Alicia Jones 4: Enigma Read Online Free PDF Page B

tried to make me unwind and relax, and forced me to go
out dancing and not be a hermit.
    I decided I probably would be, and sent Kristi a grateful
look that she probably couldn’t decipher the reason for.
    “Al, move us to Leira please.”
    He replied out of the deck speakers, “On our way.”
    Nalla asked, “You said speculations?”
    I shrugged, “Let’s wait until we pick up the Leiran
scientist so we don’t have to cover old ground.  Keep in mind its mostly
speculation based on limited data, not a true theory at all, but it will be
somewhere to start from if no one else has alternate ideas.  In the
meantime, food and drink, or would you like to see your quarters?”
    Nalla sighed, “Very well, a drink would be acceptable, as
for quarters I’d prefer to use my shuttle.”
    I tried not to be offended by that, she probably just liked
having her own stuff around her, and was comfortable there.
    By the time we walked back to the galley, it was time to
turn right around and return to the landing bay.  The wormhole drive
really did speed things up.  Of course, it would be hurry up and wait,
since we’d be stuck at the border until the shuttle fabrication was done. 
I decided on a whim to label the design a science research shuttle, and saved
it.
    The Leiran scientist came out of his shuttle with a smile
and a walk that was just short of a swagger.  After Alnot, his family, and
Senna, I’d come to the half-baked conclusion that all of the Leiran’s would be
reserved, but not so for this one.
    “Doctor Jones, a pleasure to meet you,” and he shook my hand
excitedly.
    I watched a little in amazement as he went around the room
greeting everyone as friends, he knew all their names and was gracious and
outgoing.  My newfound pessimism decided if anyone was a spy for Earth
tech, it would be this man.  Of course, the more likely reason was Senna
had sent him an info packet on everyone going.
    He turned back to me, “So, how about a tour of this amazing
ship?”
    I almost laughed, probably not a spy then.  Not subtle
enough. 
    Nalla looked scandalized by his attitude, which made me
cough to hide my amusement.
    “I’d be happy too, but perhaps later?  We have a plan
to figure out, and a little data to go over.”
    Ellis nodded enthusiastically, “Wonderful idea, after you?”
    Kristi and I took the lead, and walked them to a nearby
conference room where we all sat around the table.
    “Al, put the data up on the screen please?”
    I turned to the table, “Has anyone else studied the data
from the probe yet?”
    Nadia shook her head in disbelief, “When the hell did you
have time to do that?”
    I grinned, “On the shuttle ride to JFK.  I hardly
performed an exhaustive analysis, but something did stand out to me right off.”
    Nalla narrowed her eyes, “What?  I didn’t notice
anything when I reviewed it.”
    “Al, bring up some of the wormhole data and put it side by
side.”
    I turned toward Nalla and explained, “Probably because you
haven’t seen a scan of an open wormhole yet.  You can see they look very
different, but have a few commonalities.  They both share a few types of
exotic radiation not found anywhere else.”
    Ellis said, “Yes, but they’re very different in scope.”
    “Agreed,” I said, “the wormhole shows much more
radiation.  But I think that’s because the wormhole drive is very
crude.  We are basically punching a hole and drilling a tunnel in space
time.  It’s different as well because the Drenil ship never moved, it just
appeared and disappeared, so obviously they don’t create a hole, I think they
simply slip between dimensions, or subspace layers if you prefer.  The
radiation is a result of the two layers coming together when they shouldn’t,
their technology is just more refined.”
    “That,” Nalla paused, “Is pure speculation and
guesswork.  There’s no math or proof.”
    “Absolutely,” I assured her, “I told you that already, it’s
just