"Enterprise, your message regarding armed Romulan presence on the Federation-allied planet of D'rahl, in the K'tralli sector, has been received and submitted to Emergency Plenary Session 2351-B of the Federation Council. Pursuant to the Council Finding of this date, and Starfleet regulations regarding the provisions of the Treaty of the Algeron, the U.S.S. Enterprise, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, commanding, is herewith authorized to take whatever steps deemed necessary, in the discretion of the commanding officer, to enforce the Treaty. Additionally, as of this date, Federation starships Intrepid and Serapis have been dispatched to the K'tralli sector, to rendezvous with the Enterprise and enforce the provisions of the treaty. Captain Jean-Luc Picard is hereby authorized to a.s.sume overall command on their arrival and make whatever command decisions he deems necessary regarding the dispositions of the joint expeditionary force. Signed and executed this date, by order of Federation Council, the Honorable Bokar Dirvak Singh, Chairman."

Creighton put the Finding he was reading from down on the desktop and gazed directly into the monitor. "There you have it, Jean-Luc. That's the official line. Note the language of the Finding, however. It does not, repeat, not const.i.tute a formal declaration of war. The Council is suspending judgment on that issue, pending the actions of the Romulans. You're formally charged with enforcing the provisions of the treaty. Period. If that means engaging the Romulans and blowing them to kingdom come, then you are authorized to do it. And it doesn't necessarily mean you have to wait for them to initiate hostilities. In the opinion of the Council, they have already done that by crossing over the Neutral Zone and establishing a presence on D'rahl. They must vacate immediately and return to their own territory, or else suffer the consequences. No discussion."

Creighton took a deep breath, exhaled heavily, and then continued, grimly. "There is, however, one fly in the ointment. The Council has, at least for the present, declined to vote on the question of expelling Overlord J'drahn from the Federation. The K'tralli Empire is and must remain Federation territory. From a strictly legal standpoint, that means K'tralli autonomy must be respected. You are not empowered to take any actions that would be in violation of a strict interpretation of K'tralli law, and you are not authorized to remove J'drahn from power." He paused. "But if a way could be found to remove J'drahn unofficially, the Council would not be unduly distressed. They didn't say that, however, and neither did I. You are hereby ordered, under the provisions of the Official Federation Secrets Act, to keep no record of this communication and you and any members of your crew who may be privy to it are never to discuss it with anyone. The only official record of this Finding will exist here, at Starfleet Command. And that goes for my supplementary remarks, needless to say. Good luck, Jean-Luc. End transmission."

The logo appeared on the viewscreen once again; then the screen went blank. For a long time, everyone on the bridge of the Enterprise remained absolutely silent as the import of Creighton's words sank in. Finally, Gruzinov broke the silence.

"Am I imagining things, Jean-Luc, or did I just hear Creighton tell you to-"

"You have just heard Admiral Creighton order us not to discuss the Council Finding with anyone," Picard said, quickly interrupting him. "I interpret that to mean that we are not to discuss it among ourselves, as well."

Gruzinov stared at him, with astonishment. Picard's expression was unreadable. "My G.o.d," Gruzinov said, in a low voice. "Jean-Luc, what about the Prime Directive we're talking about-"

"One more word on this subject, Captain, and I shall be forced to have you placed under arrest and removed to the brig," Picard said, fixing Gruzinov with an unflinching gaze. "This is my responsibility, Ivan," he added.

Gruzinov stared at him for a moment, then swallowed hard and nodded. "Of course. I understand. But must you carry it alone?"

"Estimated arrival time at N'trahn, Mr. Koski," said Picard, curtly.

"Approximately ten minutes, sir."

"Captain," Troi said, "I must have a word with you. In private."

"My quarters, Counselor. Captain Gruzinov, you have the bridge in my absence."

"Yes, sir."

The moment the turbolift doors closed, Troi turned to Picard with concern and said, "Captain, you cannot possibly be considering-"

"I said, in my quarters, Counselor," Picard repeated.

"Yes, sir," she replied, and they went the rest of the way in strained silence.

The moment they entered Picard's quarters, he waited till the door had closed, then turned to her. "Now that we are safe from any possibility of being overheard, Deanna, allow me to antic.i.p.ate you. No, I am most definitely not considering a.s.sa.s.sinating J'drahn. Surely, you did not think me capable of such a thing?"

Troi sighed with relief. "No, Captain, but considering what Admiral Creighton said-"

"Admiral Creighton said the Council would not be unduly distressed if J'drahn were removed unofficially," Picard replied. "That comment is, of course, open to interpretation, as Admiral Creighton fully realizes. I choose to interpret it very literally, as a simple statement of the Council's feelings concerning Overlord J'drahn, and not as any sort of order, direct or otherwise."

Troi nodded. "I understand. But Captain ... what are you going to do?"

Picard sighed heavily and sat down at the table. He drummed his fingers anxiously on the tabletop. Troi watched him, her face full of concern. She could sense his inner turmoil.

"I don't know yet," he replied, after a moment. "But I am not going to start a war, if I can possibly help it. I wish to G.o.d that Will were here. And La Forge. To be confronting the possibility of engagement without my executive officer and chief engineer ..." His voice trailed off and he simply shook his head.

"That is not all you are concerned about," said Troi.

Picard nodded. "No, it is not. I fear for their safety, Deanna, but I cannot afford to give any thought to that right now. I must consider the fact that Intrepid and Serapis cannot possibly arrive in time. We may well have a general engagement on our hands long before they get here. It all depends on just how far Kronak is willing to go. And if there is an engagement and we should lose, then Intrepid and Serapis will be arriving not merely to enforce the Treaty of Algeron, but to fight a full-scale war. I've got to prevent that at all costs."

"But the Council has practically tied your hands behind your back," said Troi. "If General H'druhn proves unable to remove his son from power, then how can you possibly fulfill the mission without contravening K'tralli law?"

"I cannot," Picard replied, "and the Council knows that perfectly well. They are practicing the fine art of brinkmanship. They have their official Finding as evidence of the fact that we were merely ordered to enforce the provisions of the treaty with all due respect for K'tralli autonomy. Never mind how ludicrous that may be in reality. As a policy decision, it possesses the proper ring of diplomacy."

There was a signal from the bridge. Picard activated his communicator. "Picard here."

"Captain, we are approaching N'trahn," Gruzinov said.

"I'm on my way," Picard said, getting to his feet. He turned to Troi. "This has been a privileged conversation, Counselor."

"Yes, sir," she said, with resignation. "I understand."

Riker got back to the bridge in time to catch the tail end of a communication from Governor T'grayn. He had not been part of the landing party that had visited the governor of D'rahl, so he did not recognize T'grayn's face on the screen when he came onto the bridge, but in the course of the conversation, it quickly became obvious who he was. Fortunately, his inability to recognize T'grayn also meant that T'grayn couldn't recognize him. In any case, T'grayn's attention was entirely on Blaze as Riker came onto the bridge. If T'grayn noticed him at all, thought Riker, it was probably merely as a body moving in the background. The K'tralli governor was overwrought and on the edge of hysteria. Riker took up his position at the weapons console and listened to the exchange.

"You have got to help me, Blaze!" T'grayn was saying. "You owe me!"

"I owe you?" Blaze said, his calm tone a marked contrast to T'grayn's agitation. "What, exactly, is it that I owe you, T'grayn? You have become rich from the bribes I've paid you, and you have raked off a generous percentage of all my profits in return for the dubious security you've granted me. There is nothing you have done for me for which I did not pay dearly."

"But I ... I ... I could have charged you a great deal more!" T'grayn protested.

"If you thought you could have, Governor, I have no doubt you would have done so. And then it is you who would have been the pirate and not me."

"But I have also given you valuable information!" said T'grayn. "I told you that the Enterprise has departed for N'trahn! If not for me, you never would have known that, stationed where you are!"

"Well, no, not really, Governor," said Blaze. "It is true that I have taken care to keep the planet between me and the Enterprise, even while cloaked, because I had no intention of underestimating Picard again. However, the fact is that Tribune Kronak contacted me only moments earlier and informed me of the Enterprise's departure. He wanted me to join forces with him and pursue Picard to N'trahn, but regrettably, I have not yet completed my repairs. He was most displeased to hear that. He felt that I owed him something, too."

Riker tensed. In one brief, overheard exchange, he had just learned information that was absolutely staggering. Not only would the Enterprise be unable to help them, because it had departed for N'trahn, but there was a Romulan Warbird in pursuit. Moreover, the presence of a Romulan tribune could only mean one thing-not only a Romulan ship, but Romulan land a.s.sault troops. Only where? And how many?

"Without Kronak and myself, where would you have ... Wait, what are you saying? You mean you cannot leave?" T'grayn asked, with alarm, as the full import of Blaze's words sank in.

"The repairs should be completed before long," Blaze replied. "Especially now that the Enterprise is gone and I can safely order a drive systems shutdown and decloak. But I estimate that it will take at the very least another twenty-four hours, and probably longer."

"How long?" T'grayn asked, moistening his lips nervously.

"A conservative estimate would be approximately seventy-two hours," Blaze replied.

"Three days?" T'grayn said, with despair. "In three days, we could be in the middle of a war!"

"Then I will try to get it done in two," said Blaze. "I have no desire to get caught between the Federation and the Romulans."

"You must take me with you, Blaze! Please, I beg you... ."

"Why?" asked Blaze. "Of what possible use would you be to me aboard this ship? You would merely be unwanted cargo. Unless, of course, you were in a position to make it profitable for me to take you. I do not imagine you would wish to leave all your ill-gotten gains behind."

"I ... I was going to ask your help in transferring my a.s.sets," said T'grayn. "You have contacts in the Ferengi system, I know you do. I would gladly pay-"

"Half," said Blaze.

T'grayn's jaw dropped. "Half? But ... that is outrageous!"

"Half," said Blaze. "Or you can remain on D'rahl and take your chances. A similar argument to the one you used on me when we made our arrangement."

"A third," T'grayn ventured, tenuously.

"Half," said Blaze, emphatically. "And be grateful I am considering it at all. I could simply leave, you know. However, for a fifty-percent fee, I will undertake to transfer all your a.s.sets to the Ferengi system and convey your miserable, fat carca.s.s anywhere you wish to go. Do we have a deal?"

T'grayn swallowed hard. "Yes, d.a.m.n you!"

"Splendid. Call me when you're ready."

He gave the cutoff sign and the viewscreen went blank. He turned around and saw Riker at the console.

"Ah, Stryker," he said. "I was told you went to sickbay. Feeling better?"

"I've got to check back with Thorn later," Riker said. "She couldn't find the proper medication for my back pain. She says it's a disorganized mess down there."

"Well, I trust she will soon organize it," Blaze replied. "How are you coming with the weapons systems?"

"It's coming back to me," said Riker. "But you never told me there was a Romulan Warbird in the area, in addition to a Federation starship. Nothing like a little pressure, is there?"

Blaze smiled. "You strike me as someone who works well under pressure. Besides, both the Warbird and the Enterprise have departed for N'trahn. With any luck, they'll blow each other to pieces. If not, we should be long gone before the victor can return."

"What if we're not? What happens then?"

"I suppose that would depend on who prevails," said Blaze. "But I suspect we have outlived our usefulness to Tribune Kronak. Henceforth, he will consider us a liability rather than an a.s.set. I suggest you practice, Stryker. You have six hours before I run a test simulation for you."

"What happens if I fail the test?"

"The best gunner in his cla.s.s at the Starfleet Academy fail a simple simulation run? I would be very much surprised and disappointed. But not as disappointed as you would be, I promise you."

"In that case, I'd better get down to Engineering and make sure the phaser bank relays and modulators are properly calibrated," Riker said. "And I'll want to check on the photon torpedo launchers, as well."

"You can do that from here," said Blaze, with a frown.

"But I won't know if I'm getting an accurate reading unless I check at the source," said Riker. "And LaBeau has his hands full directing the repairs."

"True," said Blaze, nodding. "Very well, go ahead then. And while you're at it, tell LaBeau to prepare for a drive systems shutdown in one hour. I will want all systems installed and fully operational six hours from now."

"Six hours?" Riker said. "But I thought you told T'grayn-"

"Six hours, Stryker. In six hours, I want to be ready for a shakedown cruise. And twelve hours from now, I intend to be out of this sector entirely. Let's hope LaBeau is up to the task, for his sake."

"Aye-aye, sir," Riker said, wryly. He left the bridge and took the turbolift down to Engineering. Six hours? Blaze was dreaming. To shut down, install new drive system components, restart, and recalibrate in that length of time would be one h.e.l.l of a stretch even for a crack engineering crew such as the one Geordi had back aboard the Enterprise. For a crew of misfits such as this, it was impossible. Geordi was one h.e.l.l of a chief engineer, the best Riker had ever seen, but he wouldn't be able to do it all alone. And that wasn't their biggest problem, Riker thought. Not by a long shot.

The plan had been to get off the ship. But now the Enterprise was gone, and even if they could get their hands on a communicator, the signal from a personal communicator could not reach to N'trahn. Somehow, Riker thought, I've got to warn them about that Warbird. But how? If they could reach the Merchant s.p.a.cefleet Union, he could send a message from there to Starbase 37, and have them warn the Enterprise. But in the time it would take for them to effect their escape from the Glory, it might already be too late. He would have to try and risk sending a message from the ship. And there was no way to do that without alerting the bridge crew. To warn the Enterprise in time, he thought, we're going to have to blow our cover.

Main Engineering was a madhouse. Most of Blaze's small crew was hard at work installing the replacement components and patching up damage. "Patching up" was the operative term, thought Riker, as he glanced around at all the activity. Any damage repair that wasn't absolutely essential to the operation of the ship was simply being ignored. He looked around for Geordi.

Riker was accustomed to the calm, steady efficiency of the Enterprise's engineering crew. This was another story. Everywhere he looked, Blaze's ragtag crew members were hard at work, some bare-chested with their colorful tattoos covered with a sheen of sweat, others wearing only vests, or cutoff uniform shirts and trousers. The noise was almost deafening. Laser welders, power drivers and riveters, and plain old hammers and wrenches added to the din of the crew members' cursing and shouting at one another. The giant Ragnar was in the center of it, herding them along, every now and then adding a kick or a swat to the back to punctuate his booming orders. Finally, Riker spotted La Forge and waved to him. Geordi made his way over to him. He looked harried and tired.

"How's it going?" Riker asked.

"Do you have to ask?" La Forge replied, with exasperation. "If it wasn't for Ragnar, I think these guys would've killed me by now. And we've only been at it for a few hours. To top it off, I'm working with unfamiliar drive system components. But these drives are something else. The Romulans must have been planning a conversion like this for years. My guess is they were hoping to capture a Federation ship and use it as an infiltrator. These babies were custom-built, and whoever engineered them really knew his stuff. I'm telling you, the way they-"

"Geordi," Riker said, leaning close to make sure that no one else could hear them, not that there was much chance of that with all the noise, "are you actually trying to fix this thing?"

La Forge sighed, wearily. "I've got to at least go through the motions," he replied. "Ragnar's pretty sharp, but I'm still not sure how much he knows. I've got a few ideas, but I can't afford to do anything to sabotage this bird and have him catch me at it. Then we'd all be in for it."

"We're already in for it," Riker said. "I figured out a way we might get off this ship, but I just found out the Enterprise has left for N'trahn. And there's a Warbird in pursuit, with a Romulan tribune in command, no less."

"My G.o.d," said Geordi. "That means they've got a.s.sault troops. What are we going to do?" Riker quickly outlined his escape plan.

Geordi nodded. "It should work, if we can time it right," he said.

"The trouble is, we could get down to the planet surface, but we'd still need to reach the Enterprise," said Riker. "And by the time we can get to the Merchant s.p.a.cefleet Union, it might already be too late."

"Mr. LaBeau!" Ragnar shouted. "We need you back here!"

"I'll be right there!" Geordi shouted back. He turned to Riker. "What other options do we have?"

"Just one. We try to signal the Enterprise from here," said Riker, grimly.

"How can we do that without blowing our cover?"

"We can't."

Geordi stared at him, then exhaled heavily. "Right," he said.

"Mr. LaBeau!"

"I'm coming!" Geordi turned back to Riker. "The Enterprise has to come first. We both know that. Do what you have to do, Commander."

"All right, Blaze is ordering a drive systems shutdown in one hour. If we can make our move just before he gives that order, we might have a shot at pulling this thing off. Try to get to the emergency transporter just before Blaze orders the shutdown. Tell Ragnar you've got to check something in the horizontal intermix chamber, make up whatever excuse you can, and then get down there so you've got enough time to preprogram the escape coordinates. You have to be ready to transport the moment Dorn gets down there."

"Got it. But what about you?"

"Don't wait for me. If I can, I'll use the main transporters on Deck 7, otherwise I'll send the message and move like h.e.l.l to reach Deck 17. If you've already got the transporter preprogrammed, all I'll have to do is energize and jump up on the pad. But I might not make it, and there's no point in all of us getting caught."

"I understand," La Forge said. "Good luck, Commander."

"Yeah," said Riker. "You, too. We're gonna need it."

Riker went back out into the corridor. He was thinking fast. He didn't see how Blaze could get his ship operational within six hours, and without Geordi, he might never get it done. If they could just succeed in getting off the ship, he thought, Blaze would be effectively stymied. The question was, how to send a message to the Enterprise and still have time to get to the emergency transporter?

The timing would have to be perfect. He would have to allow enough lead time for Dorn to get down to Deck 14 and reach the emergency transporter facility two decks below, just aft of his present position. It shouldn't take her longer than three or four minutes to get from Deck 14 down to Deck 17, a.s.suming she moved quickly and wasn't spotted, but how much time would she need to get down to Deck 14 from Deck 7 through the Jeffries tube? If she moved fast-and didn't get caught- then twenty minutes? A half hour, to allow her enough time to get away from sickbay? The best he could do was guess, and he couldn't afford to guess wrong. He would have to allow her as much time as possible and gamble that she wouldn't be missed too soon.

Dorn would represent the X factor. If he was absent from the bridge for an hour, it shouldn't arouse any suspicion. It could easily take much longer than that to check the relays and the calibration on the phaser banks and the torpedo launchers, especially if adjustments were necessary. Geordi could easily come up with an excuse to leave Main Engineering and check on something, then get to the emergency transporter one deck below within minutes. Dorn would have to traverse the entire dorsal length of the ship through the Jeffries tube. Riker checked the time. Best to give her the signal now, he thought.