Signs from Heaven by Phaedra M. Weldon Page B

slower pace. The other Ardanan engineers were huddled in a tight circle below.
    â€œI think I turned it on.” He refocused on the image in front of him. “And—it looks like a blueprint.”
    The group spread out around him, Pattie moving to the podium on the right. “This one’s operating as well.”
    Tev strode to the left podium. “So is this one. Good work, Specialist.”
    Fabian grinned. A gratuitous compliment from His Royal Tevness. Will wonders never cease.
    The Tellarite touched the surface. Several images flashed up on the holographic screen in front of Fabian.
    Images of the city. Building exteriors mostly.
    â€œIt’s a map!” Scotty said.
    Music, soft and playful, teased at the corners of Fabian’s hearing. He cocked his head to listen. “Shhh…” There it was. Echoing from somewhere in the city. “Pattie, touch the panel again. Let’s keep scrolling through.”
    Pattie touched the panel slowly as different images moved from right to left in front of them. Dreena approached and stood behind Fabian. “There,” she said and pointed to a building with no windows. “That is where your people are.”
    With a nod from Fabian she touched the screen several more times until they saw an image of the engine room—from above. Everyone looked up as if to see the camera.
    What caught Fabian’s attention was the layout of the tiers when seen from above. It looked like the ending of a peacock feather. It also looked like a button.
    Fabian lifted his right hand—the images and grid remained in front of him. Hesitantly he reached out and touched the building’s façade.
    The music’s volume increased with a crescendo as soft lights like rainbow fireflies moved around Fabian’s hands. Again he could see the plane before him, and recognized it now—the lines of a piece of sheet music!
    He had memories of his mother’s notebooks, full of music she’d inherited from her mother, and her grandmother. Lines and dots danced in front of him, spun and sang in his ears.
    It was loud. Too loud.
    He closed his eyes and the sheet music vanished, replaced by the image of a symphony orchestra. A thousand players, each reading the same music, working perfectly together. A smooth running engine.
    Except for one—one player in the middle. Everyone else’s colors synched perfectly, but not his. His color was red and the notes that played along the lines of music were staccato, mis-numbered, turning dark and angry.
    Abruptly that player rose in the air, as if the ship’s inertial dampeners were—
    He opened his eyes. “I know what’s wrong with the engine.” He turned to look at Captain Scott. “I know what the RPMs are—and I know how to fix it!”

Chapter
6
    I t was like nothing Bart had ever seen before.
    Vanov had called this an archive. No. More like a museum.
    Most of the art hung on the walls, sat on pedestals, while others rested on individual dais like the one they had transported in on.
    What caught the group’s attention were the pieces obviously not part of the display. Sculptures, paintings, musical instruments, and books rested on the floor in a less than orderly fashion, propped against the walls or slung against one another.
    As if they’d been piled inside with haste.
    Vanov moved in the center of the path, not allowing his robes to brush any of the displayed pieces. He stopped a few feet ahead of them, his face expressionless.
    â€œIt looks like they just threw some of this stuff in here,” Carol said as she and Gomez joined them.
    Corsi stood a few feet away, looking at a long, rectangular piece of art in a black frame. “I’m thinking they were in a hurry. Might have believed this museum was the safest place.”
    â€œOh, this is definitely a display hall of some sort,” Carol said and she pointed to the walls and the artwork. “Or it