Stiffly he thumbed the hatch control and slowly the door began to open. His arm tensed, his fingers tightened around the weapon.

Worf! Where was Worf?

One Klingon, another, turning slowly.

Batok saw Kadarthe rank on his armorand moved the aim of his phaser from him to another.

That ridged head ... turning deliberately toward him.

Worf! The murderer Worf!

Batok fired. An angry spear of energy cracked from the phaser and seared into his Klingon victim.

The boneheaded thug collapsed into a ma.s.s of charred flesh and still glowed orange as Batok jammed his fist against the doors controls.

Another Klingon rushed toward him as the hatch closed, grunting some Klingon animal curse as they always did when they had been defeated.

Rushing back down the corridor, Batok heard the m.u.f.fled death scream that mystic Klingon fools would make when they had lost a comrade. He had never before heard the sound. There were storiestold by those who had heard. Hea mere Lieutenant in the Hidran Congresss grand fleethadcaused this scream that filled the corridor with sound ... and Batoks heart with glee.

The bay announced that he had accomplished his task. Worf had paid for the Amba.s.sadors death ... with his life.

The Starfleet Klingon was dead.

Chapter Nine.

APUFF OF ACRID SMOKE drifted up from the floor, dissipating uncomfortably into Rikers face. He tried to blink the sting from his eyes as he looked down at the mark hed made with his phaser.

How many does that make?

he asked Deanna.

Twenty-three.

He took two limping steps over to the wall. Bracing himself, he weakly holstered his phaser. In four hours no one had jumped out to greet or eat them, and he thought it unlikely anyone would come calling at this point.

If by some chance they werent alone ... and if someonewas looking for them, at least the two of them would be hard to find. The ship was huge with no end to it in sight.

Twenty-three corridors, he muttered, mopping the sweat from his brow with an already drenched sleeve.

Not one in a straight line, all turning back and twisting around. I dont know about you but this is the biggest shipIve ever been on. We must have traveled miles.

Deanna came up along side him, gently pushing him down toward the deck.

Sit and rest for a while.

Youve lost a lot of blood.

Riker nodded and lowered himself to the floor, glancing angrily at his blood-caked bandage.

What a time for a marathon, hm?

She stooped down beside him, touching his shoulder and looking down at his leg.

You need another dressing. My uniform or yours?

Managing a weak smile he looked up at her.

Do I get to choose what part of the uniform?

Fingering the seam of her uniform at her shoulder, she tore down the arm of her tunic.

I dont know why I even bother asking you these things.

He smiled a bit again, and slowly stretched out his leg for her to work on. As she undid the old makeshift bandage to replace it with a new one, Riker averted his eyes up the corridor and tried to use the pain to focus his concentration.

This ship was a labyrinthhallway after hallway, pa.s.sages connecting to conduits leading to corridors that opened into other hallways. And a few doors that wouldnt open for them.That was suspicious.

Someone had built a giant s.p.a.ce-maze, and was testing them. The riddle was obvious: whose ship? Where was the Minotaur? That question tugged at Rikers thoughts.

It wasnt the Hidran. He doubted they had the materials to waste on anything that wasnt a weapon or a power source.

And he didnt think the Klingons were involved either. This didnt have a Klingon feel to itof that much he was sure. Since he had met Worf, Klingons held a certain fascination for Riker. One he indulged by taking brief a.s.signments on Klingon vessels and by pursuing a friendship with his Klingon security chief.

That was unusual for him. Will Riker had never exactly had to seek out friends.

Until Worf.

Gaining the Klingons respect was a given because he was Worfs superior officer. Gaining his friendship ... his confidence ... those only came with time. Its what Riker needed from a member of his bridge crew, to make the team run smoothly.

Pursuing that friendship was easier than Riker had first thought. He and Worf agreed on much, from tactics to politics, and Worfs loyalty to Picard and his selfless protection of the captain cemented their friendship.

A stab of pain jolted Riker from his thoughts. Deanna was tying the new bandage. This time he didnt complain of its tightness.

She rose, helping to pull Riker to his feet.

Will, youre not clotting. The wound is too deep.

He took in a long breath and hobbled-in the new bandage, making sure he could walk.

I know. Lets hope we find someone.

Deanna came up alongside him, bracing him as he limped down the hall.

I still dont sense any presence here.

Even if theres no one here theres got to be communication equipment or something similar.

Unaccustomed to the stiffness of the new bandage, he lost his balance for a moment and gripped her arm.

Will, she said, using his lack of balance as an excuse to turn him toward her, What if there are beings here and theyre just too alien for me to sense?

A frightening thought, in a way. Not so much that their appearance might be alien ... but what if their morality was. What was inside an alien mind was the real terror. Did they respect life? Even unfamiliar life? Riker had to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Theyre not so strange that they dont have our height, or thereabout, and breathe our atmosphere and use b.u.t.tons and doors and corridors, he said.

Well, if thereis someone here, Deanna said, I think I should go looking, not you. You need to rest a bit longer. Youve lost too much blood and could die from dehydration or a simple infection.

Pep talks arent your strong suit are they?

He shook his head.

But youre right. Both of us have already been walking too long. My leg may or may not kill me, but lack of food and water certainly will.

He pushed away from her and stood on his own.

Someone is here, he said.

And were going to find them.

With a sympathetic rub of his own leg, he hobbled toward the door that just a few minutes earlier had denied them entry. He braced himself against the doorframe and dug his fingers into the gap that must have been the seam between the sliding doors.

Its locked tight, he grunted.

Deanna peered over his shoulder.

Or its vacuum sealed. How do we know there isnt open s.p.a.ce beyond that door?

Because docking bays usually had reinforced doors and backup systems, but he didnt feel up to explaining. Instead he just sighed and went for the shorter answer.

Trust me. We were in a corridor on the other side of this room. Im sure.

All right, she said slowly, but what if theres a vacuum in there anyway? They may keep some rooms or corridors without life support to save on energy.

Riker lowered his head against the door, partly out of exhaustion, partly out of exasperation. She was right, of course, but it was an annoying habit. Most irritating was that he should have had the same thoughtbut hadnt. Had he lost too much blood? His mind was cloudy.

He shuffled back from the door and pulled out his phaser.

Okay. Well cut a small hole in the door. If we dont hear a sucking sound or feel a pressure change, we can blast the rest of the door. Deal?

She smiled.

Youre in charge.

He nodded as if it were true, and fired the phaser. A thin line of light pulsed from the weapon and into the door. A small hole sizzled open and Riker quickly released the phasers trigger.

No hiss. No pressure change.

Something was beyond that door ... and it wasnt vacuum.

Good enough?

Riker asked.

Deanna nodded and smiled, but Riker, tired as he was, noticed something beyond that smile. Worry, maybe?

About him or their situation? He didnt know. Beyond the door was more important than beyond the smile right now.

He reset the phaser and triggered it again. The door collapsed into vapor.

After a moment the fog of destroyed metal cleared, and they looked in.

What is all this?

Riker took a step into the room, Deanna following closely.

They looked up, down, left, right, and for the first time in hours saw something other than bleak, spartan corridor.

Machinery, Deanna said.

Riker nodded blankly, in awe of the mastery, even beauty: different-colored panels, not square but rounded. They seemed alive. Not like theEnterprise was alive ... these machines seemed almost fluid, as if there was motion ... but there wasnt. Just the vibration of something being doneprocessed or pumped or ... something.

These humming and thrumming machines lined the walls on all sides. The room extended as the corridor did outsidethe other doors must have opened to this same room. A welcome sight from the desolate halls they had been walking for a good part of a day.

However, Riker was struck by the same feeling as in the halls. No people. No coffee cups or chairs or papers or anything that would even remotely suggest recent inhabitancy by life.

Riker trotted as fast as he could over to one of the machines. He touched its smooth, warm surface.

There wasnt a b.u.t.ton or a key pad or a screen with a graph to be found.

He turned to see Deanna stepping away from a different device that was closer to the door.

Well, he said, busting in a locked door didnt exactly bring the palace guards down on us.

Deanna frowned.

Riker, weak though he was, took her by the shoulder.

What? What is it?

Frankly, you look bad, Will.

He ignored the comment about himself and instead looked at herdark hair matted against her forehead, perspiration over her lip.