"Reg?" La Forge's voice asked. La Forge's voice asked. "Where are you?" "Where are you?"

"Ah, in a shuttlecraft, sir. It's an independent system, so I thought I might be able to route communications through it." thought I might be able to route communications through it."

"Brilliant work, Reg!"

In engineering, La Forge paused to think for a moment. "Handheld devices operating off their own independent power supplies are fine. So lights, tricorders, phasers, that kind of thing all work. I've got Vol looking at switching antimatter containment, life support, and the gravity to the portable generators." He tapped his combadge. "Carolan?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Status report. Let's find out where our people are and, most importantly, tell everyone to find a secure spot on the deck. We're about to bring the gravity back online in a few minutes. I'll make a ship-wide announcement when we're ready."

"Will do."

"Vol," Barclay called. Barclay called. "How are those generators coming?" "How are those generators coming?"

"I got one hooked up to the containment field five minutes ago." Vol's reply came not through La Forge's combadge, but from somewhere above in the darkness. It was followed by a metallic clunk, and a muttered "b.o.l.l.o.c.ks!" There was another clunk, and a slithering sound. "I can bring the gravity online any time. It'll last longer if it's on a lower setting, though."

"Thank you."

"Bridge to Captain," Carolan's voice came through. " Carolan's voice came through. "All sections report secure for gravity restoration."

"Acknowledged." Then La Forge ordered, "Half a g, g, Vol. Switch on now!" Vol. Switch on now!"

Immediately, Then La Forge dropped to the ground. It was an odd sensation to be at half gravity. It wasn't low enough to enable great long leaps, but it wasn't enough to feel quite normal either. It was like walking in a swimming pool.

When Scotty reached engineering, he was hugely impressed with Barclay's ingenuity. "I don't know that I'd have thought of that one myself," he admitted. "How far can we take the idea?"

"Scotty?" Leah asked.

"What I mean is: how much of the Challenger Challenger's systems can we run off a runabout's warp core? The Thames Thames is still in the main shuttlebay." is still in the main shuttlebay."

She grimaced. "The runabouts weren't designed for that, but I suppose it depends how long we do it. And how to connect them is the issue. We can't use a power transfer beam without active circuitry at the receiving end."

"Then we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way-with cables, like on Intrepid." Intrepid."

"We could, but we can't just plug into the EPS grid in the shuttlebay. We'll have to have the runabout's power supply entered into the EPS network through the warp core's distribution node, and that means running cables from the shuttle bay to main engineering."

"Can we help?" It was a Romulan woman. Three Romulans had entered engineering. "I am Voktra, chief engineer of the Stormcrow. Stormcrow. These officers are also engineers." Geordi hesitated, then nodded. These officers are also engineers." Geordi hesitated, then nodded.

"We cut a direct channel through to the secondary hull to the EPS main," La Forge suggested. "Fly the runabout outside the ship, magnetically grapple onto the exterior of the secondary hull, and cut directly."

"That could work," Scotty said.

La Forge turned to Barclay. "Reg, take one of the Romulan engineers with you. We're all in this together."

"I'll go," Voktra said, looking disdainfully at Barclay.

As Barclay and Voktra hurried out of engineering, Scotty approached La Forge and Leah. "What exactly happened to us? One moment I was workin' in here, and the next, I woke up in sickbay. Was it some kind of collision, like happened to the Romulan ship?"

Leah shook her head. "Not quite. That collision sliced the Romulan ship almost in half. A direct impact would have destroyed Challenger Challenger as well." as well."

La Forge held up a padd, showing two sets of subs.p.a.ce sensor readings. "One of these is from the Intrepid Intrepid's sensor logs, and the other is from just before the lights went out."

"Both trans-slipstream wakes?" asked Leah.

"It looks to me like we were caught in one, and dragged, or thrown-"

"I think we should all be grateful that inertial dampening technology has advanced in two hundred years," Scotty said.

"This is what happened to Intrepid Intrepid?" asked Leah.

"I think so," La Forge said.

"Where are we, anyway?" Leah asked.

"Without sensors, or the main viewer-" La Forge started.

"Laddie," Scotty said firmly, "have ye not thought to look out a window?"

Nelson's had become an emergency field hospital by the time they arrived, but the wounded and the damage weren't what drew the attention of La Forge, Scotty, and Leah.

They walked to the huge bay windows, looking out at the impossible sight before them. "b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l . . ."

"You can say that again," La Forge whispered, stunned.

Guinan joined them, wiping her hands on a bar towel. "I've traveled a lot in the last five hundred years, but this is the first time I've seen a view like this."

None of the others could bring themselves to speak.

Outside, there was nothing. No stars, no nebulae, no anything. Except for a single shining light to port. There, the galaxy glowed with a pearlescent beauty. Edge on, it looked not unlike the profile of the saucer section of Challenger Challenger herself, and it was no wider than a saucer held at arm's length. herself, and it was no wider than a saucer held at arm's length.

33.

Challenger still drifted in the depths of the intergalactic void, but it was no longer completely powerless. The runabout still drifted in the depths of the intergalactic void, but it was no longer completely powerless. The runabout Thames Thames was now magnetically attached to the underside of the secondary hull, just forward of the aft torpedo launcher. was now magnetically attached to the underside of the secondary hull, just forward of the aft torpedo launcher.

While Barclay and Voktra had monitored things from the c.o.c.kpit, two Romulans in borrowed Starfleet EV suits had removed a floor hatch from the runabout, and cut through the hull plating of Challenger Challenger.

"You're sure they don't mind doing this?" Reg had asked.

Voktra had raised an eyebrow. "Cutting holes in a Federation starship? You must be joking; this is probably the most fun they've had in months."

"Really?"

"It's long been an ambition of mine," she admitted. "Though I imagined that, if it ever happened, it would be under more politically unpleasant circ.u.mstances."

"Oh."

Once the Romulans had made a temporary air seal between the underside of the runabout and the underside of Challenger Challenger, Barclay and Voktra took over, leading the cables through the gap, remembering to turn around halfway as the gravity inverted where Challenger Challenger's gravity grid took over from that of the runabout, and met with Vol at the aft end of the main power transfer conduit. Then they were able to leave Vol to link up the power from the runabout's warp core to Challenger Challenger's power distribution system, and bring the EPS network back online.

The runabout's warp core wouldn't be enough to take Challenger Challenger to warp, but it would give them back lighting, life support, main computer functions, and power to areas that were particularly in need, such as sickbay. to warp, but it would give them back lighting, life support, main computer functions, and power to areas that were particularly in need, such as sickbay.

On the bridge, Leah used science station one to check that the computer had rebooted properly. Qat'qa tried out the helm, to see how much maneuverability they had. Scotty was at the engineering station, checking on Vol's progress, and, of all the senior staff, he was happiest in the lower gravity. It was less painful to move around, and his injuries troubled him less.

"I had wondered earlier," Kat admitted, "if the Romulans were responsible for what just happened, but obviously not."

Scotty didn't look around, but looked amused. "La.s.s, if anyone could have made a starship's warp engine go through the galactic barrier like a c.o.c.ktail stick through an olive, I'd have had the b.u.g.g.e.r working for us from the day I took command of the Challenger, Challenger, Romulan or no!" Romulan or no!"

"I'm still concerned that they're bound to try to take some advantage of the situation. We should put them under guard."

"They're our guests, not prisoners," La Forge said from the center seat.

"That was when we had a fully functioning starship. Right now, the situation has changed."

"Captain, Kat has a point," Nog put in. "The Romulans have always been at their most dangerous when responding to-"

"When responding to an effect that they carefully set up or provoked. That isn't the case here. There's no way they set this up," La Forge said.

"They'll still be working out how to turn this to their advantage, because they'd be stupid not to," Nog pointed out.

"We need the cooperation of our guests. But . . ."

"I'll keep an eye on them, sir," Nog promised solemnly.

Guinan felt uncomfortable, and it wasn't just from injured ribs or painful cuts. It was looking across at Sela. Even for a member of a race known for listening to and reading people, Sela was a puzzle. Her expression could have been simmering anger, or just challenging arrogance. Maybe it was the Romulan blood in her that made it hard to tell, or maybe it was just Sela herself; her upbringing having marked her.

"h.e.l.lo, Guinan." Sela's tone was unreadable.

"Sela." Guinan wondered why she had come to Nelson's alone. "Can I get you something?"

"I doubt you could give me what I want."

"Try me."

"You're thinking of her now, aren't you?"

"Her?"

"My mother."

Guinan was indeed thinking of Tasha Yar. The resemblance between mother and daughter was too strong for her not to think of the woman she had never known, yet had heard so much about, when she saw this Romulan. "You look a like her picture."

"Too much."

"They say that every woman eventually becomes her mother, in some way or other."

"Really? And which 'they' is this 'they'? No, wait. Don't tell me. Humans."

"I've heard it said by the Klingons, the Ferengi, and even the Romulans. I wish I'd known her."

"She remembered you, you know. Well, another you, from another timeline. I'm not even sure you're the right you to be talking about this to."

"Are you blaming me for your mother's death?" Guinan felt guilty in spite of herself. She knew the story, and knew that another Guinan had tried to give someone who was dead a chance to live.

"No. At least not in the way you mean."

"I know the story, Sela. I heard it from Picard. Tasha Yar would still have been dead if that other me hadn't said anything. If that other me hadn't even known that her existence in that timeline was wrong."

"A Starfleet officer would still have been dead. But she wouldn't have been my mother."

"No, and you wouldn't exist."

Sela leaned in close. "That's "That's what I blame you for." what I blame you for."

"Your existence? And what's the punishment for that?"

Sela stood. "I have an appointment in the conference room."

The Tal Shiar chairman's appointment was with the Starfleet captain who pa.s.sed her a padd with the data on the trans-slipstream wakes. "What is this?" she asked.

"It's a sensor log of a trans-slipstream wake. Please, Sela, don't make a fool of yourself by pretending you've never seen one before."

Sela's expression went cold and flat. "I'm not a fool, Captain. Fools don't rise in rank in the Empire."

"No, I don't imagine they do . . . But I wanted to know if you have seen this type of reading before. Before the cause of it crashed into you."

"What makes you think that I've seen it before?"

"That's not a denial," La Forge pointed out.

"Would you prefer a denial?"

"Ever since we first detected this waveform, we've been in communication with Starfleet about it. We distributed the record to others, who've been watching for it. We know you've had probes listening in on our communications, because we found one while Bok was in charge of the Intrepid Intrepid. It'd be an insult to Romulan technology if those probes hadn't eavesdropped on the messages. All even without Ferengi smugglers and criminals blabbing all over the galaxy."

"If you have a point, make it."

"A wake has to be caused by something. A vessel of some kind. We've been trying to identify it, and you were looking for it too. You had to, as it represents a drive technology beyond slipstream."

"A Tal Shiar officer called Saldis has been working on this. I've read his reports and immediately recognized what brought us here."

La Forge hesitated. "This trans-slipstream wake, two hundred years ago, destroyed a Romulan minefield, and threw the NX-07, Intrepid Intrepid, hundreds of light-years. Another wake caused the disappearance of the U.S.S. Hera U.S.S. Hera a dozen years ago. A third hit us and brought us here, as you say." a dozen years ago. A third hit us and brought us here, as you say."