Chapter 18

Escape

The news that the Romulan weapon worked regardless of whether a ship had Vesuvian dilithium or not shook down Alec's confidence a few levels. Until then they had the luxury of time, but ut had been taken away like latinum leaving the hands of an unwise Ferengi. It occupied his mind such that he didn't recall the guards moving the three of them to a holding cell. 535 of his fellow officers had been killed when the U.S.S. Falcon was destroyed. It angered him more than finding out Sela had had the Travioli destroyed. Level six.

For the first time since starting his journey, he had begun to lose hope. They were prisoners in a giant spacefaring fortress almost twice the size of the Enterprise, no way off, no way of contacting help, and a significantly diminished timetable for stopping a holocaust. The idea of his children living under Romulan rule triggered his resolve. He would rather die than let that happen. He was disgusted at himself for even thinking about giving up. And his parents would be disappointed in him as well.

After he was thrown rather roughly to the floor of the holding cell his restrained hands were freed. Pulling them from behind his back he saw they were not actually free. There was a mechanism that connected the shackles at the wrist. It had simply been deactivated and would no doubt be reconnected the moment someone was going to enter the cell. He checked on Rene and Ty'brel who had both been temporarily released from their restraints.

There was no door in the archway, a light buzz from a forcefield emanated from it instead. Alec didn't even go near it. He had heard that Romulan forcefields not only contained but also caused excruciating pain. Enough of that had been experienced in the past week.

A low groan in the corner of the cell revealed the presence of someone else. None of them had bothered to look around before.

Alec snapped his head around in the direction of the noise. He blinked several times then rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining things. They shared their cell with Sha'Gra, who seemed to be teetering on the edge of consciousness.

"President Sha'Gra!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side with Ty'brel close behind.

She had looked better. It appeared that she hadn't slept or gotten a decent meal in days. Alec helped her prop herself against the wall. She still had not opened her eyes, perhaps lacking the energy. There were two strange looking devices attached to her forehead on adjacent sides. Alec recognized them as Romulan mind probes. They were used during interrogations to extract information from a subject's stored memory. It was typically not a very pleasurable experience. Alec was subjected to a Borg variation of them when he was in the hands of the Collective.

He held her shoulders and jostled her gently. "Sha'Gra."

Sha'Gra's eyes fluttered lightly as she groaned once again. She fixed her eyes on Alec. "I know you." she said weakly but firmly. "You're from the Enterprise. Commander... Wilson. What are you doing here?"

I've been wondering that myself lately. "That's a long story. But I'm here with an old acquaintance of yours."

Sha'Gra closed her eyes and shook her head, jarring herself further into consciousness. Her eyes widened when she looked next to Alec and saw her fellow Vesuvian. "Ty'brel? Is that you? I... Everyone thought you were dead."

"That's a popular theme these days." said Alec.

"Where have you been?"

"That's a longer story than our friend's here. I'm glad to see you're alive, however."

"I don't feel like it." she said, easing her sitting position.

"How long have you been here?" asked Alec. He didn't want to seem rude, the more information they had the better.

"I don't know exactly." Sha'Gra held her face in her hands. She jumped slightly upon feeling the mind probes on her head but calmed down when she remembered what they were. "I do know that they've had me ever since I left the signing ceremony to get some fresh air."

"Eight days." revealed Alec.

"Only eight?" Her eyes shot wide open. That appeared to be the shock to her system needed to fully wake her. "It felt like a lot longer."

"I know what you mean." said Alec as he crouched. "Can you recall what happened?"

"Most of it." she said, holding her forehead. "Although some of it's a little vague. My personal guard was escorting me to the outside when we were attacked. Two Romulans came around a corner and fired their weapons. My guards fell. Then, a third Romulan appeared. This is where I don't know if I was hallucinating or not, but the Romulan turned into me!"

The changeling. "You weren't hallucinating, Madame President. It was a changeling. A shapeshifter."

"You mean, like the ones that led the Dominion? It was a... A Founder?"

"Not officially. It was more of a late bloomer. What happened next?"

"One of the Romulans grabbed me while the other tore my necklace from my neck and gave it to the other me. They took me to a hidden door that leads to a set of underground caverns. The other me needed my necklace in order to open the door. It mimicked my voice and spoke the passcode before dropping it on the floor."

"Why would they leave it there deliberately?" asked Ty'brel.

"To leave a trail for us to follow." answered Alec. "Please continue."

"The rest is just a jumble. I remember being carried through a wall of rock into a room with computers. Then I'm in a room being looked at by two Romulans. One's a man, the other a woman with yellow hair. Even now I don't know what was wrong with me."

"I do. Do you remember that glass of water you drank?"

"Yes." she replied, looking puzzled. "Why?"

"Someone, I'm guessing Bru'Dan, knew you were going to need it, and spiked your supply in the room with salt."

"Bru'Dan?" she exclaimed, completely off guard.

"Yes, Madame President." said Ty'brel. He knew what she was going through. It was a huge blow to find out you were betrayed by someone you had trusted. "He has been conspiring with the Romulans for years in an effort to dominate the quadrant."

"I always knew he was ambitious." said Sha'Gra. "But I never suspected this."

"Well," said Alec, looking back at Rene, who was watching the archway of the cell for incoming guards. "He won't be doing much conspiring anymore. The yellow haired Romulan woman had him killed. Apparently they no longer needed ties to your people."

"Then why don't they kill me now?"

"They must have something in store for us." There was one final question on Alec's mind. "Do you know why they kept you alive until now?"

"That I do know." she said, nodding. "They wanted the locations of our mining planets. That's what these are for." Sha'Gra touched the mind probes.

"They don't know where they are, do they?" asked Ty'brel worriedly."

"No. But they managed to get the codes needed to bring them-" she stopped, looking at Alec.

"It's okay." he said. "Ty'brel filled me in."

"They have the codes needed to bring the planets out of subspace."

"That's still bad though, isn't it?" asked Rene.

"Yes," said Alec. "But a key is no good if you can't find the lock. You'd think that after this long they'd have found everything they were after with the mind probe."

"I overheard them say that their technology would take longer because it didn't have much experience with my race. I also know that using these things on me wasn't the original idea. Apparently I'm some sort of backup."

"Makes sense." said Alec.

"Are you condoning this?" asked a surprised Ty'brel.

"No, but I understand it. If Bru'Dan had taken over like they had originally planned he would have gained access to the locations and passcodes to all mining planets. But Sela needed a contingency plan in case that didn't happen. Her being alive is proof he failed. Truth is, she's alive because of Sela's lack of faith in Bru'Dan."

Sha'Gra was considering calling on the Starfleet man's service if she ever made it back to Vesuvia. She needed a person with deductive reasoning and a cunning intellect on her staff. "You said this shapeshifter wasn't one of the Founders. What is it then?"

"A misguided child." said Alec. "Sela's adoptive son or daughter. Who knows how corrupted it's become because of her."

"You sympathize with it?" asked Ty'brel.

"It only knows what it's been taught. To them it's only a pet. I doubt they even rate it that highly. If it were up to me, I'd take it home. I think a former chief of security will be pleased to see it."

"You know where it's home planet is?" asked Sha'Gra.

"No, but I know someone who does." he said, referring to Colonel Kira. "I think she'd be willing to share its location in this case."

More than a day went by with them in the hands of the Romulan masterminds. Their meals left much to be desired. What they couldn't finish they gave to Sha'Gra, who had grown accustomed to the food. She needed the strength anyway.

Alec had hoped to attempt an escape when their meals were brought to them but their restraints were reconnected as he had suspected they would be. He did not know where they would have gone if they had pulled off such a thing but improvisation was one of his talents.

There was nothing they could do but just sit and conserve their energy for whatever they would end up doing. Alec had no ideas but he would have to think of one fast.

He was just beginning to doze when the movement of his wrists coming together jarred him awake. Someone was coming in momentarily. The deactivation of the buzzing forcefield was followed by the entrance of a solitary Romulan carrying a tray with four dishes. The man looked like an average Romulan to Alec, save for one difference: There was something that he couldn't put his finger on. The man had an almost trustworthy quality to his face.

"You guys need to vary your menu." said Alec as the Romulan set down the tray next to him. "I could smell that through the forcefield."

"Listen carefully." said the Romulan. He seemed genuinely concerned, but that only made Alec more wary. "There isn't much time. Not long from now another guard will arrive to take you to interrogation."

"And interrupt our meal?" said Alec jokingly. He wasn't buying the apparent honesty. "That's rude."

"There isn't time for distrust, Commander." said the Romulan, more urgently than before.

"What do you want?"

"To help you."

Bullshit. "Why?"

"Not all of my people want to see the Federation destroyed. Some of us want peace."

I have no doubt of that, but are you really one of them? Alec needed a little more to go on before he placed trust in this man. "Funny thing I've learned about your people, try not to take it personally, but you have the tendency to mislead."

The Romulan showed no sign that he took offense. "I understand your apprehension, Commander, but it is misplaced. Think about it. We have the ability to destroy any starship powered by dilithium with the push of a button. What possible thing would we have to gain by misleading you?"

Good point. But... "Then why are we going to be interrogated?"

Their server was apparently embarrassed by the question. "Since when have my people needed a valid reason to interrogate someone?"

Another good point. "Who are you?"

The Romulan glanced at the archway, checking for possible eavesdroppers. "I am an operative of Spock's underground movement."

"Who?" asked Sha'Gra.

"One of Starfleet's most famous and important figures." Alec did not expect that. If this man truly intended on helping them they were very fortunate. Based on what he knew, he decided to give the man the benefit of the doubt. "You know the right people. What are you doing on this ship?"

"When rumours first arose about Sela's reemergence, Ambassador Spock sent three of us to try and infiltrate her plans. Only recently did we learn of Tomalak's involvement. What I'm going to tell you next must be passed along to your government. Sela and Tomalak are acting outside the will of the Praetor. The general Romulan military has no knowledge of what they're doing."

I guess I can't hold too much of a grudge against your people anymore. "Understood. There are three of you on board?"

"No, I'm alone on this vessel. One of us went missing and is presumed dead. The third is on the weapon ship. It was she who sabotaged it and allowed it to be detected. It is unfortunate one of your ships was lost. But it was not in vain. We now know we have to expedite our efforts in stopping them."

"How?" asked Alec.

"This Warbird and the weapon ship must be destroyed. By now the captain of the weapon ship will have most likely discovered the engines were sabotaged. She would not dare try again, there's too much risk of her being discovered. But we know where the ship is going next. A planet called Chevris I."

Alec did not recognize the name, but Ty'brel and Sha'Gra did. Their expressions left little to the imagination. "What's wrong?"

"That's one of our mining planets." answered Ty'brel. "The one Bru'Dan used to be assigned to."

"My god." said Alec in horror as he reached the same realization as Ty'brel and Sha'Gra. "You said the mining planets have cores of pure dilithium. What would happen if they deployed the weapon on a planetary scale?"

Ty'brel knew enough to theorize. "A chain reaction would spread through the veins of dilithium. All the way to the core. Chevris would be destroyed."

"How many people are on Chevris?" asked Alec.

"One million, the last time I checked." said Sha'Gra, almost in tears.

"This cannot be allowed to happen." said Ty'brel, his hands in fists.

"We can't do anything from in here."

"That's why I'm here." said the Romulan. "When the guard arrives to take you away we'll use that opportunity to free you."

"I have an idea." said Alec with a devilish grin. He could have kicked himself for not having thought of it sooner.

"Be ready." said the Romulan as he prepared to leave. "I'll be right behind him."

Picard was growing weary of the day after day waiting for President Vindor to contact them. The new Vesuvian leader was conferencing with his personal staff on the best way to proceed. Picard dreaded the thought that they would choose to further what they already had with the Romulan Empire. There was one thing he was certain of. To have gotten a hidden command post underneath the Presidential Forum, the Romulans would have needed help from an inside source. Ambassador Jobra was not a candidate, given Counselor Troi's assurances. Vindor had been a suspect at first, but the belief was discredited due to the amount of time it was taking him and his staff to reach a decision. Unless he was putting on a show for their benefit, one would think the Enterprise would have been hailed much sooner. With all the security access he possessed, Picard suspected Bru'Dan, but there was no current way to prove it.

Edwards was bored as hell. He just wanted something to happen. Anything would have been preferable to sitting there. He would have much rather been on board the Falcon at the moment, at least they were probably seeing some action. Next time a friend went off on their on on some wild tangent he'd have to make a point to go along.

"Open a subspace channel to the Falcon, Lieutenant." said Picard as if reading Edward's mind. "I'd like an update on their progress."

"Aye, sir." acknowledged Edwards. "The viewscreen or your ready room?"

"The viewscreen will be suffiecient, Lieutenant. Thank you."

Edwards couldn't believe he had just tried ingratiating himself with Picard. Alec's fate with the service had not yet been determine and he found himself vying for the man's job. He shook his head in shame and did as he was ordered.

He brought up the long range sensor display to pinpoint the Falcon's position via her transponder signal. The extent of his confusion was no doubt felt by Counselor Troi. There was no sign of the Falcon on sensors. He ran another sweep just to be sure but was again met with negative results. There was no trace of her transponder.

"Captain," he said. "I can't locate the Falcon."

"Is she out of sensor range?" asked Riker.

"I don't think so, sir." said Edwards as he accused the scientific sensors to augment his previous scan.

"What was her last known position?" asked Picard.

"Approximately thirty minutes from the Neutral Zone."

Edwards' augmented scan beeped upon completion it yielded results that were not positive in the least. "Captain, I'm picking up trace radiation in the coordinates the Romulan ship was going to cross. I'm sorry, sir. It could only have come from the warp core breach of a Federation ship."

Riker's blood boiled as he matched sorrowful glances with Picard. They had all lost enough comrades and friends during the war. Now it appeared the Romulans had began taking more.

Picard believed he had his fill of waiting. No more. It was time to execute the discretion which Admiral Nechayev had granted him. "Hail the Emissary."

Janeway's look of curiosity only made Picard's job worse. "What can we do for you, Enterprise?"

"Captain," began Picard morbidly. Announcing the death of a fellow officer was never easy. It was one of those things that got harder the more it was done. "I regret to inform you we have evidence that suggests the Falcon has suffered a warp core breach."

The sorrow Troi felt coming from the Emissary was not Janeway's alone, but that of her entire bridge crew. It was hard for her to handle all at once with her own to deal with.

"I see." replied an otherwise speechless Janeway. "What is it we can do?"

"I've decided to take the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone. I want you to investigate the coordinates my tactical officer will transmit shortly. We detected curious readings there on our journey to Vesuvia and have thus far been unable to investigate them ourselves. We'll return to Vesuvia once our tasks are completed."

"Understood. We'll get underway immediately. Good luck, Captain."

"And to you as well."

"Transmitting coordinates." said Edwards as the comlink closed.

"Course laid in, Captain." said McClary, anticipating his order.

Picard thanked his luck for the efficiency of his officers. "Engage."

They ate as much as they could before again handing the remainder over to Sha'Gra, who took it without hesitation.

Rene on the other hand, ate the least of the four. She proclaimed to be waiting for the replicator back on the Enterprise. Alec couldn't blame her in the least, but he ate regardless. If he were to be doing anything physical in the near future he'd need all the energy he could get.

Alec explained to Sha'Gra how he managed to get caught in the middle of everything. The necklace that led them to the cavern, firing on the Jem'Hadar that changed into her in the darkness of the cave, the use of a Starfleet phaser to kill her guard, the placing of the bounty on his head by the extremists, and is investigation of the cave that led to the command post and the subsequent discovery of Ty'brel's location. Tasmith, Bru'Dan, Sela's past, he included all he could.

"So," said Sha'Gra, putting the pieces together. "They lead you to believe you've killed me. The point of which was to either have you turn yourself over because of guilt or go off on your own when you found out it was orchestrated. They then use this bounty hunter to bring you in and use your capture in their name to bring their world and mine closer together."

"It may not have worked out exactly as they planned it, but I got sucked in. They did it all for nothing though, they never needed a scapegoat. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing how much time they wasted."

"I can't eat this stuff anymore." called Rene as she threw her dish across the cell. That was the signal. She was letting Alec know someone was coming.

Not that he needed a notice, as his restraints reconnecting would tell him when a guard was approaching but a few more seconds to put his plan in action were helpful. Upon hearing Rene's warning he placed his hands behind his back and began to work the phaser out of his shirt's inner cuff. Once it was free he closed his palm around it and waited.

The forcefield came down and in entered the guard. It was the same one that had struck him earlier. Alec could not have been happier. The guard was immediately followed by Spock's operative, who nodded at Alec.

The guard came over to him. "You will come with me."

He fired his phaser but spoke at the same time to cover up the discharge sound. "You guys are really pushy you know that?"

"Do not test me, human." The guard stepped closer.

Just a little more. "You're pretty tough with that disruptor." said Alec as he stood up.

The guard looked down at his sidearm. He then removed it from the holster and flung it at the operative who caught it and shot Alec an inquisitive look.

Alec gave his head an almost unnoticeable shake, but he was confident the operative saw it, they were trained to notice things. He hadn't even put his eyes back on the guard when he reeled from a blow. The man likes his backhands. Strike two.

"If you were a gentleman you'd let me have a turn. Touch me again and I'll kill you." Alec stood there firmly, and prepared for what was next.

The guard did not laugh. Nor did he use a backhand. He balled his fist and swung at Alec who was thrown back half a step by the blow. The guard was shocked and disappointed that Alec had not been thrown clear off his feet. He had given his best punch.

Alec grinned and made his move. Having separated his restraints with the phaser he reached out with his free left hand and grabbed the guard by the shoulder and threw his right fist directly into the guard's neck, crushing his windpipe. The Romulan choked and wheezed as he fell to his knees, grasping his throat.

The operative dropped the disruptor he was thrown and rushed to side of the dying guard. His intention was not to render aid, but rather he took a small device from the fallen man's enclosed hand. He held it out at the others. Their restraints came completely loose and fell to the floor.

"How long were you free?" asked the operative, still surprised.

"About thirty seconds after you came in."

"I don't understand." The operative paused as the guard let out a final wheeze. "You could have stopped him at any time. Why did you let him hit you?"

"I wanted him to think he was doing well." said Alec as he set the phaser back to stun. "I hate for people to die embarrassed. Shall we go?"

The operative shot him a look of bewilderment before pulling the disruptor from his holster. "This way."

Ty'brel followed directly behind the operative. He picked up the discarded disruptor on the floor. Sha'Gra stayed close behind him with Rene after her and Alec taking up the rear. He kept his phaser at the ready as they followed the operative through the corridors.

"Won't somebody see us?" asked Ty'brel.

"No. Aside from the holding cell this section of the ship is unoccupied." The operative led them through several more hallways. It wasn't a starship to Alec, it was a labyrinth with warp drive.

"Where are we going?" asked Alec, taking a precautionary look over his shoulder.

"The launch bay." The operative opened a door and stepped to the ladder before him. He began climbing up.

"Can't take me too long to learn how to pilot one of your shuttles." Alec kept watch and waited until everyone was on the ladder before climbing up himself.

"You're not using one of our shuttles." called down the operative. "You're using yours."

Alec almost stopped climbing upon hearing the Travioli was still in one piece. "I thought Sela had it destroyed."

"She wanted you to believe that so you wouldn't try to escape. They were going to turn you over to the Vesuvian government along with your shuttle."

"Smart move on her part. If I had known she was lying I probably would have tried something. Serves me right for trusting her."

The remainder of the climb was silent and relatively fast. Once the operative reached a certain level he stepped onto the platform. He removed a canteen from the inside of his uniform and took a drink before handing it to Ty'brel, who in turn handed it to Sha'Gra. She handed it to Rene who did not appear as tired as expected. She credited her sessions in the Enterprise gym for staying in shape.

Alec stood on the platform and accepted the canteen from his wife. "Darn, was hoping it was Romulan Ale."

"Sorry," said the operative, laughing for the first time since they met him. "Water seemed better at the time. We should get moving."

"Can we rest here a minute?" asked Ty'brel, who had just moments ago went from gasping to heavy breathing.

"Our friend is right." said Alec as he passed the canteen back to the operative, who caught it effortlessly. "The sooner we're off this ship the better. The second they know we're not where we're supposed to be they're going to start looking for us."

The operative nodded at Alec and pressed a button along the wall which opened the adjacent door. Their guide took a look into the corridor before waving for them to follow. The group exited in the same order as before.

Alec didn't know why he placed such trust in the man who was helping them. Maybe it was the mention of Ambassador Spock, maybe it was the honesty in his eyes; a genuine drive to do what was right, maybe it was because Alec was a natural born risk taker. Or, and this is the most likely possibility to him, it was because in the grand scheme of things they had little else to lose.

"The launch bay is just around this corner." said the operative, pointing ahead.

Their guide stuck his head around the corner for a quick peak. He held out a flat palm to them, telling them to stop before pointing a single finger at Alec and waving him up. Alec was impressed, the operative had done it all without turning around. Similar training was a logical explanation.

"What's going on?" asked Alec as he neared.

"Two guards." said the operative, turning to face them. "They're at the door to the launch bay. I could use your assistance in... relieving them of duty."

"I like your choice of words." said Alec. "But surely your training would include how to handle two armed guards at once."

"Five." said the operative. "But we should leave nothing to chance. Two guards, two of us."

"Agreed." said Alec after thinking a moment. "How do we do this?"

The operative removed the disruptor from his holster. "Put your hands behind your back and follow my lead."

It was a classic ruse, and Alec loved it. He did as he was told and looked back at Rene, smiling. "See you in a minute."

She smiled back at him, but there was no hiding the worry in her eyes.

Alec stepped in front of the operative and in a moment felt the firing end of a disruptor in his back. I'd really appreciate it if you don't fire that by accident. He stepped around the corner and was pushed forward by the operative, allowing himself to stumble for good effect. The two guards were directly ahead. They looked very surprised at his sudden appearance.

"Move it, human." said the operative. A good show had to be put on for the guards if they were going to buy it, and he didn't want to leave any doubts.

"Halt!" said the guard on the left, who put his hand on his disruptor in unison with his partner.

"Excuse me," said the operative. He gave Alec an extra push as he stopped. "I was just posted here last week. I was taking this human filth to interrogation and I somehow managed to get lost."

"Veruul." said the guard on the left. It was the only Romulan curse word that Alec knew.

"I may have gotten lost," said the operative with genuine anger. "But I am still a senior centurion. And you will give me the proper respect, Junior Subcenturion."

One of the reasons that made Alec glad he wasn't in the Romulan Guard was the ranks. They got confusing.

"Yes, sir." said the now obsequious guard.

"I'll see to it he's disciplined, Senior Centurion. Interrogation is four decks down."

"You heard him." said the operative. "Move!"

A hard shove to the back sent Alec forward and told him it was time to act. Looks of amusement turned to surprise as Alec brought his hands out from behind his back. He clutched the one on the right around the head underneath his shoulder and used his other hand to grab the second guard by the scruff of the neck, sending him towards the operative. Alec spun to his right with his opponent still in his grip and drove his head into the door behind him. He released his grip and brought his right elbow down on the guard's back, who then slumped to the floor.

Alec put his attention back on the operative. The other guard lay at his feet. "Why didn't you fire?"

"The internal sensors may not have detected your weapon but they would have detected mine."

Alec went back to the group to let them know it was safe to come out into the open. He squeezed Rene's hand and hurried her to the launch bay door where the operative was busy gaining access.

"I hope you won't set off any security alerts trying to open that." said Alec, his wife at his side.

"No, my access codes will allow you entry without setting off the security grid."

"You mean allow 'us.'"

With one final push of a button the door opened, revealing a launch bay twice as large as the main shuttlebay on the Enterprise.

"This is where we part ways. Someone has to disable the engines, sensors, and weapons. I am the only one that can."

Alec didn't try to argue, it would have been futile. If they were to escape undetected, undamaged, and without pursuit, someone would have to sabotage the ship. He didn't have time to learn the internal schematics of a Warbird, and he was the only of the four with the necessary skills to pull off the task.

"I thank you for your help." said Alec, holding out his hand. It was something he never thought he'd do to a Romulan. "I hope you don't plan on spewing some Vulcan saying like 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.'"

"'Or the one?'" The operative took Alec's hand, he was familiar with that particular human custom. "Not today. But it's time for what Ambassador Spock called 'cowboy diplomacy.' When you're clear of the ship, head for Chevris as fast as you can."

Their guide turned and left. Alec was looking at a Romulan version of himself. The man was likely trading his life for theirs so countless billions would live in freedom for generations to come. He admired the courage and hoped that should he be faced with it he would be able to do the same thing. But at the same time he hoped he would never have to.

The launch bay was immense. It was large enough to store a Miranda-Class starship and still have room for more. There had to be at least thirty shuttles waiting for their next venture. Alec would have loved to have taken a closer look at one of them but time did not permit. He did not want to be outside the shuttle when the bay began to decompress and even less so when the launch door opened.

The Travioli was as easy to pick out as white in a field of black. It sat alone next to the launch door, and she had never looked prettier.

"Hello, old friend."

Alec ran his hand along her hull as he came next to it. His stomach churned when he saw burn marks in her skin. Nobody fired on them, so where did these wounds come from? There was only one explanation in his head that made sense. Once the Travioli was brought on board, a hand disruptor was used to scorch the hull in order to make it appear she had been in a fight.

"What's wrong?" asked Rene upon hearing his groan.

"My poor girl."

Rene looked where his attention was focused and scoffed. "Oh, Alec. She can be fixed up."

"I know," he said, looking for more scorch marks. "But it's the principle of the thing."

He found two more wounds on the shuttle's hull. None were too severe. They could all be repaired within twenty minutes of being worked on. Alec equipped his phaser and selected an appropriate setting before going to the nearest Romulan shuttle. The sound of his weapon discharging made the others jump. Sparks flew off of the shuttle's hull as he cut a series of shapes into her side. He chuckled at the final result.

"Let's go." he said cheerfully.

Ty'brel stared open mouthed at Alec as he walked by. "Was that necessary?"

"Yes."

Rene looked curiously at the marks in the hull of the Romulan shuttle. They were too exact to be random. "What do they mean?"

"It's Romulan. It says 'an eye for an eye.'"

Alec walked to the port side of the Travioli. The main hatch was open. he was about to step up the hull and enter when something out of the ordinary caught his eye. A container roughly a third of a meter in height stood erect next to the nacelle. It looked like a deuterium canister, at least whatever the Romulan equivalent was. The question of what it was doing next to the Travioli was raised. He knelt down to get a closer look but he didn't get the chance. He had barely rested his arm on his bent knee when the canister began to liquefy.

He could have sworn that he jumped back six feet. "Everybody stay back!" His phaser was pointed directly at the brownish puddle that now lay where the canister had been. Alec recognized the sound he heard when the canister began to change. It was the oozing noise from the cave. They were in the presence of the changeling.

Ty'brel gathered the women behind him and took position a safe distance away from the changeling. He held the disruptor steady on the Romulan's pet.

Alec felt the sweat already begin to drip down his temple. As much as he wanted to avoid an altercation with Tasmith, a confrontation with a changeling ranked even higher on the list of things he would rather not do.

He took two more steps back as the center of the puddle began to rise upward. The protuberance rounded out and took a headlike shape as it rose. next came a torso, complete with arms and legs. A full body had formed, but without features. It looked like a figure made of brown liquid.

The liquid began to solidify and take on more detail as the brown took a flesh coloured tone. Hair appeared on the head. It was black and close cut. A nose sprouted from the face and above it formed a ridged eyeline. Alec paid close attention to the awaited ears, which as he suspected were pointed.

He felt helpless with his phaser. If the changeling wanted it could disarm him and Ty'brel with almost no effort. The fact that it hadn't yet showed that it was confident in its ability to do so.

"Don't shoot." said the changeling from its newly formed mouth.

"I won't unless you give me a reason." said Alec, his arm not moving an inch.

"I'm not here to hurt you."

Alec eased up a little, and only a little. "Well, I don't want to sound like I don't trust you, but... I can't think of how to finish that. I don't trust you."

The changeling held up its hands. "I understand. But I can give you two reasons to believe me. If I wanted to stop you, do you really think you would still be armed, or conscious?"

"Reason two?"

"I was watching you in the holding cell, when the guard came in and discussed your escape. I heard everything. I could have warned Sela and Tomalak. But I didn't."

Alec eased up a little more. He lowered his phaser, but stayed ready to fire it if necessary. "Alright, now that our mutual good intentions have been established, what do you want?"

The changeling lowered its hands. "Take me with you."

Alec almost dropped his phaser. "Why would you want to go with us?"

"You said that if it were up to you, you'd take me home to my own people. Did you mean that?"

I wouldn't lie to my own people. "Yes, I did. Why don't you want to stay with Sela?'

"Sela showed me things I never would have seen if it had not been for her. Things both good and bad. And I will always be grateful for that. But I don't share her views."

"Then why did you help her?" asked Ty'brel, his disruptor still at the ready.

"Because she had answers for me. About what I am and where I came from. Have you ever felt that? Not knowing who or what you are? It's lonely and I didn't want to feel that way. I doubt you would either."

Alec put his phaser away, he wouldn't be needing it. "And now you have a way to get more answers."

The changeling nodded. "If you take me to my people, I will learn more about myself than Sela could ever teach me. And that is far more appealing than the death and destruction of billions.

Allies came in all forms. Now that number reached unparalleled heights. What the hell. "Welcome aboard. Wipe your feet and don't bang your head on the archway."

"Thank you." said the changeling. "I-"

The appreciation of their latest ally was overshadowed by a loud klaxon in the launch bay as well as a noticeable drop in air pressure. The bay was depressurizing. The door would open shortly.

"Everyone in the shuttle now!"

The sternness of his tone left little doubts as to the urgency. One after one, everyone sped through the hatch into the shuttle. Once Alec was inside he sealed the hatch and let out a deep breath that he didn't even know he was holding.

"Computer! Begin pre-launch sequence!"

The engines hummed to life and illuminated the perimeter of the shuttle with a red and blue glow. The helm console displayed the status of the impulse and warp drive systems. Both were in normal parameters. Before doing anything else, he slid over to the auxiliary console and entered the command for a precautionary measure.

He couldn't help but go back to a week before. He was back in the Enterprise shuttlebay preparing to make a similar kind of escape. And he was sure Rene shared in the deja vu.

The launch door began to go up. Alec looked at which direction the stars were flying. Until that moment he had no idea whether or not this launch bay was located at the bow or stern of the Warbird. One or the other would dictate how the shuttle would exit the bay. The stars were flying away from them. An aft exit was preferable as the factor of speed wasn't an issue. If they had exited from the front of the ship and weren't going at an equal or higher warp factor in relation to the Warbird, they would have been overtaken and crushed as soon as they cleared the intertial dampning field.

There was no forcefield to wait for so as soon as the door was open enough for the Travioli to clear safely, Alec set the speed for twenty kilometers per hour and engaged the thrusters.

His calculations were a little off. As the Travioli flew underneath the door they heard the screeching of metal on metal and a shuddering that shook them in their seats.

"Oops." he said, hoping to curb any uneasiness. There were no comments countering his attempt.

Alec's decision to increase power to structural integrity before leaving the launch bay was well warranted as they experienced substantial shearing upon clearing the Warbird. The stress caused by such a sudden decrease in velocity had the potential to tear the ship apart. Once the shearing had ceased and they all sat unjostled, he reduced speed to zero. He immediately brought the ship around and set course for Chevris.

"What now?" asked Rene.

"Now?" Alec replied. "Time to stop the Apocalypse."