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Again, I glanced over my shoulder at him. “I thought you wanted to discuss that with the captain.”

“We do,” said Corbis.

“You do,” the Tellarite told him. “I just want an answer. I don’t particularly care who gives it to me.”

“The captain thinks she knows where the Hoard is,” I responded. “But as I’m sure she told you from the beginning, there are no guarantees.”

“We’ve gone through hell,” Gob grumbled. “And we’ve lost a lot of men. I’d hate to think it was all for nothing.”

I nodded. “So would I.”

And that was the end of it. Corbis and his newfound companion left without another word.

But as soon as they were gone, Worf spoke up. “I will be watching Corbis even more closely than before, sir. And Gob as well. They will pose a problem for us before this is over.”

Unfortunately, I found myself agreeing with him.

Madigoor

“I TOLD YOU Pandrilites were nasty,” Dravvin reminded them.

Robinson nodded. “So you did.”

“Tellarites are no picnic, either,” said Flenarrh. He looked around to make sure there was no one of that species in earshot. “No one’s quicker to anger, not even the Klingons.”

Hompaq cleared her throat. “Present company excepted, of course.”

Flenarrh inclined his tufted head. “Of course. By no means did I mean to imply your fuse was anything but short.”

The Klingon eyed him, suspecting that she was being toyed with. But she found no evidence of it in Flenarrh’s face, so she flashed her long, sharp teeth and let the matter pass.

“What happened then?” asked the Captain of the Kalliope. He indicated the gecko with a tilt of his head. “My friend and I want to know.”

“Nothing,” said Picard. “At least, not right away. In fact, my whole shift went by without anything remarkable happening.”

The Tale

AT THE END of it, I turned to see Abby and Thadoc walk out onto the bridge. They appeared refreshed by their respective naps, and the helmsman looked a bit more comfortable with his arm in a sling.

I glanced at Abby. “You’re in a good mood.”

“A little sleep can work wonders,” she said.

But I knew it wasn’t sleep alone that had caused her spirits to rise. It was the prospect of finding her brother.

Abby cast a look at the viewscreen. “How are we doing?”

“As you can see,” I told her, “we’re approximately halfway to our destination. In fact”

Worf interrupted me. “Three ships off the port bow, sir.”

I turned my attention to my monitors. As the Klingon had indicated, our sensors had detected three small vessels on an intercept course. Not surprisingly, I had never seen their fluted design before.

“Shall I hail them?” asked Worf.

I looked to Abby, who was standing by the captain’s seat. “I think it’s a good idea,” I told her.

True, I was unfamiliar with this milieu and its politics, and we might well have been trespassing in someone’s territory. But if we had ruffled any feathers, it was all the more important to establish communications so we could smooth them.

And in all honesty, the explorer in me yearned to see what kind of beings we had encountered.

She considered it for a moment, then nodded to Worf. Dutifully, he carried out the order. A moment later, our viewscreen showed us the grim-looking individual in charge of the alien formation.

His skull was oblong and hairless and his skin was bone white, providing a striking contrast with the faceted, ruby red ovals of his eyes. Jagged, brown horns protruded from either temple, echoed by smaller versions at the sides of his long, narrow chin.

“Greetings,” said Abby. “I’m”

She never finished her sentence. The alien didn’t give her an opportunity to do so.

“You have entered Abinarri space,” he advised her in a gravely voice, “in blatant violation of seventy-seven separate Abinarri statutes.”

“I assure you,” said Abby, “it wasn’t our intention to break any laws. We’ll be gone before you”

Again, the alien interrupted her. “Do not attempt to flee. Our tractor rays will take hold of your vessel momentarily.”

She shot the Abinarri a disparaging look. “The hell they will. Terminate communication, Mr. Worf.”

The