Orphans - Kevin Killiany [10]
Humanly impossible,she thought as she grabbed the conduit.
“Work will proceed faster,” Tev said, “if we dispense with the progressive assessments.”
Conlon loose-fit the PTC into the collection chamber without comment and waited while Tev made his connection before beginning the sealing process.
“Dispense with the progressive assessments,”she thought, her smile grim. Not checking my every move is probably the highest compliment in that prig’s repertoire.
CHAPTER
7
Three fours of days and two before the Quest
This time Faulwell was not the first to the meeting, he noted as he slid into the chair beside Carol Abramowitz. Tev and Nancy Conlon were by the main viewscreen, which showed an animated tactical schematic of the Klingon cruiser taking position alongside the colony ship. Scuttlebutt had it the Klingons had moved back and forth over the entire cylinder at close range before taking up position near its leading edge. This was a subject of some annoyance to those still trying to discern the colony ship’s secrets from a maddeningly corkscrewing distance.
“The point, of course,” Tev was saying, “is that no stable warp field can do what the Klingon field seems to be doing.”
“Which means it can’t be a stable warp field,” Gomez said.
“Right,” Conlon said. “Their warp bubble is blinking on and off twenty-four times a second.”
“They are actually at warp less than half of each second,” Tev said. “But because they only move minutely with each warp, the net effect appears to be that they are moving through normal space at point seven six light.”
Stevens looked like someone had spit in his soup. “Hang on, a single warp drive can’t strobe on and off that fast.”
“It’s a series of warp fields.” Tev adjusted the screen, and the Klingon’s warp field began cycling rapidly through a rainbow of hues. “But not separate warp drives.”
“The warp signature clearly shows a single core,” Conlon said. A wave pattern appeared across the bottom of the screen. “But with a variety of harmonics.”
“Six of them,” Tev added.
“What they are using is six separate actuation assemblies,” Conlon said, “shunting between them in rotation.”
Faulwell wondered if he was the only one fighting off the impression that Tev and Conlon had become Bynars.
“How?” Gold asked.
“Imagine six parallel sections of primary plasma transfer conduit, each with its own constrictor segment,” Conlon began.
“Power is routed through each sequentially,” Tev took up the thread. “But just as it fully engages, the plasma is shunted to the next.”
“They’re riding the clutch,” Gomez said.
“Right.” Conlon grinned at the first officer. “But to do it without frying their transfer plate, they have to use six separate clutches.”
Faulwell shook his head. Every time he thought he was up on his engineering terms, at least enough to follow the conversations in this room, somebody would go and raise the bar on him. He didn’t understand a word Conlon or Tev had said.
“Why doesn’t everybody do this?” Gold asked.
Gomez answered this one. “Because eventually the on/off cycle will crystallize the plasma injectors.”
“Exactly,” Tev said.
Gold frowned. “Define eventually.”
“Two hundred hours, maybe more in a pinch,” Conlon answered. “And with anything over a hundred and sixty I’d want everything checked out by a starbase before we went on any long journeys.”
“You say we can do this?” Gold arched an eyebrow. “You’ve already set this up?”
Tev and Conlon practically beamed at each other.
“Chief Engineer Conlon devised the original design,” Tev said.
“Lieutenant Commander Tev figured out how to make it work,” Conlon interrupted.
“A detail,” he said modestly.
Faulwell saw Gold and Gomez exchange glances as others around the table straightened slightly.
“The engineering staff is conducting final tests now,” Tev added. “Though this is a formality. Chief Engineer Conlon and I assembled the system ourselves.”
“First Corsi and Stevens…” Abramowitz said under her breath.
A single bark of startled laughter escaped before Faulwell caught himself. He was just