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“Maybe not everything, Mr. Duffy.” The sober tone of his captain’s voice gave the engineer pause before the full realization of Gold’s remark hit home. The Defiant was, after all, more than simply an unsolved mystery or engineering challenge. The ship was also a tomb, the final resting place of more than four hundred men and women who had given their lives in service to Starfleet. Above all else, Duffy reminded himself, that one fact could not be forgotten in their haste to accomplish the recovery mission.

Gold’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “ Commander, if you’re ready on your end, let’s get this show on the road.”

Duffy tried to exude some confidence, for Gold’s benefit as well as his own. “Once more unto the breach and all that, Captain. We’ll have you out in no time.”

“Mazel tov, Mr. Duffy.”

As the connection was severed, Duffy started toward Stevens’ station, then paused. A quick check of the bridge showed that everyone was at their stations, ready to go. They all knew their jobs and had everything under control. With that taken care of, he realized it was time for him to step up and do the job Captain Gold had given him, and there was only one place where that could be accomplished.

Tightening his lips, he turned instead to the steps leading to the captain’s chair. Without a hesitation or flourish, he settled into the center seat. He imagined the chair embracing him, the authority and responsibility it represented reaching out to envelop him and fuel him with the confidence he needed to see this mission through.

Hey, this doesn’t feel so bad.

“Mr. Stevens,” he said, not looking away from the viewscreen, “ready the navigational deflector.”

As Stevens tapped at his console, Duffy spoke again. “ Da Vinci to Defiant . Commander Gomez, alert the away team that we’re bringing you out. Prepare your thrusters, please.”

Gomez was quick to reply. “Ready on your mark, Commander.”

Stevens signaled his readiness as well. Duffy paused a beat to center himself, then, “Go with the deflector, Mr. Stevens.”

Duffy watched the main viewer as a wide, sparkling beam burst from the bottom of the screen and shot arrow-straight to the Defiant . The gold hue of the beam mingled and swirled with the neonblue glow of the trapped ship’s saucer section, stirring colors and flashing energy in ways that Duffy had never seen. In the center of the maelstrom grew a patch of dirty white. As he stared, the white took on definition as precisely spaced crosshatches of black appeared within. He watched the very hull of the Defiant integrate at the deflector beam’s touch.

“Commander,” Stevens’ voice broke across the nearly soundless bridge, “she’s emerging from the rift and the hull is phasing as projected. We have enough room now to grab her.”

Duffy spoke more loudly than even he expected. “Tractor beam at maximum, Fabian. Now!”

He watched a thin blue beam etch a path across the gold of the existing one. While they appeared intertwined from the bridge, the tractor beam actually skated meters above the dish emission, narrowing its proximity to the integrity field as it approached the Defiant and struck the ship exactly where the white hull plates coalesced within the colorful swirl. The patterns worked to soothe Duffy a bit as he turned his attention to the pair of consoles before him.

“Pull us back, Mr. Wong. One-quarter impulse.”

Ensign Songmin Wong tapped Duffy’s orders into his helm console and Duffy felt the da Vinci lurch, rocking him forward in his seat. As he leaned back in the chair, Duffy saw the integrated area of the Defiant ’s saucer growing at a much faster rate than before. The ship waxed into whiteness as if emerging from an eclipse.

Could it be this simple, even after all these years?

Duffy called out to the viewscreen, “Sonya, how are you doing?”

The speaker came to life with a laugh. “We’re fine, Kieran. Even with the heads-up, you guys still managed to knock Pattie off of her feet. You need thrusters?”

“Seems to be good on our end without