The outlines of four humanoids and one wider, smaller mass shimmered for a moment in the air, before the members of the engineering team solidified on the transporter platform. Saadya was waiting for them, and as he stepped forward he adjusted his well-worn lab coat.

“Welcome aboard Ishtar Station again, Commander Gomez,” he said, extending his hand to the young, dark-haired woman who stood in the small group’s center.

The woman stepped off the platform, followed by the others. Smiling mischievously, she took his hand. “It seems like it’s been…hours, Dr. Saadya.” She gestured to the others behind her. “This is our second officer, Lieutenant Commander Tev, and our tactical systems specialist, Fabian Stevens.”

But it was the pair to Gomez’s right that held the better part of Saadya’s interest. One was the Bynar, and the other most closely resembled a giant pillbug. I’ve never actually stood so close to a member of the Nasat species, Saadya thought, suppressing a revolted shudder. Gomez introduced the Bynar as Soloman, and the giant insect as “Pattie” Blue.

Saadya guided the group out of the transporter room and into a corridor. “I’m sorry that my lead assistant, Adrienne Paulos, won’t be able to join us for this dry run. She’s down on the surface overseeing some repairs at Ground Station Sukra.”

He pressed a panel next to a doorway, and the door slid open, revealing a large room. “This holodeck features an exact re-creation of Ground Station Vesper, although it could really be just about any of the stations. They’re all built essentially from the same design. We have a skeleton crew at each of the stations presently, so that as many of our personnel as possible can engage in these simulations.” He swept one arm wide as a gesture for the others to enter.

They filed in and saw a number of workers bustling away at computer terminals, checking padds and gauges, and generally looking very busy. Then several of them moved aside, giving the da Vinci team an unobstructed view of the far end of the room.

Saadya turned just as Gomez’s jaw dropped open and her features took on a look of surprise. Damn. I forgot to tell them!

*   *   *

Everything about Saadya’s operation had seemed very well-designed, if a bit overly cautious in terms of resource consumption. Despite the obviously budget-conscious philosophy at work here—or perhaps because of it—Gomez was impressed as she viewed the ground station’s holographic representation. The simulated viewscreens faithfully displayed the brown-yellow swirls of noxious wind that billowed high above the compound. Or at least the ones that go whipping across the sky over the real ground stations, she thought.

Then some of Saadya’s workers moved to other stations, revealing the rows of computer banks arrayed farther into the room.

And the two diminutive Bynars who were working amid this compact maze of silicon, cortenide, and polyalloy.

Gomez realized with a start that her mouth was hanging open, and she shut it with a snap. Sparing a quick glance over to Soloman, she gave Saadya a sharp look. “You neglected to tell us that you already had Bynars working on this project. Or are they holograms as well?”

Saadya’s features darkened slightly, and he looked apologetic. “No, they’re quite real. I’m sorry. I thought I had mentioned something about this to Captain Gold.” He gulped. “I hope their being here won’t present a problem.”

Stepping forward, Soloman furrowed his expansive brow slightly. “It will not be a problem for me, Doctor,” he said. “Certainly, the mass of information the three of us will be able to process will be far greater than anything I could manage by myself, and will also greatly exceed their tandem capacities as a dual processing unit.” Soloman glanced at Gomez, and she saw a bit more trepidation in his eyes than his words communicated. However, he intended to be professional about it, which was her primary concern. Let’s just hope those two Bynars have the same intention.

Clearing her throat softly to table this line of discussion for the moment, Gomez gestured around the room. “Which stations do you want us to take?”

Saadya clapped once, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, except that of the Bynars, who remained fixated on their computer screens. They had yet to look up or acknowledge anyone else’s presence in the room. “Everyone, this is the engineering team from the da Vinci. As I briefed you all before, they’re here to help us run this simulation, and if all—when all works out properly, help us implement the actual atmosphere reduction programs we’ll be running on the ground.” He looked back at the assembled S.C.E. personnel and added, “These fine Starfleet officers have had all of Project Ishtar’s schematics since yesterday, which means that they’re already familiar with the broad ideas if not every aspect of the actual implementation. Those of you who were assigned partners, please help bring them up to speed on the operational specifics.”

As technicians came forward to introduce themselves, and the other members of the team moved toward them, Gomez put a hand on Soloman’s shoulder. The small, slight Bynar looked up at her, his eyes guileless. “Are you sure you’re all right with this?” she asked, taking care to keep her voice low.

He cocked his head marginally, as if considering the question, then nodded. “Yes. Even though I am no longer bonded, I am still one of them.”

I certainly hope so, Gomez thought.

As soon as Saadya brought Soloman near the Bynars, they turned. As if controlled by a single mind, both pairs of eyes narrowed. Gomez could see that the Bynar pair had not been as surprised by Soloman’s presence as he had been by theirs. Did Saadya purposely keep the existence of these two Bynars from us, or was it just an oversight? Gomez wasn’t certain—in fact, she hated to question the motives of someone whose work she so admired—but she intended to discuss this with the captain once she returned to the da Vinci.

The Bynars—she couldn’t tell which was 1011 and which was 1110, even though Saadya had just introduced them—began speaking to each other, voices high-pitched and chattering, and definitely not in Federation Standard. She hadn’t heard the sound since 111 had been aboard the da Vinci, discussing technical issues with 110. She could hear the same type of data-stream in their sounds as she had heard from some ancient pre–World War III communication devices they had studied while at the Academy.

Abruptly they stopped, and both of them looked at Soloman. One of them spoke again, in a slower code.

Soloman sighed. “Of course I can still understand binary language. I am not mentally deficient. I am unbonded due to an accident that befell my mate.”

The Bynars looked surprised. One spoke, in English now. “Why have you—”

“—not bonded again—”

“—with another?”

Soloman looked as if he was about to sigh again, but Gomez was relieved to see that he didn’t. “The reasons I have not rejoined with another Bynar are not germane to this mission. My personal decisions have nothing to do with atmospheric pressure, force-field mechanics, wind vectors, planetary realignment, or any other aspect of this terraforming project.”

The Bynars looked up at Saadya with concern showing in their features. “That is not—”

“—an acceptable answer. How—”

“—do we know that—”

“—he is not infected with a virus—”

“—which will be transferred—”

“—to us if we link with him?”

Soloman’s voice got a bit louder, and more stern. “You might at least look at me when discussing me, please.” Once the pair had returned their gaze to him, flinching slightly, he continued. “I am alone because my partner, 111, was killed on a mission. She was brave and beautiful and able to process data as quickly as any Bynar in the upper cluster. When she was killed, I felt that if I were to re-bond, it would dishonor the memory of her that I carry within my heart.”

The Bynars blinked once, then twice, then chattered at each other in a stream of code. Seeing that Soloman was making every effort not to wince or evince other emotions, Gomez wanted to rap them on the top of their bald little heads. Within moments, they had stopped again.

“We will attempt to—”

“—work alongside you—”

“—as long as you do not—”

“—try to infect us with your—”

“—perverse lifestyle.”

Gomez had to bite her tongue to suppress a snort. Luckily, Dr. Saadya spoke up quickly. “It is my understanding that 110 is one of the most capable Bynars that has ever worked with Starfleet. I have no doubt he will be an excellent coworker.”

The two Bynars turned away and stepped back to their workstation, tapping the touch-sensitive monitor. A bright multicolumn stream of data began pouring downward on the screen. They began their code-like chatter almost immediately.

Soloman looked up at Saadya, who guided him toward another station located several paces away. The scientist resumed pointing at a few panels, and Soloman appeared to understand his tasks very quickly.

Gomez cast an evil-eye glance at the backs of the other two Bynars’ crania. She didn’t think of herself as someone who often felt vindictive, but these two had been indescribably rude to her friend and colleague.

*   *   *

All thirteen stations had been linked, and the simulation was going well. No, perfectly, Pascal Saadya thought, allowing himself a wide smile behind the hands steepled in front of his mouth. He moved from bank to bank, as the many technicians monitored the programs that were regulating the endlessly shifting interactions between the simulated force fields and the faux Venusian atmosphere. Between the presence and advice of the Starfleet engineers, all the preparatory work that Team Ishtar had done, and Saadya’s own elated vigilance, the feeling of success in the room was almost palpable.

Suddenly the Tellarite bellowed, “Faugh!” Pandemonium followed.

“We have a cascading node failure commencing northward along meridian number thirty-eight!” said Shaowa Isyami, her usually reserved voice raised in alarm.

“The field is buckling at points 0456 and 0892,” chimed in Kent Laczmyr. “Now points 2487 and 4511. Now 4582.”

As Kent bleated numbers, those around him pressed on the screens, trying to correct the problems.

“Major power surge at Helel Ground Station. Shields are—Oh my God! We’ve lost her!”

As Saadya rushed toward the monitors, the acidic winds above the chamber—lifted tens of kilometers high by the coordinated force fields—howled and rushed down at them in seconds. “Reinforce the fields at all junctures,” he yelled. “Concentrate power at points 8242 and 2983!”

But it was too late. The ceilings and walls groaned, and bolts began to scream as they scraped out of their sockets. Even as the station began to collapse around them, Saadya called out, “Computer, freeze program.”

Instantly, the holographic chaos went both still and silent.

Saadya looked around the room toward the people at their stations, a grim look on his face. Some of the technicians were rattled by the holographic disaster around them, bringing things too close to home for those who had witnessed the final moments of Hesperus Station at close range.

“Any idea what went wrong?” he asked, running his hand up and through his hair. “Anyone?”

The Bynars stepped forward.

“We believe that—” said 1110.

“—the presence of a—” added 1011.

“—contaminant in our—”

“—thought processes—”

“—caused a miscalculation—”

“—which allowed us to—”

“—deploy an incorrect—”

“—vector. We have been—”

“—shamed.”

Saadya’s eyes widened. The Bynars are admitting they were wrong? Or are they?

He saw Gomez cast a nasty look toward the Bynars, and she stepped forward. “Doctor, I suggest we take this data back to the da Vinci to study it, and that your people do the same here. How soon can you have another simulation prepared?”

Time was running out, but Saadya knew that it would be many hours before this data was analyzed. “How about 0830 tomorrow? Would that be a good time?”

“I think so. I’ll discuss it with my engineers.”

Saadya saw Soloman step away from his console to rejoin his Starfleet companions. He didn’t even glance at his fellow Bynars, until one of them spouted a few short syllables of code at him.

Then Soloman squared his shoulders and stalked out of the holodeck, some of his coworkers trailing after him.

Saadya gave an apologetic look to Gomez as she, too, left. And then he counted to ten. And then twenty. He couldn’t afford to make 1011 and 1110 angry, nor could he risk losing the help of the third Bynar if the project was to stand any chance of success before Bynaus and Starfleet recalled the lot of them. What did those two say to Soloman, anyway?

Saadya counted to forty, just to be sure he wouldn’t blow up before he turned back around to face his technicians.