08-11-2026, 06:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-11-2026, 06:38 PM by Ethan Diaz.)
For the second time in as many days, Ethan was running late again. A shipwide announcement about a team-building exercise had gone out, so apparently it was another open-invitation event. There'd only been two instructions, and they were rather vague: dress for the outdoors and report to Holodeck 2, where the party had been held. For that reason, the midshipman spent a few more minutes than he probably should have deciding what to wear. Was this some kind of hiking excursion, perhaps? If that were the case, the arrangement suited Ethan just fine; he'd been on a few trips to northern California with some classmates during his academy days. It'd be nice to get back out in the wilderness again.
When he entered the holodeck, Ethan found himself in the exact same place as before: a luxurious sky bar overlooking lush forest valley (there was also unfortunately a sizable lake on the horizon). This time, however, the crowd and buffet tables were gone, and two shuttlecraft were actually parked outside--right there on the balcony--with their hatches open. Luckily for him, he didn't seem to be arriving too late. A small group was milling around the shuttles, apparently waiting to get started. Among them were a few familiar faces--Lieutenants Coppola and Young. He didn't recognize the rest, but they all seemed to know each other. Ethan was also relieved to see they had all dressed similarly to him, with all-terrain boots, insulated windbreakers, that sort of thing.
He made his way across the empty bar area and stepped through the glass doors that led out to the balcony. The others were gathered around none other than the XO--or rather, a hologram of the XO. Based on that, Ethan guessed this whole thing was probably her idea. He was debating whether or not he should introduce himself, but right as he took his place at the back of the group, the image of Commander Velaul began to speak.
It was a rescue mission, more or less--like the scenarios he used to run in his Surface Deployment Course. Ethan listened attentively as the hologram explained that Commander Talion, alongside the real Commander Velaul, were missing. Their last comm traffic had been tracked to a cave system several hundred feet deep that lay a few kilometers away.
"Our knowledge of the cave is limited," the holographic Velaul explained. "Approximately twenty kilometers inside, the main passage ends at a sheer cliff. We cannot determine its full depth, though scans indicate a substantial body of water at or near the bottom. Beyond that point, we have no actionable intelligence."
That last part made Ethan look up. You've gotta be kidding me.
Like any qualified Starfleet officer, Ethan obviously knew how to swim. Unlike most Starfleet officers, however, swimming made him incredibly nervous. More nervous than he cared to admit, in fact. It was obvious from the information included in the briefing that the team would be venturing all the way to the bottom too, so at least a portion of the team would be taking the plunge. Wonderful, Ethan thought bitterly. Just what he needed, holding up a simulated rescue operation.
The hologram continued on, adding that the group would be split into two extraction teams, and that each would be provided with standard field equipment and two all-terrain vehicles to aid in their mission. She also designated Lieutenant Coppola and a Lieutenant Mala as the team leaders. Once the program's briefing had finished, she simply stood there quietly, waiting for questions.
Lieutenant Coppola and his counterpart wasted no time getting started. One man was ordered into the shuttles to try to located the one used by Commanders Velaul and Talion. Lieutenant Mala got with some of the others and started saying something about drones and a scan of the area. All good ideas, of course--but the simple fact was that the point of the exercise was to actually go inside the cave, and for that, they needed gear.
First thing's first, Ethan thought. He went over to the second shuttle, entering through the rear hatch. Just as he thought, it was a suborbital expeditionary model, so the aft compartment had a row of seats on either side for an away team, with gear racks overhead holding backpacks. He opened one up and immediately sighed. There was a ton of stuff here, but the tents, climbing gear, and phasers stood out in particular. Tents meant they'd possibly be taking shelter somewhere for an extended period, possibly inclement weather too. Phasers--that could only mean hostiles were lurking about, and you just couldn't have a rescue mission without someone trying to kill you. The climbing gear confirmed his biggest worry though. They'd obviously be using this stuff to scale that cliff the hologram had mentioned, and that meant going into the water at the bottom. If their tricorders didn't work, then there'd be no knowing how deep it was, or if it was even safe to enter.
"Fantastic," Ethan muttered to himself.
== Hope I'm not too late to the party. Tag All. ==
When he entered the holodeck, Ethan found himself in the exact same place as before: a luxurious sky bar overlooking lush forest valley (there was also unfortunately a sizable lake on the horizon). This time, however, the crowd and buffet tables were gone, and two shuttlecraft were actually parked outside--right there on the balcony--with their hatches open. Luckily for him, he didn't seem to be arriving too late. A small group was milling around the shuttles, apparently waiting to get started. Among them were a few familiar faces--Lieutenants Coppola and Young. He didn't recognize the rest, but they all seemed to know each other. Ethan was also relieved to see they had all dressed similarly to him, with all-terrain boots, insulated windbreakers, that sort of thing.
He made his way across the empty bar area and stepped through the glass doors that led out to the balcony. The others were gathered around none other than the XO--or rather, a hologram of the XO. Based on that, Ethan guessed this whole thing was probably her idea. He was debating whether or not he should introduce himself, but right as he took his place at the back of the group, the image of Commander Velaul began to speak.
It was a rescue mission, more or less--like the scenarios he used to run in his Surface Deployment Course. Ethan listened attentively as the hologram explained that Commander Talion, alongside the real Commander Velaul, were missing. Their last comm traffic had been tracked to a cave system several hundred feet deep that lay a few kilometers away.
"Our knowledge of the cave is limited," the holographic Velaul explained. "Approximately twenty kilometers inside, the main passage ends at a sheer cliff. We cannot determine its full depth, though scans indicate a substantial body of water at or near the bottom. Beyond that point, we have no actionable intelligence."
That last part made Ethan look up. You've gotta be kidding me.
Like any qualified Starfleet officer, Ethan obviously knew how to swim. Unlike most Starfleet officers, however, swimming made him incredibly nervous. More nervous than he cared to admit, in fact. It was obvious from the information included in the briefing that the team would be venturing all the way to the bottom too, so at least a portion of the team would be taking the plunge. Wonderful, Ethan thought bitterly. Just what he needed, holding up a simulated rescue operation.
The hologram continued on, adding that the group would be split into two extraction teams, and that each would be provided with standard field equipment and two all-terrain vehicles to aid in their mission. She also designated Lieutenant Coppola and a Lieutenant Mala as the team leaders. Once the program's briefing had finished, she simply stood there quietly, waiting for questions.
Lieutenant Coppola and his counterpart wasted no time getting started. One man was ordered into the shuttles to try to located the one used by Commanders Velaul and Talion. Lieutenant Mala got with some of the others and started saying something about drones and a scan of the area. All good ideas, of course--but the simple fact was that the point of the exercise was to actually go inside the cave, and for that, they needed gear.
First thing's first, Ethan thought. He went over to the second shuttle, entering through the rear hatch. Just as he thought, it was a suborbital expeditionary model, so the aft compartment had a row of seats on either side for an away team, with gear racks overhead holding backpacks. He opened one up and immediately sighed. There was a ton of stuff here, but the tents, climbing gear, and phasers stood out in particular. Tents meant they'd possibly be taking shelter somewhere for an extended period, possibly inclement weather too. Phasers--that could only mean hostiles were lurking about, and you just couldn't have a rescue mission without someone trying to kill you. The climbing gear confirmed his biggest worry though. They'd obviously be using this stuff to scale that cliff the hologram had mentioned, and that meant going into the water at the bottom. If their tricorders didn't work, then there'd be no knowing how deep it was, or if it was even safe to enter.
"Fantastic," Ethan muttered to himself.
== Hope I'm not too late to the party. Tag All. ==