Ghost of a Chance - Mark Garland [51]
"I've got something I want you to hear," Chakotay said. Most of the crew knew there had been a message from the captain, but he knew B'Elanna hadn't had a chance to listen to it yet. He ordered the computer to repeat the best version of the message.
B'Elanna played it several times.
"What do you expect me to do?" she asked skeptically.
Chakotay was sure, just by the look she was giving him, that she already had a pretty good idea.
"You tell me," he said.
She looked straight past him with a cold, distant stare, one that his years with her had taught him meant her mind was operating at hyperspeed, which was exactly the result he had hoped for. The best way to approach B'Elanna Torres was not to barge in, ordering her to produce results. Better to tell her you had a question, one that no one else could answer. What she lacked in discipline she made up for in determination and brains.
She looked down suddenly and began pacing the floor. After a moment she raised her eyes and focused them again. She made her way straight to the main engineering console and began playing her fingers across the keypad panels. On one of the screens before her a simulation appeared; it began to change as B'Elanna reworked the mathematics.
Then she shook her head in frustration.
"What are you thinking?" Chakotay asked, quietly drawing up beside her. "What's wrong?"
"The way I see it, our only option is to reconfigure the main deflector to project a subspace field, which can be wrapped around each moon in succession and used to help Voyager move them. Similar attempts have been tried before with Galaxy-class ships. It's exactly like trying to push a boulder up a hill. In this case, however, the boulder is too big and the hill is too steep, so we'll have to use the subspace field to make the boulder temporarily lighter. We'd never be able to alter the course of any of these moons significantly, but if we can move each moon a little, the accumulative effect might be enough to ease their destructive alignment. We'll just be postponing the inevitable, but we can postpone it for quite a while."
Chakotay couldn't help giving her a broad grin. A little time was all they needed. "How long can we postpone the disaster?"
"Weeks, decades, maybe centuries. I don't know. The calculations are incredibly complex. It'll take hours."
"We don't have hours," Chakotay reminded her.
"In any case, we need the warp engines back on-line before we can even consider the attempt. No warp engines, no subspace fields.
And they'll have to be reconfigured to do the job. They won't be available as ship's drives."
"Understood."
"And we don't have any time to waste, I'd say," B'Elanna added.
Chakotay let his smile broaden. "I thought I already had you working on it."
"Yes, sir," Torres said after a momentary pause. She frowned coldly.
"Anything else?"
"I'm sure there is. I just haven't thought of it yet."
B'Elanna began to growl.
Chakotay stepped back once. "That's the B'Elanna I'm so crazy about," he said, nodding to her. He turned and made a hasty exit, thinking it best. B'Elanna made no attempt to stop him.
***
When Chakotay arrived back on the bridge the three Drosary visitors and their security detachment were waiting for him as ordered. He quickly explained the facts about the lunar alignment and what he intended to do about it. "We don't know if we'll be successful in the attempt, but we do think we can at least buy the planet and everyone on it some time. Perhaps, with the help of the Televek, we can do even better than that."
"Remarkable," Jonal replied, seeming genuinely impressed. "You and your people are a source of constant amazement!"
"Agreed," Tassay said, sidling up to Chakotay once more, apparently pleased to be back in his presence. Mila had already fetched up next to Paris and seemed amused at something the lieutenant had just said.
Chakotay was sure he didn't need to know what it was.
"Of course I will speak