Commander Maxine Taggert paced the confined spaces of main Engineering as she waited for her staff to assemble. Starfleet Headquarters had sent special mission instructions to the Endeavour. They were to test an experimental theory in the hopes of achieving transwarp. Maxine Taggert had the reputation of being one of the best Engineers in the Federation. Her own designs lay at the heart of the new starships being built, and in the Endeavour itself. This reputation, coupled with the illustrious ship, the Endeavour, made the ship a perfect choice for this test.

Maxine was not a person to fear innovation, but she did insist on thorough ground work and solid facts before implementing potentially dangerous experiments. That was why she had fought these orders. No matter how she looked at it, her gut told her that the ground work was not there. There were too many missing elements to understand the forces that they were about to try to control. Despite her recommendations, heated arguments, to be accurate, Starfleet insisted on proceeding with the tests.

Captain Forrester listened to her misgivings but Starfleet would not back down on their decision. If Forrester would not cooperate, if Taggert refused to participate, there were other officers who would replace them and get the job done. Their attitude reflected their desperation to achieve transwarp. It was the one development that might equalize things if open war broke out between the Borg and the Federation. So Forrester agreed to proceed.

The experiment would be based on results from experiments in the early 2360's. A Starfleet propulsion specialist, Kosinski, had showed significant improvements on the starships Ajax, Fearless and Enterprise-D. Later it had been discovered that his actual work had not been responsible for these results, rather it had been the result of his humanoid assistant from Tau Alpha C, known as the Traveler. The experiments were abandoned when a miscalculation carried the Enterprise beyond the boundaries of natural physics where it was nearly destroyed.

In 2367, also on board the Enterprise-D, Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher had tried to build on the principles learned from the Traveler to create a stable static warp bubble. The experiment had been ill conceived in Maxine's opinion, and dangerously uncontrolled. The Ensign's mother, the ship's doctor, had nearly been a casualty of the experiment's failure.

Now again, Starfleet was pursuing the technology of transwarp by attempting to duplicate Kosinski's Equations. The best minds in the Federation had studied the Traveler's effects, building theories that tied space, time, and thought in new relationship, but never fully understanding them. It was hoped that application would build understanding.

Taggert's teeth ground against each other at the thought of her ship being used so carelessly. but she would obey orders. She would do her best to see that the ship survived this foolish experiment. If it was physically possible to create transwarp using the effects of Kosinski's Equations, this crew could do it. They were the best she'd ever worked with.

"Lt. Nor," Taggert addressed her warp specialist as the last of the teams assembled, "is your team ready?"

"Yes, sir, I'll man the secondary station." There was no hint in Nor's voice of the heated argument she'd had with her commander over that decision. Nor had wanted to man the primary consul, but Maxine would monitor that station herself during the experiment. "Ensign Sauter will monitor energy drains from the panel at the core," Nor continued, "and the rest of the team will take their positions outside the 'focus radius'."

One of the least understood aspects of the proposed theories, was that transwarp was achieved as much by thought as by warping space or time. The control group that would initiate the jump would be the most effected by any backlash from a failed attempt. They would be the 'focus' of all energies involved, like living lenses. Taggert hoped that keeping this group small would limit damage should anything go wrong.

Taggert gave a few more instructions to team leaders who would be monitoring all vital ship functions and recording data for further study. Everyone took their places.

"Bridge," Taggert spoke into her comm badge, "we are ready to attempt the first jump."

The decision had been made to test the transwarp in a series of brief jumps within the system. It was believed by the theorists that actual physical distance was unimportant. Time was the controlling factor. But psychologically the distance would have an effect on the crew.

"At your discretion, Commander," Captain Forrester replied," you may engage. Ship control is transferred to main engineering."

Standing at the secondary station across the main status display from her commander, Hyper Nor listened to the exchange. She heard with her mind's ear the misgivings that her superior officers were attempting to ignore. But inside herself, Hyper could only feel anticipation. Her entire adult life, she had dreamed of transwarp. Now she would be a part of achieving it. She gave a quick glance towards the main core to catch Terry's eye.

Terry Sauter stood calmly at her panel, her diminutive silhouette outlined by the pulsing engine core. She would be ready to cut power from her station at the first sign of trouble. Hyper smiled as Terry flashed her a thumbs up signal of confidence.

"Bypass automated safety relays,"Taggert ordered. Hyper's fingers danced from padd to padd upon her panel, "ODN safeties by-passed, and power redistributed."

"Bring warp power on line," the commander director Sauter.

"Warp power on line and available," she responded.

Taggert paused for a deep breath. She looked at her young lieutenant and read the eagerness there in her eyes. She prayed that her own instincts were wrong. "Initiate."

They fed the calculations into the computer, synchronizing their movements as rehearsed, attempting to balance physics the human mind could barely grasp.

"Power consumption up thirty-seven point one percent,"Terry called.

"Initiate second stage calculations," Taggert spoke in a distracted tone, her full concentration on the readouts before her.

Hyper became aware of a tingling sensation in her lower extremities, creeping up to flood every pore. Every cell had a separate sensation that swamped her mind. In spite of that, her actions took less and less thought to mirror Taggert's It was as if the equations were second nature to her, as natural as breathing. The harmonics of the fields from the warp engines vibrating along her skin and helping her anticipate the next calculation.

"Nearing maximum warp threshold," Nor told the Chief Engineer.

"Power drain leveling off at fifty one percent,"Terry reported.

From her position Terry watched her data and the two women across the room Their faces had gone slack, expressionless; their voices seemed to be distant, unconnected to their actions; and their movements across the panel were nearly machine like in efficiency.

"Warp nine point eight. . .nine point nine. . ." Hyper read off their rapid acceleration," nine point nine five. . ."

Terry watched in fascination as the bodies of her Commander and her friend begin to fluctuate in and out of phase. One moment they were solid, the next they were transparent as time became a liquid barrier without definition.

"Warp ten. . .! " victory rang out in Hyper's voice,"Transwarp! We are off the scale, and stabilizing."

The words were barely out of Hyper's mouth when she felt the threads of real space separate from around her. An odd sense of duality swamped her consciousness. She could see herself at the control panel; see Terry's face full of shock; see Taggert fading in and out of phase, a study of concentration. But she could also feel and see herself in her own quarters, a shattered vase in her hands, delicate white lilies at her feet, and a deep sorrow of loss. She could also hear Audra McKay, her closest friend shouting that they were being boarded by attackers. Another self stood over the body of a boy, the alien Daarth, that had been adopted by one of the families on board. He was motionless, his neck at an unnatural angle.

Events began to flash faster and faster around her and before her. She could not separate one from the next, yet on another level of her mind, each was distinct and real in every detail.

The physical self heard Commander Taggert impatiently repeat an order to Sauter. A part of her looked away from her controls and drew enough of her consciousness back within herself to look over at Terry.

Terry was feeling dizzy and her head began spinning. Her whole body felt light, extremely light, like a wisp of smoke. She gripped her console control panel tightly. She felt as if she was going to float away any minute!

She could see Hyper standing at her controls looking at Taggert. Everything began moving in slow motion and there appeared to be more than one Hyper and Taggert!

Suddenly everything started speeding up. Faster and faster the images came at Terry! She could catch only bits and pieces of them. She glimpsed her quarters with a table that held two burning candles. Then she saw Hyper and Audra in a corridor with a crewman bumping into them. The next scene was the worst. It was one of Taggert laying on the floor of a shuttlebay, with what looked to be a phaser blast to her chest!

The images continued to come, faster and faster until Terry could stand them no longer! Swiftly, the images faded into blackness and the next thing Terry realized was that she was on the floor!

The Ensign lay unmoving , eyes open and staring in horror.

"Nor," Taggert snapped,"we have to terminate the jump! On my mark."

Hyper focussed as much as she could upon the unreality of the order.

"Now!" Taggert and Nor slipped their fingers along the cutoff switches.

In a breath, reality to shape and coalesced in Hyper's mind. She shook her head to clear the images that had pulled her awareness apart.

"Full stop." For a moment Hyper wasn't sure if the Chief Engineer was giving an order, or reporting on their status. She looked at the readings--the ship was stationary, and right where they had expected it to be.

Hyper rushed over to where Terry lay on the floor, Taggert close behind her. "Terry! Terry!" yelled Hyper as she took Terry's arm and gently pulled her to a sitting position, "Are you all right?"

Terry shook her head slowly back and forth as if to clear the images out," "Yea, I think I'm okay, but I feel so. . .dizzy."

Taggert slapped her comm badge, "Medical Emergency, Main Engineering!" she yelled.

"On my way," a voice answered.

"Commander Taggert," Captain Forrester's voice came over the comm, full of concern, "please report your status."

"I have one crewman down, injuries unknown," the Chief Engineer said impatiently. "But as far as the actual jump went, it seems to have been successful."

"I want a thorough briefing as soon as possible," he ordered, "Captain out."

"What happened, Ensign?" asked Taggert, kneeling beside Terry.

"I don't know exactly sir," she began," Everything started looking funny, sort of in slow motion at first, then things began speeding up. I guess I lost consciousness for a second there."

"Did you hit your head when you fell, Terry?" asked a concerned Hyper.

Terry rubbed her hand over the back and sides of her head. "No, I don't think so."

Dr. Montgomery came up to them then, with Lt. Farallon and Nurse Beckett accompanying her.

Hyper noticed Renos Farallon with the team and gave him a reassuring smile to let him know that she was all right. She knew he had probably feared the worst when a medical emergency had been signalled from Engineering. He reached out to squeeze her hand as he brushed past her, "Are you all right, Hype?" he asked, needing to put it into words.

"I'm fine," she emphasized, "the effects didn't hit me quite as hard as they did Terry."

Dr. Montgomery knelt down beside Terry and began scanning her. After the scan was completed she asked, "Can you stand, Ensign?"

"Yes," replied Terry as Farallon and Beckett helped her to her feet. She stood still and swayed just a little bit when she stood up.

"Hang onto her, Renos," instructed Montgomery. "You and Sam escort her back to sickbay and onto a biobed and await my instructions."

"Aye, sir," they both responded, as they carefully walked Terry out of main engineering towards sickbay.

Montgomery turned to Hyper, "Are you all right, Hyper?" she asked as she ran a scan over her.

"I believe I'm all right, Dr. Montgomery, I just felt a little woozy there myself for a bit, but I'm fine now."

"I'll be the judge of that, Hyper," said Mira gently. "Your scan shows the same type of anomaly that Ensign Sauter's did. I want to you come to sickbay as well. And Cmdr. Taggert, I want everyone who was involved with this experiment in sickbay for a check up as soon as possible."

"Is that really necessary, Doctor? I feel fine," offered Taggert.

"I'm sure you are, Maxine, but we really don't know enough about the effects of transwarp on the human body. I think this is very necessary," she stressed.

"All right. We'll be there as soon as we have everything secured here."

"Good," said Montgomery, turning to Taggert, " I will expect you in sickbay shortly, Maxine."

"Aye sir," responded Taggert reluctantly.

*****************

Hyper and Terry were reluctant at first to tell Dr. Montgomery exactly what they saw for fear of being labeled unfit for duty. But when Montgomery expressed the importance of telling everything they felt and saw, they proceeded to tell her of their visions of the future--if that is what they were and not just hallucinations.

"More tests?" asked Terry as she and Hyper lay on biobeds, " that must mean it's serious?"

"No, no," replied Montgomery, trying to comfort Terry who appeared pretty shaken by her experience. "I just want to eliminate anything physical which might have caused your visions. If I can do that, then we can assume that the visions were a side effect of the transwarp experiment."

Taggert stood nearby and reported that she felt and saw nothing unusual at all during the experiment. "If that's correct, Dr. Montgomery, then why wasn't I affected?" she asked.

"There could be a number of reasons, Maxine. Everyone's body is different. We may never know exactly why Nor and Sauter were affected and you were not. But if I had to make a guess right now, " began Mira, glancing at Hyper--a slight smile on her face--I would say it could be because you have had children whereas Nor and Sauter haven't. Either that or your age. You being so much older than . . ."

"I"m not that much older than they are, Doctor!" Taggert protested. When can they return to work?" she asked, changing the subject.

"These tests will take a couple more hours to run and after that I want them to rest for the night, here in sickbay. They can return to work tomorrow morning at their regular shift."

Taggert turned to Nor and Sauter, " Report to work tomorrow, 0600 hours," she ordered, then turned and quickly walked out of sickbay.

"That was a good one," commented Hyper--referring to Mira's remark about Taggert's age.

"Thought that might cheer you two up a bit," she laughed.

"Sam, let's get started on an inner nuncial series on both Nor and Sauter. We need to rule out temporal displacement as a cause," she ordered to Nurse Samantha Beckett.

"Renos," she turned to Farallon who was standing patiently beside Hyper's bed, holding her hand, "I want you to check the baseline med files and see what you can come up with in terms of these symptoms having ever occurred before. And tap into the engineering files for all starships who have attempted any kind of warp experiments lately or in the past. Maybe we can find something there."

"Right, Dr., I'll get right on it," he said, kissing Hyper's hand.

"Don't worry, Hype, we'll find out what's going on. You'll be fine," he said as he left for his work station.

Mira walked over between the beds where Hyper and Terry lay. "You two are fine, physically, according to the first set of tests I've run thus far. These other tests are mainly to rule out any other possible reasons for what happened to you two. Since these visions were obviously upsetting, I want you to talk with Counselor Bek while you're here. I think that would help put things into perspective, ok? Any questions?"

They looked at each other and nodded 'no'.

"Ok, just take it easy while these tests are being run and I'll let you know as soon as possible what we find."

*********************

Counselor Bek sat across from Dr. Montgomery in her office. He had just finished listening to Hyper and Terry relate their stories.

"Did the scans show anything?" he asked.

"Only that one anomaly in both of their temporal lobes. And there is no physical reason for that to be there--none that I can find," offered Montgomery as she leaned back in her chair. "There is, however, a theory which might explain this."

"Which is?"

"The one which states that there is no past or future, only the present. That everything is happening simultaneously. That our perception of time is based on what we believe it to be and not what it actually is."

"Which is what exactly?"

"Non linear."

"And this perception of time is 'bleeding into Nor and Sauter's reality of a linear time?" asked Bek a bit confused.

"Not exactly. But some people are more open to other ways of looking at things...as I believe Nor and Sauter to be. While others are not as open..."

"Like Taggert, you mean?" asked Bek.

"Yes. Maxine is not exactly prone to metaphysical beliefs or anything other than what she is used to. She has more of a closed mind than the other two and that could explain why she saw nothing out of the ordinary during the experiment. Remember when the medical team got trapped inside those time/space bubbles? Each of us was transported back in time directly relative to our own perceptions. You and I went back to Bajor before the Occupation while Kate and Wendy went back to the original Enterprise. Bajor was our reality, not the others'.

"So you're saying that reality is what we perceive it to be and that what is reality to one person is not reality to another. Yes, I agree with that. In fact I've run across this many times in my practice. I remember a case where a Bajoran woman was convinced she was actually a Cardassian! It turned out that her entire family was killed during the Occupation and she was the only survivor. She felt guilty about surviving and was punishing herself by becoming something she hated."

"It makes sense to me," said Mira. "Of course I'm sure that's not the only possible explanation for what happened."

"Of course not. But we may never know exactly what happened," said Mira. "Transwarp could have opened all kinds of other dimensions which we are not aware of. Maybe parallel universes, time travel, or maybe they were just hallucinations after all, we just don't know."

Bek hesitated a moment, digesting what Mira had said, "I believe these visions are real, Mira. They are not hallucinations or day dreams. Whether they are from our actual future or not. . ."

"Well, if they are then all we need do is wait until something happens which corresponds with one of their visions."

They both looked at each other, each thinking the same thing. Hyper's vision involved an attack on the Endeavour and Daarth's death. Terry's showed a dead Taggert. Finally Montgomery spoke, " Let's hope that the first visions to come true are the harmless ones," she said.

"Should we report this to the Captain?" asked Bek.

"Yes, I think so. This involves the transwarp experiment and even if there turns out to be nothing to those visions, at least he'll be aware of what is happening. It can't hurt," responded Mira. "I'll draft a report for him and take it to him personally."

"Good. As far as Nor and Sauter are concerned, they are mentally fit to return to duty whenever you suggest," said Antos.

"I'm keeping them here overnight for observation," said Mira, "they'll report back to work tomorrow morning."

"Well, if you need me again, just call," offered Bek, getting up to leave.

"Thanks Antos, I will."

Renos Farallon came into the CMo's office and handed her a padd.

"Find anything?" she asked.

"The only thing I found was when the Enterprise-D conducted a transwarp experiment. The entire ship was transported to another galaxy where everyone's thoughts were manifested physically. Then there was the time that their CMO, Dr. Crusher was trapped in warp bubble. Everything she experienced related directly to her thoughts at the time she disappeared into it. Other than those instances, there was nothing on file similiar to what Hyper and Terry reported."

"Ok. Thanks Renos."

"Right," he said as he turned and left her office.

Leaning back in her chair, Montgomery watched as Renos left, thinking about fate. She knew there were some things which were fated to happen and some things which could be prevented from happening. She hoped that the deaths of Daarth and Taggert and the attack on the Endeavour were of the latter.

**************************

The next morning, Audra McKay came to pick up her friends, Hyper and Terry from sickbay. They had spent the night there, then showered and changed into new uniforms to keep from having to return to their quarters.

"How are you two feeling?" Audra asked, glad to see her friends feeling better.

"We're okay, Audra," replied Hyper and the two walked out in front of Terry. As they did, a crewman came rushing around a corner and bumped into them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sirs, I wasn't watching where I was going!" she apologized.

"No harm done, crewman," replied Audra, unaware that Terry was frozen in place behind her, her eyes wide open.

Hyper looked back at her friend, "Terry, what's wrong?" she asked. Then it hit her--one of Terry's visions had just come true!

"Hyper! This was my second vision! They're not in order! Taggert could be . . ."

"Hold on Terry," Hyper began, " we don't know when these visions will happen, or even if they will happen! All we can do is keep an eye on Daarth and Taggert! Dr. Montgomery has already informed the Captain of what we saw. I'm sure he'll be watching for any attackers."

"What is this all about?" asked Audra, who was completely in the dark about the visions.

After explaining everything to Audra, they all proceeded to their work stations. Audra was still having trouble digesting the whole situation.

Terry was nervous all day--dropping tools and jumping at every little noise. Hyper would come over to her every now and then just to reassure her friend and herself that everything would turn out all right. Terry would just nod and go on about her work, but getting very little done.

Audra would come in--risking Taggert's wrath--just to check on them both.

The one good thing about this was that Taggert was unusually subdued. She only yelled twice at her workers, and never at Hyper or Terry. Terry would catch Taggert looking at her from time to time. Did she think I made up that part about her being killed? wondered Terry. Why doesn't she yell at me or something! That would be better than this. . .silence! I can't wait for this day to be over!

****************************

In spite of the reassurance that she had given to Terry, Hyper was quite shaken by the incident in the corridor. The flashes of events that she and Terry had experienced in the transwarp experiment were real.

They had carried smells, sights, sounds, and a texture of vibrancy that left no room to ignore them. Dr. Montgomery and the counselor were unable to explain their cause. Time alone was the only option, but time may not be an ally.

Hyper left Audra with a cheerful smile to cover her fears, and went to her quarters after her shift finished. Wearily she flopped down on the cushions of her couch and pulled her favorite throw over her, breathing in the smells of home that were more a part of her imagination that the fabric, any odors it had once held had been aired away long ago.

Her breathing slowed as she let her mind drift. Something tickled at the back of her mind, edging into her awareness. A smell, light and sweet, caught her attention. She sat up and looked around. There on her table stood a bouquet of lilies, white lilies, in a vase that her mother had sent from home. It was her favorite, and Renos used it when he wanted to surprise her with flowers.

She went over to the flowers and touched them. Their texture was already sealed in her memory. She had seen them before. Nausea threatened to choke her. She put a fist to her mouth and took several deep breaths.

"Nor to sick-bay." tension filled her voice.

"Dr. Montgomery here." Mira's cool tones helped her to recover faster.

"Doctor, there are some flowers in my quarters- white lilies."

She knew that Mira would understand the import of her statement from the earlier briefing.

"Understood, Hyper. Keep me posted if anything else occurs."

There was nothing else the doctor could do. No one could stop time.Then another memory came to her; the sight of a child with a broken neck laying on the deck. Time could not be stopped, but maybe events could be!

Hyper raced down the corridors to Commander Robins cabin. Impatiently she waited for an answer to her buzz at the door. "Hello Lieutenant Nor," young Sarin Robins said as she opened the door. She was a frequent visitor to engineering whenever classes were allowed a field trip there. She knew all the Engineers by name on sight. She gave the woman a curious look. "Do you need to see my Dad?"

"Yes, Sarin." The girl started to turn to get her father when Hyper thought to call her back. "Sarin,..umm...where is Daarth?"

The girl shrugged nonchalantly, "In his room, I guess. Dad made him stay home today." She shrugged again, as if the vagaries of the adult mind were beyond her.

"Something the Doctor said must have got him in trouble, cause after she left Daarth was grounded."

Then the Doctor must have taken her reports seriously. She had warned Marlin Robins of the danger that she suspected the boy could be in. Suddenly Hyper felt foolish to have come. The boy was being kept safe and she need not have worried.

"Can I help you, Lieutenant?" Marlin Robins was there at the door, motioning her to come in with a friendly wave. Behind his smile was a shade of concern that he could not keep from his eyes. He was worried that she had more news to give about the things she had seen.

"No, I..." She glanced down at Sarin.

"I can take a hint," the girl sighed dramatically. "Time to leave the room."

Robins gave her a playful swat as she passed by and she danced away to her room. He waited for Nor to continue.

"I just had to check for myself that Daarth was all right." she admitted.

He smiled a genuine smile this time. "Of course. The Doctor told me a little of what you went through, and being on the bridge during the experiment I was aware already that there had been unforeseen side-effects." He offered her a seat. "It must have been horrible."

She took the seat without thought. He was sympathetic and understanding, she was glad now that she had come. She needed to personally see the boy before she could stop worrying. "Could I talk to Daarth. I just need to reassure myself. The things I saw, they were so real."

"Certainly," he stood and called down the hall, "Daarth, come here for a minute, please."

No sound or response came from the other room. "Daarth..." He called a little louder, but still no response.

Marlin took quick steps across to the boys room. Instinctively, Hyper knew that the room would be empty. The boy was gone!

**************

Terry fell heavily onto her bed, face first. As she lay on her stomach, thinking, she became more and more depressed. Somehow she had to make sure that her vision of Taggert didn't come true! But how? And what about Daarth? Could Hyper prevent his death? Just then her door chimed and Terry wearily pulled herself from off her bed and went to the door.

"Come in," she called.

It was Ensign Peter Masian, Terry's boyfriend of the past few months. "Terry, I came to see if you were ok. It's all over the ship what happened to you and Hyper Nor. I tried to see you while you were in sickbay, but Dr. Montgomery said you needed to rest and then today, I was so busy. . ."

Terry went to him and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her on top of her head.

"Oh, Peter! It's awful!" Terry said cutting him off, " Taggert is next! I just know it!"

"What Terry? Tell me what's happened. As Terry related her visions to Peter, he calmly sat with her, holding her hand. After she finished he said, " Tell you what. You go get a shower and change and I'll fix us something to eat, ok?"

"But Peter! How can I prevent Taggert's death?" she cried.

"Terry, I'm sure Captain Forrester is doing all he can to prevent it himself. There's really nothing more you can do, ok? Now, you go on and get that shower. Make it real hot. That will help to relax you. I'm going to fix you a cup of Dr. Montgomery's Bajoran green tea to help you relax too. Now, go on," he shooed her off the sofa.

As Terry padded her way into the bath area, she thought she was really lucky to have found such a nice guy like Peter. Maybe he was right. Captain Forrester would take care of things, she thought.

*************

When Terry finished her shower, she pulled on a big, sloppy grey shirt over a pair of dark blue tights and stepped out into her bedroom where she could see the dining area. There on the table, Peter had placed two lighted white candles!

"Oh, no. Not again," she whispered under her breath.

***************

"Sarin!" Marlin called his daughter. She came quickly, respondingto the urgent tone in his voice. "Do you know where Daarth has gone?"

She hesitated for a telling moment, obviously torn between wanting to obey him and wanting to be loyal to her adopted brother.

"Sarin, it's very important that we find him right away." Hyper pleaded.

She gave in, "He didn't want to miss the junior championship nil-grav ball ournament. He snuck out to play."

Hyper didn't spare a second. She raced out the door and headed for the recreation facilities. Nil-grav ball was a popular sport among the younger civilians. She kept telling herself that it was harmless play. There wasn't even any gravity, so there was no way the boy could fall and break his neck as she had seen him in her vision.

Hyper's legs sped her through the corridors past crewmen who lunged against the walls to avoid being plowed over. Marlin Robins was right behind her.

Suddenly the shock of an explosion rippled though the deck. Alarm klaxons sounded throughout the ship as red alert was called. She staggered and nearly fell, but managed to keep moving. Power fluctuated and the lighting flickered just as they reached the play nil-grav court.

The doors refused to open. Sections of the ship were having their power rerouted to areas with higher priority.

"Computer, over-ride protocols and open door 12-3408-C, authorization alpha quin Robins!" shouted the commander. Hyper pushed through the door as it slid open sluggishly. Robins ran into her from behind as she stumbled to a sudden stop.

A group of boys dressed in bright colors of rival teams, in obvious shock, stood in the glow of emergency lighting. Laying on the floor of the court was the slender shape of a boy, his neck bent at an un-natural angle. When the power had failed to the anti-grav fields, the boy had fallen from a considerable height. There were several other boys who were also hurt, but none as severely as Daarth.

"Robins to sick-bay! Medical emergency, two to beam directly to sick-bay from my signal!" rasped Marlin as he bent at Daarth's side.

"Now!" anguish nearly choked his voice out completely as the two dissolved in a transporter beam.

Hyper felt her knees giving way. The sounds of emergency faded in and out of reality as another shock wave stuck the ship.

"The battle..." she whispered to herself. In her mind she could again hear Audra McKay's voice shouting about attackers boarding.

She slumped against a wall. A medical team hustled through the door way to tend the other wounded boys. In shock, Hyper felt tears stream down her face as she stumbled into the corridor to make her way to Engineering, to her station.

*****************

"Captain, can you give me any more information about these hostiles you suspect may be in the area?" the Chief of security asked. Captain Forrester gave her the straightest answer he could. "Idon't know what to expect, Commander. But I feel vigilance is a reasonable precaution." It was hard not to allow his own doubts and frustration to filter into his voice. The events that the two engineers had seen while effected by the transwarp experiment were unsettling. It was hard to believe that any attacker would dare to attempt to board a Starship in Federation space. But until the effects of the experimentcould be proven or disproved, he would take precautions. Assign extra detail to each shift, and maintain ready status."

Commander Remmington nodded her acknowledgment of the orders and left his ready room. At that precise moment, the ship shook with the force of a direct hit from an energy weapon!

"Red alert!" the captain called as he stepped onto the bridge.

"Mr. Fredericks," he said as he moved to the center chair, "report."

"Shot came from the starboard bow, sir, direct hit. I still can't pick them up with our sensors, though. There is nothing to target to return fire."

Commander Remmington had taken tactical immediately. From her station she began to read off damage reports. "Decks twelve through fourteen have had main power interruptions, but damage is minimal. Shields holding at maximum."

Another concussive blow shook the ship, lights dimmed momentarily as power was rerouted.

"Open hailing frequencies!" the Captain ordered. "This is Captain Forrester of the Federation Starship, Endeavour, to unidentified aggressor. Cease fire at once!" Another volley was his reply. He swung in his chair to face tactical, "Find me that dammed ship!"

"I've got them, sir. Three degrees off our stern. They used interference from a cerillium discharge to blind our sensors." Remmington replied calmly.

"Target and fire on my mark, a warning shot first, then take out their engines."

"Aye, sir." Her voice was laced with steel.

"Fire!"

*****************

"Peter!" cried Terry, "The candles were my second vision! That means Taggert's going to get killed with a phaser!"

"Take it easy Terry, calm down," said Peter, trying to calm her.

"No, you don't understand! Taggert is the only vision which hasn't come true yet. I've gotta get to shuttlebay. . . I don't know what shuttlebay it is!" screamed Terry, obviously on the verge of hysteria.

Peter grabbed her by both shoulders. "Terry, get a grip on yourself! We'll find Taggert in time. "Computer, location of Lt. Cmdr. Taggert."

"Lt. Commander Taggert is in shuttlebay two," responded the calm, cool voice of the computer.

"Let's go!" yelled Terry as they both rushed out the door.

***********************

"Sir we have a transderogynetic power flux in he sensor array padds of shuttlebay two's console, " reported Ensign Jason Alberts.

"Have you tried using the annular confinement capacitor?" asked Taggert. "Yes, sir, no success."

"I'm on my way," grumbled Taggert. Maxine was in the corridor before she remembered Ensign Sauter's warning about being hit with phaser fire in a shuttlebay. That's ridiculous! thought Taggert, there's no way there could be phaser fire in Shuttlebay Two!

***************

Taggert went straight to the sensor control panel of shuttlebay two where she found Ensign Alberts still working on it as expected. Maxine Taggert didn't expect her crew to slack just because she was on her way to fix a problem.

"Report on your repairs, Ensign," she ordered. Ensign Alberts gave Taggert a full report then stood back waiting for her orders on what to try next. The console was already taken apart with wires pulled out and various circuits scattered about. Maxine took an isoimpulse converter and began working on the console.

"Ok, Ensign, try rerouting the power coupling into the third circuit board now," she ordered.

"Yes, sir," responded Ensign Alberts , turning the power back on and doing as instructed.

Just as Taggert made the connection with a circuit, the ship was rocked by a blast sending her tool into an open circuit board. This caused a tremendous burst of energy to shoot outward, blasting Maxine full in the chest. Taggert when flying backwards, hitting the deck hard!

At the same time Terry and Peter were rocked by the blast sending both of them crashing to the deck of the corridor directly outside the shuttlebay. They quickly jumped up and rushed inside just in time to see Ensign Alberts rushing over to Taggert who was laying still on the floor.

Oh, nooo!" screamed Terry, "We're too late!"

"Medical emergency to shuttlebay two!" cried Ensign Alberts, rushing over to where Maxine had fallen, her uniform still smoking from the blast.

*****************

The engagement with the other ship didn't last long. It was a Ferengi marauder that had come out of warp flooding all normal space around their ship with radiant energy from a cerilliyum discharge. They had hoped to be able to take out the Endeavour's shields in the moments that her sensors would be blinded. Once the shields were down they thought to board and steal the transwarp device that Starfleet was testing. The profit of such a device had blinded them to the risks, or perhaps they had depended on the sixty-second rule of Acquisition, "The riskier the road, the greater the profit." But a Ferengi marauder was no match for a starship once her sensors cleared.

The Ferengi officers sat in the brig where Commander Remington took great pleasure in placing the, non too gently. Their crew were held in a makeshift security cell in Shuttlebay three, cleared and sealed. They had lost their ship and would undoubtedly lose their freedom, even if the Federation eventually turned them back over to their own government. Ferengi do not tolerate fools gladly.

The Endeavour was left paying a much higher price for their venture. Sickbay was crowded with an efficient tension as the medical teams tended to casualties and their families.

Lt. Commander Maxine Taggert sat stiffly on a biobed while Dr. Mira Montgomery finished administering to her wounds. "You're lucky you were wearing that protective vest, Maxine," she said, "or your wounds would have been more than just bruises and burns. Whatever made you decide to wear one now? I don't think I've ever seen you wear one before."

Maxine quickly glanced at Terry Sauter then grumbled something about thinking she needed it. Can I leave now, Doctor? Main Engineering is in a mess and requires my attention."

"Yes, you're fine. Just take it easy around electrical equipment for awhile, will you?"

Taggert grimaced as she jumped down from the bio-bed. "Ensign Sauter," she said to Terry who had been waiting to see that her commanding officer was all right, " let's get back to work." Terry smiled, a little smile, at those words and proceeded to follow Taggert out of sickbay.

****************** In a corner of sickbay a man held his sobbing daughter, gently rocking her and letting his own tears flow silently onto her hair. A still body lay on the biobed next to them, monitors shut off, and a sheet completely covering its form.

"Oh, Daddy!" Sarin cried, unable to stop the shuddering sobs from escaping.

"They did everything they could, honey," he whispered, "there just was no way to revive him."

Across the room Lt. Nor sat in a chair listlessly as Renos applied a hypospray to her arm.

"This will help you relax. You're in shock," he explained gently. "Let me take you back to your quarters. You need to rest."

She didn't say anything but let him help her stand.

"Renos," Dr. Montgomery called from another patient's side, "I need your help here."

Torn between duty and a need to help the woman he loved Renos hesitated.

"Go ahead. I'll be all right," Hyper reassured him. When he made no effort to leave her, she gave him a slight push, "Go! I'll wait for you."

Reluctantly he hurried away. Hyper looked around again at all the people who had been hurt in the short battle that she had been unable to stop. A need to escape flooded through her and she rushed out the door to the hall. Her feet carried her unthinkingly to her own quarters and she rushed in with relief.

There on the floor lay a million shards of colored glass and white petaled flowers in a puddle. The nightmare was over, she just wished she could wake up.