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“What about the Cardassians?” Corbis asked.

Another fair question. To be sure, something had to be done about them.

I turned to Thadoc again. “The Cardassians must be caught in some kind of tractor beam. See if you can release them.”

As he got to work, I looked at the viewscreen. The Cardassian warship hung there in space, battered and blackened, its hull glowing a savage red in the places where it had taken the most damage.

After a few moments, the vessel began to drift away from us. With all it had gone through, its crew had no control over its movements.

“There,” I said. “That should take care of the Cardassians.”

The warship would hang in space like a broken toy until such time as its fellow Cardassians saw fit to look for it. It might take quite some time, of course. However, we were showing our captors more kindness than they had shown us.

Meanwhile, the Romulan evacuation was proceeding apace, shuttles and life-pods issuing from the warbird in several different places. But it seemed Thadoc had been right to ask about stragglers. Some of the escape vehicles were being ignored, even in what should have been the most populous sections of the ship.

Red Abby seemed to have noticed as well. “If you’ve really got a plan,” she told me, “this would be a good time to implement it.”

I checked the sensor readout on the commander’s control panel. Three of the shuttles had left their bays, but two were still close to the ship. I turned to Thadoc and indicated the Romulans lying among us.

“Obtain a transporter lock on them,” I said, “and beam them onto one of those shuttles. Then find another half-dozen Romulans and do the same, again and again until we’re alone on this vessel.”

The helmsman regarded me for a full second, no doubt trying to find a flaw in my scheme. Apparently, he was unsuccessful, because he eventually bent to his task.

As he worked the warbird’s transporter controls, the Romulan bridge crew began to shimmer. Almost instantly, it was gone. And in the next few minutes, the same thing took place all over the ship.

Thadoc seemed to be enjoying his work. But in time it ended, as all good things will.

Red Abby looked around and nodded. “Well,” she observed, “I suppose that’s one way to get rid of unwanted guests.”

I found myself smiling not so much at the quip itself as at the tone she had used. It was the first time I had heard the woman even come close to making a joke.

“So it is,” I agreed.

Thadoc looked at Red Abby. “We should get out of here. There may be additional warbirds in the vicinity.”

She looked at me. I nodded, telling her the captain’s chair was hers again. I would keep my end of the bargain.

“You’ve got the helm,” she told Thadoc. “Chart us a course for Hel’s Gate.”

Madigoor

“A BOLD MOVE,” said Hompaq, “this transport onto the enemy’s ship even if it was just a pack of Romulans.”

Flenarrh looked at her from beneath his white tuft. “I wouldn’t take the Romulans lightly if I were”

The Klingon snarled at him.

” me,” he finished lamely.

“I’m impressed, too,” said the Captain of the Kalliope. “I don’t think I ever would have thought of that tactic myself.”

Robinson chuckled. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, lad. Where you come from, they don’t have transporters.”

The Captain of the Kalliope grunted good-naturedly. “That’s true. Still, it was a clever maneuver.”

Dravvin stroked his chin. “From what you’ve said, Picard, there couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen of you left to man the warbird and to effect repairs where it was damaged in the battle.”

“That’s correct,” said Picard.

“It doesn’t seem any of you would have gotten much rest,” the Rythrian noted.

“Not much at all,” Picard agreed, “though it was sorely needed after all we had been through.”

“I can’t operate without rest,” Bo’tex remarked. “No Caxtonian can. If we don’t get our beauty sleep, we’re liable to run our ship into the nearest asteroid belt.”

“I’m sure you’re exaggerating,” said Robinson.

“Not one iota,” Bo’tex insisted. “Ever hear of Captain