A Holodeck session Part 2

Posted on 16 Oct 2020 @ 8:38pm by Lieutenant Colonel Alexandria Somers & Lieutenant Paul Winchester

3,585 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: S03 Ep 02 Trouble in the Sticks (Incidentals) Galen IV Phase 1
Location: Holodeck 2/Various
Timeline: S3 Mission 3 MD 03.6.1

[ON]

- Holodeck Level -

They both finally exited the lift on the holodeck level, now the Colonel spoke as they walked down the corridor "tell me Lieutenant and this pertains to the holodeck and real experience now, but have you ever been in a situation where it is you and maybe one or two others against a mass of hostiles? The number has to be more than twenty" she asked.

"Yes I have Colonel, I used to be the Tomcat's CAG until I lost my arm and the Captain Grounded me," He responded looking at her, he continued," And if you have read my file, you would have known the number of kills I had as a Pilot," as he knew that he had to keep on her good side and Bite his tongue. He finished," May I ask why Ma'am?" as he posed the question.

*she only slyly smiled in response to his questions* They turned the corner and stopped outside the holodeck and tapped in a code and the doors opened, "in we go Lieutenant" Alex simply said. As they entered they were again greeted with a desolate landscape, and nearest them was the defence point and to their left and right as they entered were weapons and kit, she walks up to all the weapons "okay Lieutenant, arm up" Somers said as she loaded two extended Mags into the twin desert Eagle pistols and put them into her holsters, then she began loading up her dispenser pack. This was shaped like a backpack but had two extending delivery arms that had attachments, she put a full 15 round clip onto each of these attachments, by the time she finished there were 12 mags each side, she activated the retract and they vanished up into the pack, now she looked at Winchester "these pistols and pack are holographic replicas of my real kit, all weapons here have been programmed with real-world mechanics and weight factors, plus you will need to pack in as much ammo on your person as you can along with some melee weapons" she said as she paused with her loading.

As Paul walked over to the table that held his pair of pistols and picked one up to feel the weight of it in his hand and looked at the gleaming metal weapon, he said," Although I have used a bow before, handguns not so much," as he picked up a magazine and looked at it for a moment and then tried to slot it into the gun. He asked, " Have I done it right?"

Placing her "special" dispenser pack on her back and placing her pistols down she walked over to him and took the pistol "almost, see this*shows the Magazine* slots into the handle like so *shows the action* then you grab the top with whichever hand is your secondary and cock the weapon *shows how she pulls the top of the weapon back and releases it* now the weapon is cocked. When holding it as a nugget hold it in one hand and gauntlet that fist with the other like so" *she points the weapon with one hand then moves her other hand palm up and rests the pistol in it* after showing this she shows Winchester where the Safety and magazine release is. "It is important to make sure you know which lever is which, you do not want to be firing and all of a sudden oopsy the magazine drops out, with the safety catch, if it is on the weapon will not fire DO NOT get them mixed up," Alex said "now you try!" she said releasing the magazine and emptying the loaded round and returning it to the magazine and handing them both over to Winchester.

Upon taking the weapon and the Magazine, Paul looked at the grooves of the magazine and the bottom of the handle and then slotted the Magazine into it till he heard a clicking sound, he then copied what Alex had shown him and pulled the top one back until he heard another click telling him that it was loaded. he then thought about trying to practice changing the magazine which might come in handy so he did.

As he leaned back over the table, Paul pressed the button at the bottom of the weapon as the Mag once more slid out onto the table, after a few more practices with loading and unloading the weapon, Paul decided it was time to pack up the weapons and ammo which he began by slotting one into the first of the two pistols and cocking it and sliding it into the left holster on his hip. He then started to load the second gun the same way as the first and then slotting that one into the right side Holster on the right side of his hip. He then began to load his belt with extra Magazines and knives that were on the table that he could carry, he then picked up the back-pack and began to fill the pack with the remaining Ammo and gear that was left on the table and then lifted the bag on to his back, He said to Alex, "Now what Ma'am,"

"First off drop the ma'am, I know it is polite, but it is Colonel or Sir, points for protocol though *smiles* make sure that ammo is easily accessible because you will not have time to take your pack off to reload from it. This pack I got is a glorified dispenser, it carries only dispensing arms that will supply me with fresh clips, nothing else will go inside it. on the outside rear I have two sheaths" she said as she picked up holographic versions of her twin wakizashi blades and put them into their housings, then she withdrew her pistols also holographic versions of the ones she had, she double-checked them before returning them to their holster, then turning to face the table she picked up a P90 and felt the familiar weight of an empty weapon. "You will want the main weapon and some melee ones too" she added as she began to check her P90 and loading it, then she began to put some P90 mags in holding pouches on webbing, looking at Winchesters actions as she did so.

"If that's the case, Can I have something similar?" asked Paul as he looked back at her, he continued "and for your information, I have never wielded a Sword or anything like that before," as he picked up the weapon and began to look at it gleam in the light and placed it in the scabbard that hung from his waist.

*tight smile* "first time for everything, just remember when you run out of ammo and you will do not swing that thing anywhere near me but you might want something shorter, it will end up close quarters and trust me a long sword will be useless to you in such a situation," Alex said "ready Lieutenant?" She asked with a mischievous smile.

"so what length would you suggest?" replied Paul as he looked back at the Marine as he gathered that she was itching to get going, he said, "computer, Change my bag to the same sort of Colonel Somers," as the pack changed to that of how the marines pack was. he said, Just need a few adjustments,"

"Well a short blade or Bat'Leth or Mek'Leth would be good, why do you think I have these wakizashi blades as my Melee weapons, they are sharp and short, well finish up getting items, we will be starting in a few minutes," Alex said securing her pack and walking towards the defence point "computer simulate weather for this program and use personal safety settings and display the enemies on the hill over yonder and start on my next command," she said...

Paul looked over at the female Marine and said "Computer, please replicate two short swords" as he knew that he was now in for what she was going to put him through and that would be hell, but he knew that he had brought it upon himself after yelling at her in the briefing.

Alex looked at him not giving anything away but she did speak "short swords, that is good, especially when you run out of ammo, this simulation is a test of endurance and wit. The only ammo you have is what you can carry on you and when that is gone, well that is what the melee weapons are for" she finished as she completed her P90 loading and proceeded to pack her webbing with as much ammo as she could carry and then moved forward to the defensive line and prepped while she waited for Winchester.

After he had finished loading the backpack and connecting each of the short swords to either side of his belt, Paul looked over at the colonel who was going to enjoy making him sweat and squirm, he joined her over at the point of contact and asked: "Am I being evaluated on this Sir?" As he remembered the correct form of address.

"Tell me, Lieutenant, have you ever felt what it is like to fight for your life? Myself not included in that question" the Colonel said as she cocked the weapon and while she waited for Winchester to respond. "computer place designated enemy force on yonder hill and have then do shouts of intimidation and hurl hostile words our way, but do not start until next command" she added.

"As I stated earlier Sir, I have been in dog fights as a pilot where the enemy had is outgunned" He responded looking back at the colonel as he continued, " as in my final battle before I lost my arm" as he remembered the point of when the throttle had jammed open upon returning to the Tomcat.

"That is space, this is ground a totally different kettle of fish Lieutenant and fighting for one's life in ground combat is totally different, in space, they can only kill you once, on the ground the enemy can if they wish to do so stab your already decaying corpse," she said with grim humour.

"No Sir I haven't" replied Paul as he stood ready to begin the training scenario, he continued " you see the captain moved me from CAG to intelligence chief and then realised that she had made a mistake and moved me again to Security " as he wondered what the colonel would make it.

Alex looked at him "If she did that, she had her reasons, but that is different what matters is here and now, so ready yourself Lieutenant because the fun is about to start" she said cocking the weapon "Computer begin" she said and the masses on yonder hill began charging "Just thought you should know I have lowered the safeties on this simulation, you can get badly hurt but not die, so try not to get impaled as it will hurt like a bitch" she added and started firing with quick selective bursts.

He thought to himself as she charged off oO oh shit, I am really going to get it now Oo as he cocked his own weapon and followed her lead. He also knew that he had brought this punishment on himself and if he survived this then he hoped that he had shown her that he was trustworthy. And now in her infinite wisdom had lowered the safety protocol so low which would make it more difficult and dangerous for him, however; this was not going to stop him.

As Alex stood there firing "reloading" she said and in one swift motion reloaded her P90 and began firing again soon after she had cocked the weapon, now the charging hordes while fell where bullets hit them came ever closer, it was here Alex switched to full auto fire and was going through her P90 ammo like there was no tomorrow. Suddenly the waves stopped and the simulation paused, during this lull, she checked her P90 ammo and switched her weapon back to semi-automatic and looked at Winchester with a smile "what do you think so far Lieutenant?" she asked.

"So far sir" Paul stated as he reloaded his own weapon, he continued "may I ask why I was brought here, Sir?" As he felt that disagreement was all part of the discussion, however; he knew that he had overstepped his boundaries between them both.

"You questioned my integrity and motives, while those questions were good, the tone was one of disrespect, it is something one does not do to anyone from another branch of the service no matter what they think if you expect to make Lieutenant Commander one day you need to learn how to phrase your questions and tone. If you were one of my Rifles I would have appreciated your bluntness and whupped you upside the head and told you not to be a smart ass. But you are not one of mine and a different branch of Starfleet on a ship no less, even I know there is more protocol on a starship than on a combat field, as for what we are doing here I want you to have a taste of how fickle life is and I want to see what you are made of" she answered "computer what level did we pause at?" she asked.

"Level 10" the computer replied.

She looked at Winchester with an evil smile "computer adjust to level twenty-five, and begin on my command" she said.

"Affirmative" came the reply and the battlefield shifted slightly to adjust for the increased body count, now there were dead all around them and a lesser number of hostiles mid-charge were four-thousand yards away.

She looked at Winchester "remember Lieutenant the safeties have been lowered significantly, meaning you can only get badly hurt not die, this is to be treated as the real thing, eventually, you will run out of rifle ammo, when this happens to ditch your main weapon and go to your secondary weapons, you may have to kick an enemy away as you reload, so be quick" she added.

"Aye Sir" replied Paul looking back at the colonel as he knew that by challenging her as he had in the briefing had earned him this situation, now he wished he had kept his mouth shut. As he winced in slight pain as he hadn't run with a pack like this since his academic year.

As the horde closed the distance Alex's P90 run out of ammo "DAMMIT!" she exclaimed and discarded her main weapon and pulled out her twin Desert Eagles with extended mags began firing single headshots. As her mags emptied she flung the pistols forward hand grips first as she clicked the magazine release lever and the mags hit two charging hostiles stunning them for five seconds, in that time the replacement mags in her pack dropped down as she moved the pistols back in a practised motion reloading them, she had to kick a few away in those five seconds as the dispenser retracted and she auto-reloaded the pistols by allowing the open breaches to close, then the five seconds were over and she was firing again. Over the noise "how are you going El-tee?" Alex asked.

As the ammo in his own P90 started to dwindle down, Paul looked at the weapon knowing full well that it was time to ditch it and start using the pistols that he had been given, as he dropped the rifle and pulled the pair of handguns from their holsters. Paul found that the first time he shot the guns was the recoil of them. He responded choosing his words carefully "Just ditched the P90 and now using the pistols" he continued " but did not expect the recoil of them to be this hard" as he kept his eyes front and on his targets.

She saw from the corner of her eye the shock Winchester felt with the pistol recoil, she smiled and again in one smooth motion kicked away attackers ejected the empty mags and reloaded some new ones and continued firing each shot a hit, during this battle she was mindful of the amount of ammo she had, "computer level?" she asked.

"Level 29" the computer responded.

She briefly looked over "I am impressed Lieutenant, we are on level 29 with seventy-four levels left, you seem to be doing well" she said without looking over as she had to concentrate on shooting.

"Why, thank you, Sir," Paul responded choosing his words carefully as he reloaded his own pair of handguns, he continued "just shows that I still have the hand-eye coordination of a pilot," whilst keeping his eyes on the hostile in front of him.

"True" she simply said as she repeated the loading process with their pistols, this time the pack made an alert sound letting her know she had just used her last set of clips. "I am down to my last set of clips, how about you Lieutenant?" She asked over the noise.

"I have one pair of clips left" Paul responded letting off another couple of rounds, he continued " will be switching to swords, " as he knew that he had not been trained to use the swords before today.

"Melee combat tells one what type of person they are and how they will react in a close combat situation, as a Security Officer Lieutenant you may encounter a similar event and this hopefully will prepare you for that event should you ever be in one," she said as her pistols locked open empty, she released the slides forward and reholstered her weapons, pulled her blades and ditched her Pack "okay time for tension release," she said and left their defensive line and jumped into the thick of the hostiles, she said nothing, as she waded in she was in her element.

Paul finished with the last of his rounds and replaced them in their holsters and dropped his own pack before he drew both of the swords from their sheaths and stood his ground as the first wave of hostiles attacked him and he began to slash their numbers down, he thought oO I better ask the colonel to train me in this Oo as his prosthetic arm started to hiss.

Deep among the hostiles, Alex was in her element, she had her battle awareness and it was working overtime when she could not slash she kicked or punched. She was well aware that this was a Kobyashi Maru type scenario, but she did not wish to tell Winchester that, he was having a hard enough time as it was, she was at the apex of physical fitness, she glanced over at Winchester and saw the guy flagging, as she was kicking, punching and slashing "Computer level?" she asked.

"Level 32" the computer responded.

She was surprised that both of them lasted this long, she knew they skipped levels, but still, "Computer freeze program" she said and suddenly a hologram was frozen in a mid lunge at her. She walked over to where Winchester was she saw his prosthetic arm and saw his finger s a funny shape and it was making a strange noise.

"You okay Lieutenant?" the Colonel asked.

"No Sir," replied Paul as he looked at some of the artificial skin that was started to hang down of his prosthesis, He continued," I am also having problems with flexing the fingers on my Prosthetic hand Sir as the Motors and joints have seized up," as this sounded bad news for him.

The Colonel held up the arm "I see a lot of techs, that is damaged, I hope what you have gone through here today will have taught you something Lieutenant?" Alex asked.

"Yes, Sir it has," replied Paul as he knew the pain in the arms sensors were going nuts as the motors in his hand were damaged and they needed to be seen to quickly.

"I certainly hope so, now leave those hologram weapons here and go see Lieutenant Dodd first to get the mechanicals fixed then go see Doctor Cahill for the skin," the Colonel said.

"Copy that Colonel" replied Paul as he also knew that it didn't look that good with the artificial skin hanging down from the arm, he knew that other crewmembers might not like the look of the said arm in the state it was in at the moment.

As the Lieutenant Left "Oh Lieutenant!" she called and waited till he turned in the doorway to look at her.

"Yes Sir," he responded as he turned back to face the female Marine.

"You did well, for a fleeter" she simply said with a smile.

With that Winchester left the holodeck and as he cleared the sensors the doors closed, Alex shook her head in amusement, the kid may be mouthy, but he was certainly no coward she walked over to the table to place her holographic versions of her Desert Eagles on the table and looks around and then at herself "damn I need a shower" she said and walked to the doors which opened before her "Computer... End simulation" she said as she left the door sensors and as they closed the gory battle scene was replaced by a Black and Yellow grid.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Paul Winchester
Assistant Chief of Security

Lieutenant Colonel Alexandria Somers [P: Somers]
Acting MCO

 

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