Lt Alex Storm - Sufficient Wasn't Sufficient
Karen Morris
((Holodeck 2, Deck 2, Artemis-A))
In the twilight, Alex crouched behind a broken-down half wall. The smell of refuse wafted by on a gust of wind as she closed her eyes and listened intently. No sounds of crunching debris under feet, no heavy breaths heaving in pursuit, no sounds of baying hounds -- at least not yet. Peeking around the end of the wall, she surveyed the landscape. Four wide buildings flanked each side of the street. Two looked intact enough -- at least on the outside -- for concealment higher than ground level.
But that was a risk. Navigating the insides of buildings without knowing if they were occupied by any less-than-friendly denizen could backfire in more ways than she had strands of hair, but it was also her best bet.
Slipping around the edge of the wall, she slunk from one shadow to the next until she reached her most probable target. Enough windows were broken out that it was unlikely to be occupied, but it still looked, at a glance, structurally sound.
But then she heard it off in the distance. The bark of the hounds, and where there were hounds, there were handlers. Alex shifted inside the building and, with her phaser at the ready, wove her way down the corridor until she found what she had been looking for…stairs. With cat-like tread, she eased her way up the first flight and turned the corner to find…
The program paused and then faded into the usual yellow grid on black.
Computer: Program paused and catalogued at 1655 hours per your request.
Storm: Brilliant timing.
She mumbled.
Storm: Computer, Reset program: Storm, Phaser Qual 2 - Phase 1.
The background faded away into a standard phaser target range. It was nothing much to look at - one target downfield, a pedestal with two phasers, and one line on the ground. All apparently very benignant - and deceptively easy - for this round. A mischievous smile curled at the edge of Alex’s lip.
The last time Alex had run a phaser requalification, a musty cavern littered with stalactites, stalagmites, mist, and shadows had been her playground. But as was her custom, she had evaluated the evaluation. It had been sufficient, but sufficient wasn’t sufficient - at least not in her book.
Storm: Range is set, scenario is standing by. Now all we need is our newest vict…Qualifier.
So between then and now, besides going for relaxing jogs and reading holonovels - both doctor-approved free-time activities which fell under the medical heading of benign (or boring), she had taken some time to revamp her holodeck phaser qualification.
Untucking her PADD from the small of her back, the Tactical Officer pulled up the schedule to see who she had been paired with. Ensign D’tin Breys. She scrolled through her file. Onaran by birth. Adopted. Raised on Teros III. Majored in Science. Graduated Starfleet Academy. Alex’s head bobbed back and forth in thought, but as she did, the doors to the holodeck opened, and a curly-haired brunette of average height entered the room. The Tactical Officer tucked the PADD under her arm and walked toward the Ensign, greeting her with a warm smile.
Storm: Ensign Breys?
Breys: Response
Storm: I’m Lieutenant Alex Storm, one of the Artemis’s Tactical Officers, rock climber extraordinaire, and your evaluator for the day.
Alex tucked the PADD under her arm, as she surveyed the ensign. Average height and build, held herself with enough poise not to seem skittish. But of all of the various occupations aboard, Science Officers as a general characterization, tended to care less for phaser qualifications than most others…except maybe doctors. And before her thoughts spun into a jumble, she banished them.
Breys: Response
Storm: Have you already checked in with medical since you’ve come aboard? I would assume so, since you were on the Karnack with us.
Breys: Response
Storm: I don’t see it attached to your file. I just wanted to make sure that you’ve been cleared by medical before our little exercise today…in case we end up climbing a rock wall somewhere along the way.
Alex took the PADD she had tucked under her arm and moved it to one hand, tapping it against her leg as she listened to the newly minted Ensign.
Breys: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC!
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2