*   *   *

Steej was back in his office, scrolling through a list of the last hour’s worth of field reports, when he received a call on his com device.

“Steej here,” he said.

“It’s Ardin. I’m at the Coastal Breezes—and we’ve got another report about Cardassians asking questions. Except this time, there was only one of them.”

“Was he asking about the Zartani?”

“According to the proprietor.”

Steej sat back in his chair. Obviously, this Demmix was a very important fellow to someone.

Had he been important to the Cardassian they found in the alley? And had that fact somehow contributed to the Cardassian’s bloody demise?

It certainly seemed likely.

“That’s not all,” said Ardin. “There are a couple of Cataxxans asking questions too now.”

Steej made a face. “Cataxxans?” They were the most upright species he knew—hardly the sort to be engaged in anything shady.

“I know, sir. It seems unusual. But apparently, they showed up at the Coastal Breezes after the Cardassian did.”

“And?” said Steej.

“And they asked questions about Demmix as well. But without any threat of violence.”

The Rythrian nodded to himself. An important fellow indeed.

“I’m dispatching additional personnel to your sector,” he told Ardin. “Have them go around to all the Zartani hotels in the area and warn the proprietors about these Cardassians—and the Cataxxans too, while you’re at it. Tell them we need to know immediately about any visits they get.”

“Yes, sir,” came the response. “Ardin out.”

Steej frowned as he put his com device away. Cataxxans, eh? Who else was going to turn up in the course of his investigation? Some Gorn? A few Vulcans, perhaps?

Whatever was going on, it was bigger than he had ever imagined. But then, he consoled himself, it would be that much more satisfying when he got to the bottom of it.

For him, at least. For those who had committed crimes in his jurisdiction, it would anything but satisfying.

Commander Wu had barely sat down to eat a quick plate of stir-fried vegetables when she heard someone call her name.

Looking up, she saw Pierzynski, a big, blond security officer, standing there with a tray full of something hot and steaming.

“Mind if I sit down?” he asked.

Wu indicated the chair opposite hers. “Please do.”

“Thanks,” said Pierzynski.

He put his food down and folded himself into the chair. Then he glanced at the second officer’s tray.

“Not very hungry?” he asked.

“Not especially,” she replied. “But then, I’ve never been a very big eater.”

The security officer nodded. “I’ve always been the opposite. After I’m done with this plate, I’ll probably go back and get another one. Fast metabolism, I guess.”

Wu smiled. “So it would seem.”

For all his vaunted appetite, Pierzynski didn’t seem especially interested in his food. “Have we heard anything from the captain?” he asked.

It seemed to be the question on everyone’s mind. But then, given Picard’s popularity, it would have been surprising if it had been otherwise.

Wu could only imagine the crew’s response if they knew the captain hadn’t reported in yet, many hours after his intended rendezvous.

She shook her head. “Not yet. But we believe that we’ll hear something soon.”

Pierzynski nodded. “Good.”

And he dug into his meal. But from Wu’s point of view, the security officer still looked like a man with something on his mind. It occurred to her that his request to sit with her might not have been an entirely casual one.

Finally, he sat back and wiped his mouth. Then, in what seemed like an intentionally offhand manner, he said, “Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask you about.”

Ah-hah, Wu thought. “And what would that be?”

Pierzynski took a deep breath, then said, “As you know, I’ve been a security officer for three years now—two on the Lantree and one on the Reliant.”

“Yes,” she said, “I’m aware of that.” She made a point of knowing her crew’s personnel files backward and forward.

Pierzynski went on. “When we left spacedock, I was Lieutenant Ang’s right-hand man. At least, that’s how it seemed to me.”

Wu saw where he was going. “However, the captain made Mister Joseph acting security chief when Lieutenant Ang left the ship.”

Pierzynski nodded. “I like Lieutenant Joseph. I think he’s doing a great job. And even if he weren’t, I wouldn’t try to stab him in the back or anything.”

Just then, the second officer saw Ensign Jiterica enter the mess hall. Passing the food slot, she found a table and sat down by herself.

Of course, the Nizhrak didn’t eat food. Lacking the organs typical of a humanoid digestive system, she couldn’t have consumed anything even if she had wanted to.

As Wu watched, the ensign started working on a personal display device, using the bulky fingers of her containment suit with a dexterity she couldn’t have exhibited when she first came aboard the Stargazer. No doubt, she was continuing some bit of work she had begun during her last shift in the science section.

Of course, seeing Jiterica with that device in hand was nothing new. She brought it to the mess hall every day, just as soon as she was relieved of her post.

The second officer smiled, knowing it was she who originally suggested that the ensign bring the device with her to the mess hall. Indeed, it was she who suggested that Jiterica come to the mess hall in the first place.

It had started out as a personal invitation—a way for Wu and Jiterica to get to know each other better, at least on the face of it. But really, it was an attempt to introduce the ensign to the social life of the crew.

It turned out to be a disaster—at least partly because of the design of the mess-hall chairs. Built for humanoids, they had prevented Jiterica from sitting comfortably and added to her self-consciousness instead of relieving it.

A huge disaster, Wu amended.

But she had still believed in the need for the ensign to be in the mess hall, so she placed a more containment-suit-friendly chair in the room. That helped.

And after Jiterica’s work on the rescue of the Belladonna, she had gotten more positive attention from her colleagues in the science section. That helped as well.

Pretty soon, the Nizhrak had become a fixture in the mess hall—usually one of several science-section personnel in the corner farthest from the replicator station.

Unfortunately, none of her colleagues from the science section seemed to be around at the moment. The only crewmen in the place were from the security and engineering sections, and Jiterica didn’t know them quite as well.

Which, Wu concluded, was why the ensign was sitting all by herself.

“—and if you think Lieutenant Joseph is better officer material than I am,” said Pierzynski, “and you want to make him the permanent chief of security, I can live with that. But at this point, I don’t know what you, the captain, or Commander Ben Zoma have in mind for him.

“And if you bring in somebody else and make Mister Joseph just a regular officer again, that makes me number three in the section. And under those circumstances, I think I may be better off asking for a transfer.”

Wu wanted to give Pierzynski her undivided attention. But she couldn’t help thinking about Jiterica.

The ensign didn’t appear to have a problem with the solitude—but Wu did. The last thing she wanted was for the Nizhrak to start feeling lonely again, especially after she had been making such excellent progress.

“So,” said Pierzynski, “I’d just like to know where I stand.”

Wu nodded. “I understand your concerns. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the captain has in mind at this point.”

The security officer sighed.

“On the other hand,” the second officer continued, “I can tell you that we’re all very pleased with your work, and would like you to remain on the Stargazer. And if you should decide to ask for a transfer, we will do everything we can to get you the kind of posting you deserve.”

That seemed to make Pierzynski feel a little better. “Thanks,” he said.

They spoke a little longer. Then the security officer picked up his tray and left Wu sitting there—wondering what she should do about Jiterica.

The ensign was still sitting alone, still working on her padd. And her solitude still bothered the second officer.

Wu considered the idea of rectifying the problem herself, by picking up her tray and sitting down next to Jiterica. However, she was due back on the bridge and she couldn’t have stayed very long.

She was still considering the matter when Ensign Paris walked in—and gave Wu reason to feel relieved. She didn’t need to feel bad anymore. Help had arrived.

Of everyone on board the Stargazer, Cole Paris was probably the individual closest to Jiterica. Nor was it a surprise to Wu that that should be the case.

Paris had worked with Jiterica on the rescue of the Belladonna, which was caught in the grip of a deadly space anomaly. When they returned from their mission, there was a bond between them—or at least the beginnings of a bond. The second officer had seen it in their faces, and the realization had pleased her no end.

After all, Jiterica hadn’t made any friends yet at that point, and she had needed one desperately. The rescue mission had presented her with at least the possibility that she would find friendship on board the Stargazer.

And once the ensign got a glimpse of that possibility, she was able to interact with her colleagues in the science section on an entirely different footing. She was able to make friends of them as well.

Ironically, Wu recalled, Paris didn’t end up seeing Jiterica for a while afterward, since they were on unavoidably different schedules. But when he finally did see her, they began spending much of their free time together.

Wu glanced at Jiterica to see her reaction to Paris’s appearance. Indeed, the ensign seemed pleased by the prospect of having her friend join her, a ghostly smile growing behind her faceplate.

Paris glanced in Jiterica’s direction, then headed for the food slot. Naturally, Wu expected him to join the Nizhrak as soon as he filled his tray.

But he didn’t. In fact, he walked over to the opposite side of the room, where no one else was sitting, and sat down at a table all by himself.

Strange, thought Wu.

She didn’t know what to make of it. And a glance at Jiterica told her the ensign didn’t know what to think either.

One thing was for sure—the second officer was going to have a talk with Ensign Paris.

Enabran Tain left the last Zartani hotel on his itinerary with an irresistible desire to strangle someone.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t finally picked up a lead with regard to Demmix’s whereabouts. It was that the lead didn’t appear to lead anywhere.

Granted, the glinn now knew where Demmix had slept prior to the plaza bombing—right there in The Heavenly Meadow. However, he still didn’t know where the Zartani was headed when he left the hotel. And the manager there, for all the apparent effectiveness of Tain’s increasingly open threats, seemed incapable of producing that information.

Time was going by and he had snared neither Demmix nor Picard in his web. He didn’t like that. He didn’t like it at all.

Just then, he felt the buzzing of his com device. Taking it out, he snarled, “Tain.”

“It’s Varitis, Glinn.”

“I want good news,” Tain snapped.

“I have some,” Varitis told him with undisguised eagerness. “I have spotted the two Cataxxans.”

Now we’re getting somewhere, Tain told himself. “Where are they?”

His underling told him.

“I’m on my way,” said Tain.

Gesturing for Beylen and Karrid to follow him, he headed for the location Varitis had given him—hoping their hunt would soon be over.