Star Trek: Enterprise - 008 - Daedalus's Children by Dave Stern

Author:Dave Stern [Stern, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Adventure, High Tech, Fantasy
ISBN: 9780743489041
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2004-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

RUN HISTORY PLASMA EXHAUST PROBLEMS

The computer acknowledged his request.

As it worked, Travis wondered, suddenly, if this wasn’t Lieutenant Reed’s work again—another little piece of sabotage to keep the Denari busy.

The lieutenant’s smiling face flashed before Travis’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but smile too.

“Something funny, Ensign?” Peranda asked.

Travis was all at once aware that the colonel had risen from his seat and was standing over his shoulder, watching.

“No, sir.”

“What are you doing? That’s not the helm console.”

Peranda wasn’t as thick as he seemed, Travis realized. He thought quickly.

“Well, we passed a comet a little ways back. In our solar system, they tend to bunch up—travel in groups—Oort clouds, we call them—so I thought it would be worth cross-checking the database to see if—”

Peranda held up a hand. “Enough. Is it a danger to us?”

“Doesn’t seem to be, no.” Travis made a show of frowning and clearing the console, as if he were dissatisfied with what he saw there.

“Very well.” Peranda turned on his heel. “Cooney, how are we doing?”

“We’re busy.”

“Busy?” Peranda sounded ready to explode. Travis turned in his seat and saw that Cooney looked just as frustrated as the colonel. He was, in fact, glaring right at him, as if daring him to say something else.

One of the Denari engineers saw the same thing, and moved to head off any possible confrontation.

“We do know a few things, Colonel,” the engineer said. “Even if we have yet to reach any conclusions.”

“Well?” Peranda folded his arms across his chest. “Go ahead.”

“The exhaust is not venting properly,” the Denari replied. “As the instruments show.”

Another Denari spoke. “We need to go EVA and clear the blockage.”

“There is no blockage,” Cooney said. “The sensors show that as well.”

“The sensors must be wrong,” the Denari said.

“Then why is all the other data we’re picking up from them checking out?”

“I don’t know, but—”

“Cooney, would we benefit from physically examining the manifold?” Peranda put in.

“Sure,” Cooney said.

“Then I suggest we do just that.”

“Fine.” Cooney threw up his hands. “Give the order. I’ll tell engineering to start preparing to shut down.”

“Shut down?”

“To send someone out to examine the manifold, we’ll have to turn off the reactor.”

“What?” Peranda turned to the Denari engineer who had spoken. “Is this true?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Of course it’s true,” Cooney said. “That exhaust is coming out of there at about a hundred million degrees Kelvin. No one in an EVA suit can get within a mile of it.” He smiled. “I don’t think your General Elson would be too happy about us stopping dead in space for the six hours it would take for that surface to cool down.”

Peranda did not look happy. “Is there no other way to see what’s happening in that manifold?”

“No,” Cooney said. Then, “Well, give me a minute.”

Travis was thinking too. All of this was seeming familiar to him now—a problem with the plasma exhaust, looking for a way to find out what that problem was without going EVA…

He sat up straight in his chair.

This exact same thing had happened before.

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