Myriad Universes 02_ Echoes and Refractions - Keith R. A. DeCandido [7]
With a loud sigh he fell back into his chair. The image on the display before him cast an eerie glow about him as it grew in intensity. There was no stopping it, and the ship was completely vulnerable without any way to raise the shields. Unless…
“David,” Thelin said. “The Genesis wave is primarily meson energy, is it not?”
“That’s right,” David replied, his tone a mix of puzzlement and curiosity, “at least initially. But once the wave contacts matter, the matrix breaks the covalent bonds between atoms, producing alpha particles that get reconstituted into-”
“Yes, so we must ensure that the wave doesn’t contact the ship. The Enterprise shields could be reconfigured to disrupt meson waveforms at the proper frequency.”
“But we’re in the middle of the Mutara Nebula! I thought the shields were inoperative?”
Thelin struggled to remain patient, despite the situation. “The shields are unable to function in their standard configuration. The matter and energy of the nebula would overload them in seconds. But what if we altered the scheme to produce selective screening at the subatomic level?”
David considered this. “You mean…we could differentiate between fermions and composite bosons, and tell it to ignore all particulate matter…”
“Precisely. Then use the shield harmonics to cancel the frequency of the wave.”
David turned toward Kirk, who was now approaching the two men, intrigued by what he had overheard. The young scientist’s eyes darted back and forth, from his father, looming so near with his unspoken expectations, to the technical readouts that grew more alarming with each passing second, as he quickly contemplated the idea. “Well…yes, I suppose, as long as the initial waveform is disrupted, then the matrix can’t initialize. But…” He helplessly shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve got no experience in deflector engineering.”
“That’s not a problem,” Thelin assured him. “Just compute the harmonic values based upon our shield frequency and feed them to my screen. I’ll begin reprogramming the emitters.”
“Excellent thinking, gentlemen,” Kirk said in earnest as David seated himself and frantically began to make calculations. Buoyed by renewed hope, the admiral whirled himself around, back toward the navigation console. “Time, from my mark.”
Ensign Croy, the blond-haired male cadet at the navigation console, checked the chronometer. “Two minutes, fifteen seconds.”
Kirk approached the young officer and placed his hand upon his shoulder, managing to force a smile through his anxiety. “Well, Ensign,” he said. “You have my apologies. Most cadets don’t have to face the no-win scenario twice in one week.”
“Yes, Admiral,” Croy replied, struggling to maintain his composure under the presently harrowing circumstances. “But you yourself said that how we face death is just as important as how we face life.”
“Yes, I did,” Kirk agreed. “And if we get through this, I’ll make sure your record reflects your expertise on the subject.”
“Thank you, sir.” He paused as if considering whether to say anything further, then turned back toward his mentor. “Sir, do you really think we’ll get through this?”
“I don’t know, Ensign,” Kirk answered with complete honesty. “But in the hands of my science officer and my son…well, I like our chances.”
Back at the science stations, his fingers fluttering over the keypads, David entered his final set of equations into the console. “That’ll have to do it,” he said not altogether confidently.
“I have it,” Thelin replied. “Compiling the final configuration now.” It would have to do it. For the sake of Thelin’s crew. For the sake of Thelin’s superior officer-a man to whom he had repeatedly pledged his loyalty, and who over the years had earned his unwavering respect.
Additional seconds ticked by, though the passage of time had become impossibly difficult to gauge as the bridge had fallen into an uneasy silence. “Time to detonation,