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As he poked and prodded her, grimacing at the cramped space he’d have to work in, hearing sounds he didn’t like, aware that one of the atmospheric converters was overheating even sitting in dock, and wondering where that drip was coming from, he saw that Heisenberg was watching him appreciatively.

“How fast will she go?” Sisko asked at last, wiping his hands on a rag he’d found wrapped carelessly around an atmospheric conduit, ducking his head and following Heisenberg forward to the conn. Admiral Uhura was no longer with them, and he assumed she’d stayed behind in the cargo bay, possibly receiving more incoming from the rest of her team.

“Guess,” Heisenberg said with his characteristic twinkle.

“I’m guessing warp 4 flat out,” Sisko said.

Heisenberg was scratching his ear again. “Not quite.”

“You mean she’s slower than that? With all due respect, sir, why don’t we just paint a target on her side and have done with it?”

“Actually,” Heisenberg said diffidently, “she can manage warp 7 or even a tad more if you speak to her nicely.”

That rocked Sisko back on his heels. “You can’t tell me this ship can go that fast.”

Heisenberg shrugged. “Don’t need to tell you; I can show you. Computer: Engine specs, code ‘Uncertainty.’ ” A schematic appeared on the heretofore blank forward screen. “Modifications here, here, and here.”

Sisko whistled appreciatively.

“I’m hoping no one but an engineer would notice them,” Heisenberg said. “There’s also a set of blind controls double-rigged on her impulse controls to conceal her special skills from prying eyes. But I guess, being a pragmatist, you’ll have to take her out and discover all that for yourself.”

“But she’s not built for it,” Sisko objected. “And with all those exterior components, she’ll rattle apart.”

“Will she?” Heisenberg seemed surprised at the thought. “She didn’t the last time I took her for a spin.”

“You’ve reinforced her bulkheads as well,” Sisko guessed. “How, without it showing up on scanners?” He thought about it. “Oh. The same way you’ve double-hulled the containers.”

“Bright lad!” Heisenberg said. “Truth is, with all the modifications, she weighs almost twice what she’s supposed to. But unless the Romulans-or even one of ours-can actually haul her into a spacedock and put her on a scale…”

“One of ours?” Sisko repeated, but Heisenberg was headed back to the cargo bay.

“The outer hull is also equipped with bafflers programmed to feed back the same readings as the manifests on each individual container. Scan the ship from the outside, and you’ll see rolls of Tholian silk in the most alluring colors, replacement parts for Romulan food replicators, a consignment of blue corn destined for the Draken colonies, assorted cams and stem bolts. One container actually holds medical supplies, but none worth stealing. More of the take-two-aspirin-and-call-me-in-the-morning variety, but they may come in handy for trade.”

The lab modules continued their humming, blinking, bubbling conversation with each other. As Sisko had guessed, Uhura was waiting for them here, sitting primly on a stool behind a medical console that twinkled like a Christmas tree, looking like a schoolgirl on the first day of biology lab. Heisenberg, still in lecture mode, concluded his talk.

“Someone would actually have to board the ship and manually breach the containers-since you won’t let anyone take the control unit from you-to find the lab modules or the transmitter.”

“Which brings me to a question, Doctor,” Sisko said. “If we are stopped and boarded, by the Romulans or, as you say, someone from our side-because once we cross the Zone we’ll be in violation of treaties on both sides-but someone with enough clout comes aboard and demands to see the cargo bay, how quickly can these modules-“

He never finished his sentence. In the time it took Heisenberg to wink at Uhura, who, knowing the floor plan, wisely stepped out of the way, the containers began to reverse their initial opening dance, refolding and sealing themselves with such rapidity that Sisko almost didn’t know where