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"That is correct," affirmed Telek.

"And when it is fully pulled into a single universe," Khala continued, "it is then mutated and rendered harmful. Therefore, in order for the dark matter to be rendered again harmless, it must be removed from a single universe. The logical conclusion is-"

"That Damned Ball is a complete universe unto itself-or else a universe that's all the universes," blurted Torres. "But... how? How can that be, and how the hell are we supposed to make one ourselves?'

"We will," declared Telek. "We must. Tialin said we could. The orb is the key to understanding everything we need to know in order to complete the quest she charged us with."

"Tialin appears to have a very high opinion of us," said Seven. "I hope it is justified."

Something was nagging at the back of B'Elanna Torres's mind. Something she'd either studied at the Academy or heard of since then. She liked things she could understand, get her hands on, make work at her command. Esoteric theories about alternate universes, the mirror universe, bubble universes, shadow universes-

Bubble. Sphere. Orb.

That Damned Ball.

It was the key to understanding how the Shepherd technology worked-

"Oh my God," said Torres. "I think I've got it. This ball, the orb in which Tialin appeared, your apparatus, Telek, they're all little universes unto themselves!"

"Like my wormholes!" said Telek, catching B'Elanna's excitement

"A bubble," continued Torres. She turned slowly and regarded the pulsing warp core with renewed interest. "A warp bubble universe. It's been created before."

"That is correct," said Seven. "Stardate 44161.2. Ensign Wesley Crasher and Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge created a static warp shell universe based on Kosinski's theories and equations. Crusher's mother, Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher, was trapped by the warp shell and found herself in a universe of her own making." At Torres's expression, she explained, "Captain Picard was assimilated by the Borg. I have done a great deal of research about the history of the Enterprise."

She gazed levelly at Torres. "The incident proves that while such a shell can be created, it cannot be made stable. It required the assistance of an alien called the Traveler, whose species has the ability to exploit the interchangeability of time, space, and thought, to rescue Dr. Crusher. I do not think placing massive quantities of dark matter inside such a bubble universe is a wise idea."

"But somehow the Shepherds have done it," protested Torres. "They must have the same ability as the Travelers. They gave us the key to understanding their technology!" Angrily she snatched the

glowing, hovering orb from midair and waved it under Seven's nose. 'Tialin said we could do it."

"We can," said Khala quietly. "We have conducted such experiments ourselves at great length. We, too, were never able to make it quite stable, but with the Shepherd technology as given to us with the orb, I think we could do it"

As one, they all fell silent. Torres knew precisely what was going through their minds because she was certain it was the same as what was going through hers: all the myriad things that could go wrong, any one of which could spell death.

Oh, the theories sounded solid enough. They'd sound better over a cup of raktajino and a pile of sandwiches at the end of a long shift, when they would remain precisely that-theories, not something they were going to try to put into action.

Torres felt certain that the Bussard collector could be adjusted to perform as needed. Telek's theory about the specific frequency could easily be tested in action with no danger. It was only if everything worked according to plan that there would be risks.

What if they couldn't stabilize the warp shell after all? Or what if it seemed stable, then collapsed? How would the warp drive work with a mini-universe in its heart that was filled to the brim with dark matter?

The only thing worse than failing