Ishtar Rising Book 1 - Michael A. Martin [15]
“Welcome aboard Ishtar Station again, Commander Gomez,” he said, extending his hand to the young, dark-haired woman who stood in the small group’s center.
The woman stepped off the platform, followed by the others. Smiling mischievously, she took his hand. “It seems like it’s been…hours, Dr. Saadya.” She gestured to the others behind her. “This is our second officer, Lieutenant Commander Tev, and our tactical systems specialist, Fabian Stevens.”
But it was the pair to Gomez’s right that held the better part of Saadya’s interest. One was the Bynar, and the other most closely resembled a giant pillbug. I’ve never actually stood so close to a member of the Nasat species, Saadya thought, suppressing a revolted shudder. Gomez introduced the Bynar as Soloman, and the giant insect as “Pattie” Blue.
Saadya guided the group out of the transporter room and into a corridor. “I’m sorry that my lead assistant, Adrienne Paulos, won’t be able to join us for this dry run. She’s down on the surface overseeing some repairs at Ground Station Sukra.”
He pressed a panel next to a doorway, and the door slid open, revealing a large room. “This holodeck features an exact re-creation of Ground Station Vesper, although it could really be just about any of the stations. They’re all built essentially from the same design. We have a skeleton crew at each of the stations presently, so that as many of our personnel as possible can engage in these simulations.” He swept one arm wide as a gesture for the others to enter.
They filed in and saw a number of workers bustling away at computer terminals, checking padds and gauges, and generally looking very busy. Then several of them moved aside, giving the da Vinci team an unobstructed view of the far end of the room.
Saadya turned just as Gomez’s jaw dropped open and her features took on a look of surprise. Damn. I forgot to tell them!
* * *
Everything about Saadya’s operation had seemed very well-designed, if a bit overly cautious in terms of resource consumption. Despite the obviously budget-conscious philosophy at work here—or perhaps because of it—Gomez was impressed as she viewed the ground station’s holographic representation. The simulated viewscreens faithfully displayed the brown-yellow swirls of noxious wind that billowed high above the compound. Or at least the ones that go whipping across the sky over the real ground stations, she thought.
Then some of Saadya’s workers moved to other stations, revealing the rows of computer banks arrayed farther into the room.
And the two diminutive Bynars who were working amid this compact maze of silicon, cortenide, and polyalloy.
Gomez realized with a start that her mouth was hanging open, and she shut it with a snap. Sparing a quick glance over to Soloman, she gave Saadya a sharp look. “You neglected to tell us that you already had Bynars working on this project. Or are they holograms as well?”
Saadya’s features darkened slightly, and he looked apologetic. “No, they’re quite real. I’m sorry. I thought I had mentioned something about this to Captain Gold.” He gulped. “I hope their being here won’t present a problem.”
Stepping forward, Soloman furrowed his expansive brow slightly. “It will not be a problem for me, Doctor,” he said. “Certainly, the mass of information the three of us will be able to process will be far greater than anything I could manage by myself, and will also greatly exceed their tandem capacities as a dual processing unit.” Soloman glanced at Gomez, and she saw a bit more trepidation in his eyes than his words communicated. However, he intended to be professional about it, which was her primary concern. Let’s just hope those two Bynars have the same intention.
Clearing her throat softly to table this line of discussion for the moment, Gomez gestured around the room. “Which stations do you want us to take?”
Saadya clapped once, gaining the attention of everyone