The doors of the turbolift opened to reveal the bridge. It was rare that Darren got the opportunity to come to the bridge - for Daniel it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. To see the bridge of the new Enterprise-E, the flagship of the Federation, it was almost too much to try to take in. None of the senior staff were at their stations; Darren figured that they must all be in the conference room. Darren led the way to the conference room, and Daniel followed, albight slowly, trying to take everything in with a few passing glances.

"Lieutenant Hayes, Mr. Jones, thank you for coming." Captain Picard greeted the two as they entered. "Mr. Jones, let me introduce my senior staff. This is my executive officer, Commander Riker, my chief engineer, Lt. Commander LaForge, Counsellor Troi, Commander Data, chief of security Worf, and Doctor Crusher, who I believe you have met already". Picard indicated each person as he came to them, making a clockwise circle around the table before coming back to him. "Now, you're probably wondering why you were called up here."

"Yes, sir" Darren responded. Although technically he was not on duty, a certain formality was always required in the Captain's presence.

"First of all, I want you both to understand that anything said here today is of utmost importance and must be kept private. With the exception of your band, nobody outside of the walls of this room are to know about this."

"Yes, Captain" Darren responded. The Captain's comments sparked Darren's curiosity.

"As you may or may not know, Starfleet has been at somewhat unofficial war with a race known as the Montu for about six months. At that time they were denied Federation membership, and have since been using their more violent traits against us. Consequently, we are worried about the upcoming Peace Conference on Ma'at, and the safety of the Federation members that will be meeting there. Unfortunately, we have uncovered some evidence of a conspiracy on board, and we believe that there is someone on board the Enterprise now working with the Montu against us. We have so far been unable to catch or trace this intruder, and that is where you come in." Captain Picard paused, and Darren's thoughts briefly went back to his strange encounter in the turbolift. "You and your band will be in a somewhat unique situation during the conference" Picard continued. "Most likely you will have contact with a far larger number of people than my senior staff or I will have, and so we are asking you to be on the lookout. Keep your eyes open - anything suspicious should be reported immediately. Do not exclude Starfleet officers either - this could be part of an inside operation. We need your help. The Montu are becoming more and more of a threat everyday. It is vital that this conspiracy be stopped before this peace conference becomes harmful, or even deadly, to its participants."

"Captain, I can assure you that both Daniel and I will do all that we can to help. Our band is quite social - I'm sure that they can only be of assistance in this matter as well."

"Thank you, Lieutenant" the Captain replied. "Well, I believe that is all. You may all be dismissed." Darren and Daniel began to turn towards the door, and the officers began to rise from their seats.

"Lieutenant Hayes!" Darren heard his name. He turned to see Counsellor Troi approaching him. She waited until the conference room had cleared, leaving her, Darren and Daniel in the room.

"Lieutenant, I was contacted earlier today by your wife Colby. She mentioned a few, uh, incidents, that have happened since your accident the other day. I was just wondering if there was anything on your mind that you'd like to talk about."

Darren glanced over at Daniel, remembering the incident with "Mine" that had happened not so long before.

"Counsellor, I appreciate your concern, but my wife was over-reacting. I can assure you that nothing is wrong, although if anything comes up, I will be sure to contact you immediately. Is there anything else?" Darren's voice was cold.

"No, that was all. Please, just remember that my door is always open." The Counsellor smiled and then left the room.

"Come on Daniel, let's go." The two exited, giving Daniel the opportunity to see the senior officers at their usual positions; Worf at tactical, Picard in the centre seat, and Data at ops. The two entered the turbolift, and as soon as the doors closed behind them Daniel spoke.

"Darren, what happened with Colby? Why did she contact Counsellor Troi?"

"It was nothing, really. Just let it go, okay?" Darren's voice was like ice, and his stare even colder. His irritation was obvious.

"Okay, fine" Daniel was still worried, but decided to drop the issue for now. Darren was a tough guy - he could get through this without pressure from his best friend.

Chapter 7

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