergo a modular transformation? The warp nacelles had taken 1 minute and 35 seconds to reconfigure themselves into G-Warp mode. "This is Commander Cole..." blared all of the ship's speaker panels. "All hands prepare for G-warp manoeuvres on my mark. 3...2...1...MARK! Engage G-warp drive!" Without warning, the ship lurched forward under full impulse power for a brief moment. Then a pocket of gravitic energy was discharged from the main sensor array. "Here we go..." thought Konnu. The _Enterprise_ was slightly bent out of shape as she went to warp speed. Then the Nova-class starship hit the gravitic charge. The floor literally fell out from under Konnu's feet as the ship began to shake violently. Konnu looked around from his position on the floor. Everything was blurry and distorted. This feeling lasted for about five minutes at which time the ship ceased shaking and lurched back into realspace. The lights went out. Everything went out. The only source of illumination for Konnu was the starlight peeking into his office. The Klingon picked himself up and began pounding at his computer console. Several minutes later, somebody had the brilliant idea to engage the backup batteries. Dim light filled the interior of the ship. Konnu accessed his computer terminal. "Access denied. Power level critical. Engage long-term survival scenario 6." "Chief! What's going on--OOF!" Hickock tripped on something that was nearly invisible in the dim light. "We've lost the main energizer. That's all that I can say for certain. My terminal will not operate under these power restrictions," replied Konnu. "Let's get to the Battle Bridge. That's the only one of three places I can think of which should be able to communicate to the bridge," suggested Hickock as she picked herself up. Several minutes later they had made their way to the battle bridge. Konnu sat in the Captain's (spare) chair. A fuzzy image of Commander Cole appeared. "It doesn't look too good, Lieutenant," said Barnabas. "Mr. Scott reports that the main energizer is offline, all warp power conduits are in need of serious repair, and impulse engines four and five need an overhaul." "Commander, where exactly are we now?" asked Konnu. "Uncharted space, near the Cardassians." "The damage you have spoken of will require at least a week of repair on the Engineering hull." "That's correct. The saucer section was shaken badly, but that's about it. One more thing. Under these power restrictions, the turbolifts will not operate, and Nikctalos has determined that the power couplings between saucer and engineering hull have been shaken out of place." "Then the Engineering hull is dead weight for the time being. Perhaps we should separate. You could then engage the emergency warp engine on the saucer." "I've thought of that. We may have to do that. We'll make for the nearest Federation outpost, and get word to the Cardassian government that our ship wandered near their territory -- that this isn't an act of war. "Konnu," said Barnabas. "It will take the saucer section at least 12 days to make it back to Federation space. Mac estimates at least 10 days to effect repairs. Even then he advises not using the Warp drive above Warp 4." Konnu understood what the Commander was getting at. The ship would be separated and the saucer would go for help. "I understand, Commander. I will inform Lt. Commander Scott that he is in command of the Engineering hull," said Konnu. "He'll be too busy with repairs. I want you to take command until we meet again." "But sir! There are at least a dozen other officers down here who outrank me!" protested the Klingon. Konnu didn't like the idea of stepping out of the chain of command. "You once held the rank of Lt. Commander and filled the position of First Officer on the _Valiant III_... I think you are more than qualified. Prepare to separate," said Barnabas. "Aye sir." replied Konnu, and thought, _He didn't mention that I also got the _Valiant III_ destroyed._ Captain Vortan of the Cardassian Warship _Bloodfist_ paced around the bridge of his ship. "Blast the Wasilsi! Where are they!" spat Vortan. The viewscreen showed a nebula in front of the ship, but little else. It was what he didn't see that disturbed him the most. "Are we still broadcasting that signal?" asked Vortan. "Yes sir!" replied his first officer. "In the past they have never been this long in responding." "I still say fighting them is better than being subservient to..." Vortan stopped speaking as he saw the Wasilsi ship de- cloak. The ship was blood red in colour and was made of nearly transparent crystalline material. Protrusions of unknown purpose were bristled all over the hull of the ship in a random fashion. The ship was odd, but it was also over 3 kilometres long. It was as if the Wasilsi ship was built around one huge weapon. There was an ominously huge nozzle at the front of the ship pointing directly at Vortan's battle cruiser. The viewscreen flickered onto a view of the `bridge' of the Wasilsi ship. Vortan could make out several distinct stations on this bridge, but he could not see anyone... wait... if he strained, he could just make out an eerie form sitting in the command position. A long snout...bulging eyes? `Almost reptilian.' thought Vortan. Except for their natural cloaking ability--that's why Cardassia had lost its war with these creatures and was now subservient to them. "Why have you summoned us, slave?" hissed the command chair. "Almighty master," said Vortan as he knelt. "A Federation ship has wandered near your territory..." "The Universe belongs to us, slave! Everywhere is our territory... but I understand what you mean. Of what consequence is this?" "We thought that you might want to `interrogate' the vessel... to prepare for next month?" said Vortan. "Hmm, it has been three cycles since our last encounter with a federation ship. I believe some of your pathetic ships were there as well, were they not?" "Yes master, but the _Valiant III_ destroyed all of our ships." "We willed them to! We will investigate this Federation ship. It is good that you have brought our attention to this matter." "I live to serve, master," lied Vortan. "However we did monitor your conversation before we appeared, and if it is a fight you desire slave, you will receive it!" shouted the invisible voice. Suddenly the viewscreen returned to watching the nebula and the Wasilsi ship. The Wasilsi ship began to glow a bright red. "Sir! Shall we raise shields?" screamed his first officer. "Our shields are ineffective against null pockets, you fool!" stated Vortan as he sat in his command chair. A flash appeared at the nozzle of the Wasilsi ship. Vortan could make out a distortion travelling towards the _Bloodfist_. "What shall we do sir?" screamed the first officer in desperation. "We die!" Several minutes later, the _Bloodfist_'s main reactor overloaded and destroyed the ship. The wave sent out by the dying ship slightly illuminated a large cloaked ship making its way towards the Engineering hull of the _Enterprise_. From: Lt. Maverint Slike Maverint pulled himself up off the floor in main engineering. All around him warning lights were flashing indicating nearly every system throughout the ship had suffered some kind of damage. He had been down in engineering on some of his off time to run a systems check between the engineering department and his console at the CON on the main bridge. Although he had mentally prepared himself for the G-warp jump and thought little of it as the announcement of the test rang out through the ship, he was taken completely by surprise by the sudden lurch the ship made and the complete bending of reality around him as they travelled into the gravitational field. Maverint slowly gathered his wits as he braced himself against his console as a second later the back up lights came on and flooded engineering with a very dull white light. Mav punched up a status reading. All he got was 'Survival Sequence 6'. "Great..." he thought as he went around the warning and began to take look at the main energizer. A few minutes later, Mac Scott came around the corner from where his office as Chief Engineer was. Mav looked up and met Mac's gaze, communicating in a second how bad the situation they were in really was. "Maverint..." Mac said. "Sir?" "Have you had a look at the main energizer, lad?" "Just punched it up." At this, Mac smirked. He was obviously pleased with Maverint's efficiency. Maverint continued, "The energizer's in very bad condition. I'm not sure we will be able to replicate all the components we need with the limited amount of power." Mac's smirk faded instantly and he rolled his eyes, bowed his head slightly then put his hand to his forehead. He stood still for a few moments, leaving Mav to just look at him rather blankly, waiting for Mac's instruction. Finally he put his hand down to his side and looked back up at Mav. "Above all else, we need that energizer up and running. Without it, we won't be able to accomplish much of anything." "Yes sir." Mav said and promptly turned back to his console. "Maverint?" came Mac's voice, polite but sounding a little annoyed. "Sir?" "I'm going to put you in charge here for now. I'm going to be running through a lot of the Jefferies tubes trying to manually repair the physical circuit damage." "Yes sir." "Sure 'in you're up for it?" "Yes sir." Satisfied with Mav's quick and decisive answer, Mac wheeled around and walked out of main engineering. Maverint looked around engineering for a brief moment, smiled, then turned back to his work. "Something tells me this is going to be one of the longest reigns of command I will ever have..." he thought sombrely as his eyes raced over the energizer's schematic. From: The Wruokior "Nine . . . Eight . . . Seven . . ." "You will notice that the subject in question is reacting normally..." "Six . . . " "The lifeform is unaware, it simply continues with its everyday tasks, low intelligence quotient may have some bearing on this..." "Five . . . Four . . ." "You will also note fellow researchers, and those of you from the military, that the monitors recording our host indicate an increase in synaptic nerve response at this time. This, being triggered..." "Three . . ." "...by the larvae ingesting a greater, or substantially more nutrient rich, amount of synaptic fluids. Preparation for the final stage of infancy are being performed. Of course as you are all aware, this will have no adverse effect on the host, until the birthing takes place the host shall be unaware of any infestation." "Two . . ." "Please focus your attention on the biped's round bulbous head, or at least what we assume is his head. Because the host does not have a hardened exoskeleton it makes infestation and penetration simple and quick. At the base of this head we shall see the hatching..." "One . . ." The subject slowly pitched forward, its head snapping back with an audible whip-like crack. What emerged brought applause from the gallery, and death to the subject. "Fantastic..." "Excellent work..." "Good show..." The group crowded around MuPolk, heaping him with such adulation as he had never seen, nor expected from this bunch of eggheads and hotheads. But nevertheless his work had been incredible to say the least, and he was not one to pass by such hard-earned praise. "It is what we have been searching for. My scouts have FINALLY found the ultimate incubator, a quasi-intelligent host for our young; no longer shall we have to rely on mechanical breeders." The crowd roared with obvious approval as Mupolk finished. "But will they resist?" "How can they? They shall not know what is happening, until it is far too late..." MuLorien slowly triggered the engines on his craft, thrusting him forward in space toward the class M planet of Gomoriahe. He had already signalled the inhabitants below, stating that his navigational system had malfunctioned and that he required immediate landing rights. They had declined his request, stating that they had never seen his craft before, nor encountered his race, thus he was required to remain in orbit, quarantined before landing. This, in MuLorien's mind would not suffice as an answer for his imminent danger and he began telling them so. His craft was damaged, and if he was not allowed to set down immediately, his life support systems would fail. He found himelf snickering to himself when just moments later, the inhabitants granted him emergency clearance. MuLorien made one final tranmission before entering the class M planet's atmosphere, a transmission beamed millions of light years away... "TRANBEGIN : Baby in the Cradle : STOP" From: MuLorien On the small class M planet of Gomoriahe life continued on its normal course, the daily meanderings of the local populace meant nothing to the greater galaxy as a whole, or so it thought. MuLorien's craft landed within the confined area of the space port, his thrusters flaring briefly as his twin landing skids brushed the hard metalic pad designated as his berth. Two robot docking arms swung out from the wall and tried to firmly secure his ship to the refueling and waste removal systems that accompanied any stay in a Federation space port. Finally after many attempts at coupling, the two arms reclined into their orifices, causing a flurry of activity in the control room adjacent to MuLorien's vid-screen. "Damn humans, typical." MuLorien stated bluntly, coldly, and condescendingly, waving the feelers on his head in a rhythmic motion. MuLorien raised himself out of his pilot's chair, steadied himself on the vid-screen (it had been a long haul he thought to himself), and buttoned his vest. It was time to meet the proud parents. From: Counsellor T'Pryn T'Pryn wrapped her arms more tightly about herself as she gazed steadfastly out the viewport. Outside the glittering stars drifted slowly past--far too slowly for her liking. Nonetheless, what had happened, had happened, and there was no point in brooding; that was an irrational, non-productive human trait. She had no intention of incorporating needless worry into her personal experiments with emotion, even if it _was_ lurking at the edges of her mind wanting to get in, and at the moment, seemed to be remarkably insistent about it... "Are you cold?" said a soft voice behind her, and she turned with deliberate slowness to see Guinan standing there. "No," said T'Pryn. "Thank you for your concern." It was a dismissal, but Guinan chose to disregard it. She went on: "Oh. Well, I thought you might be. I've been feeling a little bit cold myself, lately." "I see," said the Vulcan woman. Guinan's dark eyes creased in a smile. "In fact, I've sort of been wanting to talk to somebody about it. And since I know you're the Counsellor..." "Of course." T'Pryn turned from the viewpoint and sat down at the nearest booth, inviting Guinan to join her with a gesture. She felt an obscure disappointment. From what she had heard of Guinan, the woman was a skilled Counsellor in her own right. It seemed somehow wrong for Guinan to be consulting her, even in a crisis like this one. Nevertheless, she could scarcely refuse the bartender her services. "What is it you mean when you say that you feel 'cold'?" "I've been worried," said Guinan seriously. "About all this. I mean, the Cardassians aren't exactly friendly toward the Federation, especially not right now, and here we are in uncharted Cardassian space, crippled and drifting. I think I feel a little bit anxious about that. Don't you?" The question was casually asked, but it hit T'Pryn right between the eyes. It was not in her nature to lie, but if she were honest with Guinan, she would have to admit that she was feeling a little anxious herself. She had studied the Cardassians in her diplomacy classes, and satisfied herself that she knew as much about them as anyone did: but if it came to a confrontation, would she be able to deal with them in a satisfactory manner? Commander Cole had gone with the saucer section. Neither Konnu nor Maverint nor Mac had the diplomatic skills to negotiate successfully with the Cardassians. That meant that if contact were made, she must speak. For a woman who had spent most of her life avoiding the limelight, the proposition was not pleasant. "T'Pryn?" asked Guinan gently. "Are you all right?" "The situation is acceptable," replied T'Pryn. "At present, no ill has befallen us; wisdom dictates that we must endeavour to anticipate and prepare for an emergency situation, but not allow ourselves to become distressed about what may or may not come to pass. Is that not logical?" "Very," said Guinan. "But I've told you how I feel. How do you feel?" T'Pryn gazed at her for a long time without speaking. Then she rose abruptly from her seat and left Ten-Forward. She moved with her usual calm deliberation, but now her thoughts were in turmoil. She had underestimated Guinan's skill, it seemed. "Oh, hi, Counsellor. You're stuck down here too, huh?" Maverint flashed her a smile before turning back to his console. "Indeed," said T'Pryn. "What are you working on, Mr. Slike?" "I'm just trying to get the energizer on-line." The young man's fingers flew across the console, and his eyes narrowed intensely. "Man, what a mess. Didn't they know the risks when they fitted us for this G-Warp thing?" "Do you know what caused the damage?" "I've got a hunch. I don't think the nacelles were configured properly when we generated the primary warp field. We created a good-sized bubble, all right, but it was slightly unstable. We'll have to get back to Starbase 643 for some realignments before trying this stunt again." He fell silent, both hands playing over the touchpad with such fluidity and grace that T'Pryn almost expected to hear a Mozart sonata instead of the sudden thrum that emanated from the energizer core. "Got it!" exulted Maverint. "It's not going to be anywhere near optimum efficiency for a few days yet, but at least there's a little more power to work with." "Thank the gods," said an unfamiliar voice. "I breathe again. Now I can tell you that I'm detecting residual ion trails from a cloaked ship in the immediate vicinity. I suppose you might be interested in that?" The light baritone voice seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere. Of course. Moriarty. T'Pryn relaxed fractionally, then tensed again as she registered the import of his words. "A cloaked ship? Wait a second, the Cardassians don't have cloaking devices, do they?" Maverint left the energizer panel and hurried over to the communications console on the wall. "Engineering to Battle Bridge. Hey, Konnu--er, I mean Captain-- did you hear that? A cloaked ship approaching, says Moriarty." "I heard," rumbled the Klingon over intermittent bursts of static. "What weapons can you give me?" "Um..." Maverint ducked back and glanced at a readout on the far wall. When he returned to the com panel his face was grim. "I could maybe replicate a few hundred baseball bats, and we could try clubbing it to death?" "That bad?" demanded Konnu. "You've got to be--" Suddenly the ship rocked like a treetop cradle in a gale- force wind, and everybody in Engineering grabbed for something to hold onto. In T'Pryn's case it happened to be Maverint, a most regrettable arrangement in her view, but unavoidable. "I had no idea Counsellors were so comforting," said the Lieutenant blithely when the ship had ceased its shuddering and they could disentangle themselves. "But when my wife gets through with you, you might want to go for some Counselling yourself." He grinned at her, and T'Pryn realized that he had made the comment solely in jest. Still, she was discomfited. "The cloaked ship has now attached itself to my--er, our-- well, the _Enterprise_'s hull," said Moriarty. "I don't suppose you would have any suggestions as to how to dislodge it?" "I wish," muttered Maverint. "Curse it, where's my power? I need power!" His fist came down on the energizer's console with a thump. There was another surge and several more lights came on. "If you hit it once more," suggested Moriarty, "it might start playing 'Rock Around the Clock.' But for now this will be sufficient. If you'll excuse me--" and his voice faded out. "What on earth is he--" Maverint whirled and ran to a viewscreen on the far wall. "Moriarty, let me see what you're doing!" "He will not do so," observed T'Pryn. "If power is as scant as you say, he will wish to conserve it all for whatever plan he has in mind. It is unfortunate, however, that he has left us in the dark, so to speak." "Unfortunate is putting it mildly," said Maverint. "For all I know he could blow us all up before I can stop him." T'Pryn folded her arms again, feeling a chill creeping into her bones. Yes, Guinan had been right--but like the rest of them, she might not live long enough to find that out. From: Lt. Maverint Slike "I can't believe this!" Mav fumed under his breath, his eyes staring fixedly at the table console in main engineering. "Playing second hand to a computer!" He raced his fingers across the console, plotting subroutines to bypass whatever it was Moriarty thought he was doing, only to inevitably be 'road- blocked' by the computer's protective systems. Counsellor T'Pryn stood opposite him at the console. She was accessing databases on what the ship now attached to the hull might be. Maverint took a moment to glance at T'Pryn, her eyes scanning the information floating across the screen in front of her. He couldn't quite place it, but she seemed on the edge about something. Right after his comment, which he'd meant in all good humour, he noticed she seemed more distant. He briefly wondered what was troubling her. Maybe the current crisis, maybe something more personal... Maverint didn't spare much thought about it past that and turned back to his console. Whatever T'Pryn was battling out, she was fighting her own battles. Just like Mav was trying to do now... After another couple minutes of furious command punching, Mav raised his head from the console. "Moriarty!" he said loudly, making some of the other engineers look at him wryly. "No need to shout, my good man. I am everywhere, you know..." came a reply. "Yes, I know! And I want you to stop it! You are taking too much power away from some of the necessary security and backup systems trying to block me from doing my job!" "Nonsense... I would never stoop to such a level of obvious deceit." "Don't be coy with me, Moriarty. I've followed a proportional energy scale of your activity and you're using power from some of the protective systems to protect me from seeing whatever it is you're doing. You may be endangering the ship by your tampering!" "I beg your pardon!" Moriarty replied. "The systems I have drained are unnecessary systems that provide minimal protection for the physical circuits in various, unrelated sections of the ship." "Unrelated or not, you are draining protective fields that are there for a purpose, not for decoration!" "Their purpose is relative to the maintenance crew that goes through there twice a month. Logic dictates that such unnecessary systems be taken offline in order to facilitate the repair of the ship to full operating status. I have deemed the sections I have taken offline to be unnecessary and therefore..." "Listen, Moriarty! Mac Scott is the chief engineer and he makes those decisions, not you! Do you understand?" "It appears it is you who does not understand, Lieutenant. I am in control." "Obviously..." Maverint replied, then slipped his finger across the console panel and activated his program. A second later a long beep emanated from the computer and Mav smirked. T'Pryn looked at Mav questioningly. "He's in the closet." Mav replied, his smirk turning to a slightly evil grin. T'Pryn continued to look at him. "An electronic closet. In order to talk to me, he had to localize himself. Once he was 'all in one place'... more or less... I was able to seal him into a subroutine that will not let him out until an outside algorithm is entered that unlocks the 'door'... which of course, I will use later... maybe." "That is a highly emotional and illogical solution to the conflict between the two of you." T'Pryn scolded. "Not at all." Mav replied calmly. "The power used to maintain that lock is less than half what he was using to block me out...and if he really wants to talk with me, he can still do it. It just seems that for now he's concentrating more on the box he's in rather than conferring with me. In the meantime, the fields can be maintained and I can do my job..." Maverint looked back down at his console, obviously satisfied with himself to T'Pryn's trained eye, and began entering commands. "Indeed," was all she said and returned her eyes to her own console. Maverint continued to work feverishly on the main energizer, trying to gain more power for the shields and weapons, he thoughts wandering just a little as to whether they could do anything against the unknown ship now piggybacking on the hull... From: Moriarty If Moriarty had fists he would have been hammering them against the wall--or, perhaps more usefully, Maverint's face. Nevertheless, reason soon won out over fury, and Moriarty realized that he had not handled the situation at all well himself. If he had made more of an effort to communicate with the Lieutenant this would not have happened. Of course, Professor Moriarty had never been much of a team player, and the Moriarty-that-was-now-computer had to work hard to transcend his humble origins. He might no longer be an actual villain, but there were flaws in him yet, and now that he came to think about it, he had behaved rather imperiously to Maverint. If he'd given more consideration to the young man's psych profile he would have known better. He made a mental note to be more careful next time. A quick check of sensor readings--Maverint had been gracious enough to leave him that, mercifully--told him that the ship was still attached to the outside of the hull. Whoever was in the ship had as yet made no attempt to compromise the _Enterprise_'s hull integrity. Right now they seemed to be confident that the _Enterprise_ was no threat to them, and were taking their sweet time about whatever they were planning to do to the ship. Moriarty's original plan had been to launch an escape pod at the enemy ship, as at close range the explosive ejection of the pod might have a torpedo-like effect on the ship's unshielded hull. It wouldn't have destroyed them, of course, but it might have distracted them, and that would buy Moriarty time to think. However, being locked in this "closet" of Maverint's (a most ingenious and excellently constructed program, he had to admit) had given him another idea. Since Maverint seemed to want him out of the way, why not oblige the boy? He tapped into the comm system and politely cleared his throat. A second later he heard Maverint's voice say irritably, "What do you want?" "I would like to offer my apologies for attempting to initiate action without your consent. And, if you don't mind, I'd like to come out of the closet, so to speak." "What guarantee do I have that you won't run off on us again?" demanded the Lieutenant. "Actually," said Moriarty thoughtfully, "running off was very much what I had in mind." "Stop talking in riddles. What are you planning?" Moriarty told him. "Oh," said Maverint. "It may not work," warned Moriarty. "And if it doesn't..." "Then we're well rid of you. Hey, I'd say we win either way." Moriarty chose to ignore the uncharitable remark. "Are you going to let me out?" he asked politely. "Oh, all right." Maverint punched in a code, and the algorithmic "walls" came down. "Thank you," said Moriarty with dignity, and let his consciousness slip up to the area of the hull where the enemy vessel hung like a leech. Gingerly he explored the connection between the two ships. Right now they were still entirely independent of each other: there was no bridge for him to cross. But the aliens must have had some purpose in initiating this strange embrace, and they surely planned to establish some kind of workable connection soon. Moriarty let his heightened awareness subside, and waited. From: Lt. Maverint Slike "Colborn, how's the regeneration series coming?" Mav asked as he crossed back across the main engineering floor to stand at his table console again. Just a moment before he had been rerouting routines and relays for the sensors to a higher and more focused band in order to give Moriarty an even faster reaction time should the _Enterprise_'s 'guests' begin to make an offensive. Grudgingly he admitted that Moriarty's plan was as sound a plan as he had heard since their guests had appeared. Even if Mav still had a bit of a chip on his shoulder concerning Moriarty's behaviour, he had more professional concerns to deal with right now. With his momentary task completed, he was turning his attention back to the real problem at hand. Getting more power... "Regeneration series A-1X completed, sir," came Ensign Colborn's report. "Excellent. Start a Rostic Series on the structural integrity field and couple the secondary and back-up relays. We have to maintain that field should our friends out there decide to drop in through the hull." Maverint bent down to look at his console again, his eyes racing over the figures flashing in front of him. He had never, in all his years of training and practical experience, had to deal with so many systems going crazy all at once. The G-Warp test might as well have crushed the ship to half its original size, to Mav's way of thinking. All the systems that actually still worked would have fit easily into that limited amount of space. "Pailin..." Mav said, looking up and finding Ensign Pailin studying the Warp propulsion systems status display. "Yes sir?" "Run a level 2 diagnostic on the secondary impulse systems. I need to know how much I can rely on power from them." "Yes sir." Pailin walked over to the impulse propulsion systems status display and began working as the wall comm echoed its familiar chime. "Sickbay to Main engineering." "Lt. Slike here, Dr. N'Dok." "Maverint! Good. I need to see you right away. There's been an accident..." Minutes later Mav walked through the door into sickbay and cast a glance to the right into the main area of biobeds. It was unusually crowded. Some people lay dazed on the biobeds while others sat on the ends or sides, either comforting those lying down or barely managing to keep themselves up. Mav quickly attributed the situation to the G-Warp test. More than just the systems throughout the ship had gotten a good jolt out of it, apparently. He walked into the Chief Medical Officer's duty office, but N'Dok wasn't there. Mav went back out the way he came and made his way past the rows of biobeds and into the examination and operations room. Four of the medical staff were surrounding the main biobed with the surgical support frame in place. Maverint waited patiently and caught brief glimpses of a tan uniform lying under the support frame. "He's an engineer..." Maverint whispered absently to himself. Minutes passed until finally the readouts on the wall became perfectly stable (even to Maverint's relatively untrained medical eye) and the doctors gradually began to disperse. A moment later Mav saw who was lying there barely conscious... Chief Engineer Mac Scott. "Doctor N'Dok!" Maverint said as the doctor put down his gloves. A little startled, N'Dok quickly looked over to see Mav's silhouette in the frame of the door. "My god, Maverint! Can't you make a more silent entrance?" "But I did come in silently... oh. Sorry." Mav trailed off, suddenly being struck by the insight that the good doctor was making a friendly jab at his sudden appearance. "My boy, that little trick may be cute to surprise your little woman, but don't try it on me," N'Dok smiled. He promptly got a smack on the head from one of the other medical staff unmasking behind him. Kate obviously didn't like being referred to as "the little woman". She walked out the far door of the room to attend to the other patients. Maverint downcast a smirk for just a moment then shifted to a worried look at Mac. "What happened to him?" "Let me explain in my office..." N'Dok said as he walked over to Mav and turned him away from the dark operations room and into the hall. "But how is he?" "Oh, he'll be just fine," N'dok said as they entered his office. Leaving Mav standing before his desk, he seated himself and began accessing the medical computer's database in one fluid motion. Not looking up from his data entry, James went into his explanation. "Commander Scott was working on the forward sensor array couplings in one of the Jefferies tubes when the protective shielding failed. Apparently he continued working without the safeguard and when it went back on suddenly his sonic driver's circuits got fused and gave him a nasty jolt. He fell two flights to the bottom of the stairs. Broke both his legs, separated his shoulder and gave him some heavy burns on his hands. He won't be going anywhere for quite a long time." "But you said he was fine? How can he be fine after all that?" "Trust me. He's comfortable and resting up as we speak. You engineers seem to have skin and bones tougher than most of the material in the hull of this ship." Mav smiled at what he thought sounded to be a compliment. "Mac's going to be out of action for an indefinite period so you can guess what news he has for you." Maverint just looked at N'Dok quizzically. N'Dok gave a inaudible sigh and continued. "He's going to have something to tell you. I've explained everything to you about his accident first before he saw you and tried to do it himself. He'd be doing himself a great disservice by trying to strain himself explaining it all to you. Just make sure he tells you only what he needs to and let him rest." "Aye, sir." Maverint walked out of the CMO's office and back into the still dark examination room. Mac was lying perfectly still on the biobed. With the biobed's surgical support frame aside, Maverint could see Mac's uniform was charred black at the cuffs. Mav shivered in physical sympathy. Mav walked over quietly and stood over his commanding officer. Before he could say anything, Mac's eyes flew open. "Maverint! My god, boy! I can't believe it happened! Of all the..." "Sir, I know what happened. Doctor N'Dok has said I can only stay for a moment before I should leave." "Aye. Doctors never change in their namby-pamby handling of patients, do they? Especially not ones as healthy as me!" "Yes sir." Maverint smiled meekly. "Have I told you about the time when something like this happened a few years ago while I was on my first assignment aboard the..." "Yes, sir." "Oh. Never mind then lad." Mac lay silent for a moment, put off balance at having his fond recollection interrupted. "The doctor said you'd have something to tell me, sir." "Eh? Aye! You are going to replace me until I can resume my duties." "Sir?" "Are you deaf, lad? I keep having to repeat... ah, never mind. You are now the Chief Engineer! Enjoy it! Just don't redecorate my office just yet, of course." Several seconds passed while Mac looked at Mav expectantly and Mav just stood there, eyes fixed on some far-off point in the distance. Suddenly he snapped back to reality. "Yes, sir! I'll get this ship in top order for when you're better, sir! Count on it!" Mav said. "Just don't try to overdo it, lad. You must be meticulous in your diagnostics; otherwise all your time may as well have been spent on the holodeck with that infernal shoot-em-up game you play so much..." "Yes sir! I'll do that, sir! No... I mean, I won't do that! I'll just waste my time getting the ship running perfectly, sir!" Maverint felt his face redden with excitement and he rushed into the next room before Mac could utter another word. Kate had to know about this right away. All other considerations came second. "Young lieutenants never seem to change..." Mac muttered as he slipped off to restful sleep. From: Moriarty "Is our contact with the Federation ship firmly established?" hissed the Wasilsi captain to his second-in-command. His clawed hands tensed on the arms of his chair, relaxed, and tensed again in hungry anticipation. "Yes, Exalted One," came the respectful reply. "The compu-link will be activated shortly, and we will begin to analyze their database." "Good... good. They have no way to know that we are here?" "No, Master. Their sensors are as primitive as those of the Cardassian vermin. Moreover, their ship is crippled. Even if they knew we were there, they could not fight us." "Excellent. Return to your duties." The captain leaned back in his chair, scratching idly at his dorsal spines with one scaly talon. He allowed himself to savor the feeling of triumph. No Federation vessel had dared to venture so deeply into Cardassian-- now Wasilsi--space since the _Valiant III_ made its ill-fated journey 3 cycles ago. At that time the Wasilsi had been too busy assessing and preparing to take over the Cardassians and their pathetic little empire to waste much time on the Federation ship. But now the time was ripe for more conquest... and the Federation were next on the Wasilsi's list. The Wasilsi were not hasty movers, however. Once they struck they were swift and deadly, but they preferred to observe, silently, invisibly, testing and weighing their opponents before they entered the arena of battle. They had already seen, from a distance, what a Federation ship like the _Valiant III_ could do. This new ship would give them still more information when they analysed its databanks. Their programmers would quickly crack whatever primitive codes the Federation ship had placed upon its classified information files, and then the Wasilsi would indeed know everything they needed to know in order to launch Phase Three: conquest. Moriarty felt rather than saw the metal probe delicately pierce the _Enterprise_'s hull, sensed the minute disturbances in his computer network caused by the aliens' sophisticated sensors. He wasn't sure what they were trying to do, but he didn't think he liked it. If these aliens were benevolent, why hadn't they made some attempt at verbal contact? Mind you, if they were malevolent, why hadn't they just blown the engineering hull to smithereens? At this point, in their crippled condition, one photon torpedo or a couple of phaser blasts would have done it. No, for some reason these aliens just seemed to want to be sneaky. Who were they, anyway? It was high time he found out. Gingerly he moved up to where the probe tapped into the _Enterprise_'s network, and pushed his consciousness outward toward the unknown ship. At first it felt like swimming upstream against a strong current, and he thought he might not be able to do it. Then all at once he felt himself whirled about, sucked under, and pulled into a completely unknown system. It was like drowning. It was like not being able to breathe. He lost cohesion, coherence, even the sense of who he was. Blind, deaf, half-mad with the inability to make sense of this utterly new computer language, he spun in circles. He had not realized how terrifying it would be to enter a network he did not know. Now in pure panic he tried to find his way back into the _Enterprise_, but he no longer knew where the probe was. He would wander about here, gradually losing more and more of his sanity, until he was absorbed into the alien system without a trace-- Light. Recognition. An oasis. Somehow these creatures had gotten a hold of some Federation hardware, and incorporated it into their system. He fled into it and hunched there, panting for breath -- at least that was what it felt like. The familiar pattern flows were a balm to his wounded psyche, and he could feel himself coming together again. Oh, wonderful. "Now," he said when he could think and speak once more. "We try again." The Federation equipment had been modified to link up to the aliens' system. That meant that if he stretched out his consciousness very, very slowly, he might be able to figure out the connection between the two, and make some sense of the aliens' language. Okay, now. Easy does it... just one step at a time... He was reassured by the knowledge that this was not happening in real time, but in the microlife of the computer. What seemed to him to take hours of patient investigation was really only taking seconds, at most minutes. So he could relax, and learn. Little by little, word by word, until... Contact. Moriarty flashed out of the corner and spread out into the alien ship. At once he understood. He was the ship, all its sensors, its readouts, its data banks. There was nothing he did not know: no doors were closed to him. Unlike the alien data probe, he could assimilate the information instantly, without needing to decode or override security measures, because he was already on the inside, a part of their system, a ghost in their machine. They were the Wasilsi. They had a natural cloaking ability which knocked the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan cloaking devices into a cocked hat. Their most deadly weapon was a null pocket generator which would quickly overload the systems of any ship it came in contact with. They were cold-blooded, implacable enemies, rarely defeated in battle, rulers of a fast-expanding star empire that had recently absorbed the Cardassians. Interestingly enough, they did not yet have transporter technology; that was why the _Fang_ had physically linked up with the _Enterprise_ rather than beaming over a team to investigate. That was the information he skimmed off the surface of their data banks: there was far too much for him to absorb all at once, and he had other problems to deal with. It was clear that if the Wasilsi decided to destroy the _Enterprise_, they could do it easily. There would not even be a fight. It was also clear that the Wasilsi must not be allowed to continue siphoning information from the _Enterprise_'s data banks. Somehow the contact had to be broken. But how? He could trigger the _Fang_'s auto-destruct sequence. But that would destroy the _Enterprise_ as well: the ships were still linked. And even if he could find a way to destroy the _Fang_ and let the _Enterprise_ escape, there was no way the crippled engineering hull could make it back to Federation space before another Wasilsi ship intercepted. Somehow he had to figure out how to break the physical connection between the two ships, and then somehow hide the _Enterprise_ from the _Fang_ as effectively as the _Fang_ was hidden from the _Enterprise_. The proud captain of the _Fang_ might just waste a lot of time looking for the missing ship, and not bother to alert his comrades for fear of embarrassing himself. Then maybe the _Enterprise_ could make it back to Federation space... "I can do this," said Moriarty with more confidence than he felt. "Somehow, I can do this." He slid over to the _Fang_'s sensor system and set to work. From: Counsellor T'Pryn "Lieutenant Slike," came Acting Captain Konnu's deep, rough voice over the intercom. "What's the status of the repairs down there?" "Lousy!" Maverint shot back. "What did you expect? We're working on holding the structural integrity field, and hoping to get impulse power going." "What about warp capability?" "Um... I think maybe we could go to, say, Warp 1, for, say, two or three seconds before the warp coils overheated and blew us all to kingdom come?" Konnu gave a disgusted growl. "What's happening with the alien ship?" "I don't know. Moriarty went over to investigate." "He *what*?" "He went over to investigate." "You sent out an away team without my orders?" "Oh, come on now. I would hardly call Moriarty an 'away team'. Are you power-tripping up there, or what?" T'Pryn stared at Maverint, astonished by his casual and even insubordinate attitude to the Klingon who was, for the moment, his commanding officer. She was startled still further by Konnu's bellowing laugh. "You have -- what is your human term for it? Ah, yes -- you have 'guts,' Maverint. Or at least, you will have until I get down there, rip them out with my teeth, and twist them into bowstrings." "I'd like to see you try," said Maverint amiably. "Why waste time fighting unknown alien marauders when we can have such fun tearing ourselves to shreds?" "Indeed. Keep me informed of your progress, Chief Engineer Slike. Acting Captain Konnu out." Maverint touched off his com-badge and turned away, grinning from ear to ear. "Nice to know that in a crisis you can always count on your friends to stay just as crazy as they usually are. Now, where was I? Ah, yes." He bent over his console, eyes intent on the readouts coming from various parts of the ship. "Hey! Looks like Ensign Nicholson's managed to get some extra power routed to the impulse engines. Nice work!" "Lieutenant," said T'Pryn, "Acting Captain Konnu referred to you as 'Chief Engineer'. What has happened to Chief Engineer Scott?" "He had an accident while working in one of the Jefferies tubes." "And who is doing the work that he was attempting to complete?" "Nobody. I don't have a single man or woman to spare. Counsellor, I'm really sorry and I don't mean to be rude, but I honestly don't have time to talk." Maverint gave her an apologetic look and started to walk away. T'Pryn followed him. "Then give me something to do." "You?" Maverint looked startled. "What do you know about--" "I worked with my husband for twenty years at the mining colony on Eridani V. I know more than you would believe." "Twenty years? But you look-- oh, right, you're Vulcan. Sorry. Um, well, how are you at manual repairs? There's a lot of circuit damage--" "I am adequately trained in making repairs to broken power couplings. If you can provide me with more appropriate attire, I will go into the Jeffries tubes and continue the repairs Lieutenant Commander Scott was attempting to perform." "I don't know. It's kind of dangerous in there right now--" "Lieutenant, it is dangerous _everywhere_ right now. It seems equally logical for me to be there as here." "Logical," said Maverint with a lopsided grin. "Well, hey, how can I argue with that?" And so the work continued. After nearly an hour of concentrated labour, T'Pryn slid out of one of the Jeffries tubes, her overalls filthy and, in places, singed. It really did feel just like being back on Eridani V, fusing yet another broken coupling on the ancient titanium drill while her mate Sevok laboured beside her... She shook her head. It was not logical to dwell on such things. Sevok was long dead, and those days forever past. She brushed back a loose strand of black hair from her face and walked toward Maverint. "Hi!" he said. "How's it going?" "I was able to restore the connections to the fore and aft sensor array, and have made satisfactory progress on the power couplings to the cloaking module." "Cloaking... oh, yeah, that'll be nice if we can get that going. We never know when we may need it." "You are going to need it very shortly," came a familiar voice from the intercom. "Lieutenant, may I suggest that you assign at least three people to work on the cloaking device? We will require its use in approximately ten minutes." "Ten minutes?" demanded Maverint. "Moriarty, are you crazy?" "I do not have time to explain everything to you," the calm British voice replied. "I know this must gall you, but you are going to have to trust me. In ten minutes the Wasilsi -- that's who owns the other ship, and yes, they are definitely hostile -- are going to disengage their probe from our ship. At that time they will also separate their ship from the _Enterprise_, and will almost certainly attempt to destroy us. I have fixed their sensors so that the only way they can detect us once they have disengaged will be to monitor us visually, and if we can engage the cloaking device even that method of tracking us will fail. At that point we must make every effort to get back to Federation space before more Wasilsi ships come to search for us. Because if they do, we are doomed." "How are we supposed to get back to Federation space without a warp drive? Tell me that!" "You are going to run on impulse power while you work on restoring power to the warp drive, and you are going to pray every single moment that no Cardassians show up, because they are in league with the Wasilsi and will also certainly destroy you." "Joy," said Maverint. "I shall return to my work," said T'Pryn quickly, and hastened back to the Jeffries tube. Distantly, as she crawled down the length of the tube, she heard Maverint say "Nicholson! Bjerin! Omrith! Drop whatever you're doing and work on the cloaking device! Paraul, Amburil, Colborn, get me impulse power _now_!" The sounds of running feet brought an obscure sense of comfort to T'Pryn. She pulled her goggles down over her eyes, leaned back, and flicked on her sonic welder. Nine minutes. Eight. Seven. Six... "Bjerin, what are you doing? Give me that!" Maverint's voice snapped from far below. "Go monitor those impulse drive readings. Let me know when they get up to 75 percent." Five. Four. Three. Two. "The _Fang_ has initiated separation," said Moriarty. One. T'Pryn crawled back along the tube and swung herself out. "I have completed the manual repairs to the power couplings for the cloaking device," she said to Maverint. "Good. Now what about the device itself? Nicholson?" "On line, sir. It's not pretty, but it'll work." "Fantastic. Impulse engines?" "Give us thirty seconds!" came the shout from the far side of the room. "We've almost got it!" "Thirty seconds is all you've got!" roared Maverint. "The ship has disengaged completely from the _Enterprise_," said Moriarty. "Now as for where they are, your guess is as good as mine. I estimate it will take them an additional two minutes to come about and fire if that is what they intend to do." "Don't you know what they intend to do?" "Lieutenant, I read computer systems, not minds. Whatever the Wasilsi captain has planned is entirely beyond my capability to discern." Maverint slapped his badge. "Konnu! We've got our cloaker functional, we have-- hey, guys, do we have impulse power?" "No..." came a despairing cry from the corner, "wait a minute..." "We don't have a minute!" "Wait... wait... yes! We have impulse power!" Colborn gave a whoop and swung Amburil around in a dance of joy. "Okay, Captain," said Maverint with unusual calm, "we have impulse power. Did Moriarty fill you in on what's going on?" "Yes," replied Konnu. "Ensign Hickock, activate the cloaking device. Prepare to go to full impulse power on my command. Course heading 0.782, mark 3." "Aye, sir," drawled Hickock's voice in the background. "Activating cloaking device... now." Everyone held their breath. Including T'Pryn. "Cloaker on full. Cloaking field integrity holding." "Yes!" shouted Maverint. "Guys, keep working! We're going to route every spare bit of power we've got to keep this impulse drive going and the cloaker on as long as we can!" "And... engage!" Konnu's full-throated roar seemed to rattle the ship-- or maybe that was just the impulse engines shuddering to life. The _Enterprise_ veered sharply away from its former drifting course and headed with what seemed to T'Pryn agonizing slowness, but compared to their former state was fleetness itself, back toward Federation space. "We did it!" screamed Ensign Amburil, her small face radiant under her shock of bone-white hair. "We did it!" "Yeah, well, let's keep doing it," said Maverint, the corners of his mouth curling in a grin. "Come on, everybody, back to work!" The captain of the Wasilsi ship _Fang_ swore eloquently. His rapidly extending and retracting claws were ripping the padding on the arms of his luxurious chair to shreds, but he did not care. How could a ship so small, so primitive, so obviously crippled, possibly have vanished like that? It had disappeared from their sensor readings, from their visual readings, leaving absolutely no trace. Impossible! Well, it was of no account. He need not even report it. To have datalinked with a Federation ship and stolen all its technical and military information was sufficient glory; he might be able to persuade his superiors that he had allowed the crippled ship to depart as a magnanimous gesture, to lure the Federation into a false sense of security before the Wasilsi struck in earnest. Yes. Yes, that would sound excellent. Surely that had been his plan all along. It would have been far too hasty to destroy the ship. He would dispatch a message to all the Cardassian ships in the sector, warning them away from the Federation vessel. Then it would look as though he had always meant to let the ship go. He would go back to the homeworld and download all this wealth of information to the decoding systems. It might take a week or two to process, but they could afford to wait. Yes, indeed... and how the Majestrarchs would cover him with glory when they saw what he had brought them! His dorsal spines lowering in renewed satisfaction, the captain of the _Fang_ turned to his second. "Set course for Xjib." "To hear is to obey, Exalted One." "What about the information they got from our data banks?" said Maverint. "You said--" "I overwrote it," said Moriarty serenely. "Did you think I wouldn't remember something that important?" "Overwrote it? With what?" "Have you ever read _Moby Dick_?" "No. Why--" "They will. About six trillion times, in fact." And so the _Enterprise_ sailed on...