Enigma Ship - J. Steven York [29]
Large windows lined the curved wall. To all appearances, the Lincoln was under way at warp speed.
A set of doors opened, and Duffy emerged from an adjoining bedroom.
They’d been assigned to a large guest suite, and even with three of them, it was luxurious by the standards of the da Vinci. Even Captain Gold’s quarters weren’t this big.
“Interesting that we got VIP quarters,” she said. “But I’d feel a lot better about it if there weren’t a pair of armed security officers standing outside.”
The cushions on the couch under the windows stirred, and Pattie emerged from where she’d tunneled in to rest. “I feel much refreshed,” she said.
“Good,” said Gomez, “I wish I’d had time for a nap myself. We need a clear head here.”
Duffy looked puzzled. “We were looking for the Lincoln, and we’ve found it. If our situation isn’t perfect, it’s much improved. Moreover, this ship is real. We’ve tested it.”
She nodded her head towards the windows. “But is that real? We assume not, but we can’t be sure.”
“If it is a simulation,” said Pattie, “then whose simulation is it? We know Enigma’s holographic systems have a telepathic capability they use to create their simulations. In this case, would it base the simulation on the thoughts of the entire crew, or perhaps just one individual?”
“Judging by those guards outside,” said Gomez, “we don’t know what we’re dealing with here. Clearly somebody, probably Captain Newport, is suspicious of us. If the simulation is based on his thoughts—Well, remember what Reg warned us about. He may not want to know this is a simulation.”
The door slid open, and an Andorian security officer leaned in. “The captain will see you now.”
The three of them followed her to the elevator, and three decks up to the captain’s ready-room off the ship’s bridge.
Captain Newport sat behind his desk, the top empty except for a three-dimensional chess board in the center. A green-skinned man dressed in civilian clothing sat in a chair to his right. They appeared to be in the middle of a game. From what Gomez could tell, the green-skinned man was winning.
Both men stood as they entered the room. The green-skinned man seemed to study them with special interest.
The captain put out his hand to Gomez. “I’m Captain Newport, welcome to the Lincoln.”
“I’m Commander Sonya Gomez, first officer of the U.S.S. da Vinci, and this is my second officer, Lt. Commander Kieran Duffy, and one of our engineers, P8 Blue.”
He gestured at a trio of chairs arrayed around his desk. “Please sit down.”
Gomez and Duffy took their seats. P8 climbed into the chair, but it wasn’t designed for her, and she perched awkwardly on the arm.
Gomez turned her attention back to the green man. She became aware of a curious smell, a little like sage and cinnamon. It wasn’t at all unpleasant. “You must be Wayne Omthon, first officer of the Vulpecula.”
He smiled nervously. “Ex-first officer, actually. My former captain and I had a falling out. That’s why I’m still on the Lincoln. They’ve made me their guest until we meet up with a ship headed back to Orion.”
Gomez tried to hide her puzzlement. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Newport’s eyes narrowed. “If you don’t mind my asking, how do you know his name, and how did you come to be floating in mid-space, six light-years from the nearest star, and conveniently right along our course?”
Gomez glanced at the others, uncertain what to say next. Well, try the truth. “Well sir, we were sent to rescue you after a collision you had with an object we call Enigma.”
Newport still looked serious, but he laughed. “If you’d hoped to rescue anyone, you might have brought a ship.”
She studied the room casually, trying to get some sense of the officer she was dealing with. A collection of antique gunpowder-and-bullet firearms filled a glass case behind his chair. A small shelf of old-style paper books was displayed in a glass case with an elaborate lock, on the wall to his left. She could only just see the title of one of them, The Spy Who Loved Me. It