Star Trek: Starbase 777

The walkway was long, and on an incline, really leading quite directly to the Vinculum. At the end of it there was going to be only one more large room before they reached their goal. One had to wonder if the drones didn't get extremely sick of walking uphill in the heat forever, but then any complaints would probably get lost in the chatter, anyway. This had been less evident in the drone workshop, as the floor there had been littered in nonfunctional tech, but here, it became clear very quickly that this part of the vessel was kept in much better condition compared to the rest of it. Whether that was out of a sense of reverence for the innermost parts of the ship, or whether it was purely out of practical concerns because they needed these bits to function properly, it wasn't entirely clear. It was also more well-lit here, compared to most of the vessel. This was because there were data and power lines going in every direction, up and down and ahead deeper towards the Vinculum, but also back out to the rest of the vessel.

Khamlet advanced methodically, checking any corners passed, eyes up for ambushes from above or from below, he stayed with his fellow warriors not letting formation fall out of order. The technical qualities of the walkway they moved through escaped him, but there were plenty of engineers and scientists for that so it did not trouble him. He focused on his task: keeping alert for the enemy.

Tavek followed, not minding the incline much. Though, mainly that was because he didn’t get tired unless his battery was low, and his was still quite high. Mainly, he knew that he had to keep moving, it was the only way to not break down.

Karavix's heartbeat raced as she surveyed the area around her. The closer they got to the vinculum, the more she felt that tingle in her fingertips, the slight tremor to her hand— easily mistaken as nervousness to anyone who didn't know her, but she retained her steely expression. Her fellow officers wouldn't take kindly to her being excited about seeing the heart of the vessel they'd been trapped on for days. Understandable. (edited)

It was an excitement he would understand if he knew about it. He might have been excited himself, but he wasn't quite up for it today. Internally, anyway. "Quite a fascinating object, that vinculum... The plan is we disable it when we get there, right?"

Walking through the inclination reminded him of the dunes of soft sand next to his home. Only the ground was hard, echoing metal sounds with every step, there was no clean skies to be seen and he was surrounded by strange tech and suffocating walls. Not to mention, the imminent feeling of predation, knowing his group was being hunted down and that the attacks would only escalate with the closer they got to the cube’s heart.

His pupils constricted ever so slightly as soon as Kairos stepped out into the light, his gait as easy as it was at the start of their venture. Wow, this Trill sure is in good physical shape. Nothing more.

2

The medical officer continued along with the group, situated to the middle and keeping up as always. Once again he was on the watch for anything untoward (even if that was made more difficult from the change in lighting here, that making the nagging headache worse.) He was well aware that they were in danger but he forced the emotion down, taking steady, practiced breaths. Out of practice as he was, being in an environment like this really did feel like he had stepped back into a second skin. Along with looking out for signs of the drones, he kept an eye on his fellow officers too. Everything from the tension in their shoulders to the amount they were perspiring in this oppressive heat was noticed. He was going to be ready this time - at the first sign of something wrong, be that due to a drone or something wrong with one of the team.

"Yes," Senang responded resolutely to Serin. "Once we arrive at the Vinculum, we should turn all efforts to disabling it, since that will make any altercation with the drones simpler, and allow Eventide to reestablish contact."

All they had to do was get to the Vinculum and destroy it. Then everything would be ok. Except everything would not be ok, because Ato was dead. Not assimilated, dead. Truly and actually dead. Everybody else would heal and get better, but Ato couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t save everyone, but it was a really tough pill to swallow that it applied to this mission.

"Perhaps me and K'mporr could work on that together, then." If one of them didn't get Ato'd before then, anyway.

2

Vara'l continued to move with the group then. Having been treated somewhat, Vara'l risked putting his phaser rifle strap under his shoulder and continued onward with the group. Continued onward as his face occasionally twitched when his phaser rifle whumped against the shoulder. The Romulan pulled out his hand phaser as he walked. Probably best out of the holster, that weapon, his mauled mind reckoned.

The walk was quite long, which wasn't unexpected, and mostly straight ahead, ignoring all the side hallways that led to different, unknown parts of the cube. Maybe in another situation it could have been interesting to investigate all of the cube's maze-like glory, but this was not that time. Eventually it led to a large room with consoles and screens lighting up at all angles and on all surfaces: here too, there were no borg life signs. For now, the coast remained clear.