Glancing at the chronometer Riker shook his head with a small chuckle. He should have known. "See you in ten minutes, Captain."

  The chime on his Ready Room door sounded just as the view screen went blank.

  "Come in," Riker called out. Dr. Bashir walked through the door a moment later.

  "I have that information you requested, Captain," Julian informed him neutrally, glancing surreptitiously at Commander Paris.

  "It's all right, Doctor, the commander can hear this."

  Bashir nodded. "Garak says he was told the prisoners in that camp were all killed during the final days of the Dominion War. He never doubted the report because so much of Cardassia was destroyed then. Because of the sensitive nature of the prisoners kept there, it was an isolated outpost and not many people even knew about it. From what he's able to learn, it was maintained by the Breen and a few Obsidian Order members."

  "Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate all your help. You're dismissed."

  Julian stood up to leave and paused.

  "Was there something else?" Commander Paris asked.

  "It's just that...," he trailed off, as if he didn't really want to say what was on his mind.

  "Doctor?" the captain prodded.

  "Considering how involved Starfleet and the Federation have been in rebuilding Cardassia," he began thoughtfully. "Doesn't it strike you as a little odd that -nobody- has stumbled across this prison camp before now?"

  Will looked at him sharply. "What are you saying?"

  "I think Section 31 might be involved even more than we know, Captain. I've literally been in the mind of one of their operatives. I know they've collaborated with the Obsidian Order and the Breen on other occasions. Even the Romulans."

  Riker closed his eyes for a moment, then looked up. "Thank you, Doctor. I'll keep your suspicions in mind."

  When Julian had left, Will pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, trying to ward off the oncoming headache.

  "Do you think he's right?" he asked Tom.

  "Can we afford not to?" Was the reply he got.

  "Damn, I was afraid you were going to say that."

  *****

  The ship was of newer design than when he was her pilot, but she still felt the same. Maybe it was the name. Maybe it was her mission. Maybe it was just the people who served on her, but Tom Paris would have known this ship with his eyes closed. The U.S.S. Valiant, in whatever incarnation, carried an air of mystery about her. And power. Sleek, fast, deadly. Alpha Team was the best and the brightest Starfleet had to offer, the ship they served on could be no less.

  He hated himself for the hum of excitement that coursed through his body. This life nearly destroyed him. Alpha Team members lived fast and hard. Never planning for tomorrow. Never remembering yesterday. They lived in the now. It was the only way to stay alive. It was the only way to stay sane.

  "Commander?" Will interrupted his trip down memory lane, with an apologetic smile.

  "Sorry, Captain. It's just...."

  "Yeah, I know," Riker nodded, understanding completely. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine," he continued. "Commander Tom Paris, this is Captain Geordi LaForge."

  The two men shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Captain," Tom said.

  "You too, Commander. I've heard a lot about you."

  Paris grinned. "Don't believe a word of it, Captain."

  Geordi laughed. "You're right, Will. He's not what I expected."

  With the ice broke, the three of them were able to relax slightly. LaForge showed them to the Briefing Room.

  "The council won't pardon them," Geordi said baldly. "They won't even make it out of the sector alive."

  "That's what we feared," Riker sighed. "They'll never even have the chance to a fair hearing."

  "No," LaForge agreed. "In all fairness, they would have to be pardoned, and you know as well as I do, certain forces can't let that happen."

  "How did you get permission to come here, Geordi?" Will asked.

  The other man shrugged. "Alpha Team distress call. Alpha Team mission."

  "And no one objected?" Paris wanted to know.

  That brought a smile to the captain's face. "Objected to what? I'm just patrolling the Cardassian border, aren't I?"

  "Of course, Captain," Tom grinned back.

  "The way I see it," Riker began. "We have two choices. Take this public and hope to hell the Federation citizens hear us...."

  "Or keep it hidden, and get them to safety ourselves," Paris finished.

  "We're an awful long way from the Federation, gentlemen. It might be difficult to hear us when communications are being censored."

  "Yeah." Riker drew a frustrated hand through his hair, leaving angry spikes sticking straight up.

  Tom looked down at his hands, folding them together tightly. "So, that pretty much leaves us with Plan B."

  Silence fell heavy upon them.

  "It could cost us everything," Tom felt obligated to remind them.

  "Probably," Riker stated.

  "Oh, what the hell!" Paris grinned suddenly. "I haven't pissed the old man off in years."

  "Geordi?" Will asked.

  "I'm with you."

  "Now, we just need to figure out a way to do this without anyone knowing."

  *****

  "We want you to take Marissa for us," Tom Riker told his double, not looking up from the cup of coffee warming his hands. They were in Ten-Forward. Laren and Tom had asked Will and Deanna to meet them there. "She'll be safer on the Enterprise."

  Will nodded, meeting his wife's gaze. "We agree. Deanna and I will be happy to take Marissa for you. My Chief of Security and her husband have offered to foster children if anyone else wants to leave them here. The Parises and the Bashirs have as well. And a few other families on board. I think all the children should stay back."

  "Command might not like that," Laren stated.

  "Command can go to hell, then," Will said tightly. "They're children, not criminals. The Federation has no right to interfere with this."

  "What about Jax?" Tom asked quietly.

  Will sighed. "I'm willing to go to the mat with Dyneb on this, but he wants her to travel with you. He says he wants her to stay with the group until she's debriefed."

  "He's got an answer for everything, doesn't he?" Tom said disgustedly.

  "He's an admiral," Deanna reminded him with a smile. "Double talk is what they do best."

  "Leave it, Will," Tom sighed. "Jax is willing to go with us and the less trouble we make the better for everybody."

  *****

  "Is it done, Commander?" his captain wanted to know.

  "Yes, Sir." Paris held himself "at ease" his hands loosely clasped behind his back.

  Riker glanced up at the closed expression on Tom's face.

  "You have something more to say, Commander?"

  "No, Sir."

  Will sighed at the clipped response. "Sit down, Tom," he ordered with a wave of his hand.

  The other man hesitated a moment, then took a seat opposite the captain.

  "It doesn't have to be like before," Riker told him.

  Tom smirked. "Yes, it does. It can't be anything else. Not with them."

  "We're not junior officers anymore, Tom. It's not like they can take us from our posts for every assignment. We're too high profile."

  "And what a cover. Think of it, Will. Think about what they can do with -us- in their back pocket."

  Riker drew a tired hand across his chin. "I have. It could work for us, Tom. Not against."

  "I never wanted this again. You don't understand. That life nearly killed me."

  Will nodded. "I understand better than you think. I left too, remember? I...."

  --Bridge to the captain.--

  "What is it, Mr. Kim?"

  --The Argentina has arrived and are hailing us.--

  --I'll be right there, Mr. Kim. Riker out.--

  Paris smiled grimly. "They sure didn't waste anytime."

  "I didn't expect them to." Riker got up and headed to the door.

  "No," Tom growled, following him out. "Neither did I."

  *****

  Admiral Dyneb had arrived six days sooner than expected on board the U.S.S. Argentina. A colony transport ship accompanied them.

  "Admiral, you're early. We weren't expecting you for several more days."

  "The sooner we get them home, Captain Riker, the sooner this can all be straightened out."

  "Of course," Will agreed, his teeth aching from the casual grin he gave the lying bastard. "I'll inform the prisoners that you are here and we will begin transferring them over in about an hour."

  "I'd rather begin immediately, Captain," the admiral said tightly.

  "I understand, but I'd like to give the families a little time to say goodbye to their children."

  "Goodbye?"

  "Yes, Sir," Riker smiled. "My wife and I will be caring for my brother's daughter, since she certainly isn't a wanted Federation criminal. A few of the other families on board have offered to foster the rest of the children, as well."

  "I see." The curt response told the captain that the admiral did indeed see.

  "The Enterprise is at your disposal, Admiral."

  "Thank you, Captain, but I'm sure we can manage a simple prisoner transfer without too much trouble. We'll be out of your hair by dinner time. Dyneb out."

  Paris turned to his captain as soon as the viewscreen switched off. "Sir?"

  "Assist the Admiral with the prisoner transfer, Commander. Let me know when it's completed. We've spent enough time here already."

  "Yes, Sir." Tom strode off the bridge, signaling for Seven to follow him.

  "Mr. Kim, you have the bridge," Riker commanded before retreating to his Ready Room.

  *****

  The prisoner transfer was handled quickly and efficiently. Even Seven of Nine was impressed. Tom Riker was the last to be beamed aboard the transport ship. Captain Riker was conspicuously absent from the proceedings. He never even said goodbye to his own brother.

  "Energize," Commander Paris ordered after the two men shook hands and Riker stepped onto the transporter pad.

  As he shimmered out, an alarm went off. Seven unceremoniously pushed the Transporter Chief out of the way to assess the problem.

  "The beam is degrading in transit," she announced. "Attempting to compensate." Her hands worked quickly over the console.

  "Seven?" Paris questioned anxiously, knowing a transporter malfunction could be deadly.

  She frowned slightly, then lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. "It has corrected itself, Sir. Everything is operating within standard parameters."

  He tapped his comm badge with a frown. "Paris to Argentina."

  --Argentina here.--

  "We had a slight malfunction with our transporter when the last prisoner beamed over. Is everything all right?"

  --Yes, Sir. Lt. Riker is just fine.--

  Tom nodded in relief. "Very well, Argentina. Enterprise out."

  "Paris to the captain."

  --Riker here.-

  "The transfer is complete, Captain."

  --Understood. As soon as you get to the bridge, Commander, you can get us out of here. Riker out.--

  The Enterprise departed Deep Space Nine before the Argentina even released her docking clamps. Commander Paris rang the chime to Riker's Ready Room as soon as they cleared the Bajoran system.

  "Come in."

  Paris took one look at the man sitting behind Captain Riker's desk after the door closed behind him and cursed soundly.

  "I'll kill him!" he raged, dragging a hand through his hair and pacing from one side of the Ready Room to the other. "I'll kill him myself!"

  "Commander...."

  "Oh shut up! I don't even want to hear it! Of all the stupid...," he paused, clenching and unclenching his fist in frustration while he contemplated just how much abuse the bulkhead could take. "I'm going to kill him."

  Tom Riker chuckled. "Yes, you've mentioned that."

  "Does Deanna know what you two have done?"

  "Umm, no, we didn't...."

  "Of course not," Paris drawled sarcastically. "Because she would have -told- me what you were planning!"

  "After the Defiant incident, Will had a chip implanted under the bone in his skull that prevents me from using his codes on another Federation vessel. If that signal isn't detected when Will Riker gives a command, it won't be carried out. He had to go, he can access the ships systems. I can't."

  "He should have told me that!"

  "He seemed to think you would object to the plan, Commander Paris."

  Paris rolled his eyes at the false innocence in the other man's tone.

  "This had better work, Lt. Riker. Or I'll deliver the both of you to Starfleet Command myself for court-martial. Understand?"

  "Yes, Sir."

  "And don't even -think- of countermanding an order of mine today. With the captain gone, I'm in command of the Enterprise."

  "Yes, Sir."

  He turned around with another angry curse. "And I wanted this assignment?" Paris muttered as he stalked out of the Ready Room.

  *****

  When the hail from the Argentina came in some four hours later, the Enterprise was still close enough to pick up the distress call.

  "What's the problem, Admiral?" Commander Paris responded to the S.O.S.

  "We're under attack, Enterprise. Can you assist?"

  Riker came out of his Ready Room. "We're on our way, Admiral. Enterprise out."

  *****

  Another blast struck the transport ship, disabling the warp drive. It was Riker's signal.

  "Computer," he called out from his cell. "Recognize authorization: Riker, alpha, four, seven."

  --Authorization recognized.--

  "Release the locks on this cell block."

  --Acknowledged. Locks released.--

  Will slid out of they cell and opened a nearby weapons panel. He tossed phaser rifles to Ro and several others waiting just outside their cell doors. With a quick signal to let the other know they should go about freeing the rest of the prisoners, Will nodded to Laren and four Maquis to follow him. They stole down the corridor to the bridge, taking the sparse crew completely by surprise.

  "Secure them in the escape pods," Riker ordered with a wave of his phaser rifle. He sat down in the command chair and glanced over at his sister-in-law.

  "Now what?" she asked.

  "Now, we wait," he told her grimly. "And hope to hell, everything goes as planned."

  *****

  "Keep those phaser levels at half-power, Lieutenant Biggs," Captain LaForge reminded his Tactical Officer. "We have to make this look good, but we don't want that ship destroyed until the Enterprise gets here."

  "Aye, Sir," the junior officer replied as he aimed and sent another phaser blast at the disabled ship.

  *****

  "Bring us around, Ensign," Paris instructed his helmsman once they reached the Argentina. "Seven, get a lock on those people."

  "Aye, Sir," they responded simultaneously.

  "Captain Mittous," he hailed the Argentina's captain. "This is Commander Tom Paris of the Starship Enterprise. Can you beam the people off the transport ship?"

  "Negative, Enterprise. Main power is down, we're operating on batteries over here."

  "Acknowledged," Paris said. "Stand by, Argentina."

  *****

  On the Valiant, Geordi LaForge grinned and gripped the armrests of his chair. "Okay, Mr. Biggs. It's show time."

  *****

  A ship away, Will Riker nodded to Ro Laren. "Jettison the escape pods."

  *****

  With eyes that glinted an icy blue hardness sure to intimidate the most fierce opponent, Paris glanced back at the Tactical Station. "Now, Seven!" he ordered.

  *****

  "Enterprise," Admiral Dyneb hailed. "The transport ship is losing containment. Do you have the prisoners?"

  Another phaser blast came out of no where and the transport ship was engulfed in a fiery explosion.