Lt. JG Natasha Cole - Dressed for Chaos
Natasha Schell
((Elysium - Main level, Deck 6, USS Artemis))
Alex’s eyes swelled, while her ribcage jumped at intervals. Her hand flew up to her mouth. The muffled notes of laughter started to escape around her hand, before she lowered her hand and had a genuine smile.
Storm: Maybe not that exciting, but thank you. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.
Cole: ::smiling:: You're welcome, so what were you thinking?
Storm: What would you think about planning a joint security/tactical drill. You know… something thrilling. A real edge-of-your-seat adventure. Bold. Daring. Possibly involving at least one fire suppression system malfunction.
Natasha had leaned back into her chair and listened intently as Alex talked about her idea. As she described what she was thinking, Natasha’s usual coy smile grew into a more mischievous one.
Cole: I like the idea of a joint drill, since there our departments tend to work together, so why not do so on a drill. ::the corner of her mouth twitched upward:: I love the idea of some kind of malfunction.
Alex picked up her PADD and appeared to be making notes.
Storm: It would definitely keep people on their toes.
Cole: You can tell a lot about someone when things don’t go how they expect. For example, I read that Lieutenant Bancroft threw his phaser at a giant spider on the last away mission.
She noticed Alex leaned back relaxing for a moment crossing her legs.
Storm: I was there to see it. He and I had … a brief discussion over that one. In his defense, our phasers weren’t effective against the creature, but throwing a phaser at it had even less effect.
Cole: Oh, I’d expect nothing less from him. His instinct is always to save life first. ::beat:: Ours is… whatever it takes to protect the many.
Storm: But who was he saving by throwing a phaser at it? It certainly didn’t retreat because it got hit. I think it only made the spider angrier.
Cole: Someone in my family once said “Don’t go looking for danger, it’s already got your number.” Though I think the real lesson they were trying to impart is Bravery is the instinct to move when others hesitate, because someone has too.
Storm: Hesitation is failure’s mother, and second-guessing is its father. Like you said, action is the key.
Alex seemed to be watching Natasha, possibly intently. Was she trying to get a read on her, maybe get an impression from her mind, was that how Betazoids did it?
Cole: ::Nodding:: Absolutely.
Storm: So let’s talk about this drill. Should we open it up to anyone not in Security or Tactical? Or just keep it within our respective departments?
Cole: While it’s always important for Security and Tactical to be prepared for situations that are more geared towards our respective skill sets. ::the corner of her mouth curled upward:: I think it’s equally important for the other departments to be prepared as well.
Natasha watched as Alex tapped away at her PADD before leaning in to talk in a hushed tone.
Storm: So what type of simulation are we going to run? The Artemis gets boarded? Something is able to partition off the ship, and we have to work together to break through, despite not being able to communicate across sections. Something - an entity of some sort takes over Captain Makenzie, giving her extraordinary powers, and we have to work together to stop her. Or something else?
Natasha raised an eyebrow at the myriad of simulation suggestions Alex rattle off. They all had great potential. Truth be told she had a slew of ideas coming to mind, but something Alex said sparked an idea.
Cole: ::leaning in matching Alex’s energy:: How about an amalgamation of sorts blending some elements and leaving some room for surprises.
Storm: Go on.
Cole: Ok, so here is my thought. Simulation is set up where the ship has been boarded by entities unknown, but their doppelgangers of our crew. Think like a mimic, or skinwalker, where they look and sound like us, but something is just a bit … off.
Storm: That’s a fabulous idea. Where’d you come up with something like that so quickly?
Cole: Oh it’s a thing from old Appalachian folklore. Think more along the lines of changelings, but more primordial and mysterious. Anyway these entities once aboard the ship, partition it so they can sow distrust and gain control of critical systems to travel the galaxy or some such.
Storm: It sounds mystifying. ::Her grin sharpened, mind already racing through possibilities.::
Cole: We could even set the program to pull inspiration for these entities from folklore and mythology to add some elements of surprise.
Storm: We absolutely could. Okay, let’s talk about particulars so we can set up said scenario. How do these entities get on board? And how many entities are there?
Cole: We beam them aboard. ::smiles:: Under the guise of responding to a distress call from a remote planet where the ‘survivors’ have been isolated. As for how many, as many as we want, but for our exercise I would suggest no more than a dozen. In Appalachian lore Mimic’s are supposed to be ancient, known for betrayal of the familiar and erosion of identity and trust. It’s what makes them so terrifying.
Storm: I like it! And how many ways are they going to partition the Artemis up? Personally, I think we should keep sickbay, the bridge, the security area, and engineering separate. oO If only real threats came with this much advance notice. Oo What do you think?
Cole: I think that’s a good idea, from the standpoint of someone attempting to take control of the ship, each of those locations would be invaluable for various reasons, not just limited to controlling the ship as a whole.
Natasha thought she noticed a hint of sadness in Alex’s face, it was brief, but as quick as it came it was gone and her smile had slipped back.
Storm: And how does the scenario end? Capture, containment, or something beautifully chaotic?
Cole: I think in true Appalachian fashion, they're not captured or contained. They’d be more likely to just run, be it by taking a shuttle, beaming off the ship or even, using an airlock to escape. ::making direct eye contact:: After all … do mimic’s need to breathe?
Storm: Response
Cole: I do think it would be a good idea to have a safe word just in case the computer takes its recreation of Mimic’s to far. My go to is Pineapple, ::shrugs:: but I’m open to suggestions.
Storm: Response
Cole: You ok? You looked a bit sad, or maybe distracted a moment ago. It’s ok if you don’t want to share.
Storm: Response
Tags/TBC
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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
Writer ID A240205NC4