Ensign Nera Ay - Out in the Cold of Space

[Doz Finch]

Another great opening of Act 3 of our plot, this time from @Nera Ay who marvels at a rare experience he's having (floating through space tethered to two other officers).

Ensign Nera Ay - Out in the Cold of Space

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((Near the Borg Sphere, Unimatrix Seventeen))

The three of them were tethered together via their spacesuits, floating points of white against the otherwise lifeless black of space. Their drifting, while lazy-looking and effortless initially, was controlled by a series of small carefully timed boosts from their integrated maneuverability thrusters.

Ay had found many firsts in his career since being assigned to the Gorkon, and this was yet another. While he had some experience with spacewalking, required course that it was, he’d never needed to propel himself from a Starfleet vessel hidden beneath a D’Deridex cloaking device before. 

His destination? A half finished Borg Sphere docked at Unimatrix Seventeen, a prime example of the Borg’s labyrinthine and branching design aesthetic. The structure hung in space like a great metallic web, blinking every now and then, as it grew closer and closer.

The whole experience was nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. Or maybe that was the few cups of triple brewed raktajino he’d downed beforehand talking.

A chirping sounded from within Ay’s helmet, no doubt echoed within Finch and Gnaxac’s as well, heralding the arrival of Reynolds confident tone.

Reynolds: =/\= Reynolds to Finch. =/\=

Finch: =/\= Yes, hello! Finch here! =/\=

Reynolds: =/\= How’s the approach? =/\=

Finch: =/\= Smooth sailing so far, Admiral. We estimate we’ll reach our target in around fifteen minutes. =/\=

A thumbs up from the Ferengi, and Ay offered a salute of his own.

The conversation had been at a minimum so far between the three of them, the most prolific sounds up until Reynolds communication being their rhythmic breathing. There was probably a way to filter that out, but hearing his colleagues breathing at least meant Ay didn’t need to rely on the suits' onboard life monitoring systems to determine their status.

While the angle didn’t make it easy, Ay was sure he could see a wild grin plastered across Finch’s face. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and he could see why. There was a certain freedom to being out here, entirely weightless.

Was this what birds felt like, he wondered.

Reynolds: =/\= From what we can tell, there aren’t any audio or visual monitoring systems in the Unimatrix itself. There’s barely any security at all, in fact. I suppose it's a combination of not expecting anyone to infiltrate, and not needing the redundancy when they can monitor everything through their drones. =/\=

Finch: =/\= That certainly makes our jobs a lot easier. =/\=

Gnaxac: ::muttering:: Famous last words.

Nera: =/\= Best not to say that too often, or our job will be anything but =/\=

In Ay’s experience, saying things would be easy inevitably invited the universe to show two fingers, and make things as difficult as possible. The universe was a tricky old thing like that.

Reynolds: =/\= It’s half-built, so hopefully they haven’t populated it yet. But if they have, you’ll need to shut them down before you can recover it. We don’t want drones springing to life when we’re trying to fix Johnson’s mess. =/\=

Finch: =/\= We’re hoping to land on one of the outer edges of the sphere, facing away from the Unimatrix. There seems to be a good vantage point there to the inside, so we'll know what we're up against sooner rather than later. =/\=

They were perhaps a curious ensemble to steal a ship. Two engineers and doctor…there was a joke tucked away in that. That said, he had confidence in their abilities. Both of the engineers were talented and knew the intricacies of the technology they’d be dealing with.

And Ay at least, had spent much of his recent time autopsying drones and studying their nanintes.

Nera: =/\= Benefits of a half-finished ship, the insides are laid bare =/\=

Like someone mid-surgery, or during an autopsy. 

Reynolds: =/\= Good luck. Reynolds out. =/\=

Finch: =/\= The very same to you! Finch out. =/\=

Gnaxac: =/\= I’m g-g-glad she sounded confident. =/\=

Nera: =/\= We’ve got his =/\=

Sounding confident was half the battle, Ay knew. It was much the same as surgery and talking to a patient or their family, he suspected. Project an aura of confidence and control, and those in your care felt instantly better.

The channel closed, leaving them once more with the steady hum of each other's breathing. Ay glanced towards his arms, each in turn, and the small screens and control panels affixed there. Information displays and scanning devices, all the things they’d need.

Finch: =/\= Now then, gentlemen. How are you both feeling? =/\=

Gnaxac: =/\= I’d b-b-be lying if I said I wasn’t a b-b-bit nervous =/\=

Nera: =/\= Nervous, excited, resisting the urge to serenade our approach. You know, the usual mix of emotions =/\=

He was smiling, he couldn't help himself. The inner thrill seeker rearing its head once more. 

A faint chuckle from Finch drifted through the comm, and her helmeted head bobbed up and down slowly.

Finch: =/\= It’s a cracking experience and it never gets old, floating in space. The circumstances are a bit of a shame, but I’ve every confidence luck is on our side with this particular task. =/\=

Gnaxac: =/\= We’ll n-n-need more than luck =/\=

Nera: =/\= I said a prayer to the Prophets before we left, don’t you worry =/\=

Ay hadn’t prayed, properly prayed to be specific, in a long time. He’d stopped doing a lot of things went he’d left Bajor, and picked up numerous new bad habits in their place.

A prayer before the mission had offered a moment of calm and a chance to center himself. It had felt good.

Finch: =/\= Suit diagnostics are automatic, so if we encounter any technical hiccups with them, we should know about it almost immediately. =/\=

Gnaxac lifted a small case that he was holding, which had also been tethered to them. Engineering tools, Ay guessed.

Gnaxac: =/\= And I’ve g-g-got this to fix it. =/\=

Nera: =/\= Response =/\= ::lifting his own case in response:: And if either of you need patching up, I’ve got this =/\=

Standard issue medkit, with a few other bits Ay had crammed in earlier just in case. Never knew what you might need on a mission like this.

Finch:=/\= Response =/\=

The half-constructed sphere loomed in front of them, growing ever bigger. It was like a giant perfectly smooth metal apple someone had taken a huge jagged bite out of.

Gnaxac: =/\= It, um, really seems b-b-bigger in p-p-person, doesn’t it? =/\=

oO Took the words right out of my mouth Oo

Nera: =/\= Impressive, isn’t it =/\=

Impressive, awe-inspiring, intimidating. Borg architecture had a way of evoking very mixed responses. Their designs were perfect and functional and dwarfed most other things they came into contact with.

Finch: =/\= Response =/\=

Nera: =/\= At least it’s a Sphere we’re dealing with. Still large, but not Cube large =/\=

A Cube, even one currently under construction, would have made the job significantly harder and more time-consuming. They were massive constructs, not to underpin the size of a Sphere.

Finch / Gnaxac: =/\= Response =/\=

Nera: =/\= Either of you have much experience with Borg Spheres? =/\=

Finch / Gnaxac: =/\= Response =/\=

Nera: =/\= There was a partially deconstructed Sphere in Nassau; poked around it a little bit. but that’s about as far as it goes =/\=

Most of the Nassau salvage operation had been focused on a scout ship, with only a brief bit of time being given to the Sphere remains. It was something, but not much in comparison to the hulk they were fast approaching.

Finch / Gnaxac: =/\= Response =/\=

Tags/TBC

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Ensign Nera Ay

Medical Officer

USS Gorkon

G240106NA2