"And then?" Zweller prompted.

"The rebels have left Chiarosan civilians out of the conflict so far, but-"

Riker finished the thought for her. "-but the gloves will be off if the pro-Federation side wins."

"Judging from the ugly state of Grelun's emotions," Troi said, "you can expect a bloodbath. A long, drawn-out planetary civil war."

Zweller smiled. "You're overlooking an important detail, Commander Troi. The pro-Federation side doesn't stand a snowball's chance on Vulcan of winning the referendum."

Riker shot a grave look at Zweller. "I might be inclined to agree with you, Commander. Except for the one thing that you seem to have overlooked."

"Which is?"

Riker pointed toward the stone ceiling. "Which is that the man commanding the Enterprise is Jean-Luc Picard. The man who served as Klingon Chancellor Gowron's Arbiter of Succession. Thanks to the captain's diplomacy, the Klingon civil war lasted for months instead of years."

Zweller's smile faltered then. "Diplomacy wasn't his strong suit when I knew him, Commander."

"It's never a good idea to underestimate Captain Picard," Troi said.

Zweller looked up at them both. "Then for everyone's sake, you'd both better hope he fails in a big way this time."

Never during the nine years he had so far spent serving alongside Captain Picard had Will Riker thought he would find himself agreeing with such a sentiment.

Now, he had no other option.

Chapter Seven.

"Launching probe, Captain," said Data, his hands gliding over an ops panel.

Hawk watched as Picard leaned forward in his seat, staring at the forward bridge viewscreen as the small probe sped off into the starry blackness. The captain's eyes narrowed, as if by squinting he could see more clearly what the probe saw.

Data turned. "Would you like me to activate visual telemetry, sir? It would be more effective."

Hawk stared at Data. The android's directness always amazed him. Coming from anyone else, Data's question might have seemed an insult, but Hawk-and everyone who had ever served on the bridge-knew better.

"Yes, Data," Picard said, settling back into his chair.

The image on the viewscreen changed only slightly, though digital counters and coordinate graphics appeared around the edges, showing the data that the probe was recording as it sped through space.

While they had been supervising the technicians who had worked on the probe, Data, Hawk, and La Forge had analyzed the sector maps, using the residual radiation traces found on the Slayton's wreckage-as well the starship's velocity and trajectory-to pinpoint the probable site where the vessel was destroyed. Not surprisingly, this location was very close to the volume of space that Hawk's sketchy sensor data labeled as the likeliest source of the first subspace slippage, as well as the probable epicenter of the half-dozen or so lesser spatial disturbances that had followed.

A quick visit to the stellar cartography labs had provided Hawk and Data with further scientific background of the Geminus Gulf. Hawk was somewhat surprised to discover just how little there was to go on. According to the few pertinent records that Keru had managed to retrieve-which had come, thanks to the barrenness of the Gulf, mostly from some of the more obscure stellar cartographical journals, as well as from his correspondences with colleagues serving aboard other Federation starships-the random subspace fluctuations in the vicinity had intensified substantially over the past two years. Prior to that, even the most patient and long-suffering researchers hadn't seen fit to spend much time taking readings in the Gulf; one science-vessel commander had characterized the entire region as a kind of "interstellar tabula rasa."

Hawk was back at his post, mentally reviewing the dates, locations, and intensities of all known subspace fluctuations in the Geminus Gulf when the turbolift opened. Batanides strode out, dressed impeccably in her admiral's uniform, her face once again composed. Hawk knew she must be holding in an enormous amount of emotional strain following the death of her lover. What he didn't know was whether or not she had been aware of the ambassador's involvement with Section 31. Had Tabor managed to keep his association with the bureau a secret from her as well?

His eyes tracked her as she went to sit at Picard's right-hand side, in the chair usually occupied by Will Riker. She gave Hawk a brief glance-and in that look he saw not the slightest glimmer of recognition. At that instant, the lieutenant became relatively certain that even if she did know about Tabor's activities, she remained unaware of the ambassador's efforts to recruit him.

Hawk's mind raced as he turned back to the conn and the viewer, while behind him, Picard and Batanides conversed in low tones.

A few minutes later, Data interrupted them, his eyes steady on the screen while his fingers slid across his console. "Captain, I believe the probe has encountered something."

"What specifically, Mr. Data?" Picard looked at the screen intently, though the starfield looked no different now than it had moments before.

"Impossible to tell for certain, sir. There is definitely an energy field being generated at coordinates 294 by 025 by minus 121. It appears to be a cloaking field of some kind, though its size is larger than anything our computers have ever mapped."

"Is it natural?"

"Unknown. It could be a natural phenomenon, but the readings I am seeing are inconclusive. It is also possible that the field is technological in origin."

"Which doesn't tell us much," Picard said. "Data, approximately how large would you estimate this field to be?"

The android cocked his head slightly, a move that Hawk recognized as a sign that Data's curiosity had been piqued. "The probe is moving along the outskirts of the field now. It appears that the cloak may cover a volume of space roughly the size of a large gas giant planet."

"What?" Batanides leaned forward in Riker's chair, a surprised look on her face. "Are you saying there's a cloaked planet in this system?"

"Not necessarily, sir. We do not know what is cloaked, nor if anything is indeed 'cloaked' in the traditional sense of the word."

Picard spoke up, pointing at the screen. "Data, what happens to the signals that the probe is sending toward the field?"

"They disappear, sir. They are not reflected, nor deflected. All trace of them is gone."

Hawk fidgeted slightly at his console. Before he realized he was doing it, the captain evidently noticed it. "Is there something you want to contribute, Mr. Hawk?"

"Captain, may I suggest that we attempt to send the probe into the field itself?" Hawk asked, relieved. "At worst, we get one of our probes destroyed."

"Yes, perhaps you're right," Picard said agreeably. "We might be able to get some valuable telemetry readings from a probe, even if the field does destroy it. I think the Enterprise is sufficiently far from the... anomaly to prevent whatever happened to the Slayton from happening to us. Still, we can't be too careful." Picard then raised the volume of his voice, though everyone on the bridge was clearly already listening. "Yellow alert. Shields at maximum."

Then, the captain nodded toward the young helmsman. "Go ahead, Mr. Hawk." The lieutenant moved his fingers over the console swiftly, while to his left, Data stared attentively at the numbers and pictographs displayed on the screen.

The silence on the bridge was palpable, and all eyes were on the viewer. Suddenly, the blackness of space began slowly wavering, as if the starfield were a curtain being moved aside. For an instant, the viewer showed the infinite emptiness behind that curtain, and then in a burst of static it was gone.

"All signals from the probe have stopped, captain," said Data. He tapped at his console, then turned his head toward Picard. "I cannot restore contact."

"What did we just see?" Picard asked as he rose to his feet.

"Whatever it was, it lasted precisely.763 seconds."

"Interesting. If I had blinked at the wrong moment I would have missed it. Replay and freeze the image."

"Yes, sir." Once again, the viewscreen displayed the hazy picture, suspending it in time. The effect was like looking into a warped funhouse mirror, with space itself showing odd distortions, and reflections of the probe broken up throughout the image. The only tangible-looking object visible in the immediate foreground appeared to be an artificial satellite of some sort; the numerical telemetry overlays, which Data displayed on the viewer, showed that the device was no larger than a Starfleet shuttlepod.

"Enlarge that object."

As Data did so, the satellite came into view somewhat more clearly. It was nondescript, a smooth metal ovoid with no markings, nor any visible means of propulsion.

"Curious," Picard said, frowning slightly and tugging at his tunic. "Enlarge the initial image further and scan it in sections for any other incongruities in the local visible and subspace fields."

Data studied the screen as enlarged portions of the image sped by, almost too quickly for the human eye to follow. After almost a minute, the android spoke. "I have detected numerous other similar concentrations of matter, as well as an apparent central point-source of subspace distortion. Displaying now."

The screen returned to a wide-angle display of the main image, with four square sections highlighted in red. Data touched the face of his console, isolating and then magnifying images of four separate objects. "I have displayed the device we initially observed beside magnified images of two more distant, but apparently identical, objects. Interestingly, these three artifacts seem to be arranged in an equidistant formation. Nearby sensor shadows would seem to indicate that many more similar objects exist within the field."

Picard pointed toward the screen's upper right corner. "What is that fourth object?"

Data touched his console again, and the fourth section of the screen moved forward, magnified to its fullest potential. Though the image was tremendously clouded and distorted, the object clearly wasn't of the same construction as the satellites.

Without waiting to be prompted, Hawk input a command that enhanced the image further, editing out the empty space surrounding it.

A double-bladed, emerald-hued vessel hung in the viewscreen's center. Picard was hardly surprised. "A Romulan warbird."

Hawk's mind raced, scrambling to sift through details he'd studied about the crew's previous missions. Within moments, he seized on the proper memory. "Captain, I've got a theory that might explain some of this."

Batanides looked over at Hawk, one eyebrow raised as if to question his impertinence.

"Go ahead, Mr. Hawk," Picard said.

"About four years ago, you discovered a Dyson Sphere. I believe we may have stumbled onto something similar here. What if this trio of satellites we've spotted-and the other subspace distortions-are part of a network of thousands of buoys, each one equipped with a Romulan cloaking device-"

"Yes, I see," Picard interrupted. "With a network like that, the Romulans could enclose and cloak an enormous volume of space. Without having to build a solid structure around it."

"That is theoretically possible," said Data. His hands flew over the controls. "I am linking the identifiable point-sources together." A new image appeared on the screen, this time showing a spherical gridwork of lines with hundreds of intersections, each of which presumably represented an object like the first device the probe had detected. Although the pattern contained gaps-which Hawk attributed to imperfect telemetry readings-the visual effect was similar to the latitude and longitude lines on a planetary map, or a complex spider's web bent into a globular shape. And the warbird was stationed near the inside northern edge of the hypothetical web.

"Incredible," Batanides said, leaning back in her chair. "They could be hiding a planet the size of Jupiter for all we can tell."

"It is also possible that this network is shielded in a manner that would disrupt the operation of approaching ships or probes," Data said. "That would be consistent with the loss of our probe's telemetry."

"But Romulan ships would have to be able to pass freely through the field," Hawk said.

Data nodded. "Any vessel authorized to enter the cloaked zone would probably gain admittance by emitting a particular cloaking-field resonance frequency."

Picard said, "But anyone else trying to get across might find their systems completely shut down."

"Making them defenseless against an attack," said Batanides. "Maybe now we know what happened to the Slayton. And why they never sent a distress signal or launched a log buoy."

"If something inside that cloak is so important to the Romulans that they would destroy a Federation starship to keep it a secret, then it's got to be bigger than our Chiarosan diplomatic problem," Picard said grimly.

"Maybe the two are interrelated, sir," said Hawk.

"No doubt, Lieutenant. They've gone to great pains to conceal something from us. But they risk starting an interstellar war. What could possibly justify such recklessness?"

Hawk watched in silence as Picard stared at the Romulan warbird's blurred image, and asked himself the very same question.

"Protector Ruardh, you must understand my situation. We came here to help mediate your conflict, not to aggravate it." Picard was exasperated, but he tried not to show it as he stood still behind his desk in the ready room. Chiaros IV's orbiting communications array was finally working again-for the moment-allowing the Enterprise to make contact with the Chiarosan capital. He was uncomfortably aware that the signal strength this broadcast required meant that any ship within the system, visible or cloaked, could easily intercept his conversation with the Chiarosan leader.

On the desktop screen, Ruardh was not so sanguine; she was visibly angry as she paced in front of the screen in her palace. "You saw for yourself what these traitors are capable of, Picard! You very nearly lost your life, and your ambassador did make that final transition. What more proof do you need that this Army of Light is wreaking destruction upon our society?"

Crusher sat on the low sofa, just out of the screen's line of sight; Batanides stood beside her. Picard noticed that the admiral had stiffened slightly at the mention of Tabor's death. "Madame Protector," the admiral said coolly, "the political situation on your planet is far more volatile than we had understood when you first requested Federation mediators. In this matter, we must remain as neutral as possible. Our Prime Directive-"

The incensed Chiarosan stepped hard on Batanides's words. "Don't speak to me as if we are some species with whom you have just made first contact! We are a people who have petitioned for membership in the Federation, and you are refusing to aid us against our enemies! Have we chosen the wrong power to side with? Should we have chosen the Romulan Star Empire as our Dhaekav all along?"

Batanides took a deep breath before responding. "Your government has indeed petitioned for membership. But it appears that your government does not enjoy the full support of your people, Protector. It is my understanding that the upcoming referendum will decide whether your citizenry wish to join with us or not." The admiral's next words were delivered with a deadly calm. "If they decide in favor, we will be much better able to help you defend against any... insurgent attacks."

Picard interjected before Ruardh could speak again. "As for the Romulans, we have reason to believe that their empire has more of a stake in this region of space than we had previously considered. This makes the situation even more volatile. We cannot risk igniting a war with-"

"Risk? What you are risking are my people, Captain! And your people as well. Or have you forgotten that two of your own command crew are still in rebel hands?" The picture on the viewscreen flickered, Ruardh's image and words splitting into fragments.

Picard tapped his combadge. "Geordi, we're losing the signal. Can you boost it?"

The engineer's voice piped through the small transceiver. "Sorry, Captain. The problem seems to be on the Chiarosans' end."

Picard leaned in toward the small viewscreen. "Protector Ruardh, I'm afraid that we cannot maintain subspace contact for much longer. But I promise you that we will try to find a way to help all of your people and-" The signal suddenly blinked out, and Ruardh was gone, replaced by a silver-white Starfleet insignia superimposed over a dark background.

Picard sighed heavily and leaned against the desk, tapping his fingertips on its gleaming top. "That certainly went well," he said sardonically, gazing first at the admiral, then toward Crusher.

The doctor, still seated on a low sofa in a far corner of the room, finally broke her silence. "It went as well as could be expected, Jean-Luc. This... situation... is difficult, to say the least."

Batanides put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "At least you won't have to make any precipitous decisions without a higher-up on board. Whatever we decide to do, I'll be the one who has to answer to Starfleet Command."

Picard looked over at her, and saw a wan smile on her lips. Through her cool exterior, he could sense her grief. He searched for something to say in reply, when his combadge chirped, followed by Data's voice. "Captain, we've just received another transmission from Chiaros IV."

"Ruardh?"

"No, sir. It came on a Starfleet frequency. And it appears to be from Commander Cortin Zweller."

Picard, Batanides, and Dr. Crusher entered the bridge quickly. Hawk was busy at the conn station, while Data stood before one of the science consoles, working alongside the Vulcan technician, K'rs'lasel. The Vulcan spoke first, facing the captain. "Sir, I intercepted a subspace signal moments ago. It was very brief, but I believe it was intended for us. The signal contained a Starfleet identification code belonging to Commander Zweller."

"The subspace burst was weak, but we have managed to salvage most of it over the past three minutes," Data added. "It appears to contain several adjacent sets of coordinates located on the Nightside of Chiaros IV. It also contained a garbled message about security-grid forcefields, the significance of which I have yet to ascertain. In addition, the transmission mentioned the word 'prisoners' very prominently, as well as a stardate which will occur five hours, fifty-seven minutes from now."

Picard smiled broadly as hope welled up within his chest. "He's telling us that he's their prisoner," he said to Batanides. "And that he needs our help."

"Captain, the message could be a ruse," Batanides said, her voice pitched low enough so that only Picard, Data, and K'rs'lasel could have heard it. "They may have tortured Zweller to gain access to his command codes."

Picard looked at Batanides, then at Crusher. He shook his head. "Somehow, I don't believe that the rebels would do that. And if Troi were here, I think she would concur."

"The Chiarosan rebels might not be the ones doing the torturing, Captain," Crusher said. She didn't need to finish that thought for him to know exactly what she meant.

Picard weighed the options in his mind. Zweller might indeed be a prisoner, and might have found the means-somehow- to send that signal. On the other hand, the message may have originated either from the Chiarosan rebels or from the Romulans. Even Ruardh's people could have sent the signal, as a catalyst to force Picard's hand.

And yet, Corey is still down on the planet. And so are Riker, Troi, and heaven only knows how many survivors from the Slayton.

Then Picard made his decision, and it felt right, somehow inevitable. His jaw set in determination, he began giving orders. "Mr. Data, I want you to pinpoint as close as you can the coordinates that signal gave us." He turned to address the blond officer who was monitoring a sensor display near the rear of the bridge. "Mr. Daniels, prepare the shuttlecraft Kepler for passage through the planet's atmosphere. I'll need the shields operating at maximum efficiency, and I want as much firepower on board as possible." He sincerely hoped he would not be called upon to use it.

"Aye, sir," Daniels said, then strode purposefully into the starboard turbolift.