CDR Naxell — Picard, at the Core Breach, His Finger Pointed
Naxell
((Airlock, Deck 16, USS Khitomer))
Naxell wiped a glove across his face, and the pink gave way to clear lines, gaps where his fingers had traveled. His eyes swept toward the outer door, where it looked like the cloud was receding from the forcefield-reinforced hatchway. But that was hard to tell for sure. It still looked mostly like a solid pink wall out there. The hatch closed, and the sound of the ship around him grew clearer as atmosphere began to flow in. He brushed off more of the “cloud” from his helmet and suit, and watched it trickle towards the deck at his feet, a fine powder of some kind.
Naxell: =/\= I need assistance in the airlock on Deck 16. And a dust pan. =/\=
C. Dewitt: =/\= Ras, Ensign Melville-Kilpatrick, that’s you cue. Contact me if you need any assistance. =/\=
El’Heem: =/\= Captain, we’ll be down shortly. ::beat:: Don’t ::beat:: touch it. =/\=
Naxell opened his mouth to object at the suggestion that he would do something as reckless as exposing himself directly to the pink cloud fluff, but he stopped himself. He had been absent-mindedly attempting to remove his EVA suit’s glove, and he might have kept up the effort if it weren't for the clumsy grip of the gloves themselves.
But his Chief Science Officer didn't need to know that.
Semara: =/\= The away team and I'll meet in the shuttlebay if you wanna assign a new fifth, cap'n. =/\=
The channel closed, blessedly, before he was forced to account for his actions. Of course, he'd still have to—to the crew, to the Admiralty, to himself—but quiet solitude allowed him sufficient time to get his story straight.
He'd made a gamble on sciencing their way out of this predicament, and it had cost him a junior officer. It had nearly cost him himself. The ship getting tangled up in the first place was something he could explain. Space was dangerous and strange, weird things happened to ships under the command of veteran Captains. Was sending Matthews out the right call, with the weight of his experience and judgment behind it? Or was it the blunder of a Commanding Officer's first mission?
He knew the answer to that question didn't turn on whether they retrieved Ensign Matthews alive and whole, but he hoped to all the deities of all the stars that they would.
((Some Time Later…))
Commander Naxell had been left alone too long. Once he cleared his faceplate well enough to get a good look at his surroundings, the Denobulan turned his attention to the walls of the airlock. Everything around him seemed a light wash of pink. This was noteworthy. When he amputated the “fingertip” of the reaching arm of the cloud with the ship's forcefield, the particles of whatever material it was didn't continue on in a straight line. If they had, all the material would have gathered around the clump of tether against the back wall. Instead, it seemed to explode in all directions.
This put the Captain in a decidedly good mood. That fact alone provided information—the cloud was held together by some force, and moreover whatever it was made of decidedly did not want to be held together. This meant that if whatever was holding the cloud together could be disrupted, even for a moment, the entire system’s cohesion would be at risk.
This was why he left a symbolic note in greeting on the clear viewport in the inner airlock door. With his gloved index finger, he poked and wiggled until a small spot was clear. Then he repeated the process a few inches to the right. Finally, with a smooth swoosh, he created a gentle arc not too far beneath them, its ends curving upwards toward the two points.
Then he set to work shaking off all the dust that had collected on the tether, the only loose object in the airlock that wasn't vaguely Denobulan-shaped. A rap on the door drew his attention.
El’Heem: Response
Naxell: ::moving his face to the window:: Yes, good news indeed!
El’Heem: Response
He could barely hold back his excitement. A giggle flourished in his throat and his smile drew wide, even by the standards of his species.
Naxell: The cloud can explode! ::gesturing around him:: Quite violently!
El’Heem: Response
TBC
——— ●●● ———
Commander Nax-Ellarneii-Tellargo
Commanding Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3