Sunday March 30, 2014
Book 15: Delegates and Delegation — Part I: Confidence

Transcript

NARRATOR: Bay Two, Neosynchronicity...

MURTAUGH: Welcome aboard General Bala-Amin.

BALA-AMIN: Thank you for inviting us, Captain Murtaugh.

SORLIE: Your sally port is at the ceiling?

MURTAUGH: This vessel was originally constructed by the lighter-than-air Oafa.  Exiting from the ceiling made sense.

SORLIE: I get that, but you've doubled down on their design.  You've retrofitted a lift in here.

Which means the hull materials made it too costly to install grav-conduits.

BALA-AMIN: Captain Murtaugh, this is Lieutenant Sorlie.  She knows more about ship design than most shipwrights do.

MURTAUGH: So I see.  I thought the seams from our refit were sanded down better than that.

SORLIE: Sanded?  Surely not, they've—

MURTAUGH: *interrupting* I'm kidding.

It's always a pleasure to meet an expert, Lieutenant.

SORLIE: Oh.  Well, thank you, Captain Murtaugh.

SORLIE: This design... I've never seen anything like it.

MURTAUGH: It's ancient.  The ship was parked and preserved for millions of years.

Presented to us by the Oafa, Neosynchronicity is a token of gratitude for services rendered.

SORLIE: Well, if the hull is really the PTU composite its neutrino shadow made it out to be...

Sorry.  I'll stop.

If you're offering a tour, I should listen, not ramble.

MURTAUGH: Where did you find her, and were there any more, perhaps standing around unattended?

BALA-AMIN: That's almost exactly the same question we've got for you.