Shaw had been on his back, crushed against the cold metal floor for an hour. He fiddled with wires, cutting and prodding. They dangled all around him. Greens, reds, yellows, blacks.

He was a dark man of French heritage. He had black, bushy brows and olive skin. He blended well with the cold, primer hue of the Daedalus bridge. The view screen showed nothing but empty space. Shaw wasn't looking, anyway.

It was midnight. A skeleton crew consisting of Ensign Shaw, Junior Chief Engineer Alice Rhodes, and Security Chief Ryan "Razor" Strickland kept watch over the silent space. Apart from Shaw's tinkering, there was nothing happening.

"Eighty-seven people on this ship and I pull graveyard shift," Alice said. She leaned her pale face against a screen. "No Yor within sensor range. Even if they did pop out—

"It would be a week before we even touch them. I know," Razor said. He looked at her. His jowly cheeks jiggled.

Alice turned away. "Leo, what are you doing?"

She and Razor heard a muffled reply.

"I'm recalibrating the navigational array." Shaw sat up and bumped his head against the console.

Alice and Razor looked at each other while Leo rubbed his face.

"If we get into a fight, I want the Daedalus to be able to turn on a dime, faster than any Federation ship."

Razor shrugged his chunky arms. "We can already turn fast enough. The Daedalus is—

"Going to be outdated in two months," Alice said. She looked at Razor again and watched his droopy features. "Even though we've only been out of space dock six months. We can't help it if every Drengin and Yor ship that comes out of the black has twice as many missiles on it than the last. It's all we can do to keep up, but we can sure as hell try." She tugged at her long, blue jumpsuit and crossed her arms.

Shaw went flat on his back and resumed work. "Anyone on the ship have family on Noldor III?"

"Rodriguez in engineering," Razor said slowly. "Cried for a week. Broke down during a security drill."

"What was Command thinking leaving it unguarded. And right there on the Arcean border!"

The ship shuddered. Razor held the panel in front of him. Alice almost lost her balance.

"I would like to inform the passengers that we will be experiencing some slight turbulence while I fiddle with the steering wheel," said Shaw.