"On screen, maximum magnification," Valak said.

The viewscreen of the warbird filled with the image of Hermeticus 2, and there, still small at this distance, but nevertheless clearly visible and recognizable by its configuration, was a Federation starship.

Picard stepped forward and stared at the screen with disbelief. "What is this, Valak?" he snapped. "Some sort of Romulan trick?"

"You know better than that, I think." Valak turned back to the screen and stared at it intently. "Sound battle stations."

As the sonorous throbbing Romulan battle call sounded throughout the Syrinx, Picard continued to stare at the screen with astonishment. At this distance, even with the warbird's long-range scanners on maximum magnification, it was impossible to identify the ship, but they were coming in on maximum impulse power. The warbird was still cloaked, invisible to the Federation ship's scanners, or to any scanners on the planet surface, so there had been no reaction from the starship. However, as they approached rapidly, Picard could see that something wasn't quite right.

It was the lines of the ship. He frowned as he watched the screen intently. The scanners were still on maximum magnification, and the warbird was still a considerable distance from the ship, but as they approached, the screen became filled with the planet, creating the illusion that they were much closer than they actually were. The resolution continued to improve as they approached, and Picard could now make out more details of the Federation ship's configuration.

It was different from the Enterprise, which was a new generation Galaxy-cla.s.s starship. This ship was considerably smaller, about half the size of his own ship, and as Picard stared at the screen, he realized it was one of the old Const.i.tution-cla.s.s vessels, similar to the original USS Enterprise, dating back some thirty years or so.

"Where are all your protestations now, Picard?" asked Valak, with a hard edge to his voice. "Now you see for yourself the duplicity of your Federation. Can you deny the evidence of your own senses?"

"Valak, listen to me," Picard said. "There is something very wrong here."

"Yes," snapped Valak, "you were wrong, Picard. The Federation is wrong, and I am about to teach all of you the error of your ways. Make ready the disruptors!"

"Valak, wait!" Picard said. "Look at that ship! It is thirty years out of date! You know Starfleet vessels. What does your own knowledge tell you? Your orders, as you expressed them to me, were to discover the truth about Hermeticus Two. If you destroy that ship, you may never learn anything about what happened here. Look at it! It does not even appear to be powered up. Don't simply take my word for it. Use your scanners!"

Valak frowned, then held up his hand to his weapons officer. "Stand by, disruptors," he said. He glanced at Picard warily, then turned to his science officer. "Scanner readings, Talar."

The science officer bent over his console. After a moment he straightened and turned to Valak with a puzzled look. "Commander, according to our scanner readings, there are no life-forms aboard the Federation vessel. And I show no power readings."

"It could be a trick," said Valak.

"You mean like the one you pulled on us?" Picard said. "Rest a.s.sured, Commander, we possess no drug that can simulate death convincingly enough to fool scanners. If we did, we might have been prepared for your deception. Besides, that is a Const.i.tution-cla.s.s starship. It could not possibly power up in time to evade your disruptors, even if it was capable of detecting the presence of a cloaked Romulan warbird, which it most certainly is not."

Valak furrowed his brow. "That is true."

"Readings remain unchanged," said the science officer.

"Slow to half power," Valak said. "Maintain standby on weapons. What is the current position of the Enterprise?"

"Coming up behind us on normal impulse power, bearing two point eight, mark nine," the navigator said.

Valak folded his arms and thought a moment. "Match speed with the Enterprise and open hailing frequency."

"Commander," said the science officer, "if we communicate with the Enterprise, our transmission may be picked up on the planet surface and give away our presence."

"Perhaps, but a scanner probe of the planet surface itself would almost certainly give us away if there is a Federation base there. I think we shall let the Enterprise make the first approach, while we remain cloaked."

"Hailing frequency open, Commander."

"Valak to Enterprise. Come in, Korak."

Korak replied and Valak had him put on the main viewscreen. Korak confirmed that the Enterprise scanners had given him the same information as the warbird's scanners had given Valak. "Commander Riker claims the Federation ship in orbit above Hermeticus is a Const.i.tution-cla.s.s vessel many years out of date," Korak added. "He insists that he is not able to identify it."

"You should be within range to read the markings on that ship by long-range scanner," Valak said. "Have Commander Riker consult the Enterprise computer for information about that vessel."

"I have already demanded that he do so, Commander," Korak replied, "but Riker has refused. What are your orders?"

Valak turned to Picard. "If you are telling the truth, I suspect you are as curious about that ship as I am. And if there truly is no one aboard it, then the information cannot harm anyone, can it? Or would you prefer that I compel Commander Riker to cooperate?"

"Put Commander Riker on the screen," Picard said.

A moment later Riker appeared, standing beside Korak. Picard noted that his face was bruised.

"Are you all right, Number One?"

"Fine, Captain," said Riker, without elaborating further.

Picard did not pursue the subject. "Please do as Commander Valak requests, " he said, stressing the last word sarcastically.

"Understood, sir."

"It may take a few moments," Picard said to Valak.

The Romulan commander nodded. "You still maintain that you know nothing whatsoever about this ship?"

"Its presence here is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you," Picard replied.

Valak said nothing.

A moment later Riker came back on. "Captain, according to the markings on that ship, it's the USS Independence."

"The Independence!" said Picard. "Are you certain, Number One?"

"Yes, sir," Riker replied. "It would seem that we are looking at a ghost ship."

"Ghost ship?" said Valak. "What nonsense is this?"

"It's a figure of speech, Commander," said Riker. "Your research into Starfleet is incomplete, apparently. The Independence is something of a legend."

"It was reported destroyed some thirty years ago," Picard said. "A few members of the crew are believed to have escaped in one of the ship's shuttles, but by the time the shuttlecraft was found drifting in s.p.a.ce, everyone aboard it was dead. No trace of the ship was ever found."

"If there were survivors, then there must have been a report," said Valak.

"There should have been," Riker agreed, "but the report seems to have disappeared, as well. As a result, there's not even a record of the ident.i.ty of the crew members on that shuttle, and after all these years, no one seems to remember who they were. No one knows exactly what happened to the Independence. Its fate has remained a mystery ... until now."

"You expect me to believe this ridiculous story?" Valak asked scornfully. "Do you take me for a complete fool? If that ship had been powered down for so long a time, its...o...b..t would have long since decayed."

"True," said Picard, "and that means there were life-forms aboard that ship until recently."

"Then they are on the planet surface," Valak said.

"That would seem impossible, Commander," Korak said. "According to our scanner readings, there is no atmosphere on the planet capable of supporting human life. Nor have we detected any life-forms or artificial shelters on the planet surface."

"None at all?" said Valak, frowning. "But ... they must have gone somewhere!"

"Perhaps there was another ship, Commander," said Korak. "That seems to be the only logical explanation."

"There has been no Federation vessel in this sector," said Picard.

"That is what you said before we found the Independence," Valak replied. "You become less credible with each a.s.sertion, Picard."

Picard shrugged. "Say what you will, Valak, but I am even more anxious to solve this mystery than you are, because these were our people. I have no idea what that ship is doing here, but the concerns of the Romulan High Council certainly appear to have been justified in this instance."

"With the presence of a Federation vessel this deep inside the Neutral Zone, that is a point you can hardly avoid conceding," Valak replied wryly.

"I concede nothing," said Picard. "I merely said that Romulan concerns appear to have been justified. Were the situation reversed, I might well have thought as you did. However, there simply must be a rational explanation of this phenomenon. If we can determine that this situation has never represented a Federation threat to the Romulan Empire, then perhaps we can still resolve our differences in a way that will satisfy both parties and threaten neither."

"I remain skeptical of that, but much will depend upon your cooperation," Valak said.

"Then you admit the possibility of a negotiated resolution to this matter?" Picard said hopefully.

"An astute commander would do well to admit all and any possibilities," Valak replied evasively. "But my primary mission must remain my first priority."

"Understood," Picard said. "I would very much like to have a look aboard that ship."

"You shall have it," Valak replied. "I intend to board the Independence myself. You shall accompany me."

"If I might make a suggestion ..." Picard began.

Valak's head snapped around. "Go on," he said, in that smug and condescending way Picard had begun to find so irritating.

"Have Lieutenant Commander Data accompany us," Picard said. "He has instantaneous access to all Federation historical records-and that information could prove invaluable."

Valak nodded.

"Acceptable, ... Korak, have the android beamed aboard after us. And now, Captain," he said to Picard, bowing in the direction of the turbolift, "after you. I feel much more secure having you in sight."

"And here I thought you enjoyed my company," Picard said dryly.

The Romulan s.p.a.ce suit was not a perfect fit, but it was close enough not to cause Picard much inconvenience. As he took his place on the transporter platform with the Romulan away team, Valak's voice came to him over the helmet speaker.

"Remember, Korak will be monitoring our transmissions from aboard the Enterprise, and my science officer, Talar, will be doing likewise from the bridge of the Syrinx."

"If you think that, unarmed, I can present a threat your entire away team," said Picard, "then I fear you may be overestimating my capabilities."

"That would be better than underestimating them," Valak replied, in a tone that was almost jocular. "However, you are not the only threat I am concerned with. Should we encounter any sort of trap aboard the Independence, my crew, aboard both your ship and mine, will be alerted instantly." He gave the command to energize, and a moment later they materialized on the bridge of the Independence.

The bridge was deserted, and the ship was completely powered down. There was no sign of the crew. It was impossible to estimate by external evidence how long things had remained undisturbed; in s.p.a.ce there were no obvious signs such as dust, cobwebs, or mice scurrying about. The crew might have departed a relatively short time ago, but Picard was acutely aware of a feeling of emptiness about the ship, an emptiness that had reigned for a long time.

The lights on their helmets were their only source of illumination as their special boots clung to the deck, holding them down in the absence of gravity. Otherwise the ship was dark. Valak's a.s.sistant science officer took readings, while the security team maintained watch, their weapons held ready, just in case. The Romulans were taking no chances.

"No residual atmospheric traces," the a.s.sistant science officer announced. "The lifesupport systems have been down for quite some time. I am not picking up any power readings at all."

"What about the matter-antimatter reactors?" Valak asked.

The a.s.sistant science officer went to the science station and attempted to bring up the console. He hit several switches, without result. "No response on any of the controls, Commander," he said. He consulted his Romulan tricorder once again. "Readings indicate decay in the reactor core." He tried several other switches. "No response. No power in the warp propulsion conduits or the electroplasma system. Warp and main impulse engines are not functional. No response on readouts from auxiliary fusion generators. The warp field generator coils are inactive. This ship is dead, Commander."

"Commander Valak, if I may ..." Picard said, indicating one of the consoles.

Valak nodded.

Picard went over to the bridge engineering console while Valak watched him carefully. He glanced at the positions of the switches. He frowned. "As I suspected," he said. "The antimatter storage pods have all been jettisoned. This ship cannot be powered up again without a major refueling operation at a starbase. It would require replacement of all the antimatter storage pods, the installation of new warp generator coils, refurbishment of the EPS system ... in short, a major overhaul. We could easily confirm that by examining the main engineering section. However, this ship did not die of neglect, Commander. It was killed. Or put to sleep, to be more precise."

"Check the rest of the ship," Valak told his security detail.

"Commander, without power, the turbolift will not respond," one of them said.

"Use the Jefferies tubes," said Valak. Picard glanced at the Romulan, once again impressed with his knowledge of Federation ships. The Jefferies tubes were tunnels that ran throughout the ship, providing access to the utilities conduits and circuitry for testing and maintenance. "There will most likely be an access point either in the floor by the main navigational computer console or in the bulkhead by the turbolift."

The Romulan security detail found the access hatch in the bulkhead by the turbolift and proceeded to undog it and go through. At almost the same instant the shimmering form of Lieutenant Commander Data materialized on the bridge. "Captain," the android said.

"Mr. Data, it is good to see you-even under these circ.u.mstances."

"How touching," Valak said dryly. "Tell me-Captain, Mr. Data-how is it that this dead ship somehow manages to maintain a consistent orbit?" Valak shook his head. "It is impossible."

"You are correct," Data said. "Nevertheless, something is obviously holding it up here."

"The spirits of your ghost ship?" Valak said laconically. "That is not an acceptable explanation, Captain."

"I quite agree," Picard replied. "Since no logical explanation is to be found here, I would look to the planet surface."

"Of course," said Valak. "Some sort of tractor beam. But to reach out to this distance and maintain this ship in orbit, it would have to be immensely powerful. Our scanners should have detected the energy fluctuations."

Picard nodded. "Indeed, they should have. a.s.suming that it is a tractor beam. However, we may be dealing with some sort of force that neither of us understands."

"I told you, Picard, supernatural explanations are not acceptable to me."

"Nor to me," Picard replied. "However, any science that is sufficiently advanced would certainly seem supernatural to anyone who could not understand it."

"I believe the precise quotation is, 'Any technology that is sufficiently advanced would seem like magic to those who did not understand it,'" Valak corrected him. "Your Earth philosopher and scientist, Arthur C. Clarke."

"Have you no pithy Romulan sayings to quote?" Picard replied irritably.

Valak smiled. "Careful, Picard. Your frustration is showing."

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d's right, Picard thought. He was becomingly increasingly frustrated at his seeming helplessness in this situation. It was bad enough that the Romulan had the upper hand, but now there was this mystery of the Federation ghost ship. And he saw no hope of solving either problem, at least, not for the present.

"Security detail, report," Valak said, speaking into his helmet communicator.

"Readings continue to show no life aboard this ship, Commander." Picard heard the reply over his helmet circuit. "We have gained access to the crew deck corridors. Part of the team has continued on to engineering, but we are examing the crew's quarters. There is no sign of anyone aboard."

"Have you found any bodies?" Valak asked.