[Class of 2387] ihr Gaan/Russell/NPCs “In Space, No One Can Hear You Curse, Part 2'”

[Robert Hudson]

“In Space, No One Can Hear You Curse, Part 2'”

 

(Takes place during Summer Semester 2387)

 

Cadet Viollika ihr Gaan

Cadet Jo Russell 

Assorted NPCs

[Special Thanks to Lynzie for letting me write for Jo]

 

****

Earth

San Francisco

Clockworks

    Jo froze as the faint, static-laced voice of Viollika filtered through her secured comm. Her pulse quickened, and Camille leaned in closer, eyes wide with concern. =/\= Jo? =/\= The voice was faint, desperate.

    She swallowed hard, her hand trembling slightly as she adjusted the comm interface. “V?” she whispered, barely audible.

    =/\= Oh, it pleases me so much that you are there, Jo. =/\= The words, staticky and wavering as they were, conveyed genuine relief. =/\= It is very empty here in the Jupiter orbit, and I have such a long way to go to catch my fellow student. =/\=

    Jo shot to her feet, pacing as she tried to process the flood of information. “Where are you? Can you give me coordinates?”

    =/\= I regret that I cannot, Jo. There was an accident - a freighter’s warp core exploded - while our class was in session and our suit’s coms and many systems are inoperable from the energy wave. They cannot locate us or beam us out right now, but one of us appears to have suffered a thruster malfunction and jetted away from the rest; I am chasing them to catch them and bring them back, but it is such a long way, and it is so empty…and… =/\= her voice dropped. =/\= I wanted to hear your voice. =/\=

    "V," Jo said firmly, gripping the comm interface’s case as if sheer will could strengthen the signal. "Listen to me. You're not alone. I’m here. I’ll figure out how to help, but you have to stay focused. Do you still have visuals on the cadet you're after?"

    

    =/\= I can still see their thruster pack firing. They don’t seem to be changing direction so as long as I stay directly behind them I will catch up, even if they exhaust their thruster fuel. =/\=

 

    “Keep talking to me, okay? You’re doing great, V. You’re going to get to them, and we’re going to get you all out of this. What’s your suit status—how’s your oxygen holding up?” Jo chewed her lip nervously.

    =/\= Oxygen is… 79 percent. Thruster fuel is 57 percent =/\= Viollika’s voice sounded calmer. =/\= I am not burning thrusters constantly because I will have to slow us down and start us back to the group. =/\=

    Jo let out a breath, only then realizing she’d been holding, gripping the comm unit’s case tighter to her as though it would keep her from floating away or spiralling into despair. “Good. That’s smart, V. Save as much fuel as you can. You’ll need it when you catch them. What about your suit's integrity? Any damage?”

    

    There was a pause. =/\= Systems say ‘no’ and a visual check agrees. My suit coms and internal sensors are shot, though, and I think my transponder is down. I have a tricorder that appears to be working, but I’m trying to use it sparingly in case it has some internal damage that isn’t registering. I wasn’t sure that my covert com would even have something to connect to out here, but there’s enough low-level traffic still running between stations and the like that it can find a signal to parasite onto. =/\=

      

    “That a girl,” Jo gripped the comms, her knuckles whitening. “Never say you don’t know what you’re doing V. You’re a genius.”

      =/\= I don’t think I’m a genius, Jo. =/\= Even through the poor connection Viollika sounded embarrassed. =/\= I’m just trying to do the things I need to do so the other cadet gets to come home with the rest of us. =/\=

      “That’s exactly what makes you brilliant, V. You don’t even realize it. But trust me—you’re doing something incredible right now.”

      =/\= It does not please me to say this,  Jo, but I do not feel incredible. I feel scared and alone. =/\=

      Jo closed her eyes briefly, steadying herself. “Of course, you couldn’t. I’m not going anywhere, you’re not alone and we’re going to get you out of there, right?”

      =/\= We should wait until I catch Cadet Hendl before getting me anywhere. I will not leave them out here alone. =/\=

      Jo took a breath, pushing confidence into her words. “Alright. Steady hands, steady mind. You’ve got this. One step at a time V.”

      =/\= You know that I am not stepping anywhere, Jo. =/\= While still tense, there was a thread of humor in Viollika’s voice. =/\= There is no ground to walk on in space. =/\=

      “Good Christ V,” Jo rubbed the bridge of her nose, forgetting how literal she had to be with Viollika. “In space, no one can hear your sarcasm, V.”

      =/\= Of course not… but you can hear my poor jokes, Jo. I am sorry that they are not funnier so that you might laugh. =/\=

      “It’s that mortal peril V,” Jo started overly fussing with her braid. “I just— I can’t get to you.”

      =/\= I am pleased to be saying that you are being silly, Jo. You are right here with me, right now. =/\= There was a pause. =/\= I can no longer see Cadet Hendl’s thruster pack flaring. Either it has exhausted its fuel, or they have managed to shut it off or… =/\= There was another pause. =/\= It is ‘or.’ My helmet visor visual magnification is working and using it, I believe that they have flipped over and are trying to decelerate. That is a very good thing. =/\=

      She knew that V couldn’t see her nodding in agreement, so Jo said. “That’s something at least,” as her brow furrowed and stopped playing with her hair. “You can’t reach Hendl, but what about the Cadet’s tether? Y’all are tethered right?”

      =/\= We are not, Jo. The rest of us were tethered to at least one other cadet, but Cadet Hendl was maneuvering through the obstacle course and thus was untethered from the rest of us. I was required to untether myself to go after him, so I am likewise untethered. =/\=

      Jo exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair before forcing herself to stay calm. “Alright, okay. That makes things trickier, but not impossible. Do you have anything you can use to secure them to you? A line, a cable—anything?”

      =/\= Cadet Hendl still has their tether line, =/\= Viollika returned. =/\= In the event that they have lost it, I have three cargo straps from the cargo moving exercise still in my suit pockets and I will thread them together to make a tether line. =/\=

      “Very ingenuitive of you, V, I think that’s a great idea,” Jo kept her talking. “What else can you see that might help?”

    =/\= I have my suit patch kit; a medical tricorder and first aid kit; my PDU, but that’s inside my suit and not accessible; and the phaser-welder from the first part of the class. =/\=

      Jo perked up at that last part. “The phaser-welder—how much charge does it have left?”

      There was a pause. =/\= Fifty-two percent. =/\=

      “That’s a decent amount,” Jo began to wonder out loud. “If you need to make small course corrections without burning too much thruster fuel, you might be able to use short bursts from the welder. It won’t be much, but in a vacuum, even a little force goes a long way.”

      =/\= I had not thought of that; thank you, Jo. =/\= There was a pause, then with a sly undertone Jo recognized, Viollika added, =/\= We’ve talked mine to death, soooo… how is *your* day going, Jo? =/\=

      Jo let out a loud laugh that sounded like an expletive. “Oh you know, just trying to make sure you don’t float out into the vast expanse of space and die,” she let out another uncomfortable chuckle. “Which has been great, I tell you.”

      Viollika’s voice was quiet and firm. =/\= I will not die, Jo. I true-promise you this. =/\= She paused, and then continued in her former lighter tone, =/\= Surely you have done something today besides talk to my poor self? =/\=

      What the hell had she done before the panic had taken her over and she got into this state of work? Jo searched her mind in a frenzy. “I agreed to finish the semester,” she said in a begrudging tone.

      =/\= At the Academy? It pleases me to hear that. This will complete the requirements for graduation, correct? =/\=

      Jo huffed a soft laugh, rubbing a hand over her face. “Yeah, yeah. It’ll finish my requirements. Not that I have much of a choice—someone convinced me to stick it out.”

      =/\= Will it, =/\= Viollika’s voice carried a streak of mischievousness that was clear, even through the poor connection, =/\= embarrass this person if I send them a gift? And should I do it anyway? I think flowering plants are preferred in such situations are they not? =/\=

      “You’re floating in space and thinking about flowering plants?” Jo laughed, the nervousness shaking from her body.

      =/\= Is there a bad time  to think of flowering plants? =/\= Viollika returned. =/\= Or embarrassing people that convince you to do good things? =/\=

      “I suppose not,” Jo spun around on her heel. “I suppose not, but I would like to know you’re in a safer space right now instead of the vacuum of space.”

      =/\= I will not say that I do not wish that were true as well, but here is where I am, and I must swim the sea I find myself in. Oh, frazzit. I have lost sight of him. I think his thruster pack has burned out. =/\=

      “Do you have visuals at all?” Jo began to pace with her hands behind her back. “Can you track him with your tricorder?”

      =/\= No visuals at this time. I know his last heading, and I am maneuvering to place myself on it. If I cannot intercept him, I hope to acquire a visual lock that I can use to give chase. =/\=

      “Good. That’s good thinking, V. You’re doing everything right.” She glanced at the readout on her console, but it was just a jumble of static and incomplete telemetry.

      =/\= Training suits are white and orange, so I should be able to spot him unless he’s off course by a lot. I’ve shifted my eyes to improve my field of vision and color reception to help. The suits I first trained on ages ago had flashing lights on the exterior at multiple points, which would be very nice here, but, I am not pleased to say, this is something that Starfleet has chosen not to equip us with. =/\=

      “That seems like an oversight,” Jo bit her nails. “Should lodge a complaint with management.”

      =/\= I intend to, =/\= Viollika replied firmly. =/\= I am using my tricorder to try and locate him. If he is close enough I am hopeful that the interference will not affect the scan. The lack of external suit lights, however, is most unnecessarily frustrating. In fact, I… =/\= Whatever it was that she said next, it was not in a language that either Jo or the Universal Translator recognized, but it sounded insectile, with clicks and glottal stops.

[Robert Hudson]