"I cannot pinpoint the source," the android replied. "However, I am picking up highly irregular readings on my tricorder."

"I am, too," said Ro, looking down at the readout screen of her own instrument. She tapped it slightly on the side. "Something is affecting our instruments."

"There was no interference with the signal earlier," Kalad said suspiciously. "Why now?"

"I cannot say," Data replied. "But numerous power fluctuations are taking place all the time aboard this vessel. Most of its automated systems still appear to be functioning, coming on line at different times, and it is possible that one or more of them is generating a field that is causing the interference."

"What will Commander Valak do when he does not hear from us?" asked Dr. Crusher.

"He will either locate us and beam us back aboard the Syrinx or beam down another away team to investigate," said Kalad.

"Perhaps we should return to our arrival point," said Troi.

"No," said Kalad. "We were sent down here to investigate and to report our findings. I see no immediate danger. I shall attempt to communicate with the Syrinx later. We shall carry on, for the present." He gestured with his disruptor. "Continue. I mean to have a look inside some of these structures."

They approached an arched entryway that led inside one of the buildings. There were no doors. They entered a sort of lobby with a corridors leading off it in three directions-to either side and straight ahead. The ceilings were high, and the corridors wide, like boulevards. Daylight came in through large windows in the outer walls, though from the outside, no windows were visible. Here and there, placed in islands in the corridors, were cl.u.s.ters of abstract sculptures.

Data raised his tricorder and frowned. "The interference is increasing," he said. "It is greater here. I am not picking up any clear readings at all now."

"This architecture is fascinating," Dr. Crusher said as she looked around her. "But it doesn't tell us much about the people who built it. They might have been large and very tall, or they might simply have wanted to achieve a sense of s.p.a.ce in this closed environment. But they obviously appreciated art." She approached a cl.u.s.ter of sculptures. "These are beautiful."

She reached out to touch one, but Troi caught her hand. "Wait," she said.

"What is it?" Dr. Crusher asked.

"I ... don't know," said Troi, frowning as she gazed at the strangely shaped forms. They were dark and their surface textures were varied. Some shapes appeared sleek and glossy; others were rough and irregular. Some were as tall as humans, others taller, still others shorter, but they were all cl.u.s.tered in groups. No one individual sculpture stood alone.

"Are you getting something?" Crusher asked.

Troi shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said in a puzzled tone. She reached out tentatively toward one of the graceful forms. Her hand hesitated, inches away; then she touched it, barely grazing it with the tips of her fingers. It felt hard and cool to the touch. She shook her head as she drew her arm back. "I feel nothing now," she said. "Perhaps it was some sort of residual aura from whoever created this."

Data stepped forward and reached out to touch the sculpture. "Curious," he said. "I have never seen material like this. It is neither stone nor metal. It appears to be synthetic, and it seems to have been molded into this shape."

"The shapes are all different," Ro said. "Some are smooth and flowing; others are angular and blocky. But they all seem to fit together."

"They appear to serve no practical purpose," Kalad said.

"They serve an aesthetic purpose," Dr. Crusher replied.

Kalad scowled. "We are wasting time. I see nothing of value to be learned here."

They proceeded down the corridor, past other strangely shaped cl.u.s.ters of sculptures, but they saw no doors anywhere. It was as if they were walking through some sort of gigantic endless maze. There were places where other corridors branched off, and they pa.s.sed several other graceful archways leading into interior plazas with gardens planted in them and more sculptures placed around them. They entered one of these small plazas and saw that it was an atrium with an open shaft extending all the way up through the building. From the upper levels balconies looked down over the plaza. The plants in the well-tended garden were unlike any they had ever seen before.

"Someone has been taking care of these gardens," Troi said, examining one of the strange willowy trees growing in the center of the plaza. It was surrounded by fragrant, well-trimmed shrubbery and smaller succulents that echoed the shape of the sculptures.

"So there is someone aboard this ship," said Kalad.

"I am still not getting any clear readings off my tricorder," Data said. "However, it is possible that some automated function is maintaining these gardens. That would appear to be the case with the rest of this vessel."

"You mean some sort of robotic droids?" asked Dr. Crusher. "We haven't seen anything like that."

"As yet, Doctor, we have seen very little of this vessel," Data pointed out.

"True," she replied, "but it certainly doesn't feel deserted, although I can't really say why."

"No, it does not," Troi said, looking around her. "I have the distinct sensation that we are being watched."

Kalad glanced around quickly, his disruptor held ready. "I see no one."

"Nor do I," said Troi. "But I still feel as if someone or something is watching us."

"Why are there no doors?" asked Ro, in a puzzled tone. "Nothing but endless corridors and plazas, and no doors anywhere. What's behind these walls, and how does one get inside them?"

"Perhaps there are doors, but we just don't know how to recognize them," Dr. Crusher said.

"Well, so far we have not seen anything that looks like a door," said Troi. "Merely archways connecting open areas and corridors. The walls all appear to be quite smooth. Perhaps the doorways are concealed."

"We haven't seen anything that looks like a lift or a stairway, either," Ro said, "yet these buildings have upper levels. There must be somes way to get to them."

Kalad tried using his communicator once more, but it didn't work. "Perhaps the interference is being caused by something behind these walls," he said. "We shall retrace our steps and go back outside to where we did not encounter this difficulty."

He herded the others ahead of them, and they went back the way they came, but after they had walked for a while, Ro, who was leading the way, stopped and looked around. "We must have made a wrong turn somewhere," she said.

"No, I'm sure we came this way," said Dr. Crusher, looking around uncertainly.

"Then where's the archway leading to the outside, where we came in?" asked Ro.

"We have to go back," said Troi. "Obviously we took a wrong turn somewhere."

"Negative, Counselor," Data said. "I have kept careful track of our progress, and we have retraced our steps exactly."

"Then where is the archway leading out?" asked Kalad.

Data c.o.c.ked his head in that curious, almost birdlike manner. "It should be here," he said.

"Clearly it is not," Kalad said irritably. "You are mistaken."

"I am most definitely not mistaken," Data insisted. "This is where we came in." He turned toward a corridor that branched off from the one they stood in. "That corridor was ahead of us when we entered, and we turned right. The archway was there." He pointed at a blank wall.

"That is absurd," said the Romulan. "There is nothing there but a wall."

"I a.s.sure you that I am not mistaken," Data said. "This is where we came in."

"Impossible," said the Romulan.

Dr. Crusher walked slightly away from the others, toward a group of sculptures. "No, he's right," she said. "This is the same sculpture we were looking at earlier."

"Perhaps it only looks similar," said Ro.

"No, it is the same one," Troi agreed. "I am certain of it."

"Then why is there no way out here?" asked Kalad.

"The way out was here," said Data. He approached the wall and felt it. "However, it is here no longer."

"What do you mean?" demanded Kalad.

"I mean that this is the precise spot where we came in," Data replied. "but the opening through which we entered has now been sealed in some manner I cannot detect."

"You mean we're trapped in here?" said Ro.

"Unless we can locate another exit or find a way to open this one, it would seem so," Data replied.

"Something has gone wrong." Valak, aboard Syrinx, had repeatedly tried to raise the away team, with no result. He turned to Picard. "If your crew members have anything to do with this, Picard, both you and they will regret it, I a.s.sure you."

"Do you think they would try to overpower your chief of security and escape, thereby endangering the hostages?" Picard asked. "Where would they escape to? With your people in control of the Enterprise, you control the only means of bringing them back up."

"One would certainly think so," Valak said. "However, there remains the fact that they are not responding."

"Perhaps they cannot respond," Picard said. "They might be injured ... or perhaps worse. Send me down there, Valak. Beam me down with one of your away teams and let me see what's happened to them."

"I shall do better than that," said Valak. "I shall go down myself with an attack group, and you shall accompany me." He addressed the guards. "Conduct the captain to the transporter room and wait for me there." Valak faced Picard. "If you have lied to me and there are Federation personnel waiting for us down there, I shall wipe them out to the last man."

After Picard left with his guards, Valak quickly gave orders to a.s.semble an attack group, then left the bridge and made his way to Lord Kazanak's private chambers.

"Enter," Lord Kazanak said from within.

The doors opened and Valak went inside. Lord Kazanak was seated at his table. He looked up as Valak entered. "Ah, Valak. I have been preparing my report on this mission. I am including your log entries as well as my own observations. Have you anything new to add?"

"We are receiving no response from the away team, my lord," Valak said. "I am preparing to beam down with an attack group to ascertain what has become of them."

Lord Kazanak frowned. "You suspect treachery?"

"Until I know for certain what has occurred, I suspect everything," Valak replied. "I am leaving Korak in command of the Enterprise. Until I return, my science officer, Talar, will be in command of the Syrinx. He will see to your comfort and keep you informed of any new developments."

Kazanak nodded. "Very well. I shall monitor your communications with the bridge from here. And I shall consult your first officer aboard the Enterprise for periodic reports."

"If we fail to return, my lord," said Valak, "this mission must be abandoned and the ark destroyed. I leave the fate of the Federation prisoners to you."

"Our warriors will be more than sufficient to deal with any threat you may encounter," Lord Kazanak replied.

"My lord, Picard's warning about a quarantine may have some substance," Valak said. "If there is danger of infection, the ark must be destroyed."

"Yes, well, we can make that decision when and if the time comes," Lord Kazanak replied. "Until then I shall eagerly await your reports."

Valak bowed and left. He took the turbolift to the transporter room, where Picard was waiting with his guards. The attack group was also waiting, thirty Romulan warriors armed with disruptors and dressed in battle armor. They made an imposing sight. Valak armed himself and turned to them, quickly dividing them into three squads of ten, each with an officer in command.

"Antor, your squad will beam down first and secure the area," he said crisply. "Torak, your squad will follow, and then Captain Picard and I will beam down with Sirok's squad. If you encounter any resistance, crush it immediately. Proceed."

The attack groups snapped to, and the first group of warriors took their places on the pad. Valak gave the order, and the transporter was activated on wide beam. The warriors dematerialized, and the second squad quickly stepped up to take their place. Finally it was the last group's turn. Picard stood with Valak on his left and Sirok on his right. He alone was unarmed. Valak had allowed him to carry only a tricorder. It did not make for a great feeling of security, he thought wryly, but for the moment, his greatest concern was for the members of his crew on the away team.

"Energize," said Valak.

Moments later they were standing in an open area, on the same coordinates to which the first away team had been transported. The Romulan warriors were deployed all around them, their weapons held ready, alert for any sign of movement. But Picard only just barely noticed their presence. His entire attention was occupied by his surroundings.

"Good Lord!" he said as he looked around him.

It was absolutely breathtaking. In their initial reports, the away team had understated the case considerably. Intellectually, Picard had been prepared for what the away team had described, but actually experiencing it for himself was overwhelming.

He had been in similar habitats before-some of the older starbases had been constructed on the O'Neill model-but he had never seen anything built on this scale. Artificial light flooded the interior of Hermeticus 2, illuminating the breathtaking panorama that surrounded him. Cities hung above him where one would expect to see the sky. It was almost like seeing a world photographed through some sort of bizarre fish-eye lens.

The buildings surrounding them were Cubist, vaguely reminiscent of the twentieth-century architecture of Paolo Soleri. Rather than individual buildings that stood side by side, these were irregularly cl.u.s.tered atop one another like crystalline formations. It was as if some impossibly large child with a skewed sense of perspective had been let loose with building blocks. Aside from the sheer spectacle of it, the inside-out world possessed a surreal beauty that was awesome to behold.

"On the outside, it's camouflaged to resemble a planet. On the inside ... this, " Picard said. "You still believe the Federation could have constructed such a ship, Valak?"

The Romulan commander was equally impressed. He shook his head. "No," he said, staring around him with amazement. "Clearly, this was not built by humans. But that does not mean there are no humans here." He held up his communicator. "Valak to away team. Report."

There was no answer. He tried again.

"Valak to away team. Report, Kalad!"

He waited a moment, but there was still no response. As he tried calling the ship, Picard glanced at his tricorder.

"Valak to Syrinx."

Nothing.

"Valak to Syrinx. Talar, respond!"

"I think I know why there has been no word from the away team," Picard said, still looking at his tricorder.

"Valak to Syrinx! Talar, are you receiving me?"

"He can't hear you, Valak," said Picard. "Some sort of interference is affecting the instruments. My tricorder readings are completely jumbled."

"This interference did not affect our earlier communications with the away team," Valak said suspiciously.

"Well, it is affecting them now," Picard said. "This tricorder is useless. And so, I suspect, are your communicators."

Valak drew his disruptor and fired it at a spidery tree. The tree disintegrated. "This interference does not seem to affect our weapons," he said.

"It may be only a localized phenomenon," Picard said. "Or perhaps a temporary one. Your probe registered unusual power fluctuations down here. It is possible that these fluctuations are affecting communication signals. And since tricorders operate on a similar frequency, that may explain the malfunction."

"That seems logical." Valak holstered his weapon and turned to his warriors. "We shall split up to search by squads," he said. "Torak, search that section." He gestured to his left. "Antor, take your squad the other way. I shall take the others and search the immediate area. Meet back here in one hour."

"In one hour it will be dark," Picard said.

"How can it be dark?" said Valak. "There is no sun to set in here."