Star Trek: Starbase 777

Walking back into the hall had meant that the echoes of metal on metal had started back up, clearly responding to the movement of the group. Nothing else happened though, and tricorder pings were only useful enough to tell that the main drone, the original drone, was somewhere above them. It was lying in wait, for what was unclear. Moving onto the walkway then, a more cramped space compared to the hall, was simultaneously safer and far more risky, since there were fewer angles from which one of the drones could approach, but at the same time... there was nowhere to run, either.

8

At the front of the pack with Seiyya was the little shit herself, not in a little shit mood, and she had her phaser in her hands, although pointed down, and not charged up yet. She kept it at the ready just in case. The creaking made Essen sick to her stomach, that noise that she dreaded hearing, but she bit her tongue and kept moving. She had to keep moving, as the group moved. She gritted her teeth again, keeping her eyes peeled. They darted around once more, looking for any signs of unwanted company. Clear mind, clear objective... Clear mind, clear objective... (edited)

The low rumblings of the beast threatened the air around them, and with the sticky heat, Five already felt as if she had been swallowed whole. She kept her gaze on her map, swallowing her fear as best she could. Straight ahead, she gestured, as if there was anywhere else to go.

And Ato had turned with the rest of the group, following the lead of the folks in front and the directions from Five. "Here we go." He muttered, mostly to himself, looking around, not for signs of outside danger, but instead monitoring his crewmates.

She would rather avoid danger altogether, but if moving into dangerous areas was what they needed to do, she was glad to be to the front of their group. with people covering her back. She also tried to focus on the noise of people behind her without thinking about the horror that would be both noises of struggle as well as complete silence behind her. In an attempt to pretend confidence she stood up a little straighter and took a deep breath.

7

Nowhere to run… but less places for the drone to hide. For every upside, a downside. That was the price paid. Seiyya knew that quite well. She looked around, noticing every spot where a potential ambush could come, every place that danger could appear from. She kept moving, at the front by Essen’s side. Seiyya, at least, feigned calm. She had to be at least somewhat reassuring.

3

In each step, Paco took in a shaky deep breath and gripped his tricorder tighter as the team moved forward. How long have they even been here? 5 days at this point? 5 days in a hot, humid Borg Cube in both a constant state of fear and panic over everything that has happened and all the worse that is to come. From thinking of the fate of Maya and the Eventide during that exchange of fire in the beginning to whoever would be next in being assimilated after Maggie, a lot has weighed down on Paco's mind. He was exhausted, scared shitless, and worried. However, Paco was certain of one thing as he scanned the way ahead of them alongside Five. Regardless of the outcome, all of this has to come to an end... it simply must... and it's going to be an end in their favor.

4

The group was large, and most likely did not need Vesta, but she went with the group anyway. She had already committed, but more so she simply could not stand the waiting. She walked with the group, backpack full of supplies.

6

It wasn't hard to sense, but Ato could feel and see the signs of dread and anxiety on the crew. He understood; he had the feelings too. It made sense, given the conditions. The question was what would be best for group morale? He wasn't a morale officer, and he wasn't particularly close to most of the officers in this group. But he was confident in all of their abilities. "One step at a time, one moment at time. We will find the Vinculum and complete our task." It was quiet, but a hopeful attempt to assure the group that they would get through. Together.

Senang was grateful for the sense that at least some of their team seemed to possess, despite the stressful situation. She knew, of course, that for people like Vara'l and Five, and perhaps even some of the others, the Borg were an especially sensitive subject. But what could they do except move forward? There was no room for despair, when despair would kill. "Let's continue moving," She spurred on from the back, her ears listening for any movement from their backs, while her eyes were trained on anything in front of them.

5

Essen hadn't necessarily stopped moving, but given just how exposed everyone was in this corridor, she definitely had the instinctual urge to stop which she had to resist. Essen gritted her teeth again, and looked back in her periphery to Senang, giving her a nod -- before she looked to Seiyya, and continued forward at the same pace. Light steps... Clear mind, clear objective. Clear mind, clear objective. It didn't help that the anxiety was still getting to Essen, and the sick to her stomach feeling was still bothering her. But she bore down and didn't stop moving, just as Senang ordered. Clear mind, clear objective...

Right. They just had to get through here, and they'd likely be in a more open area... Five exhaled, shoulders tense. She could trust everyone to take care of each other. That's all she had to rely on.

The noises didn't stop, though they did change, becoming further away, changing directions... Still, the only thing the away team could do was continue moving ahead.

5

"Hey Five..." Paco said quietly to Five as they continued on forward with a bit of a worried look. "I-I.... uhh..." Paco swallowed whatever he was going to say for a moment as he tried to properly make words start wording. "I was talking to...uh... Vara'l last night.... and ummmm...." Paco had seen Vara'l talk to Five, so he was saying this very slowly in order to gauge Five's reaction. The stalling also helped in giving the panicked scientist a moment to mentally prepare himself. "I... think I said a bad and made Vara'l.... more upset?"

3

2

"We're all on edge right now," Five answered gently, glancing back at Paco. "People say things they don't mean. Or it's difficult to parse tone. Vara'l is..." She exhaled a sigh. "He's on edge, too. You didn't mean anything by it. I'm sure if you just talk to him, you'll be able to smooth this over."

"....N-no we-- uhhmmm I mean...uhhhhhh" Paco stuttered. Should Paco correct Five? He could just leave it there. Yes! and He could just nod and keep going! They had an argument, yeah! wait no! That'll make Paco look and feel worse, mostly because that would be lying and she would start asking questions... to Vara'l! "I uhhhh... asked him how he and Aoife were doing...... he said... essentially that yeah..." Paco started, because honesty is the best policy, he guessed. "and then he asked how I was doing.... and.... ummm" The scientist hesitated for a bit. Everyone told him venting and saying how you feel honesty is supposed to help you feel better... it didn't. "I told him I have been thinking about the self-sacrifice stuff everyone was talking about earlier, and that I should be the one thrown in that... 'cause out of everyone, I probably have the least amount of knowledge and access to critical Starfleet stuff....mostly as a thought, I'm not actually going to do that, though... and he was like 'No. We're not doing that. Thank you for telling me though.' " Paco explained, trying to keep calm as he tried to glance over to his tricorder to check on the scans. "Then I asked him... if there was a chance Eventide....got destroyed.... because that would mean...." Paco held back on finishing that sentence. Not the best time for his headspace "then Vara'l got really quiet..." He paused for a moment "then he was like 'No! They are probably fine! We have not seen any wreckage or the Cube salvage anything, so that's a good sign'..."

Essen's breath hitched when she heard about self-sacrifice again. It wasn't especially loud, but at least it was audible within the group. Essen's eyes widened in embarrassment. "Sorry," Essen meekly apologized, and continued forward. Clear mind, clear objective... Clear mind, clear objective... Come on... c-clear mind. Clear objective. Everyone was gonna return safely. No self sacrifice...

"...Let's not focus on that possibility right now," Five answered, keeping her gaze forward. "For now, remember that you're an important part of the team. No one is going to become a martyr today. Not if I have anything to say about it."

3

Saren, unbothered, flourishing, in his lane, focused on the mission at hand and moved with the group, eyes on the map's readings. The member of the steely backspine of the group did not have time for allat.

4

5

"...Okie Doke." That went slightly better than he expected. better than starting with straight up saying 'I think I broke Vara'l. Help?' At least he got that out of his system, and now he can go back to focusing on scanning and reading a map for Borg Shit. He's now doing marginally better than earlier. "Thanks, Five."

"Yeah, of course, Lieutenant.." she murmured distractedly. Nothing against Paco, she was just starting to be bothered by how tight this walkway was. How much further, anyway..? (edited)

walking down a tight hallway feels a certain degree better than being in the turbolift for Paco.... there's no running when you're stuck in the turbolift...