All five watched as the "Heron" Assault Shuttle was printed and assembled before their eyes.
Once it was done, they all stared in wonder at the shuttle.
Daniel's first impression was that it was remarkably angular. Air resistance didn't exist in the vacuum, so aerodynamics didn't really play a role, but there was something about the smooth angles that added to the ships image.
The front was a sharp nose, leading to a slim body and ending in a flat, rectangular thruster. Protruding from the middle were two arms holding maneuvering thrusters, and on the belly were the landing gear.
After a while of staring, Daniel led the way onto the ship, whose side doors opened to reveal a huge room. Along the walls were metal harnesses that were obviously meant to hold the Marines in their ENTT's. The color schemes were black, blue, and grey, matching with the outside of the Venator.
Sgt. Rotterdam was the first to speak.
"It's beautiful. The doors are large enough to allow an entire squad to exit at the same time, the thrusters are massive, and the shape is simply awe-inspiring."
Sgt. Burr was touching the harnesses along the walls.
"I don't know about all that poetic sh- uh, stuff..."
He looked sheepishly at Lt. Lincoln.
"... but I have to agree. I'm sure SAI modified it to be accessible to us, but all in all it reminds me of a giant Osprey, one of those Old Earth VTOL's we learned about in basic."
Lt. Lincoln nodded, staring at the back of the shuttle, which was filled with boxes of ammunition, armor panels, and electronics. He assumed it was the equivalent to an infirmary, but instead meant for ENTT maintenance.
Sgt. Marcus was near the front, poking around the cockpit, which was modified to be piloted by ENTT's instead of humans.
"It's so weird to be able to scan the layout of every structure I'm in. I can even see a 3D map of the Heron.
Granted, it's only three rooms, but these Sensor's will save a lot of Marines. I can't imagine having a whole squad with this capability."
Daniel nodded while pacing along the opening of the doors.
Technically, Daniel was able to see the entirety of the Heron just by thinking about it, but there was something about a human perspective that made things more impressive. He was beginning to like his new form.
He stood up, stroking his beard and considering something,
"SAI, would you be able to replicate this projection of mine and allow the Marines to control it?"
[Commander, it will take time to fabricate the nano-projectors, and the nano-machines that are allowing for the physical sensation will take longer.]
Daniel nodded.
"Get on it. It will be beneficial to greet the Admiral in this new form while being flanked by other 'humans'. It will distract from my lack of micro-expressions."
[Yes, Commander.]
With that done, Daniel raised his 'hand', which was actually consisted of millions of nano-bots. They were giving Daniel the impression of touching the hull of the Heron, and he thought that if he had them take the form of a hand and wear a glove, he'd actually be able to shake the Admiral's hand.
A handful of hours later, five projections were sitting on the benches in the barracks.
Lt. Lincoln was staring at his dark-skinned "hands", marveling at how real they looked. He tried to look past the hologram and see the writhing mass of nano-machines, but he failed. He ran them over his skull, and felt the fuzzy mat of black, curly hair that was shaved closely to his head.
Sgt. Burr was running a hand along the metal bench, marveling at how much he'd missed the sensation of touch. There was a similar function on the ENTT, but something about watching an actual hand run along the bench made it seem more... substantial. His dark eyes were firmly locked on his dark skin, rhythmically moving his hand up and down, up and down.
Sgt. Gutierrez was moving her hands up and down her tanned legs, reveling in the sensation of skin that the nano-machines were currently mimicking. She didn't fully understand how the nano-machines were accomplishing the feat, but she also didn't care.
She stood up and walked to an open space, before settling into a combat stance and started going through her techniques. She threw a punch and was astonished at the airflow she felt along her arm. She performed a side-kick, black hair whipping around, and actually felt her body balance on her left foot.
Sgt. Rotterdam was touching her pale face, and as she did, a tear rolled down her face. The logical side of her brain knew that it was merely a sensation being transmitted through the nano-machines and into her digital consciousness, which was still in the ENTT. However, the emotional side of her brain was overjoyed. Even her strawberry-red hair felt just like she remembered it, curly and bouncy.
Sgt. Marcus was on his back, tossing a plastic ball he'd fabricated up and down, watching it fall into his olive-toned hands, and feeling the smooth material touch his palm. Even the eye-hand coordination he'd trained from a young age was just as responsive as it had always been. His dark, wavy hair was plastered to his face, giving off the impression of sweat.
Daniel was sitting further away, stroking his dark brown beard and incrementally running his fingers along the scar he'd added to his 3D image. His theory was that the scar would distract the Admiral enough not to notice anything else. He watched the Marines, who looked remarkably child-like in their wonder. Apparently, the lack of the five basic senses was bothering them just as it had him when he'd first paired with SAI. Now, so many weeks later, he was used to it, but he understood.
He was surprised when human images had appeared, but after a brief conversation with SAI, he decided to keep it to himself.
After living your whole life in a flesh suit, being shoved into a metal box with limited senses was the most jaunting thing a human could experience.
This current situation was actually for the benefit of SAI, who was studying their brain waves to discern the ones that governed all the little movements that were part of the human experience. According to SAI, who Daniel was beginning to think of as a "She", the lines of code in the engrams which stored them all, even himself, mimicked everything about a human brain.
So, if Daniel flinched, a line of data would run through the engram, trying to tell a body to wince. SAI was watching these lines of data as they transferred to the nano-bots, constantly refining the reaction to more closely match what a human would do.
Daniel had been a bit hesitant to ask SAI how she was able to understand the various lines of data and translate them into actions, but the answer was actually pretty neat.
SAI was also using the Venator's Sensor to study the entire Trade Ring of the Jal System Station, and was incrementally instructing the various speaker systems and view screens to pop and flash, then record the human reactions.
Then, SAI would repeat those sounds and visuals in the barracks, and comparing Daniel's and the Marine's reactions to the humans outside.
Obviously, there was more to it, but Daniel's "head" started to hurt after 10 minutes of overly technical explanations regarding the human brain and how fascinating it was to SAI.
Thanks to a lack of fatigue or hunger, the group was able to continue their respective actions for the rest of the day.