Lt JG Imril - The (Very Real) Fog Of (Holographic) War
Chris Taylor
((Holodeck 1 - Deck 2 - USS Artemis-A ))
The bolt hit Storm square in the back. Her reaction to it was more severe than Imril anticipated.
Storm: ::Stifled:: Aghh
Roy’s hand caught her shoulder, but not soon enough to stop her knee from crashing into the rock. The other cradled the back of her head to keep it from striking the stone floor.
Bancroft: ::voice low:: Easy, Alex. Don’t lock your jaw – makes it worse.
Storm: oO Breathe, Alex. Ignore the blaze and breathe! And for the Dieties sake next time dial down the pain factor! Oo
Bancroft: ::calmly:: Just a few more seconds and it’ll be gone. You can do anything for a handful of seconds.
Imril spent those thirty seconds watching Roy tend to his surprise patient, and telling themself that Storm must have been intending such a debilitating shock (whoever received it) to be part of the lesson. That this time it was pretend but next time it might not be, so don't hesitate. A lesson which, no matter how many times it was driven home across countless classes and drills, always bore repeating.
There remained a distinct possibility that the test wasn’t over yet. As such, there was one more task for Imril to complete. They tapped the phaser’s safety and holstered it.
Imril: Weapon secure.
Moments later, the cavern bled away. The jagged stone, the eerie shadows, the refracted beams of light – all dissolved into mist, then vanished entirely, leaving behind the familiar lattice of gold lines against black. A holodeck at rest.
The three weapons faded into scattered photons and vanished both from sight and the perception of weight.
Storm straightened, then retrieved a PADD from her pocket.
Storm: Computer: Transfer all data relevant to this qualification session to this PADD.
She pivoted – toward Imril more than Roy, though her stance was angled to address them both.
Storm: That wasn't quite what I was expecting to happen, but we'll talk through each section of the training simulation, starting with the shooting range portion - which is half of the phaser evaluation.
Roy kept his voice neutral.
Bancroft: Understood, ma’am.
Imril: Aye.
Storm: I feel like in a short period of time, you both made significant progress. You both hit the number of required shots, so both of you passed that half.
Roy nodded once, measured. His eyes attentive.
Like him, Imril kept their eyes on the instructor and their mouth shut.
Storm: Questions or comments from either of you before I chime in on the practical half of the session?
She drew in a slow breath, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Her gaze flicked up at Roy, for too short an instant, before moving to to Imril instead.
Roy bore an expression of tightly controlled resignation. Acceptance of unhappy consequences. Had he done something to disqualify himself, while he was out of Imril’s view within the shadows of the cavern?
Bancroft: No questions, ma’am.
Imril: I think your critiques of our firing techniques at the range were quite thorough, Sir. I don’t have anything to add to that.
Storm: Response
Roy straightened. Deliberately, confidently.
Bancroft: If this had been a live mission, ma’am – if I or a crewmate was in true danger – I’d have pulled the trigger without hesitation. That’s something I’ve made peace with. ::beat:: But this wasn’t combat. It was a simulation using a Starfleet officer as a stand-in for a threat.
He sighed, running his hand through his tousled hair.
Bancroft: Causing harm to a friendly – even non-lethal harm – is not a line I’m willing to cross. If the price of passing this evaluation is crossing that line… then I accept failure.
Ah, so that was it. He’d had a shot on Storm too, but hadn’t taken it.
On the one hand, they could respect Roy’s determination to hold to the ideals of his profession. On the other, a dead doctor wouldn't be in much of a position to help anyone else stay alive.
Fortunately, it wasn’t Imril’s job (today) to explain the distinction between the testing and practical application of lethal skills. They could comfortably leave that lesson for the senior lieutenant to deliver in her own way.
Storm: Response
As Storm addressed Roy’s objection to causing a fellow officer harm, for any reason, Imril’s mind briefly wandered towards another healer.
They had never been fond of the airlocking-themed wisecracks that followed Captain MacKenzie around like a fog of whispers. Not for the first time, they pondered how hurtful being roped to such a kill-happy meme might be to someone who had pledged herself to the preservation of life.
Bancroft/Storm: Response
Imril had something to share with the group again once the discussion steered over to the earlier part of the chase. What they and their partner had done before finding their living target.
Imril: Sound was working against me, against us, so I did my best to make less of it and not let it guide my actions. I focused on the light reflecting off the mists, and on the shadows. Looking for something that didn’t ‘fit’ with everything else. Something that could be you, Sir.
Bancroft/Storm: Response
As this was an official debrief, for the record, Imril referred to their fiend by title.
Imril: Doctor Bancroft and I spit up when we reached a new cavern. Which gave me twice as many shadows, twice as many sources of movement, to be mindful of. When I saw a dark patch that didn't match the surroundings, I had to confirm I was aiming at the right person before I fired. I needed to open myself up to being shot at in order to do that. It could have gone either way.
Had Roy’s hesitation caused Storm to hesitate in turn? Surrender the chance to blast them both? They only had part of the whole story of those last moments.
Bancroft/Storm: Response
TAG/TBC!
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Lieutenant JG Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12