Trial by Fire (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 10 May 2012 @ 7:53pm by Lieutenant JG Kestra Orexil & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Marek Pawlak (KIA) & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mark Davidson (KIA) & Petty Officer 3rd Class T'Paaru & Senior Chief Petty Officer Anthony Davis & Crewman George Ruktah & Petty Officer 3rd Class Justin Smoak (KIA)
Edited on on 10 May 2012 @ 7:58pm

1,527 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo: Holodeck 1
Timeline: MD 03 - 0300 hrs
Tags: security department

[ON]

"And the vote swings to failure." Kestra spread her hands. "The people have spoken. Computer, reset the simulation." She nodded to them all as room shifted back to the hologram of the ship. "Three, two-" There was a crash and Kestra stepped back. The hologram absorbed her as though she'd never been there. "One," her disembodied voice announced, and then there were only sirens.

Sighing, Mor'an glanced at the others. They weren't going back to bed until they succeeded. They stood for a moment until suddenly they jumped into action, determined to take back the ship.

The ship shook and the captain's voice came through all the com badges. "Attention all crew: we have been boarded. All personnel report to emergency positions and stand by."

T'Paaru started forward.

"Nie! Stop," Pawlak called. "We split up before. This time we act as a unit."

"The security office is my security position."

"It's not operational."

"It wasn't last time," T'Paaru said archly. "Do you think she is giving us the exact same parameters?"

Pawlak shook his head, "Armory. Then security office."

"She told the computer to reset the simulation," Mor'an pointed out, "That probably means it is the same as last time. I think we need to get to the bridge before anything else. If the simulation is the same, we know Holliday is there with the Klingon leader. Maybe the Captain is, too. We need to find her."

"When I reached her," Davidson said, "the Captain was in Sickbay on Deck 4."

Phaser fire interrupted the discussion. Smoak and Pawlak drew down on the corridor, T'Paaru flattened against the wall, Davidson and Davis dropped to the ground.

Mor'an found herself flattened next to T'Paaru. "I cannot make out how many bodies there are," she whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Their signatures are muddled together. We will have to go for it."

T'Paaru nodded and the two of them slid down the corridor, their backs still against the wall. The men followed a step behind them. The phaser fire was becoming closer, the flashes now visible. Smoak peered around the corner.

"Three Klingon," he whispered, "Their backs to us. Two crewmen just down from them." He glanced at Davidson and Davis, giving a slight nod. "Stay safe, ladies," he said before the three of them leaped in to the fray just as it seemed the Klingons were gaining the upper hand. Soon the three interlopers were on the ground, incapacitated.

"Well than," Davis said, "Where to now?"

Pawlak pointed to Mor'an, T'Paaru, and Ruktah, "With me." He nodded to the others, "Report back from the bridge. No extraneous call signs. Davidson, you take lead."

"Sir, yes, sir," Davidson said and led his unit away quietly.

Pawlak led the way silently and without incident. He was quiet, quick, and communicated his needs through eye contact and hand signals. when they reached the armory, he entered his access code and opened the door, beckoning them inside. "Suit up," he said quietly. "Personal force fields, phase-rifles, flash bangs. If you know how to use it, pull it. I'm not going into another firefight unprepared."

Mor'an quickly donned her equipment, locked her weapons into place. Armed to the teeth with anything useful, she felt ready to take on the entire Empire. Given half a chance, she would have.

"Ready," she said in a whisper, falling in beside the others.

"We check the security office. If it's operational, T'Paaru will take lead. If it isn't, we will join the others, take the bridge, and use the console there." Pawlak led the way out into the corridor and halted them just before a ten-man squad tramped past down a perpendicular corridor. Waiting until the coast was clear, they continued on to the office only to find it in disarray. ODN wires pulled out of the walls, consoles smashed. "Same."

"Different," T'Paaru shook her head. "Before, the consoles were non-operational due to a system malfunction caused by the breach. This is deliberate sabotage."

"Either way, we proceed to the bridge."

They made their way to the nearest turbolift and, after Pawlak had given the instruction, were en route to the Bridge. As they approached, Mor'an kept an eye out for the same heat signatures that she has seen last time.

"I believe the Bridge is empty," she said, "Before, I could see everyone on the Bridge, now there is nothing there except blue." However, she still readied her phaser out of habit.

The doors slid open and, sure enough, the Bridge was empty. It was surreal to see it so barren.

"So where is Holliday?" Mor'an asked rhetorically.

"And the captain?" Ruktah added.

Pawlak pointed to the security console and nodded to T'Paaru.

The Vulcan activated the console and began shutting down access to all secure areas, locking crew quarters, and running ship wide scans. "The bridge is locked down, sir. I've got Klingon boarding squad movement on decks 3, 5, and 7." Her hands moved over the console. "I am enforcing force field barriers to protect the escape pods. We have forty-five crew assembled there. No pods have jettisoned."

"Mor'an," Pawlak said, "are you familiar with the operations or engineering console?"

"Operations, yes," Mor'an said, "Engineering not so much. Shall I take operations?"

"Give me a report on the ship's power resources and crew whereabouts; find the Captain and the XO." Pawlak looked at Ruktah, "Well?"

The Klingon man went to the flight control console and began carefully reading the data.

"T'Paaru?"

"I have erected force field barriers around the Main Engineering consoles and Warp Core access panels."

A moment later Mor'an had the required information. "Ship's power recourses are dwindling," she said, "As for the crew, it would appear that some are being held up in the cargo bays, some are free about the ship. It seems that too many are either injured or dead."

"I need a head count, Mor'an. Living and dead. Whereabouts of the injured."

Mor'an held back a sigh and looked again at the screen. "As of now, there are 13 dead, 20 injured, seven being held and the remaining 18 are scattered about the ship. There whereabouts of the injured are difficult to locate as they are all about the ship, but it would appear that about half of them are in engineering."

Pawlak stared at the cadet, thinking. "Shut down power feeds to all areas of the ship not in use and put them on lockdown, tak? How many Klingon are in engineering with the injured? Are you able to locate the Captain or the XO? T'Paaru, can you get visuals in engineering?" He took off his com badge and began tapping a pattern out on the frequency, a morse message to the rest of the team demanding locations.

Mor'an nodded and a moment later all power feeds requested were locked. "The Captain is one of the crew being held in the cargo bay. But why would the Klingons hold them? They do not take hostages. Anyway, there are four in engineering."

T'Paaru shook her head, "There is something wrong with the observascopes. The network is sound, but the visuals won't come through."

As she spoke, a morse response echoed through all their com badges. //Outside main engineering. Retaking.//

Pawlak quickly coded back a reply, redirecting them to the cargo bay, while speaking to the others on the deck, "Can anyone get a count on the number of Klingons holding the cargo bay?"

"Six," Mor'an said after a moment. "How many are attempting to retake?"

"The four of them," Pawlak answered her. "Vid feed, T'Paaru?"

"Loading." They watched the security console as Davis, Davidson, Ruktah, and Smoak approached the cargo bay. In minutes, mostly thanks to Smoak's sharpshooting, the Klingons were on the ground and the Captain was on her way back to the Bridge. The holodeck shimmered around them and Kestra stepped out of a dissolving wall as the holodeck returned to normal. "So. How do we think that went?"

"I say it was more of a success than the first time," Mor'an said. "Is the Captain and XO still alive? Did the crew survive? We do not know. We didn't fail, but we could have done better. There will always be room for improvement."

"Well answered," Kestra said, considering the cadet with a half smile; she pointed to Pawlak, "With me. The rest of you." She pointed to the side of the holodeck where a pot of coffee, a pitcher of water, mugs, glasses, and a variety of food lay out. "The next simulation will begin in thirty minutes." She tapped her head, "Think about every aspect of the previous two, including what seems to have gone right."

As much as Mor'an wanted to go back to bed, she would not let that effect her abilities to perform at the utmost of her abilities. She was stronger than that. After sharing a look between them, the trainees ambled over to the food, mentally and physically preparing themselves for the next challenge.

--
[OFF]

LT JG Kestra Orexil
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Cadet Senior Grade Im'er Mor'an
Red Squad Intern
USS Galileo

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