Maiden Voyage

Fifteen

The recovery team materialized on the transporter pad of the Xerxes. Ensign Spock had selected a good origin point. Other than complete darkness, the room was intact. All team members switched on the lights on their helmets before moving out. Even though their way was illuminated, the sound of nothing other than breathing created an eerie environment. Following an initial check, gunny instructed them to move out.

"Let's go people. Daylight's burning," said gunny.

Slowly, Corporal Samira moved towards the transporter room door. Nothing happened when she reached it. She was so used to doors sliding open and closed aboard the Enterprise, she subconsciously failed to recognize there was no power on the Xerxes.

"Oops," she said, bumping into it. The rest of the team chuckled.

"Knock it off, knuckleheads," gunny scolded. "Tatrie, Pruett, you're up."

The two lance corporals jacked the door with one of the stabilizing rods, using its reverse action to slide the panel apart from the wall. The group drifted forward in the zero gravity of the decimated ship.

"Head left," said Rios.

They floated forward to the point Spock mentioned in his scan. There was a gaping chasm in the deck and overhead of the corridor. Sam traversed it with ease, as did the rest.

"Up on the right should be a turbo shaft. Let's hope the lift blew. We can use it to scale down two decks, then we'll need to exit," Lieutenant Rios instructed.

"Got it, sir," said Sam as she darted forward.

She found the hatch to the turbolift. They were in luck. It was gone. Down the rabbit hole, Corporal Samira dropped.

Tatrie tugged her tether. "Fast as the slowest man, remember Corporal Samira?"

She slowed her pace. There was a mix of excitement for finally being back in space, mixed with the possibility that the information they retrieve may help Captain Pike locate Owen. Tempering her enthusiasm for both, Sam reduced her speed as the others entered the turbo shaft.

As they reached the next deck, there was no door. There was no deck. All she saw was a bulkhead to her far right with a large number seven painted on it.

"Lieutenant Rios, are we looking for deck seven?" she asked.

"Affirmative, corporal."

"Well, sir, this is it, but there's no floor." Sam drifted forward into the void, admiring the beauty of the star field just beyond.

"Thruster protocols, two round bursts," said Gunny Cole.

Small blasts of thrusters ignited from each of their suits as they drifted further into the void of space. They were weightless, surrounded by stars. The singular piece of bulkhead was their only guidepost. Tatrie looked up, then down. His heartbeat increased exponentially; his mouth suddenly dry.

"Gunny, this is freaking me out a bit."

Cole expected this from every live spacewalk, particularly within the movement from a confined area to the wide-open expanse of space. It was a psychological utterance that took place when the subconscious didn't readily engage. Much like Corporal Samira walking into the door a few minutes prior. There was an adjustment period that they practiced on the shuttle deck when doing drills. The unit didn't have this after transport.

"Don't think about it, Tatrie. Remember the first time you scuba dove on the Rock?"

He was referring to the Island of Okinawa in Japan. The place where Federation Marines had trained for the past century. "The Rock" was a term of endearment for the place that went back centuries. Gunny used this as a reference point to re-center the unit, particularly Tatrie. By forcing the focus on something completely opposite of the obstacle that stood before them, he hoped to reset the initial fear response.