Ens. Gnai - Can We Build It? Yes We Can!
Lich
((Main Engineering, Deck 15 - USS Artemis))
As Lt. Cmdr. Salkath pried free the servos that he had found, Gnai turned to the replicator platform, starting to work on creating some of the parts that they would be less likely to find in the salvage aboard the Artemis. Before it could really think about what it was asking, it had already started to broadcast its thoughts to Lt. Cmdr. Salkath. Was this… out of line? Inappropriate? Weird?
Gnai: ~ How did you… fare during Frontier Day? I ::partial:: was on the Kitty Hawk, and missed everything that happened here… ~
The commander’s response was quieter than the other times he had spoken, almost as if he didn’t want the others in Engineering to overhear.
Salkath: I was... indisposed for the entirety of the events that transpired. I received what should have been a minor injury on the Borg cube, but shock incapacitated me. I awoke in sickbay on the Artemis after treatment, and after the worst of events had transpired.
Gnai: ~ Oh. I ::partial:: am sorry to hear that. Was it serious? ~
A speaker for the suit materialized on the replicator pad next to the tank. Gnai hoped that it was of the appropriate size, going off of what it remembered from working on the suit with its mentor back on Galador II. But that had been years ago, and it wasn’t certain of the exact specs anymore.
Salkath: My welfare was immaterial. I was sound and ready for the aftermath of Frontier Day, and that is as optimal as I could hope for. Now, when you are ready to describe to me the real reason for the loss of your suit, I would be amenable to hear it.
Well… It would have to skirt the truth a little. It didn’t know what truly befell the suit, but Lt. JG. Sadar’s jaw - or whatever that had been - had torn an arm off and that certainly hadn’t helped. She’d asked it to keep that a secret though, and while it didn’t want to lie to a potential friend (it didn’t know how to feel about if it was truly friends with Lt. Cmdr. Salkath yet… as he was still its superior), it had given its word to her to remain silent about anything regarding the surprises of her anatomy.
Gnai: ~ Well. It was assimilated. Somehow. Much like how the other younger members of the crew were, and as the rest of the officers tried to fight back, it sustained damage. ::pause:: At one point, I ::partial:: was removed from the suit, which caused substantial damage… And it lost an arm during the retaking of the bridge. After that… I ::partial:: lost track of it. ~
Gnai watched as Lt. Cmdr. Salkath started to weld together a frame, closely resembling how its old suit had looked. This was promising - it wasn’t ready to have to figure out how to deal with a significantly different frame. The replicator pad next to the tank continued to fill with additional small pieces, things that Gnai assumed wouldn’t be likely scrapped in the efforts to rebuild the Artemis. Circuitry, power cells - all as close to the Galadoran tech that it had used in its previous iteration of the suit, but not exactly. They were all analogs that could be found already in the replicator patterns. The suit wouldn’t be perfect, but it would work, and that’s all that mattered.
Salkath: I surmise that there is more you would tell me, but I understand if it is uncomfortable to relate. As soon as I start manipulating this duranium, it will be time to consider implementing internal control modules. How are your efforts in replicating those?
Gnai: ~ They are mostly done… But they won’t function the same as they did previously. I ::partial:: had to substitute Federation technology for the light cells and other parts… ~
Salkath: Do not be too concerned if we cannot make the suit fully functional to its previous parameters at this junction, we can make modifications afterwards. If in this session we can get you ambulatory and able to complete your basic duties, that would be a meaningful success metric.
Gnai bobbed in its tank in agreement. They would get something to work, it would be able to move around the ship again, and then when there was a quiet moment closer to its homeworld, perhaps it could take a shuttle and head back home to truly fix up the suit. Lt. Cmdr. Salkath glanced at Gnai, confidence radiating off of him in that decidedly Vulcan way, and it bobbed back to him.
Salkath: Now we begin in earnest.
Time seemed to both slow to a crawl, and speed by in an instant as they worked. There was a bustle of activity, localized in the small pocket of the engineering deck that they had taken over, the two working in tandem to build a new suit, much to the curiosity of onlookers. The others working on repairing the deck would glance over from time to time, watching as Lt. Cmdr. Salkath welded a new part together, or prised another servo from the salvage.
Gnai tried to help, as best it could, pointing out when it saw pieces of scrap pass by as the others worked, parts that they might need, or think that they need. The replicator pad next to it continued to sparkle with new parts, fabricated to replace those that Gnai had lost with the suit, so that it could communicate with the circuits, and then communicate with the world.
A hand formed, and the fingers flexed as they were tested, before the finishing touches of the rubberized fingertips were affixed to their ends… then another. The suit was coming together, part by part, bit by bit, a synthesis of old and new; Federation and Galadoran; replicated and salvaged. In a way, it was a bit of a catharsis, as Gnai left behind the old suit and the memories that it had made with it, both the good and the bad, for a new suit and new experiences. The first suit had been a learning experience with its mentor, this new one was a collaboration with, perhaps, a friend.
More parts manifested, either out of thin air, or pried loose from the wounds of the Artemis. The suit took form, arms attaching to the chassis - missing the blue coat of paint that denoted its department, but that was an easy fix later - before legs were bolted on, stable enough that it could stand upright as Lt. Cmdr. Salkath tinkered with the internals.
But something was missing; they’d found everything they could so far, managed to recreate the majority of the suit, except the transparent aluminum tank that it would swim within.
((OOC: You said montage, and I tried my best! I’m down to backsim more of it if you want.))
Gnai: ::taking a look over all that has been created so far:: ~ Commander Salkath… I ::partial:: think we ::partial:: are almost done? ~
Salkath: Response
Gnai: ~ Yes… I ::partial:: was wondering… Do you think there will be enough transparent aluminum to be salvaged from the ship? Or will it need to be replicated? Is there enough energy to spare? ~
Salkath: Response
Tags/TBC :)
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