“The computer still recognizes my command codes, though,” Mello said.

Spillane nodded. “That’s the irony. He didn’t even bother trying to override your codes. He just manipulated our systems enough to gain manual control of the areas he was interested in and disabled the rest.”

“Like a parasite,” Kira said. “He’s using the ship like a host body, leeching what’s useful to him.”

“We managed to rescind all of Montenegro’s access codes,” Bhatnagar said, “but it may be too late for that to do us any good.”

“What about autodestruct?” Mello asked.

Bhatnagar and Spillane exchanged looks. “You still have it,” the security officer said. “You can activate it unilaterally now. But the time delay is disabled. Once you give the word, there’ll be no going back.”

“We may not have a choice,” Mello said. “So he’s in engineering.”

“That’s our best guess,” Croth said.

“I’m going after him,” Kira said, checking the charge on her rifle.

“Not alone, you’re not,” Mello said, picking up her own weapon.

“Captain, your place is on the bridge,” Kira reminded her.

“Ordinarily, I might agree, Colonel. But until my people can fix the damage the parasite has done, I’m useless up here. One thing I cando is help you track down the creature and stop it. I owe Alex that much.” Placing a backup hand phaser on her hip, Mello took two tricorders from the engineers and handed one to Kira. “With internal sensors off-line, we’ll need to use these to find him. “Lieutenant Spillane.”

“Sir?”

“You have the bridge. The colonel and I are going hunting.”

“Where do you want to begin?” Kira asked.

Standing in the main Jefferies tube junction on the port side of Starship Gryphon,Mello held out her tricorder and slowly panned the room, scanning the six horizontal tubes that surrounded them, as well as the shafts above and below. “I found his combadge signal. It’s coming from starboard and down, close to the navigational deflector.”

“It’s a ruse,” Kira said. “He dumped his combadge there so we’d waste time going after it.”

Mello nodded. “I agree. But I’m not picking up anything else that would suggest where he is.”

“Engineering is the only place that makes sense,” Kira said.

“Maybe,” Mello said.

Kira tested the hatch for the tube that offered the quickest route to engineering. Locked. She searched for an access panel and pried it open. “I think I can override the seal, but it’ll take a minute.”

“Do it,” said Mello.

Kira went to work. A moment into it, she said “Captain, I want to apologize to you for what happened in your quarters.”

“That’s all right, Colonel,” Mello said, then added darkly, “Maybe someday I’ll find some way to surprise you on Deep Space 9.”

“I really made a mess of things. I led a mutiny against you, all because I let Montenegro manipulate me into thinking you were the most likely suspect to be the parasite host.”

“But I wasthe most likely suspect,” Mello pointed out. “Between what happened on Deep Space 9, the message you got from Akaar, and the lies Montenegro had been feeding you, you made the logical choice, and did what you thought was necessary to save lives. I’m not sure I would have acted differently if our positions had been reversed, given the circumstances.”

“I was ready to kill you back there. I almost did.”

“We almost killed each other,” Mello corrected. “But isn’t that the point, Nerys? This thing inside Montenegro tried to pit us against each other, to divide and conquer. It failed then, and it’s going to fail now because were refusing to be divided.” Mello suddenly shook her head and chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“I have a confession to make, Colonel,” Mello said. “When I first found out you were put in charge of Deep Space 9, I had my doubts about you. I didn’t think it was right that a Federation starbase or its Starfleet personnel should be placed under the command of a non-Starfleet officer, allied or not, and I resented you even more when you were put in command of the Europa Nova evacuation. I think I would have felt the same even if I’d already known that your Starfleet commission was still active. Because the bottom line was, you didn’t wear the uniform, and your loyalties were still to Bajor first. You were too provincial for my comfort, despite what your advocates in Command thought about you.

“But then I saw you in action during the Europani evac, and I knew that I was the one who was too provincial. I allowed myself to believe that because you didn’t come up through the Academy, any leadership qualities you possessed, any of the experiences or abilities that brought you to where you are, had to be less than those of a Starfleet captain. I realize now those beliefs were unworthy of you, and unworthy of me.”

Kira shrugged as she continued working on the lock. “Captain, I really don’t understand what the point of all this is.”

Mello grabbed her by the arm, forcing Kira to look at her. “Just this: Starfleet would be damn lucky if you decided to put on its uniform again. But if you don’t, if the worst happens and Bajor and the Federation go their separate ways, then I think the loss to both sides will be incalculable. If I’ve learned nothing else during the last four months, it’s that together we add up to something far greater than we’ll ever be apart.”

Kira made no reply, but she held Mello’s gaze for a moment before returning her attention to the lock. “Think I’ve got it,” she said. “Get ready. On three. One…two…three.” The Jefferies tube portal opened to darkness.

Mello was checking her tricorder.

“Anything?” Kira asked.

“I’m not sure,” Mello said. “I think he may have set up a jamming field.”

“Great,” Kira said. “Let me go first. You can continue scanning as you follow.”

“Colonel—”

“Captain, I know this is your ship, and I know you feel you have a personal stake in taking the lead here, but you have to let me take point now,” Kira insisted. “I’ve spent my entire life fighting in dark tunnels.”

Mello hesitated, but even feeling the way she did at that moment, she had to know Kira was the best choice to go first. “Very well, Colonel. Lead on.”

They began to crawl. Ten minutes into the tube, Mello reported she was picking up a life-sign dead ahead. And something else. An energy signature. “Colonel, get down!”Mello shouted.

Phaser fire lit up the Jefferies tube, narrowly missing Kira. She hit the deck, hoping Mello had done the same. The orange beams continued to flash over her head in the darkness, the sound of the discharges reverberating through the tube like thunder.

Suddenly the phaser fire stopped. Kira heard the distant sound of a hatch unsealing and immediately returned fire, hoping to tag their foe before he escaped. The echo of the hatch slamming shut testified to her failure. “Dammit!”

There was a soft moan behind her and Kira went cold.

Turning her body around, her wristlight found Mello, a blackened hole smoldering in the middle of the captain’s chest. She was still conscious, staring back at Kira blankly, as if surprised.

“Kira to bridge! Captain Mello’s been hit! Beam her directly to the bridge!”

“Transporters are still down!”the reply came.

“Then send down Dr. Xiang,” Kira barked. “We’re in port Jefferies tube 14A. Move it!”

“Belay that, Spillane,” Mello said. Her breath came in short labored gasps. “You’ll only expose Xiang to danger. Besides…even if Mei gets through…I’ll be dead by the time she arrives.”

“You’re not giving up, Captain!” Kira snapped. “Xiang, get down here now!”

“No…” Mello insisted.

“Stop talking,” Kira told her. “Save your strength—”

“Bridge,” Mello pressed on, “I need you to bear witness…to what I’m about to do…. Stand by….”

“We’re standing by, Captain,”Spillane said quietly, as if she knew what was about to follow.