Niata open his eyes and instantly shut them again. The surrounding light was blindingly bright.

"Computer," said a nearby voice. "Lower the light level in the medical bay to fifty percent."

The brightness reduced and Niata was able to open his eyes. The room was very small with just the bed on which he lay.

"Niata, is that better?"

The voice was female.

"Yes," he replied, still amazed that they were able to converse. "Who are you?"

"I am Lumi and in answer to your next question, I am from Betazed."

"Amazing, you are a reader?"

"I am," she said, smiling warmly. "How are you feeling?"

Niata sat up and moved his head from side to side, then blinked.

"I feel much better, thank you," he said, moving his feet down onto the deck. Amazingly, he discovered that he was able to walk.

Lumi studied him and then her eyes went wide.

"You can still hear them," she said. "Can't you?"

Niata nodded. "Constantly. You cannot?"

"Not since we left orbit," she admitted. "The moment we moved away the voices fell silent."

"What do you mean, we left orbit?" Niata could feel the panic beginning to rise inside. "I can't leave. You must take me back."

"Why?" Lumi put a hand on his shoulder and suddenly knew. "The Separation must remain in place or..."

"Everything will be destroyed," said Vash, from the door way.

Lumi turned to look. "Who the hell are you?"

"That's rather a strange question for a Betazoid to ask."

Picard appeared. "It's alright, Lumi. She's a friend."

Lumi studied both of them and then grinned. "So I see."

Niata's expression became serious. Suddenly, he began to feel weak again; the room became undefined in his vision. He backed away from them till the bulkhead prevented any further retreat.

Vash entered the room. "There is no need to fear. We are here to help."

"You cannot help me," said Niata. "I must go back."

"To that nightmare place," said Lumi. "Why?"

"The fate of all life is in the balance," he said, shaking his head to clear his rapidly decreasing vision. "I have to get back to the planet."

"Ok," said Picard, tapping a nearby console. "Bridge."

"Glav here, what is it Jean Luc?"

"Turn the ship around, we need to get back to planet immediately. I'll explain later." Picard paused. "Glav."

"Changing course for Othallia."

Niata fell to his knees, gasping for breath. "No time to wait," he said. Picard and Lumi rushed forward to help. As they took hold of his arms, all three of them were no longer on board the ship.

For one of the few times in his life, Picard was struggling to comprehend what was happening. One minute, he was on the Proxima, then suddenly, the entire majesty of the universe lay before him. A realm where any journey of any distance to any destination was possible. This vision was a miniscule fraction of time, then they were stood, once again, on the surface of the planet. The three of them were stood in front of the mosaic wall on Othallia.

"That was the most incredible thing Ive ever experienced," said Picard, his eyes still wide after what he had just seen. "But how is this possible?"

"No idea," said Lumi. "But it was amazing."

"It's called Translation," said Niata, his eyes scanning symbols on the mosaic patterns. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to bring you here with me. I had no choice."

Picard was curious. "Translation? That was mentioned on the artifact I was given."

"Many thousands of years ago, the people of Othallia invented a way to travel great distances across space. It began as a natural ability of some to literally project themselves to any where in the universe. After many years, the process was achieved with the use of telepathic artificial mechanisms. The process of travel was called Translation." Niata looked at them. "The Othallian empire grew and as they spread out into the surrounding star systems, they encountered another space faring race known as the Skrahl. The two races became close until a Skrahl and an Othalian, Translated together for the first time. It merged the two at a genetic level, creating a hybrid, a brand new lifeform. The Triathian race was born."

"Very interesting," said Lumi, sarcastically. "But it doesn't explain what's going on."

Niata stopped what he was doing and stared at them.

"What we didn't realise was the Skrahl were not from this universe. They are a subset of this continuum. At first, our joining was a celebration, where every conversion was accompanied by a confirmation. The ground would tremble for hours afterwards and was believed to be an affirmation of what had happened. More and more people became joined until there were no more Skrahl or Othall, only Triathian."

Lumi nodded, as she saw Niata's thoughts. "The confirmation was a warning sign that the continuum between established universes had de-stablised. You actions have torn the fabric of the universal boundary."

"Our scientists created the Separation to prevent anymore damage," said Niata. "But the matrix was too strong. It sucked the life from our world until only the city was left. In one horrific night, the entirety of the Triathian race was consumed by the Separation. Sealing the hole forever."

"And so you are intending to re-join them," said Picard. "To re-establish the balance."

"Yes," said Niata, studying the mosaic. "Don't misunderstand me, Jean Luc, I don't relish doing this. I have no choice."

As if on cue, the ground quaked slightly. Picard and Lumi shared a look.

"Niata," said Lumi. "There has to be another way."

"If there is, then it was beyond our best minds to discover." The ground shook again, this time more violently. "If the Separation fails, then both universes will cancel each other out of existence. My people are responsible and therefore it is our price to pay."

"Wait a minute," said Lumi. "Exactly, what is the Separation? What does it consist of?"

"It is nothingness," said Niata. "An absence of anything."

"That doesn't make any sense," said Lumi, pointing to a black doorway that had just materialised in the centre of yhr mosaic. "If there was truly nothing inside there, then you would all die. There would be no sound, no air, nothing but you can speak to people and Glav took your hand and lead you out here."

Picard nodded. "Why do you have to inhabit the Separation at all?"

Niata smiled and turned to face them. "When we were two races, no one lived inside. Triath are joined, a product of both universes and therefore cannot occupy either." He shot Picard a look. "Balance."

The ground shook violently, threatening to send everyone sprawling across the floor. Picard supported himself against the wall. Further along the mosaic, he watched several small stone blocks dislodge and fall to the ground with a crash.

"Jean Luc, look out," yelled Lumi, shoving him away from the wall. They both fell to the ground just as a larger block crashed down on the spot where Picard had been standing. He shot Lumi a look. "You're welcome."

The shaking subsided.

"No," yelled Niata, beating on the wall. "The interface is broken. The way is shut."

Picard and Lumi looked over to where the doorway had appeared. It had disappeared.