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"We will not," Telek R'Mor interrupted. His face was bright with excitement. He pointed upward. "They are there-in that cave."

Janeway glanced at Telek's tricorder. "Provided the equipment isn't malfunctioning, then Telek's right. Everyone, listen. We're almost at the end of our journey. Check your phasers and wristlights. We're going in."

The way up to the cavern was not difficult, though the snow and slippery rocks made for slow, careful going. At the entrance of the cavern, Janeway nodded silently. Everyone grasped phasers and waited for the command.

Janeway and Chakotay went first, followed by

It

Telek R'Mor and Paris. The Doctor and Khala brought up the rear.

It was cold in the cave, but after the harsh wind it felt almost warm. At first they saw nothing. "Hello?" Janeway called. Her voice echoed mockingly. She shrugged.

"Maybe they wanted us to knock first," Chakotay said.

She smiled fleetingly at that, but quickly grew sober. "Fan out, everyone. Telek, where's the signal coming from?"

"Straight ahead, about another twenty meters," the Romulan replied.

"Then that's where we go."

No sooner had the words left her lips than the earth shifted. Chakotay lost his footing almost at once and hit the stone floor with a grunt. Instinctively, he covered his head and felt bits of rock and sand strike his body. The rumbling sound filled bis ears and for a brief moment, he was certain that he was about to join his ancestors. He could almost see Kolopak standing in front of him, extending a hand to help him along.

After an eternity that in reality lasted less than half a minute, the quake stopped. Rocks still fell, their crashing noises echoing. Chakotay was breathing heavily and felt bruised and battered. Experimentally, he tried to move and found that everything still worked.

Faint flashes of light came from here and there. Someone's wristlight was still working, then.

"Is everyone all right?" Janeway shone the light

on her own face, casting her pleasant features into a caricature of angles and shadows, showing her crew that she was uninjured. "Chakotay?"

"I'm fine," he said. Others were moving now, their lights shining about. It seemed as though everyone had made it through without serious injury, though Tom was cradling his arm. His dust-covered face looked pale to Chakotay, and a second glance showed him a jagged tear in Tom's uniform and skin through which me whiteness of bone peeked.

"Let me see that," said the Doctor. While he tended to Paris's arm, everyone else rose and stretched, brushing debris off their bodies.

Chakotay went to Paris. "That looks bad," he said.

"Oh, thanks, Chakotay, that helps," said Paris through clenched teeth. The Doctor rocked back on his heels.

"I've done the best I could with the medkit, but I'd like to get him to sickbay as soon as possible," the Doctor told Janeway, who had moved to stand beside him. He finished wrapping Tom's arm, then rose.

Janeway extended a hand to the ensign. "How are you, Tom? Can you continue with us?"

"I sure don't want to miss the big finish after all this," said Tom, trying to smile but grimacing instead from the pain.

Janeway smiled and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "We'll get you a front-row seat. Let's keep going." Nobody bothered to say that, with their exit blocked by kilotons of stone, the only direction was forward.

Slowly, watching their steps, the away team moved forward and down. The signal might be straight ahead, but their path was undulating and winding, leading them deeper into the heart of the mountain.

"Only a few yards now," said Telek, a telltale excitement creeping into his normally evenly modulated voice. "I don't understand why they're so still. They must be waiting to greet us formally."

"Or kill us," said Janeway. "We've got to be ready for that possibility."

He nodded, his eyes