But first, you and I must come to an agreement. You must explain to me what is wrong with the _Nighthawk_ so that I may understand better." "Are you going to kill me?" "No. Please explain to me what the problem is." The crew stared. "If you want to live, Mister Riker, you'll do as I say. Go to your quarters and stay there. I promise you that I will not harm you. In fact, you may report for duty on time tomorrow. Dismissed." "Yes, sir," Lieutenant Commander Montoya said. "Ensign Ro, Commander—I request the presence of the senior doctor." "I'm not qualified to deal with an alien biogenic infection, Captain," Dr. Crusher said. "And what is it you want me to do?" "I have a request," Riker said. "I know. And I have a request, Mister Riker. But I didn't want to say anything in front of the crew, in case they objected. Or wanted to object, which might have been even more disastrous for all concerned." "Just what is that request, Captain?" Riker asked. "I'll show you mine, first. _Please_ go to your quarters. Don't argue. I promise you that I won't harm you, but I must have your help. Dismissed." "But—but—" "No buts, Mister Riker. Get some rest. Or whatever you can do to recover your strength. As for me, I have some important things to do." "Yes, Captain. What about the alien life form in sickbay?" "I've sealed it in a storage area, with enough containment fields to contain it for the next three days. Now, please go to your quarters." "But Captain—" "No buts. Dismissed." The captain watched with undisguised delight as Riker's face turned redder and redder. He had taken so long to make up his mind that she had been compelled to use her authority. He left the bridge with an unhappy backward glance. Her mind churning, she turned to find Worf peering at her, wearing a puzzled frown. "Is something wrong, Captain?" "For a moment, I thought he might argue. I'm usually better at dealing with people than that, Worf." "Is there some problem, Captain?" "Of course there is. But there's no need to worry. It will be all right." "But—?" "We'll be off again in a few minutes," she said, shrugging. "It's the only chance we have." Worf didn't look convinced. He glanced toward sickbay, but the commander wasn't there anymore. "It's all right, Worf. Lieutenant Commander La Forge will have the situation under control. I've instructed him to consult Dr. Crusher if he feels the situation is beyond the pale." "I hope it is," Worf said. "The entity appears to be a danger to us." "No!" Dr. Crusher said. "It is not dangerous." "But—?" "The entity is a complex being. As a result of the accident, the creature may have undergone some trauma. It may be unable to accept us as it has accepted the other _Enterprises_." "Not that we're sure the entity is an entity," the doctor said. "It has been acting like a complex program. It seems likely that it—or it's intelligence—didn't quite understand what happened to the _Enterprise_." "But how can the program have been damaged in this way?" Worf asked. "No matter how intelligent, the program should be able to deal with the consequences of its actions." "Apparently, it can't," Dr. Crusher said. "I need to think about this some more. But for now, I'd like to see that program again." The screen on the turbolift stopped and moved back to its normal display. Deanna came into the room and stopped when she saw Crusher. "This wasn't necessary," the doctor said. "I know." She sounded subdued. "And I hope I'm not making a bad situation worse. If you've come to give orders, they can wait. I'm willing to accept whatever decision you come to—within reason." "You were always reasonable, Lieutenant Commander. But I need to study a bit before I make my decision. You know that, don't you?" "Yes, I do," Deanna said. "But what will happen to me? I won't like being tossed out on my ear." "When all is said and done, Captain," Crusher said, "no one will lose face on this ship. You may be dismissed, Commander Riker." "I will be, Commander. Thank you for your help." "And thank you, Doctor." Riker walked out of sickbay. "This isn't your fault," the doctor said. "I've been saying that to myself for the past couple of hours," Riker said. "And I want you to keep saying it. That's an order, Commander Riker." "Yes, Doctor." The screen swirled again as the turbolift stopped. Deanna looked at it without moving. The turbolift chimed again. "I have changed my mind. Make your way to my ready room. Report to me in ten minutes." Deanna didn't have to do more than think about it. She did exactly that as she left sickbay. With her newfound confidence, she had found her way to a better place than she had thought possible for her. The _Enterprise_ offered a freedom she had never dreamed she would experience again. Still, there were many things to be done before she would be free from the strictures of life aboard a starship. "You may go to my ready room now, Commander." Riker headed aft, his movements brisk. He wanted to find out what was happening, and he wasn't going to give the captain more than ten minutes. The door to her ready room slid open. Deanna walked in and stopped when she saw the alien alien. The entity appeared to be watching her. "I expected to see a larger area," Deanna said. "For all its mental abilities, this device isn't all that sophisticated." "The entity did not intend to deceive you," the entity said. "I thought you were supposed to have feelings," Deanna said. "We are a complex program. Feelings are a secondary consideration. It has been a thousand years since I had the opportunity to speak to another sentient being. I am—excited, even though I don't know why I'm here. Do you have a name?" "No, I don't." "How did you contact us?" "A computer malfunction caused the _Hood_ to lose power. The program is unable to deal with that—or with the aliens whose ship crashed and disabled it." "I am not an alien. Not anymore." "What are you, then?" "My original body was destroyed in the crash. I was recreated in the replicator, and have been in storage ever since. What happened to the _Hood_?" "It disappeared," Deanna said. "We aren't sure what happened. We don't know why it disappeared or how it disappeared. The entity doesn't know either. It's not able to remember all that happened. But it did know that its body was destroyed." "Why did it disappear?" the entity said. "What happened?" "We can only guess," Deanna said. "We don't have any data, but we do know this much—if the ship had not disappeared and reappeared, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I know the alien program is curious about the entity, and why we never asked it why it disappeared. We've been able to study you because we have access to you through the transporters. We'll have you restored to your full physical form. You'll have your complete memories restored, and access to the ship's library. All the information you need will be at your disposal." "What else have you done to us?" the entity asked. "Made you part of us." The entity shifted in its enclosure. "That seems to be a very small part, Doctor," Dr. Crusher said. "I'm sure it'll get more complete eventually. It's hard to predict how long a complete form will last with a complex program like the entity. The program is part of us, part of this ship." "What about our personalities, our feelings?" "You'll feel a strong connection to the ship. It might make you feel a little restless, but you should eventually settle in to your new situation." "I hope you don't think I'm being self-indulgent," Deanna said. "We had to do it, or we'd be out of a job." "I would hope that you wouldn't do anything that