[sb118-khitomer] Lieutenant (JG) Ezra Zerva - Goggles on. Time to Light’m up.
BC Cooper
((OOC: This is a rewrite of my last sim titled - Goggles on. Light’m up. I missed the sim email that Michaels had posted after Semara’s. I’m correcting Ezra’s sim by responding to the tags in Michaels sim and making changes as needed. I left out the security exposition at the start of the last sim in order to keep this sim from getting too long)).
((Deck 5, Holodeck 2 - Starfleet Testing Facility Simulation))
Ezra stood on a desert plain that seemed to stretch on forever. It was rather bland and nothing too special to look at. The air was dry and there didn’t seem to be any signs of life and it was probably for the best. The last thing they needed was to have the Holodeck create anything in it that could cause a problem with the test. The heat was already starting to get to him. It was not unlike the terrain he saw around Lera’s home when they went for their run on their last shore leave. Except there were no houses, only mountains far off in the distance. Mountains he wouldn’t mind exploring one day, if he ever got the chance. He began to wonder if this was a sort of place the humans might have tested their old earth weapons in days past. In a time before the Federation.
While Lera worked on setting up the emitter, Semara was working on the sensors around the test stand. Everything here was simulated, but the danger was still real. Which was why Ezra was ensuring it would be as safe as possible. He doubled and triple checked to make sure the schematics were safe to download. The test results would give them what they needed. He just hoped everything would not explode into their faces.
Semara: I set up every sensor I could think of. Hopefully that'll be enough. :: To Zerva :: For all we know, this program's a weapons test sequence. Any last precautions you wanna take?
Zerva: I believe we’ve taken all the precautions possible. I recommend however that the safety protocols are at their maximum setting to be sure.
Semara nodded.
Computer: Safety protocols are at maximum. You should wear the safety goggles to prevent possible retinal damage.
Ezra picked up a pair of the goggles. They weren’t anything spectacular in its design. More function than style. Perhaps something of a bygone era.
Semara: Well it ain't an Astrim Avoi... :: A soft laugh. ::
Ezra looked puzzled. Was this some sort of fashion brand he wasn’t aware about?
Semara and Lera grabbed their pairs and made ready to put theirs on. He stood back, making sure he was far enough away, just encase.
Zerva: I’m sure these goggles will do the trick.::smiling:: Perhaps next time you can replicate some with glitter?
Ezra agreed in acknowledgment.
Zerva: Ready.
Zerva: There is no time like the present. We are as ready as we will be.
The last thing Ezra wanted, was to lose his sight a second time while in the nebula. He did as cautioned, adverting his eyes behind the safety barrier.
And there was light.
The bright rays pounded into and around the sand. Everything went white as it did. A cloud of dust from the impact made it nearly impossible to see anything beyond a meter at most. What little plant life that existed in their immediate vicinity was covered in it. His clothes were dusty and covered in the stuff as it rained down in the air. His goggles went dark. It took a moment before things began to settle down.
And then it stopped, and the sand was sand-colored again.
oO You can say that again. Oo
Who? Ezra tried his best to remember that name. He had taken a course on earth history during his time growing up there after his mother’s job moved them to earth. His brain was trying his hardest to remember. Likely he’d wake up in the middle of the night suddenly realizing who it was Michaels was referencing.
Ezra slowly opened his eyes. He dusted himself off and then removed his goggles.
Lera climbed down into the trench and moved quickly to where the target plate was mounted. Ezra could see the sand along the trench walls where beads of glass in a dazzling array of multicolors now covered the walls. In the center of the wall where their target had been was a hole. A rather large hole for the size of the targeted area. Somewhere in there was a joke related to Hobart’s hole, but he decided to keep that one to himself.
Ezra took a look and was surprised to see just how powerful the beam was.
Semara: Response.
Michaels: Computer confirm parameters for that test firing.
Computer: The power level was set at 10% of the calculated maximum. The duration was 5.001 seconds. All safety protocols were set at maximum.
Semara: That was only ten percent? :: Shaking her head :: That's one powerful emitter. :: Beat :: Okay, computer's still workin' on compilin' the sensor readin's... Any initial analysis?
Zerva: If we increased the outage to ten percent more, I can only imagine what it would be like.
Michaels: This is a ship killer. At 100%, it will not matter much what type of shielding your ship has. This will cut through it like a hot knife through butter. This is what I thought T'Dara and the SCE were trying to develop that last time we were in the Lagoon Nebula. If we had this at DS33, the result would have been very different. This... this...
Ezra’s mind flashed back to their last mission. There was always something about the SCE and T’Dara he didn’t like. This only added more fuel to his dislike of the SCE as a whole.
On top of that, he’d seen what weapons with this destructive power could do. Would it have saved lives during Frontier Day? Perhaps. But letting such a weapon fall into the Lattice Alliance hands, was something he didn’t want to happen.
Taking out his PADD, Ezra began to take notes from the computers test results.
Zerva: Except we don’t want a weapon like this fall into the wrong hands. Least of all the Lattice Alliance. What if we start this war by allowing them to get the emitter? I’ve see what happens when weapons are used in a war. The entirety of the Emisans original home planet was covered in large amounts of radiation in its atmosphere. Commanders Hobart and Ohnari can confirm, our EVA suits were pushed to the maximum possible limit. We had to relocate and find a new home for the Emisan people’s future. The vast majority of them had to live deep underground in order to survive the harsh radiation levels on the surface. Only those in the satellite above the planet, manage to escape its effects. I can send you my full report if you’d like?
Semara: Response.
Lera gave a smile as she continued her train of thought before Ezra had interjected with his own.
Michaels: This may be the point of our guest's mission and why they are willing to let us go over the Ouachita without protest. Maybe they developed these weapons too late and wanted Starfleet to have them earlier in the war.
Zerva: If that was the case, why not just hand it over in the first place? What if we had missed finding the emitter in our search of runabout? I’ve see what happens when weapons are used in a war. The entirety of the Emisans original home planet was covered in large amounts of radiation in its atmosphere. Commanders Hobart and Ohnari can confirm, our EVA suits were pushed to the maximum possible limit. We had to relocate and find a new home for their people’s future. The vast majority of them had to live deep underground in order to survive the harsh radiation levels on the surface. Only those in the satellite above the planet, manage to escape its effects. I can send you my full report if you’d like?
He suddenly remembered where he had heard the name Robert Oppenheimer. This talk of radiation, snapped his mind to the name. The person responsible for earth’s weapon of mass destruction during its Second World War.
Semara: Response.
Michaels: They have already saved our lives from our fate in their timeline. Remember what they said in the conference room? Starfleet sent Khitomer out to find the Lattice Alliance staging area. We did. Khitomer was destroyed. Many of us died. But our guests know where Khitomer found them and now we :: holding up a PADD with the logs :: know as well. Now Khitomer will not stumble into that battle alone. Use our transporters to put someone like Kael into the prison's environmental control chamber. Easily accomplished. Dead Tholians and a dead janitor linguist savant.
Zerva: That makes sense, but we are trying to avoid killing anyone. Least of all POWS who already surrendered.
Lera shook her head and smiled.
Michaels: Now about the only thing else they could hope to accomplish is to make the Sheliak and the Tholians think it was the other who rescued their own officers and killed the one's captured officers. No Sheliak bodies, crystal shards that used to Tholians, and multiple dead Federation types should leave the Tholians doubting their alliance partners.
Zerva: ::raising a brow:: Are you suggesting we find a way to turn them against each other? To let them do the dirty work themselves?
What was that Vulcan proverb? The needs of the many? He wondered if it applied here?
Zerva: Any further test would only confirm what we already know.
::checking the time on his PADD:: Based on the Khitomer’s current rate of speed to the POW camp, we should arrive in just under an hour.
Ezra gathered up his PADD with his copy of the information provided by their test and made ready to exit the Holodeck.
Michaels / Semara: Response
((OOC: I’m happy to continue the conversation here if you wish)).
Tags/END?
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Lieutenant (JG) Ezra Zerva
Security Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240101EZ2