Recertifying--More or Less (part 4)

Posted on Sun Feb 10th, 2019 @ 2:30am by Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde & Lieutenant Commander Jason Smoak
Edited on on Sun Feb 10th, 2019 @ 2:32am

1,683 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Ghost of a Chance: Epilogue
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: [BACKPOST]

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

The first challenge was simple. Two guards and a dimly lit corridor just around the corner. Jason followed behind her, curious as to what she would do and how she would fair through the whole thing. He didn't make it difficult, and had no intention of wanting her to fail, but he still remain curious.

[NEW]

Jayde walked silently through the door, careful to make no noise to alert anyone inside. She paused and listened. There was someone just around the corner. She carefully made her way to the wall and listened. Two someones. Male. She would need to get past them without attracting further attention.

For this, she would not need her staff. She slipped it onto her belt. Now, a slow approach or a surprise? No, she didn't want to give them time to call for help.

She turned around the corner and, before either had a chance to do more than look at her, took one down with a Vulcan Nerve Pinch and the other with a quick kick to the head. She made sure both slipped quietly to the floor, made sure they'd be out for a while, removed their weapons, and continued on.

Jason shook his head slightly before slipping his phaser into its holster. He let out a bit of a smirk before whispering. "If I was grading on style, that would be a bonus, but its not. Let's move on to the next one door.

She gave him a nod and moved on.

The door led to a set of stairs that went upwards and eventually to another door. They were not in a narrow corridor which ended at a door. "Uh oh. It's a door. Spooky." He whispered, trying to add a bit of humor and at least manage a smile out of her. "I wonder what's on the other side. Maybe you should open it, but how do you know its not a pair of phasers pointed to it? What's your move, First Officer?"

She didn't rise to his bait, but she did give him a sideways glance as she walked silently to the door. It was good practice for her. Once again, she listened at the door. Several people. There was more movement, so it was harder to determine the exact number. She could do this the quick and easy way, or have some fun. She decided on quick and easy. She pulled out her phaser and set it to wide-range stun.

With phaser in hand, she opened the door and swept the room, stunning everyone.

"One more door before the boss fight." Jason said softly. He was hiding his emotions from her, blocking it the way he was taught, so it was tough to get a read on him now. With a slight sigh he gestured to the door at the end of the room. "After you, Commander."

Jayde glanced at him and nodded. She had to keep focused and not let him distract her. It wasn't that she was concerned about the re-certification, or that she wanted to prove anything. She didn't. She was testing herself, gauging her performance against what she knew she could do.

She again walked to the door, careful with each step so she didn't make a board squeak or step on anything that would make a noise. At the door, she again listened, closing her eyes so she could concentrate. Her task was to get in and free the victim without letting anyone get away or call for help.

Jason followed, watching her every move. He let out another sigh until they finally reached the last door. He tapped on her shoulder and pointed to the door, which held a camera on the outside. They were far enough from its view to not be detected, but it was in a position that anyone approaching the door would be spotted. "How are you going to get out of this one?"

The camera had not gone unnoticed. She was examining the room.

Jason sighed, sitting on the floor and resting his back against a wall. He leaned his head back and just waited for her to move, slipping his phaser out to turn it off before placing it back in his holster. He thought maybe, after all this, if it would be best to go to the holodeck and surf the waves. Get all this out of his mind and relieve some stress.

Jayde glanced at Jason. If this were a real situation and not a test, she'd ask him for help, but she was being tested on how she got through the scenario. She looked at the ceiling again, then walked around the edge of the room, outside of camera range, and stopped just before she reached the door.

Jason saw her advance and got back up. He leaned against the wall and watched her curious, wondering how she would handle the situation. As far as re-certification she was passing, but she was failing in another area entirely or maybe it was just his wishful thinking and grasping at too much. He crossed his arms over his chest, his phaser still tucked in his holster, as he observed. Fighting the temptation to trigger the alarm, just to see what she would do.

She was torn between opening the door and stunning everyone, thus completing the "mission" or testing out the rod Jason gave her. The temptation to see what it could do was too great. She extended the staff, opened the door, and stepped inside.

It took her a moment to assess the situation, the guards, and the victim. She took out the first two guards with the staff, then spun around and knocked the weapon out of a third opponent's hand while knocking a fourth back against the wall.

Jason stayed quiet and observed. He raised a brow at the approach before lowering his hand to his phaser, remembering the safeties were off.

The two guards that where hit with the staff were knocked out, while the third was disoriented. The fourth was knocked back to the wall but soon regained his composure and lunged at her. The fifth, and last one, held victim close to himself while placing the disruptor to her head.

Jason threw his hand out, forcing the third ones weapon to slide across the ground and further away, before balling up his fist and slamming it against his face. He felt a bit of satisfaction, having finally done something, but it was too little to late, before he focused his attention back on the situation.

Jayde grabbed the hand holding the disruptor and moved it away from the hostage's head and used a Vulcan Nerve Pinch to take him out.

The guard who lunged at her drew his fist and cracked her across the face while her focus was on the man with the hostage. When she hit the ground he picked up a phaser and aimed it at her, before turning it on the hostage and firing.

"Stop program." Jason said quickly as the scene froze in front of them. He walked over to her and held out his hand. "Come on."

She put her hand in his. "It would appear that I failed your test." She should have stunned everyone. But that staff was a joy to use.

"Until there, you were actually doing pretty well, minus a few mistakes." Jason replied as he helped her up and walked away with a sigh. "Tell me. Where did you screw up?"

"This was not an assignment for one person alone. A team should have gone in. But the re-certification was set for one person alone. And I should not have given in to my own desire to try out the staff you gave me. If I had gone with my instinct, I would have stunned everyone in the room and thus freed the hostage."

"That is one interpretation, and stunning the room would have given you an easy way, but since when has stunning the hostage been a better strategy? Plus, you had no way of knowing if she was rigged with some kind of fail safe which would prevent or threaten her life due to it." Jason replied as he walked toward the desk and leaned against it. "I know I don't have to say this, because it should be something you should know already, but until you walked in that door your instincts is all you had to rely on and you used them well, up until the end." He paused a bit before adding. "And, you're right, it wasn't an assignment for one person, but I never said it was just for you did I? I was there with you and allowed you the lead from the moment we started, even telling you before it started, I would be there for you. Despite our differences, that has never changed. You choose to do this all by yourself. This scenario wasn't about just re-certification. If it were just that, you nailed it, even with the way it ended. This was about see if you were ready to work with me. That's something, as the new Chief Sec., I need to know. And before you accuse me of setting you up to fail, pay attention, because I gave you ever sign I would be by your side. If this was a solo thing I would never have grabbed a phaser, given you a staff that has nothing to do with your re-certification, or have told you several time you had the lead." He paused for a moment and stopped leaning off the table and walked to the frozen man with the phaser. He fought the urge to him him. "This can happen. It has happened and I don't want to see it repeat itself, Jayde. To you it was just a test, but to some, its truth."

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Commander Jason Smoak
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Hyperion

Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde
Executive Officer
USS Hyperion

 

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