"If you're bashing each other with swords all the time," said Worf, "you need a healer. That white mask looked like heavy armor."

The Amba.s.sador's Mask nodded. "They both did. Let's not underestimate any of these Lorcans. Be extremely careful and try to stay out of sight."

Giving the amba.s.sadors from Almighty Slayer a brief head start, Piercing Blade waved her arm, and her entourage lumbered forward. With the pages clearing and lighting the road, the unearthly glow disappeared into black silhouettes of the tall trees.

"Let's stay with them," ordered the captain, rising into a crouch and slinking after the departing figures. Wordlessly, his subordinates crept after him.

Lieutenant Commander Data and Dr. Pulaski glanced back over their shoulders. They could tell they were being followed, but none too quickly. Data was experiencing mixed reactions-the satisfaction of having again been accepted as human and guilt over the dressing-down Commander Riker had given him earlier, after he protected Almighty Slayer from Amba.s.sador Lewis. What had Commander Riker said? That it was not his job to save Almighty Slayer's life. The implications of that statement plagued him.

"Doctor," he said, as they cautiously picked their way along the road, "the continuing mission of the starshipEnterprise is to seek out new worlds and new life-forms."

Dr. Pulaski looked askance at the android, even with her mask on. "That's hardly news, Data."

"To seek out new life-forms," Data repeated. "But not to save their lives or to offer a.s.sistance?"

"You're thinking about what happened earlier tonight," Kate sighed, "and what may be about to happen?"

The android nodded. "Youhave biological life, Doctor, so perhaps you do not appreciate the uniqueness of it. I am not sure I can stand by and watch Day Timer be killed."

"I'm not sure I can either," Kate admitted.

"Then you will violate the Prime Directive?"

The doctor shrugged. "I won't know what I'll do until it's time to do it."

Data c.o.c.ked his head quizzically. "That seems irresponsible."

"I'm sorry," sighed the doctor, "but that's the way humans think. We don't always do what's right or what's best, because we don't always know."

"Then my confusion is not unusual?"

"No, Data, it's not," said Dr. Pulaski, peering into the darkness. "At some point, you learn to look at rules and regulations as guidelines, not gospel. In the end, you have to trust your own judgment. At least, that's what humans do."

"So the Prime Directive may not apply in every instance?"

"Oh, it always applies," said Kate forcefully, "but it's sometimes subject to different interpretations. Now, where is the tree where we made camp?"

Data pointed behind them. "We pa.s.sed it about ten meters back."

Dr. Pulaski shook her head in amazement at the way Data's mind worked. "I'll wake up Commander Riker and Ensign Greenblatt and tell them what happened. You tell Almighty Slayer to get ready."

"Yes, Doctor."

Data found the Lorcan leader dozing peacefully beneath his mask of swirling pastels. Pinp.r.i.c.ks of light glinting off the fire gave the mask an otherworldly quality. On the other side of the tree, Dr. Pulaski knelt over Commander Riker and gently shook him. Data shook Almighty Slayer.

"Wake up, Your Highness."

The Lorcan rolled onto his back, and his aged eyes blinked warmly at Data. "What is it, my friend?"

"Your daughter is here."

"What?"he roared, bolting awake. His thunderous voice brought the others to their feet.

"What is it?" Riker demanded.

Dr. Pulaski pointed down the road to the light glimmering eerily among the stark tree trunks. "We're going to have visitors very soon, and they know that Almighty Slayer is here with the Wisdom Mask."

"Lewis must have told them," Riker said. "How else could they know?"

Almighty Slayer stomped angrily around the campfire, plunging his heavy sword into the dirt."I have no daughter . She's made that claim once too often. I'll skewer her!" He sliced the air with his sword for emphasis.

Commander Riker stepped away from the giant fir and stared at the approaching party, which was little more than vague shapes trapped within a halo of light. "How many are there?"

"Three riding ponies," answered Data, "and two on foot."

"We can take them," vowed Almighty Slayer. He turned to Ensign Greenblatt. "Archer, get your fire arrows ready."

"Wait," shouted Riker. "I told you before, Day Timer, we're not going to interfere in your internal affairs."

"My internal affairs?" scoffed the old Lorcan. "My internal affairs are going to be spilled out all over this ground if you don't help me. I'm no match for Piercing Blade in a duel. Not anymore."

"Then you do know this woman?" asked Pulaski. "She claimed to be your daughter."

The king banged the Wisdom Mask with his fist, demonstrating, if nothing else, that the antique mask was still a solid piece of armor. "Daughter or not, she has only one thing on her mind-to take my mask." He appealed to them. "Will you stand with me?"

"We have time to make a run for it," suggested Greenblatt.

"Run," wailed Almighty Slayer. "What kind of friends are you? Why don't you kill me yourselves and take the mask?"

Commander Riker clenched his fists in frustration. "Day Timer, what would you do if you didn't have us?"

The king's wiry shoulders slumped noticeably. "I probably would have remained a peddler."

Several other pairs of shoulders slumped as the herbalist, the teacher, the archer, and the n.o.bleman confronted their conflicting loyalties. TheEnterprise, the Federation, even the stars seemed far away. The reality was the breath steaming out of their mouths, the ash clogging the air, the worms in the ground, and the mounted warriors approaching through the tree-shrouded gloom, surrounded by a weird halo.

"Phasers set to stun," Riker muttered. "And keep them hidden. We're going to try to talk our way out of this."

"I don't have a phaser, Commander," Greenblatt reminded him. "Fenton Lewis took mine."

"That's unfortunate," Riker replied. "Doctor, would you mind giving your phaser to the ensign?"

"Not at all," answered Pulaski, handing the weapon to Ensign Greenblatt. "But you won't mind if I stand close to you, will you, Commander?"

"I'm not sure that's wise," answered Will, straightening his Forest Mask. He was acutely aware that Almighty Slayer might not be the only one who would face a challenge for his mask.

"Hail, Almighty Slayer," called a voice from the forest, cutting off further conversation. "Prepare to receive Lady Piercing Blade."

With the pages holding their fish-oil lanterns as high as they could, the small but stately procession wound its way out of the woods and into the stretch of rutted road claimed by Almighty Slayer. The king strode in front of them and put his hands defiantly on his hips as Kate Pulaski edged closer to Commander Riker.

Riker was astounded by the three mounted Lorcans. They were the most imposing figures he had yet seen on Lorca. The woman was one of the most perfect physical specimens he had ever seen. Flanking her were two men-a brute in a brutish mask and a dignified healer with a sword that had to be two meters long. Even the pages were clear-eyed and wary as they planted their lanterns in the moist clay and took their places in front of their leader.

The woman shook her gleaming mask, as if suppressing a private laugh. "So, Father, you have decided to come back to the land of the living?"

The old king spoke through the ancient nebula mask. "You may call me a wormhole maggot if you wish, but you can't call me your father."

"Right." She nodded. "Women are playthings to you, like my wretched mother. You can't lower yourself to acknowledge the weeds that have sprung from your windblown seeds."

"Your mother was a farmgirl," the king countered. "In my day I had many such women."

"Yes, you did," snarled the n.o.blewoman, leaning forward in her saddle. "But you had my mother for seven cycles, until she died for you, driving your wagon into an ambush. You should respect her enough to recognize me as your daughter."

Almighty Slayer lowered his head and said nothing.

Piercing Blade sat back in her saddle and squared her shoulders. "For years you dragged us from camp to camp, from campaign to campaign, and I watched scores of brave warriors die for you. I watched as you used up scores of women. And through it all, there was that Wisdom Mask, making the whole mess seem right somehow. Well, you have misused the Wisdom Mask for over thirty cycles, and now it's time to give it up."

"I am not that man anymore," Slayer protested, his voice barely audible.

But Piercing Blade wasn't listening as she drew her deadly short-sword and pointed it at the old warrior. "Almighty Slayer, by the fire of the dragon, I challenge your right to wear the ancient and hallowed mask of royalty, the Wisdom Mask."

Her green eyes narrowed within the stunning Thunder Mask. "Hand it over now or die at your daughter's hand."

During the tense moments before Almighty Slayer's response, Data sidled up to Commander Riker and pointed to the left of the mounted Lorcans. "That is not their entire force," he whispered. "I count four more hiding in the forest, three over there and one behind the ponies."

"I hate this," muttered Riker. "I don't want to let him fight that woman, but I must. We can't involve ourselves in a full-scale battle. The Wisdom Mask is his, and he's the one who must defend it."

But Almighty Slayer had other ideas. He pointed confidently to Ensign Greenblatt in her black Archer's Mask. "I have an archer who will set your breast aflame. She will fight in my stead."

"Are you going to let more brave warriors die for you?" moaned Piercing Blade. "Will you never learn? This land is crawling with off-worlders, like the Ferengi, who have no respect for our traditions. Innocent villagers are ma.s.sacred by marauding bands of raiders. When will you realize that your reign has been a failure and that Lorca needs new leadership?"

"When I am dead," seethed Almighty Slayer. He motioned to Greenblatt. "Archer, show her your flaming arrow."

Ensign Greenblatt hesitated for a moment, then dropped her hands to her side, away from her pistol phaser. "I cannot."

Almighty Slayer whirled around to face Data. "My good friend, you will fight for me, won't you? As you did last night."

Lieutenant Commander Data stepped forward. "I respect you a great deal, Almighty Slayer, but you have not ruled as king for a long time. I believe this lady's concerns are the same as your own. You should consider pa.s.sing the leadership to someone who is younger and more willing to serve."

Almighty Slayer shook his head sadly and turned to the n.o.bleman in the stolid Forest Mask. "Will you help me, or is that mask just a decoration?"

"Give her the Wisdom Mask," Riker urged. "You've lost your taste for it."

"This is very strange," said Worf, crouching behind a stand of cane with Captain Picard and Counselor Troi. "Apparently, his own entourage is not going to defend him."

"Itis strange," agreed Deanna Troi. "This is not consistent behavior for the Lorcans as we know them."

Picard pointed to Almighty Slayer's followers. "There is something odd about them."

"As you humans say," added Worf, "they are selling him down the river."

The dawn sunlight struggled to penetrate the ma.s.sed clouds, infusing the surface of Lorca with a few rays of hazy scarlet. One of them struck the Wisdom Mask, turning it into a field of swirling red lava, within which two dark eyes glowed determinedly.

Almighty Slayer drew his sword. "I vowed long ago to protect the Wisdom Mask with my life, and I shall never break that vow. Piercing Blade, child of mine you may be-but after today, I will be childless."

"Or I will be fatherless," she said, stepping down from her pony and leveling her sword at the old man. "I will make your death quick."

They lunged at each other, and their swords clashed over their heads, locking at the hilt. Piercing Blade, with her superior height and strength, bore down on her father, pushing him to his knees. But the wily old warrior reached a hand behind her boot to trip her. Blade stumbled backwards, barely regaining her balance before the king slashed upward with his sword, catching her on the collarbone and ripping open an ugly gash.

Jean-Luc bolted forward, but he felt a hand-not restraining but comforting-on his shoulder. He turned to see Deanna Troi, shaking her head.

"Captain," she said with deep sympathy, "it is not our fight."

Jean-Luc lowered himself back into the cane and buried his mask in the moist clay. He couldn't stand to watch.

Despite the crimson blood streaming from her shoulder and flowing down her breastplate, Piercing Blade fought valiantly on. She had abandoned her initial recklessness and was now parrying Almighty Slayer's attacks. Having smelled blood, the older warrior was trying to finish his younger opponent off, while she was plotting to tire the old man and outlast him.

Slayer adopted a bashing technique, swinging his sword up and around in a spectacular arc, trying to split Piercing Blade's skull open. But the woman parried each blow, steering her father's sword harmlessly out of range. And each time, Data could see her measuring and counting the old man's reaction time before he regained his balance. One of these times, thought Data, she was going to slip her short blade between his ribs.

Slayer stepped back, trying to catch his breath. The tiny tiles on the Wisdom Mask continued to swirl within the mane of red crystals, giving the king an aura of the supernatural. But Piercing Blade wasn't deterred; she lunged low and slit open his thigh.

Now blood was flowing from both of them, and Almighty Slayer leaned back, laughing. "You shrew! You're just like your mother. She could always draw blood-but only in bed."

"Give me the mask, you old werjun."

"I'll give you the point of my boot," vowed Slayer, trying to kick his daughter's shin. She swung her sword with such force that it knocked several tiles off the Wisdom Mask. The king tumbled backwards, dazed, clutching his mask. A moment later, he shook his head and tried to sit up, but he found Piercing Blade's sword at his throat.

Before she could force it deeper, Data dashed across the road and grabbed her arm.

"Data!" shouted Riker. "Don't hurt her!"

"I have no intention of hurting her," said Data.

Cold Angel and Medicine Maker drew their swords and spurred their ponies forward, but they were arrested by a thunderous shout from Deanna Troi.

"Stop!" she cried. "These are our friends! Will Riker, is that you?"

"Yes!" cried Riker, who tore his mask off and threw it to the ground. Deanna Troi broke from the cane and ran toward him, shedding her own mask.

Dr. Pulaski tore off her mask, as did Data and Ensign Greenblatt. From the cane, Worf and Picard lumbered into the light, ripping off their own masks.

The deluge of naked faces so horrified the Lorcans that they wailed and covered their faces until the laughter and shrieks of happiness tempted them to uncover their eyes and witness one of the happiest reunions ever to occur in the galaxy.

"Captain!" shouted Riker, grabbing his commanding officer by the shoulders. "You're alive!"

"Obviously," the captain replied. "How long have you been looking for us?"

"Since the day you vanished."

"Excuse me if I'm impertinent," the Klingon said, "but your naked face looks very good to me, too."