Have Tech, Will Travel (SCE Books 1-4) - Keith R. A. DeCandido_. [et al.] [13]
“I would be happy to,” Pattie said. “I find the structure of this alien ship completely fascinating, and would enjoy the time to study this as it forms.”
“Thanks,” Gomez said. “Inform me and the captain at once if the computer picks up any sign of life at all in there.”
“Of course,” Pattie said.
“Geordi, you all right bunking on your shuttle for the time being?”
“Expected it,” he said. He knew the size of the da Vinci, and since they had a full complement, many of the crew were sharing rooms. That was standard for a ship this size. There was certainly no luxury of guest quarters, like on the Enterprise .
Or on that Beast out there.
Gomez nodded. “The entire team will meet back here in six hours.”
Ten minutes later, Geordi crawled into the bunk across the shuttle’s small sleeping compartment from Lieutenant Vale. She opened her eyes and smiled. “Glad you are following my suggestion.”
“Commander’s orders,” he said. “Now, no snoring.”
“I don’t snore,” she said firmly.
“Right.”
He rolled over on his side to face the bulkhead, trying not to laugh.
“I don’t snore,” Vale said again.
He didn’t respond. A few deep breaths and the exhaustion took him before his mind could start to work again on the puzzle that was called the Beast.
CHAPTER
6
Gomez looked from the transporter pad at the worried face of Duffy and smiled. Clearly, he cared as much about her welfare as she did about his. If they could just both relax a little, being assigned together might turn out to be a lot of fun.
“Ready when you are, Commander,” Stevens said from the transporter controls. “I’ve got a clear lock just inside the sealed door on the top deck.”
Gomez glanced at Corsi to her right and then Geordi to her left. She had decided that the three of them would beam in first, with Stevens keeping a lock on them until they signaled the all clear. The sensors had shown the atmosphere inside the ship to be breathable, and no life-forms to be seen, at least on the decks closest to the surface. They still didn’t have a very clear picture of what was near the center of the Beast. She had talked with Captain Gold, and both of them had agreed that they shouldn’t risk a large part of the team. The three of them would test the waters first.
“Do it,” she said, nodding to Stevens. Then, with a smile at Duffy, she felt the transporter take her.
The inside of the hallway smelled of burnt wires and peaches. She hadn’t thought of peaches in a long time. It wasn’t a strong odor, but noticeable. The walls in this corridor were painted a soft white, the floor was soft under her feet, and what looked like a computer panel filled one wall about a dozen paces ahead. Behind them, the sealed door led out into the cold of space, where this ship’s control room had once been.
Geordi was doing a quick scan of the atmosphere while Corsi scanned for any life-form that might be dangerous.
“Preliminary scans from the da Vinci were on the money,” Geordi said. “A little higher levels of oxygen than we’re used to, but it won’t hurt us any.”
“No sign of any life,” Corsi reported, putting her phaser away.
“Da Vinci, can you hear me?”
“Clear as a bell,” Stevens’ voice came back. “And we still have a clean transporter lock on you.”
“We’re fine here,” she said. “Atmosphere is good. Starting our descent. Have the second team insert.”
“Affirmative.”
The second team was Pattie and the Bynars, led by Duffy. They were going to beam into a point on the other side of the ship and start down toward the center of the ship, exploring and mapping as they went. Stevens was going to stay on the sensors and let her know when either team reached their point-of-no-return level as far as the transporter went. She figured that level was twenty decks down, but the Bynars said it would be twenty-three. She had a hunch they were going to be right. They usually were about anything to do with computers.