A/N: What you've all been waiting for -- the crew finally figures out what's going on. Thanks for hanging in there so far with this story.

CHAPTER 10

A day away from Rigel IV, Enterprise came to a sudden stop.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," muttered Travis who, seated at the helm, was punching in commands that his console wasn't obeying.

The door to the ready room slid open. "Why have we dropped out of warp?" Jon asked as he strode toward his chair in the command well on the bridge.

"I don't know, sir," Travis reported as he continued to work the helm controls with no result. "We were at warp four, and all of a sudden, we just stopped."

From the science station, T'Pol said, "The warp engine appears to be off line."

Jon sat in his chair. He thumbed a button on the armrest's com panel. "Trip? What's going on?"

It was a few moments before the chief engineer responded. "I haven't got the slightest idea, Cap'n. The warp engine shut down for no reason at all. All indicators are still reading green."

Trip's uncertainty came through loud and clear. In the background, Jon could hear the engineering staff as they worked to track down the problem. It was never a good sign when there was enough noise in engineering that he could hear it over the intercom. "There has to be a reason," he said.

"I'll let you know as soon as I find out," Trip replied.

Jon cut the connection and looked at T'Pol. "What about our other systems? Is anything else not working?"

"Everything appears to be operating within normal parameters," she said. She looked up from the readouts on the various screens on her console. "Except the warp engine."

"Nothing on long-range scanners, sir," came Malcolm's voice from the tactical station behind him.

Jon swiveled his chair so that he could look at Malcolm. The tactical officer was alert, his expression severe. Malcolm's first reaction to the warp engine going offline for no apparent reason, Jon knew, was that it had been sabotaged. In this instance, so close to an important diplomatic event, Jon couldn't ignore that possibility. "Keep an eye on the scanners, Malcolm. Let's hope this engine malfunction isn't a prelude to an attack."

"Aye, sir," Malcolm responded crisply.

Jon turned back to T'Pol. "How is this going to affect our arrival at Rigel IV?"

"Provided the engine is operational within the next--" She checked something on her console. "-- five-point-seven hours, we can arrive on schedule if we increase our warp factor to five."

Rarely did they travel at the highest warp factor, for the strain on both the engine and the ship's structural integrity was considerable. Travis, his expression a mixture of anticipation and dread, turned to look at Jon from the helm.

"I know, Travis," Jon said. "But it will only be for a short time if it takes very long to fix whatever is wrong. The engine should be able to handle it."

The com beeped, followed by Trip's voice. "Cap'n? Could you send Hoshi down here?"

Jon didn't understand why engineering would need a communications officer. He looked at Hoshi over at her station. She appeared as perplexed as he was. "Why?" he asked Trip.

"Uh, Torpedo and Warp Core are gettin' underfoot."

Jon frowned. He had believed all along that allowing the cats to roam loose on the ship wasn't a good idea, but until today he'd been happy not to have been proven correct. To some extent, he was surprised this hadn't happened sooner. He remembered that, the last time Torpedo and Warp Core had been on board, he'd issued a directive to Hoshi: At the first sign that the cats were becoming a problem, they were to be kept locked up in her cabin.

To be fair, this was the first time either of the two big cats had really been in the way. Well, except for that time during their first visit when he'd misunderstood something Trip had said and had thought that the warp core was going to breach. He'd almost ordered the crew to abandon ship before he'd realized that it was Warp Core the cat -- not the warp core of the engine -- releasing excess energy in a bout of running around the engineering department.

Still, the safety of Enterprise came first.

"They're both in engineering?" he asked, seeking clarification.

"Uh, yeah. And they're actin' kind of strange. I don't need to pull any of my personnel off what they're doing to deal with them right now."

"Hoshi will be right down," Jon said tersely. He clicked off the com and gave Hoshi a look that said she better get moving.

As she entered the turbolift, Jon leaned back in his chair, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. He hoped that whatever was wrong with the engine was just a glitch and could be corrected quickly. If Enterprise didn't show up for the inauguration, it could be a setback in diplomatic relations between Rigel IV and Earth. And he hadn't memorized that darn three-hundred word greeting for nothing. Hoshi had given it to him earlier that morning, and he'd finally managed to recite the whole thing correctly when the ship had dropped out of warp.

He also was annoyed that, in the midst of what could be a crisis, he'd had to send one of his bridge staff to deal with two misbehaving pets. He could have ordered someone else to roust the cats out of engineering, and he would have, if Hoshi had work to do that required she remain on the bridge. But there hadn't been much comm traffic to keep her busy, and she'd finished the protocol briefs he'd asked her to prepare. He also knew she would put the cats in a place where they couldn't cause any trouble, since they were her responsibility and she took her duties seriously.

He'd seen her blush as she'd headed for the turbolift; she didn't like it when he was upset with her. She probably thought he was blaming her for his annoyance about the cats. Well, he was, in a way. The root of his irritation about the cats could be considered her fault. If she'd never brought the cats aboard in the first place... Ah, well, he told himself. Not everyone could be a dog person.

In front of him, Travis was still trying to coax a response from the helm. Jon exhaled heavily as he resigned himself to waiting until Trip could figure out what was wrong with the engine. With nothing else to occupy his mind, his thoughts returned to the feline problem. He would tell Hoshi that the cats had to be confined until after their visit to Rigel IV. He'd make a decision about whether they could resume their roaming of the ship after the inauguration was over.

At least, he thought somewhat self-righteously, he had the good sense to keep Porthos confined to his cabin when he was on duty.

Hoshi felt her cheeks flush as she left the bridge.

The captain was not happy. She didn't blame him. The warp engine wasn't working and it needed to be fixed so they could arrive at Rigel IV on time. Normally Jon's irritation at such things wouldn't make her overly anxious, but she was responsible for at least part of his ill mood, as Warp Core and Torpedo apparently were keeping those repairs from being made as quickly as possible. She had been the one who, the first time the cats had been on board, had asked the captain to allow the cats to run free on the ship. She'd just assumed it would be the same this time. She had never imagined they'd cause a problem, much less in a situation where they might make things worse simply by being present.

As the turbolift carried her to E deck, she wondered why Torpedo was in engineering anyway. During the daytime, Warp Core's primary hangout was with Trip and his staff, but Torpedo didn't stay in one place too long. At this time of day, he might be anywhere from the crew quarters on B deck down to sickbay or the mess hall on E deck. By late afternoon, he'd be all the way down on F deck where the armory was located. He might poke his nose into engineering at some point during the day, but Trip said he never stayed for very long.

And as far as Warp Core was concerned, Trip had never before complained about the big orange cat being in engineering.

She was aware of a commotion as soon as she left the turbolift. Shouted orders and acknowledgments could be heard through the open main hatch to engineering.

Torpedo did have a knack for showing up where something was going on. She wondered if he could somehow have known there was a problem in engineering. She shook her head as she walked down the corridor. Once again, she was projecting human qualities onto a cat. She really needed to stop doing that.

Hoshi stepped through the open hatch to a scene of controlled chaos. Trip, nimbly sidestepping Warp Core at his feet, was issuing orders as he moved from station to station, each of which was manned by a member of the engineering staff. At first, she didn't see Torpedo, but when she glanced up, she spied him perched on the rail around the upper level. He was doing a peculiar shuffle, shifting his weight, his tail lashing about for balance. With dismay, she realized he was going to jump.

"Look out!" she cried as she hurried toward Torpedo's projected landing pad.

Torpedo hit Trip's personal work table on engineering's main floor with a thud, but as was typical of cats, he'd managed to land on his feet. He immediately sat and began grooming a spot on his back.

Between her shout and the unexpected flight of the feline, Hoshi was suddenly the focus of all eyes in engineering. She grabbed Torpedo, who emitted a startled grunt, and turned to face the curious stares. "Sorry about that," she said sheepishly as she hugged the cat to her.

The crew members went back to work, but Trip strode over to her. "Thanks, Hoshi. I don't know what's gotten into him today. He normally doesn't hang around here, especially when there's a lot of work going on. I'm assuming you're going to take them back to your cabin?" At her answering nod, he looked around, then back at her. "I don't think I can spare anyone to help you."

"That's all right," Hoshi mumbled. She was still embarrassed, but Trip, bless him, wasn't making a big deal about this. She made sure she had a good grip on the gray cat so that he couldn't get away from her. "I'll take Torpedo to my cabin, then come back and get Warp Core."

At the mention of his name, the orange cat let out a loud meow. He was practically between Trip's feet. No wonder the engineer had asked her to get both cats out of engineering.

"May I be of assistance, Ensign Sato?"

Hoshi turned to see Foster, one of the security staff, walking purposefully toward her. "Yes, please," she said gratefully and handed over Torpedo. She was happy to see that Foster seemed at ease with the gray cat. But then, Torpedo was the unofficial mascot of the armory. He and Foster were already acquainted.

Trip, seeing that the situation was under control, gave them with a curt nod and turned to go back to figuring out what was wrong with the warp engine. Hoshi had to make a grab for Warp Core who had started to trot after the chief engineer.

As she scooped up the orange cat, Foster said, "Lieutenant Reed said you might need some help."

Malcolm must feel partially responsible for this mess, too, she realized. Their tactical officer was well aware of Torpedo's penchant for roaming, and although he'd voiced his reservations about it, he hadn't insisted she keep the cats locked up. Yet. Even the other day, when Torpedo had shown up on the bridge, Malcolm had said he'd give Torpedo another chance. But the cats had pretty much blown that chance today. She wouldn't be surprised if they were destined to being confined for the duration of their stay.

"I appreciate you taking time from your duties to help with this," she said to Foster as they made their way to the same hatch through which she had entered engineering.

"No problem," Foster said, standing aside to allow her to exit first, "but I was off duty."

"Of course," Hoshi said dryly. Since Malcolm was on the bridge right now, it made perfect sense that he'd send one of his men to help, but not one who was on duty. That was so Malcolm.

They were about halfway down the corridor to the turbolift when it happened. A section of the corridor's wall seemed to shimmer, then resolidify. Hoshi's grasp on Warp Core tightened as she caught a glimpse of iridescent color before the wall returned to its normal dull grayish shade.

Next to her, Foster inhaled sharply. He'd spotted it, too. He dropped Torpedo, who landed on the deck with a grunt. Faster than Hoshi could see, one of Foster's hands went to his hip where he had a phase pistol clipped to his uniform. She was suddenly glad that Malcolm had sent one of his staff to help her, and an armed one at that.

"What was that?" Foster asked.

Hoshi had seen the weird shimmering before. It had been on Enterprise's very first mission when they were taking a wounded Klingon back to his homeworld. She'd been in sickbay, trying to translate the Klingon's nonsensical rantings, when the power had gone out and sickbay had been plunged into darkness. After they'd found some flashlights and had turned them on, she'd caught a glimpse of shifting colors that had seemed to move along a wall.

"That," she said, "is what a Suliban who can blend in with its surroundings looks like when he's moving."