Chapter IX

'How much do you remember, Ben?'

'Most of it.'

'How?'

Ben Sisko smiled to himself. 'I'm not quite sure.'

Picard looked away thoughtfully. The two men were still in Picard's office on the illusory Earth, although the skies had darkened a little with the onset of twilight.

Picard had slowly recovered from his rage and grief, no longer carrying that burden in his heart. His emotional outpouring had borne it away from him, and although he still felt the sadness and bitter despair over his wife's death, it no longer crushed him. He now sat in a chair that he knew well, but at the same time could not recognise. 'Do you know how strange it is to have two sets of memories in your mind at the same time?'

Sisko smiled again, this time almost ruefully. 'I do indeed.'

'Why do you remember so much of it?' asked Picard.

Sisko settled himself more firmly into his own chair opposite Picard, thinking through his own experiences with the alternate universe. 'I'm not sure,' he said, 'but I think it is related to why I'm here now. Because I'm not fully human, because my mother was one of the Prophets, it's given me a perspective outside of normal time and space. Part of me instinctively comprehends the universe as not strictly based on linear time and events – in essence, that things tend not to happen one after the other.'

'Cause is not always followed by effect?'

'Exactly.' Sisko sighed. 'While we experienced the alternate universe, I recall that none of it felt strange, or that it should not be happening.'

'Other than what you might feel, given the circumstances,' interjected Picard, smiling.

'Indeed. But once you were returned, and it all changed, I was left with these memories, ones which faded quickly, but always remained with me. Every time I left DS9 on any business, I always had this afterimage in my mind of it's destruction by the Aralla.'

'I know what you mean,' said Picard. 'I always had the thought of the Aralla destroying the Borg Unicomplex when we finally achieved our victory in my mind. For some reason, that act on it's own seemed to personify the Aralla to me.'

'I knew then,' said Sisko, continuing, 'that you were at the centre of it all. You were too centrally placed in all of it for it not to have been about you.'

'You were President –'

'And you were the supreme leader of everyone for longer than I care to think about. You had the pressure of being the sole representative for the Alpha Quadrant – the one man everyone's fears and hopes rested on. That was a much greater burden to bear than I ever carried. It had to have been about you. Do you know why?'

Picard shook his head, accepting Sisko's point. 'No. When Q brought me back, he told me that it was a test, and that I was special in some way. He said that I am unique in the universe.'

'How so?'

Picard started to speak, and then paused. 'I have to be honest, I don't really understand it myself. He told me that I had no counterpart in any of the parallel universes that exist beyond our own, and that because of that I was special; but if I'm honest, it made little sense to me at the time, and three years and many events down the line, even less sense now.'

The two men sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the opportunity to relax and plan without the constraints of time. For once Picard, who had felt that he had been running a losing race against time over the last few years, had space to take a breath and work out what he was going to do next.

But it was too dangerous to do that, Picard also knew. The wormhole was like the nexus, where he had once met James Kirk. The temptation to do nothing was too strong – the attraction of infinity to plan was a call to idleness. He had to take action. After the Aralla were defeated, then he might take more time to look back on what had happened to him, but for now, the mission – the battle – was all.

With great reluctance, Picard stood up and looked down at Sisko, straightening the front of his uniform in his unconscious manner. 'Ben, I thank you for what you've done so far.'

'Anytime,' replied Sisko casually.

'I hope not,' said Picard, a smile fleeting across his face. 'But I need your help one last time.'

Sisko stood and faced Picard. 'I can't, Jean-Luc. We could only do this.'

'The Aralla can't be allowed to exit the wormhole on the Gamma Quadrant side. If they do, Harris will take the fleet through and before you know it, we'll have the Dominion War II on our hands. You don't want that, do you?'

Sisko looked pained. 'The Prophets have already told me that they wish to detach themselves from the linear universe once again until I have helped them to a greater understanding of who and what we are. I don't know if I can persuade them –'

'You've got to try, Ben,' said Picard, his face and voice still calm. 'You're the only one who knows how big a threat the Aralla are.'

Sisko fell silent for a moment, and then said slowly, 'I think I can persuade them to reject the Aralla ship. To all intents and purposes, it's still in the wormhole at this moment, and you're still aboard it. If I can, you'll be returned to the same moment in time, but you'll still be captive.' At Picard's look, he hastily added, 'It's the best I can do. The Prophets won't bend space as well as time because that could create temporal paradoxes that might be even worse than what may happen in eight days. Remember that. You have eight days.'

'I will,' said Picard.

Sisko smiled slightly. 'It's funny. I never really got chance to say goodbye to the people I worked with on Deep Space Nine. But I get to give you a proper send-off. It's odd how the universe works….'

'It is indeed,' replied Picard, reaching out and shaking Sisko's hand. 'I hope that I can see you again, Ben.'

'I wouldn't expect to,' replied Sisko. 'Please, if you get a chance, say goodbye to everyone for me.'

The white light Picard had seen when he had first come into the wormhole blinded him, obscuring Sisko from his vision and he merely whispered, 'I will.'

'What the hell are they doing?' asked Riker, jolted to his feet by the sudden appearance of the Romulan fleet.

'The Romulan fleet is positioned between the taskforce and the wormhole,' reported the Ops officer. 'They are making no aggressive moves.'

'Beside decloaking in the middle of the Federation,' commented La Forge.

'In the middle of a war zone,' added Troi.

'Have we any commands from Captain Harris?' Riker directed his question at the tactical officer.

'Captain Harris has ordered the fleet to stand down – he has reached an understanding with the Romulan commander.' Troi raised her eyebrow and directed a puzzled look at Riker.

'That's a first,' said Riker, turning and looking at the viewer again.

'Confirmed,' said Ops, 'the Romulans have lowered their shields and powered down their weapons.'

'Do the same,' ordered Riker.

'We're receiving a message from DS9,' said the tactical officer.

'On screen.' Riker turned and sat in the command chair as Harris' face appeared on the viewscreen.

'Captain Harris to fleet. The Romulan ships are non-hostile vessels for the moment. They wish to aid us in our search for the unidentified ship. For the moment we are –'

Harris was cut off as static overwhelmed the signal. 'What's the problem?' asked Riker.

'We are picking up elevated neutrino levels from the wormhole,' reported La Forge, his voice surprised.

'What does that mean?' asked Troi.

'A ship is about to exit the wormhole on this side.'

The wormhole flared into iridescent life, spiralling open, stunning everyone in the fleet who could see it.

From it's giant maw came the black shape of the Aralla city destroyer. It's vast bulk swept over the assembled ships, casting its pall of fear over all.

Riker stared at the giant ship, stunned. 'What the hell?'

For a moment, no-one could react to what they were seeing. All they could do was stand and stare.

In that situation, the first one to react takes the prize.

Picard leapt to his feet, startling Serisa from her huddled crouch. He stared from the window and clenched his fist victoriously as he saw the distant shape of DS9 and the fleet. He turned to Serisa, ready to give his orders, galvanised, when he saw the marks on her. 'Dear god, what happened?'

'You,' replied the Romulan icily.

'Me?' gaped Picard, not knowing what she meant. 'When?'

'Just before we entered the wormhole.'

Picard stepped back, and glanced at his hands. Indeed, they were covered with traces of green blood. 'I'm sorry, I had –' He paused, brought himself back. 'I apologise deeply. I was insane.'

'Are you now?' asked Serisa, barely keeping her temper from snapping.

Picard tried hard not to smile, knowing how good he felt to be back. 'Not anymore. And what's more, I know a way out.'

'You do?' Serisa tried to stand, and suddenly felt dizzy from the blow to her face.

Picard held out his hand to her, and she gazed at it warily for a moment and then looked into Picard's face. He smiled gently. 'Please believe me, I am not going to hurt you.'

She saw in his eyes the truth there, and recognised the burning fires in his soul, knowing that he only wanted to harm one thing in the universe – the creatures who held them captive. She reached out and grabbed his hand.

The Starfleet captain pulled the Romulan to her feet and helped her steady herself. 'Are you okay?'

Serisa nodded, pulling away to stand alone for a moment, before smiling at him. 'Yes, thank you.'

Picard hid his smile, turning his attention to their cell, feeling his hatred boiling up within him. With an effort, he forced it down, knowing all the while that it was sane anger, not the unfocussed rage he had felt before. He knew what he was looking for, and found it a few moments later.

He knelt down in the corner of the room beneath the large window as Serisa watched him, slightly confused by his somewhat strange actions. 'What are you doing?'

'This,' replied Picard. He drew back his elbow and rammed it into the wall. A small panel popped off and clattered onto the deck before him.

Serisa was next to him a moment later, gazing into the hole he had uncovered. Behind the panel, a series of filaments and circuits had been exposed, all connecting to a small computer interface, giving Picard a glimpse into what the Aralla hid behind their dark bulkheads. 'What is it?' asked Serisa.

'If I'm right,' replied Picard thoughtfully, 'this is part of the transporter system that they used to bring us aboard.' He sat back, looking puzzled. 'But they never figured out transporters.'

'They?' asked Serisa.

Picard ignored the question, and kept thinking. 'Unless they've come into contact with another species who can use a transporter, and they've been able to capture it….'

'Who are we talking about?' asked Serisa, knowing that she was not involved in the conversation.

Picard stared at her for a moment, before he said, 'We have been captured by a race known as the Aralla. They move between planets, destroying all that stands before them. They cannot be assimilated by the Borg, they cannot be damaged unless their shields are lowered, and that is incredibly difficult, and there are more of them then there are of us.'

Serisa stared at him for a moment in stunned silence. 'You're making this up.'

'I wish,' grunted Picard, turning his attention to the panel again.

'How long have Starfleet known about this… Aralla?'

'Starfleet knows nothing of them,' replied Picard. 'I possess in my mind all of the knowledge about the Aralla that anyone knows.'

'Forgive me if I appear sceptical,' retorted Serisa.

'I don't care,' said Picard matter-of-factly. 'All that matters is that we get out of here.' He sat back and looked at her quizzically. 'Do you know anything about configuring annular confinement beams to focus a tight-beam comm channel on a receiver?'

'I've done it two or three times,' said Serisa, still smarting after such a peremptory dismissal of her questions. 'It's standard training for all Romulan fleet personnel.'

'Is it now?' Picard moved out of Serisa's way as she sat herself in front of the panel.

Serisa reached in and started pressing controls behind the wiring, trying to make sense of the alien configuration. 'I only hope that their computer systems are similar to ours.'

'They are,' said Picard confidently.

Serisa glanced at Picard, and said, 'You appear to be fully functioning again.'

Picard sensed the implicit question. 'It's complicated, believe me.' He didn't feel up to explaining Ben Sisko and the Prophets just yet.'

'Which ship do you want me to focus the beam on?'

'The Enterprise,' said Picard. 'If I can get a message through to them, we can co-ordinate a rescue attempt.'

Serisa nodded, and programmed in the co-ordinates. 'You do realise that if their shields are not up, this will not work.'

'Against this thing?' Picard smiled. 'They'll be up.'

'Shields up!' shouted Riker, as he finally reacted to what they saw on the screen. 'Ready all weapons, and prepare for attack manoeuvring!' He moved to stand next to Data. 'Give me an idea of what that ship's doing. And find out why it's come back? Is there any sign of a Jem'Hadar fleet?'

'No sign of any Dominion ships,' replied La Forge, who had moved to take over the Ops position. 'The unidentified ship is cruising at 0.7 of light speed. It is possible that it was ejected due to moving too fast. The event horizon will not admit ships moving at faster than one-third impulse power.'

'But the event horizon opened and closed,' replied Riker. 'We saw it go in.'

'There is another theory,' said Geordi, swinging slightly around so that he could look directly at Riker. He lowered his voice. 'Captain Sisko of Deep Space Nine often claimed that the wormhole was built by aliens living inside it, and that they were the "Prophets", the gods of the Bajoran religion. But every test that Starfleet carried out came up negative.'

'But a stable wormhole is pretty unusual in itself,' replied Riker.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded on La Forge's console, one that did not sound very often. He turned back to his board. 'Commander, a transporter beam is attempting to penetrate our shields. It is coming from the alien ship.'

'Is it causing any disruption?'

La Forge frowned at his panel. 'What the hell-? It's creating a resonance harmonic within the shield barrier –'

'Picard to Enterprise -' The tinny, echoing voice seemed to come from all around them.

Riker's eyes widened. He whirled to face tactical. 'Is that a comm channel?'

The young officer shook her head, looking as surprised as Riker. 'We are receiving no communications at the moment.'

'Then what -?'

'Sir, the resonance in the shields is acting as a relay for a voice message,' said Geordi suddenly. 'The confinement beam of a transporter is acting as a microphone and our shields as a receiver!'

'Picard to Enterprise, come in.'

Riker glanced at La Forge, who shrugged. 'Captain?'

'Will, it's good to hear your voice again.' The voice was still tinny, but perfectly recognisable as Picard's voice, and the relief was unmistakable.

'Captain, where are you?'

'Aboard the Aralla ship, Number One. We've managed to use their transporter system as a comm relay. I can't talk for long. We need a way off.'

Riker suddenly felt confidence surging through him for the first time in weeks. 'I can arrange that, sir. Can you lower their shields?'

'I'm afraid not,' replied Picard, unable to stop a smile from crossing his face. 'But you can beam straight through the shields on this ship, Will. You just need to get into transporter range.'

'Understood,' said Riker's voice. 'Just –'

A blaze of static erupted over the transmission, and Riker's voice vanished suddenly. Picard looked at Serisa. 'What happened?'

Serisa looked at him, worry in her eyes. 'They know.'

'We lost the signal. Looks like the beam was cut off,' said Geordi.

'Riker to Data.'

'Data here, Commander.'

'Go ahead, Data,' said Riker, who sat down in the centre chair. 'Just lock on and beam him out.'

Data looked at Hedly, puzzled. 'Their shields are still up,' he replied.

'Don't worry about them, Data,' replied Riker. 'We'll cover you.'

'Acknowledged,' replied Data. 'Beginning our run.'

'Get me Captain Harris,' said Riker.

Harris' face appeared. He looked annoyed. 'What is it, Commander?'

'We've established contact with Captain Picard,' said Riker. 'I'm launching an operation to retrieve him.'

'What?!' shouted Harris, his face twisted with anger. 'Permission denied!'

'I wasn't asking for permission,' said Riker casually.

'Stand down, Commander,' demanded Harris. 'That's an order!'

'No, sir. You'll have to just follow us in or watch us get killed. Riker out.'

Riker turned to Lieutenant Truper. 'Attack vector, Lieutenant,' he ordered.

'Aye, sir,' responded Truper enthusiastically.

'Shields up, weapons ready.' Riker's face set determinedly. 'Attack.'

Harris watched angrily as the Enterprise swept towards the distant dark ship, still cruising in a straight line away from the wormhole. Kira turned worried eyes on him. 'Are we going to send the fleet to help?'

Harris paused, and then shook his head. 'If Riker wants to commit suicide, that's up to him.'

'We're getting a signal from the Delphi,' said Ezri Dax.

'On screen.' Captain Gastrovicz's face appeared.

'Sir, we also received that message from the Enterprise. Request permission to go in and draw some fire for them.'

Harris put a hand to his face wearily. 'No, Captain. Commander Riker is risking the fleet to save one man. I will not support such a rash action.'

Gastrovicz's face clouded. 'Sir, we've all supported your actions with regards Commander Riker and the Enterprise, but Picard is the best officer in the Fleet. If we don't help the Enterprise, then we have no right to call ourselves Starfleet officers.'

Harris stared silently at Gastrovicz's face for a long time before finally nodding. 'Very well, Captain. But I will note this in my log.'

Gastrovicz looked unfazed. 'Delphi out.'

Gastrovicz was the most senior captain in the taskforce besides Harris, and he had met Picard on several occasions. Each time, he had been impressed by the other's ability as a starship captain, but more than that, he had seen the utter dedication in his crew, and their fierce loyalty to their captain. There had not been one single transfer request ever made by an officer aboard either Enterprise that Picard had commanded, and all of his senior officers had turned down top-line promotions to either captaincy or senior command level.

Gastrovicz knew, because he had twice tried to poach Lieutenant Truper to become a commander aboard the Delphi. Both times, Truper had knocked him back to remain on the Enterprise, even though it damaged his prospects of command in the future.

Gastrovicz knew that a man who inspired that sort of loyalty, allied to that immense ability, was worth the lives of a Starfleet crew. Sometimes, a sacrifice was worth it.

He turned to face his tactical officer. `Get me Captains Solvek and Hainby. I want them to know what I'm doing.'

Within moments, Solvek and Hainby, captain of the Texas, appeared on the main screen. `Captains,' began Gastrovicz, `I've just won us permission to support the Enterprise in her attempt to rescue Picard.'

Hainby smiled grimly, while Solvek nodded silently. Gastrovicz continued, `I want you to help me co-ordinate the attack. Solvek, I want your ships to join me in taking fire from the Enterprise. Hainby, you take the Texas, Livingston, Kyoto and Magnum and maintain a holding pattern around DS9. We don't know what the Romulans are here for.'

`Acknowledged,' replied Solvek.

Hainby looked slightly worried. `If you should have trouble….'

`Let Captain Harris make that call,' replied Gastrovicz. `Delphi out.'

He turned to the helmsman. `Helm, set course for the unidentified ship. Prepare for multi-vector assault mode.'

The Delphi and Prometheus turned sharply from their face-off with the Romulan fleet, and leapt towards the Enterprise, bearing down on her foe. Astern, the four Defiant-class starships followed them, looking anxious to draw blood from their enemy.

Ignoring them, the giant ship continued on its way almost serenely until the Enterprise caught up with it.

`We're coming into weapons range,' said the tactical officer. Riker continued to glare at the screen.

`Where's the shuttle?'

`She's about twenty thousand kilometres off the port bow,' said Truper.

`Make sure we distract that ship,' said Riker. `Open fire.'

Phaser beam lanced into the shields surrounding the giant ship, causing no effect but a stunning pyrotechnic display. A moment later, two volleys of quantum torpedoes followed up, exploding against the shields in a blast larger than the Enterprise itself. But there was simply no reaction.

No attack planes launched, and no fire was forthcoming from the ship itself. Before the Enterprise could gather itself for another attack, the rest of the taskforce commenced their strike.

Pulses of phaser fire and volleys of photon torpedoes hammered the ship, but it continued on its casual way, unhurried by the frenzied attack by the Starfleet ships.

`Sir, there has been no activity from the unidentified ship,' said Truper, his face puzzled. `They are making no moves to defend themselves.'

`They hardly need to with those shields,' replied Riker.

`But their previous actions would indicate that they would retaliate,' added Troi.

Riker rubbed his beard thoughtfully. `I know.'

`We're being hailed by Captain Gastrovicz,' said the tactical officer.

`On screen,' replied Riker.

Gastrovicz's face appeared. `Commander, I've organised the taskforce into a support for your attack.'

Riker smiled. `Thank you, sir. How did you sneak that one past Captain Harris?'

`I'm not sure I did,' replied Gastrovicz. Co-ordinate your attack with us, and please tell me what your plans are.'

Riker nodded, pleased by the captain's support. `Thank you, sir. Transmitting attack plans to your station now.'

`We've left the rest of the taskforce at DS9,' added Gastrovicz. `Commander, this is your guy. You're taking command of the fleet.'

Riker's eyes widened. `Captain, I assumed you would –'

`That may be, Commander,' interrupted Gastrovicz. `This is an order – you're in command.'

Riker couldn't repress a smile at Gastrovicz's slightly flippant tone. `Understood, sir.'

The first officer of the Enterprise took the centre chair, and suppressed an overwhelming surge of euphoria. He glanced at Troi, and she smiled, pleased, at him. `Give me an open channel to all ships,' said Riker.

`Open,' replied the tactical officer.

`Enterprise to fleet,' said Riker. `Attack pattern Omega, targeting lower southern quadrant of enemy vessel. Attack!'

The seven starships all launched themselves at their enemy, unleashing their devastating power against it in a riot of energy. Phaser beams and photon torpedoes all slammed into the giant's shields, shining bright against the darkness.

Amid all of this chaos and violence, a tiny object slipped unnoticed into the maelstrom, sliding past the sensors of the giant vessel.

`We're clear of the battle zone,' declared Hedly. `Approaching shields.'

`Begin sensor sweeps of the ship, searching for human lifesigns.'

Hedly glanced at Data, knowing that what they were doing would set off alarms right across the enemy vessel. Hopefully, the confusion and vast amounts of discharged energy from the Enterprise and her taskforce would distract the sensors well enough that they might not be noticed. `Commencing scans.'

Picard stared from the large window, angled away from the battle raging around them, although he caught the occasional glimpse of one of the taskforce circling the city destroyer, readying itself for another attack.

He clenched his fists anxiously, unable to do anything, and highly frustrated. But he was finally taking affirmative action. He turned to Serisa. `Any luck yet?'

The Romulan shook her head. She was laid on the deck, arms inside the open panel, and circuitry and wires strewn around her. After Picard had quickly explained the design of the Aralla computer systems as being remarkably centralised, Serisa had figured out that the controls for such a system would have to be routed through one processor – meaning that they would be able to access most of the local controls for the cell in one single panel. `They're not quite as straightforward as you made out,' she said, voice frustrated.

`You're looking for the main computer access terminal,' said Picard, kneeling beside her.

`I don't think it's in here,' said Serisa. `I can access the doors, and the transporter commands, but not the main computer. I suspect they're not quite so stupid as to put us in a room with access to the main computer. If their controls are as centralised as you say, that still doesn't mean we can access them all from here.'

`Well, we can still access their transporter system.'

`But while the Enterprise's shields are still up, we can't beam anywhere.'

`No,' said Picard thoughtfully. His eyes lit up as a thought struck him. `At least, not off the ship.'

`I'm reading one human lifesign, and one Romulan lifesign,' said Hedly to Data, her voice pleased.

`Can you lock onto them?' asked the android.

Hedly pressed a few controls, and shook her head. `There's a strong bio-electrical field blocking their signal. I can't get a solid lock.'

Data ran his eye over the scans, frowning. `This might be produced by a large group of creatures held in stasis, but for a field of this size, you're looking at hundreds of thousands.'

`Can we break through that field?'

Data forced his attention away from the scans, his professional scientific interest piqued by the mystery. `I have an idea.'

`Sir,' said the tactical officer of the Enterprise, `I'm picking up a new group of signals. They're launching fighters.'

`Are they headed for the shuttle?' Riker's face became grim as he contemplated the possibility.

`I'm reading a wing of five fighters heading for the Brisbane. The others are converging on our position.'

`Riker to Prometheus and Delphi. Have your elements act as a fighter screen for us.'

`Understood,' came Gastrovicz's voice.

`Riker to Knight. Intercept those fighters heading for the Brisbane.'

The USS Knight peeled away from the rest of the taskforce, powering towards the tiny shuttle and the equally small ships heading for it.

`We've got company!' said Hedly, as the red alert activated. `Five fighters on an intercept course!'

Data nodded, but did not remove his attention from the console. `ETA?'

`Five seconds till firing range.'

`Take us out of here,' said Data. `I can't do anymore.'

But before the Brisbane could move, the fighters were upon them. Energy fire crashed into the shields of the tiny vessel, which lurched and reeled under the attack.

`Shields at ten percent!' shouted Hedly over the explosion. `Phasers and engines offline!'

`Can we transport away?'

`The Enterprise has it's shields up,' replied Hedly. She had an idea. `Hold on!'

The fighters swung around and opened fire again. The Brisbane vanished into a cloud of fire and debris.

Just as the attack planes completed their strike, the USS Knight loomed into view directly ahead, and lashed out with it's phasers in vengeance. The fighters, tightly packed in their formation, were blown to pieces in an instant.

`Will,' said Troi suddenly, deputising on communications while the tactical officer concentrated on her attack of the giant ship, `we're receiving a transmission from the Knight.'

`What do they say?' asked Riker, his tone worried.

`The Brisbane has been destroyed,' said Troi, her eyes widening in horror. `They couldn't recover either Hedly or Data.'

Riker stared at her for a moment, stunned beyond words. He sank back in the chair, oblivious to the action on the viewer before him, unable to comprehend Data and Hedly's loss.

Picard stared silently at the battle, not knowing of the tragedy that had struck his crew. `Why haven't they fired?' he asked himself quietly.

`Who?' grunted Serisa as she angled herself more advantageously to get to the panel.

`The Aralla. I can see they've launched some fighters, but they've made no move to defend themselves with their main weapons.'

`With that shield,' replied Serisa, `they have no need to.'

`That's what troubles me,' said Picard. `They've never shown any desire to simply hide behind their defences before.'

Serisa got to her feet, and sighed heavily, defeated by the technology. `I can't get anything to respond in there,' she said. `It's as if they've cut the power to all the systems.'

`Cut the power…?' Picard frowned as his mind turned over quickly. `That's it.'

`That's what?' asked Serisa.

`That's the reason for all that they've been doing,' said Picard, his face animated. `The Aralla ships are highly energy-inefficient, and use a vast amount of energy on some strange things – their superweapon, very powerful engines, and more. When we defeated the Aralla, we used a computer virus that drained energy from key systems such as weapons and propulsion. That may be the problem now.'

Serisa was too tired and her emotions too strained to listen to Picard's thoughts out loud. `Well, whatever you're talking about, it is causing us problems. If I can't get power to this panel, then there is no way that I can get us out of this cell.'

Picard's face fell. He turned away and stared pensively at the deck, while Serisa took her turn to look out of the window. At this moment, that area of the city destroyer was facing DS9, and she could see the Romulan fleet clustered near the station, facing the Starfleet taskforce. `Why aren't they joining your attack?'

`Sorry?' Picard turned to face her, and Serisa indicated the Romulan fleet. `I would guess because of the mutual distrust between our two governments. I would expect that Riker would love the Romulan ships to assist his attack, but Captain Harris is probably unwilling or unable to trust your people long enough for them to assist.'

`Would you let a Romulan command forces anywhere near you?' asked Serisa, her tone half-belligerent, half-angry at herself.

Picard gave her an old-fashioned look and grinned at a joke known only to himself. `If only you knew,' he remarked mysteriously.

Serisa looked into his eyes in bewilderment, wondering why on Remus it was that she could talk so openly and be so casual and comfortable with someone she had been brought up to think of as an enemy.

And it was at that moment that they both heard the noise at the door.

Serisa had, once they realised that the Aralla knew of their secret communication, sealed the door as well she could before the power had gone. But that had been based on being able to reopen when they wanted to escape, or on being able to beam to the Enterprise if necessary. Now, it seemed, all bets were off – all was lost.

Picard drew himself upright, prepared to face death unafraid, whilst Serisa readied herself to fight hard before being destroyed.

A crack resounded through the room and the door suddenly slid aside. Picard's eyes widened in shock.

`Hello, Captain,' said Data calmly, totally unruffled. `I'm glad I've found you.'