Even though he grabbed a moment to change into his uniform, he hadn't been able to shower off the sweat from his mock dogfight with Redbay since the crisis began. He felt as if he had been on the bridge for days instead of hours. Deanna would say it was easier to concentrate on the minor discomfort than the problems ahead. She would probably be right. He had been on edge ever since he saw that tape from Brundage Station. The others had too. Captain Picard was unusually silent. Worf was even more taciturn than usual. But it was Deanna that Riker worried about. As she had left the conference room, she had had a preoccupied look, as if she were concentrating on voices within instead of events without. She and Data were working in the science officer's station, and occasionally Riker glanced over from his chair beside the captain. "Brundage Station is within scanner range," Worf said, his deep voice booming from the security station behind Riker. "The station appears to be undamaged." The captain sat up straighter.
