Picard stared hard at the developments being displayed on the
viewscreen in front of him.  The three Ferengi vessels had
surrounded the far larger _Independence,_ and seemed to be bearing
down with each passing second.  "Mr.  Data," the Captain called out
to his android officer.  "What can you tell me about these Ferengi
ships?"
        "The ships seem similar to Ferengi vessels we have encountered
in the past," Data began, "except that they seem more heavily armed.
It seems likely that the ships we are accustomed to seeing are
nothing more than well-armed merchant vessels, while these seem to
be dedicated warships."
        "Any idea about how heavily armed they are?" Riker put in.
        "Uncertain, Commander.  They appear to be..." Data began.  But
before he could complete his assessment of the Ferengi ships'
offensive capabilities, one of them was enveloped in a blindingly
bright explosion.
        As all the bridge crew covered their eyes, Picard shouted out
"Compensate, Mr.  Data!" And as the glare of the explosion was
filtered out by the viewscreen computers, it became evident that
only two Ferengi vessels remained.
        "Mr. Data, what WAS that?" Picard demanded, rather confusedly.
        "Captain!" Worf shouted urgently, "there is another ship
approaching at high warp speed... warp 9.88!"
        Riker spun to face the Klingon at tactical.  "Is it another
Ferengi ship?"
        "No sir...  its configuration seems to match that of the
_Independence._"
        "One of her sister ships," Picard said quietly to himself.  "Mr.
Data, what happened to that Ferengi ship?"
        "Uncertain Captain.  It appears to have been destroyed by two
discrete and massive matter-antimatter explosions."
        "Could their generators just have exploded?" Picard asked.
        "Unlikely Captain.  Sensor readings seem to indicate that both
blasts originated OUTSIDE the Ferengi ship's hull."
        "Sir," Worf boomed, "the Ferengi are retreating." Turning his
attention to the viewscreen, Picard could see why this was so: the
two remaining Ferengi ships, while disoriented by the blast that
had suddenly destroyed the third, were coming under vicious assault
from both _Independence_ and her sister ship, which arrived almost
the instant Worf announced her approach.
        After surveying the situation and deeming it under control,
Picard turned back to Worf and commanded "Mr.  Worf, open a channel
to _Independence._ Let's get this straightened out."
        After a second, Captain Jabra'ad's face, still bearing that odd
smile, appeared on the viewscreen.  "Now, Captain, you see why I was
confident," the trader Captain stated matter-of-factly.
        "No, as a matter-of-fact, I do not understand," Picard shot
back.  "What did you DO to that ship?"
        "We have much to discuss Captain.  I shall explain everything as
fully as I can then."
        "Another face-to-face meeting?"
        "Of course."
        "As we met aboard _Independence_ last time, I suggest we meet
aboard _Enterprise_ on this occasion."
        Jabra'ad smiled again.  "The honor would be mine Captain
Picard."
        "1 hour then?"
        "I shall be there. _Independence_ out."
        When Jabra'ad's face vanished from the viewscreen, Picard turned
to Data and     informed him "Mr.  Data, I need to know exactly what
happened to that Ferengi ship.  And I need to know before Captain
Jabra'ad gets here.  Find out, and bring the results to my ready
room." With this, Picard strode off the bridge into his retreat.

        After what seemed like ages, but was more like a few minutes,
the chime on Picard's door announced the presence of a visitor.
"Come." Picard shot out, without looking up from his desk.  Data
entered the room and stood quietly in front of his Captain.  "Well,
Mr. Data, what have you determined?"
        "Sir, as I said before, the Ferengi ship was destroyed by two
massive matter-antimatter explosions that originated external to its
hull.  The first blast stripped the ship of its shields.  The second
destroyed it."
        "But how did the explosive charges get to the Ferengi ship, Mr.
Data? Were they somehow planted there?"
        "No sir, they were not." Data stated adamantly.  "I slowed down
the sensor record of the time leading up to the explosions, and they
indicate that just prior to each explosion, the Ferengi ships was
struck by a 10 meter long cylindrical object travelling at
approximately Warp 9.89."
        Picard stared quietly at his android second officer.  "Warp
missiles?"
        "It would appear so.  Further, the trajectory of each missile
indicates that the first was fired from the approaching trader
vessel, the _Space_Doctor,_ while the second was fired by
_Independence._"
        "And we couldn't see them because they were travelling too
quickly..."
        "Precisely."
        "Good God.  Warp missiles might be the most devastating weapons
ever conceived of by the Federation." Picard said, almost at a
whisper.  "They were never built because they were thought to be
incompatible with a peaceful Starfleet."
        "Also, Federation scientists were unable to design warp engines
compact enough to power them for any appreciable distance at any
appreciable Warp speed." Data continued.  "But it appears that the
traders were able to."
        "So it appears, Mr.  Data." Picard said quietly.  But then he
stiffened in his chair, and in his tone of voice.  "Thank you.  It
appears Captain Jabra'ad and I have even more to discuss than I had
thought before..."
        As if on cue, the door chime rang.  "Come." Picard stated,
standing up as Captain Jabra'ad entered the room.  "Welcome Captain.
That will be all, Mr. Data."
        As the android walked quietly out the door, Picard turned to
Jabra'ad and his expression turned stony.  "Why didn't you tell us
about your weapons capabilities?" he demanded.
        "I hardly had time, Captain." Jabra'ad explained.  "Before I
could tell you much of anything, the Ferengi dropped in for a
visit..."
        "How many of your ships are armed with Warp Missiles Captain,"
Picard continued, hammering away.  "How much offensive capacity do
you have that you're not telling me about?"
        At this, Jabra'ad's smile fell from his face for the first time
Picard could recall.  "I am under no obligation to tell you much of
anything Captain.  May I remind you that you ARE in Confederation
space.  You are here due to my good grace in not escorting you out
of the sector the second we became aware of your presence."
        Picard sat behind his desk and continued, motioning Jabra'ad to
sit in a seat across from him.  "You asked for help from the
Federation.  How can you expect us to consider aiding you unless we
know everything there is to know?"
        "Don't play coy with me Captain," Jabra'ad responded.  "I've
studied your Prime Directive...  yes, we have heard of the
Federation out here.  It specifically forbids interference with the
affairs of societies _less_ advanced than your own.  We are by no
means less advanced than you are.  We MAY be more advanced.  And we
need your help."
        "With warp missiles on your side?  All you have to do is arm all
those trading vessels in your fleet with one or two missile
launchers, and you can decimate the Ferengi fleet yourself.  You
don't need out help to fight them."
        Jabra'ad sighed.  "You over-estimate us Captain.  We can arm all
the trading vessels we want.  But warp missiles aren't foolproof.
If the Ferengi can hit our ships before they can launch, we don't
have a chance.  We pack one heck of a punch, but there's no
guarantee that any ship outside our five capital ships will ever
have a chance to throw it."
        "And what kind of 'help' do you need from us?  We can't just
jump into a war?"
        "Old ships...  any kind...  we just need more ships to carry
missiles. If we can just launch enough missiles, we can DO it."
        "And what do you offer in return?"
        "All the technological advances we've made!  The more efficient
engine designs, the interlaced phasers, warp missiles...  all of it.
We need your help."
        "I can't negotiate a treaty to enter a war, Captain Jabra'ad."
Picard said calmly.  "This will have to go before the Federation
Council..."
        "We don't have time for that!" Jabra'ad shot out with unexpected
forcefulness. "We need your help, and we need it NOW!"
        Picard stood up from behind his desk and stared his counterpart
straight in the eyes. "Then I am afraid that you will not get it."
        Jabra'ad also rose from his seat and met Picard's stare.  "Well,
then I guess you'll just have to watch."
        "Watch what?" Picard asked, thrown off balance by Jabra'ad's
sudden show of confidence.
        "Watch the attack."
        "What attack?" Picard asked again, feeling control of the
situation slipping away from him.
        "The one we're about to launch.  Have your sensors detected the
asteroid cloud in this sector?"
        "Yes, they have." Picard answered.
        "Well, just beyond that asteroid cloud lies the main Ferengi
staging ground.  Our intelligence indicates that much of their
fleet, plus their military headquarters, are currently stationed
there.  We control that asteroid field.  And on many of the
asteroids, we have established interplanetary missile launching
sites armed with long-range warp missiles tipped with heavy
warheads.  We intend to destroy the Ferengi fleet...  or at least as
much of it as we can."
        "That's mad!" Picard practically shouted. "That's..."
        "Uncalled for?" Jabra'ad interrupted.  "Cruel?  Brutal?  Well,
Captain, this is a WAR.  One lesson my mother taught me that I vowed
never to forget is to NEVER do anything halfway.  And I don't intend
to do this halfway.  We intend to defeat the Ferengi...  with you,
or without you."