The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [36]
Acknowledged, sir, said Leach.
The captain turned to Jomar. Next stop, engineering.
The Kelvan didnt respond. He just waited for Ruhalter and Pi-card to lead the way, then fell in behind them.
Charming, thought the second officer. But then, they hadnt enlisted Jomars assistance because of his advanced social skills. If all went well, he would be their secret weapon against the Nuyyad.
CHAPTER 5
Iicard sat in his usual place at the black oval table hi the Stargazers lounge and watched Captain Ruhalter bring the meet-big to order.
Unlike the last meeting the second officer had attended there, this one didnt call for the presence of the entire senior staff. The topic was a largely technical one, so all of the officers present with the exceptions of Ruhalter, Commander Leach, and Picard himselfwere from the weapons and engineering sections.
And then, of course, there was the Kelvan. He was sitting beside the captain with his bright red hair in disarray, a deadpan expression on his face that betrayed his lack of humanity.
I called this meeting, said Ruhalter, so you could all meet Jomar here and hear his plans for the Stargazers tactical systems. He turned to the Kelvan. Go ahead.
Jomar inclined his head. Thank you, Captain. He scanned the other faces at the table without a hint of emotion. As you may have heard, he went on abruptly, the Nuyyad are a formidable enemy, with a long list of conquests to their credit.
So weve been given to understand, said Ruhalter.
However, the Kelvan went on, the Nuyyads vessels are no faster or more maneuverable than this one. Their shields are no stronger than the Stargazers shields. In fact, they may be a little weaker. Where the Nuyyad far outstrip Federation technology is in a single area
Firepower? Simenon suggested.
Firepower, Jomar confirmed ominously. More specifically, a quartet of vidrion particle cannons, any one of which could pierce your shields with a single high-intensity barrage.
It wasnt good news. For a moment, they pondered it from one end of the table to the other.
Then Picard spoke up. Vidrion particles? I dont believe Ive ever heard of them.
That is because they have not been discovered on this side of the barrier, the Kelvan explained. My people have known of them for centuries, though we always considered them too unstable to be harnessed as directed energy. The Nuyyad have apparently solved that problem.
Ruhalter leaned forward. Youve got our attention, Jomar. How can we defend ourselves against these vidrion cannons?
By fighting fire with fire, said the Kelvan, as the human expression articulates. We have discovered that lacing a standard, graviton-based deflector shield with a certain percentage of vidrion particles renders it all but impermeable to the Nuyyads beams.
And that, observed Ruhalter, will give us a chance to launch an offensive of our own.
Jomar regarded the captain with his strange, pale-blue eyes. As in the transporter room, he seemed to stare. Yes, the Kelvan said finally, that is the intention.
Suddenly, Picard realized something. Jomar wasnt staring after all. It was just that his eyes werent blinking.
But then, when the second officer thought about it, that made sense. The Kelvan had only assumed this form for the sake of convenience. His eyes were ornaments, lacking function, created to make the humanoids on the Stargazer feel more comfortable in his presence.
As for his true sensory organs, the ones he used to see and hear and so on where they were located was anybodys guess.
However, Jomar went on in his monotone, it will not be enough to merely defend ourselves. If we are to hold our own against the Nuyyad, we must increase the power of our own weapons.
Increase it how ? asked Werber.
The Kelvan shrugged. By routing your warp chambers plasma flow to your emitter crystals in a more pure and unadulterated form.
The weapons chiefs eyes narrowed warily. Go on.
As the system is currently configured, said Jomar, electroplasma must pass through a flow regulator, a distribution manifold, and a