"And you expect me to choose which of my crew members you will place at risk?" Picard asked angrily.

"To free you of that burden, I have already chosen those who will beam down. They will be Counselor Troi, Ensign Ro, Lieutenant Commander Data, and Dr. Crusher. If there is some risk of an infection, then your own ship's doctor will be in the best position to determine that. And if any dangerous life-forms are present, Kalad is my most capable warrior, and his presence on the away team will also ensure that the Federation officers do not attempt to escape or misrepresent whatever they may find."

"If they are exposed to any sort of dangerous infection," said Picard, "it may not show up right away. You run the risk of bringing it back to your own ship."

"Captain, you know as well as I that no mission is entirely without risk. Both your people and mine accept such perils as a matter of course. I have my duty, and I intend to carry it out."

"If that is your final word on the matter, then I insist on being allowed to beam down with them," said Picard.

"You are in no position to insist on anything, Picard. I am growing weary of reminding you of that. You will remain here, where I can keep my eye on you. And that is my final word on the matter."

Despite Picard's objections, the away team was a.s.sembled in the transporter room. Valak gave them all deactivated Starfleet phasers, for the sake of appearance, but Kalad carried one that was fully charged.

Picard attempted to protest this. "You cannot send them down there without any means of protecting themselves!" he insisted.

"Neither do I intend to arm them so that they can present a danger to my chief of security," said Valak. "Your constant protests are becoming tiresome, Picard. You have no one but yourself to blame for this. If you had not erased the file on Hermeticus Two, we would have a much better idea of what is to be found down there. Since your interference caused the erasure of the data, it is only fitting that your people take the initial risk to compensate for its loss."

"May I at least speak with them?"

Valak gestured toward them, and Picard approached them.

"I tried my utmost to prevent this," he said, "but-"

"Don't worry about us, Captain," Ro interrupted. "Worry about the Romulans."

"Beverly," Picard said, "if there is any risk of an infection down there-"

"I've got my tricorder programmed to scan for all known infectious organisms," she replied, "and I will constantly monitor the condition of the away team while we're down there."

"That is still no guarantee-"

"There are never any guarantees," she said. "Don't worry, Jean-Luc. We'll find a way out of this somehow." She smiled bravely, but it was a strained smile just the same.

Picard nodded. "Mr. Data, your first priority will be the safety of the away team. Do not give Kalad any excuse to use deadly force against you. He will not hesitate to employ it."

"Understood, sir."

There was nothing else to say except "Good luck."

Picard stepped back, and Valak gave the command to energize. The away team faded out of view as they were transported to the interior of Hermeticus 2.

The transporter coordinates had been carefully computed, but there was still considerable risk involved in the process. Because of the uncertain scanner readings, they had no exact idea where they were being transported to. The transporter circuitry had built-in compensators designed to reduce the risk of transporting an away team to coordinates in s.p.a.ce that were already occupied by something else, whether a living creature or an inanimate object, but in this case, it was still a gamble.

They materialized in an open area, in a square surrounded by buildings. Kalad, the Romulan chief of security, immediately drew his disruptor and glanced around alertly, on the watch for any signs of trouble. The others, except Data, who was incapable of being amazed, all had their breath taken away.

In the artificial light flooding the interior of the ark, they could see that they were standing on the curving inner surface of a hollow inside-out world, a world that was a multigenerational starship. It was an engineering marvel. The "horizon" encircled them, and as they looked up, they saw not sky but buildings in the distance, roughly twenty miles overhead. The vista spreading out before them was a wide upcurving panorama of structures interspersed with large open parklike areas consisting of meadows, small hills, and dense forests. It was like looking at a huge city through some sort of crazy fish-eye lens that offered a 360-degree view. An equatorial "sea" encircled the ship, with a huge clifflike retaining wall designed to keep the water from flooding the city while the ark was under acceleration or deceleration. The illusion was that of a huge horizontal bay spanned by several large bridges. Perspective was completely skewed. Initially, except for Data, they experienced a breathless sense of wonder and at the same time a profound and immediate attack of vertigo.

Troi grabbed Ro's arm for support. They were in no danger of falling, but with buildings hanging upside down above them, the Federation officers-again excepting Data-experienced a sudden dizzying, spinning sensation. The Romulan, curiously, seemed uneffected, though he was obviously puzzled by his surroundings.

"I think I am going to be ill," said Troi.

"Hang on, Deanna," Dr. Crusher said. "The effect is mainly psychological. You should get used to it in a little while. Just don't look up for now."

Troi smiled, weakly. "Which way is up?"

"How can anyone live like this?" said Ro. "Up is down, down is sideways ... I feel as if I'm going to fall 'up' any second."

"It's a matter of orientation," Dr. Crusher said. "It will take some getting used to, but you won't fall. Try not to think about it. Concentrate on your tricorder readings."

"It will take enough concentration merely to stop hyperventilating," said Deanna.

"The atmosphere is very close to Earth standard," Ro said, checking her instrument. "We should be able to breathe and move about comfortably without these suits."

"Keep them on for now," said Dr. Crusher, "at least until I can determine if there are any harmful bacteria present."

"Most interesting," said Data, who alone among them was not wearing a suit, as he did not require life support. "There seems to be constant control of humidity, air pressure, and atmospheric mixture as well as the artificial day and night cycles. I am not detecting any life-form readings in our vicinity, but this environment is functioning consistently. All the mechanical functions of this ark would appear to be completely automated, and whatever their power source may be, it has apparently been maintaining this closed-system environment without interruption all this time."

A communication came through from the ship: "Valak to away team. Are you receiving me?"

"Affirmative, Commander," replied Kalad. "However, there is some interference in the form of static on the comm circuit."

"We are picking it up on this end as well," Valak replied, as the others listened over their helmet comm circuits. "Give me your report."

As Kalad described their surroundings to the Romulan commander the others continued to take tricorder readings. When Kalad had finished, Valak asked Dr. Crusher for a report.

"My readings do not indicate the presence of any harmful bacteria," she replied. "The ark has a closed environmental system. The air is breathable, and it appears to be filtered somehow, with all impurities drawn out. There is no pollution of any sort, and the temperature is a constant seventy degrees. We have not detected the presence of any life-forms, but the range of our tricorders is limited and our readings are still being thrown off somewhat. However, there is nothing in the atmosphere down here that should cause any harm."

Aboard the Syrinx, Valak turned to Picard and said, "Thus far there seems to be no reason for a quarantine."

"It is still too early to draw such a conclusion," Picard replied.

"We shall see," said Valak. "But the more we learn, the more it seems as if the Federation has taken great care to conceal something. Rest a.s.sured, Captain, that I shall find out what that is."

Night watch. Riker sat alone in his quarters aboard the Enterprise, confined there by order of Korak, who seemed to want him out of his sight unless Valak needed to speak with him. I got him where it hurts, thought Riker, in his pride. Bad enough I managed to put him down in hand-to-hand combat, but I did it in sight of his subordinates. That's something he's not going to forget ... or forgive. But the important thing, he thought, is that it threw Korak off-balance. It shook him up, and badly.

Obviously, it was the first time the Romulan had ever fought a human who had been trained in martial arts. It was probably the first time he had ever fought a human, period. Korak had been well trained himself, and his fighting style prepared him to handle karate more or less, but he had been completely thrown off by aikido. It made sense, thought Riker. The Romulans were a combative, conquering race, and their modes of fighting would be powerful and aggressive ones. A fighting style designed to be primarily defensive would be a new concept for them. They respected strength, but there was a difference between strength and force. The idea of using an opponent's strength as a force against him had taken Korak by surprise.

Riker was grateful now for the time he'd spent honing his skills in the ancient martial art. It had been a long time since he'd trained formally, but while Tasha Yar was with them, he'd spent many hours working out with her. She had been a master in the art, and she had taught him a great deal and helped him set up his own holodeck training program. For a long time he had used it partly as recreation, partly to keep in shape, and partly to keep his reflexes sharp. Now it had paid off. Without it he would have been no match for the Romulan. Korak could easily have crippled him. There was a lesson to be learned here, and Korak was not the only one who had received an education.

There was little contact between Romulans and humans. What Korak knew of humans was probably just what he'd been told, and he'd been told that they were weak, decadent, and inferior. Valak apparently had considerably greater knowledge, but even his knowledge was primarily theoretical. For a commander of a warbird, especially one as advanced as the Syrinx, Valak was quite young. He couldn't have had much, if any, direct experience of humans. But he was much less overconfident than Korak, and he seemed much more even-tempered, if there could be such a thing as an even-tempered Romulan.

Riker knew that as he was studying Korak for weak points, the captain would be doing the same with Valak. The Romulan commander was smart to keep them apart as much as possible, so that they could not compare notes and put their heads together to come up with a plan of action, but at the same time, Valak had separated himself from his own first officer. Korak was more impulsive, much brasher than Valak. The two of them together would have been formidable antagonists indeed. But without Valak, Korak was the weaker link in the Romulan chain.

The trouble was, Korak was now more wary. He was keeping Riker separated not only from Picard, but from the rest of his crew as well. He had been left alone in his quarters only after they had been carefully searched and the computer terminal disconnected. And there were guards just outside the door. Somehow, thought Riker, I've got to figure out a way to communicate with the others, so we can try to come up with a plan.

Suddenly, the lights in his room went out. Then just as suddenly they came back on again. He glanced up. They went off, then on again, then off for a bit longer this time, then back on. It took a moment for the meaning of the occurrence to sink in, and then he grinned. Geordi! It couldn't be anyone else. He was using the lights in Riker's quarters to signal him in Morse code.

Riker quickly grabbed a pen and started writing down the dots and dashes on a notepad. G.o.d, he thought, my Morse code is so d.a.m.n rusty, I may have to look this up to make sure I get the message right. He scribbled furiously. Not so fast, Geordi, dammit! After a few moments, the lights stopped flashing on and off and Riker softly read aloud the message he had written down: "Vent shaft your quarters 0300 hours. Acknowledge. Disconnect light circuit service panel."

He smiled. Of course. All Geordi had to do was use a tester to see that the circuit for the lights in Riker's quarters had been interrupted and he would receive his acknowledgment that his message had gotten through. He quickly complied with La Forge's instructions and plunged his quarters into darkness. Now all he had to do was wait until 3:00 A.M. But the ventilation shaft? Geordi wasn't a big man, and he was very trim, but it would still be one h.e.l.l of a tight fit for him to squeeze through the air ducts. Riker would have to wait about three and a half hours. It would probably take La Forge all that time just to crawl through the ductwork to his quarters, a.s.suming he did not get caught ... or stuck. Riker settled down to wait.

It was the longest three and a half hours of his life. It grew even longer as the time stretched agonizingly to three and three-quarters hours, and then to four hours, and then-finally-he heard the soft sounds of Geordi squirming his way through the shaft. Riker got up to remove the screen and helped pull him through.

"d.a.m.n!" La Forge swore in a whisper. "Now I remember what it feels like to be born."

"I was starting to get worried," Riker said. They kept their voices very low, to avoid alerting the Romulan guards outside.

"For a while there, I didn't think I was going to make it," La Forge said. "It's a h.e.l.l of a tight squeeze there in some spots."

"Here, have a drink," said Riker, handing him a gla.s.s.

"Thanks, I could use it." He downed it in one gulp. "Boy, some mess, huh?" He handed Riker a small communicator. "Here, I managed to squirrel a couple of these away when n.o.body was looking. I altered the frequency, so that it broadcasts on a different band and with a lower power level. It won't go outside the ship, but if we're real careful we should be able to communicate with each other without them picking it up."

"Well done. How are you holding up?" asked Riker.

"Okay, I guess, except that I've got a d.a.m.ned Romulan engineer crawling all over me and watching every single thing I do. Atalan knows his stuff, but he's not familiar with our systems and he doesn't trust me as far as I can throw him."

Riker grinned. "At least you've still got your sense of humor."

"That's about all I've got," said La Forge, still rubbing his cramped muscles. "I've about flat run out of patience with these people. Commander, we've got to do something!"

"Tell me about it," Riker replied. "The trouble is, they're holding the captain and half the crew hostage on the warbird, and I've had no contact with them at all. They've beamed Dr. Crusher, Troi, Ro, and Data down to Hermeticus Two to look around. Sort of a test case, I guess, before Valak sends down his own people."

"What's the deal with this place, anyway?" asked La Forge.

"That's right-you've been out of the loop, for the most part," Riker said. He quickly brought him up to date.

"d.a.m.n," said La Forge. "It looks like they've really got us by the short hairs. We need to come up with a plan-fast."

"I've been working on that," Riker said. "Valak hasn't left us a whole lot of options. But if some of us could find a way to get aboard the Independence ..."

"What good would that do?" La Forge said sourly. "Without new antimatter pods and generator coils, that ship can't be powered up. We couldn't do a thing with it."

"Maybe not with the ship itself," said Riker, "but if we can get at the arms storage lockers, we could get our hands on some phasers."

"Maybe," La Forge said, "if they're still there ... if the Romulans didn't confiscate them."

"I listened to the reports of the away team that beamed aboard the Independence," Riker said, "and they said nothing about finding any weapons. Even if they had, after all this time, the phasers would be outdated and the sarium krellide cells would have long since expired. The Romulans would have figured they'd be useless."

"But sarium krellide cells can be recharged by tapping the ship's electroplasma system," La Forge said. "If the emitter crystals and the recharging coils are still in decent shape-"

"If the weapons have been stored all this time, there's no reason why they shouldn't be," said Riker. "And we'd need just enough phasers to seize back our own arms storage locker, and we could make up the deficit out of that."

"Whoa, wait a minute," La Forge said. "We're putting the cart before the horse here. I might be able to figure out some way to tap the EPS for a recharge of the power cells without getting caught, but we'd first have to seize the transporter room to get aboard the Independence. Even if we could overpower the guards there without alerting the others, they'd still pick it up on the bridge the moment the transporter was activated. We might be able to get over to the Independence, but the Romulans would be on us before we could do anything."

"Not if we don't use the transporter," Riker said.

"A shuttlecraft would be a sitting duck," said La Forge. "Besides, I thought you said they used all the shuttles to transfer the hostages to the warbird."

"That's right, they did," said Riker, "but I wasn't thinking of using a shuttle."

La Forge whistled softly. "You mean EVA?"

Riker nodded.

"Jeez, that might work, but we'd be taking one h.e.l.l of a chance. We wouldn't be as easy to spot that way, but if they did spot us ... and how would we get aboard the Independence? There wouldn't be any power to the emergency hatches and ..." His voice trailed off. "Wait a minute, you mean blow the emergency bolts from outside?"

"Exactly," Riker said. "I know it would be risky, but it's the only thing I can think of."

La Forge shook his head. "It could work," he said, "but to blow the bolts from the outside, we'd need to remove the outer access panels and tap into the circuits with a portable power source, which means we'd be practically next to the d.a.m.n things when they blew."

"I didn't say it was going to be easy," Riker said.

"No, you sure didn't. How are we going to get at the EVA suits?"

"The same way you got in here," said Riker.

"No way," said La Forge. "It would never work. I was just barely able to squeeze through where the ducts narrow. You'd never make it."

"I wouldn't have to go very far," said Riker. "We'd only have to crawl far enough to reach an opening into the first Jefferies tube, and then we could crawl through and take the tubes the rest of the way. It would have to be during night watch, when the Romulans would think we were asleep. We'd need as much time as possible."

La Forge took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "All right," he said. "Let's say it all works and we manage to get our hands on some antiquated phasers from the Independence. And let's a.s.sume we can get back safely and I can get them charged up. Then what?"

"Then the next step will be up to you," said Riker. "Korak's been keeping a close watch on me, and when he's not with me, he's keeping me confined to quarters. You'll have to pa.s.s the word somehow to your crew down in engineering. They're the ideal people for what I have in mind anyway."

"And what's that?"

"We're going to fight them the one way they won't expect us to," said Riker. "And our weapon is going to be the Enterprise itself."

Chapter Seven.

"KALAD TO Syrinx. Come in, Commander." The Romulan frowned as, for the third time, there was no response. "Kalad to Syrinx. Please acknowledge."

There was no reply from the warbird.

The Romulan frowned. "My communicator seems to be malfunctioning," he said.

"Let me try mine," said Dr. Crusher. "Crusher to Enterprise. Come in, please." She waited a moment and then tried again, this time calling the Syrinx, but still with no result. "Strange, mine doesn't seem to be working, either," she said with a frown.

Data lowered his tricorder. "There may be nothing wrong with our communicators," he said. "My readings indicate that there is considerable interference."

"What sort of interference, Data?" Troi asked.