[sb118-khitomer]Lieutenant Charles Matthews - The Digital Dalliance With Dastardly Disputants
Shakeel Hussein
((Security Suite, Deck Eight, USS Khitomer Simulation; Holodeck One))
((Brief Timeskip))
With his team, that weren’t really his team at all; he just happened to be the ranking Tactical Officer on the Khitomer, heading off to Sickbay to be at the mercy of Doctor Ohnari and whatever miracle preventative treatment that she had concocted, Lieutenant Matthews had an opportunity to see how the Security team would work. An opportunity that included being able to see how Ezra Zerva would work. During his stint on board the New Orleans II class starship, Charlie hadn’t gotten to see much of how the Trill Officer performed, and he was interested. Very interested. On the Astraeus, the two departments, Tactical and Security, were one; intertwined and connected. Even with them split, they were still closely linked, but there was just that little bit extra in terms of separation and that was something that Charles needed to get accustomed to. In his previous posting, one day you could be on Brig duty, the next you could be recalibrating the phaser array or performing diagnostics of the shield emitters. It kept duty shifts varied, sometimes surprising and he was interested to see how Lieutenant Zerva carried out said duties with being responsible for just fifty percent of what Charles had to be responsible for on the now-mothballed Galaxy class starship.
With Ezra addressing the group of Security Officers under his command that had somehow grouped into three smaller bunches, Matthews almost silently made his way to the doorway of the Holodeck, raising his left hand to the control panel of the Arch as it lit up due to his nearing proximity. With his fingers just millimetres from the glowing lights of the LCARS, Charlie paused; was what he was about to do a good idea? Perhaps not, but then perhaps it could be. Commandeering the programme that Zerva had put together for this exercise, he decided that it needed to be a little more challenging for all involved, including himself and the group of Tactical Officers, when they returned, in that equation. If they could be ready for the fabled no-win scenario, if the simulation stacked the odds against them all so badly that there almost seemed to be no point in fighting, then perhaps they would all be ready for the real thing, which he still very much hoped that they wouldn’t face.
Zerva: ::to PO2 Kelana:: Take Gamma Shift to sickbay on deck 6 and prepare the medical team there for any possible incursions that might arise. You’ll want to be mobile and ready to assist them in any injuries the crew might experience. It will be your job to protect them as they do their jobs.
Kelana: Aye sir!
As his hands continued to deftly dance across the LCARS, Charles muttered to himself, making sure he was quiet enough to not be heard.
Charles: ::under his breath:: Sorry, Kelana. There won’t be a Medical team, just people needing medical assistance--- oh, and an overwhelming Lattice Alliance force at the door.
Zerva: ::to PO2 Pearl:: Take Beta Shift to engineering on deck 12. Make defenses there and be ready for anyone that might try to take advantage of the engineering decks. Be sure to stay out of the team’s way as they work.
Pearl: Yes sir!
Matthews glanced at Jackson Pearl for a split second. He had looked over all of the Security records but the man from Mars had a particularly good record. On top of that, he was well liked, respected and respectful. It almost caused Charlie pain for what he had entered into his new programme subroutine. Almost but not quite.
oO Beta shift in Engineering---?? Coolant leak? Warp-core breach even? Go the whole hog? Hmm. Failing structural integrity leading to a hull breach and decompression of Main Engineering? Ding, ding, ding; we have a winner! Oo
Zerva: Alpha Shift. You’re with me. We’re heading to deck 1, the bridge. ::to PO3 Maryu:: You’ll be in charge of Alpha Shift.
Maryu: Aye sir. You can count on me and Alpha Shift.
Zerva: Remember, while this is a holodeck simulation, treat it and its crew like the real thing. We don’t know what we’ll encounter, so be ready for anything. If there are no questions? ::Ezra eyes scanned over each of them hoping no one would crack a joke:: You have your assignments. Keep in communication at all times. Check in every 10 minutes. Let’s show them what we can do. Dismissed.
Charles felt evil. There was Ezra, rallying his troops, telling them to treat it like the real thing and like it was the real crew, and here he was sabotaging it all. Conflicted thoughts bounced around in the grey matter of his brain, so many in fact that he was certain that some of them were zooming around his synapses like a drunk pilot navigating a faulty shuttle through an asteroid field.
oO Is this over the top? Is it really necessary? It is necessary. Right? If we had any clue that we were flying into a shitstorm when we went back to Earth for the Frontier Day celebrations, we’d have been pretty damn happy to have had the chance to run some simulations. Prepare for completely random occurrences and then when something completely random happens, we might all deal with it that much better. Maybe. Or at least not charge towards the enemy, take fire to the stomach and die on the floor of the Bridge… To hell with it, it’s happening. Ezra, hostage situation! Oo
Stepping away from the Computer access as Ezra finished addressing the Security teams, Matthews could sense the doorway vanish from sight as the simulation kicked into high gear. As the “ship” entering red alert bathed them all with a blood-red hue that cast eery shadows and highlighted every groove and line of their faces, he neared Ezra and returned his nod with a slight one of his own.
Charles: This is your rodeo, Lieutenant. You’re the ranking Security Officer. I’ll follow your lead.
Zerva: Response
Charles: I’m happy to support you and Alpha team, perhaps watch your six.
Zerva: Response
Charles nodded once more, and as the red alert lights continued to flash, he raised his head to the ceiling as an artificial voice sounded out around them all.
Computer: Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Unauthorised transporter activity; Deck Three, Section Twelve-Alpha; Deck Thirteen, Auxiliary Computer Core.
Even though he knew what was going on, he made sure to play his part and added an urgency to his usually calm voice.
Charles: There’s nothing on Deck Three. We’ve got to assume whoever it is must be going for the Bridge.
Zerva: Response
Pearl: Aye, Sir! Beta shift; let’s go.
Heading for the artificial Armoury, Charles shot a glance towards Pearl and the rest of the Beta team as they left the Security Suite and into the corridor, and onwards towards their target of Engineering. He almost wanted to chuckle, what a tangled web he had woven.
Zerva: Response
TAGS/TBC
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Tactical Officer
USS Khitomer NCC-62400
A240012CM1