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Stevens just smiled and left the room, leaving Duffy with Corsi and the still-illuminated tactical display. The security chief visibly stiffened in her seat, and Duffy knew that she was about to unload her true feelings about their current situation to him. He held up his hand to her, cutting her off just as she opened her mouth.

“Okay, it’s not as bad as it sounds,” he said.

Corsi didn’t ease up. “What is Stevens planning to do?”

“Fabian says he’s thrown just about every combination of stimuli he can channel through the deflector dish at the rift. Everything except a warp field.” Duffy paused, noting the frown on Corsi’s face. “I know you’re not an engineer, and most times you could give two bloodworms about tech talk, but bear with me here. Fabian thinks that maybe the rift shows some of the same characteristics as a wormhole. He’s going to siphon off some plasma from the warp nacelles, mix it with some artificial verteron particles, and channel it all through the deflector dish. It’s risky, but the upside is that the rift could flash open like a Bolian skyfire.”

Corsi seemed unconvinced. “And the downside?” Duffy’s gaze faltered, and he looked away before replying. “We could blow out the deflector and short out the warp drive.”

“Commander, that is as bad as it sounds.”

Despite her response, Corsi’s expression wasn’t nearly as fierce as Duffy had anticipated it would be. Of all the unexpected twists that this mission had thrown at him so far, one thing he never, ever would have bet on was that he’d find a supportive ally in Domenica Corsi. He had to admit that heading into battle against the Tholians didn’t seem as fearsome a prospect with her at his side. Corsi had kept a level head when he himself had come close to losing all composure. In her eyes, Duffy saw the desire to believe in the plan, to try one last time to pull the Defiant, and more importantly their friends, from a fate even worse than death at the hands of the Tholians.

“Nah, it’s no big deal,” Duffy lied. “You’d understand it all with a little more training in warp theory. And you know, I could steer you toward some good texts on the subject if you need a little night reading.”

“That would not be the way I’d choose to spend my nights, Mr. Duffy.” Corsi cracked a hint of a smile as the ship’s intercom sounded its hailing chime. In the moment before the chime was followed by a voice, Duffy chastised himself for wondering just how Corsi did spend her nights.

“ Duff? I’m ready to go out here and time’s a wastin’.”

The two rose from the oval table without answering Stevens’s invitation. As they moved to take their posts on the bridge, Duffy noticed himself crossing almost too naturally to the center seat. However, as he settled into the chair, he gripped its armrests a little too tightly, feeling as though it was he who would be fired into the rift instead of the deflector’s delicate intermix.

Boy, will I be glad when this is over.

“Mr. Stevens, engage the deflector beam,” he said, hoping that the trembling he thought he heard in his voice was strictly in his imagination. Duffy’s eyes did not leave the main viewer as Stevens activated the deflector.

He saw no beam.

What he did see was a shower of sparks and fire erupting from the science console, and Stevens throwing himself away from the billowing smoke and hungry flames.

“Fabian!” Duffy shouted, leaping from his seat and bolting to where his friend had landed on the deck.

“I’m all right,” Stevens said, rolling onto his side and grimacing slightly from the abrupt impact.

Looking at Corsi, Duffy called out, “Damage report!”

The security officer’s fingers were almost a blur as she fed commands to her console. “I can’t get any diagnostics from the deflector relay system. The dish is either damaged or destroyed. I’m routing a damage-control team there now.” After another few seconds she looked up from her station. “The warp drive is off-line. There was feedback from the deflector to the plasma conduits from the warp nacelles and it caused an overload.