Have Tech, Will Travel (SCE Books 1-4) - Keith R. A. DeCandido_. [et al.] [113]
She nodded and tapped the console before her. “Commander Nostrene, this is the da Vinci . I know this is—”
“You are twelve minutes and eleven seconds premature for your next scheduled communication,” came a reply in a synthesized voice that Duffy recognized as the echoing timbre assigned by the computer to all Tholian communications. He’d had plenty of opportunities to hear the native tongues of races across the Alpha Quadrant: the guttural barking of Klingon, the almost lyrical qualities of Vulcan and Romulan, and the clicks and grunts peppering High Tellarite that almost always made him chuckle. But he had never heard the actual sounds of the Tholian language. Sonya once likened it to the screech of a tritanium blade on glass.
“Yes, Commander, but forgive our haste as we need to inform you that we are ready to begin the salvage operation,” Abramowitz said in an even, almost apologetic tone. “Our away team is prepared, and we know that time is of the essence for you and the Assembly.”
“Understood,” replied the computer voice that Duffy assumed was Nostrene. He figured the Tholian commander must have drawn this plum assignment from his higher-ups through to the bitter end, as Nostrene’s name was attached to the Tholian reports passed through Starfleet Intelligence to the da Vinci . Nostrene’s ship had been the first Tholian vessel on the scene of the rift’s reopening and the Defiant ’s reappearance.
“Just to remind you, Commander,” Abramowitz said, “we expect this to be a routine maneuver. We will project a pair of beams from the da Vinci . A narrow, bluish one will be our tractor beam and will come from the front of our ship. The wider, yellowish beam that will stabilize the molecular integrity of the trapped ship will come from our deflector dish. Neither beam will affect your ship. With any luck, we’ll need just a few minutes to pull the Defiant free. Then we’ll be on our way.”
“Proceed,” was all Nostrene said before cutting the channel.
Duffy exchanged an amused look with the cultural liaison. “I’m really going to miss these stimulating conversations when this is all over.” He was about to order Stevens to begin when his combadge chirped, startling him from speaking.
“Gold to Duffy. I need to interrupt your operations a moment.”
Duffy felt his pulse quicken at the captain’s words. Had something gone wrong? Not according to readings on their end. He tipped his head toward the bridge’s ceiling, as if that might make him more audible to the crew on the old starship. “What is it, Captain?”
“Have Carol patch me through to the Tholian commander,” said Gold. “And feel free to listen in. You all may find this interesting.”
Duffy and Abramowitz met each other’s gaze as if on cue. He nodded once to her as she tapped commands on the console before her. “ Commander Nostrene, please prepare for communications from Captain Gold on board the Defiant .” She paused for a moment until the Tholian commander signaled his readiness to proceed, then said, “Captain Gold, go ahead.”
“Commander Nostrene,” Gold said, “we’ve discovered something onboard the Defiant that I believe will make this operation one of historical significance for both our peoples. We are transmitting for your interpretation our tricorder readings of a device we found stowed here. We’ll be pleased to turn it over to you for return to the Assembly as a token of our appreciation for your help in retrieving this starship.”
Duffy noted Abramowitz’s quick tapping as she not only forwarded the tricorder data to the Tholians but recorded it in the da Vinci ’s memory banks as well.
The speakers rang with the computerized timbre of Tholian voice. “Received and acknowledged.”
Abramowitz, focused on readings from her console, said, “Captain, the transmission’s been cut from their end.”
Duffy smirked and spoke up himself. “I’m sure there’s a Tholian word for ‘thank you’ somewhere in our linguistics records. In any event, Captain,