[ALB] HOLODECK 20: A Rescue Mission...
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MD: 1.0000
Setting: Holodeck 20, Armstrong Lunar Base
Reg Havenford was standing in the middle of Holodeck 16, gazing at his latest
creation. Perfect, he thought, looking at the wreckage surrounding him.
Just right…
He looked up to the darkened sky. "Computer," he said, "save program as
'Havenford-6' and end program."
The computer beeped its acknowledgement.
The disaster site was replaced by the familiar black walls, crisscrossed by
yellow, neon lighting. He walked over to the doors separating the 'deck from
the rest of ALB. They opened before him, revealing 2 young Ensigns standing
just on the other side of the doors' plane. They were clearly unsure of
whether they were to go in or not. So young, thought Reg. They seem to get
younger every year…
The 2 young officers stiffened upon noticing Reg. "You must be Ensign
Nagarek," he said, nodding at the officer on the left, "and Ensign Lister,"
he continued, looking to his right. He cleared his throat. "Welcome to
Holodeck 20, gentlemen. I am LCDR Havenford, and I will be your Instructor
during you're your stay here."
Reg paced in front of the 2 nervous men. "Your stay here at Holodeck 20 will
be a short one- but intensive." He let these words sink in for a moment.
"Here, we will see if you REALLY have what it takes to be a department head
in Star Fleet. Are you a leader? Can you take the initiative and come up
with creative solutions to problems where normal procedures do not apply?
Can you handle the pressure of knowing that the man standing next to you," he
paused, gesturing to each of them, "may ultimately be depending on YOU for
his very life? Can you allow yourself to depend on your fellow officers for
your safety? " He paused again, watching these already-nervous Ensigns look
at one another, and shuffle in their places.
He let a small, barely perceivable grin cross his face. "And do you have the
courage to offer your very lives for the benefit of Star Fleet, the United
Federation of Planets, and the universal tenets of Peace and the Search for
Knowledge?" He glanced at the two men in front of him again. "We WILL
answer these questions before you leave here."
The short speech had the desired effect. While Star Fleet Academy does a
fine job in espousing these qualities, the more academic workload more often
than not presents these in theory only. It wasn't until they got to ALB that
they REALLY got a small taste of just what being a Star Fleet officer was all
about.
It was also the reason why he routinely set the safety settings in his
Holodeck to the lowest possbile setting without shutting them off. He didn't
want his trainees to end up dead, but he DID want them to feel the
experience, to understand what was at stake.
Neither of the officers spoke- this was a good sign. He didn't want
arrogance to get in the way of this briefing. "Now," Reg continued, "I
understand that you may be tired, with graduation from the Academy only a few
short hours ago. You are to put those thoughts out of your head and deal
with the situation at hand." As he said this, he walked over to the control
panel outside of the holodeck and punched a few buttons. Then, he looked at
the two silent, nervous officers, and gestured towards the door leading to
the 'deck itself.
"Gentlemen, your adventure awaits. Use your talents wisely."
The two Ensigns looked at one another, and took a step towards the door. Reg
cut them off. "And gentlemen-"
The two men looked up at him, stress clearly evident in their taut
expressions.
"-good luck." He smiled at them, and waved them into the holodeck. They
complied, taking another step forward. The doors parted before them,
revealing the scene Reg had created for them. They advanced slowly, taking in
the sights surrounding them. The doors shut abruptly.
The landscape was rocky, devoid of almost any vegetation. A Star Fleet
runabout, DANUBE-class, lay against a rock face off to the east, twisted and
mangled. A great scar lead away from the rear of the runabout; apparently
the ship itself dug the scar into the ground, only to be stopped by the rock
face it was presently smashed against. One of its warp nacelles lay a broken
mess about 40 meters behind the runabout. Steam rose from various cracks and
tears in the runabout's skin. Towards what had been the front of the
runabout, barely readable, was a single name: THAMES.
Behind them, a Star Fleet shuttlecraft stood where the holodeck's door once
was. Its door was open, revealing a singed cockpit, fiberoptic cabling
dangling form the ceiling. The bulkheads were torn open, revealing ruptured
power conduits spitting arcs of energy into the smoky cockpit. Control
stations were blinking intermittently. Around them, the sky was charcoal
gray, the only substantial lighting coming from the fierce storm dropping
sharp bolts of lightning all around them. The sky rumbled with each bolt,
and the wind whipped furiously around them, kicking up dirt and further
obscuring their vision.
The two Ensigns glanced at one another again. Suddenly, the holodeck's
computer chirped. Reg's voice echoed through the deck.
[The situation is simple, gentlemen. The runabout THAMES, ferrying a
Federation diplomat to an important peace conference in GOLD fleet, was
attacked by an unidentified ship. Unable to evade its attacker, the THAMES
sustained heavy damage, and was forced to crash land here, the only planet
with a breathable atmosphere in the area. You can see the result of their
landing.]
There was a pause before Reg continued. [The shuttlecraft behind you is
yours. You are an Away Team from the USS APPOMATOX, who intercepted the
THAMES' distress call a few hours ago. The APPOMATOX is currently in orbit
around the planet. However, severe ion storms present in this world's
atmosphere has rendered all contact with the APPOMATOX impossible. It was
also these ion storms which turned your shuttlecraft into the mess you see
behind you.]
Reg continued. [Your job is to rescue any survivors from the THAMES and get
them back to the APPOMATOX. There is considerable pressure in accomplishing
this, as the Ambassador hoped to be among the survivors on the THAMES is due
to arrive at his peace conference in 36 hours. Without the Ambassador, the
conference will fail, plunging a corner of the galaxy into interstellar war.]
[Your obstacles are numerous. Both the THAMES and your shuttlecraft are
inoperable- return via either of those vehicles is impossible; communication
with the APPOMATOX is not possible. This is aside from rescuing the
survivors and keeping them alive. The task is difficult- you will have to
depend on the talents of one another to succeed. Use the resources at your
disposal, and find a way of getting the Ambassador and the crew of the THAMES
to the APPOMATOX.]
There was another pause. Finally Reg added, [Good luck, gentlemen.]
Reg stood in the special observation lounge one deck up from Holodeck 16,
punching notes into the PADD in his grasp. He allowed himself a smile.
Let's see what they've got, he thought, taking a seat in the lounge.
*********NRPG
Craig/Scott- Okay, you're off. In the interests of keeping things in some
sort of order, let's take turns posting; while it does not work like this "in
the fleet," for our purposes here, it's for the best. Craig, you post first,
with Scott to follow. After each of you post, give me time to interject.
Sometimes, I may throw a few more twists into the mix; other times, I may
just send a message stating "looks good- keep going." Regardless, do not
deviate from the posting order. Craig first, Scott second.
Remember to continue to post to the newsgroup as well as the Holodeck 20 list
server- various Captains and Executive Officers are watching you now. Do
good work here!
Also, remember to continue to work on your bios while we role play this. I
will send comments back to you regarding your bios very shortly.
An NRPG message with the appropriate docs you will need for your stay here at
ALB will follow this presently.
OK- let's have fun!
-Scott Lusby
=^= LCDR Reg Havenford
Instructor, Holodeck 20
Armstrong Lunar Base
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