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"Good hunting," he said when he had finished.

The ship's sensors and the tricorders proved to be of little value. They detected not one, but four large concentrations of the mutated dark matter, one of which was not even aboard Voyager but instead located immediately outside the vessel. Tuvok did not let his irritation show, but Seven of Nine knew him well enough by mis point to be aware of it.

The team Tuvok had put together consisted of himself, Seven, Telek R'Mor-who, Seven noticed, was not equipped with a weapon-and three security guards, Ramirez, Johnson, and Kirby. They decided to investigate all four readings, although Tuvok felt certain that at least one, perhaps two, or even three were simply computer malfunctions. No one could trust the ship anymore.

They strode down the corridors to Cargo Bay One, where the transmission on the Romulan frequency had first been detected and, at least according to the tricorders, was still transmitting. Seven saw no ghosts, not now. She and the rest of the team

obeyed Tuvok's silent commands to position themselves on either side of the door.

Slowly, Tuvok raised his hand and counted down on his fingers: One. Two. Three.

On "three" Tuvok leaped hi front of the door, phaser at the ready. Seven was right behind him, her head turning this way and that, searching for the telltale distortion of space that would reveal the intruder and his dark-matter shield.

"There," she said, aiming her own phaser at an area that had been cleared of bins. With an odd sensation, she recalled that this particular spot had been Naomi Wildman's regeneration chamber.

"Surrender," stated Tuvok. There was no response. "There is no escape. Surrender and you will be treated fairly."

Again, silence.

Seven frowned. Her implants clearly showed a distortion of space. It did not move. "I do not think our intruder is present," she said. An idea was starting to take shape. She plucked her combadge from her chest, knelt, and with a quick movement of her wrist sent it skidding along the floor.

They all watched as the combadge suddenly disappeared.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...." said Ramirez softly.

"He has erected a dark-matter shield to camouflage his activities and equipment," said Telek. "There must be something in there worth hiding. Tuvok, with your permission-"

"Denied," said Tuvok. "I will enter the shielded area and recover any equipment."

"You will be bombarded with particles of the dark matter. It will greatly accelerate any physical problems you may be having," warned Telek.

"I have experienced fewer problems than the rest of the crew," Tuvok replied. "Your knowledge of this substance makes you far too valuable to risk, Doctor."

Telek smiled sadly. "That, and you don't quite trust me yet."

"That is also a factor," Tuvok replied bluntly. He handed his phaser to Seven, squared his shoulders, and stepped forward.

And vanished.

They heard Tuvok moving about, his boots clicking on the floor, heard unseen objects gently clanking against one another. His disembodied voice carried clearly.

"Dr. R'Mor was correct. There are many tools and instruments here. I am not familiar with the functions of many of them. There are items which appear to be standard rations, and some fruit taken from Mr. Neelix's mess hall."

He reappeared as suddenly as he had disappeared. Seven scanned him with the tricorder. "The amount of dark matter in your tissue has increased by twenty-seven percent," she informed him. Tuvok merely nodded.

"Dr. R'Mor, it appears that-"

The dreadful sound of a weapon being fired inter-

rupted Tuvok. Ramirez had half turned, and as Seven whirled, she saw him arch his back in agony and vanish.

She could see their quarry more plainly now. There was still a halo of shimmering matter surrounding the intruder, but it was recognizably a Romulan. Immediately