Ensign Tho'Bi - Into Dust

[Tobi]

((OUTSIDE DECK 6 AIRLOCK, SAUCER SECTION - USS ARTEMIS))

He had drawn the short straw. EVA work was awkward and slow. It also managed to be both claustrophobic and agoraphobic. But he was Andorian, stronger than the others. Even jammed up against the top of his helmet, his antennae gave him better spatial awareness. And he grew up on Deep Space 3, he was accustomed to limited or zero gravity.  

And so he was dispatched to the outside of the saucer section. A number of the airlocks had seized open, either due to damage sustained in the attack, or prolonged exposure to Space. They had to be closed before all of the saucer section could be re-pressurized. Until they could re-pressurise, they were unable to check the plasma conduits and relays. Until they could check the conduits and relays, they could not risk restarting the Warp Reactor.

Absent atmosphere-dependent hiss, the de-icer sprayed across the door mechanisms. The thuddy fingers of the suit drummed vaguely upon the Engineering Tricorder, built into the arm of his suit. The airlock slid. Clunk. The double doors slid back to fully open.  

The Andorian lent back against the tether and gazed up at the gradual shift of stars. The ship was making best speed to Star Base 224. One quarter light was glacial for a high warp capable vessel. Nevertheless, if he were to become untethered, he'd quickly find floating alone in the middle of deep space.

He imagined the silence of it. Nothing but the sounds of his own being, his breathing, the shift of his body within the suit. The vast isolation of interstellar Space. Perhaps a rogue planet would slam into him? Probably not.  

His suit would fail slowly, gradually starving his lungs of oxygen, and exposing him to zero Kelvin of the darkness between stars and their systems. The caustic fused stench of plasma burns would be gone. The cries and whimpers of pain would vanish into the cosmic vista haze. The terrible second guessing that afflicted his every waking moment would cease.  

He would drift off to sleep. His physical form fixed permanent by the deep space freeze. In time the large particle radiation of interstellar space would begin to break down his EVA suit and body alike. Molecular cohesion would splay outwards in all directions. He and his suit rendered into dust.

A diffusion. A particle cloud. Cosmic fundamental. Building blocks of a universe not yet imagined.

Dry crackle. Splutter in the infinite. 

Udesky: =/\= Ensign. Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey. =/\=

The dry tone of the human HCO Officer found its natural habitat over the rasping intercom.

Tho'Bi: ::quiet absent:: Waiting for the de-icer.

Udesky: =/\= What are you talking about? Airlock's already closed. =/\=

The Andorian un-arched his back and the darkness blue of his eyes fell upon the dull, grey surface of the sealed airlock doors.

Tho'Bi: Oh.

Udesky: =/\= We’re re-pressurizing the Saucer Section. Get back indoors. You're needed on the EPS Network. =/\=

Tho'Bi: What about the Shield Emitters?

Udesky: =/\= You're maxed out. No more EVA for you. Not for another twenty four hours. =/\=

Tho'Bi: It's quiet out here.

Udesky: =/\= Back to the barn, farmboy! =/\=

Tho'Bi: Copy.

The EVA suit trudged its way along the outside of the saucer section. The helmet reflected the scenes captured in strobe motion as it passed by window after window. Crew hard at work attending to bulkhead, deck, and Jefferies tube. Plasma torch burst bright blue. Cutting sparks flew. Panel and part shunted into place.  

Did he move the suit or was he just a passenger? He did not know. As the designated Airlock came into view, he mused, did it even matter?

TAG/End 

((OOC: This sets up the next part of Tho’Bi's character arch. Learning to live with the mission))

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Ensign Tho’Bi

Engineering

USS Artemis-A

A240203T11