out again.”
“Good. How’s the Defiant ?”
“Same as before,” Greene said. He turned at the sound of someone walking onto the bridge. It was the Chief, carrying two cups of coffee. “She’s in good shape.”
Now he wasn’t so sure he was only talking about the ship…
“Okay. I’m sure she’s in capable hands. Captain out.”
Chief Meryl Gunn handed the Commander his coffee. “There you are. Thought you could use this.”
“It’s been a long shift,” he admitted.
“Yeah and you should have had a rest hours ago. But you’re not to be argued with. So the only option is caffeine.”
Commander Greene threw a sly grin. “You trying to make me hyper?”
The Chief gave him a pat on the shoulder as she left the bridge. “Honey, you’re always hyper. The coffee’s to calm you down.”
He watched her go, his eyes taking in the wiggle of her bottom in her overalls. Greene sipped his coffee. The woman was a temptress . . . that was for sure.
“Okay people, let’s try simulating a coolant leak this time. See how you all fare,” he ordered. They’d already completely twenty simulated scenarios. Anything to break the monotony.
“I’m loving these drills…” Banks said.
“Insubordination will result in a visit to engineering, Mister Banks,” Greene warned him. “And believe you me, that woman does not take prisoners.”
A couple of the bridge hands stifled a chuckle, but a cautionary glare from the Commander stopped the laughter dead in its tracks.
“Let’s begin…”
37.
“So, what surface area are we looking at in here?” King asked.
Belcher looked at his surroundings in C-2. “It’s exactly the same as the other two, by the looks of things. And I’m sure the readings from the probes made it that way too.”
She nodded. “They did.”
“Well,” Belcher mumbled as he did some quick calculations on his tablet. “Roughly 7,500 square kilometres, give or take.”
“Jeez,” King gasped. “I never thought it’d be so much.”
Gary Belcher smiled. “If you look at it from space, it’s sixty kilometres long. That’s goddamn huge. But it’s not a flat piece of metal. It’s a massive tube, if you will. And everything’s lined along the inside wall. Twenty kilometres wide, sixty kilometres long . . . it makes for one big tin can.”
Jessica shook her head as she took it all in. It was getting warmer in there now that they had light. 7,500 square kilometres of floor space in C-2, most of it crammed with ships and huge crates no doubt containing every kind of weapon the Namar had ever conceived.
There were four gigantic ships, at least a kilometre long each. And fleets of what looked like fighters.
“This truly boggles the brain,” Jessica said. “And it makes it perfectly clear to me that this is not simply a ship intended for passengers. But a carrier for an entire war fleet. Now that’s a worry.”
38.
They looked again at the immense axles that seemed to run through the Enigma like a spine, with C-1 and C-3 on either end.
“So how do you suppose the fleet gets out of here?” Rayne asked.
Belcher shrugged. “Dunno. But if I were to design this thing, I’d have C-1 and C-3 come away from C-2 on this axle.”
“So basically, you’re saying you’d have the Enigma open up on either end, separating where the joins are,” Jessica said.
“Exactly. And that’s more than likely how it works. Think about it. All three cylinders are more or less self contained, with full airlocks and seals,” Belcher explained. He opened his arms to indicate the entirety of C-2. “This is basically one big hangar deck.”
“I’m with you. Do you think you can get inside one of these bigger ships?” Jessica asked.
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought so. And I’m not even sure it’d be worth trying. How would you decipher the controls? Let alone get the Enigma to split apart so you could fly one out of here.”
“Understood,”
“Good. How’s the Defiant ?”
“Same as before,” Greene said. He turned at the sound of someone walking onto the bridge. It was the Chief, carrying two cups of coffee. “She’s in good shape.”
Now he wasn’t so sure he was only talking about the ship…
“Okay. I’m sure she’s in capable hands. Captain out.”
Chief Meryl Gunn handed the Commander his coffee. “There you are. Thought you could use this.”
“It’s been a long shift,” he admitted.
“Yeah and you should have had a rest hours ago. But you’re not to be argued with. So the only option is caffeine.”
Commander Greene threw a sly grin. “You trying to make me hyper?”
The Chief gave him a pat on the shoulder as she left the bridge. “Honey, you’re always hyper. The coffee’s to calm you down.”
He watched her go, his eyes taking in the wiggle of her bottom in her overalls. Greene sipped his coffee. The woman was a temptress . . . that was for sure.
“Okay people, let’s try simulating a coolant leak this time. See how you all fare,” he ordered. They’d already completely twenty simulated scenarios. Anything to break the monotony.
“I’m loving these drills…” Banks said.
“Insubordination will result in a visit to engineering, Mister Banks,” Greene warned him. “And believe you me, that woman does not take prisoners.”
A couple of the bridge hands stifled a chuckle, but a cautionary glare from the Commander stopped the laughter dead in its tracks.
“Let’s begin…”
37.
“So, what surface area are we looking at in here?” King asked.
Belcher looked at his surroundings in C-2. “It’s exactly the same as the other two, by the looks of things. And I’m sure the readings from the probes made it that way too.”
She nodded. “They did.”
“Well,” Belcher mumbled as he did some quick calculations on his tablet. “Roughly 7,500 square kilometres, give or take.”
“Jeez,” King gasped. “I never thought it’d be so much.”
Gary Belcher smiled. “If you look at it from space, it’s sixty kilometres long. That’s goddamn huge. But it’s not a flat piece of metal. It’s a massive tube, if you will. And everything’s lined along the inside wall. Twenty kilometres wide, sixty kilometres long . . . it makes for one big tin can.”
Jessica shook her head as she took it all in. It was getting warmer in there now that they had light. 7,500 square kilometres of floor space in C-2, most of it crammed with ships and huge crates no doubt containing every kind of weapon the Namar had ever conceived.
There were four gigantic ships, at least a kilometre long each. And fleets of what looked like fighters.
“This truly boggles the brain,” Jessica said. “And it makes it perfectly clear to me that this is not simply a ship intended for passengers. But a carrier for an entire war fleet. Now that’s a worry.”
38.
They looked again at the immense axles that seemed to run through the Enigma like a spine, with C-1 and C-3 on either end.
“So how do you suppose the fleet gets out of here?” Rayne asked.
Belcher shrugged. “Dunno. But if I were to design this thing, I’d have C-1 and C-3 come away from C-2 on this axle.”
“So basically, you’re saying you’d have the Enigma open up on either end, separating where the joins are,” Jessica said.
“Exactly. And that’s more than likely how it works. Think about it. All three cylinders are more or less self contained, with full airlocks and seals,” Belcher explained. He opened his arms to indicate the entirety of C-2. “This is basically one big hangar deck.”
“I’m with you. Do you think you can get inside one of these bigger ships?” Jessica asked.
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought so. And I’m not even sure it’d be worth trying. How would you decipher the controls? Let alone get the Enigma to split apart so you could fly one out of here.”
“Understood,”
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