“Yes, ma’am,” said Modan. “Right away.”
Ra-Havreii was back at work on the alien system when the three women materialized. Keru had been lucid enough to be left awake in the shuttle’s healing bed with his phaser trained on the still-subdued A’yujae’Tak. He was unhappy about being left behind, but someone had to ensure that the big insectoid stay out of trouble.
“Status, Doctor,” said Vale when the transport effect faded. She was immediately rocked into a nearby wall by another of the ground tremors. This one was at least as violent as the first.
“I’m having difficulty,” he said as another jolt forced him to leave off his ministrations in favor of holding on for dear life. “I believe I know what this Veil device is, but I’m having trouble with the Orishan symbols and idioms.”
“Modan,” said Troi. “See if you can help him translate.”
The golden woman half slid, half jumped her way to join the engineer by the control console. Once there she began to translate any Orishan symbol that she could.
Much to Ra-Havreii’s surprise, she also began to help him manipulate the controls themselves, many of which had to be activated four or eight at a time.
“I must say,” he said, during the lull in their activities that was forced on them by yet another temblor. “Your knowledge of esoteric computer systems is impressive. Especially for a linguist.”
“It’s not me, Ra-Havreii,” she said, getting back to work as soon as the shaking subsided enough. “It’s Jaza.”
“Is it now?” he said, falling back in beside her. “You will have to explain to me how that is possible, Ensign. Provided any of us survive this.”
“What the hell is that thing?” said Vale, still very much smarting from the loss of Jaza and having nothing to do but stand and watch the others work.
“A tremendously dangerous piece of technology,” said Ra-Havreii, not bothering to turn. His and Modan’s hands moved in a quartet of blurs over the console. “I doubt they have any idea what they’re playing with.”
“Do you?” said Vale.
“I-” another violent tremor shook the entire structure, forcing the Efrosian into an unnatural stammer. “I believe it’s a massive fold device. A network of them actually.”
“So you’re, what,” said Vale, also struggling for balance, “shutting it down?”
“No, ma’am,” said Modan through clenched teeth. The current quake was not only failing to dwindle in severity but was actually growing worse. Huge chunks of the Spire’s upper floors began to crack and fall, forcing Troi and Vale to dive for cover more than once. “We’re stabilizing the network.”
“Stabilizing it?” said Troi, shouting to be heard over the din. “Shouldn’t you be shutting it down?”
“No,” yelled Ra-Havreii. Then, all at once, the shaking and the noise both stopped. “Not unless we want to crack this planet into much smaller bits.”
Vale took a moment to enjoy the quiet and the unshaking ground. She fancied she could hear a very low, very steady hum emanating from the walls around her. As they were not dead and the planet seemed to be intact, she felt it reasonable to assume that, for the moment, things were in fact stable.
“All right,” she said. “Slowly. What is that thing, exactly, and why can’t you just turn it off?”
Chapter Thirteen
“What do you call this again, sir?” said Dakal, more nervous now that he was actually strapped into the TOV than he had been when Roakn had suggested him and not Pel or Hsuuri for the duty.
“Riffing, Cadet,” said the captain, standing over the Benzites as they made the final adjustment to the probe. Merlik nodded to his counterpart, who gave Riker the thumbs-up. They were ready. “It’s simple.”
I’m glad it is to someone, thought Dakal. Because it makes nonazzing sense to me. It was strange enough having the captain in the sensor pod for more than the time of a quick inspection, but to have him not only here but actually rolling up his sleeves to pitch in with the work? Well, it was unsettling.
“Our enemy is only a few hundred kilometers away,” said Riker as the Benzites slid the probe into the dock. “They’re safe in a vessel that is not only protected from the conditions that are hitting Titanby being partially out of phase but which is actually able to use those conditions to their benefit.”
“Probe is in the dock and set, sir,” said the Benzites nearly in unison as they stepped away from the closing aperture.
“We know that they use both space folds and a version of warp technology,” said the captain in a tone somewhere between that of an Academy lecturer and someone passing along private information to a close friend. “We know that they use force and plasma fields in unusual ways.”
“TOV is active,”said the computer. “ Cadet Zurin Dakal is operating.”
“Our phasers, on maximum setting, could probably disrupt their ability to use a good deal of their energy manipulating technology, but the conditions here won’t let us initialize,” said Riker, now beside Dakal again. The pinpoint lights in the TOV’s translucent helmet created a bright halo around his head, giving Dakal an almost cherubic aspect. “What’s the solution?”
“Quantum torpedo, sir?” said Roakn smartly.
“Good thought, Lieutenant,” said the captain. “But, no. The alien ship is too close to Titan. A torpedo detonation would hurt us as well.”
“What, then, sir?” Hsuuri asked.
“The Orishans use energy fields the way we use metal and computer code,” said Riker. “When Dakal puts that probe in the center of the same space as the out-of-phase ship and tells it to project its quantum broadcast signal back to Titan, what do you think will happen to all their interlocking fields?”
“Disruption,” said Peya Fell as the realization hit her.
“Well done, Ensign Fell,” said Riker. “And correct.”
“Sir,” said Dakal, then waited for Riker to turn his way. “You appear to know all these systems and you’re checked out on the TOV.”
“The captain has to have a working knowledge of as much of the equipment on his ship as he can,” said Riker. “Are you trying to ask something, Cadet?”
“Only that it seems as though it should be you in the TOV harness for this,” said Dakal. “Rather than me.”
Riker was about to tell the young cadet that they all had their duties and that his rarely included joyrides when, before he could respond, Tuvok’s voice broke in over the comm system and made the point for him.
“Captain Riker, report to the bridge immediately,”he said.
“What is it, Tuvok?” said Riker already on the move. “Have our Orishan friends changed the game?”
“It’sCharon, sir.”
“You found her?” said Riker as the turbolift doors closed on his view of the sensor pod.
“No, sir,”said Tuvok. “She found us.”
“This is Bellatora Fortis, captain of theU.S.S. Charon,” said the woman on the screen. She was precisely as Riker remembered, with perhaps a little more meat on her and a little more edge to her demeanor. “We are in distress and requesting immediate aid from any vessel in the vicinity.”
Behind her Riker could see a slice of a ship’s bridge, identical to his own. Charon’s tactical officer, an Orion by the green tint of his skin, was barking at two ensigns who then scurried off to follow his orders.