Huge thanks to my amazing alpha/beta Insanity-Red for all the help.

Chapter 6

As her ears stopped ringing, Hermione became aware of a stream of muttered swears coming from Shev. She forced herself to take a deep, painful breath, and turned her attention to Krell. The Caitian was trembling, her hands firmly over her ears. She'd stopped screaming, her breathing erratic from the pain she was in—and potentially, fear.

"Guys, what's going on up there?" asked Raix over the intercom, concern evident in his voice.

Hermione, somewhat at a loss as to how she could help Krell, began rummaging in her medkit. The other woman peeled one hand away from her ear to place it over Hermione's forearm.

"It's okay," she said breathlessly. "The pain is subsiding. I'll be okay."

"Why are you all so alarmed when I've gone through such trouble to look just like you?" asked the creature in the viewscreen.

Hermione offered Krell a small nod and, doing her best to shake the feeling of dread that had come over her, turned her attention to her terminal.

"You all might be interested to know that the sensors are registering nothing out there," she informed, keeping her voice steady as her gaze flicked between the viewscreen and the sensor readings. "Absolutely nothing."

"Sure is a very creepy 'nothing,' " muttered Harry.

Shev hesitantly rose to his feet and cleared his throat. As their current acting captain, it fell to him to handle the situation and treat it as a first contact.

"I am Shev Ek'Noor of the Starfleet cadetship A-259," he said. "Can you identify whoever or whatever you are?"

"Nagilum*!" replied the creature, blinking its disproportionately large 'eyes' and stretching its 'lips' into a very unsettling smile.

Harry leaned towards Hermione and whispered, "Speaks right up for something your sensors say isn't there."

"We represent the United Federation of Planets," continued Shev, his gaze glued to the viewscreen. "Who or what do you represent?"

"Hermione Granger, Harry Potter," said Nagillum, ignoring the Andorian. "You are different from the others."

"Well, yeah," said Harry. "We are a different species."

"That is not what I meant."

Hermione exchanged a glance with Harry. Was it possible that this thing knew about them? About their abilities?

Very possible, considering it knew their names, and was apparently capable of conjuring up a loop of space to trap them in. It was obviously powerful. Putting up her Occlumency shields, Hermione stared right back at the creature, her gaze unwavering.

If it's anything like Amerisis and her people, Occlumency won't work, Hermione reminded herself.

But it was worth a try anyway.

"Guys, what's going . . ."

Raix, who'd received no response to his inquiries over the comm line, had finally had enough and emerged from the engineering compartment. He stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the image on the viewscreen.

"You are the same colour as Shev Ek'Noor," noted Nagilum, its gaze moving from Raix to Shev and back.

"Very similar," corrected Shev. "He's Bolian, and I'm Andorian."

"And you," said Nagillum, studying Hermione and Harry once more, gaze zeroing in on the former, "even though you are of the same species and abilities, you are of different construction."

Hermione gasped, feeling like someone had punched her in the stomach. She was suddenly thrust into the air and floated parallel to the vessel's floor, unable to move. It felt as though a million white-hot needles were piercing her body, no part of it left free from the sensation. It was impossible to breathe. A scream tore through her like a great shard of glass and pain scattered her focus; she couldn't gather her thoughts enough to think of escape—only count the excruciatingly long seconds as they ripped through her.

"Hermione!" shouted Harry, grabbing her by the hand.

His touch had somehow broken the spell, and Harry was able to bring her back down with little to no resistance from whatever had kept her in place. Hermione promptly collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.

What was that? she thought, trying hard to collect her scattered thoughts. It felt almost as bad as the Cruciatus Curse.

"Please, explain your construction," ordered Nagilum in that same mechanical voice.

"Construction?" Harry repeated snappishly. "What bloody construction?"

Still somewhat disoriented, Hermione winced and placed her hand on her stomach, some part of her wondering why everything sounded far away and muffled. Harry's grip tightened on her shoulder.

"Oh, I think I know!" Krell piped in, finally finding her voice again. "Maybe it's a reference to her gender?"

Hermione took a measured breath, finding her own mind sluggish. It felt like she was processing everything a moment or two later than it happened.

Focus! she told herself, slowly rising to her feet.

"What did you do to me?" she heard herself ask in a hoarse croak.

"I asked you first," said Nagiulum. "Answer the question."

"I will not!" retorted Hermione, her temper flaring. "You just assaulted me, and now you want me to answer a question?!"

Using her anger to sharpen her focus, she demanded, "I'm asking you again: what did you do to me?"

There was a lengthy pause, and then Nagilum's mechanical voice came once more: "I am curious. I scanned you to analyze your construction more closely. But I still do not understand. Please, explain it to me."

Hermione glared at it but made no effort to reply. She felt Harry's hand come up to squeeze hers gently.

'I'm with you,' the gesture said. And when she turned to meet his gaze, she saw in his eyes not only the same anger and frustration she was feeling, but also the tension and dread. She squeezed his hand back, feeling grateful for his support.

Shev cleared his throat, putting an end to the tense silence. "Well, there are minor differences. Granger is what we call a female, and Potter is a male."

"I understand," said Nagilum. "Masculine and Feminine. Yin and Yang. Alpha and Omega."

"It is how many species propagate themselves," explained Krell.

"Hermione Granger, Harry Potter. Please, demonstrate how this is accomplished for your species."

"Piss off," said Harry, conveying not only his thoughts regarding the matter but also Hermione's.

Who was this Nagilum to capture their vessel in a void and play games with them? What gave it the right to do this?

Hermione felt more than saw Nagilum's gaze lingering on her.

"I am an extra-dimensional being superior to you in every way," Nagilum replied to Hermione's silent questions. "I come from the sector of the galaxy that will become known as the Morgana sector. I am, what you call, immortal. I can take whatever shape and form I desire. I can create whatever and whoever I desire."

At this, Ginny suddenly materialized on the vessel, only a few feet from Harry—as if she'd just been transported there from a nearby ship. Hermione felt him grow tense beside her.

"Harry," 'Ginny' said, her arms outstretched and a big, radiant smile on her face. "I've missed you so much!"

The smile slipped away.

"Why have you abandoned me? I loved you, and you abandoned me!"

She took a step in Harry's direction, tears streaming down her face.

There was a lot wrong with this picture—the tone of voice, the accusations, the uncharacteristic drama. And Ginny rarely cried. Harry had confessed to Hermione once that it was one of the many things he loved about Ginny.

She threw a glance at her best friend, concerned how this would affect him, and found him frozen in shock.

But it didn't last long.

Harry gave his head a shake.

"I'm really not up for any mind games, Nagilum," he said, his anger seeping into his voice, and his hand twitching in a way that indicated he was itching to retrieve his wand.

But the creature wasn't done playing yet. As 'Ginny' disappeared, dissolving like ink in water, Ron appeared. He looked just the way he did the last time Hermione had seen him, on that fateful day at the Department of Mysteries. He even wore the same robes.

"Hermione, sweetheart—" began 'Ron.'

Hermione silenced him with a nonverbal and wandless Silencio. It was ridiculous. Ron had never called her a 'sweetheart.' There was only one person who called her that (as a joke and a tease, as far as she could tell), and he currently was light-years away.

"That's enough, Nagilum!" Hermione said fiercely, her hands clenched into fists.

She didn't spare the fake Ron another glance even as he disappeared in the same way the fake Ginny did.

"What is it that you want?" she asked, her gaze glued to the viewscreen. "What could your superior majesty possibly want with us, lowly mortals?"

"I told you. I am curious," Nagilum replied. "Humanity isn't worthy of discovering me for at least another hundred years, but you two are different. I've heard a lot about you."

"How?" asked Harry.

"Cosmic chatter. People of Omri aren't the only ones who know about you. I merely wanted to have a closer look at you and see your abilities for myself. I am surprised no one else has come forward to do the same."

"Guys, am I the only one who's seriously confused here?" cut in Shev, clearly fed up with all the mysterious back and forth and the lack of clear answers.

"Your life forms are fascinating," went on Nagilum, once more ignoring Shev's question. "Is it true that you all have only a limited existence?"

Silence settled in the cockpit, and the cadets exchanged a confused glance.

"Answer!" demanded Nagilum.

"What information do you want exactly?" asked Harry. "Feel free to specify anytime."

"You exist," said Nagilum, a slight indication of impatience in its tone, "and then you cease to exist. Your minds call it 'death.' "

As soon as it finished saying the last word, Raix gasped, one hand flying to his neck. He dropped to his knees and began shaking.

Hermione was by his side in an instant, analyzing his condition.

"Stop it!" she shouted at Nagilum. "Whatever you're doing, he can't breathe!"

Nagilum merely stared at her, its expression calculating.

Hermione and Harry weren't supposed to make the existence of magic known to their teammates unless it was an emergency. This circumstance certainly qualified as such. But would any of their spells even work against this creature? This extra-dimensional being, who claimed to be superior to them in every way? And how could you fight something that supposedly wasn't even there?

Second after excruciating second passed by, and Nagilum did nothing to end Raix's suffering. Just as the Bolian's face began to turn purple, Hermione felt Harry's magic pulse all around her. When she looked up at him, she found him in his battle-ready stance, with his wand drawn. A powerful Shield Charm that had first surrounded only her and Raix, expanded to encompass all five members of their team.

The result was instantaneous. Raix gulped the air hungrily, bracing himself on his hands before sliding down to the floor and onto his back. Krell and Shev gaped at Harry.

"Oh my stars," Krell whispered in amazement, extending a hand towards the shimmering barrier of the shield.

Hermione exchanged a glance with Harry, and he nodded. It was necessary. There was only one way to find out whether any of their spells worked on Nagilum or not. They'd deal with the consequences later, but for now, they had to get out of this situation. She stood, retrieving her wand, and fortified his shield, eliciting another gasp of surprise from Krell.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Shev. "I knew there was more to you than meets the eye."

On the one hand, it was good that the spell worked and Raix could breathe again. But on the other, it didn't sit well with Hermione that this supposed extra-dimensional being would be stopped by a mere Shield Charm, albeit a powerful one. Unless, of course, Nagium willingly ended Raix's suffering once its curiosity was satisfied. For now.

"So is this it then?" Harry asked, shifting from one foot to another. "You wanted to see the extent of our abilities?"

"More or less," replied Nagilum.

Hermione knelt once more beside Raix and ran a few diagnostic spells. "No serious damage, but you'll experience vocal fatigue until I can properly treat you. So try not to talk for now, okay?"

Raix offered a nod in response.

"Very interesting," said Nagilum. "You can use your abilities to defend yourselves, as well as to heal? I want to see more."

As soon as it finished speaking, a piercing shriek rang out over the ship, followed by the automated message: "Warning: warp core breach in sixty seconds."

Harry swore and Disapparated, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from Krell and Shev, and a moment later his voice came over the comm line from engineering: "Raix, would you mind getting down here?"

Hermione helped the Bolian up and briefly considered just Apparating with him, but then changed her mind—there was a possibility he might get sick, and they had very little time at their disposal.

She followed him down to engineering. The compartment looked in perfect shape—no plasma seeping from the chamber, no radiation plumes, no steaming plasma coolant. Apart from the lights of the Red Alert ominously blinking on the walls, nothing indicated they were in trouble.

"Is it just me," said Harry, throwing a glance at Hermione, "or is it too much of a coincidence that our warp core spontaneously decides to breach shortly after we meet a being very interested in our abilities?"

She nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"What exactly is the problem?" asked Shev, also following them down to engineering.

"Warning: warp core breach in forty-five seconds."

"For some unknown reason," said Harry, looking up from one of the consoles as he continued his attempts to fix the problem, "the antimatter containment fields are failing, and I can't find a way to restore them."

"Can't you guys just . . . do whatever it is that you can do?" asked Shev, his gaze flicking between Hermione and Harry.

"Given that one ounce of antimatter has the explosive force of more than ten thousand cobalt bombs, we haven't quite decided to experiment with it yet," said Hermione sarcastically.

"Slackers," Shev quipped, a hint of hysteria in his voice.

Hermione ignored Shev and continued working on the problem, trying to find any error messages—anything—that would help them resolve this baffling circumstance.

"Is it possible this is all just an illusion?" asked Harry.

Hermione, as she often did, got the unspoken part of his question: 'Just like the Ginny and Ron we've just seen?'

"Warning: warp core breach in thirty seconds," the computer's dreaded voice droned out.

"We can't fix this," said Raix hoarsely, slamming his hand hard on the side of the console. "We have to eject it."

That or use the escape pods. Ejecting the core was preferable to fleeing in escape pods, but the window of opportunity had nearly passed.

Her stomach in knots and her breath quickening, Hermione observed, like in slow motion, as Raix raced for the emergency panel.

And then she and Harry reacted simultaneously.

"Wait!" they shouted, and Raix's outstretched arm froze halfway to the panel.

They exchanged a glance and a nod, a silent agreement passing between them.

"Harry's right," she said. "None of this is real. The warp core breach isn't really happening—it's just Nagilum playing games with us again."

And what if Harry's wrong? she asked herself briefly, but the more she thought about it, the surer she became that he was right. If they died now, Nagilum wouldn't be able to continue playing games (and from the looks of things, it'd just barely begun), to satisfy its curiosity. This had to be just a scenario, fabricated to see what they would do. What they'd all do.

"You think it can do that?" asked Raix, his brow furrowed.

"I do," Harry replied with a small nod.

"Think about everything it's done so far," said Hermione. "Think about its motivations—it wants to observe us, so it wouldn't just obliterate us all."

"Warning: warp core breach in fifteen seconds."

"Sounds pretty real to me, guys. I'm not willing to risk everyone's lives," said Shev, before shouting: "Everyone into escape pods!"

He swallowed, and his antennae drooped momentarily—he likely wasn't eager to confine himself in yet another tight space.

But he recovered quickly.

"Abandon ship!" he continued, throwing a glance at Hermione and Harry. "Now!"

Raix ran for one of the two escape pods located at the far side of engineering, and upon reaching it, slammed his left foot onto the leaver. It gave way easily, and the interior of the pod glowed green. A fraction of a second later, he'd boarded, and his pod raced away.

"Potter, what are you waiting for?" shouted Shev, pointing at the second escape pod. "Granger, with me!"

He made to climb the small set of stairs towards the cockpit, where the remaining three escape pods were located, but stopped, upon realizing Hermione wasn't following him.

"What's wrong with you? Potter!"

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

Harry didn't move either, apart from coming to stand beside Hermione.

'Are we absolutely sure about this?' his gaze questioned.

'Yes.'

He gave her a barely perceptible nod.

"We're staying here," he told Shev, speaking over the computer, his arms crossed.

"Granger, I'm giving you a direct order!"

"Sorry, Shev," she said, suddenly feeling sick and lowering herself right onto the floor. "But we can't give Nagilum what it wants. Or it'll never stop playing games."

"Five . . . four . . ."

"Damn you, Granger! If we die, I'm going to haunt you!"

Hermione scoffed.

"How would you do that if I'm also dead?" she said lightly, hoping that her voice didn't convey the fear that she felt.

Fear that they might be wrong and their stubbornness might kill them all.

As the computer counted out the last seconds, she glanced at Harry for support, finding her own emotions reflected in his gaze. The countdown hit zero.

There was a long moment of silence where they all processed the fact that they were still alive. Shev gave a great sigh of relief as the red lights ceased their blinking.

"I'm done being captain. This whole 'Don't leave a crew member behind and go down with your ship' business is not for me. And this isn't even part of the exam anymore."

Then he turned to them, his expression furious.

"You two!" he snarled, his antennae ramrod straight, and his hands clenched into fists. "You're . . . you're . . ."

Seemingly lost for words, he trailed off and began speaking in rapid-fire Andorian—some of the words Hermione recognized as obscenities.

"Feeling better?" Hermione asked, when Shev finally stopped talking. "Did you get it all out of your system?"

Shev, breathing heavily, trained his furious gaze on her, and continued speaking Andorian.

"Hey!" cut in Harry, apparently recognizing the obscenities. "Don't talk to her like that."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" shouted Shev in Standard, stomping his foot.

"Good thing you have a doctor-in-training on board," said Hermione coolly.

"Is this a joke to you?"

"Am I laughing?"

Shev stared at her, his nostrils flaring, and Hermione stared steadily back.

"Look," said Harry after a pregnant pause, "we were right. The warp core didn't breach, and we're all still here. Well, apart from Raix—and Krell, who probably took off in a pod as well. They probably haven't got far, since we haven't exactly found a way out of the loop. We just need to get them back and—"

Harry was interrupted by the alarm starting up for another deafening round of noise.

Shev swore. "What now?" he asked snappishly.

"We've got a hull breach," replied Harry, consulting the nearest terminal. "Cockpit."

He'd barely finished speaking, when an ear-splitting shriek came from the area in question.

"Krell," said Harry and took off in the direction of the emergency.

Apparently, Krell hadn't escaped in a pod.

*Nagilum was borrowed from ST:TNG S02E02 "Where Silence Has Lease."