The Garden - Melissa Scott [74]
Torres nodded, and did her best to avoid touching the scarred interface between Kirse and machine. Maybe her response was unreasonable, but at least Silver-Hammer was the only Kirse she'd seen who resorted to the implants.
It took her another three hours to finish her analysis of the Kirse transporter, even drawing on the resources of Voyager's computer, but at the end of that time she had a fairly complete picture of the system, and a shrewd idea of what the Kirse would need to adapt their system. The Kirse world was clearly metal-poor-many of the apparently metal parts were actually ceramics and sophisticated composites, light and sturdy, with true metals used only where nothing else would serve. Voyager would certainly have to include some metal parts to make the revised system work, but Torres could already see how to
rearrange her carefully hoarded stores to allow the bargain. In fact, she thought, glancing at the wall-mounted condensor system, the seashell-spiral chambers gleaming copper-pink-a false color, each one formed from ceramic rather than metal-there was a good chance that the Kirse could duplicate some of Voyager's spare parts in the ceramic or in one of the composites, thus making up for anything she traded away. She smiled, imagining the possibilities, and Silver-Hammer stirred, wings twitching in what looked like a suppressed stretch.
"Have you come to a decision, then?"
"I've finished my assessment," Torres corrected, cautiously, and then relented. "My recommendation will be that we proceed with the trade."
Silver-Hammer lifted her wings and hands, a gesture at once as alien and as familiar as the delighted hand-clap of a human child. "Excellent news. You'll want to contact your ship, I presume? And of course privately."
"Please," Torres said.
Silver-Hammer lifted her left hand, directed the control disk at the only section of wall not covered with machinery. The transporter sounded, and Torres looked sideways to see light pulsing behind the protecting forcefield, a blue-white glare deep in the core of the machinery.
"Through there is private," Silver-Hammer went on, and Torres dragged her attention back to the Kirse. "I'll remain here-there are a number of routine tasks that need my attention."
"Thanks," Torres said, and started for the new door, threading her way through the crowding machinery. Once through the door-the wall was well over a meter thick, she noted-she found herself in a room like a domed cylinder, light diffusing through
the pale-gray walls. She glanced around, not quite sure she should believe in Silver-Hammer's promise of privacy, but decided not to scan for observers. Starfleet training stressed the importance of at least the appearance of trust, and besides, she added silently, she wouldn't exactly be telling the Kirse anything they couldn't already figure out. She tapped her communicator. "Torres to Voyager."
"Voyager here," Chakotay answered.
"I've finished my analysis," Commander Torres answered.
Chakotay's voice changed instantly. "Good news. Stand by, I'll inform the captain."
"Standing by." Torres glanced around the room again. It was very empty, without even a scattering of dust on any of the shining surfaces, and she wondered what it was used for. Or had it been created just for her? she wondered suddenly. The Kirse transporter seemed powerful enough to do that, particularly if it used the templates Silver-Hammer had showed her-
"Janeway here." The brisk voice cut through Tor-res's musing. "What do you have for us, B'Elanna?"
"Good news, I think, Captain. The Kirse transporter system can be adapted to use Federation technology with only a minimum of transferred hardware."
There was a momentary pause, and Torres could almost see Janeway's frown. "We don't have much hardware to spare-as you keep telling me."
"No, Captain." Torres took a deep breath, trying to decide how much to say. "I think I've worked out a solution, something that'll work for both of us."
"All right," Janeway