Savar was silent for a long moment. "There may a certain logic in what you say. I must . . . consider this."

"Consider it quickly, Commander."

One of the alien leviathans flexed slightly, and moved with effortless grace toward the Challenger Challenger. Carolan, on the bridge, calmly called a Yellow Alert. La Forge and Sela arrived a moment later. "Captain," Carolan began, "one of the aliens is approaching us on an intercept course."

"Are they arming any weapons?"

"Not that we can tell, sir, but we can't tell anything about them."

"I wonder what they want?" La Forge said.

"Not to destroy us."

La Forge was surprised to hear Sela react with something other than Romulan paranoia and hostility. "No."

"If they wanted that, they would have attacked already," Sela pointed out.

"Unless they're just trying to get a measure of us."

Sela shook her head. "They've been watching us for some time . . . I can feel it. Call it instinct if you want." La Forge glanced sidelong at her, as she echoed the feeling he had when the first alien ship appeared. "We need to contact them somehow."

"So you said earlier."

"The Federation doesn't have a monopoly on first contact situations. Every planet, every race, has them."

"I'd love to read a copy of Romulan first contact protocols." La Forge's attention was drawn by the hiss of a turbolift door-the only lift still operating, while the shuttle was away. He was getting progressively less surprised to see Guinan walk in each time.

"I'm a little busy right now, Guinan." He hated having to say that to her, but didn't feel he had a choice.

"These things seem familiar somehow. I can't even say why," she said. "But I think I may be able to get in touch with them."

That really grabbed his attention, and immediately meant he wasn't too busy to see her after all. "How?"

"I'm not really sure . . . yet. It's just a feeling I get."

"A Nexus-type feeling?"

"Maybe."

"If Counselor Troi were here, she'd be able to make some kind of mental contact, but you-"

"I don't need empathic or telepathic abilities, Geordi. I've been traveling the galaxy for five hundred years, and I've listened to a lot of people and a lot of stories . . ."

That was a point he hadn't considered up till now, but it was a valuable one. "Could you have met these aliens before? Or at least heard of them?"

"They seem familiar, so I think so. But five hundred years is a long time, and that's a lot of memories to try to sort through."

"You don't remember everything?"

"Do you remember every person you spoke to, or heard about, over your lifetime?"

"No . . ."

"Neither do I. You know there was a politician on Earth once who used to get that a lot, so to stave off embarra.s.sment when he met someone he knew he'd met but didn't really remember, he'd always just say 'Of course I remember you, and you were right after all.'"

Geordi couldn't help but grin. "That's one way of introducing yourself, but I don't think it'll work so well on . . . whoever they are. But if you've heard anything at all about these ships, or the race who controls them, we like to know what you know," La Forge said.

"They're legends, tall tales . . . When I first met you, it was in San Francisco, a major seaport. Everywhere you went you'd hear tall tales of sailors catching an enormous fish that got away, or seeing squid big enough to drag a ship to the bottom of the ocean, or sea serpents."

"Like the Loch Ness monster?"

"Exactly. The Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, the North American Thunderbird . . . or maybe the Flying Dutchman, Flying Dutchman, or the Klingon or the Klingon D'Vey Fek'lehr D'Vey Fek'lehr if you want a legendary ship for comparison. All the creatures were seen by travelers, but never proven to exist. On the other hand, the giant squid if you want a legendary ship for comparison. All the creatures were seen by travelers, but never proven to exist. On the other hand, the giant squid was was proven to exist. When I met you in San Francisco, the gorilla was still just one of these traveler's tales as well. So, sometimes the legend becomes fact." proven to exist. When I met you in San Francisco, the gorilla was still just one of these traveler's tales as well. So, sometimes the legend becomes fact."

"So, these ships have been sighted? But sea serpents and monsters were things that sailors back in the day could tell were different from everyday creatures, and the Flying Dutchman was supposed to be ghostly and glowing, definitely different from a regular ship. So what makes these things . . . Dutchmen?"

"They're always seen at a distance, for one thing. Never close up, just ghosts at the edge of sensor range. No one has ever seen a member of their crew."

"That could just mean they belong to a race who prefers to keep themselves to themselves." La Forge stopped suddenly. "D'Vey Fek'lehr "D'Vey Fek'lehr-that was the phrase used by a Klingon captain in his report about finding a trans-slipstream wake just a couple of weeks ago."

"Then it is the same phenomenon. A legend, that some people think is a ship, and some think is a being itself."

Another alien vessel decelerated rapidly, swinging past the crippled Challenger, Challenger, and angling to take position in a high orbit around the and angling to take position in a high orbit around the Hera Hera.

"Another one," Leah said darkly. "How many of these things are going to come here?"

"It's a big enough fleet already," Qat'qa opined. "They can surely only be mustering for some kind of military action."

"An invasion? Of where?"

"Their wakes are being reported throughout our region of the galaxy . . ."

"The galaxy's a big place to try to invade with only a few dozen ships," La Forge pointed out. "And they aren't very large ships at that."

"We do not know-" Qat'qa broke off. "What in Kahless's name-?"

"Another ship, Captain," the ensign at tactical said urgently. "It just appeared in sensor range. No decloaking, no warp signature-"

"Carried along by that most recent alien."

"The new ship is of a design I've never seen before. Much larger than us."

"One of the aliens?"

"No . . ."

"Let's see it on screen."

"Sir, their shield harmonic is-"

"Romulan," Sela finished the sentence, as Tomalak's Fist Tomalak's Fist loomed on the main viewer. She sat back on the edge of one of the science station consoles, apparently unnoticed as her hand had touched a communications switch. "It looks to be about thirty thousand kilometers away, as the crow flies." loomed on the main viewer. She sat back on the edge of one of the science station consoles, apparently unnoticed as her hand had touched a communications switch. "It looks to be about thirty thousand kilometers away, as the crow flies."

The new arrival was huge. A beaked bird-like head as large as Challenger Challenger's stardrive section was thrust out proudly ahead from a pair of curved bows that looked almost large enough to be drawn by Orion the Hunter himself. Warp nacelles that looked as big as the Enterprise-E Enterprise-E were at the ends of the bows, high above and far below that vicious, hungry beak. were at the ends of the bows, high above and far below that vicious, hungry beak.

Varaan came to at the foot of his command chair, which loomed over him as a reminder of his duty. He pulled himself up into the seat and looked around. His helmsman was wiping blood from a smashed nose that had been slammed into his flight console. The communications officer was unmoving on the floor, and everyone else on the bridge was hauling themselves to their feet or into their chairs. Nevertheless, Saldis's data had been useful in preparing the ship for this.

On the angular main viewer, the alien vessel was shrinking into the distance on its way to join a group of others like itself.

"Report!"

"Thirty-six alien vessels are within sensor range. Two Federation vessels also. One Federation ship is derelict. No life signs, and sensors suggest it has been here for over a decade."

"And the other?"

"Challenger."

"Ah, the experimenters themselves, good. Tornan, give me a situation report on Challenger." Challenger."

"They have no warp power, no weapons, minimal shielding. They are all but crippled. Shall I target them?"

Varaan almost said yes, but caught himself. If they killed the Tal Shiar Chairman, he wanted to parade them on Romulus for a show trial. "Mark them as a secondary target. They're not an immediate threat."

"Sir."

Varaan looked around his command deck, which was already back to normal operations. Saldis's a.n.a.lysis of the available data on the trans-slipstream wakes had enabled Varaan's engineers to prepare the ship to withstand the effects of running into one. They had shut down systems that would have been vulnerable to power surges, strengthened and added multiple redundant backups to the inertial dampening systems, shields, and the gravity grid.

As a result, they were already back to strength and able to punish the aliens for their att.i.tude, and, hopefully, to bring Sela's a.s.sa.s.sins to justice.

Varaan pointed to the ship on screen. "Target the alien vessel that carried us here, and lay in a pursuit course, best possible speed."

"Our warp drive is offline. Full impulse is available."

"Then full impulse it is," Varaan said with an imperious wave of the hand. "Let's waste no more time." As the helmsman smoothly accelerated the Tomalak's Fist, Tomalak's Fist, Varaan turned back to his first officer. "Weapons status, Tornan?" Varaan turned back to his first officer. "Weapons status, Tornan?"

"Primary disruptors are offline. Torpedoes are available."

"Excellent. Arm them and prepare to engage the enemy. And hail Challenger. Challenger. Tell them they are now prisoners of the Romulan Empire." Tell them they are now prisoners of the Romulan Empire."

44.

Sharp yellow-green torpedoes spat across the void, as Tomalak's Fist Tomalak's Fist swept majestically in toward the most recently arrived alien vessel. The two ships were almost the same size, but the alien proved far more maneuverable. It turned neatly, and let the torpedoes sail harmlessly past. swept majestically in toward the most recently arrived alien vessel. The two ships were almost the same size, but the alien proved far more maneuverable. It turned neatly, and let the torpedoes sail harmlessly past.

For a moment Sela expected the alien on Challenger Challenger's viewer to return fire, but it simply continued on its new course. The Romulan ship adjusted to follow suit.

"Kat," La Forge shouted, "draw their fire."

Qat'qa immediately set the controls to lift the ship out of orbit on impulse. Nothing happened. "Captain! Helm control is not responding!" Qat'qa thumped the console with her fist. "It has been re-routed."

"Where to-?"

"Tactical is offline," the ensign interrupted.

"Rerouted to the battle bridge," Kat snarled. "By her!" As she spoke, two Romulans, armed with Starfleet issue phaser rifles, emerged from the turbolift, covering the Starfleet officers with the weapons. Sela smiled with genuine happiness. "I'm sorry, Captain La Forge, but I have priorities over yours." She called down to the battle bridge. "Centurion, set an intercept course," Sela ordered. "Put us between Tomalak's Fist Tomalak's Fist and the alien vessel." and the alien vessel."

"Between?"

"That's what I said."

"Yes, Chairman." The The Challenger Challenger began to move, darting toward a gap between the Romulan and trans-slipstream vessels. began to move, darting toward a gap between the Romulan and trans-slipstream vessels.

"All right," La Forge said, "I didn't expect that."

"My priority is to get home, Captain, not allow an underling to blow the means of getting home into a million pieces."

A torpedo skimmed past the Challenger, Challenger, close enough to rattle the teeth of everyone on the bridge. close enough to rattle the teeth of everyone on the bridge. "Tomalak's Fist . . ." "Tomalak's Fist . . ." Sela mused to herself. "That's Varaan's ship. Hail them." Sela mused to herself. "That's Varaan's ship. Hail them."

La Forge nodded to the tactical ensign, who said, "You're through."

"Commander Varaan, this is Chairman Sela of the Tal Shiar, in command of the former Federation Starship Challenger Starship Challenger."

"The half-blood?" Varaan was genuinely surprised, a new experience, and one he tried to avoid.

"Could she have turned, Commander?" Tornan asked. "She is half-human."

"Not her," Varaan scoffed. "She might be half-human, but she'd no more turn to them than you'd take the side of a disease that ravages you." He thought for a moment. "This is Varaan. Go ahead, Chairman."

"Stand down your attack, Varaan."

"The alien vessel attacked us first."

"The alien vessel is the objective of a Tal Shiar operation. We must make an attempt to secure their technology as it is our only way home."

"Understood. Varaan out." He nodded to Tornan. "You heard the half-" He stopped himself." You heard the chairman. Stand down weapons."

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing, Sela?" La Forge glared at her as she sat in the center seat.

"Believe it or not, Captain, I just saved all your lives."

"I'll choose not."

She sighed. "Varaan will have believed you were holding me prisoner, or had killed me, until I spoke to him, and so he would have opened fire, and I think we both know that Challenger Challenger is in no state to engage a Romulan vessel of that size and power." Geordi didn't need to answer. "By placing myself in command of is in no state to engage a Romulan vessel of that size and power." Geordi didn't need to answer. "By placing myself in command of Challenger, Challenger, I have saved it." I have saved it."

"Thank you, then. I'm glad that-"