Star Trek: Corp of Engineers - 071 - Signs from Heaven by Phaedra M. Weldon

Author:Phaedra M. Weldon [Weldon, Phaedra M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure
ISBN: 9781416549796
Google: IToPXs3VJFsC
Amazon: B000SCHAKS
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2007-06-01T07:00:00+00:00

Fabian stared at Scotty for a moment before answering his question. “No, sir. I’m not sure why I see the images I do, or hear what I do. Maybe it’s the parasite taking what’s there and translating it into a way so that I can read the diagnostic controls.”

“Are you sure, lad?” Scotty looked less than convinced.

So did everyone else—well, except for Tev, who was too busy studying the schematics they now had to be concerned about something so inconsequential as the health of mere enlisted personnel. Sarjenka made up for Tev, though; her medical tricorder was out and trained on him like a phaser.

What put him off a little was the attitude of the Ardanans. The local engineers had moved slowly up the tiers to stand to the side. Not one of them had tried to help, much less touch one of the podiums. Except for Dreena—but what she did was stay close, always watching him.

“It’s simple.” He put his hands in the air as a gesture. The holographic schematic remained in place, hovering above the podium. “The way this system is set up…” He turned and started touching illuminated panels. The image before them changed, shifting down to the engine room. A side-layout of the cylinder as well as the tiers appeared. He pointed at the two areas beside the cylinder. “It’s the dampening system—it’s harmonically out of sync due to years of neglect.”

Pattie nodded slowly. “That should be easy to fix. That is, if we knew where to fix them. Or how.”

Fabian looked back at the schematic. How do I fix this?

And the answer came to him. He stood directly in front of the podium. The images changed. He could set the sequence to recalibrate, but it would mean taking them offline for one point seven seconds before rebooting them.

But without the dampeners to govern up or down, the city could do a somersault, lose momentum and crash.

He looked at Scott and Tev. “I have an idea.” He tapped his combadge. “Stevens to Conlon.”

“Go ahead.”

“Ready with that tractor beam?”

There was a pause. “Everything’s set, but I have to warn you—with the preliminary tests we just completed, calculating for the city’s structural integrity as well as overall weight—I’d say I could hold the city in the air for maybe one point six seconds.”

Point-one second off.

But it would have to work.

“What is it you intend, Specialist?” Tev asked.

“Reset the inertial dampeners—it’s the only way to resync up the harmonics.”

“You’re sure this’ll work, lad?” Scotty’s voice sounded concerned, and Fabian couldn’t entirely blame him.

“Yes,” Fabian lied. No point in mentioning that point-one second. That was the sort of thing that would get Tev’s bowels in an uproar, and Scotty probably wouldn’t be too thrilled, either.

Tev and Scotty exchanged glances, then Tev tapped his combadge. “Tev to Conlon.”

“Go ahead.”

“Prepare to engage the tractor beam on Specialist Stevens’s mark.”

“You got it.”

Fabian looked at everyone. “I’d grab hold of something—this might be a bumpy ride.”

Everyone did as he suggested.

Except for Dreena, who watched him with narrowed eyes.

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