***The Hills of Time***
***by George Pollock, Jr.***

***Chapter 13***
***Treasures and Trouble***

   He looks like someone's idea of a male, Patty thought.
   A partial idea. As if his features aren't finished ...
   As if his brown uniform were painted on -- almost part of his body.
   "Odd-o" was his name. She had overheard Doctor Beverly of Earth -- who had 
escorted them to what appeared to be a conference room with large windows -- 
call him that while they were talking. Then the male captain had come in, and 
the meeting started. The captain was seated at the head of the conference 
table, surrounded by his officers, Odd-o and the Solnoids.
   Then there was the other strange male: The one with the darkish skin and 
hair. And hair on his face. And eyebrows that arched away from his brow.
   And a forehead with bony ridges.
   Bizarre ...
   He wore a sash of linked metal, and his eyes seemed to always be looking 
around, as if for predators.
   Or was it prey?
   His name was "Warp." Or so she thought.
   And, of course, there was the gold-skinned android, Commander Data. The 
one that Catty was sitting next to. The one that Catty had seemingly gone out 
of her way to sit next to ...
   But Patty wasn't sure.
   She turned toward the younger, more-Solnoid males. One was tall and 
muscular, with bright, mischievous eyes, black hair -- and hair on his pink 
face, too.
   How do they do that? Patty thought.
   His name was "Number One." She was quite certain of that. She had heard 
the male captain call him that clearly several times.
   The other male had skin with the brownness of choca, her favorite candy. 
Slightly darker than Warp's. He had tight, curly black hair and blue eyes. 
His name was "Mister Lafford."
   She was quite certain about that, too.
   But how did his skin get to be that color ...?
   Weird ...
   Mother, Patty thought ...
   The color ...
   I haven't have choca in so long ...
   The male captain coughed slightly in midsentence.
   "As I started to say, I accept your apology, Captain Ortiz," Picard said, 
"and please understand I realize that this ordeal was traumatic for you all."
   "Thank you, Captain," Eluza said, seated halfway down the table. "On 
behalf of my crew and myself, I thank you and your crew for rescuing us."
   Picard nodded. "You are welcome to learn more about us, but I must outline 
some things for all of you: First, as I told you, we are at war. This ship is 
at yellow alert and will remain so for the duration of this mission. That 
mission is a parley with our enemies in their space."
   "Wish we had done more of those, ourselves ...," Eluza sighed.
   "You and your crew are our guests, but I must ask that you respect all 
restricted areas of the ship. No interference with the operation of this 
vessel will be tolerated. Is that clear?"
   The Solnoid captain nodded. "Of course. That is what I would expect, if 
you were on my ship. My entire crew ..." And she glanced directly at Lufy, 
across the table. "... will honor your restrictions."
   Arms crossed, Lufy emitted the tiniest indignant huff she was capable of. 
Then she looked away.
   At the male with the ridged forehead. She had noticed him when the 
Solnoids entered.
   He looks tough, the Attacker thought.
   Wonder if he is ...
   But I won't go lookin' for trouble ...
   I promised Swabby I wouldn't ...
   At that, she looked over at Rabby and smiled.
   The redhead was distracted from the captains' talk for a moment and 
glanced back at Lufy. She saw the blonde's smile and returned it.
   Damn, Lufy thought, I love that gal.
   Rabby returned to listening to the male captain. He had a pleasant, 
slightly accented voice with a rich timbre. Full of confidence and ... 
compassion, she thought. 
   She could listen to him for hours ...
   "It is imperative that we get under way again," Picard said. "We were 
given only 24 hours' leeway to get to our destination. And we were told that 
our progress would be monitored. I can only assume that the Dominion already 
knows we've stopped here."
   Eluza nodded. "I understand, Captain. But if what Lieutenant Shoumen says 
is true, the auxiliary CPU on the Star Leaf could answer the one question my 
crew wants to know -- how much time has passed since our last conscious 
hours."
   "Every minute that we remain here," Worf said, "puts us at risk. It is 
well enough that we found you alive, Captain Ortiz."
   "Not everyone was alive ...," Lufy growled. 
   The Klingon nodded. "Granted. I stand corrected. But my opinion remains."
   "I don't know, Worf," LaForge ventured. "If I were frozen up, I'd want to 
know how long Rip Van LaForge had been asleep ..."
   Patty squinted in confusion. Wharf? La-Forj?
   I must have heard those wrong, she thought ...
   "Who's 'Rip Van' ... whoever?" Rabby asked.
   "A reference to an ancient Earth tale, Commander," Riker explained, "about 
a man who slept for 20 years, awoke and was surprised to find how much his 
world had changed."
   Now Rabby was confused. "Surprised? What else would he expect after 20 
years ...?"
   "Again," Picard interjected gently, "this might a discussion for another 
time. But I can appreciate your position, Captain. I will authorize a quick 
return to your ship to retrieve the device. But it must be as efficient an 
operation as possible. Then we will go."
   The Solnoid commander smiled. "Thank you, Captain."
   "I'd like to volunteer again for the mission," Odo said. "I can function 
the longest in the other ship's current environment."
   Picard shook his head. "Denied, Constable Odo. Now that we are fairly 
certain there's no Dominion presence on the ship, your presence there is no 
longer a tactical necessity. I want you to remain on the Enterprise."
   The changeling nodded once. "Very well."
   Patty blinked. Oh-doh?
   These names change every time ...
   A voice spoke softly. "I'd like to go."
   The assembly turned toward the small woman with the lavender hair.
   "I put the ACPU where it is," Catty noted. "I can retrieve it efficiently."
   "Well ... if Captain Ortiz approves ...," Picard said.
   "I do," Eluza said. "Make it so, Catty."
   Much later, the Solnoids would talk among themselves about the silence 
that followed.
   About the surprised expressions on the faces of their hosts.
   Their muffled chuckles.
   Their glances at Captain Picard.
   And Picard's own smile of surprise and recognition ... 
   ... and ... satisfaction ...
   What did I say? Eluza thought ...
   Data broke the sort-of silence. "I would like to accompany Lieutenant 
Shoumen, Captain. As a fellow android, I could assist her with any physical 
challenges that might occur during the mission."
   "I'd just untie it from a chair ...," Catty observed.
   "That might be so," Picard said, "but I think a team approach is 
advisable, given the condition of your ship. And I want you to go armed, 
Data. Any objections, Captain?"
   "None, Captain," the female commander replied. "A standard precaution, 
going into an unfamiliar environment."
   "Then," the male commander said, "make it so, Data."
   Eluza smirked playfully.
   Stole my best line, she thought ...

*******

   "Hey," Lufy whispered, "can I talk to ya outside for a moment ...?"
   When the Attacker had entered, Catty was almost finished closing her 
environment suit in a room next to the hangar bay. Commander Data was also 
suiting up. Lufy regarded the male android warily as she approached her 
crewmate.
   Catty glanced at Data, who continued fastening his suit. It was clear from 
his puzzled frown that he wondered what the blonde with the shock of green 
hair was doing in this part of the ship.
   The female android turned back to Lufy and nodded succinctly. They went 
into the corridor. "What is it?" Catty asked.
   Lufy studied the white suit that her comrade wore. "Thought ya didn't need 
to stay warm ..."
   "Near absolute, which is the current condition on the Star Leaf bridge, I 
do," Catty explained quickly. "How did you find this area of the ship, Group 
Leader?"
   Lufy shrugged. "Asked this ship's computer where ya were. Guided me with 
lights on the walls. Didja know that the computer here has a Solnoid's voice?"
   Catty's silent expression told the Attacker that the android didn't know. 
And that she didn't particularly care.
   " ... Look ...," Lufy finally continued, then glanced around to check 
whether anyone else was nearby, "... can ya pick up ... something on the ship 
... for me? While you're over there ...?"
   The android was impassive. "I've been told to retrieve the ACPU and return 
with it. That's my duty."
   Then Catty noticed that Lufy was struggling with something in her mind. It 
appeared to be a very difficult struggle. One that seemingly challenged 
everything that Lufy was.
   Finally, she won the struggle.
   "Please ...?" Lufy asked.
   Catty was shocked. 
   Well ...
   First thing for everything ... 
   She sighed, then nodded. "All right ... what ...?"
   "OK," the other woman said, collecting her thoughts, "in Rabby's quarters 
... there might be my Attacker's medal. Somewhere. I know Rabby wants it 
badly, but I know her. She wouldn't think of askin' ya to do something that 
would load down your job ..." 
   She paused. "But I would ... and the crew quarters are just down from the 
bridge ..."
   "Is that all, Group Leader?"
   Lufy thought, then nodded. "Yeah ... there's nothin' on the ship of mine 
... 'cept my fighter ..."
   Catty smiled. "Want me to pick that up, too?"
   Lufy chuckled. "Naw ... just the medal ..."
   "... All right. Shouldn't take too long ..."
   "Thanks. You're OK ..." The Attacker playfully tapped her fist on the 
android's shoulder. "... Fellow composite being ..."
   And with a smile, Lufy turned and disappeared around a corner. Then came a 
muffled exchange of words in the unseen corridor. Words of greeting and 
surprise.
   Catty blinked her gold-colored eyes. 
   Did she actually say, "Please" ...?
   Well ...
   This is a new life ...
   Suddenly, red bars flashed sequentially on the corridor's walls.
   And around the corner, Patty appeared.
   She started in surprise at seeing Catty. After a moment, she approached. 
"I'm glad I caught you before you left," she whispered. "Can I ask a favor of 
you? Please?"
   The difference, the android thought, is that I'd expect "please" from this 
person. "What is it, Lieutenant Commander?"
   The darkhaired woman fumbled for words. "While you're ... back on the ship 
..."
   "What do you want me to retrieve, Commander?"
   Patty was shocked. "How'd you know ...?"
   "You're not the first."
   "Oh ... well ... if you can ... can you please get my video player ...?"
   "To play the images of your child?"
   A sharp inhalation of surprise. "How'd you know that ...?"
   For reasons that weren't entirely clear to Catty, she reached out and took 
Patty's hands gently.
   "I turned it off after you ... fell asleep, Commander," she said fondly. 
"I understand."
   Then -- again, for reasons that weren't entirely clear to Catty -- the 
other woman broke their grasp. 
   And embraced her.
   Well, the android thought ...
   I see why Sensualists like doing this ...
   "Thank you," Patty  whispered.
   With that, she let Catty go and walked around the corner. Then came 
another muffled exchange of words in the unseen corridor. Words of greeting 
and surprise.
   Catty arched her eyebrows.
   Did that embrace really happen ...?
   It was ...
   ... nice ...
   Hmm ...
   Suddenly, red bars flashed sequentially on the corridor's walls.
   And around the corner, Eluza appeared.
   The android rolled her eyes. 
   Oh, honestly ...
   "What do you want me to retrieve, ma'am?"
   The Solnoid captain stopped abruptly in the middle of the hall. 
"Lieutenant?" she asked, sounding slightly indignant at her fellow officer's 
tone.
   The other woman sighed. "I apologize, Captain. I'm suffering from deja vu 
..."
   Eluza considered that. "I'm sorry to hear that, Catty. But since you asked 
... could you get my ... stringphon  ... from my quarters?  I realize ... 
it's a detour from your mission -- and I'd ask you to do it only if you can 
.... and only after you secure the ACPU ..." 
   It was as if Catty were seeing Eluza for the first time. "I wasn't aware 
you played the stringphon, Captain."
   Eluza smiled. "One of my many secrets, Lieutenant. Playing in my quarters 
helped me feel better ... when I was sad ... And I felt sad a lot ... toward 
the end of the war ..."
   The android spoke softly. "I'll get it, ma'am ..."
   Her commander smiled again and nodded. "Thank you ... friend ..."
   And with that, Eluza turned, headed around the corner and was gone.
   Catty waited.
   No muffled conversation. No words of greeting and surprise.
   No sequential red bars flashing on the walls.
   She headed back into the suit-up room. Data was waiting, fully suited and 
holding his helmet. "Is there a problem, Lieutenant?" he asked.
   Catty closed the last of her suit's fasteners and started putting on the 
gloves. "Commander," she said, almost tiredly, "we're going to need a very 
large carrying case ..."

*******

    LaForge was at the engineering station when the turbolift doors opened 
and Picard stepped out. 
   Followed by a small legion of women, all of whom halted in amazement.
   "Welcome to the bridge," Picard told the Solnoids.
   "Mother," Rabby whispered, looking around. "It's like a dream ..."
   "Makes the 'Leaf look like a freighter ...," Patty said quietly.
   "Hmm ..." was all Lufy offered.
   "It's ... very nice, Captain," Eluza finally said, "but I still think of 
my bridge as ... home ..."
   Picard nodded. "As it should feel, Captain. This is my home. And the 
Enterprise itself is home to more than 1,000 people."
   Rabby went wide-eyed. "A thousand?"
   "Including children," Picard noted.
   "Children?" Patty repeated. "Do you have a birthing center on board?"
   Picard thought. "Well ... you could call sickbay that. Starfleet policy is 
to try to keep families together on a single ship."
   "Families?" Lufy asked. "Ya mean, like sisters?" She shot a glance at 
Rabby.
   "I don't know about that," the male captain admitted. "But we have married 
couples and their children aboard."
   To a woman, the Solnoids looked puzzled.
   " 'Married' ...?" Patty inquired.
   "And how do a couple acquire children ...?" Rabby asked.
   Picard took the wisest course he could think of:
   "You might want to ask ... Doctor Crusher ... about those subjects ..." 
   Quickly, he turned and gestured toward the screen. "Would you like to see 
where we found your ship ...?"
   Eluza nodded. "Yes, please, Captain."
   "Ensign," Picard said to a male sitting at a console at the front of the 
bridge, "magnify grid two alpha." He turned back to the Solnoids. "Watch the 
screen, please."
   Instantly, a field of spatial debris magnified on the forward screen. 
Drifting slowly among the detrius was a blue-and-white spaceship. A Starfleet 
shuttlecraft hovered near its narrow bow.
   Eluza stepped forward slowly in silence. It had been a long time since she 
had seen the exterior of her own ship.
   And now she wanted to cry.
   She saw a wreck.
   Battered, broken. Ripped and torn. Missing a wing. Scorched, smashed and 
scarred.
   She saw a corpse.
   She bowed her head.
   She wanted to cry.
   But I can't, she thought ...
   Not here ...
   Not on a stranger's bridge ...
   Not on any bridge ...
   No tears on the bridge ...
   But damn it, Mother ...
   My old friend ...
   ... my ship ...
   ... looks horrible ...
   Damn, I want to cry ...
   She collected herself and looked back up at Picard. "You might not believe 
this, Captain," she said, trying to smile, "but ... it was a good ship ..."
   The male captain nodded knowingly. And kindly. "I believe it, Captain 
Ortiz."
   Eluza felt hands touch her arms gently. She looked around.
   Patty and Rabby were by her side.
   Where they belonged.
   "It was a good ship, Captain," Rabby said softly.
   "Best I ever served on," Patty added.
   Eluza smiled sincerely at her friends. "Thank you ..."
   Lufy studied the screen. "Hey, Captain," she called to Picard -- prompting 
the entire Enterprise bridge crew to turn and look at her -- "any clue how 
the hell we ended up in a damned debris field?"
   Picard arched an eyebrow. The bridge crew turned back around. Quickly.
   The blonde was abrupt, Picard thought -- but also very sure of herself. He 
could see that in her brown eyes. "Mister LaForge can answer that better than 
I could. Geordi?"
   LaForge faced the women. "Well, I think your ship went through the Bajoran 
wormhole. That would mean you originally were in the Alpha Quadrant."
   "That's the wormhole we used to get here," Picard noted.
   "We were ... a quarter-turn from here?" Rabby asked.
   Patty was incredulous. "A whole quarter-turn?" 
   "Helluva trip ...," Lufy muttered.
   "There's evidence for that," LaForge explained. "Every vessel that passes 
through the wormhole receives a residual tachyon signal that's distinct to 
the wormhole. Your ship had that signature." He paused. "It was extremely 
faint, but it was there."
    "Well ...," Eluza said, "a quarter-turn ... That's a long time to travel 
from your home quadrant, Captain."
   Picard nodded. "Indeed. Even with drifting through the wormhole, which we 
may assume your ship did."
   "So much time ..." Finally, she sighed. "Captain ... you and I need to 
talk seriously later ... about your homeworld ..."
   LaForge glanced at Picard. The captain took in the request placidly. "Very 
well ...."
   Patty approached LaForge. "How did you find that -- um, signal -- you 
mentioned?"
   The engineer indicated the work station. "We sent probes around your ship 
to assess its condition. Here," he said, tapping a keypad, "let me show you 
what we got back."
   On a screen in a nearby wall, images appeared with data displayed in a 
corner. Close-ups of a smashed spaceship. In one, an inverted yellow triangle 
with a thick, trimmed black border crossed slowly before their eyes.
   "The Solnoid symbol," Eluza told Picard. The starship captain nodded 
quietly in acknowledgment.
   "So sad ...," Patty said, viewing the destruction.
   "Yep," LaForge sighed. "With all due respect, Captain Ortiz, I think your 
ship has seen better days ..."
   "It has," Eluza agreed matter-of-factly.
   On the wall, an image of the Star Leaf's destroyed hangar bay appeared. 
The image played over the wreckage that Lufy had seen.
   "Same ol', same ol' ...," the Attacker said to no one in particular.
   The image zoomed in on the far end of the bay. The women recognized the 
tail end of a Solnoid fighter impacted into a wall.
   "Lufy comes calling ...," Rabby whispered playfully, then nudged Lufy. Her 
friend shot her a grin. Lufy rolled her eyes.
   "The small craft there was pretty much trashed, from the telemetry we 
got," LaForge said. "So was the other one."
   The deep silence that followed enveloped LaForge slowly. And he saw 
confusion on the women's faces.
   Eluza squinted at him. "The 'other one' ...?"
   He nodded. "Yes, the other small craft."
   The female captain turned quickly to her blonde comrade. "Lufy?"
   The Attacker held her hands out before her. "Captain," she said loudly, "I 
swear to the Mother there weren't any other fighters in the bay this time! 
Swear!!"
   "Can we see the other craft?" Rabby asked.
   "Yeah, let me find it ...," LaForge answered, tapping a few keypads. The 
images on the wall flashed by quickly, then stopped on an exterior shot.
   Eluza recognized it as the starboard stern, near the rear wing mounts.
   And sticking out from the Star Leaf's hull was a small craft.
   One the Solnoids knew.
   Too often.
   Too well.
   "Holy shit ...," Lufy whispered.
   Patty covered her mouth with her hands in shock. And terror. "Oh, good 
Mother in heaven ..."
   "Eluuuza ...?" Rabby asked, her soft voice rising almost to a whimper. "Is 
it ...?"
   Her captain braced herself, then nodded. "Yes, Commander ... it is ..."
   Eluza studied the small craft that pierced her ship.
   A Paranoid warp sled.
   She turned to Jean-Luc Picard. "Captain," she said, "we have a problem ..."

*******

   Data held the ACPU as he watched Catty return. Ahead of him, in his wrist 
beacon's beam, her white-suited form picked its way past floating 
frost-encrusted debris in the dark corridor.
   "Lieutenant," he said, "I don't believe this activity was in the mission 
profile."
   "It might not have been in yours, Commander," she replied through the 
environment suit's com, "but it was in mine."
   "Is this why you brought the carrying case?"
   She sighed. "Yes."
   "May I ask what you put in it?"
   Catty brushed aside an eerily buoyant loose cable and joined him. 
"Souvenirs," she said, almost absently, "of a dead civilization ..."
   "I cannot allow you to bring any weapons or destructive materials aboard 
the Enterprise, Lieutenant."
   "I understand that. The items I retrieved are neither."
   "Then again, may I ask what you retrieved?"
   Catty opened the case and took a flat, shiny, cracked metallic ornament 
out from under a clasp. "This is a medal from my society." Then a compact, 
almost-notebooklike device that opened to reveal a small blank screen and 
keypads. "This is a video player that uses our datatags -- the badges on our 
uniforms."
   Data scanned the objects, then pondered the last one in the case. "And the 
guitar?"
   "The what?"
   "The last item in the case looks like a musical instrument from Earth 
called a 'guitar.' In form, it resembles one -- to an extent."
   The female android closed the case again. "We call it a 'stringphon.' And, 
yes, it is a musical instrument."
   The male android thought. "Are these items yours?
   "No. I brought nothing to this ship but myself."
   "Then ... are these items of special significance to your comrades?"
   Catty nodded. "Yes ... They're things that made them ... happy ..."
   "I see." He paused. "I still think they will have to be examined when we 
return, Lieutenant. Standard security procedure."
   She smiled. "SSP. Some things never change ..."
   Data never got to offer what he thought was his brilliant riposte about 
how they did ...
   "Picard to away team."
   Data tilted his head slightly in his helmet. "Data here, Captain."
   "Data ... there might be an intruder aboard the Star Leaf. I want you to 
listen to Captain Ortiz, then follow Lieutenant Shoumen's lead. She knows 
that ship -- and the possible intruder -- better than you."
   "Aye, sir." During the momentary silence, he glanced at Catty. For lack of 
a better response, she shrugged.
   "Ortiz to Lieutenant Shoumen."
   "Catty here, ma'am."
   "Catty ... there might be a Paranoid on the ship."
   For the first time, Data saw fear in Catty's eyes. The female android 
refocused her mind. "A ... Paranoid, Captain?"
   "Correct. There's a warp sled impacted on the starboard stern. My guess is 
it's in V or W Block, aft of Section Six. Does that android ... sorry, 
Commander Data ... have his weapon?"
   Data took out his phaser and checked the charge. He nodded.
   "Yes, ma'am, he does," Catty said.
   Silence on the other end. Then, "Lieutenant ... I need you to go down 
there ... and check for intruders ..."
   Catty nodded. "Understood, Captain."
   "Catty?
   "Yes, ma'am?"
   "Be careful ..."
   Catty paused, then answered softly. "I will, ma'am ..."
   Picard's voice returned. "That goes for you, too, Mr. Data."
   The male android nodded. "Understood, Captain."
   "If you get in serious trouble, transport to the shuttlecraft immediately. 
We'll put it on remote return, just in case you can't operate it. If 
everything goes well, you can override that when you get back to the shuttle."
   "Acknowledged, sir."
   "Then ... good luck ... the both of you."
   "Thank you, Captain," Catty said.
   "Picard out."
   In the quiet moment that followed, Data noticed that Catty's gold-colored 
eyes were lost in thought.
   "So that's what it was ...," she said quietly.
   "Lieutenant?"
   She looked up at him. "Sorry ... Some of my last memories before I ... 
froze ... are of hearing a collision on this ship. It must have been the 
Paranoid warp sled crashing into the ship ..."
   "The Paranoids were your enemies, is that correct?"
   Catty nodded. "And after the collision, I heard ... footsteps ..."
   Data cocked his head quizzically. "Footsteps?"
   "Yes ..." She thought. "Commander ... have you ever been ... afraid ... 
for your life?"
   "Actually, I have. A deranged scientist once threatened to destroy me in 
his attempt to contact the Nexus."
   "The 'Nexus'?"
   "I will tell you about it some other time. But to answer your question, I 
am equipped with my late brother's emotion chip. I have known the fear of 
death, Lieutenant."
   "So have I ... My mother's neural net was the pattern of my positronic 
brain, Commander. I have her emotions. I have ... feared for my life, too ... 
on this ship ..."
   "I understand."
   Catty pondered a word he had used. "Your 'brother.' He was your male 
sibling, right?"
   Data was impressed. "Knowing that, as a member of an all-female race, is 
unusual. How is it you are aware what a 'brother' is, Lieutenant?"
   The female android smiled. "I have ... many secrets, Commander."
   YA KNOW, I'D LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT ALL THIS, BUT DON'T WE HAVE A JOB TO 
DO HERE, BABE?
   Catty started at the message from her central database. "Yes, we do ..."
   Data studied her. "Yes, we do what, Lieutenant?"
   She sighed. "Yes, we do have a job to do, Commander. I suggest we start by 
leaving the ACPU and the case here. We can pick them up if we return ..."
   Suddenly, she shook her head. "I mean, when we return ..."
   Data raised his eyebrows in concern. "I should hope so, Lieutenant ..."
   "This way," Catty said, pointing down the corridor. "It's a long hike to 
the stern."
   The two androids quickly tied their burdens to the floating cable. Then 
they disappeared slowly into the blackness, shafts of light blazing the way.
   "By the way, Commander," Catty said as they vanished around a corner, 
"does your subconscious ... ever talk to you ...?"

*******

   Double doors. Frozen shut.
   Data looked inquisitively at Catty. She sighed. "It leads to Q Block. 
That's still a little way from where the warp sled impacted. But we're on the 
most direct route there."
   The male android pondered the information. "Is there another way to get 
there, Lieutenant?"
   "Yes ... but there's no guarantee it still exists, given the condition of 
the ship. Even if it's still open, it would actually take us longer that way 
than if we tried to force open the doors."
   "How much longer?"
   Catty calculated. "Seventeen-point-zero-three-five minutes, Commander."
   He inspected the door again and looked back at her. "I suggest we force 
open the door."
   She smiled. "Thought you'd see it my way ..."
   Together, they forced their gloved fingers into the minute space between 
the door halves and braced themselves to pull in opposite directions.
   "On three," Data said. "One ... two ... THREE!"
   They grunted and contorted and strained, pulling until their sensors 
red-lined.
   Nothing.
   They halted. "Damn!" Catty whispered loudly.
   Data studied the closed portal. "This is a well-frozen door, Lieutenant."
   Catty massaged her aching fingertips and shot him an irritated look. "Oh, 
REALLY?"
   "Lieutenant?"
   "Never mind ... Sorry ... I'm just frustrated ... and my fingers hurt ..."
   He nodded. "Apology accepted." He pulled out a tricorder and scanned the 
door. "I am not detecting any broken systems. They are simply frozen. In 
which case ..." He put away the tricorder and pulled out his phaser. "You may 
want to stand back, Lieutenant."
   Catty moved back behind Data, who set the phaser on its lowest setting.
   And fired.
   A narrow red beam touched the door in the center, causing the metal to 
glow a dull red. Steam arose instantly in a cottony cloud. Data started 
tracing the seam of the halves with the beam, then where the jamb met the 
halves. In less than a minute, he had heated the entire entrance.
   He put away the phaser and motioned to Catty. They assumed their previous 
stances at the door.
   And pulled again.
   In a moment, metal creaked from within the bulkhead. The androids 
increased their upper-body power. Catty closed her eyes and pulled fiercely 
in her private darkness.
   The doors broke contact. And moved apart in a rumbling of ancient 
mechanisms.
   Then they snapped open so fast, Data and Catty were nearly thrown to the 
deck.
   And through the opening ...
   ... it fell.
   Fell in a rattle of cold metal muffled in frozen cloth. Clattering onto 
the deck.
   Data whipped out his phaser again and aimed.
   It didn't move.
   Catty recovered from doors' sudden entry -- and the shock. 
   The shock of seeing ... it ... again.
   After ... how long ...?
   She really didn't know ...
   Data kept his aim. "Is this ... what we were looking for, Lieutenant ...?" 
he asked cautiously.
   She approached it tentatively. It didn't move. It didn't react. Catty 
crouched down slightly to examine it.
   A Paranoid robotic shell.
   She closed her gold-colored eyes. "Yes, Commander ...," she said quietly 
at last, "part of it, anyway ..."
   Data was confused. "Explain."
   Catty warily reached toward the shell. An instant later, she was touching 
it. Slowly, she examined the head. "No eyes ...," she said, lost in thought, 
"... no verbration membranes ..."
   " 'Verbration membranes'?" he repeated.
   "It's the organic structure they create to speak ... when they're ... in 
this device ... They're like gills ..." The female android stood up. 
"Commander ... the intruder is not in this device. He must be in his ... 
natural state ..." She pointed through the opening. "... beyond this door ..."
   Data surveyed the bipedal robotic thing on the deck: frosted shiny chrome, 
with two narrow winglike projections flaring sideways  from the top of the 
head. Very tall and broad-shouldered. The body was wrapped in a gold robe 
with black-and-white trim. 
   Then he nodded. "I will lead the way." Phaser drawn, he stepped gingerly 
over the shell and through the opening.
   Catty followed. "We will be looking for a possibly frozen blue gelatinous 
mass," she explained once through the door, "and it will have two dark 
eyespots at one end ..."
   Data scanned the corridor ahead. "It sounds like a polymorphic being. Am I 
correct?"
   "Yes ...," she replied, looking everywhere: the deck, the bulkheads, the 
ceiling. "They occupy the device you saw as a general-purpose body. But they 
can flow into other devices -- space-going weapons, for example. They become 
a component of whatever device they employ ..." She paused. "They ... are ... 
the device ..."
   The male android shot his wrist beacon's beam over frozen debris. "The 
Founders can become ... LIEUTENANT!!"
   Catty was so stunned by his yell, her hydraulic circulation pump skipped a 
cycle.
   Data quickly aimed his phaser toward the deck just ahead. 
   "He's here!!" he shouted.
   She followed the white flare of the beacon's beam toward where he aimed 
the phaser.
   Where the bulkhead on the left met the deck.
   At some sort of grille.
   A ventilation grille.
   And blobbed in front of it ...
   ... huddled around the grille ...
   ... frosty but translucently colored in the beam ...
   ... a large, frozen ...
   ... blue gelatinous mass ...
   ... with two dark spots at one end ...
   ... squinted, liked closed eyes.
   Oh, Catty thought ...
   Oh, poor soul ...
   Even if it was a Paranoid ...
   It had sought even the smallest flicker of long-forgotten heat.
   Catty felt her eyes getting moist.
   Poor thing ...
   Finally, she spoke. "Catty to Enterprise ..."
   "Picard here."
   "Captain ...," Catty said, with a touch of sadness, "please tell Captain 
Ortiz ... we've found our visitor ..."

TO BE CONTINUED