A portable scanner was brought into the shuttle bay. 'This will take a while. We'll a.s.sign you to secured quarters," Kirk told Teral.

"Am I under arrest?" Commander Teral asked.

"Not if you cooperate," Kirk replied. His instinct was to be gracious with the captain, but he kept reminding himself that any display of weakness would earn contempt from a Romulan. "Otherwise I'll have you taken to the brig."

She hesitated. "I need my tricorder."

"We'll bring you whatever you request," Kirk told her smoothly. Those items would be scanned even more thoroughly than the others.

He held out his hand. "I'll need your weapon. It will be returned to you when you leave."

He faced her down, hoping that he wouldn't have to fight her now, not when things finally seemed to have settled down. He quickly judged the angle, figuring at this distance he could leap forward and grab her arm before she could fire.

She obviously considered it. Then she unfolded her arms, holding her palms out. A few of the security guards raised their rifles in instinctive response.

Teral slowly hooked the disruptor from her belt. There was an instant when he thought she would turn it on him, but instead, she lightly held it out to him.

Kirk took it from her. It was heavier than he expected, with a well-worn grip. He bet she was a good shot.

"This way," he told her.

Several of the security guards fell in, but one of them abruptly stopped in his tracks, making a gasping noise. He bent over, his arms clutching his stomach, his phaser rifle clattering to the floor of the shuttle bay.

Kirk kept his eyes on Commander Teral, who was looking with interest at the fallen man. But she didn't take the opportunity to make a threatening move.

One of the other guards helped him get up. It was Ensign Matheson. His sweating face had turned an alarming shade of red.

Kelley came up behind Kirk, alerted by the security team. "It's the radiation sickness," she told Kirk. 'This is the third one from security. Get him to sickbay," she ordered.

Kirk gestured for the others to follow him and Commander Teral. She was silent as they strode through the corridors. He decided against trying to engage her in conversation. He had the upper hand at the moment, and he intended to retain it.

He took her to quarters on deck 6, in the saucer section of the Enterprise, far away from the shuttle bay. At the door, he gestured for the security guards to remain outside.

The commander sauntered inside, taking in the mellow lighting and artistic flower arrangement in the nook by the door. "Nice brig," she told him sarcastically.

"I hope you enjoy it." Kirk gestured to the food slot. "You can order food and drink here. Let me know if there is anything else you need."

Kirk was at the door when she called out, "I need medical attention."

Kirk instantly turned back. "Are you injured?"

Her expression didn't change, but she nodded, holding her head high. "The radiation levels spiked inside the Barataria after the Romulan bird-of-prey exploded."

Kirk considered it. "I'll send a medical technician to a.s.sist you."

She didn't thank him, but he hadn't really expected she would.

The door closed behind him, and he noted the careful placement of the three security guards. "Remain here." He hesitated, but he had to trust his gut instinct. "No one is to go in alone."

"Aye, sir," the senior guard acknowledged.

At the next comm panel he paused to access sickbay. "Kirk to Dr. McCoy."

There was too long a pause before McCoy answered, "McCoy here."

"Doctor, a very unusual patient has just arrived. A Commander Teral."

"Is it an emergency, Jim? Sickbay is overflowing. Twenty-one crew members so far and more every minute."

Kirk was immediately concerned, remembering the way the security guard had doubled over. "What is it, Bones?"

"Near as I can tell, it's an unusual form of multiflux radiation poisoning." McCoy recited the list of symptoms, as if that would help Kirk nausea, dizziness, skin rash, fever.

"Is it life-threatening?" Kirk asked.

"As long as we don't get another dose, the crew should be fine," McCoy admitted. "But there's only so much I can do to treat these people. Very little is known about multiflux radiation and what effects it has on humanoids."

"Acknowledged. Tend to Commander Teral when you can." He paused. "Give her a thorough scan, look for any genetic anomalies or cybernetic implants."

"/ heard the smuggler was a Romulan," McCoy said, sounding more interested. "You think she may not be what she appears? "

"You tell me, Doctor," Kirk told him. "Kirk out."

The captain considered the corridors. There were fewer people about than usual. Perhaps the crew were at their stations because of the caution alert, yet he was used to seeing people rushing around even during the worst of situations. Thirty-one crew members out of commission.

He pushed the comm b.u.t.ton again. "Kirk to Spock."

"Spock here."

"How's the search going?" Kirk asked.

"Nothing to report as of yet, Captain."

Kirk carefully considered his next order. Their mission was to find the information on the plasma weapon, but there was a mystery here he couldn't ignore. If his crew kept dropping like meteorites, they wouldn't be able to get anything done.

"When you get a chance, Spock, we need to find out more about that multiflux radiation that hit us. It's affecting the crew."

"Aye, Captain, another security guard has taken ill since you left."

"See what you can find out," Kirk told him. 'TII be in engineering."

Spock correctly interpreted the captain's order, "when you have a chance," to mean he was to complete the initial phase of the search of the Barataria. The scanning team was currently sweeping the inside of the ship micrometer by micrometer. The Enterprise's internal scanners were engaged in an exterior sweep of the ship.

Using the computer in the shuttle bay, Spock completed and set on hold a computer program that would compare the scans. They needed to determine if any ma.s.s was missing, which would indicate a cavity they had overlooked.

He had already linked a portable diagnostic device into the Barataria's systems, and a level-one diagnostic was running. Any additional or isolated information bytes would be detected among the syst em programs.

Simultaneously, the Enterprise computer was downloading the Barataria's computer core. The files would have to be searched one at a time for the target data.

Spock had already performed a preliminary a.n.a.lysis of the ship's logs with the help of the universal translator. The Barataria had been in port at a busy Romulan s.p.a.ce station used by both military and civilian craft. Commander Teral had cryptically informed her log that she had been "forced to jump port without paying the docking fees." A Romulan bird-of-prey had pursued her, and as she went into warp, a plasma beam weapon had been fired. According to her terse log entries, the bird-of-prey had pursued her for several days at top speed.

Spock was interested to note that Teral had thoroughly a.n.a.lyzed the propulsion system of the Romulan bird-of-prey while it pursued her. Though the logs and data entries revealed her superior mental capabilities, she had been unable to determine the structure of the power system. The captain had theorized it was a prototype engine that rumor had said was being constructed by the military.

The Barataria's cargo appeared to be a load of contraband Romulan ale.

Kelley's eyes had lit up when they'd found it in a cleverly concealed bulkhead storage bin. "Now that's what I call contraband!" she said approvingly.

Spock had noted the bottles of blue ale in his report, a desirable commodity on the Federation black market. Yet it hardly seemed worth sending a bird-of-prey to apprehend a smuggler of intoxicants that were legal in the Romulan Star Empire.

"Exterior scan completed," the ship's computer announced.

Spock downloaded the data to await comparison with the scanning team's interior scan, once they were done with the job. Meanwhile, the diagnostic continued on the Barataria's systems, and the data search was initiated by the Enterprise computer, comparing the download of the computer to the Barataria's core memory.

"Computer, notify me if there are any deviations in the source path," Spock ordered.

"Affirmative," the computer acknowledged.

From the shuttle bay, Spock went directly to his science lab station on deck 2. The skilled science teams were already working on determining the source of the shockwave radiation. Several preliminary reports were awaiting his a.n.a.lysis.

Along with the disruptions in the gravity field, the ship's internal sensors read abnormally high levels of gamma radiation in flux, indicating the shock wave involved some form of subs.p.a.ce incursion. The shields had not been effective in deflecting the multiflux radiation. Yet present levels of gamma particles were well within normal.

Malfunctions had occurred within the ship's electroplasma systems, causing strong power fluctuations and fusing conduit circuits. Spock could detect no coherent pattern in the location or severity of the malfunctions. He also had no theory for the cause of the multiflux radiation, other than its connection in some way to the destruction of the Romulan bird-of-prey. However, since he had ascertained the composition of the multiflux radiation, he had obtained what the captain had requested.

He hit the comm b.u.t.ton. "Spock to Captain Kirk. I have a preliminary report."

Kirk was down on one knee next to Scotty, examining the dilithium crystals. The articulation frame was raised to expose the glowing crystals.

"Yes, Spock?" Kirk asked, raising his head.

"The shock wave consisted of multiflux gamma radiation, Captain. Source unknown." Spock paused. "However, there is a great deal of wreckage from the Romulan bird-of-prey dispersed throughout the area. It might be possible to gather some debris for a.n.a.lysis."

Kirk shook his head silently. Right now, with only thrusters functioning, he didn't want to move the Enterprise out of the sensor shadow cast by the Badlands. It wasn't every day a Romulan bird-of-prey blew up, and that shock wave must spread the word for light years. Surely some vessel was bound to come see what had happened. Stuck in unknown s.p.a.ce with a Romulan smuggler ship in his shuttle bay and the debris of a bird-of-prey floating around....

"Not now, Spock. I'll let you know when we can proceed with salvage. Kirk out."

Scotty was shaking his head as Spock signed off. "I dunna know of any kind of radiation that can make dilithium crystals expand. Even multiflux radiation."

Kirk bent closer to look at the sparkling interior. It took a great deal of precision control to harness the matter/antimater reactions that drove the Enterprise to warp speed. Yet each dilithium crystal was smaller than his fist. "You say they've expanded by as much as 4 percent?"

"Aye," Scotty confirmed. "I wouldna' bring the warp drive on-line now, sir. Not 'tii we know whether the structural integrity of the crystals has been damaged."

Kirk rubbed his mouth, wondering when and if other Romulans would arrive, and whether they would be cloaked. "How long will the scanning take?"

"More than a day, maybe two," Scotty admitted. "It's not an easy job, Captain. We have to scan each crystal. And there's still the electroplasma taps to replace an' all those circuits."

"Do we have phasers?"

"No, sir. I can make it a priority ..."

"What about impulse power?" Kirk asked.

"Any time now," Scotty a.s.sured him.

"I want impulse power first, Scotty," Kirk ordered. "Then you can deal with the phasers, men warp drive."

"Aye, Captain." Scotty braced himself as he got to his feet 'TII get to work on it."

Kirk wasn't very pleased as he crossed engineering. There were too many people missing to get all the repairs done as quickly as he would like.

That was his next stop. Sickbay.

Chapter Four.

Doctor McCoy was curious about the Romulan smuggler, so at the first lull in the triage, he grabbed a medical scanner and went to see her.

The ears reminded him of Spock at first. But after she greeted him with a very un-Spock-like smile, he decided that her ears were nothing like the Vulcan's. She had dainty, sh.e.l.l-like ears, and the points only made her seem mischievous.

"Thank you for coming to see me, Doctor," she said gratefully. "I seem to be ill."

"There was a radiation burst when the Romulan bird-of-prey exploded." McCoy pulled out his medical scanner.

She stood up and held out her arms, as if that was expected. She was taller than the doctor, and very elegant, standing there as if ready to submit to an ordeal.

"Is that how the doctors scan you in the Romulan Star Empire?" McCoy asked.

"We get scanned all the time," Commander Teral told him seriously. "Entering and leaving buildings, random scans in the corridors, scans when we sleep..."

"Who does these scans?"

"Docking agents, Romulan militia, various officials, security for the royal family." She shrugged. "Whoever has an interest in finding contraband on you."

McCoy's mouth was open. "That sounds terribly invasive. What about your personal privacy?!"

One corner of her mouth curled up. "Why do you think I run the Barataria? I want to get away from all that. I dislike being scanned."

McCoy glanced down at his medical scanner. "Well, this is just for health reasons." He quickly pa.s.sed it over her chest. "Exposure is only 100 rads. You got off lightly."

He adjusted the hypospray to provide a mixture of cysteamine and polymuons so her biosystem could absorb the medicine properly. "You'll be fine. Drink lots of fluids and rest. Sit down."

"Is that another scan?" she asked, warily glancing at the unit in his hand.

"Not at all. This regenerates your cellular structure."