~ Icheb ~
Icheb watched silently as Ensign Kim attempted to scale the metal side of the communications room. He had a foothold on his right side, but his left foot lacked adequate dents for him to acquire enough leverage to propel himself onto the roof.
"Ensign Kim! Do you require assistance?" Icheb fought to have himself heard over the wind. He had not heard him.
"Ensign Kim!" Icheb repeated himself two more times before Harry turned around. He was still trying to juggle the necessary wires and keep a good grip. The ensign half climbed, half fell back to the ground.
"Icheb, you've got that superior Borg strength and agility. Maybe you can get up."
"Actually, sir, the Borg aren't known for their agility – "
"But you are. I've seen you play hover ball. C'mon. Just one shot, and then we may call it a night and wait until the wind dies down."
Icheb nodded his acknowledgement and took the wires from Harry's outstretched hands. Ensign Kim gave him what humans referred to as the "thumbs up" and motioned him forward. With the cables in his left hand, he started his ascent towards the heavens. About seven eighths of the way up, Icheb ran into the same problem then ensign had: he did not have any more handholds. After surveying his other options, which were slim, he made a last ditch attempt. Tucking the wires into his belt, Icheb shoved himself upwards. His fingers grasped the edge of the roof, tucking into a small hole. With all his strength, Icheb pulled himself up and reached his other arm around. Icheb's fingers just barely brushed the top, and slipped off.
Now, Icheb was holding the roof with just one hand, the other frantically searching for something to hold. His feet were trying to walk their way up the side, but without any real footholds, they stood no chance against the sleek metal.
And now Icheb faced a dilemma: should he try and climb his way back down, or just drop?
Icheb carefully weighed his choices in his mind. Both had drawbacks. He was in the middle of calculating the chance of success for each when he suddenly discovered that he didn't have to make a choice. Icheb's fingers had slipped. Because he was spending so much time thinking, his reactions were delayed, and Icheb was unable to grab hold of anything.
Approximately 32 second later, Icheb's eyes fluttered open. He was on his back outside with Harry looking over him.
"Are you okay?" the concerned ensign asked. Icheb blinked his eyes once more to focus them in on Harry's worried face.
"Yes, sir, I believe I'm fine." Icheb raised himself up on both elbows. He could feel bruises already forming; he would be sore for the next few days. When he was finally on his feet, Icheb saw that Harry was looking at something through the trees, but when he was trying to ask what the ensign was observing, he was merely hushed. Icheb briefly experienced fear. According to preliminary scans, there was no other intelligent life here. What if the Plak'han had come back?
But when Vorik stepped forward from the shadows, all of Icheb's worried were quickly put to rest. Harry let out a breath he had been holding.
"Gosh, Vorik, you scared us! What are you doing out here?" Vorik merely looked at Harry with that impenetrable Vulcan stare. He clasped his hands behind his back.
"I was going to inquire about the whereabouts of Icheb. It is past 2400, and I was concerned about his well-being."
"Whatever." Harry turned back to Icheb, anxious. "Are you sure you're okay? We don't need to go wake the Doc?"
"No. I am fine. However, I would like to attempt to get the array online tonight."
Harry just shook his head. "Not after you fell down."
"What is the problem?" Vorik inquired.
"We're trying to get part of the receiver up on the roof for the communications array. Problem is, neither of us can make it up because the roof is so slick." Harry said.
"That is an easy obstacle to overcome." Harry and Icheb watched as the young Vulcan scaled the wall and, with one of the tools, managed to create a rough but deep dent in the roof. He scampered back down, and Harry just laughed.
"You know Vorik, that's coming out of your pay, not mine."
Icheb swore that if the Vulcan could smile, he would have. Instead, he merely raised his eyebrows in a perfect Tuvok imitation and said, "I believe the Captain will not notice." Harry turned back to Icheb.
"You're the lightest one of all of us. Think you can give the roof another go?"
"Of course."
Icheb went over to the wall and quickly climbed to the top. In place of where he had made his mistake last time was now a nice curved dent that Icheb could easily grip. With both hands firmly planted in the structure, the young man hefted himself onto the top. Seeing that he had made it, he turned around and gave Harry a "thumbs up".