Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [12]
The tubes were attached only to the inner walls of the rooms. To check each station, they crawled forward and opened the wall, usually next to some conduit, while Luz peered around. These rooms were solid rock except for the inner wall. They were brightly illuminated by pole lights.
Kirk couldn’t recognize most of the equipment they saw, but Luz only needed a glimpse to dismiss each station. It made him uneasy, but he was convinced that she truly wanted to find the dimensional transporter. She was focused in a way he had never seen before, intent on her objective. Finally he could see the determination that had enabled her to fool everyone, including himself. She had almost succeeded in getting away clean with the gateway.
Luz leaned forward on yet another opening. She barely pushed, allowing the tube to iris only slightly. She got very close to look through, blocking Kirk’s view.
“There’s the magnetomotive,” Luz exclaimed. “It’s fully operational.”
“Let me see.” Kirk squirmed up next to her, putting his eyes to the hand-sized opening. They were about four meters above the floor with a conduit running out from the wall next to them. It was attached to a scaffold tower. The interlocking bars seemed too delicate to support the enormous black rings. Each ring was at least twenty meters wide and five tall. Kirk counted fifteen rings stacked on top of one another, separated by suspension units on the scaffolding.
“What is it?” Kirk asked.
“A series of magnetic circuits that focus the electromagnetic field of this planet.”
The light glanced off a microthin coil wrapped around the magnetrings. Spock would have been able to tell him exactly how much magnetic flux was being generated.
Kirk guessed it might be enough to power the dimensional transporter. “You think they’re trying to activate the gateway?”
“Naturally.”
“But there’s no archway, no computer…” Then he remembered Tasm’s pouch, probably conveniently stuffed with all the information Spock and her officers had obtained while working on the gateway.
The bulk of the room lay beyond the dull black tower of magnets. Determined to discover the truth, Kirk pushed open the tube so he could see better. The floor between the magnets and the inner wall was smooth rock. But the door was down to their left, and he would be in full view of anyone entering or leaving.
“Will that conduit hold my weight?” he asked Luz.
She also looked down, then at the wide duct next to them. In answer, she swung her leg over the duct, using her hands to balance on the shaft. Kirk kept an eye on the doorway, hoping no one would come in at that moment.
Hitching herself forward, Luz crossed over the gap so she could step onto the scaffolding. Kirk swiftly followed.
This close to the magnetic flux, Kirk could feel his hair rising on his body. A subsonic hum rattled his bones, filling his ears with an endless thrumming. It sounded as if the circuits were powering up.
Their scaffolding tower was connected to the others on either side by narrow catwalks that circled the open sections between the magnets. Squat round suspension units were spaced along the catwalks, holding up the incredible weight.
“Higher,” Kirk whispered, gesturing up. If there was anyone in the room, they wouldn’t be as apt to notice them if they were in the darkened area near the ceiling. Most of the light was concentrated low.
The tower swayed under their climbing, seemingly too weak to hold up the magnets. But that work was really being done by the suspension units. The entire framework would crash to the ground if enough suspension units failed.
Near the top, Kirk stepped onto one of the catwalks. He went in the opposite direction from the door so he wouldn’t be seen. As he started out, it was impossible not to look down. His arms stretched out for better balance, but he instantly pulled his hands back in. The magnetic field was strong enough to cause a burning sensation against his skin.
It was tough to balance on the narrow metal grate as he walked. At the next tower, he eased forward,