Ensign Meris - Suit Up
Meris/Brian
(( Holodeck 3, Deck 222, DS 224 ))
Meris had volunteered to participate in an emergency drill aboard Deep Space 224. It seemed wise to take part in at least one drill before departing the Starbase as an active-duty member of the Artemis crew. You never knew what you might learn about your new posting by participating in such events. Reading through the drill orders, they’d been pleasantly surprised to see that Lieutenant Bergmen would be leading it. They had enjoyed their brief interaction with Bergmen the day before and wouldn’t object to spending more time in his presence.
They were less enthused about the required attire - an environmental undersuit - which suggested the drill would involve a damage control scenario. As the bridge’s engineering liaison, this was well within their purview, but they would have preferred something that allowed them to pilot the Artemis - even if only as a simulation on the holodeck.
When they arrived, the holodeck doors slid open. Meris stepped inside, spotting Bergmen at the front of the room, and joined the others who had volunteered.
Soon, Bergmen began.
Bergmen: Greetings, everyone. I’m Lieutenant Junior Grade Ollie Bergmen. Thank you for signing up for this training and traveling here on Deep Space 224; your participation is greatly appreciated.
Meris gave Bergmen a polite nod in greeting. They glanced left and right, taking in the other participants. They recognized most of the officers, at least in passing, except for Ensign Imril. They knew Imril was an Artemis engineering officer but knew little else about the Bactrian.
Bergmen: What we will drill this afternoon is something that I would not wish on anybody, yet it is a part of our duty as members of Starfleet. ::beat:: But if you do, you will want to be ready. As I will call your names, step onto your assigned markers, so we can begin. For Damage Control Team 1, which I will command, Ensigns Imril and Cole were chosen. ::beat:: Lieutenant Storm, you are the Duty Chief of DC Team 2. Your team members are Ensigns Tho’Bi, Meris, and Bancroft.
Meris felt a brief flicker of disappointment at not being placed on Bergmen’s team, but that was quickly replaced by intrigue when they learned they would serve under Lieutenant Storm. That was almost as good as they were familiar with the Tactical Officer and had shared a meal the evening prior. At the sound of their name, they moved to stand on the floor marker labeled for them.
They watched as Bergmen tapped his combadge twice, and the holodeck shifted from its yellow-and-black grid to a perfect replica of the Artemis’s aft damage control room. Meris’ gaze was immediately drawn to the Master Status Display on one wall, but whoever had programmed the drill had ensured it gave no hints about the coming scenario.
Bergmen: We are in a faithful reconstruction of Artemis' Aft Damage Control Room on Deck 15. As some of you know... ::Bergmen looked to Meris:: ...this DC room is a backup to DC Room 15-Main. The ship will suffer failure, and your task is to stop whatever happens to become critical, and if needed, evacuate the deck to protect the crew present. This is where this exercise will begin. ::a beat:: You may have questions... I know. The answer is - this is an emergency drill. Act like that. Think about what you will do, and what has priority to do first.
Bergmen stepped back and tapped his combadge again.
Bergmen: Computer, start the simulation.
The DC room came to life with the hum of systems and the steady beep of the MSD. It seemed like a normal, quiet watch — until it wasn’t.
Suddenly, the MSD outlined the engine room in red and zoomed in on the warp core, flashing an alert: 'Intermix chamber coolant leak'. A heartbeat later, the lights and screens flickered out, then returned on emergency power. The warp core graphic went dark as an automatic shutdown engaged.
Bergmen: Radiation alert! Suit up!
Meris moved to a locker, retrieving one of the lighter radiation-protection garment packages. These weren't the bulky space suits used for work outside the vessel. Rather, they were a lighter weight garment intended to protect them from radiation while allowing them a relatively full range of movement. Meris began pulling out the sealed packages containing additional suits and passed them to the others on their team.
Storm/Tho’Bi/Bancroft: Response.
Helmets were stored separately due to their bulk. Meris retrieved one for each teammate before taking their own, slipping it over their head, sealing the garment, and locking the helmet into place. They gave Storm, their team leader, a thumbs-up when they were ready.
Imril/Cole: Response.
While Meris was suiting up, Ollie had done likewise. He looked at Storm when he was nearly done.
Bergmen: Lieutenant, take the corridor right from the DC room exit, and start evacuation to the upper decks. My team takes the corridor to the left. Try to get to the Main Engineering; we need to patch the breach or manually eject the warp core. Ok?
Storm: Response.
Meris listened carefully to Bergmen’s orders and then to Storm as they were relayed.
Meris: Aye, Lieutenant. We’re right behind you.
They glanced between Tho’Bi and Bancroft, confident in their ability to work together.
Tho’Bi/Bancroft: Response.
Bergmen’s voice then came over the helmet comms.
Bergmen: =/\= Listen up, team. As we exit this room, turn into the corridor to the left, and anyone we meet, we send up or mark for intraship transport, ok? But our primary goal is to get to Main Engineering and try to solve the breach or eject the core. Understood? Let’s go! =/\=
Imril/Cole: Response.
Meris watched DC Team 1 move to the left exit and then followed Storm toward the right exit. Their objective was clear - reach Engineering and evacuate anyone they found along the way.
Storm/Tho’Bi/Bancroft: Response.
(( TAG/TBC ))
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Ensign Meris
Helm Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240207M14