Lost Era 06_ Catalyst of Sorrows - Margaret Wander Bonanno [53]
“Dr. Selar will be continuing her research on the virus while you’re in transit,” Uhura was explaining. “You and Lieutenant Tuvok will be collecting air and soil samples on the planets you visit, looking for contaminants in the water, the food supply, anywhere, while Selar attempts to get tissue samples from anyone reporting an unexplained illness. All of that comes back here at the end of the day for analysis. There are facilities to set up a small field hospital, including a reversed air-flow room and a full-spectrum decon beam to screen incoming personnel for anything contagious that might be clinging to their skin or clothes.”
“I see,” Sisko said, half listening, moving not quite as quickly as Heisenberg, examining the internal configuration of each container in growing amazement. Uhura, pleased that he was now with the mission in soul as well as body, let him woolgather.
One last module opened to reveal an apparatus even Sisko couldn’t quite identify. He was about to examine it when he suddenly realized who had created all of this.
“Dr. Heisenberg?” he said, not even attempting to keep the awe out of his voice. “The Dr. Heisenberg? The man who single-handedly kept refining Starfleet’s sensors to counter improvements in the Romulan cloaking device?”
“The same, I’m afraid,” the white-haired gent acknowledged, containing his admiration for his own work long enough to join his guests. “Although we have little knowledge of what improvements have been made in the cloaking device since the Tomed Incident. Love to get my hands on one. Damn clever, those Romulans.”
Sisko turned slowly, absorbing the whole gestalt. “This is incredible, sir! I’ve studied some of your designs, but I’ve never before seen one in action. But, I don’t know how to say this, sir… I thought you were dead.”
“Ah, well…” Heisenberg began, scratching one ear contemplatively. “There are reasons why we want the universe at large to believe that I am.” He and Uhura exchanged glances, and Sisko thought he understood. Heisenberg was an SI operative, designer of brilliant gadgetry for agents to use in the field, whose notoriety in a previous career made it necessary for him to be invisible.
“Of course, sir,” Sisko said, a trace of hero worship lingering in his voice. The urge to tell Jennifer about his encounter would have to remain just that, an urge. “These modules are incredible!”
“And the beauty of them,” Uhura explained with a kind of maternal glow at Heisenberg, “is the double reading. Go over them with the most sophisticated scanner, and they’ll show you what you think is inside them.”
“How-?” Sisko started to ask Heisenberg, then examined the thickness of one container’s sides and figured it out for himself. “False walls. You’ve installed bafflers in the intramural space.”
“Programmed to emit molecular readouts mimicking what ought to be inside each container,” Heisenberg acknowledged.
Sisko grinned. “Brilliant!”
“Heisenberg is, shall we say, an expert on enclosed spaces.” Uhura added with a twinkle.
It was obviously an in-joke that Sisko didn’t get. Did Heisenberg actually look embarrassed?
“I assume, Mr. Sisko, that you’ll want to see what makes her tick?” he said.
Sisko’s face lit up. “I would indeed, sir.”
The engine room was as grimy and rundown as he’d expected, but he found himself rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Jennifer was right; he spent too much time in the realm of theory. Here he would finally get a chance to practice some of the things he’d only dreamed about. He would take this hunk of junk apart and put her back together and have her purring like a kitten in no time.
Sisko stopped himself. Only if you can do it on the fly, fool! The fact is, you have no time. According to the briefing Admiral Uhura gave you on the way up here, you’ve got to get this beast up and running and out of here by tomorrow and fly her into the Neutral Zone, if you have to hold her together with spit and paperclips