Kebron held the tattered hide in front of himself, like Peter Pan dangling his shadow. “Yes, it is, isn’t it.” His own skin—the one that was currently covering his body—was glistening and shiny, almost like a newborn’s. It was basically the same color, but a bit lighter. “Is there somewhere,” he said, “that I can dispose of this? Unless of course, Doctor, you’re interested in studying it. Or perhaps, Captain, you’d care to mount it on your wall. Claim you bagged a Brikar.”

Calhoun noticed immediately that there was something completely different about Kebron’s voice. Instead of the typical gruff surliness, he sounded calm. Almost pleasant. Whereas before every word was given up almost unwillingly, now he seemed almost ... chatty.

“I shall attend to it, Lieutenant,” said Selar. She gestured for several of the med techs to take the torn skin from Kebron, which they did with a combination of fascination and mild revulsion. Selar, meantime, was running a medical tricorder over his shoulder. “The bleeding has definitely stopped,” she announced. “I cannot explain it.”

“And yet I have a feeling that Lieutenant Kebron can,” said Calhoun. “Personally, I’d love to hear it.”

“I grew up,” said Kebron.

Calhoun stared at him. “Grew up? What do you mean, grew up? I don’t ...”

“He was an adolescent,” Selar said abruptly.

“What?”

“The doctor is correct, Captain,” said Kebron. “We Brikar age and develop far differently than you. I have been what you would term a ‘teenager’ for approximately forty of your years. Since well before I attended the Academy.”

“That would explain his general attitude,” Selar said. “His reticence, his surliness and air of superiority ...”

“Well, to be fair, Doctor, in many things I simply amsuperior,” said Kebron. “It was, however, time for me to move forward in my physiological and emotional development. And now I have.”

“Just like that?” asked Calhoun.

“Yes, Captain. Why? Would you prefer that it be as prolonged as possible?”

“No, not at all. But ...”

“This is certainly the preferable way to attend to it, don’t you agree? Now then,” he continued, “that scythe you’re holding. The one that Anubis used against me to such devastating effect. We may want to have it thoroughly analyzed to see if it might present some sort of clue as to how to combat these so-called gods. Don’t you agree, Captain?”

“Yes,” said Calhoun hollowly.

“Very well. If you wish, I shall bring it forthwith to science labs. They can get started on it, and Lieutenant Soleta can coordinate with them upon her return. Is that satisfactory, Captain?”

“That ... would be fine.”

“Excellent. Good day to you all, then,” said Kebron. Calhoun noticed that, as opposed to his usual swaggering, lumbering walk, he now had an almost graceful movement to him.

He became aware that Selar was now standing next to him. Her normally inscrutable face looked as puzzled as his own was.

“Is it just me,” said Calhoun, “or was the taciturn, surly Kebron easier to take?”

“It is not just you,” Selar said.

“I think I’m beginning to understand why humans are the most common species on starships. Fewer bizarre and unexpected metamorphoses.”

“True. On the other hand, many of them do have a passion for baseball.”

Calhoun shuddered. But then, all business, he tapped his combadge. “Calhoun to Burgoyne.”

“Burgoyne here,” came back the voice of the ship’s second-in-command. “Is everything all right, Captain? The transporter room said that Kebron was injured. What’s his status?”

“Kebron is fine. Well ... relatively speaking, at any rate,” he amended as he exchanged looks with Selar. “Burgy, contact the away team, and alert Captain Shelby as well. The Beings are on Danter, all right, and at least one of them is out to cause serious problems.”

“Aye, sir. Should we beam them all back immediately?”

Calhoun’s first instinct was indeed to bring all members of the away team back to the relative safety of the Excalibur.But then he reasoned that he had no idea what sort of situation the others might be in. They could be having very different experiences than what he and Kebron had encountered. And really, how were they to pursue any sort of fact-finding mission if they ran from the very place where the facts were going to be made available to them?

“No,” he said after a moment, the speed of his response belying the thought he’d gone to in order to reach it. “But alert them as to the situation. It’s earlier than scheduled for the check-in time, but they need to know what’s happening, and to watch their backs. We’re talking extremely capable people. If I just unilaterally take them off Danter, it would effectively be saying that I didn’t trust them to do their jobs.”

“But do you?” asked Selar quietly.

He fired a glance at her. Meantime Burgoyne’s voice came over the combadge. “Pardon, sir? I didn’t catch what Selar said ... ?”

“It’s nothing, Burgy,” Calhoun said pointedly. “Just let them know what’s happening. Calhoun out.”

Selar looked as though she was waiting for him to say something else. Deliberately choosing not to do so, Calhoun turned and walked out of sickbay.

He was halfway to the bridge when it was reported to him that, moments earlier, Lieutenant Soleta had disappeared.

SOMEWHERE

SOLETA LOOKED AROUND in bewilderment and, feeling disoriented, reflexively put her arms out to either side to ward off an anticipated fall. She staggered, went down to one knee, but then quickly pulled herself together and stood once more. Then she looked around to get a better handle on her whereabouts.

She was standing on a plateau that appeared to be, as near as she could tell, the top of a mountain. But it was impossible to determine how high, for below her clouds ringed the towering peak on which she stood.

Turning in place, all she could see in all directions was a miasma of darkness. Yet the darkness itself appeared to be moving, like caliginous shifting sands flowing through a wildly distorted hourglass.

She heard a distant rushing of air. She thought that perhaps she was in some sort of huge vortex. Then it occurred to her to pull out her tricorder, and she immediately tried to get readings of where she was and what she was seeing. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to discern any conclusive findings. There were definite high energy flux readings, but she couldn’t determine anything beyond that. What kind of energy, or what its source was. Nothing.

“Hello?” she called out tentatively, and felt the fool for doing so. What sort of thing was that to say in this strange circumstance. Helloooooo.Very unscientific and most unproductive.

Beside, she knew exactly who it was that had subjected her to this, so why not come straight to it?

“Thoth,” she said. She spoke firmly and in her best no-nonsense voice. “Thoth. I am not amused by this. I demand that you return me to Danter immediately.”

“Why?”

The voice came from directly at her right shoulder, and she was so startled she almost backed up off the edge of the towering plateau. Snake-quick, Thoth reached out a hand and snagged her by the forearm, steadying her. “Careful,” he said.

She pulled her arm away from him, being careful not to do it so violently that she threw herself off-balance. “I am always careful,” she assured him archly.

He stared at her, a smile playing across his lips. “Always?”he asked.

“Yes. And whatever this place is, I insist you take me from it at once and return the two of us to Danter.”

Instead of instantly complying, he circled her slowly, never taking his eyes from her. This gave him the look of nothing so much as a large hawk circling its prey. “The casual observer might note,” he said, his voice never wavering from its quiet, patient tone, “that you are dissembling slightly. You have been known to take chances on more than one occasion, and act outside the rules. Is that not true?”