Have Tech, Will Travel (SCE Books 1-4) - Keith R. A. DeCandido_. [et al.] [18]
At the lift, she touched a glowing red panel underneath a glowing green panel. Duffy’s team had figured out during the first insertion that on the lifts, the red meant down and the green up.
A moment later, the door slid open.
She didn’t want to step into that large, round lift, but she forced herself to.
Geordi followed easily, clearly not bothered, and the Bynars moved in and stood to one side without comment, but Vale looked as nervous about coming onboard as she felt.
“Stand in the opening for a moment,” Gomez said to Vale. “I want to make sure we know how to work this thing.”
Geordi moved over beside her, his tricorder out. She touched the upper part of the small computer panel on one side of the lift wall.
“Deck?” the computer voice asked.
“Sixty-five,” Gomez said.
Geordi nodded that it was working fine.
“Deck sixty-five,” the computer repeated. “Please stand clear of the door.”
Gomez motioned for Vale to move inside. As Vale did, the door slid closed.
Gomez glanced around. It didn’t seem as if the lift was working. Less than five seconds after the door had closed, it slid silently open again.
“Deck sixty-five,” the alien computer said.
Vale, looking confused, instantly drew her phaser and stepped back into the open doorway to make sure it stayed open, scanning the hallway in both directions.
“Fastest lifts I’ve ever seen,” Geordi said, scanning his tricorder.
“We actually dropped ten decks?” Vale asked. “The hallway looks the same.”
“Yes—”
“—we did,” the Bynars said.
“Efficient—”
“—system.”
“Very efficient.” Gomez tapped her combadge. “Captain, you still with us?”
“That was a quick drop, Commander,” Gold’s voice came back, strong and clear. “You all right?”
“Smoothest lift ride I’ve ever taken,” she said. “We’ll go for another ten decks.”
“Affirmative,” Gold said.
Gomez motioned for Geordi to tap the panel again, and for Vale to step back inside.
“Deck seventy-five, please,” Geordi asked.
The door slid closed, and Gomez tried to get any sense of moving. There just wasn’t any. No slightly increased gravity, nothing. Just as fast as the first time, the door slid open.
“Deck seventy-five.”
Vale stepped back into the doorway, checking the hall, phaser still drawn. “We are clearly in the economy class now,” she said. “The doors are spaced every ten paces, and there are more side corridors.”
“Captain?” Gomez said, tapping her combadge.
“We’re barely holding on to your signal,” Gold said, his voice much more distant. “We could not beam you out at that depth.”
“Understood,” she said. “We’ll just jump on down to deck ninety-one and see what we can find. Track us as best you can.”
“Will do,” Gold said. “Happy hunting.”
“Thanks,” she said.
She glanced around. “Okay, people, we’re on our own. Let’s go see if we can find the engineering room.”
“Deck ninety-one,” Geordi said as he tapped the panel.
“Access denied below deck eighty-nine,” the computer said. The door remained open, even though Vale had stepped back out of the way.
“I was afraid of that,” Geordi said. “We’re not crew, so we can’t take public transportation into the crew areas.”
“Can you override that?” she asked, pulling out her tricorder and moving over beside him.
“I don’t know,” Geordi said as he popped open the access panel over the control area and scanned it. Vale stepped back into the doorway to keep it open and guard them.
“The process—”
“—is simple,” the Bynars said.
Gomez tapped Geordi on the shoulder to have him step back and let the Bynars into the panel. Instantly they went into a fast-speaking, clicking exchange with the computer. When they did that, no translator could keep up with them. They were interfacing directly with the lift’s computer.
Geordi glanced at her with a puzzled look, and Vale just seemed stunned as the two Bynars worked and talked to the lift’s computer system.
After a moment, they stepped back in unison, as they always walked.