~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mission: To Live and Die in Starlight, Day 2 Stardate: 2407.02.02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List of Headers: (Type-9 Shuttlecraft "Smith" - COUNS - Lt. Brian Rogers - 1231) (USS Boudicca - CSO's office- CSO- Dr. Maddison Munroe - 1310) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Engineer - CPO {2nd} Jason Miller - 1806) (USS Boudicca, Hell-deck: Enemy Base, MCO Lt. Colonel Eva Straton 1810) (USS Boudicca - Hell Deck- CSO- Dr. Maddison Munroe - 1810) (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1812) (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt (jg) Susan Rivers - 1818) (USS Boudicca - Hell Deck- ACSO- Ensign (jg) Sarrik - 1820) (USS Boudicca - Hell Deck- CE- Lt. Major Standorval Thrall - 1830) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1830) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Engineer - CPO {2nd} Jason Miller - 1841) (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - SCPO Melody Haverstaad - 1819) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - Day 2 - 1820) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - ACSO Ensign (jg) Sarrik - Day 2 -1822) (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Walker Isengard - 1824) (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1825) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt.(jg) Susan Rivers - 1825) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - SCPO Melody Haverstaad - 1825) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Walker Isengard - 1825) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck, "Middle of No-where" - Major LoDona - 1826) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Stolev - Day 2 - 1826) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt Major Drizzt- 1827) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Engineer - CPO {2nd} Jason Miller - 1829) (USS Boudicca, Ten Forward, NPCs Bartender Mei Ling Hikaru and Tommy Tucker, 1900) (USS Boudicca, Marine Hell-deck, Gunny Sgt. Talia Perriea, 1917) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1920) (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - Lt Major Drizzt - 1920) (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - ACSO - Ensign(jg) Sarrik - 1920) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Stolev - Day 2 - 1920) (USS Boudicca - Holodeck, Over the Diversionary Team- Major Robert LoDona - 1922) (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1925) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Melody Haverstaad - 1930) (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - Lt Major Drizzt - 1935) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Stolev - 1930) (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - SCPO Melody Haverstaad - 1931) (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1937) (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1947) (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - Lt Major Drizzt - 1950) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start of Compile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mission: To Live and Die in Starlight, Day 2 Stardate: 2407.02.02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ==================================== (Type-9 Shuttlecraft "Smith" - COUNS - Lt. Brian Rogers - 1231) ==================================== Brian sat back in his chair has the shuttle hummed along at Warp 5. He continued reading a classic Earth novel, Treasure Island, on a PADD. He'd never gotten a chance to read the novel, so he decided to kill the travel time to the resupply fleet. He glanced over at the PADD which contained his still sealed orders. He had thought about trying to hack the PADD, but, it might blow up, or even worse, but ruined and not inform him of where to go following the resupply fleet. So Brian simply shrugged it off and continued reading the novel. Some of the words in the ancient novel confused him, since he barely passed Earth History at the Academy. He finished a chapter, and placed the PADD on the controls. He rose to his feet and stretched his legs out to their full length, and walked back to the replicator in the rear of the crowded, yet empty, shuttle. He took special care not to step on his two bags. "Computer, give me... coffee," Brian ordered, with in a few seconds, the steaming beverage appeared and Brian took it, and stepped back over his bags and returned to the pilot's seat. He sat and took a few sips of the coffee, and then switched the cups place with the PADD. He began the next chapter and smiled slightly at the silence, then, an alarm sounded. Brian looked up and put the PADD down. "What seems to be the problem?" Brian asked the computer. [Enemy ship detected] The computer rattled back. Brian's heart sank. Bringing up a visual display of long-range sensors, Brian saw the shuttle in the center, and a small red dot labeled 'Intrepid-class Vessel.' The dot wasn't heading for the shuttle directly, but was in a course so that it would cut across the shuttle's path, with in 5 minutes. "Is the ship on an intercept course?" Brian asked. [Negative] The computer replied. Brian looked down at the sensor display again. "Computer, is the Boudicca and her fleet within instant communications range?" [Negative], again was the reply. Brian thought about his options. He kept staring at the floor. Then, to Brian's horror, the small dot stopped, then changed course, a direct line shot towards the shuttle. [The enemy vessel is now on an intercept course with this shuttlecraft]. Brian moaned loudly, before moving to the conn controls. Dropping the shuttle out of warp, he brought up shields and phasers. "Computer, create new subspace packet, include the coordinates of this enemy ship. Encode with the latest code and send to the USS Boudicca," Brian ordered. [Packet sent]. ~Well, that won't help me.~ Brian thought. He sat for a few moments, staring at the stars, when the ship dropped out warp in front of him. It was an Intrepid-class ship, and this one, pardon the pun, had 'been through the war'. It had been heavily damaged and not properly repaired. However, it still outgunned a Type-9 shuttle. It stopped for a moment and scanned the shuttle. NRPG: You ex-Geneva guys should recognize the ship name. ;-) RPG: Finally, after a few moments, the ship hailed the shuttle, [Incoming transmission], the computer said, Brian opened the channel. ~If my lucky changes, maybe they'll be a bunch of traitors coming to our side,~ =/\= USS Montcalm to unidentified Type-9 shuttle. You're shuttle is registered to a ship loyal to certain... separatist factions within Starfleet. You are ordered to disarm your weapons, lower your shields and you will be detained! =/\= The voice on the other end said. Brian nodded, even though no one could see it. "Alright, I'll do has you say," Brian promised. He again, ran over the situation, and noticed the Montcalm's shuttles haven't been raised. ~Maybe this isn't over, yet,~ Brian thought. He reached for the conn controls and the shuttle began to slowly move closer to the Montcalm's engineering section. =/\= Thats enough, damnit! Lower your shields, now! =/\= the voice shouted over the hailing channel. Brian nodded, again, to no one. "Alright, I copy. Lowering shields," Brian said, and instead, pressed the button to fire phasers. The shuttles phasers fired at the Montcalm, hitting her directly in the Warp core ejection hatch on the underside of the hull. Suddenly, all hell broke loose. Through the open comm channel, Brian heard shouting and alerts going off on the bridge of the Montcalm. =/\= SEAL THE BREECH! BLOW THAT BASTARD SHUTTLE UP! EJECT THE CORE BEFORE... =/\= At the words "breech" Brian was already on the controls, and the shuttle was zooming away from the Montcalm at Warp 1. Brian watched on long-range sensors has the Montcalm exploded shortly there after. Brian sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat. "Computer, resume course to resupply fleet, maximum warp." The computer replied, and the shuttle picked back up to maximum warp. Brian looked down. Thinking about the events that just took place. He watched the stars go by, before picking up the PADD and resuming reading Treasure Island. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - CSO's office- CSO- Dr. Maddison Munroe - 1310) ==================================== When Maddie heard her name being mentioned in the all call to join the marines, her heart almost stopped. Was this the CO's little joke? She already knew the answer to that one. She had asked him to teach her how to use a bat'leth. Did that mean he was going to just teach her how to fight too? As a scientist, she was morally opposed to violence, although she knew that it was a definite means to an end, and the one most easily, and consistently, employed. She knew it was a necessity. She just didn't like it. There had never been a propensity for it with her. However, since becoming CSO, she realized how needed it was for her to learn to defend herself. With a heavy sigh she tapped her comm. badge. "Munroe, hear. I hear you, and I'll be there." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Engineer - CPO {2nd} Jason Miller - 1806) ==================================== After a few moments standing around in the odd combat gear, a female marine started yelling, Miller was more claim than before, but still spooked a bit. "ALRIGHT! EVERYONE FALL IN!" Miller looked around nervously, and started walk into a line with the others. He didn't know that Marines used 'fall in' and thought it was just in holo-novels. This time, another person stepped up and started talking. "Alright everyone, before we get started let me explain a few things to you. First, this simulation has been programmed to simulate conditions at target as closely as possible. Expect high winds, snow and electrical discharges," The man explained. Jason felt his gut roll over and he looked around, feeling nervous. He returned his eyes to the man, and kept thinking ~Sweat and Photons, Sweat and Photons.~ The continued. "The high level of ionization in the atmosphere will make transporting impossible and scanning any great distance difficult. We will be going in by marine drop ship. The exact location of our target is unknown, so this simulation will reflect that. Second, even inoculated with the psi-suppression drug, you are NOT immune to a telepath of the strength we will be encountering. So, don't get cocky! They can still detect you and they can still hurt you, if you are close enough. The drug makes it HARDER for them to detect you or hurt you, but you are not immune," The man explained. The thoughts of telepaths hurting him, or even worse, making him open fire on his own ship made shook Jason, but he kept his mind straight." That's where Colonel Straton and Lt. Isengard come in. They will actively be working to block the enemy telepaths from getting a lock on us. However, if one happens to lock onto you and begins attempting a deep scan, begin using the mental exercises given to you and alert another member of your team. If you don't know what it feels like to be scanned by a powerful telepath, just let Lt. Isengard or Colonel Straton know and they can demonstrate. In order to simulate that aspect here, Colonel Straton and several of the marines will be playing the part of the enemy in this simulation. Lt. Isengard will have to work to shield the Boudicca team from Colonel Straton, while she will have to work to shield her people from Lt. Isengard," Jason thought about what it would be like to be a telepath. He imagined beaming ideas into people's heads, and all sorts of deeds you could do. However, the briefing continued, "This simulation is set to begin right after touch down. You will have to find the hidden installation, infiltrate, plant the necessary charges, and escape again before the charges detonate or you are over come by enemy forces. I will be supervising only. Once the simulation starts the holo-deck will hide my presence from everyone. I will be using this simulation to determine who will be on the alpha and beta teams for this mission. Any questions so far?" The man finished. Moments later, the man said, "Colonel assemble your team in the far corner. Boudicca team, will assemble in the other corner." Jason assumed that he was on Team Boudicca. He followed the others, and the simulation began. The snow began to blow, and Jason couldn't see a thing. He held the phaser rifle tight to his chest and waited for instruction. He looked around and saw that everybody else seemed to be more relaxed than him, so he 'loosened up'. =/\= Later, the orders arrived from Stolev. Ok team, let's move out! Drizzt, Rivers, and Chandler, take a squad of marines and security directly to the base for a frontal assault. In the real mission, we'll be able to send a telepath with each group, but no such luck here. Lt. Isengard, Chief Haverstaad, and I will take the rest of the team around their flank and try to sneak into the facility with the demolition team. Make plenty of noise, blow lots of stuff up -- be as much of a distraction as possible... and watch out for traps! =/\= Stolev said. Miller nodded, and took his place with the group and began following the rest of them. Stolev's words rang in his mind ~'Make plenty of noise'~ Miller thought about this, and aimed his phaser rifle towards the sky. Its been so long since he'd fired a phaser, so he took a few shots into the snowing sky, hoping that distracted the enemy, at least a small amount. He turned and looked around, before moving on with his unit. ==================================== (USS Boudicca, Hell-deck: Enemy Base, MCO Lt. Colonel Eva Straton 1810) ==================================== Eva was looking over the shoulder of the tactical officer manning the bases sensors. She smiled at the energy spike denoting someone firing a phaser. She shook her head; ~I expected better from you Sasha.~ She stood up, and looked at the commander of the tactical forces. Now that she had clear evidence of hostile forces in the area, and could act accordingly. "Send this data to Major LoDona, and triple internal patrols," Eva ordered, "Bring the base to full tactical alert. Engagement protocol Epsilon." The Lt. Commander paused, and looked at Eva questioningly. "Are you sure Colonel?" He asked. ~He is programmed to act like a Star Fleet Officer at least.~ Eva thought as she turned an icy glare on him "You have your orders, Lt. Commander," Eva replied, her voice as cold as her glare. "No one with knowledge of this facility will be allowed to escape." The Lt. Commander nodded, as he turned and began issuing orders to his subordinates. Eva had just given the order to take no prisoners. It was rarely, if ever, used by moral and honorable officers. Neither could be used to describe Doenitz, who she was fashioning her tactics after. They would get no quarter on the real mission, so she gave none in the training. =/\=LoDona to Straton, Blackops is going to engage in guerrilla tactics.=/\= "Acknowledged," She replied, "Happy hunting Major." (Reply LoDona IYW) Having taken care of the physical, she turned her attention toward Walker Isengard. It was time to see just what the Lieutenant was made of. She stretched her telepathic perceptions out around her. She could easily feel the minds of both the Death Dealers and Desperate Measures. She had trained and fought with both squads many times in the past. In the simulation they were outside the facility and far away from her. In reality they were only a few feet from her, separated by force fields and projected light. Even under the influence of the drugs, she did not have much difficulty detecting their presence, she pushed out further, searching. She had felt his presence once, he had retreated not yet ready to engage her. She had returned the brush, to gage his distance in reality. She passed over the murmur of those under the influence of the psi-dampening drug, till she found him at last. She struck suddenly and without warning, grabbing hold of his mind and yanking it into the mental plane with her. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell Deck- CSO- Dr. Maddison Munroe - 1810) ==================================== Maddie had been the last to show up to the training session. She had no choice but to feel intimidated. She could just smell the testosterone in the air. Even the women in the group stank of it. Not only was she the smallest in the room, she also was the least trained, and most vulnerable. She felt her cheeks heat up as Stolev gave her a cursory look. Did he roll his eyes at her? Then Straton began to talk. That woman just scared the hell out of Maddie. I mean, she was cute enough, but she was one tough woman. The last thing Maddie wanted was to make her Straton mad at her. TheCSO jumped at the sudden loudness of her voice. After being ordered into the cold gear Maddie watched the others at first and then began to stumble her way into the gear. One of the security men came over and gave her a little hand. Once again, she was the last ready. She was getting the impression that the others were loosing patience with her. She placed the goggles over her head and looked at the breathing gear with trepidation. She looked at the marines in their BDU's thinking that perhaps she'd be safer in one of those. Then she thought about the hours of training that the marines went through to learn to use that equipment and thought, it's better she's not. She might blow up her own team. As Straton began to explain the scenario, Maddie began to feel cold already. The idea of walking through an arctic ice ball was not what her Australian blood was used to. She tended to like things a little more temperate. Although she did agree with the general idea that it was easier to warm up than cool down. Then Straton mentioned the psi-inhibitor drugs that they were all given. She remembered the little buzzing sensation she felt for almost an hour afterwards. As Straton went on about the psi-blocker Maddie reached into her pocket and rubbed the device that she and EJ had made. She wanted to be sure that it worked appropriately before taking it to the captain. This seemed like a good opportunity to her. She wondered if she should let Isengard in on it. By the time Straton finished the briefing she began to wonder just why in the world they'd need a cultural anthropologist on this mission at all. When she asked for questions her hand started to go up to ask, but then thought better of it. This was going to be a very interesting and probably a very long evening. Everyone moved to their positions and the holodeck changed. Suddenly they were thrust into an icy tundra. Quickly, Maddie pulled her goggles over her eyes and put her mask in place as Isengard spoke about who's in charge and everyone staying together. She smiled as Stolev reasserted himself as the team leader. The team began move. Maddie found herself trailing behind the others, as she struggled through the snow. She was working hard to try and move up to Isengard. When she finally caught up to him the telepath seemed to be otherwise occupied. Suddenly he wheeled around, and Maddie jumped at the sound of his voice. "South by southwest." he said. "They're about fifty feet thata way." Maddie looked the way he was pointing, straining to see the distance. It was hard to believe that they were in a contained space. "The Holodeck only gives the illusion of distance, boys and girls..." He paused for a moment with another of those far away looks. "And she knows where we are; now... let's pick it up!" He turned and began to head off. Perhaps the timing wasn't right, after all, it was a personal device, and wouldn't help the group at this time. With a heavy sigh, she plodded along with the others, her legs starting to feel the burn of inactivity. She was huffing and puffing when she pulled up beside Sarrik. The Vulcan looked like he was doing pretty well. He had made a suggestion about setting up a sensor grid to give a 306 degree view. It seemed to go over well, as Stolev seemed to be impressed. She smiled over at her assistant. "Good thinking," she said. "How're you holding up?" (reply Sarrik) "I'm not sure I was designed for this type of work," she said, gulping down a breath. "But I think I can keep up." Suddenly Isengard stopped moving. Maddie stopped before running into him. She tried to look out and see what he saw, or felt, or noticed. But shecouldn't see a thing. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1812) ==================================== Walker turned his head and looked at Susan for a moment as they walked to one side. He frowned in thought for a moment, then said flatly, "You were a Captain the last time I saw you." "Very true," Susan replied evenly. "And you were assigned to Geneva. I believe Captain Aragorn was in charge then." Somehow she still found it hard to think of her old CO as an Admiral, a class for which she had notoriously little respect. Her lips twitched slightly. "And now he's an Admiral and I'm a junior lieutenant. Hard to say which of us deserves it most," she added wryly. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt (jg) Susan Rivers - 1818) ==================================== Susan heard both Haverstaad's message and Stolev's reply and was forced to agree. This was the closest she had ever come to fighting blind. She looked down at her tac-corder and sighed in frustration as she realised that in these conditions it was almost as useless as her goggles. The marines, with their BDUs, did not seem to have the same issues, which meant that for the purposes of this simulation, the enemy didn't either. She supposed that when it came to the real thing, the situation would be the same, and hoped there would be a solution before then. Then as she looked up her goggles suddenly began functioning much better. She could actually see again; at least, she could make out details instead of just a whiteout. Grailik's voice made her jump slightly; she had forgotten for a moment that he was watching 'invisibly'. It seemed that he had taken what Haverstaad said on board and had modified the equipment to compensate. ~which can only be a good thing~ She pushed herself cautiously slightly away from the ice wall she had been pressed against and edged forward, scanning the area ahead of her. In her mind she began running complex trajectory equations which she hoped would have the dual purpose of enabling her to resist any mental probes and also prepare her for making every shot count. Being a marksman was all very well but few marksmen trained specifically for conditions like these. She moved carefully, never exposing herself. Dying, whether virtual death or not, was not top of her list of things to do tonight. Or for that matter at any time in the next few decades. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell Deck- ACSO- Ensign (jg) Sarrik - 1820) ==================================== After talking to Cmdr Stolev about the reconfiguration of the sensor grid, Sarrik was about to start moving again when someone from behind him said, "Good thinking." He turned around and saw it was Dr. Munroe. "How're you holding up?" she asked. "Quite well for the lack of arctic training. How about yourself?" he replied. "I'm not sure I was designed for this type of work," she said, gulping down a breath. "But I think I can keep up." "Stay close, we can keep eachother moving," suggested Sarrik as they started moving out again. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell Deck- CE- Lt. Major Standorval Thrall - 1830) ==================================== When Standorval Thrall heard the sound of the phaser rifle go off he wasn't sure if wanted to smile or frown. He knew that it was a tell tale sign of nerves. The problem was, that the nerves were from people that he was supposed to, eventually, trust his life with. For this exercise, it simply pointed out their position, and with his experienced ear he was able to point out that position quite well. Thrall had liked the idea of integrating real live marines with the holoprogram, and he had spent many a year working with the Blackops. His assignment to the Boudicca, for this mission, had become quite opportune. He had managed to stay in the background, so as not to draw any attention to himself. When the holo-LoDona ordered them to guerrilla tactics, his smile grew more genuine. This was what he lived for. Mow he felt just a little sorry for these people they were going against. Ah well, at least they'd live to tell about it... if they were lucky. The team split up and headed in the direction of the phaser fire. Once, in his BDU monitor, he noticed that one of his squad was coming a little too close for comfort. The last thing he needed was to worry about hitting one of his own. He sent him a text message- "Get the hell away from me." Then he noticed the little red blip move off. Adjusting his scanners he finally got a reading on the away teams life signs. Looking over the terrain, he decided what the most likely course that the group would take. Reaching into his pack, he decided to leave them a little surprise. Nothing lethal, mind you, after all it was only training. He laid out a series of low yield mines, set with a proximity detector. A nice little touch he added was a small dispersion field generator that masked exactly what was there on any tricorder. A little further down the road he set out a few spring loaded net traps. If he'd been serious, he'd have used razor wire. With that done, he made his way to the rear of the group. It was time to bring down their numbers. He leaned against a rock, and stopped moving. He stopped moving completely. It was a rare gift, that he was able to do. With all intense purposes he seemed to be part of an out cropping of rock. He listened carefully, and his antennae quivered a little to hear the sounds of people trying to be silent. When they had all passed, he moved a little closer. He noticed that one of the team was straggling a little behind the others. An easy target. He moved quickly and silently, coming up on the person, who moved like a woman. As the rest of the group moved out of sight he moved in. He grabbed the woman around the neck, pulled her down and hit her with a small stunner built into his BDU. He gently slapped the woman on the cheek, and smiled. "Sleep tight." Then moved back into the trees. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1830) ==================================== =/\= We've got to break away and become obvious if the main team is going to remain hidden... =/\= Drizzt turned his head slightly. =/\= On the double-time, MOVE! =/\= He started leading them off in a tangent, as if they were trying to avoid detection. =/\= We don't have to be as sneaky now. If the enemy thinks we fired that shot, then they will expect we either try to totally hide, or throw caution to the wind. Let's make a direct run at the base. =/\= ~Just what I like~ Susan thought sourly. ~Setting myself up for target practice!~ Nevertheless she had to admit it made sense. Their job was to be a distraction, so making a direct run made sense. Provided, of course, they actually managed to get close enough without getting picked off first. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Engineer - CPO {2nd} Jason Miller - 1841) ==================================== Jason knew he had done something very very bad when he noticed somebody marching towards in an angry fashion. He paused, and waited for the yelling. The person grabbed his Phaser Rifle and jerked it to her side, and saw it was a woman. "Chief, if you ever do something that stupid again while we're on an inflilration mission, I will shoot you myself. If you gave our position away, I might shoot you anyway. This is a weapon, not a toy, its time to put your toys aside. Clear?" She demanded. Miller get very nervous again. "Yes, I just... I thought that... understood.." Miller said, trying to explain himself before he gave up, and looked at the ice. She released his rifle and they continued on the mission. Miller felt badly, but tried not to focus on his mistake and kept trekking along with the rest of the group. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - SCPO Melody Haverstaad - 1819) ==================================== =^=Agreed, After we're done here, work with Cooper and someone from engineering. Major Drizzt, hopefully you can provide a CE or two as well, to help outfit the marines.=^= The Senior Chief nodded to herself; there were plenty of things they could use. A scientist and an engineer might be able to take whatever information they had on the REAL hellhole and come up with some sort of imaging package that would work well in these conditions. Melody, already scanning, suddenly jumped as her view of the world changed. She had been watching white-out, but suddenly her world took on a slightly more artificial view and her range-of-viewing was expanded greatly. She bit back a curse as her tactical earpiece buzzed and someone said, =^=Good suggestion Senior Chief, I have noted the suggestion and modified everyone's equipment accordingly. If anyone else has any ideas don't hesitate to speak, that one of the reasons we do these training exercises. To see if we overlooked something crucial to the mission. Carry on.=^= "Ah," she said as she turned her eyeballs up. There was a very small addition to the goggles, a small sensor device attached to the top, about the size of a pea. ~That would be the sensor package.~ She noted as she turned her eyes, still focused inward, to the goggles themselves. They would now have a small imaging device built in, turning the polymer into something like a Heads Up Device (HUD), overlaying all sensor information over the natural light coming in. The end result, she would be seeing what the sensors saw like any of hte Marines in their helmets. Security had something like this, but it was mostly for night-vision. Refitting the standard gear would be a snap. "Interesting." She said as she took a moment to sight down her phaser with one eye closed, before shaking her head back and forth as fast as she could, to see if there was any 'lag'. Thankfully there was not, the imaging device wasn't trying to do a whole lot. "Useful even." she said finally before going back fully on guard. This would help immensely. She took a deep breath as she looked around at the group; some were still experimenting with their new-found vision, whereas others were still leap-frogging as they should. The Senior Chief nodded and kept her place, waiting for direction. It came not long later when that new Assistant Chief came sliding fast down one of the ice-flows, kicking up a dusting of snow that wouldn't be noticed in the blowing soup they already had. "South by southwest." the guy said as he pointed off to the left. "They're about fifty feet thata way." Melody's eyes went wide and she was already swinging her phaser around when a mirthful chuckle briefly filled the com-line. "The Holodeck only gives the illusion of distance, boys and girls..." Melody paused and took a breath. "That's good to know." she growled to herself as she swung her phaser back around, now knowing there wasn't an enemy just a few feet off. "And she knows where we are; now... let's pick it up!" the man said. The caused the Senior Chief to shudder, ever so slightly. "Mendez, Prosky, Quatra. Form a wedge in front of the Chief." she said over her comm to some of her security team. She pushed away from the ice and began moving as stealthily as possible in the direction Isengard had noted, waiting for the orders to move. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - Day 2 - 1820) ==================================== Stolev was squinting his eyes, as though it would somehow improve his vision through the blowing snow and ionization interference, when suddenly he started seeing digitally enhanced IR imagery overlaid within his goggles. =^= Good suggestion Senior Chief, I have noted the suggestion and modified everyone's equipment accordingly, =^= came Grailik's voice over the comm. =^= If anyone else has any ideas don't hesitate to speak, that one of the reasons we do these training exercises. To see if we overlooked something crucial to the mission. Carry on. =^= Stolev started looking around, evaluating the improvement in his vision, when his comm system crackled to life again. =^= Sarrik to Commander Stolev. Commander, what if we networked everyone's sensor array so that we had more of a 360 degree field of view? Would that be helpful and is it feasible? =^= Stolev frowned as he tried to recall who Sarrik was. He remembered seeing the name on a PADD at some point over the past few days, but couldn't recall the context, as he had looked at a lot of PADDs recently. "Mr. Sarrik, from a tactical perspective, I think it'd be difficult, if not disorienting, for people to try to parse some sort of overlaid sensor view from many different directions at once," he replied. "That being said, I do think it'd be useful be able to quickly look in other directions without turing your head; the sensors ought to be able to do that. Also, it'd be useful for us to be able to momentarily pull up the view of a particular other person, to help with interpreting what they are seeing. Congratulations, you just bought yourself a spot on the team to evaluate/upgrade equipment after the training." (reply Sarrik) Stolev closed the connection, then toggled the comm channel to contact Grailik. "Captain, I have another suggestion for you." He then explained Sarrik's suggestion and his own response. (reply Grailik) =^= Chiefs, I'm about to do a search. Once I find them, if at any time I stop or stagger, stop and form a nucleus and hold tight. If we're in a combat situation... find someone to carry me, I'll be a bit busy in those circumstances. =^= He paused. =^= If I fall, instruct your men to scatter as fast as their legs can take them. All of you are hard to find from the drugs, at this moment I'm both your shield AND your bane, it will be me that Straton focuses on. It will be infinitely harder to both find and attack all of you if you're nowhere near me in the event of my death. =^= "Acknowledged," replied Stolev. He then opened a channel to the rest of the security forces and relayed Isengard's instructions, while the telepath climed to the top of a nearby ice cleft and searched for the enemy. Shortly Isengard came quickly scurrying down the ice. =^= South by southwest, =^= he said to Stolev as he pointed in that direction. =^= They're about fifty feet thataway. =^= Stolev's eyes widened and he instinctively jerked in the direction that Isengard had indicated before he realized that the 50 feet was real-world distance. Telepathy, unlike other senses, was not fooled by the holodeck. Isengard clearly was amused by the reactions of many on the away team. =^= The Holodeck only gives the illusion of distance, boys and girls..... and she knows where we are; now... let's pick it up! =^= =^= Mendez, Prosky, Quatra. Form a wedge in front of the Chief, =^= came Haverstaad's voice over the comm, issuing orders to some of her team. =^= Skelton, Gilder, Doone... once we get the order to move, you're with me, =^= added Rivers. =^= Carver, B'lor, Finnegan... spread out and provide rear-guard. =^= She glanced at Stolev, awaiting orders. "Ok team, let's move out!" ordered Stolev. "Drizzt, Rivers, and Chandler, take a squad of marines and security directly to the base for a frontal assault. In the real mission, we'll be able to send a telepath with each group, but no such luck here. Lt. Isengard, Chief Haverstaad, and I will take the rest of the team around their flank and try to sneak into the facility with the demolition team. Make plenty of noise, blow lots of stuff up -- be as much of a distraction as possible... and watch out for traps!" As the team began falling out in their respective groups, Stolev opened a channel to Isengard. "Lieutenant, can you somehow distract Straton from knowing where we are -- somehow masking us from her so she can only detect the diversionary group?" ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - ACSO Ensign (jg) Sarrik - Day 2 -1822) ==================================== =^=Mr. Sarrik, from a tactical perspective, I think it'd be difficult, if not disorienting, for people to try to parse some sort of overlaid sensor view from many different directions at once. That being said, I do think it'd be useful be able to quickly look in other directions without turing your head; the sensors ought to be able to do that. Also, it'd be useful for us to be able to momentarily pull up the view of a particular other person, to help with interpreting what they are seeing. Congratulations, you just bought yourself a spot on the team to evaluate/upgrade equipment after the training.=^= "Aye Sir. Glad I could help." The connection then closed. After a few moments antother channel opened and Stolev relayed instructions from a Lt. Isengard. Sarrik acknowledged the instructions. Then can the next set of orders. "Ok team, let's move out!" ordered Stolev. "Drizzt, Rivers, and Chandler, take a squad of marines and security directly to the base for a frontal assault. In the real mission, we'll be able to send a telepath with each group, but no such luck here. Lt. Isengard, Chief Haverstaad, and I will take the rest of the team around their flank and try to sneak into the facility with the demolition team. Make plenty of noise, blow lots of stuff up -- be as much of a distraction as possible... and watch out for traps!" Sarrik took his place in the group and started moving out, not exactly sure what he was looking for, but keeping his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Walker Isengard - 1824) ==================================== Walker looked around and cursed lightly to himself. This wasnt getting them anywhere, he had to have a moment to concentrate. "Chiefs," he said in a direct line to the MXO, TAC/SC and TAC/ASC's. "I'm about to do a search. Once I find them, if at any time I stop or stagger, stop and form a nucleus and hold tight. If we're in a combat situation... find someone to carry me, I'll be a bit busy in those circumstances." He paused, "If I fall, instruct your men to scatter as fast as their legs can take them. All of you are hard to find from the drugs, at this moment I'm both your shield AND your bane, it will be me that Straton focuses on. It will be infinitely harder to both find and attack all of you if you're nowhere near me in the event of my death." (reply: Any mentioned) Isengard looked around him and found a small ice-scarp he could navigate with fair ease. Without a word he slung the phaser around his neck and started climbing the pressure-ridge, mostly so he could get a more uninterrupted view of the area. He did stay close to the ice once he'd reached the top, choosing to crawl onto his belly rather then stand straight and be a beacon for anyone visually scanning... assuming anyone -could- visually scan anywhere near them. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes in concentration, letting his consciousness drift in ever-widening circles, looking for the emotions and impressions of the others. And, abruptly, he found them. Or rather, he lightly touched Straton and backed off before she could bite. His eyes snapped open and he scurried down the ice-flow. "South by southwest." he said to Stolev as he pointed in the direction he'd felt her, "They're about fifty feet thata way." His grin, like his tone, was exceptionally dry as he watched the TAC/SC start and the security within hearing distance suddenly turn in that direction with phasers up. "The Holodeck only gives the illusion of distance, boys and girls..." Walker was about to say more when he felt a gentle touch, and he grit his teeth. "And she knows where we are; now... let's pick it up!" ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1825) ==================================== Susan listened to Walker's instructions to herself and the others with a sober expression. =/\= ... It will be infinitely harder to both find and attack all of you if you're nowhere near me in the event of my death. =/\= "Aye, sir," she replied. ~no one should have to die alone~ As she watched the male TAC/ASc scale the nearby ice-scarp she took a firmer grip of her phaser rifle and scanned the area as best she could. Blessing or bane they couldn't do without Isengard at this stage. Tactically she couldn't fault his stealth, nor the speed with which he descended once he had presumably found what he was looking for. =/\=South by southwest,=/\= he said to Stolev as he pointed in that direction. =/\=They're about fifty feet thata way.=/\= Susan swung her phaser rifle up and turned fluidly to look where he was pointing, as did the others within hearing. =/\=The Holodeck only gives the illusion of distance, boys and girls...=/\= Walker added dryly. =/\=And she knows where we are; now... let's pick it up!=/\= =/\=Mendez, Prosky, Quatra. Form a wedge in front of the Chief.=/\= came Melody's voice over the comm, issuing orders to some of her team. "Skelton, Gilder, Doone... once we get the order to move, you're with me. Carver, B'lor, Finnegan... spread out and provide rear-guard." She read the names from the EV suits. Not only couldn't she see any faces clearly because of the goggles, she wasn't familiar with all the names. She hoped they were all as well-trained as Haverstaad seemed to be. Or damn close to it. ~I guess I'll soon find out~ She glanced at Stolev, awaiting his orders. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/ASC Lt.(jg) Susan Rivers - 1825) ==================================== NRPG: On re-reading Aaron's post, I decided that Miller is probably with Stolev's team. If I'm wrong, let me know and I'll re-write :-) RPG: =/\=Ok team, let's move out!=/\= ordered Stolev. =/\=Drizzt, Rivers, and Chandler, take a squad of marines and security directly to the base for a frontal assault. In the real mission, we'll be able to send a telepath with each group, but no such luck here. Lt. Isengard, Chief Haverstaad, and I will take the rest of the team around their flank and try to sneak into the facility with the demolition team. Make plenty of noise, blow lots of stuff up -- be as much of a distraction as possible... and watch out for traps!=/\= "Aye, Sir," Susan responded tersely, and as the frontal assault team began to move off, she moved up next to Drizzt and Chandler. Adjusting her comm so that only those two heard what was said, she was about to speak when the sound of phaser fire came from behind them. Instinctively every trained officer and crew present spun around and began to dive for cover, phaser rifles at the ready. Susan began looking for a target but before she sighted on the culprit, she noticed several of Stolev's group staring at another of their party who was just re-shouldering his phaser rifle. "What the ---- does he think he's doing?!!" she demanded, of no one in particular. (reply Chandler and/or Drizzt iyw) ~Idiot! Now anyone able to see or hear that will know EXACTLY where they are!~ It was small consolation that the enemy might not have seen or heard it with the conditions the way they were, and no excuse in Susan's eyes for such behaviour. NRPG: Did I mention she's rather unforgiving at times? ;-) RPG: "I thought *we* were supposed to provide the distractions so the other team could get round the back and *sneak* in?" she muttered. "Well," she nodded to her two fellow officers, "I guess now we'd better draw some attention to ourselves sooner rather than later? Only we can't make it too obvious that we *want* them to notice us, or they might guess what's going on. What would your suggestions be?" ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - SCPO Melody Haverstaad - 1825) ==================================== =/\=Ok team, let's move out!=/\= ordered Stolev. =/\=Drizzt, Rivers, and Chandler, take a squad of marines and security directly to the base for a frontal assault. In the real mission, we'll be able to send a telepath with each group, but no such luck here. Lt. Isengard, Chief Haverstaad, and I will take the rest of the team around their flank and try to sneak into the facility with the demolition team. Make plenty of noise, blow lots of stuff up -- be as much of a distraction as possible... and watch out for traps!=/\= Melody was starting to turn so she could take point when the sound of a phaser broke over her ear-piece. She spun again, falling to one knee, when she noticed one of the Chief's hefting his phaser. The Senior-Chief growled as she got to her feet, she was already moving forward before half of the security and Marines around her and gone back to looking around. She was a Senior-Chief, and a petty officer had just been a very foolish boy. She grabbed the barrel of the phaser-rifle and yanked it to the side as her face-mask came to a halt exactly half an inch from his. "Chief." She growled loudly, "If you ever do something that stupid again while we're on an infiltration mission, I will shoot you myself. If you gave our position away, I might shoot you anyway. This is a weapon, not a toy, its time to put your toys aside. Clear?" (reply: Miller) Melody let go of the man's phaser and took exactly one step back, "Commander Stolev, recommend we boogie." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Walker Isengard - 1825) ==================================== =/\=Ok team, let's move out!=/\= ordered Stolev. =/\=Drizzt, Rivers, and Chandler, take a squad of marines and security directly to the base for a frontal assault. In the real mission, we'll be able to send a telepath with each group, but no such luck here. Lt. Isengard, Chief Haverstaad, and I will take the rest of the team around their flank and try to sneak into the facility with the demolition team. Make plenty of noise, blow lots of stuff up -- be as much of a distraction as possible... and watch out for traps!=/\= Walker half closed his eyes again as the teams formed up, now actively watching for any interference that he would have to fight against. It was something he was almost looking forward to, now he knew just what Straton was capable of. =^=Lieutenant, can you somehow distract Straton from knowing where we are -- somehow masking us from her so she can only detect the diversionary group?=^= "Probably not," he said. "But I can attack her, that will keep her dis-" he stopped suddenly and yanked at his phaser as the sounds of phaser-fire filtered through the area. He was in time to see someone, looking a lot like a stuffed white chicken, trotting up to the group. ~You have to be kidding me.~ He put the phaser back in the crook of his arm as the Security Senior-Chief walked up and started having words with the foolish man. Isengard frowned and turned his head back in the direction of Straton and the group, "Uh oh." He said, mostly to himself but still over the open comline to Stolev. He took a breath and closed his eyes fully, immediately trying to guard his mind from searching. "I don't think it matters now Commander." He finally finished, dryly. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck, "Middle of No-where" - Major LoDona - 1826) ==================================== "Major, sensor contact from the base. Energy Weapons detected, uploading the location now!" Robert didn't pause in his laying of his anti-personnel mine as the information started scrolling over his HUD. A moment later, with the mine placed, he stood. "Blackops, prepare to move out. The enemy is two clicks off." He pulled his phaser rifle, "Dorm & McKascal, get your rears back to the base for backup in case we're ambushed." =/=SIR!=\= Both of them lopped off at the top speed of their BDU's, the foot-spikes made sure they had plenty of traction. LoDona hefted his phaser, "Guerrilla tactics, break and hunt. Return when it gets to hot, we'll make our final stand here. And remember, we know this terrain, they do not!" =/=OOOWAH!=\= The entire squad broke up and started heading in the general direction of the phaser shot. Some would hide themselves and snipe, others would lope around and play mindgames with whomever was trying to take this base. It was, he reflected, unconventional warfare at its best. But it was almost to easy, this terrain was unforgiving. Nobody could be left behind lest they freeze to death, and all it took to disable someone permanently was to destroy their rebreather gear. This was more difficult on a Marine, but still ultimately true. "LoDona to Straton, Blackops is going to engage in guerrilla tactics." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Stolev - Day 2 - 1826) ==================================== "Lieutenant, can you somehow distract Straton from knowing where we are -- somehow masking us from her so she can only detect the diversionary group?" asked Stolev. =^= Probably not, =^= replied Isengard, =^= but I can attack her, that will keep her dis- =^= Isengard stopped suddenly and yanked at his phaser as the sounds of phaser-fire filtered through the area. Stolev yanked out his phaser as well and wheeled in the direction of the blast, only to see someone from their team jogging to catch up with them. =^=What the ---- does he think he's doing?!!=^= demanded Drizzt =^=Uh oh,=^= Isengard said, mostly to himself but still over the open comline to Stolev. He took a breath and closed his eyes fully. =^=I don't think it matters now Commander,=^= he added after a moment. "Great," muttered Stolev. He turned to give a serious tongue lashing to whoever had just given their position away, only to see that Haverstaad was already on it. When she finished, she let go of the man's phaser and took exactly one step back, =^=Commander Stolev, recommend we boogie.=^= "Absolutely," replied Stolev. "No undoing it now, so let's try to use it to our advantage. Drizzt, you and your team double-time it to that base! Everyone else, with me!" Stolev then hurried away from the location of the unfortunate phaser discharge, trying to discern a path they could take through the various icy outcropping and fissures that would provide them some protection without completely trapping them. After the group had been making their way through the trenches for a few minutes, Stolev did a quick head count and noticed that someone was missing. He double checked just to make sure. "Ok, we are missing someone. Whose buddy isn't here?" He sighed heavily -- these are the kinds of problems that absolutely could not come up during the real mission. The concept of the buddy system should have been taught at day one in the academy, if not at summer camps years and years earlier. It was incomprehensible to him that some people still didn't grasp so simple a concept. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt Major Drizzt- 1827) ==================================== "What the ---- does he think he's doing?!!" Drizzt picked his weapon back up and looked around at the two squads they had. "If the enemy has any brains about them, and odds are they do... then we've just been made. The base sensors will be far stronger then anything we can carry." (reply: Chandler) "I thought *we* were supposed to provide the distractions so the other team could get round the back and *sneak* in?" she muttered. "Well," she nodded to her two fellow officers, "I guess now we'd better draw some attention to ourselves sooner rather than later? Only we can't make it too obvious that we *want* them to notice us, or they might guess what's going on. What would your suggestions be?" "We've got to break away and become obvious if the main team is going to remain hidden..." He turned his head slightly. "On the double-time, MOVE!" He opened a Chief's only channel as everyone started heading off in the proper direction, though he started leading them off in a tangent, as if they were trying to avoid detection. "We don't have to be as sneaky now. If the enemy thinks we fired that shot, then they will expect we either try to totally hide, or throw caution to the wind. Let's make a direct run at the base." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Engineer - CPO {2nd} Jason Miller - 1829) ==================================== Miller was shaken after his accidental shooting, and wondered how he could get so confused on the mission. He shook his head and followed the rest of his team. Finally they reached some trenches and began going through them. Stolev then stopped the group. "Ok, we are missing someone. Whose buddy isn't here?" Stolev asked. Every one looked around. Miller didn't even remember getting a buddy. He glanced around nervously, and couldn't even tell that someone was missing. Later, they had been traveling and were now following a Marine, acting has a scout. The Marine gave a hand single and they all ducked down. Stolev went up to look at what he saw, then gave orders to the team. "Looks like our other team just engaged the enemy. Remember, radio silence! No transmissions outside 3 meters, or else we'll be detected. I don't care if you see a sniper yourself taking sight at the other team," Stolev said. Miller nodded and looked down at his phaser rifle, then back up and looked around at his teammates. Soon, they began moving out. Miller followed suit and moved with his team. ==================================== (USS Boudicca, Ten Forward, NPCs Bartender Mei Ling Hikaru and Tommy Tucker, 1900) ==================================== Mei Ling wiped down the bar and smiled at the customer in front of her. "What can I get you?" she asked. The engineer in front of her smiled back. "I'll have a St Clement's, please. And a C&E to follow. Need to quench my thirst after that shift." He shot a curious glance at the animal sitting on a stool next to him. "I thought you'd banned Tommy from Ten Forward?" he said. The psammead swivelled its eyes to give the engineer a hard stare. He picked up a nut from the bowl in front of him and crunched it thoughtfully, then belched slightly. "Tommy! Manners!" Mei Ling said sharply. She sighed. "I did," she replied. "But ever since he discovered how to get out of my quarters, I thought it best to keep him where I can keep an eye on him." "You could try keeping him in a cage," the engineer replied. Tommy snorted in disgust. Mei Ling sighed again. "I did," she admitted. "But he can pick locks - any locks I've been able to get hold of." She shrugged. "At least here I know what he's doing. The last time he went AWOL he ended up in the brig and let me tell you, the security officers who had to deal with him were not amused. Nor was the officer whose quarters he ended up in." Tommy had been discovered, gloriously drunk amidst the wreck of a shelf-full of ornaments, having eaten a whole bowl of oranges. Citrus fruit acted on him like neat vodka. If he'd been a crew-member one would have said that he had resisted arrest, but as it was it took three security officers to get him to the brig from where Mei Ling had had to collect him. She put the drinks in front of her customer. "Mind he doesn't get hold of your drink," she added, as she headed off to clear some tables. Tommy watched her go, then turned his attention back to the engineer and fixed his eyes on him with a soulful look, retracting his eye-stalks so that he almost looked like a cute little creature in whose mouth butter wouldn't melt even if he had a raging temperature. "Nuts make me thirsty," he remarked piteously. The engineer gave him a dubious look. "She said -" "I like juice," Tommy observed, imbuing his look with as much pathos as he could manage. The engineer shot a glance over to where Mei Ling was busy loading empty glasses onto a tray. "Well I guess so long as it's only fruit juice and not synthehol..." he pushed the tall orange and lemon concoction towards Tommy. "There you go, mate." Tommy grabbed the glass and drank the contents in one gulp. He belched again, then hiccupped. "'S my favourite," he said happily. He nestled his head along the engineer's arm and belched again. "I like you," he slurred. Then he slipped off his stool, stood on the bar swaying gently and began to sing in a croaky voice. "'Twas on the good ship Venus, You really should have seen us, The fig-" "TOMMY!" Mei Ling's voice cut across his singing sharply. He subsided, muttering the rest of the words in an undertone. "I thought I told you not to let him get hold of your drink?" she demanded as she hurried over. "It was only juice, I made sure he didn't get hold of the lager!" Mei Ling rolled her eyes. "I can see I'm going to have to put up a notice," she said in disgust. "Do not give the psammead citrus fruit or juice under any circumstances!" She turned to Tommy. "And as for you -" she began, then stopped. Tommy was curled up in a ball, snoring loudly. "He does look kind of cute like that," the engineer offered. "How'd you get him, Mei Ling? I haven't come across a psammead before." Mei Ling gave a reluctant smile. "I inherited him from my uncle. I don't know where he got him from but when he died, he left Tommy Tucker to me. He's got lousy habits, no inhibitions whatsoever and a tendency to break out and wander off, but I wouldn't part with him for the world. Well, most of the time," she amended as Tommy rolled over slightly and scratched himself in his sleep, a lascivious grin spreading across his mouth as he did so. ==================================== (USS Boudicca, Marine Hell-deck, Gunny Sgt. Talia Perriea, 1917) ==================================== Talia low crawled up the icy slope, her sniper rifle held in the crook of her arms. This was a perfect spot from which to snipe the enemy forces moving toward the base. This particular ice ridge rose at least 30 feet into the air and was completely sheer on one side and went on in both directions for many miles. Talia had selected this spot careful, and knew that the enemy group would be passing by soon. She carefully peeked over the edge, and looked into the swirling blizzard, looking for her target. Soon they came into view, moving quickly but carefully toward the base. Talia, lifted her sniper rifle and extended it over the edge, knowing that the ice ridge would shield her from their sensors, and the high winds and snow would block her from sight. She, however, saw them clearly on her HUD. She sighted down her phaser, picking her target carefully, choosing one of the front running marines. She exhaled and waited for the shot. A few seconds latter it came and she took it, squeezing off two shots. She watched the two compressed balls of phased energy streak toward their target and strike the marine dead in the chest. The first shot burned through his armor and the second blew a large hole through his body. The marine fell dead, never knowing what had hit him. Talia quickly rolled onto her back, lifted her boots, and slid down the opposite side of the ice ridge away from the enemy group. She jumped to her feet at the bottom and took off at full speed slinging her sniper rifle over her back. She used the ice ridge to hide her movements, as she moved to another place from which to snipe. "Scratch one enemy grunt," She said, into her helmet mic, to the other members of Blackops in the area. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1920) ==================================== From out of nowhere, it seemed, two balls of energy streaked towards them, striking one of the marines in front directly in the chest. For a simulation the result was, she had to admit, remarkable realistic. The program showed the damage done in detail, and despite the fact that she knew this was not real, and the marine was in fact undamaged, the sight of an apparently dead marine almost at her feet gave Susan quite a shock. Reflexively she rolled to one side, taking cover along with everyone else. glaring down along the line of fire, she squinted against the conditions and saw an ice ridge rising sheer slightly to one side of where they were making their way, extending beyond sight in both directions. It was impossible to make out anything in detail, and her sensors weren't much help either. One of the marines immediately retaliated with a couple of shots directly in the line the shots that killed their companion had come from, but no one could tell whether they had hit home or not. Susan bit her lip in frustration. If she were the sniper she would have changed position immediately after shooting, and the sheer face of the ridge on this side precluded sending a scout or two up to flush out the sniper. ~But it is an ice ridge~ she thought to herself. ~Perhaps that might just work in our favour...~ She adjusted her comm unit and spoke directly to Chandler and Drizzt. "One up for the bad guys. May I suggest a series of compression charges fired at intervals along the ridge ahead of us? It's a small chance but given the conditions, probably our best one of hitting whoever is up there. We certainly can't get at them from this side. It seems to me that moving forwards under covering fire would be our best chance." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - Lt Major Drizzt - 1920) ==================================== =/=Sniper on the ridge!=\= Drizzt, who'd already rolled behind a small pressure ridge, nodded as he contemplated the body of one of his CE's. The holographic double the holodeck had immediately provided upon death was everything he'd come to expect. Somewhere that Marine was off watching now, probably cursing himself a blue storm at being knocked out of the simulation. He brought up his hand, pointed to two Marines, and pointed off to their flank. They wouldn't be able to get up there, but they could lay multi-directional coverfire when the group got up to move again. Both nodded and began carefully scurrying their way in that direction. =^=One up for the bad guys. May I suggest a series of compression charges fired at intervals along the ridge ahead of us? It's a small chance but given the conditions, probably our best one of hitting whoever is up there. We certainly can't get at them from this side. It seems to me that moving forwards under covering fire would be our best chance.=^= (reply: Chandler) Drizzt grunted, "Marines, prepare to lay cover fi-" His words were interrupted when he was tossed headlong a good ten feet and slammed head-first into an ice-bank. He growled as he rolled over and looked at the situation, and then his eyes went wide. His XO had been blown to pieces and a part of the team buried. "That's it, I'm making the call." He growled on the CE-only frequency. "We're facing CE's. Go hunt!" He flipped on his stomach, "All hands, cover fire! Yohann, Everstead, see if anyone lives in that pile!" He cracked his neck and turned to see if Rivers or Chandler still lived as Marines and Security opened up around him and started turning the ice ahead of them to steam and the surviving CE's all broke away on a search-and-destroy mission. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Hell-deck - ACSO - Ensign(jg) Sarrik - 1920) ==================================== Sarrik was moving with the rest of the group and noticed that the pace had slowed down. Suddelny the marines around him stoppend and crouched down, scanning the area for possible threats. Sarrik followed suit and made sure that Dr. Munroe was still there and had her also crouch down. Sarrik could hear the sound of phaser fire in the distance off in the direction of the other team. ~Sounds like the enemy has been encountered. Good luck team, I have a feeling you'll need it,~ he thought. =^=Remember, radio silence! No transmissions outside 3 meters, or else we'll be detected; I don't care if you see a sniper yourself taking sight at the other team,=^= came over the short range comm channel. Sarrik noticed Stolev pulling out his tricorder and scanning the area. He did this for several minutes and suddenly Sarrik understood what he was doing. Using his own tricorder, Sarrik started a scan of the area, looking for other sensors that might be used to detect their movement. The environment was causing havoc with the reading, but he thought that he detected some mothing sensors in the crevices around them. He slowly crawled over to Stolev. He seemed to come over in the middle of a conversation between Stolev and a marine captain."I'm sure the surface routes are all well trapped and highly guarded. But if we tunnel our way to the base, beneath the ice, we might encounter less resistance. Can we do this with the equipment we have?" When he was inside of 3 meters he opened a channel. Cmdr Stolev, Sir I seem to be getting intermittent hits on possible motion sensors in some of these fissures. It could very well be environmental interference, but better safe than sorry." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Stolev - Day 2 - 1920) ==================================== Stolev slowed his pace as one of the marines held up his hand in a fist and crouched down. He turned to the rest of the group to indicate that they should follow suit -- of course the marines and security within the group had done so almost instantly. Crouched low, they slowly approached the top of an icy ridge and peered over the edge. In the distance they could make out the outline of the enemy base. A blast of a phaser echoed in the distance. Stolev looked in the general direction and saw a volley of fire strike another ice ridge in the distance, and then the ice ridge collapsed. "Looks like our other team just engaged the enemy," he said into the short-range comm. "Remember, radio silence! No transmissions outside 3 meters, or else we'll be detected; I don't care if you see a sniper yourself taking sight at the other team." Stolev then peered at the base, pulling out his tricorder as he did so. He set it to scan for weapons, explosives, or anything of the sort, but the interference was so great that he was having trouble reading anything at all. He thought for a few minutes, then adjusted his tricorder to scan the icy terrain around them. Some of it was solid ground just a few inches beneath the snow and ice, but in other spots, it was just ice for hundreds of meters. Slowly his tricorder was able to construct a partial subterranean map of the area in their immediate vicinity. Stolev leaned over to one of the combat engineers and showed him the diagram. "Captain, check this out." He watched as the marine captain observed the reading on the tricorder. "I'm sure the surface routes are all well trapped and highly guarded. But if we tunnel our way to the base, beneath the ice, we might encounter less resistance. Can we do this with the equipment we have?" Captain Hughes considered this for a minute, then turned back to Stolev. =^=Aye, sir, we can do this. We'll want to start from down in one of these fissures,=^= he said, indicating a spot on the map, =^=so that our initial drilling beams won't be so easily detected. Then it looks like we'll have our choice of a few routes to get to the base.=^= "Great," replied Stolev. "Let's get moving then!" ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Holodeck, Over the Diversionary Team- Major Robert LoDona - 1922) ==================================== Robert, snug against an ice-ridge and overlooking the team, frowned. "There aren't enough here and they're moving to plainly in the open for my taste.." He said. He bit a couple times and opened a direct channel, "McKascal, scout for a second prong." =/=Right Chief.=\= LoDona turned his attention back to the small group as he attached the sniper-scope to his rifle. The entire group below was shifting and infinitely more wary then it was a couple minutes ago. With a click the scope snapped into place, Robert wasted no time swinging it over the ridge and sighting down it. It was an interesting group he viewed in his scope. And his eyes tightened when he noticed a small explosives satchel on a couple of them. =^=We're facing CE's=\= He almost growled. =^=Note their explosives.=\= He pulled his head back and looked around the area a bit. The entire place was a collection of pressure ridges and ice-overhangs. Great for cover, but also unstable. He grinned slightly as he noticed one of the explosives-carriers crawling up around the flank carefully. He took a moment considering the average explosives load, figuring stuff that would actually detonate (a lot of a CE's load was inert until chemically combined with something else), and then he hooted to himself. "Blackops, beware an explosion on the target." He took aim again. He dialed the zoom a few times until that little black bag was tight within in range. And then he fired three times in quick succession with a tight-compressed beam. He snapped his eye shut in time to save it from the massive flaring blast. He opened his eyes moments later to see tons of ice come flying down on about five members of the enemy team. The rest were safe, they hadn't been on the slope that CE had been crawling, but ice-shards had been blasted like shrapnel. At least two of the security guards had ice-lances sticking out of them. Robert spun on his back and pushed himself down the ridge when a couple phaser-shots blasted through the ice near his location. "Scratch... 8 or so." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1925) ==================================== =/\=Marines, prepare to lay cover fi-=/\= Drizzt's voice began, then his words were unceremoniously cut off as a bright flash from the direction of the most forward-placed marines temporarily blinded Susan, who had been looking in that direction. The sound of the explosion followed a split second later, then she felt someone cannon into her and fling her to the ground. Winded, she gasped for air and instinctively struggled but was held firmly while a voice hissed in her earpiece, =/\=Stay still, lieutenant.=/\= "What-?" she began as her breath returned, blinking her eyes furiously to try to clear them. She felt her captor roll off her as her sight gradually returned and she pushed herself up a bit, gingerly feeling her bruises where he had slammed her to the ground. =/\=CPO Gilder, sir.=/\= the voice in her earpiece said, evidently realising that she couldn't see clearly yet. =/\=Are you OK?=/\= "A bit bruised, but otherwise -" her voice trailed off as her vision returned to something approaching normal focus and she took in the carnage around her. A large ice-shard, as long and as sharp as a javelin, stuck out of the snow where she had been crouching moments before. Bits of marine were scattered around and Doone was lying very still on the ground, her body impaled by another long shard of ice. Susan swallowed hard, remembering with an effort that these were not, actually, the body of the security officer or the marine but instead holo recreations, and that these two were now concealed from them by the program and watching the rest of the scenario. Looking around she saw several others with ice shards protruding from them. "ROLL CALL!" she yelled into her mouthpiece, having tuned her comm unit to the band for the near-by security team-members, sure that Drizzt would be doing the same for the marines. (Reply Chandler, any) =/\=All hands, cover fire! Yohann, Everstead, see if anyone lives in that pile!=/\= Drizzt's orders snapped through her earpiece. "What the hell happened?" she asked Gilder, rolling over and sighting along her phaser. She let off a concentrated blast at lethal strength, melting one patch of ice and moving along the ridge slowly. =/\=Dunno, I guess one of those bas- ...uhh, the enemy blew up someone's explosives pack whilst they were wearing it and the blast then blew out the ice shards.=/\= Susan snorted. "B*****ds will do nicely as an epithet, Mr Gilder. I'm guessing this is the kind of thing we're going to have to face on the real thing." She intended to recommend forcefully that on the mission itself lethal force should be authorised from the first. Clearly playing fair was not on the agenda. As she sighted on another portion of the ridge, she added, "Thank you." =/\=What for?=/\= "Pushing me down like that. Probably saved my life. Or would have, if this were real." She continued to lay down fire as she spoke. =/\=You're welcome, lieutenant. But it wasn't a hard call - we can't afford to lose anyone if we can help it!=/\= He loosed off his own shots at the ice ridge. A flare lit up the area again as someone's shot hit home on the enemy, but this time she had her eyes turned aside slightly and her sight was unaffected. "One up for the good guys!" she grunted with satisfaction, hoping there would be more than one. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - Melody Haverstaad - 1930) ==================================== "Great, Let's get moving then!" Melody swung her phaser around and was about to start barking orders when she noticed something that made her sigh. "Chief, Lieutenant Isengard is down." The Lieutenant had both hands to his head and had sunk to his knees, his phaser dropped and forgotten on the ice in front of him. She looked at Stolev uncertainly, "Do we carry him, or leave him where he is?" ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - Lt Major Drizzt - 1935) ==================================== =/=They've boogied Sir. We've got one body here, no identifying marks and a lot of sniper gear.=\= Drizzt frowned and brought his head up from his cover-ridge and looked around. His frown would have been obvious had his helmet not been covered in winter-cameo. "They've been buying time, picking us apart." He growled. He looked around at his small team for a moment before looking back at the ridge, "Renalt, Parker, stay on the ridge and watch for anyone to double-back. Everyone else, keep hunting." He brought his hand up and said, audibly. "Forward, carefully. Be on the watch for traps and triggers." ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - TAC/SC Lt. Cmdr. Stolev - 1930) ==================================== "Great, Let's get moving then!" Stolev looked up as one of the white-suited regular crew approached. "Cmdr Stolev," he began; Stolev recognized him by voice as Sarrik, the new science officer. "Sir I seem to be getting intermittent hits on possible motion sensors in some of these fissures. It could very well be environmental interference, but better safe than sorry." Stolev nodded. "Good idea. Hughes, keep an eye out for those sensors, and try to tunnel with as little power expenditure as possible. The lower our energy profile, the less likely the enemy is to detect it." "Chief, Lieutenant Isengard is down." Stolev turned to see that the Lieutenant had both hands to his head and had sunk to his knees, his phaser dropped and forgotten on the ice in front of him. Haverstaad looked at Stolev uncertainly. "Do we carry him, or leave him where he is?" "We carry him, for now," replied Stolev. "Have a medic monitor his vitals. If he dies, we'll need to abandon him and get as far away as possible, or we'll be next." It make Stolev's blood run cold to suggest simply abandoning a fellow officer on a hostile planet, but Isengard's instructions had been unequivocal. He also knew that since this was a training scenario, it was highly unlikely that would actually die, but it's possible that he could be hit by a sniper or other enemy fire while being carried. "This looks like a good spot," announced Captain Hughes, sticking his head up out of a nearby crevasse. "We can tunnel far enough under the ice to avoid any motion detectors on the surface, and we have a pretty clear shot at the base, plus a couple of alternative routes should we be discovered." Stolev clambered over to kneel down next to Hughes and peered into the crevasse. "How quickly can we tunnel?" "Well, sir, it depends on how risky we want to be," replied Hughes. "We can tunnel pretty fast, say a couple of meters a second, but that might generate a pretty big energy signature. If we want to go slower, say half a meter a second, it'd be slower going but we'd have pretty low energy output." Stolev nodded, considering the pros and cons. "Ok, let's start out with the low energy drilling, but be prepared to ramp it up if we get discovered. Can we go faster than the two meters per second?" Hughes glanced at his HUD readings, then back at Stolev. "It'd be pretty risky to do that, sir, mostly from a structural stability standpoint. We'd risk caving in the tunnel around us, or possibly falling through into a chasm beneath the ice at certain points." "Ok, well, let's get to it. We'll cover you." Stolev turned and motioned for a tight perimiter around the crevasse. He pulled two marines aside. "You two will guard the entrance. Focus your comm links on a narrow beam down the tunnel and advise us of any enemies that find us. Establish a bunker here and delay them as much as you can, then retreat down the tunnel. Collapse it behind you if you can, and lay mines, traps, or whatever you have at your disposal." "Aye, sir" replied the marines. Stolev then turned back and watched the tunneling progress. The enemy base was about a kilometer away, but they wouldn't be able to tunnel directly to it. Doing some quick mental calculations, he figured it would take about 45 minutes for them to reach the base, assuming there were no interruptions. That was a long time to spend entombed in ice, but there appeared to be few alternatives. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Marine Hell-deck - SCPO Melody Haverstaad - 1931) ==================================== "Do we carry him, or leave him where he is?" "We carry him, for now," replied Stolev. "Have a medic monitor his vitals. If he dies, we'll need to abandon him and get as far away as possible, or we'll be next." Melody frowned and made a gesture to two of her security guards. Both of whom took an arm of the Betazoid and lifted him over to an ice-ridge they could use as cover. "Stay with him," she said sternly as she turned her attention to the ridges around her, looking for anything out of place. Not that her visual scanning did much, they could march half an army around them and she wouldn't be able to see them. This place, if it was true to form, really was hell. "Ok, well, let's get to it. We'll cover you." The chief was saying. She looked around for a few moments and stepped up to him discreetly as he gave orders to a couple Marines to guard. "Chief." She said quietly as she eyed the Marines. One of them started firing at the ice, great gusts of steam bubbled from the crevasse. To Melody, it looked like the Marines were cutting their own graves. "What's the plan?" ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1937) ==================================== To Susan's disgust only one of the enemy smipers appeared to have been eliminated. The rest had gone. After short consideration, Drizzt brought his hand up and said, audibly. =/\=Forward, carefully. Be on the watch for traps and triggers.=/\= Susan looked at Chandler. "You and your team keep a look out that side, we'll do this, OK?" (reply Chandler) Susan nodded. "Good luck," she said under her breath. "We're all going to need it." They began moving forward carefully. Making good time was still on their minds but reaching their target with enough people to cause a distraction was even more important. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - TAC/ASC Lt(jg) Susan Rivers - 1947) ==================================== Skelton on team point held up a hand and the rest of them came to a halt. Cautiously Susan and Gilder moved closer to him. "What's up?" she asked, tuning her comm unit to a very short range closed person-to-person circuit so only Skelton and Gilder who were standing next to her could pick up the transmission. She didn't want to risk the enemy picking up on what they were saying by broadening the range to reach the others who were further off. He pointed to the right, whilst silently showing both Rivers and Gilder his scanner. On the screen a slight heat-glow showed from behind an ice-boulder off to the left. Susan resisted the temptation to turn her head in that direction and noticed with approval Gilder did too. NRPG: I checked with J before writing this and he seemed to think that BDUs would be very slightly warmer than the surrounding ice. Not much, which is why I only had them pick it up at close range and explains why they didn't notice the sniper or pinpoint that position until too late. RPG: =/\=It's configured to show any abnormal temperature readings=/\= Skelton told her. =/\=A little trick I picked up from my brother who's in the science department on the Freedom. It's very sensitive at relatively short range, less so at longer range which is why I didn't pick up the sniper from the ridge ahead before. But this guy is close enough to give a slight reading. Them BDUs don't give off a lot of heat, but there is still a minimal discharge under very cold conditions. Enough to suggest where someone might be hiding anyway. 'Course this isn't as good as the marine equipment but it does give us a better chance, if we happen to get close enough.=/\= "How many?" =/\=One, I think.=/\= She nodded. ~Pity~ "OK. Walk back a bit as if to confer with the others. Then we'll work the delta-three manoeuvre." They began moving back slowly, beginning to separate a little as they went, as if each were keeping watch on a slightly different part of the landscape. "On my mark, gentlemen. Keep your attention to the right until then. Let's try to fool the enemy into thinking we don't know he's there." She took a deep breath. "MARK!" The three of them whirled as one, diving in three different directions to limit their targetability, all three phaser rifles hitting their mark. The ice, hit by three phasers at maximum, hissed into steam throwing scalding water in all directions as it did so. Caught unawares, the figure crouching there took vital seconds to bring his weapon to bear on the new positions and his helmet was caught in the crossfire as his cover evaporated. It melted, as did his face. Susan felt sick. She hadn't joined Starfleet to make war on her fellow-officers. But kill or be killed was the order of the day, and she was damned if she was going to offer herself up as a willing sacrifice to Doenitz. ==================================== (USS Boudicca - Holodeck - Lt Major Drizzt - 1950) ==================================== =/=Scratch another. Security on-the-ball, knocked his helmet off. =\= "Bring me the body." Drizzt ordered shortly. This whole situation was rather irritating him, they were completely blind and perfect targets here on the open. Even the ice-ridges provided almost no cover, phasers burned through them in seconds. At most. He heard a scuffle as a couple armored Marines jumped their way up to the place where the tactical forces had taken out the sniper. He growled a bit as he brought up his phaser and scanned the ridge-line, watching for any others to come back. A minute or so later the Marines had jumped back with a headless piece of BDU in their arms. Drizzt nodded as they took guard and he bent down to the armor. Most of the operational information he wanted would have been in the AI, and the Battle-helmet would erase all information automatically from the backup storage device on the armor in the event a Marine's lifesigns stopped. The CE hoped, quietly, that the AI had been destroyed before such commands could be given. He yanked out the backup drive and looked at it for a moment before activating it's short-range transmitter and hooking into it with his BDU. "Status of the backup recorder." [Active] "Woo, our luck finally panned out." He muttered. "Download the contents of the drive and Scan what data is here as it downloads," he told his AI. "Give me any vital stats information on special forces in the area." A few seconds passed as the AI sorted the data it had loaded, and was loading, and then said: [Don'tya Know it, Marine Recon Squad, commanded by 2nd Lt Johan Trividar. Under strength by two Marines by the last roster. Blackops, Combat Engineering Squad, commanded by Major Robert LoDona. Perfect Operational Status.] Spider put the drive down and looked up at the sky, and with his coms off, he laughed until his side hurt. The Irony was just too great, they were fighting their own fleet commander back in a time when he'd been known as a murderous sonofab*tch. Far from being funny, this was tragic. Blackops still existed, elsewhere in the fleet, but it seemed that the simulation had been programmed specifically for this time period. "Team, listen up." He said once he'd gotten control of himself. He brought up the rest of the defensive information, so far as the Marine BDU had known, and passed it around to the Marines. "We now have some sketchy information about the defenses... and you're not going to believe who we're up against." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start of Compile ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~