"I wondered that, too. I think it's to throw us off. And I have a way to throw them off." Folan felt a chuckle rise in her chest. "We're still getting computer database updates from that relay station. All we need do is send some information back."

"What kind of information? The station is unmanned."

Folan stood. "That's why this works. We can extrapolate, from when the Enterprise shuttle left, an approximate time they're likely to arrive at the relay hub. If we pinpoint it correctly, they'll be docked when we've timed the station to self-destruct."

"Send it a command to self-destruct," Medric repeated. "That is... interesting."

"Is that almost a compliment, Centurion?"

He was quiet for a moment, then finally mumbled, "Almost."

Folan smiled. "Call up the access codes and schematics of that relay station."

He nodded. "Right away."

U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC 1701E Klingon s.p.a.ce Malinga Sector "Ten seconds," Spock called from the science station, his voice calm but not quite monotone.

Picard nodded. He wondered if this was how Kirk had felt, working with the Vulcan. Complete trust flowed between them. "Ready on tractor beams, Mr. Chamberlain."

"Ready, sir."

The captain lowered himself into the command chair. "Batten down, everyone."

"My ships are ready," Kalor said as he took a seat next to Picard. "They are transferring power to inertial dampers, even from life support."

"Five seconds."

Picard looked back toward Spock, then forward toward the main viewer as the Vulcan continued the countdown.

"Engage!"

"Three..."

A small flash point of light at the center of the forward viewer. Enterprise sped toward it, then slowed abnormally as she hit the edge of the dead zone.

"Two..."

The flash bubbled out, then dissipated. On the viewscreen, Picard saw the Klingon ships gathered together.

"One..."

s.p.a.ce was silent, but Picard could imagine the rumble. Just now they were seeing the matter antimatter explosions that had occurred four hours before.

"Tractor beams! Now!"

"Shockwave!" Spock called.

A rush of spatial disruption pushed out in all directions. Enterprise's thrusters whined to keep her slowed and controlled as the Klingon ships pitched backward with the blast, tumbling end over end. Seven thin lines of energy connected them with Enterprise, lashing them together to keep them from bounding out into s.p.a.ce without direction.

Picard's ship bonded herself to them, and as they were bulldozed away, Enterprise was dragged with them, tumbling.

Chapter Twenty-one.

Enterprise runabout Kaku Romulan s.p.a.ce Sector 35 "Did you see the look on his face?" Deanna tapped at the console before her. There wasn't much to do, but she kept pulling up different sections of the sector to scan.

"I saw the look," Riker admitted.

She frowned, but knew he couldn't see it. "All things considered, he took it very well."

"You would know."

"I'm sorry?" She swiveled toward him and a long thread of her black hair bounced before her eyes. She pushed it away. "I'm an empath, not a mind-reader. I can't know when someone's lying."

"What did I say?" He met her eyes, then returned to the safety of his navi-console. "I wasn't blaming you for not being able to read his mind."

"Yes, you were. I can read your mind." Deanna felt his frustration, and it compounded her own.

"I just don't see what good it does to tell me he's disappointed in us," Riker grumbled.

"I wasn't telling you for a reason. I was telling you because that's what he felt."

"Well," Riker slapped at his controls harder than need be. "He should keep his feelings to himself."

"He was," Deanna said.

"Then you should keep his feelings to himself."

A wave of his anger sc.r.a.ped across her. "I think you're being overly hostile because you're not at all sure it was necessary to disable the poor man's ship."

"Now he's a poor man?" Riker asked exasperatedly.

"Yes."

"Look, Deanna, I'm not sure it was all that necessary to do what we did. But it was prudent. We don't know this guy, you can't read his mind-"

"See? Hostility."

Riker sighed. "What else should I have done?"

She thought about that a moment, and when she answered, she made sure her voice was softer. "I don't know, Will. I'm sorry. Of course it was wise, I'm sure. I just feel sorry for him."

"If we fail, he won't be around to be felt sorry for."

She nodded. "True."

Data spoke, reminding Deanna he was at the rear scanning station. "May I interrupt your argument?"

She smiled. "We're not arguing, Data."

"We're discussing," Riker said.

"With him in a testy mood."

"I am not testy."

Deanna rolled her eyes.

Data said, "We will be approaching the relay station soon."

"Any vessels in this sector?" Riker turned to his own scanners.

"None, sir."

"Increase power to the sensors by seventy percent. I'd like a better long-range look."

The android nodded. "Aye, sir. However, that will burn out the sensor circuits in less than twelve hours."

"We have to rendezvous with the Enterprise in 15 hours. Think you can stretch it?"

"I will try, sir."

"Thank you, Data." Riker smiled, but Deanna felt no change in his mood.

"He is not testy with me," Data whispered to Deanna as he turned away.

"Faker," she mumbled.

Romulan Warbird Makluan Klingon s.p.a.ce Malinga sector "Are you ready?" Folan was rather excited. This was the first time since command had fallen on her that she felt perhaps she need not fight to keep it. "How long will it take to send?"

"I am ready," Medric said, and though she searched his tone she could not find much hostility. "Thankfully, the transmission doesn't require the main subs.p.a.ce communications array."

Folan didn't chuckle, but she let her voice be a bit lighter, and she decided not to pursue the obvious reminder that they didn't have audio or visual subs.p.a.ce communications. "My question remains unanswered."

He continued tapping at his controls and didn't look up. "From this distance, it will be a few minutes after we initiate the program code."

"And it will destroy the relay complex?"

"And any vessel within a twenty-thousand kilometer radius."

Pleased, she nodded. "Good. Good." She'd been grasping at straws, struggling with decisions she wouldn't truly know the outcome of. Until now. This felt concrete. This felt right.

Medric turned to her. "Have you considered that our calculations of when the Enterprise's shuttle will arrive at the relay might be incorrect?"

Even Medric couldn't stifle her good feeling. "There hasn't been time for them to arrive yet. Of that I'm sure. Even traveling at their top speed, at the route they'll need to take to avoid detection ..."

"And if they should arrive after the relay station has self-destructed?" He was trying to ruin it, wasn't he?

"Answer your own question by answering this," Folan said. "What will happen when a subs.p.a.ce relay station suddenly stops working, and long-range sensor scans indicate it was destroyed?"

He huffed out a short breath. "It will be investigated. Expeditiously."

She leaned down close to him and almost whispered. "By whom?"

"At the very least, a warbird will be dispatched."

"At the very least," Folan said, rolling the thought around her head and the words around her tongue. "And probably more than that."

Medric nodded, satisfied.

Folan smiled. "They're as good as dead. Now we just have to deal with Picard and T'sart themselves."

U.5.S. Enterprise, NCC 1701E Klingon Empire Malinga Sector "Thirty degrees pitch!" Rossi cried.

"Stabilizers!" Picard ordered as he white-knuckled the arms of the command chair.

"Trying, sir."

"We're losing power." Spock's voice.

The captain heard La Forge on the comm. "Inertial dampers down by fourteen percent."

Picard glanced at a status screen to his right. "Aux power!"

"Transferring."

The vessel shook around them, the bridge shuddering seemingly to its rivets. Picard felt it in his bones, in his teeth. "Tractor status!"

"Maintaining," Chamberlain said with a grunt as the ship bounced under them. "Barely."

"Spock, how much-" And suddenly, it stopped. "-longer?" Silence. Like waking from a nightmare.

"I believe it is over, Captain." Spock said dryly.

Pulling in a long breath, Picard rose, straightening his tunic. "Status."

"Warp power was offline due to a plasma injector imbalance. Mr. La Forge reports that has been solved. Minor injuries, minor damage."

"Klingons" status?"

Spock tapped at the science station scanners. "Four of the seven Klingon vessels are intact."

Kalor staggered forward. "Parl..."