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The computer seemed to take forever. “Override authorized.”

With a feeling of both satisfaction and dread, he watched the door whoosh open. He was about to commit the ultimate act of betrayal, to violate the trust placed in him by someone he cared about. If he was wrong, their friendship would be damaged beyond repair.

So he needed to be right, much as he didn’t want to be.

Stepping inside carefully, he wished he had a phaser. There was no certainty that only one Changeling had come aboard, or that if there were others, they were still safely isolated on the holodeck.

Addison’s bags were lined up neatly on her bunk. He noted that nothing appeared to have been opened or unpacked, which was not typical of Addison at all. She’d always been just a little sloppy in her quarters, and quick to make a new place feel like home. He checked the top dresser drawer, but it was empty, and the others were probably empty too. Unless something had been hidden in the room, anything of significance was still in her bags.

He snapped open a red, cylindrical valise. The off-duty clothing inside was the sort of thing Linda would have picked, natural fibers from multiple worlds, hand-dyed fabrics, and simple, rugged outdoor clothing made faded, soft, and comfortable through long wear and many washings.

Digging deeper, he found things that screamed “Linda,” and even items he recognized: a star shell she’d brought back from a vacation on Risa, a holoframe with a picture of her parents, and-his hand trembled slightly as he held it-her beloved leatherbound copy of collected Edgar Allan Poe stories.

Guilt washed over him as he violated her personal belongings, but it had to be done, and the idea of a Changeling having these things, touching these things, made him quietly furious. He lifted a Bajorian wool sweater, and a silver metal box, no larger than his hand, tumbled out.

It was strangely cold to the touch, and he noticed a miniature control panel on one end. A stasis box.

He’d seen the Ferengi use stasis boxes to transport live tube-grubs and other small, perishable items. It took him a minute to deactivate it and figure out how to slide back the lid. Something rattled inside as he did-the delicate clinking of glass tapping against glass. Three vials of a dark liquid rolled around inside a box big enough for at least ten. He picked one of them up, and the red color was immediately apparent. A chill came over him. He said it out loud, to prove to himself that it wasn’t a dream. Wasn’t a nightmare.

“Blood.”

Hawk sat on the bunk beside Linda’s bags. No, not Linda’s. These belonged to someone, something, else. Something that threatened the ship and everyone on it. Something that was, at that moment, in the observation with the entire senior command staff.

He forced away the anger and grief. There would be time for that later. For now, he had to get a warning to the captain. He reached for his padd and swiftly entered a text message for Picard, emergency priority.

CHAPTER 6

“Lieutenant Addison,” said Picard from his seat at the head of the observation lounge table, “it appears that we will be needing your services immediately.”

She smiled slightly. “I’ll do my best, Captain. If I may make a few suggestions?”

“Of course.”

She looked around the table at the rest of the senior staff. “To avoid alerting any other Changelings that might be on board the ship and sending them to ground, I don’t recommend alerting the entire crew. Instead, the information should be spread down through the ranks, one person at a time, and only after careful screening to be sure the person being told is in fact not a Changeling. This will be difficult to do without creating suspicion, but I have some ideas. Senior officers should never travel alone. It should be possible to do this in a way that isn’t too conspicuous.”

Picard nodded. “Make it so, Lieutenant. We also need a way of dealing with the transfer crew in the holodeck. If one or more Changelings are in there, we need to identify and contain them without putting the others