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By Root 559 0

let it stand. Nothing else would so eloquently convey the stress and despair she was feeling, and in the future, if-no, she corrected herself sternly, when they recovered from this and returned home, she wanted those who had not undergone this ordeal to fully understand and appreciate it. Perhaps it would help the Federation in the future, if anyone encountered mutated dark matter again.

"Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here. Go ahead, Seven, what is it?"

"I have detected an unauthorized transmission emanating from the ship. The frequency is not standard Federation."

Adrenaline surged through her, rivaling even the dreadful headache for Janeway's complete attention. "Could it be a computer malfunction?"

"I suppose it is possible," said Seven, sounding doubtful.

Janeway was doubtful, too. She rose and strode onto the bridge as she spoke. "Where's the source?

The door hissed open and Telek R'Mor appeared on the bridge. He looked agitated and opened his mouth to speak, but Janeway waved him to silence.

"From Cargo Bay One," Seven replied. "Captain, Naomi Wildman has taken to playing there since you declared the holodeck off-limits. She spoke with me regarding an imaginary Mend. Both the Doctor and I dismissed it as a hallucination, but perhaps-"

"Perhaps that friend wasn't so imaginary after all," finished Janeway. "Tuvok, Seven has detected-"

"I am aware of the transmission as well," said Tuvok.

"Captain!" Telek's voice was urgent. "The signals Seven has reported-I recognize the frequency. It's Romulan!"

Naomi was still in sickbay when Seven of Nine, Telek R'Mor, and Tuvok arrived there a scant ten minutes after Telek's stunning revelation.

"Naomi," said Seven without preamble, "does your imaginary friend look like Dr. R'Mor?'

Naomi gazed at her blankly. "I don't have an imaginary friend," she said, seeming puzzled.

"We spoke about it earlier," Seven said. Naomi showed no sign of recognition. "You said you thought that Voyager might be haunted. Surely you remember."

"She very well may be telling you the truth," interrupted the Doctor. "She's losing her short-term memory."

A wave of irritation washed through Seven. She had hoped that Naomi would be able to tell them something about their intruder.

"The child is of no help," said Telek.

"Neither were you," said Tuvok icily. "Why did you not inform us of the possibility we might be boarded?"

"Because I did not know of it," replied Telek angrily. "I have told you everything I was privy to. But I am not at all surprised that the Tal Shiar had other plans that they did not bother to share with a lowly scientist."

"One thing I do recall from my conversation with Naomi is that her alleged ghost was invisible." Seven looked at the Doctor. "You were correct, Doctor. My ocular implant was indeed functioning correctly. It was able to detect the presence of this intruder, although I did not realize what it was I was seeing. I am uncertain as to why it did so, however. It is not designed to identify and penetrate dark-matter shielding."

"I know you're in a hurry to find this fellow," said the Doctor, "but if you could spare a moment, I could adjust Seven's implant. She'd be able to see the not-so-imaginary friend more distinctly."

"Since Seven is the only person who can see the Romulan at all, I agree," Tuvok said. "I will instruct my security team to equip themselves with tricorders adjusted to scan on the infrared frequencies."

But Telek was shaking his head slowly. "If they have indeed managed to construct a personal cloak of dark matter, such adjustments will be of no help. We must search for high concentrations of dark matter and hope mat the amounts already present aboard the vessel will not further confuse your equipment."

Telek was silent for a moment while the Doctor worked on Seven, then he said softly, "The fools! If only they had confided in me, I would have done more tests. I could have warned them."

Naomi Wildman was still watching them,