Battle Brush Ups

Posted on 11 Jul 2016 @ 3:06am by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler

5,856 words; about a 29 minute read

Mission: Risky Business
Location: Security Training Facility
Timeline: MD 5 || 1400 Hours

Roughly an hour after her shift ended, Joey made her way into the Security training facility. It had been a while since she'd gone through any rigorous training, and since she didn't know what was going to be waiting for her on the Chimera, now proved as good a time as any to brush up. As far as she was concerned, there could never be enough in the way of preparations when there was hope of only one outcome... her walking away relatively unscathed. That's when she decided to contact Camila about the impromptu session. There was no such thing as being too ready for something so serious.

Taking a breath and closing her eyes, Corwin began to crack her neck before beginning a series of stretches to limber herself up. There was little doubt in her mind that this training was going to be brutal, and even though she was already SAR trained, keeping up with it wasn't a bad thing. It served two purposes for her. The first being to keep up with new techniques and strategies, while the second was to get her into a state of mind for the upcoming battle.

Camila came in the training facility still in her uniform since Lieutenant Corwin had requested additional training time to prepare herself for the upcoming away mission. The Captain and Executive Officer hadn't vetoed it and she had loaded up an Intrepid class starship as well as personnel, some of who were programmed to be hostile to invaders. She looked over at the tall brunette woman who was stretching and gave her a nod. "Very smart to get loosened up before you start," she said. "You'd be surprised at how many people don't and end up with cramps."

Joey, still dressed in her full uniform complete with the utility belt around her waist, looked toward Camila as she walked in. She was pretty impressed with the set up that was currently around her. "One thing I can say about my parents... they didn't raise a fool. I'll do whatever I can to make things a little easier on myself." She finished up her stretches, then jumped up and down a few times to get her blood pumping. "I probably should have replicated a dummy LRAD for this."

"Computer, generate LRAD based on current model specifications entered previously," Camila said and one appeared leaning against a holographic wall near her. "There you go. Now what's your plan of action?"

Picking up the device, Corwin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She wasn't going to have time to mentally prepare herself over there, and only had a limited amount of time to do so now before Camila activated the program. "To disable the crew." Perhaps her answer was a simple one, but that was her current plan of action. How she was actually going to go about doing it, even though she had a rough idea that she and Cooper discussed, was subject to change once she was on the inside.

In the meantime, Camila had walked around her and checked out the items she had brought with her, then arched an eyebrow. "No rope?" she asked. "I thought every good plan of attack had a rope involved somewhere in it."

"No, no rope," Joey answered. "The idea is to get in, get the job done, then get out again. The more I have to carry, the harder my job becomes. Besides... this isn't a twenty-first century movie. This is real life."

"Did you forget your SAR training already?" Camila asked as she went to a locker and pulled out a compact spool of rope and a grappling hook. "If you have to go down a Jeffries Tube or a turbolift shaft quickly, you'd find a rope really handy."

"No, I haven't forgotten my SAR training," Corwin replied, looking to the rope and the grappling hook, but she didn't reach out to take it. "I mean no offense when I say this, but I have no intentions of putting myself in a turbolift shaft or Jeffries tube. Do you realize how dangerous that could be for me? There could be any number of hostiles waiting for me on the other side of every door or hatch waiting to take me out, and I wouldn't know about it until it was too late. It would only take one person seeing me go in before the entire ship is alerted."

Camila nodded and put the rope back in the locker she had gotten it from. "The moment someone sees you and doesn't recognize you as a member of the Chimera's crew, they're going to sound the alert," she said. "However, you have areas of specialization that I don't and more experience, so I'll defer to you on this matter. Let me know when you're ready and how hard you want it to be."

Was she ready? Negative. Who would be in such a situation? It was a one versus one-fifty situation, and the odds were clearly stacked in the favor of the enemy. However... she had a job to do, and she was going to do it without question. Despite this being a simulation, and not the real thing, her intent was to treat it as though it were. "Let's start with level six and increase the difficulty from there. I'm ready when you are."

Camila moved to the control terminal and activated it and Joey found herself near a wall display which read Environmental Control, Antimatter Tankage, and Main Deflector Control Systems with a location of each displayed on it. A crewman who wore a coverall of a maintenance engineer was bent over a conduit near the room marked Environmental Controls, but he hadn't yet seen her.

Joey quickly surveyed her surroundings and picked a few choice words from the walls display before she mentally went through the Intrepid class deck listings she'd taken the time out the memorize. She quickly realized she was on deck twelve, then spotted the engineer hunched down by the conduit. Moving toward him, she grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into the bulkhead to render him unconscious. With that done, she tapped his combadge to open a ship-wide channel, then set off the imitation LRAD.

The engineer crumpled to the deck without making a sound and his combadge responded with a chirp to let her know it was open and ready. When she set the LRAD off, the disruptive screech of it travelled through the entire ship and crewmen and officers clutched their ears and stumbled against each other before collapsing where they stood.

"That's how things should go... in theory. I want to run through as many scenarios I can," Corwin said. She may not have been able to see Camila or hear, be she knew the Security Chief could see and hear her.

Camila upped the level of difficulty to seven and the scenery changed around her and she found herself in the quarters of an officer who was just coming out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. "What? Computer!" he yelled. "Intruder alert! Deck Two, room zero two zero five nine!"

Joey muttered a curse and prayed to whoever would listen that his towel wouldn't come off. She flipped the LRAD in her hands and used the device to pistol whip him against the side of his head, then moved to the combadge on the table. She pressed it to open a ship-wide channel and activated the device once again.

Before she could fully active the LRAD, a hand grabbed her ankle and yanked her off her feet and she found her face to face with the crewman who had a bleeding gash on the side of his head and looking angrier than the average Klingon. "Is that all you have?!" he snarled. "I've been hit harder by my boyfriend and I like it!" He lunged for her arms and managed to get his hand on one of them. "Security!"

An alert went off and the computer responded. "Security is in route and will be there is one minute and ten seconds."

Another curse sprang forth from her lips after she hit the ground with an oomph. Joey looked up at the nearly naked man she was now face to face with. "Well, hello, sunshine. If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask nicely." If looks could kill, she'd have turned to moon dust right off the bat. And of course, to make matters worse, the ship-wide channel was now open so everyone was able to hear the struggle going on. There was no time to play tiddlywinks with this guy. She had a job to do, and he was holding her up. With a sadistic grin, she headbutt him in the face repeatedly. If it had to be one of them... he had to go.

The man grunted as she headbutted him and twisted the arm he had in a death grip until it was almost bent over at an unnatural angle. Unfortunately, the repeated headbutts were a bit too much for him and he released her and rolled away from before he tried to get to his feet, his towel falling off as he went for something on a stand nearby.

Pain registered in her mind from the odd angle her arm had been held in, but she pushed it from her mind for the few seconds it took to finish activating the LRAD. There was no way she was going to let him stop her from what she needed to do when there were so many people counting on her. With the device ready to go, and the channel already open, Joey hit the trigger which sent the soundwaves throughout the entire ship.

Camila nodded at her ingenuity and changed the scene again and this time Joey found herself in a cargo bay which was filled with crates and boxes of unknown contents. A couple officers, one a human and the other an Andorian stood at a terminal checking a manifest and talking to each other, unaware of her presence at first.

Joey hid behind the crates and assessed the scene before her being as quiet as humanly possible. Since she wasn't actually moving save for her even breathing, she wasn't making any noise that would let on to her current location. She looked toward the two officers by the terminal. They were oblivious to what was about to happen, and that was exactly the way she wanted it.

Tucking the LRAD between her legs, she pulled her phaser from its holster. Thankfully, she'd already had them set to stun at wide beam, but not knowing what was in the crates made her nervous. Her mission was clearly laid out, and failure was not an option. If sacrificing herself was what needed to be done to save the lives of many, then that's what she planned to do. She peeked over the top of the crates toward the two other cargo bay occupants and breathed in deep before she raised her phaser to fire on them after lining up the shot.

Sure enough, the two men went down, although the Andorian seemed to be less stunned than the human, his antenna working to try to figure out what happened. At that moment, a crate shifted from behind her and a deep male voice rang out. "Who are you?" he demanded as he stepped into view. He was easily two feet taller than her and wore an exoskeleton which he had been using to move crates around when she materialized in the cargo bay. He grabbed a large pry bar and started towards her, easily kicking one heavy crate out of the way with his booted foot.

"Oh... hey... I don't suppose you want to buy some cookies, do you?" Joey asked as she turned toward the big guy advancing on her, holding the LRAD in her free hand again. "I've actually got some right here if you'll give me just as sec..." Without waiting for his response, she darted to the other side of the cargo bay, ducking down behind some crates. She knew the Andorian was going to be getting up soon enough, but she needed to worry about the Sasquatch first. Taking a few much needed seconds, she raised her pant leg and unsheathed her twelve inch Ka'Bar. Now, she planned to wait for her prey to follow.

Instead of chasing her, the man dropped the pry bar and grabbed a heavy crate and threw it her direction. It missed her, but it hit a stack of crates near her which started to topple over towards her. While the crates were falling, the man started to move towards her and reached to his chest to tap a combadge. "Jacobs to Security. We have a live on in Cargo Bay Two!"

Joey dove out of the way of the falling crates and rolled a safe distance away. "I just want to be friends. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" She crept through some of the crates until she found and opening just big enough for her to squeeze through with her target mere feet away from her. This was the chance she needed. Worming her way into it, with only an inch or two on either side of her to spare, she brought the Ka'Bar forward, then shoved it into his ankle and twisted.

The man didn't fall but he did cry out in pain as he brought one armored fist down on the crates she was hiding between and leaned forward, the weight starting to press the crates toward her. "When...I...get...my...hands...on...you!" he roared. "Where the hell is Security?!"

"Are you going to do naughty things to me?" Joey asked as she wiggled her way out of the crates before they came crashing down.

Meanwhile, the Andorian came to his feet and began to make his way towards the chaos, a phaser in his hands and his antenna testing the air currents and aiding him in his quest as he searched for who or whatever was in the cargo bay with them.

"Why don't you two want to play with me? It's no fun that this is all about to be so one sided." She raised the LRAD in her hand and activated it. "Sorry... not sorry." Then she pulled the trigger.

Now the big exoskeletoned guy collapsed against the crates as the sound waves deafened and disorientated him, a wordless cry escaping his lips.

The Andorian came around the end of the aisle just in time to see the other man collapse and fired his phaser without taking aim. The beam blasted a crate near her, sending fragments of it at her and a few small pieces embedded in her side.

Joey hissed when the shards bit into her side, blocking larger pieces with her arm. Oh, that definitely didn't feel pretty, and now her annoyance level was beginning to increase rapidly. "Finally... we're getting somewhere!" She was uncomfortable, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Phaser fire... that was something entirely different. Gripping the tip of the bloodied blade in her hand, she threw it at the Andorian man and launched herself at the downed man to tap his combadge to a ship wide channel and use the LRAD on everyone.

The Andorian gurgled and collapsed as the knife embedded itself in his throat, his antenna feebly moving as he tried to tap his combadge. It was his last movement before the deafening siren wail filled the ship the moment Joey activated the LRAD and the scene froze.

"Sei un pazzo, Corwin!" Camila called as she stepped out of a crate a few feet away from Joey. "I don't deny that you have skills, but you're crazy all the same. I love it. Would you like to take a break before we go on to levels nine and ten of the program?"

Corwin set the LRAD against a wall and placed her hands against her thighs as she took in a much needed breath. These were only simulated incidents, and she had a feeling that the real task was going to be nothing like what she was experiencing here. She looked toward Camila and cracked a smile. "A short one would be nice, though I know I'm not going to get that on the Chimera."

"You also aren't going to be going through simulation after simulation," Camila pointed out. "Odds are good that you may end up on another deck than the one you want with the sensors being unreliable, but you won't be bouncing around and facing a variety of situations like I'm tossing at you. By the way, what did you think of the cute guy with the towel around his waist?"

"Wherever I end up, I'll be prepared to deal with it. I've memorized the Intrepid class deck listing just so I know where I do end up when the time comes. I'm getting ready for what's to come to the best way I can, and the simulations are helping a bit, though, I know this is going to be nothing compared to the real thing. They're not trying to kill me," Joey said, gesturing to the frozen people lying on the ground. "As for the guy with the towel around his waist... he was attractive, but wanted to kill me, too. Boyfriend hits harder..." She shook her head.

"I thought I'd add insult to injury," Camila said about towel guy. "And the other simulations were just warm ups. Level nine and ten, they will be trying to kill you, but the phaser hits will only be simulated if they get you. Take five and get something to drink before we continue because you're going to be breathing harder than a newly minted crewman by the time it's over."

"I'm looking for to it, Chief." She grinned and moved over to the replicator to get some water. "Has Cooper asked to run any simulations yet?"

"No," Camila said. "I don't know if she's that confident in her abilities or she hasn't thought of it or what. She and I only meet for important things since she's on a different shift."

"It's one of the first things I thought of, just needed time where we were both available to do it," Joey said. "In situations like these where the odds are clearly against you, it can be a bit unnerving."

"It can," she agreed. "I brought up another alternative plan with the Captain and Executive Officer for the Romulan warbird, if there is one, but I'm really hoping we don't have to use it."

"Based on that, it's got to be something major. What's the plan?" Corwin asked.

"What it boils down to is if we can't prevent the Consortium from getting the rumored warbird and weapon, then no one gets it," Camila said.

"That's what all of this boils down to," The taller woman said. "The Consortium won't get their hands on the rumored warbird, weapon or the Black Hawk. It's our job to see to it that that never happens."

"A tri-cobalt will handle the warbird," Camila said quietly. "If it comes down to that."

Joey replayed what she'd just heard Camila say. "That would definitely handle it, and anything it might be hiding. We're in a situation where we have to utilize what we have, Chief, and if that means using what we have to our advantage, then that's what has to be done. If the Consortium get their hands on this rumored weapon, then that's game over. We've lost. Losing isn't an option."

"No, it isn't," Camila said. "Which is why after I prepared it, I went back to my quarters and proceeded to get drunker than I've ever been."

"I can't say that I blame you," Joey said, finishing off her water before she disposed of the glass it came in. "I plan to do that very thing the second I get back from the Chimera."

"Well, are you ready to get back to training?" Camila asked. "There's two more levels to go through. You've been successful in three scenarios. Let's see how well you hold out for the last two."

"I'm ready, and there's only one outcome for the remaining two levels." She cracked her neck and moved to retrieve the LRAD she'd set down moments ago. "It just so happens to be the same as the first three. Like I said... losing isn't an option."

"Initiating in three...two...one." Camila counted down as the scene changed again to the Auxiliary Computer Core Control of the Intrepid class ship and seven technicians were busy with it. Two immediately spotted her and one tapped his combadge. "Intruder alert in the Auxiliary Computer Core!" Three of the others immediately turned to her and began to rush her with two others began to launch data destruction codes.

Joey took in the scene around her. Oh, this was going to be fun. "Well... fancy seeing you guys here. I only need one volunteer. Any takers?" She watched three of them rush her and smiled. "Wow... I get three of you, huh? First one to me gets to be my number one." Pulling her phaser from her holster, she pointed it at the one in the middle, and since it was already set on wide beam, she was able to get all three people charging her. "That leaves you four. Who's feeling lucky?"

Of course, timing was of the essence, and she couldn't waste the precious seconds she had to get the job done. She ran toward to the three immobile bodies on the ground and slid for home, tapping the combadge on the chest of the closet one to her for a shipwide channel, then activated the LRAD.

Unfortunately, one of the technicians at the terminal had isolated the room from the other functions of the ships computer, which was required to open a channel to the rest of the ship. When she set the LRAD off, the ones who were within range of the device screamed and went down convulsing with their hands clapped to their ears, but the rest of the ship had been protected by the fast thinking technician.

"Oh, you sneaky bastard! I hope I haunt every last one of your dreams!" Before she jumped to her feet, Joey looked to the phaser in her hand, then glared at the only one of the seven still standing. "I guess that means you're my number one, doesn't it?" She let the LRAD hang from the strap that was crossed over her body and began to advance upon him. "I'll give you fifteen seconds to undo what he did, and I won't kill you. If you don't, I overload this phaser, and we all die. Do you want to call my bluff? Fifteen... fourteen... thirteen..."

"Go ahead," the technician said. "You still aren't going to get the data!" He immediately turned and took off for a side alcove and ducked around the corner of it.

"Oh, my sweet, dear, angelface. Please, come out. I don't have time to play your childish game of hide and seek. Not that it's much of one... I just watched you hide in that alcove," Joey said, moving toward the alcove he ducked into. "I'm not after your data. I'm after your combadge. Now... why not be a good little tech and do what I asked you to? It doesn't have to be this way, you know."

A combadge came flying out of the alcove and skittered across the floor. "There! You can have it. Now get out!" the reply came.

"You're wasting my time, dear heart. Come out and fix whatever the other tech did, and everyone lives. Don't you want to be the hero?" She asked, looking toward the door before she picked the combadge up. "If I wanted to kill you, you would have already been dead. I'm not the bad guy here. In fact... do what I ask, then I'll prove it to you. You've got to hurry, though."

"You stopped counting at thirteen, which means you aren't willing to die," the man replied. Meanwhile, Security arrived at the door and began to work the manual door open quietly from the hallway.

"Ugh... trying to cater to your sensitive side makes me feel so dirty," Joey said, giving a full body shudder. She reached into the alcove to grab the guy by his hair and pulled him from his hiding spot before pointing her phaser at his face. The look on her face spoke volumes. She was enraged. "We've got company, sweetcheeks, and since you didn't do what I asked you to, that means you just bought yourself a job as a shield. I'm not afraid to die. Are you?" The brunette woman kept her grip on his hair and moved him in front of her, then trained her phaser on the door in front of them.

The door opened and a man with the pips of a Lieutenant Commander stepped in with a phaser in his right hand and two other men in gold uniforms of Security behind him. He immediately fired and the crewman she was holding suddenly went limp as a sack of potatoes and a lot heavier. The other two officers had their phasers drawn as well and aimed at her as they moved out to his sides. "Drop the phaser and surrender peacefully. We can help you," he said.

"Funny... I'm here to help you, but you're all rats following your Pied Piper around like you have no cares in the world. You're working for the enemy, and you want to help me? I'm sorry, but I didn't wake up this morning and think... 'Gee... let's eat a bowl of stupid for breakfast.' Surrender isn't happening." It was a struggle, but Joey kept her human shield upright as she pulled the trigger on the three new people who just joined them.

Sure enough, the three Security men dropped and with the door open, she was free to go where she pleased.

When the three new officers went down, Joey ran toward them, pulling one of them with her until they were out in the corridor. From there, she tapped his combadge and activated the LRAD to send the soundwaves throughout the ship.

Again, the LRAD performed like a dream and personnel throughout the ship were disabled as the sound overloaded their systems they collapsed.

Once more the simulation ended and Joey found herself on the bridge of the ship. A Security officer immediately drew his phaser and several other crew headed for her from different directions, a red alert going off the moment she appeared. "Don't move!" The Executive Officer bellowed as he moved in front of the Captain to protect him.

Joey looked at the bridge offers charging toward her. You've got to be kidding me! Of all the places to end up! She took a deep breath. "This is where the party's supposed to be, right? Someone tell me I didn't get the time and place wrong. I really should get myself a secretary." She pulled her phaser out of its holster and set it to overload, tossing it in the direction of the view screen. Of course, this meant someone was going to have to back off of her to try to disable it before it blew.

As soon as she set the phaser to overload, an officer who had been behind her ran for it and grabbed it. He frantically worked on disarming it while the Captain came to his feet and pushed the XO aside. "I will not be protected on the bridge of my own ship!" He roared.

A second phaser was produced from behind her and set to overload along with the first. She held on to this one, though, backing up as she was approached. "Why can't we be friends?" She held the overloading phaser in one hand, and activated the LRAD with her other since it was hanging against her side crossbody style.

With the odd sound of the LRAD hitting the deck and bouncing around, the effects were muted and lessened to the degree that it would have. The whining warning of the second phaser set to overload, however, got more results and secondary officers started to evacuate the bridge. The Captain walked towards her with a glint in his eyes and stopped when he got three feet from her. "Young lady, officer, whoever you are. I highly suggest not killing yourself before you tell us why you're here or what you want." He held up a hand to prevent others from coming after her.

"I thought that was rather simple," Joey said, smiling at him as she raised the LRAD. "I've come for the cookies. Don't tell me there aren't any cookies." Still holding the overloading phaser in her free hand, she took another step back. There wasn't much time left before the big boom took place, taking all of them out in the process.

"Evacuate the bridge! Computer, transfer command to the battle bridge!" The Captain said as the whining of the phaser got louder. People began running for the turbolift and any exit the could reach quickly. At that moment, the first phaser she had thrown detonated and the simulation froze.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant," Camila said as she stepped out of the holographic ready room. "You just killed yourself and everyone on the bridge."

Joey looked toward Camila when she stepped out. "Yes, I know. That was the entire point. I'm not afraid to take myself out with the enemy if it comes down to it. Protecting the Black Hawk and her crew comes first. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few. I am the few in this situation."

Camila nodded. "Hopefully, it won't come down to that in the actual event when you board the Chimera," she said. "I don't want to be the one to get news like that for people in my department, especially ones like you."

"I have every intention of coming back alive, and while what you just saw is a plan I will set into motion, it's not one that I intend to use unless all other plans have been run through," Corwin stated. "And thank you."

"Are you going to tell me now the other plans you have?" Camila asked her.

"You know the other plans... to disable the crew. That's the entire purpose of this mission," The taller woman said, setting the LRAD down on the floor so she could remove the belt around her waist. "There are other plans as well, but as I told Captain Geisler..." Or Harvey. "I'm not disclosing that information in case I need to use it. I don't want anyone else being held liable for knowing ahead of time. He didn't ask me any questions."

"That's true, but as the Chief of Security, it would be my prerogative to ask you those questions and get answers," Camila said. "However, you are under orders not to blow yourself up if you can help it."

"I'm also under orders to return, so I'll see to it that I don't let anyone down," Joey said, thankful that Camila decided not to ask any further questions about her plans. She would tell if she was ordered to, but she wouldn't like it. "I appreciate you running through these simulations with me. It's made me feel a little better, but like I said, I doubt any of these will happen once I get over there. I'll be thinking on the fly as scary as that is."

"With your record, I don't think that would be a problem," Camila said. "Speaking of records, have you had a chance to meet Lieutenant JG Summers yet?"

Joey shook her head as she went to get more water. "No, I can't say that I have. Based on the way that you asked me that, she's either got a disciplinary record a mile long, or it's spotless with a lot of accomplishments. Which one is it?"

"A disciplinary record and list of demotions a mile long," Camila said. "She has a problem with authority, with working with others and actually attempted to end the meeting that I had requested with her before it was over. I put her on Delta Shift to run patrols with a partner at all times."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy trying to break her down. It certainly sounds like she needs it," The taller woman said as she took a sip of her water. Blowing one's self up was thirsty work. "You should talk to Cooper about her so she can be aware of what she'll be dealing with in the future."

"I'm going to have to," Camila said. "I did send a report to her. Is there anything else you wanted to go over here today?"

"No." Joey shook her head, then looked thoughtful. "Actually, there is. I'm supposed to get a message to Senior Chief Petty Officer Rasputin before I leave for the Chimera. I plan to deliver it personally, but in the event I can't, would you be willing to give it to her for me?"

"The Captain's Yeoman?" Camila asked, curious. "Why would you need to get a message to her?"

"She was really upset when she found out I was going to the Chimera. We've gotten close the past couple days, and I promised I would get a message to her before I left. The closer the time comes to leaving, the more unsure I am that I'll be able to get it to her myself," Corwin replied. "I don't want her to think I forgot."

"I'll let her know," Camila said. "It won't be a problem at all."

"Thank you. I'll get it to you as soon as I know what I want to say." Joey finished her water and disposed of that glass as well. "I suppose now the only thing left to do is go hit the gym. That's when I do my best thinking."

"Okay," Camila said, thinking about her lack of friends on the ship other than one or two, then shrugged it off. "I'll let you go for now, then. Have a good workout, Lieutenant."

"Thanks, and when I get back, we'll hang out. I'm sure I'm going to need a drink or twelve." With a smile, the taller woman made her way out of the training facility.

"See you, then," Camila said and shut down the simulation and saved the recording of it. Hopefully, it wouldn't be the last recording of the Lieutenant that ever happened on the Black Hawk, she thought as she finished shutting everything down. With a shake of her head, she headed out herself.

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