Star Trek: Starbase 777 - inner-hall-south

She didn't think she'd be the head of the group and especially not this confident -- but Essen was, her steps were measured and deliberate as to not cause too much noise, and her eyes looked around left and right, scanning the area for anything that could be significant. Was she enthusiastic? Sure. Was she nervous? Yes. But she channeled that -- just as Vara'l and Alin told her -- into her duty. She was never more than a couple feet away from any of her team as Aoife and Vara'l had ordered. Time to do this thing!!

Mavna followed close behind Essen, one hand on her phaser and the other on her med kit. Her eyes scanned around the hall as they moved, and in the back of her mind she silently fretted over having left Vesta behind. Nothing like a mission to get some good trauma bonding going, huh?

1

Being on the left of the group and having two other tactical/security members paying attention, Hal Gertie felt secure enough to lower his phaser rifle slightly and scan for life signs and any odd energy readings as they walked. He was glad to have a medic in the group, but it did make them a more appealing target, and he wanted the early warning if something was approaching.

He stuck near Hal, his personal bodyguard, looking around, though not quite as vigilantly as the security and tactical officers were. Hopefully nothing snuck up on him - his hearing wasn't great.

Essen looked back quickly to visually check in with the rest of the team -- well, everyone looked okay, so that was a start. She did so quickly before she looked back forward and continued.

The creaking was far above them, but clearly, very clearly moving towards this side. Still, it was not yet in view, and only the sound of scraping and bending metal echoing between the greebled walls signified the existence of something else, somewhere in their vicinity. Was it a kilometre away? Only 500 meters? Only 200, or 100? Only 10?

“It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.” She muttered to herself.

Her ears quickly picked up the noise, her eyes shooting upwards to see if she could catch a glimpse of whatever made that noise. Her steps were impossibly light, careful as to not alert anyone of her exact location.

The source of the noise was not yet visible, and it seemed to be originating quite far above the group. That being said, the sound of footsteps was likely not what was tipping it off to anybody's location, if the sensor data on the console earlier was anything to go off of.

Maggie took a breath as she looked around. “It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.”

Seiyya noticed Maggie starting to act a bit more panicked, so she walked over, hoping someone else’s presence would remind her that everyone was in this together and no one would let anyone get hurt today. “It will be okay. Take a deep breath for a moment, alright?” She said, her voice oddly gentle.

Maggie nodded with a small breath as she looked around. “Right, right, it’ll be okay. You’re right, I’m sorry for being a dick back there. I just, god I only signed up because my mom literally shot at me a few days ago and oh my goddd.” She muttered whispered. “Focus focus focus.”

Hal Gertie looked at her and gave her a comforting smile- as comforting as he could be under the circumstances. “We’ll get out of this, lieutenant. You can apologize once we’re all safe back home.” Focused on the sound, he glanced in its general direction, face becoming grim again.* “I don’t like that we’re under it.” He creased his brows, looking around to see if there were any lower sections of ceilings, maybe towards the side of the hall. Even seeing where something could drop down from would be an improvement.

While the creaking had been fairly constant and getting closer like a beast slowly stalking its prey, it suddenly stopped, only the dull echoing remaining to haunt them.

Essen had briefly looked back again to Maggie. "Your mom shot at you a coupl--" she began to ask, until the creaking stopped. Essen held up her hand to stop the group, as she looked around again. Any noise that suddenly stopped like that? It wasn't a good sign...

Hal Gertie stopped at Essen’s signal. He checked his tricorder again, making sure nothing was in range and wiped some of the sweat that was collecting from his brow.

Essen looked sloooooowly back to the team, and held her finger to her mouth. If now was the time to be silent, then silent needed to be the rule -- at least, until they had a sign that whatever produced that creaking was gone or some other indicator. Essen pointed to the tricorders -- hoping someone would have found something.

So far, the creaking didn't make a return, and even the echoes eventually subsided, returning to the empty eeriness they'd encountered when they entered the ship.

2

A long moment where Essen simply looked around the area, and waited... Once that passed, Essen looked back to the team. She gestured with her hands for the team to walk very lightly, and she mouthed the word 'CAREFUL' silently, before she signalled for everyone to advance -- as quietly as they could.

Hal Gertie picked up the pace, as reasonably as he could being on the side of the group. They needed to get out of the open; it was ambush city, population: them.

1

Seiyya followed, she also could see that the open areas were ripe for an ambush. She did not want to be part of ambush city’s population, thank you very much.

Maggie moved with the two security officers, they knew what to do!

Essen also moved as quickly as she could along with the group. She also did not want to become a Borg's meal for today -- as she assumed no one else did either.

Mavna kept in step with the others, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder warily just to make sure they were outrunning…well…she knew what they were outrunning, but saying it made it feel real.

After a bit Essen looked forward to see what looked like a #hangar-bay. She motioned for everyone to follow her in there as she moved into this #hangar-bay.

"I cast 'Kumridankainen's Fleet of Foot'." As he walked into the hangar bay, his walking pace was 20% faster.

1

Far down the hall, out of sight from Vara'l's team, a shadow passed over the floor, as if a bird crossing in front of the moon. The scrape of metal echoed along the hall once more, this time so close and so loud that both Vara'l's team and Essen's team could likely hear it... before stilling once more, slowly letting the hall return to how it had been before.

8

Keeping herself no more than three feet away from the team, Essen resorted back to her light steps, to eliminate the noise from walking. Not that it would do too terribly much now. Her eyes darted to and fro, taking in the surroundings to check for any possible points that the drone could enter from. She didn't make another sound unless absolutely necessary, with only the sound of her breathing -- which was barely even audible -- being the loudest noise she made.

A slow Mavna pulling a similarly slow Maggie forward kept moving forward. It reminded her of her time aboard the Bering Strait, during emergency procedures. It wasn’t her first rodeo. Well- It was her first green-tinged Borg rodeo, but it wasn’t her first time carrying someone concussed.

Hal Gertie kept to the side of the group, as he was becoming accustomed to. He had never encountered the Borg personally, but they did of course have horror stories of them on Lyobi. He had known people who had disappeared on various excursions to space, presumably snatched up by the Borg but… seeing anything about them up close like this was a first for him. He took a small sip of his water. (edited)

In hearing Hal take a sip of his water, Essen did the same, and held up her own water bottle to remind the team -- hydrate!! Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!! And she took a sip before she put away the bottle.

Seiyya stayed close to the others. She had never seen a Borg before. She had heard horror stories, come uncomfortably close before in her time as teenage cargo hauler in Romulan space.. but this? This was something else. She couldn’t ignore the pounding of her own heart, so she took a few deep breaths- and Essen’s nonverbal reminder worked, as she also took a sip of her water.

On Vara’l’s suggestion, as Mavna kept herself and Maggie in step with the others, she pulled out her medical tricorder to give the hall a life scan.

They wouldn't get much more time to think about it. Like a tiger, stalking through long grass, using its surroundings to remain unseen, unnoticed, It pounced, it's two front arms striking like deadly claws, coming down from above like a hawk coming down on a rodent. It attacked to- It attacked to connect. This drone had access to all of their biosigns, and knew to strike for the weakest link. The partial seconds it would take to react were enough to graze her skin, infecting her with nanoprobes that would kickstart the assimilation process. It did nothing else, instead scrambling back up the wall with appendages seemingly fashioned specifically for that purpose.

9

Right when Essen saw the drone attack, she brought up her rifle, and charged it -- but she was too late, plus it was too risky to fire upon the drone being that close to Maggie. "WAIT--!" Essen exclaimed as she simultaneously hit her comm badge and charged her weapon to fire upon the drone. "NOW! Open fire!" Essen ordered the team.

As soon as Seiyya laid eyes on the drone, she fired- her phaser set to max kill in the hope it would do literally anything to it. She’d had her phase in her hand the whole time, raising it like an extension of her own body and firing like it was a pre-programmed reflex. She didn’t say anything, just wearing a cold mask of rage as she fired, backing up all the while.

Essen quickly relayed the message from Vara'l. "Remodulate phaser frequencies after two shots!" Essen called out, doing so herself before she fired again. "Don't let it touch you!" As she kept firing, her hands gripped the rifle tighter, tighter... her eyes scowled at the drone, and she gritted her teeth. She nearly let out a growl as she fired. (edited)

The instant the drone made contact with Maggie, Mavna…froze. Fuck. She froze. Too much started rushing through her brain in that very second, and the doctor was stuck holding Maggie for a few seconds until Essen said ‘Don’t let it touch you!’ With a surge, Mavna slipped out from Maggie’s grip and stumbled backward, eyes wide and staring at her patient.

In looking back for a split second, Essen noticed Mavna let go of Maggie. No... nononononononono... please don't let Mavna be assimilated too, Maggie enduring it was bad enough... Essen breathed in for 5, held for 7, and out for 8... battling with the emotions racing in her mind as she centered herself to continue firing. "Seiyya, Hal, Serin, keep a safe distance from Maggie and Mavna. Keep firing!" (edited)

Seiyya remodulated her phaser and took another shot at it as it skittered up the wall, moving backwards and away from her downed comrades. She didn’t like it.. but what else could she do? Wasn’t Maggie done for now? She couldn’t tell if Mavna had been hit too. All she could do was try to keep the rest of the group safe.

Essen didn't like it either -- well, to be fair, no one liked the fact a drone attempted to assimilate a member of the team in an ambush. If this drone was moving as fast as it was, it was a greater threat to the other away teams. "Don't let it get away!" Essen said, as she fired at the drone. If things weren't personal already, they certainly were now. But Essen regained her composure as much as she could. In for 5, hold fo--FIRE! Hold for 7, out for--FIRE! Out for 8... (edited)

Some hits connected, slowing it down, though it continued climbing up, at least twenty meters before disappearing into an alcove, out of sight.

She rushed forward to try and catch up with the drone, but it had already escaped. Essen immediately hit her comm badge to warn the other teams before she looked to her team. "I assume we have no easy way to quarantine Maggie especially since we can't let anyone off alone," Essen said. "Mavna, is there anything you can do to stop the assimilation?"

Her eyes swam from Maggie to Essen, "Nnno? No- I- Not here, I can't do much of anything here! We would need the base, the whole medical team, the-" She let out a weak little laugh, "We can run?" She jokingly suggesting, coming to the end of her rope. She was feeling rather helpless. (edited)

"Whatever we do, we can't leave Maggie here," Essen remarked. "No team member gets left behind." (edited)

“What kind of materials do you have? Any at all? Even if we can’t stop her from being assimilated, we might be able to slow down the assimilation process.” He addressed Mavna as he leaned in closer to Maggie, against better judgement, and peered at where the drone had touched her. His face had hardened into a stoney expression. “I am not going to run away from her.” Not yet, at least.

Essen's eyes widened. "Hal! What are you doing??" Essen asked. "Don't let her touch you!" No, no nonononononononono... (edited)

“I have a standard issue medkit, I have hypos, I have- I have scanners, osteostimulators, intravenous fluids…” Mavna had pushed herself back into a corner to sift through her medkit, “We could knock her out, but that’s not gonna stop anything! It’ll slow it down, but I’m not too sure for how long.” (edited)

“It’s better than nothing at least. It also means there’s a larger window for us to get her help, if we can find it in time.” He was being overly optimistic, but as he saw it there really was no reason not to knock her out. “I think we should issue the sedative and take her weapons.” He turned to Maggie. “I will not leave you on this cube, assimilated or not.”

"I agree, I'll hold onto her weapons for now," Essen said. "Let's see if the sedation can keep her at bay. It can maybe give us time to find a way to stop the assimilation altogether, if we can find one."

Maggie wasn’t thinking straight, she crumbled down as she felt the infection start to take over her body, and the worst thing is…she didn’t hate it. Sure, she was concussed and slowly being taken over by a hive mind that had killed thousands, but it felt nice. Like a warm hug from her mother that she never once received, instead of a phaser bolt scarring her carpet. No, she couldn’t think like that, she held her face and forced out. “EITHER SADATE ME OR KNOCK ME OUT WITH A RIFLE BUTT I DO NOT CARE!” Realizing that she had yelled, she meekly responded with. “Sorry.”

Mavna plucked a hypo out from her medkit and came up to the science officer, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, “You’re okay. We’re okay. We’re gonna be just fine,” She held the hypo up to the side of Maggie’s neck and gave Hal a nod before looking to Maggie, “Deep breath, okay?”

She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Mavna pressed the sedative hypo up to her skin, quickly pulling away and making sure to stay in contact with Maggie’s uniform and she lowered her to the ground.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry, Maggie..." Essen let out an apology to Maggie. First Maggie got a concussion, and now this? Essen couldn't help but feel like it was her fault. She led the team into this again. In for 5... hold for 7... out for 8. "Whenever she's fully unconscious, are we ready to mobilize again?" Essen asked the group. "Keep your eyes and ears sharp, that drone could be anywhere by now."

“Night.” Maggie weakly said as she was sedated, knowing what she would be when she woke up.

1

Her own eyes watered as Maggie let out the weak 'night' -- but she made no audible noise as the tear welled up. Blinking it away, Essen got a grip. It was an internal slap on her own face to get her to regain her composure. "Before we move, does anyone need anything? Anything at all?" Essen asked with genuine concern. "Preferably quickly."

Mavna packed up her medkit and sat on her knees in front of Maggie for a few moments before standing. Her patience had snapped. A little bit of her fight or flight had slipped through, and she was not proud of herself. She turned to Essen and huffed, “Essen. Stop apologizing,” She tightened the strap, “I can’t think of anything we can accomplish right now.”

1

Essen opened her mouth to object to Mavna -- but Mavna was right. No one, Essen included, could have known where the drone was from instinct alone, and certainly no one anticipated that the drone would attack the way it did. Essen was clouded by the fear of Maggie enduring what Vara'l, what Erra, what Savva, what One, what Five, what all of them endured. "Aye, I--" Essen began then, and by the tone of her voice it was clear that Mavna was right. "Thank you. Genuinely. You all have been doing amazing so far. We're going to find a way to get Maggie back and solve all of this. We can do this." She said that last part for herself as well. "Are we ready to mobilize?"

“I think someone needs to stay with her,” Mavna said, still standing next to the unconscious Maggie. Her grip remained tight on the strap of her medkit, “I would volunteer, but I don’t want to leave you all in a lurch without a medical officer. I’ll give whoever stays the remaining sedatives.”

She thought it over in her head. Someone did have to stay with Maggie. No one was on the cube alone. Vara'l' orders. And Essen needed to follow orders. No matter the cost. "I'll stay with her," Essen volunteered. "If Commander tr'Hara asks where I am, you can tell him. Go ahead and kick some ass."

The doctor crouched down and took Maggie’s phaser (for obvious reasons) and tricorder (just in case). She slipped the phaser into the medkit’s strap and held onto the tricorder, standing back up and giving Essen a nod, “Alright,” She pulled the last two sedative hypos out of her medkit and handed it to the tactical officer, “Keep us posted.”

"Aye," Essen replied. "You all have been a great team to work with. If anything happens to me just know that you all are amazing to work with. Thanks for being a kickass team." Essen nodded, taking the sedatives from Mavna, and sitting beside Maggie. She tapped her comm badge. (edited)

Essen looked to anyone who was still there if they hadn't left yet. "You heard the CTO," Essen said. "No isolating myself or Maggie from anyone else. None of you get any closer than I am to Maggie right now. None of you need to be assimilated." She knelt down beside Maggie, looking down upon her. As she held the sedatives, she grasped them tightly, although of course not to break them. As she waited for Vara'l's team to be enroute to her, Essen kept her head down and monitored Maggie. Inside her head, the images of seeing her mother crying when she told her everything she could remember about being part of the collective. Images of Vara'ls own face shifting when the topic of the Borg came up. Images of Savva's face contorting in fear, unable to live a normal life due to not trusting anyone. As she reflected and stewed in this, Essen made an internal promise to the Borg. As she looked down at Maggie, Essen didn't worry about being assimilated herself. Others needed to live more than she did. But the next time the Borg hurt someone she cared about... she would rain down with the anger fueled by years worth of hurt and hatred so that the Borg, all millions of them, would never forget what infractions they committed against those she cared about. The Borg would know her name, and they would FEAR her-- no. No... In for 5... hold for 7... out for 8. In for 5... hold for 7... out for 8. The mission, Essen... the mission... as she breathed, she let go of that anger, and remembered why she was here. Once again Essen went eerily silent as she knelt beside Maggie. (edited)

The creaking of metal started up again after a while, though indistinctly, as if moving in place. Still, the drone could not be seen at the moment, and therefore, couldn't be shot at.

3

She sprung up to her feet, keeping the sedatives and Maggie's weapons with her. Her eyes searched around for where the noise was coming from. Essen tumbled the possibilities in her head -- was the drone considering going back to Maggie again, or was it targeting someone else? She looked at each of the members of the team that were still present...

Leading Vara'ls group toward the southern end of the corridors Aoife was the first to arrive on scene, her rifle still raised she keep her head on a swivel ready to fire upward if the drone came back.

Vara'l as rear guard was one of the last who arrived on the scene as he continued to keep his head on a swivel. Did so as he also watched for a attack from above. "Lieutenant's, Lieutenant commander, what's your status?" The Romulan briefly clutched his rifle one handed as he pulled his tricorder and scanned for non-Starfleet lifesigns. "You seen or heard from the drone again?" Vara'l inquired.

Instinctively she grabbed her rifle, but didn't raise it -- when she saw it was the other group with Vara'l and Aoife, Essen lowered her rifle and stood at attention. "Sir," Essen reported. "Creaking noises just started up again, but we have no visual on the drone. Maggie is still unconscious, no further activity since." Then... "The team worked their behinds off and tried everything, they tried to reach out to the Eventide with no response, they tried to figure out ways to stop the assimilation, they tried to stop the drone from escaping, they worked to keep the doctor and Mavna safe."

She looked around the group, eyes lingering on Mavna for just a second longer than the others and then finally turning her sights to Maggie, laying on the ground, turning further and further into a drone as they watched. “Can we restrain her in any way?” She signed quietly.

Arriving soon after Aoife, Tarsek pointed his riffle to any opening back at their moving team as Vara’l moved to access the fallen officer and her company. He could swore he heard metal creak…

Mavna looked rather worse for wear, though she did make eye contact with Vesta for a few seconds before she kicked herself into gear, "I don't have much in the way of restraints besides...gauze," She said with a little self-pitying laugh. She really hadn't done a procedure like this ever. That joke she was going to say to Vesta earlier felt very shallow now.

"Do you have access to communications still?" The Romulan inquired as he utilized Tactical sign and gestured 'possible contact high' in response to the metal as it creaked. "Someone try and get a tricorder lock on the drones life sign, we need to know its direction of approach." Eyes swift as he glanced to Vesta and then looked to Essen and the unconscious Maggie, Vara'l asked. "The Lieutenant has a point, do we have anything to restrain Lieutenant Roode with?" He inquired before he glanced to the medical officers then asked. "Further to that if we need to move her that be managed safely for her and the person carrying?" Vara'l returned his gaze to the perimeter as he then heard the Lieutenant's response and asked another question. "Lieutenant, how are you yourself holding up?"

"...could be better," She said, before holding out Maggie's phaser and tricorder to Vara'l, "You might get more use out of these than me."

Recognising the tactical signs from Vara'l Aoife pointed her rifle upward looking for any kind of moment above them. She firmly intended to shoot on sight now that the drone has been confirmed as hostile.

"Depending on if we can get another console up and running, we should have access to communications. Mavna got it up really fast," Essen remarked. Essen was a bit off-taken by Vara'l's question to her. Essen swallowed her emotion and looked to Vara'l. "I'm ready and rearing, sir," Essen replied. "Made sure the team is as safe as they could be and worked efficiently. N-no need to worry about me! Ready to receive orders, sir." Although by the tone of her voice, this was weighing down on her much more than she was willing to admit.

Popping his tricoder on his free hand, the other with the phaser still ready and charged, Tarsek tried to scan for the drone and possibly predict the direction by which it would come if it decided to make direct contact with them again.

Vara'l accepted the tricorder and phaser then before he did his best to ensure they were secured upon the belt. Once he got a general gist on where the drone happened to be from a scan, he attempted to play a torch toward it as he stated. "Sensors are a priority at this point, though communications could be good, but given the present location of the Borg drone we need to withdraw." He mused then before he added with that enforced fabricated calmness of tone. "Given we were scanned prior, its logical to assume that it knows what it's dealing with and potentially has continued sensor access." The assessment voice as he mentally reviewed his own tactical knowledge and considered then discounted a number of things. While he reckoned it unlikely for a drone to be able to have transited space quick enough to return a short-fused stun grenade to sender, it happened to have sensor access. It also happened to be Borg, even it had been disconnected or whatever had occurred. It had more data then he happened to have, in essence it'd also decided the ground upon which it had engaged. "This room is difficult to keep secured given the vertical element, I propose we withdraw with the wounded to seek a better AO to be in should we be re-engaged." Vara'l stated as he proceeded to shoot a glance at Aoife. "Opinion?"

Aoife nodded. "To be blunt this position stinks sir. We need to find somewhere more defensible where we can hole up and regroup." She then switched to tactical signs assuming they were being listened to. 'Command center is ideal but we can't let it pounce on us.' She continued with signs. 'I've got a stun grenade I can throw before we run for it?'

Upon getting light shone on it, the drone moved backwards again, deeper into the alcove so as to escape the light. The way it moved... it didn't take a step back, the head movement was too regular for that. It just. Moved back. In one straight, uninterrupted movement.

2

"Drone is still up there, there any cables or anything that can be acquired from the walls?" The Romulan inquired then before he tactical signed to Aoife. 'Target has sensor coverage, likely is aware of your equipment, if we're going to grenade wait until we're on the way out and then toss with distance.' "If there's nothing, then we'll have to manage without restraining Lieutenant Roode, medical officers be ready with additional sedatives to keep them knocked out." Vara'l then tactical signed "May be aware when you prepare to then attempt to toss, we don't know how fast hostile moves, too risky."' As the thought then presented itself to him that the Borg had assimilated more than a few Starfleet officers. So if it happened to have access to that data and a good enough visual sensor, it remained possibile...it happened to know what was being discussed sign language or no.

Aoife signed in return. 'I could set it on a timed detonation but it'll lose the advantage of being thrown. Either way we can't stay here.' She finished signing before looking for something to tie Maggie up with, for her safety as much as everyone else's.

“Where exactly would we go?” Vesta asked, splitting her time between staring at Maggie and at the Drone. “There’s not exactly an area that we can better fortify.” As far as she could tell at least. “Not even considering the fact that it knows exactly what and where we are. Down to the out heart rates.”

Vara'l nodded a bit at Aoife before he Tactical signed. "I concur, thoughts on setting it for timed det then rolling it in as we commence withdrawal?" As he turned slightly in what he suspected was the vain hope, if it happened to have assimilated knowledge of Starfleet tactical practises, that the move might have harmed the Drones ability to read what was signed if it could. The Romulan played his rifles torch beam on where he'd last spotted the drone then as he first asked. "People scanning, still got a fix on the drone?" And then addressed the lieutenant's query. "Preferably somewhere that has less vertical space for it to play with, where we are now it can withdraw to and attack from height in a way its difficult for us to efficiently compensate for." He paused then before he added. "Thats with the access to sensors it has that we don't." His jaw worked a bit then. "We need to get sensor access in a better way than the smaller maps to compensate or try and affect its own access." Vara'l stated then before he continued. "We also need to find sensors to try and get further intel on what occurred to the Eventide, we've a better chance to find that if we locate a command node." The Romulan then tapped his combadge as he considered Sarens information and responded.

The drone hadn't moved. It was still just looking.

Hey, guess who - Saren was leading his little team back, looking up with curiosity as his tricorder's sensor pinged him on the drone's location. One unbothered motherfucker, what is wrong with him.

Lots.

9

10

Aoife nodded following Vara'l's signs. Before signing back. 'Yeah best to roll it as we leave then run like hell before he jumps on someone again.' She kept her rifle trained upward as Sarens team began to arrive.

Tarsek took the chance to further observe the drone, now that it was standing still with no reactions in the light, phaser still in hand. That is your cue, narrator, to describe its physical appearance in further detail and traumatize us some more if you feel like it.

Five surveyed the area from a bit further behind, now looking much better than she had earlier — still a little shaken, overall fine. She looked at Saren's reading, then up where the drone was — or, where the reading said it was. "Oh," she said simply. "I don't like that it can do that."

You're not shining a light on it, it moved back further into the alcove upon being shone upon. You can't see it.

"Has he been just... hanging out here with you guys?" he can't help but ask.

He was then most definitely not looking at the drone, the player was stupid. He looked at his tricoder to monitor the ominous little bastards position. (edited)

Vara'l adjusted his position then slightly as he bathed the drones former position in light. He attempted to in essence get a indication of how far it'd retreated as he nodded slightly at what Aoife indicated. "Neither do I in all honesty." The Romulan then responded at Fives statement, enforced calmness of tone the name of the game for Vara'l at the moment. Too much of where they happened to be and what had happened reminded him of things he'd not really wanted to be reminded of. That plus the worries he harboured, the thoughts of Telim on 777 that his mind played wack-a-mole with at the moment as they showed themselves, it had managed to shake him. Not that he'd ever have admitted it. "We were of a mind to try and find a better position, this gives it too much vertical space to play with if it wants to attack us again." At the question, Vara'l proceeded to shake his head no. "No, its been doing that now, but it managed to hit Lieutenant Roode prior my groups arrival to reinforce." He informed the Lieutenant.

"Yeah, he's just been hovering there. Creepy motherfucker." Aoife said keeping her rifle pointed upward toward the general area of the drone. "Now that we've got the band back together should we find somewhere else to hang out?" Aoife poised to group.

"No wonder, if everyone has been staring up at it like a beast in a zoo," Five mused thoughtfully. "What's our move, then?"

1

"Personally, I would like to find a way to get them help." He looked around at all of the other officers. "Maybe find a way to lure them somewhere and make sure they can't hurt us." (edited)

"I wonder if there is a pattern or logic behind the attack, or I must say assimilation. Did your group engage directly prior to this reaction? Did Lt. Roode act in any specific way that might have led to this?" He questioned. "Is there a usual preference of the Borg for individuals to assimilate, or do they simply take any individual when they can with no criteria?" (edited)

"Normally, whatever they can get their hands on." Five nodded, gesturing vaguely to their own implants. "I doubt they actually wanted a teenage boy for their ranks."

"Find somewhere somewhat more secure to camp out at" Vara'l proceeded to put forward then. " If Eventide's had to withdraw it likely will need time to affect repairs and come up with a plan." He'd then glanced briefly to Five. "We'd been keeping it covered just in case it attempted to attack again, I suspect it's waiting for a better opportunity to strike." Vara'l proceeded to take a another long inhale then exhale as he once again attempted to centre himself. "While I'd also like to get them assistance, I'd put forward they're presently a serious threat to officers and priority should be getting somewhere safer then approaching from there." Vara'l contended. When the Lieutenant Commander then asked what they asked, Vara'l nodded a bit at Fives response. "Given the situation, there may have been something too it, potentially the closest to its ambush position?" The Romulan posited before he added. "But Fives right."

"I don't think we can really force the guy to stay somewhere, even if lured out," especially on his own turf. "He does seem to be frozen in place when observed, though - has been for some time, judging by what you've told me and what I've heard being relayed from comms."

"I suspect it's observing us, contented to observe us through sensors when visual contact's successfully made at points." The Romulan responded then before he abandoned the centering attempt as he continued to try and bathe the Alcove in torch light as indicated previously. "I suspect its smart enough to pick when it attacks with care and with a mind to numbers and positioning."

"Fun as this chat is, can we finish up and find somewhere safer to chat?" She said still looking up, totally happy to vaporise the drone and be done with it.

"That makes sense, sir," Essen remarked. "Why did the drone pick Maggie of all of us to assimilate? She had a concussion. She wouldn't be able to fight it off as easily. It's like a lion pouncing at a wounded gazelle." As she realized that... "Which means it may be studying more than just our heart rates and biometrics. It might be studying--us. Looking for any signs of weakness, so that, like the lion, it can pounce." (edited)

Vara'l noted what Essen said, mentally filed certain..elements of what they stated for later review if they survived and responded. "Indeed and I'm of a similar mind to the Lieutenant Commander, its time to move to find somewhere safer to chat, did anyone spot anywhere that had a single entrance to it, more defensible?" The CTO had inquired then.

"The hangar bay only had one hallway entrance," Essen suggested. "Unless you count the ability for other spacecraft to dock there, then that's two entrances."