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Post by Naois Mercy on Mar 18, 2009 4:52:56 GMT
Naois sighed; he had hoped to spend his shoreleave with his wife, but again apparently this was not to be. The half-Vulcan, half-Human academy commandant strode into his renovated office, which smelled of fresh paints and carpets. The desk too, was brand new after the previous one had been destroyed along with the rest of his office. Promising Valeia that he would make things quick, he settled at his desk, waiting for the new marine cadet to report in.
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Mar 20, 2009 18:36:07 GMT
Noises from the office beyond the door told Peractio that the Commandant, or somebody at least, was present in their office. It was time to report in.
He approached the door, his eager feelings involving this adventure punctuated by just a little nervousness. He efficiently depressed the chime, informing the Commandant that someone wished to enter his domain. Peractio heard a muffled sound of acknowledgment and walked through the door, sliding back to admit him.
"3rd Lieutenant Dacian Peractio, reporting for duty, Captain." Dacian snapped to attention in front of his superior officer, whose rank he had rapidly identified as soon as he entered. Part of the job: search, identify.. 'take care of'. The life of a marine was not always what he had wanted, but he reckoned it would suffice. Perhaps it was the will of his parents that he had eventually caved to and learned to be content with, perhaps it was his already respectable experience in the field..
Peractio's previous combat service had been in the Earth Civil Defence Unit; he'd specialised as an engineer in a combat unit of soldiery, consisting of volunteers and part timers mainly, but with the customary sprinkling of 'hardened veterans' full of spontaneous cliches. The work of an engineer ran in the family somewhat, Peractio had needed to do something different though, just to be able to boast of some diversity within the genes.
Blakus Peractio studied the Commandant carefully, pondering loosely on what he would say but more interested in the man himself, sitting at his desk, and probably mutually analysing his new Cadet before issuing a response.
Peractio did not mind, for it had not been long since he'd last spoke; the Commandant could take all the time he needed to assess him. Of course he would find the Cadet nothing less than spotless in character and appearance. Peractio's perfectly neat, green Federation Marine Core uniform and his flawless demeanour in the presence of superiors; just some of the traits he considered he had in abundance!
<Naois>
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Post by Naois Mercy on Mar 20, 2009 20:06:58 GMT
For a long time, the Vulcan studied his cadet, saying absolutely nothing. It was testing the young man's patience, but if Naois was good at anything, it was testing someone's patience. His experience as a counselor told him that this young man took his job very seriously even though it appeared he'd rather be elsewhere.
He rose to his feet and approached the cadet. "At ease lieutenant," he ordered, "I will not have my cadet injured on his first training day."
Naois walked around the cadet, studying him further. Yes, his dress was impeccable, even his grooming. He was willing to bet that even the youngster's bed was made such that a tiny ball could be bounced off it. "Why are you here?" he suddenly asked, as he returned to his seat, offering Dacian the vacant seat at the opposite side of his desk. "I have this feeling that you would rather not be here, is that true?"
He raised his hand. "Before you answer, I should tell you that I do not doubt your dedication, or your suitability. However I do question your presence." He paused. "I may be the academy commandant, but I am also a trained counselor. It is my job to observe. Not only have I the command of the academy, I am also assigned as counselor aboard the USS Dark Phoenix, which will be your next assignment, upon graduation. Before that, however I shall put you through a tough training program."
The Vulcan paused, realising he would need K'Nara's permission to use the holodeck, as he belatedly rememberd they were off-limits to him due to his struggle with his own mortality. "Are there any fears I should be aware of?" he finally asked, "any allergies I should take into account?"
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Mar 22, 2009 15:20:22 GMT
The Commandant stood and approached Dacian, he told him he could be at ease.
Peractio relaxed his posture but not his face, he kept the same stoic expression. "Yes, sir," he said, secretly grateful for the break. The Captain was a Vulcan. Peractio hadn't noticed that at first. He'd seen that his face had an angular look about it.. it just had not occurred to him until he'd seen his ears. The Cadet smiled inside, he didn't have much experience with Vulcans.
"Why are you here?" the Commandant asked out of the blue, offering him a seat. Before Peractio could give him the obvious response the Vulcan elaborated, "I have this feeling that you would rather not be here, is that true?"
Dacian shifted a little, feeling uncomfortable that his shield was seen through so easily. He took the proferred seat and watched as the Commandant reseated himself. Peractio opened his mouth to give his answer but was stopped.
The Cadet desperately wanted to get his reply in, it irked him a little that the Vulcan wanted to reassure him that his dedication and suitability was not questioned, even though Dacian actually wanted that reassurance. "... Before that, however I shall put you through a tough training program."
"Sir," Peractio said, "I am here to complete my training as a Federation marine. It is true that a Starfleet training facility was not my favoured choice, I will not lie about that; but considering, as you say sir, I am to serve on a Starfleet ship, you have my word that I am fully focussed on completing this training course. No matter how tough."
Captain Mercy seemed satisfied and asked, as if it were an after-thought, whether Peractio had any phobias or allergies. Peractio shook his head, "No, sir."
Again the Commandant nodded and rose from his seat, preparing to conduct the training. Dacian steeled himself. Only a fear of failure... he thought sadly.
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Post by Naois Mercy on Mar 23, 2009 20:35:13 GMT
"The idea of a training scenario is to face your fears, in part, and learn to deal with them," Naois explained, in part since he picked up on the cadet's unease. "Do you have a preference to a particular scene or scenario?"
He handed the cadet a list of possible scenario's, while he moved off to give him a moment to himself. He tapped his combadge and had a brief conference with Captain Corval to gain permission to use the holodeck. "My commanding officer also has a few scenario's you may wish to consider."
The Vulcan handed his cadet a second PADD, showing several Klingon combat scenario's. "I must advise you that the safeties will be on full at all times. I shall not risk the both of us to a real danger, that will come soon enough when you board the Phoenix, trust me."
He faced the young Human. "What, do you hypothesise, is my worst fear?" he asked, staring down at the seated cadet. "A Vulcan captain, training many cadets, married to a chief medical officer, and dealing with troubled people many times a day in the capacity of ship's counselor." The truth was, Naois had given his greatest fears little thought as of late. He was eager to find out whether a marine would be perceptive enough to learn, and use it to his own advantage in order to protect him.
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Mar 27, 2009 14:45:28 GMT
Peractio took the PADD from Captain Mercy's outstretched hand. He scanned through the descriptions of each one (a paragraph with an accompanying image of the setting, a holographic projection). There were several combat scenarios, a few protection ones, a couple of infiltrations... the list went on. There was something about them though, something a bit too.. docile. Clean and technical yes, he admired those things, but lacking in something. Dacian was sure they were tough, he just wanted something marginally greater in its level of difficulty and rawness, he supposed.
He went to the bottom of the PADD, hoping irrationally that the varying types of training scenario increased in difficulty level as he scanned down. Of course they would not, Starfleet did not allow methods for cadets to trick their way through training, whether that was for Federation marines or Starfleet officers. All these scenarios represented the bare minimum of practical training that was required.
The mention of Klingon scenarios and the new PADD that was thrust his way made Dacian's eyes light up, of which the renewed fiery twinkling did not diminish as he looked down at the PADD's contents. This was more like it. Brutal, dark scenarios teeming with Klingon warriors, all of which ignored the mutual peace between the Federation and their cousins with the ridged-brows. Out of the many raw, dark scenarios that were presented on the screen, one caught the 3rd Lieutenant's eye in particular.
"This one is to my liking. It meets my requirements, desires, if you will." He said to the Commandant, handing him back the PADD and pointing to the scenario, The Fortress of Kh'Hurgh virL: Darker than Death or Night. "A rather arty title, is it not, Captain?" said Dacian. Mercy took the PADD back. While Dacian had been revelling in the scenarios and commenting on their titular curiosities he had missed the part on the holodeck safeties.
"What, do you hypothesise, is my worst fear?" the Commandant asked Peractio, "A Vulcan captain, training many cadets, married to a chief medical officer, and dealing with troubled people many times a day in the capacity of ship's counselor."
Dacian considered this. The answer could be anything, not necessarily the least or most obvious response would be the correct one. He decided to throw an answer out after a quick stream of thought led him to one of many possible conclusions, but one he thought had a fair chance. Despite his want to get on with the training scenario, Dacian really hoped he was correct. "Perhaps a fear of one day having nothing to do, Captain?"
Before much longer, the two were heading for the holodeck. Dacian was eager to get started, to dig his teeth into whatever this scenario had to offer in terms of demand of martial skill. Enthusiasm, Blakus? he heard a voice ask inside him. It seems you're not minding Starfleet training after all..
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Post by Naois Mercy on Mar 30, 2009 7:56:32 GMT
Naois shook his head as he read through the scenario the cadet had selected. It was going to be difficult, with the safeties on full, but it wasn't impossible. He would just have to take great care not to get hurt. He smiled wryly to himself, wondering how he was going to explain this to Valeia. "No, that is not my greatest fear," he corrected, "surviving my students is my greatest fear. I have been in accidents where my students were killed, and I survived, against all odds. I fear my own mortality."
He handed the PADD back. "Get settled and meet me at the holodeck in an hour. The program will provide the weapons you need."
The Vulcan watched his student go, then opened a channel to the Dark Phoenix. "Captain, I have a cadet who selected one of your training programs, I need your permission to use it on the holodeck." He was following the orders given, and would not deviate from them. Much.
An hour later, dressed in a simple black suit, Naois entered the holodeck and was immediately struck by the intense heat. "Ready?" he asked his cadet, taking the bat'leth that was hanging on a rockface. "First, we shall practice this weapon, before engaging an enemy. I admit, I am not used to this weapon, I prefer a phase rifle."
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Mar 30, 2009 20:10:48 GMT
Dacian did the very best to ignore the doubting voice in his head.. the one telling him that he cared for the Starfleet training program more than he would like to admit. A marine was what he wanted to be, and the marine core was not truly attached to Starfleet; they did not use Starfleet ranks and it was a true military organisation, unlike the strange infusion that was Starfleet.
They neared the holodeck, Dacian Peractio rubbed at his chin, feeling the smoothness now that he'd shaved off the stubble during his settling-in hour. He'd taken a water-shower too, had used the time to relax. He'd shut his eyes and rested his forehead against the wall of the showering compartment, trying to find some peace in his mind while accepting the feeling of the rhythmic pounding of high-speed droplets of liquid, as they beat off his shoulders and head.
He'd visualised the training program that was ahead of him. He remembered thinking that it would undoubtedly be different to what he expected, although hopefully not too divergent from what he hoped it to be.
They arrived, the Vulcan Captain immediately asking for the scenario to be run and tapping some key commands on the panel by the door. The holodeck's door rolled back and the two entered. Past the sudden wave of heat that washed over and coursed around him, making his skin tingle with a burning sensation that made him sweat, Dacian noticed first the dark, foreboding fortress off in the distance, over a narrow and natural rocky bridge. Dacian imagined that the chasm which the bridge passed over was impossibly deep, and that the blackness therewithin would put even the obsidian of the night's sky to shame.
The sky was a sick mixture of red and brown. Giant roiling clouds, that were likely poisonous with sulphur and all means of noxious gases, billowed and churned overhead, partially blocking off the light of a bright, blood red sun. The ground was ashen and dark, the grit of it was hard underfoot and it owed to the barren nature of the place. Dacian did not want to touch it with bare skin, for fear of being burnt. Still, despite the hellish environment of this program he did not regret the choice. It was all part of the challenge, and it filled him with a burning desire to see his training through.
"First, we shall practice this weapon, before engaging an enemy." Dacian turned around, momentarily startled by the voice. It was the Commandant of course, picking up a Bat'leth that was perched against the rockface to their right. "I admit, I am not used to this weapon, I prefer a phase rifle," the Vulcan said.
"Yes, there is a cleanliness, a technical simplicity to a phaser is there not?" Dacian said, an appreciative but slightly cheeky grin on his face. "Is there a Bat'leth for me, sir?" A Klingon weapon was passed his way and Peractio took it. He felt its weight, swung it to and fro and tried out a couple of basic cutting moves. Despite his bravado, the Cadet had to admit that he too did not have much experience with the weapon. He'd tried it before but not for long. Luckily however, he was finding the knowledge of how to use it returning very quickly as he performed a simple cut-and-slice combination move, well away from the Captain of course.
"How are your sparring skills, sir?" Dacian asked boldly as he completed an even more complex move; he was starting to feel the confidence surging through him, he felt it as he went through every routine, and he beamed with the immense pleasure at his success and the egotistic pride it gave him as he executed a very graceful twist, ending with a low slicing swing of the Bat'leth that would have cut up an opponent's legs. Another time, he knew that move would have looked clumsy and choppy, and the frustration it would've caused him would be equal in measure to his ecstatic feelings of the moment.
"I feel I'm ready for a holographic Klingon, Captain."
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Post by Naois Mercy on Apr 1, 2009 19:24:37 GMT
"Is this your first time with a bat'leth?" the Vulcan queried, clearly appreciative of the cadet's skill with it. He still felt clumsy, even though he had persuaded K'Nara to show him once. It had, in effect, only been once, and no second time had followed. "My sparring skills, in general, are up to par. Show me what you can do."
He held up his own weapon, awaiting the young man's attack. After losing several feet of ground, he nodded. "You are ready."
The program moved on, a quick narrative followed: Player, you are part of the House of Klaa and are fulfilling the rite of revenge against a senior member of the House of Kh'Hurgh who killed your brother. It is heavily guarded and you are going in to revenge him in the middle of the night. In an added twist. Kh'Hurghs daugher is secretly pregnant by your brother and its your honor to rescue her also.
"Interesting," Naois commented dryly. "Are you ready cadet? I will be the house member, your task is to see to it that we get our revenge. There will be traps aplenty, so keep a watch for them. I assure you, there will be several physical challenges as well, and obviously we need to assasinate our assassin."
He hefted the weapon uneasily, then raced up the steps to the fortress, pushing against the heavy iron gates which moaned when they swung open. Almost immediately, he jumped back, narrowly avoiding the slashing motion of a dk'tagh. He could not avoid a second slash, which scored his arm. "Now!" he called back, charging forward, making his best use of his weapon.
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Apr 3, 2009 20:44:55 GMT
The large and intimidating metal gates swung open, the sound of its slow revealing of the darkness beyond akin to the low howl of some captive beast, restricted, imprisoned. Dacian peered into the blackness, of which the shade seemed deeper than absence of light itself. He knew the rest of the fortress sat above that darkness, expanding up and back, it was just one part of the whole, which made it seem all the more frightening.
He steeled himself and glanced at Mercy, who'd took it upon himself to be the member of the House of Klaa who was to avenge his brother. The Commandant took a step forward but instantly had to step back. Dacian saw the flash of steel, glinting hellish red, reflecting with the colour of the sky. He saw the hand holding the Dak'tagh, and barely visible in the shadows behind, the uncertain figure of its bearer as it moved forward, slashing viciously with its dagger. "Now!" Mercy ordered as he was cut on the arm, Dacian leapt into action.
He took one momentary step back and raised his bat'leth over his head, then he leapt forward bringing the weapon crashing down upon the skull of the stunned holographic Klingon. The edge of the weapon struck hard but the solidness of the Klingon still provided enough stopping power to loosen Peractio's grip. He nearly dropped the Bat'leth just as he'd dropped his target, and that put him in a bad situation as two more Klingons sprung upon him and the Commandant.
The marine cadet managed to regain a good grip and swung his weapon up into the abdomen of his latest assailant. The grunt of pain and surprise satisfied Peractio as he watched his victim double over and fall to the ground, but the marine couldn't revel in his recovery for long as he had to duck to avoid decapitation from the other Klingon. He avoided losing his head or any of his hair as he dipped his head and spun away, his feet wide-spread to keep his centre of gravity low and thus stay well balanced. As he turned back to the target, the Captain dispatched him with a solid hit on the thorax and the warrior fell to the ground.
Dacian scanned the area, looking around, and up at the dark battlements just visible through small holes in the dark brick roof of the gatehouse area. They were in, successfully through the first section and almost wholly intact. "Are you alright, sir?" he asked Mercy, "You were hit." He looked with partial concern at the grazed arm of the Academy Commandant.
They moved on, passing along and eventually up through the fortress. From how the place was constructed and the direction of which their enemies came from, Peractio and Mercy deduced that the member of the House of Kh'Hurgh was somewhere high up in the fortress, probably guarded by his best men, now that he knew those from Klaa's House had come for their revenge. Dacian looked back and saw something that wasn't there before; following him and the Captain were a host of Klingons, all bearing the mark of Klaa's House. The fighting host moved with them in dour silence, all with a deathly swagger and ready to avenge the 'Commandant's' brother.
Peractio kept himself fully aware as they passed through the dark of the structure. It was lighter in places yes, where a torch or brazier lit a passage way but in the black places where it was easy just to pass through, he stayed alert, looking out for any hidden dangers that his trainer had alluded to. He wondered if Kh'Hurgh's House was particularly adept in deception, either way, there would be many traps that could be fallen into, he'd have to be careful. It was easy to get carried away in a situation like this where the safeties were on, and he had his enemy at his fingertips, ready to get to grips with without fear of serious injury. He'd have to prove he was not using that as a fall-back, had to prove that he was taking care to conserve himself and the rest of his forces, if he was to progress past this training scenario.
After ascending a stony and uneven spiral stairway they came out on to the entrance of a slightly more regal-looking hall. Deep-red flooring the colour of this world's sun carpeted the place, and many torches were set upon the walls, between which were giant tapestries, depicting a great many battles won and glories achieved by the House of Kh'Hurgh. Again, keeping his eyes peeled, Dacian took point, leading the attack force across the middle of the hall to a black entrance on the other side.
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Post by Naois Mercy on Apr 6, 2009 19:33:44 GMT
Naois' sharp hearing picked up a whizzing sound and he forcefully shoved Blakus aside, diving into a roll himself, thereby narrowly avoiding a razorsharp disk that would've decapitated them both. When both men hit the floor, it seemed to shift and they tumbled down a shaft that seemed endless.
After a dizzying ride, they landed in a large pile of dust surrounded by bones. "Well, at least we appear to be inside," Naois murmured, dusting his clothing off. "Are you all right?"
The Vulcan looked around, chargined to note that he had lost possession of his bat'leth. He was, however, pleased to discover it had landed not far away, standing upright and with the pointed edge stuck in a large skull. Quickly he crossed over and pulled his weapon from it's unfortunate stand. "We should keep moving," he suggested. His face was a little scraped and the cut on his arm had bled again.
"Something is wrong, the safeties are on full, yet I was blooded." Yet he didn't want to ruin the thrill of the program, but since he knew K'Nara was monitoring, he had to do it anyway. "Computer, verify safety level 100%"
= verified = the computer replied evenly = holodeck safety levels are at 100% =
"Run diagnostic"
= Diagnostic in progress.....diagnostic completed, holodeck safeties are operative =
"Odd.." He nodded towards what appeared to be a hatch. "We should try that."
OFF note: there is a glitch in the safeties due to a manual subroutine diagnostic elsewhere on the station. The actual safety setting is 80%
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Apr 9, 2009 14:33:08 GMT
"Are you alright?" the Commandant asked Dacian.
Dacian stood, looking about himself. He pulled a finger bone out of the sleeve of his uniform; apart from that little curiosity he was fine. He nodded at the Captain, "I am intact." The marine cadet zoned out while the Vulcan frowned and checked the operating level of the holodeck safeties. Dacian told himself passively that it did not matter to him what the safety level was. He would not be hurt, he would not fall.. certainly not here on the training scenario.
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision of the dust that was beginning to settle; the two had disturbed a large quantity of it as they had barrelled through the hidden trap into this forsaken pit-chamber. Dacian tried to remember how it happened, it was so fast; he knew now that there had been a razor-wheel that he hadn't heard or even seen.
Such failure to detect immediate danger would not happen again, if he could help it. "Odd.. we should try that." The Commandant said. He had found a small hatch at the side of the room, wide and tall enough to be crawled through or even traversed through in a crouch - although that method would cause a certain measure of discomfort.
"Let us try that indeed," Peractio stated in agreement. He tried to move the hatch but the ancient-looking handle would not pull so that the hatch could be made ajar. Peractio stopped, stood back and kicked the hatch through. It broke with an almighty crack of suddenly splintering wood. Mercy raised an eyebrow, Peractio ignored him and moved through.
It continued as a crawlspace on the other side for about ten metres or more, at the end of which it opened out into a wider, more common corridor, the style of which Dacian was learning consisted of dark wooden planking for the roof and parts of the wall and hard, roughly cut black stone for the rest, with many torches set into the walls. The Cadet stopped and assessed their situation. Yes, they had escaped from the trap, but too easily. He wondered what else this simulation had in store if it would give the player a second chance such as this. And of course, there was the whole disadvantage of having to make their way up through the fortress again, to link up with the rest of the attack force (safety in numbers) and to find this Klingon fellow who had the House of Klaa so riled and generally displeased.
A minute later the two of them were brought to a confusing and uneasy halt. The corridor had ended.. but not on a room or anything similar, not even with a blank wall, it had stopped with a seemingly bottomless pit. Looking across and keeping his eyes off of the deep shade of the vertigo-inducing pit in the ground, Dacian could see another corridor, resuming just as it would if there was no hole. The roof continued across at normal height as well. All they had to do was get across without dropping into the cavernous depths. They could not go back, for there had been only one route out of the previous trap, and this was it.
Dacian looked at the pit a while longer and then at Mercy, he searched for clues but he knew the Commandant would not have that much of an idea either. What was to be done? That was when he saw the length of rope on the ground. Dacian did not know what to make of this program, recently it had taken a turn for the ridiculous.. he longed to have opponents to test his fighting prowess with the Bat'leth on again. Still he longed to succeed, and would do whatever it took to make it through the Starfleet/Klingon training program and become a Federation marine.
He lifted the long, thick rope from the ground and looked at Mercy, raising his eyebrows at their situation and asking for a hand in lifting the rope. This called for some creative and careful thinking.
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Post by Naois Mercy on Apr 11, 2009 13:42:49 GMT
"I am as familiar with this program as you are cadet," Naois responded to what he presumed to be an unasked question. "You picked this program, which belongs to Captain Corval. Since I am not permitted to use the holodeck outside training sessions, I had no knowledge of the existance of this program." He gave a very Human shrug as he stared at the pit.
"The rope might be of some use, were it not that we have nothing to tie it with. Or do you propose to tie it to one of us, and then try to jump across?" The Vulcan sat up and promptly banged his head against the top of the tube. "Not enough room," he concluded, "how wide is the gap? Can we chance inching past the side?"
~
It took a long time and some clever maneuvering but eventually, the duo got across. A long crawl later and they came out a hatch, promptly facing half a dozen six-and-a-half feet tall Klingons, all armed with bat'leth's. "I believe you wanted a battle," Naois remarked dryly, as he kicked the nearest warrior over his chest-plate, where he knew the armour was weakest. The Klingon fell in surprise and Naois grabbed his weapon, tossing his additional dagger to Dacian. "Remember your role!" he called, as another two Klingons dove on top of him.
The Vulcan fought to the best of his abilities, feeling one weapon pass through him as it should per holodeck safeties, but another scored him painfully across his left thigh. Panting for breath, he tried to concentrate in the battle, but he knew he had to watch for his barely trained cadet as well.
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Apr 20, 2009 12:19:54 GMT
The chasm had taken a frustratingly long time to pass over, and the knowledge that it was only a holographic projection had made it all the more annoying; Dacian strangely found himself having to resist the temptation to have the computer shift them to the other side of the deep pit.
Soon after as they exited the area through a hatch, more Klingons were upon them. Both the Commandant and the marine cadet fought furiously, having to fight off Klingon after Klingon that came at them from the shadows. Dacian found that he could handle most opponents when they came one by one; even though they were accurate simulations of deadly Klingon warriors, the pseudo-defensive position that the two of them held gave them the advantage.
Dacian saw the Commandant get slashed across the thigh, but that mysterious occurrence did not filter through its meaning to his brain, as he was now beset with three Klingons at once. Seeing this, the Commandant threw him his dagger which Peractio caught gratefully. Instantly he spun around, ducked and swung the dagger into his nearest opponent whom let out an exaggerated grunt of pain; with his other hand he managed to manipulate the Bat'leth successfully albeit clumsily into the chest of another Klingon.
Unfortunately this left Peractio powerless to deal with the third. He did manage to turn to face the warrior but was not quick enough to do anything. The warrior swung his uncommon Mek'leth blade at the human in a motion that was intended to decapitate him. Shocked and unable to do anything, Dacian simply closed his eyes and was surprised when, upon opening them, he found that his head was still attached to his body. The blade had passed through his neck and not made contact with any of his molecules... It took him a couple of seconds to figure out that it was because of the safeties, just before he dispatched the stunned Klingon with a backhand swipe of the Bat'leth.
This revelation made the mysterious event of the Commandant's injury shoot its meaning through, at last, to the reasoning part of his brain. The flow of warriors that had come their way had stopped for now, so Dacian checked the injury to his trainer. "Commandant, this cut is quite deep. I am surprised the safeties did not protect you from this attack," he said, confusion contorting his normally neutral facial expression. His mention of the safeties made him feel his neck, where the Mek'leth had passed through leaving his body unscathed. It was an eerie feeling that he did not wish repeated.
Before either of them could contemplate this further, another half-dozen Klingons leapt upon Mercy's position. Remembering his role as one of the Commandant's protectors at last, Dacian leapt in the way, raising his Bat'leth laterally to deflect the heavy downward blows directed at the Vulcan's cranium. The power of six blades bouncing off his knocked Dacian to his knees, he felt his wrists pounding with the pain as if they had been crunched up by the multiple hits.
He hit the hard, stony surface and only then noticed the slightly more regal clothing of the Klingon warriors in front of him. They had maroon-coloured robes along with their customary armour. Peractio figured they must be drawing nearer to the enemy's leader, these were likely bodyguards of some sort. Now he had to get back on his feet, lest the next beheading blow was not averted by the quirks of holotechnology.
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Post by Naois Mercy on Apr 24, 2009 18:13:36 GMT
"Your surprise equals mine Mr Peractio," Naois replied as he too leapt to his feet. The two officers fought bravely, even though they were sorely outnumbered, they managed to dispatch with their enemy eventually.
The Vulcan limped up the marble steps of the fortress, his dagger dripping with blood from the conquered Klingons. "We are close now," he insisted, "that were the personal guard of the head of house. Keep close to me."
Naois managed to climb the flight of stairs unassisted, though Peractio stayed close enough to assist if necessary. Of course, since they were portraying Klingons, he would have to consider such an act an insult on his honour, but as Starfleet officer it was commendable.
He kicked open the heavy wooden door, almost losing his balance as his in the process. His left arm was stiff, but he could sufficiently use it in combat. Gripping his bat'leth, which he had taken from the last batch of attackers, he slipped into the room, motioning Dacian to follow. He lifted the heavy weapon above his head, grimacing at the weight of it, then sliced it down, across the sleeping Klingon's neck.
A howl erupted behind them and both men turned, too late. Naois saw the blade of a bat'leth come towards him and he started to duck. It scored across his chest on the first strike, then passed straight through him on the second. Gasping in surprise, Naois froze. "Computer end program!" he ordered, his voice cutting through the howling Klingons.
The program was replaced by the holodeck grid with dizzying speed. Naois sank down on one knee, where first he had leaned on the holographic bat'leth. "Are you all right?" he asked his cadet, without looking up. His uniform was torn, a thin green line spreading on the fabric. "I will have engineering lock this holodeck and order a complete overhaul. Captain Corval will have to examine her program for glitches. The safeties were supposed to be on full, injuries should not have been possible."
Chagrined, he shook his head. "I promise you, my wife will be quite mad at me. You will see."
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Post by Dacian Peractio on Apr 26, 2009 22:35:39 GMT
The house member's inner chambers were of the most regal setting Dacian had yet seen in this fortress. The marble steps outside were ample indication of that, and the interior of this particular room the two found themselves in now, did not in anyway spoil that trend. There were tapestries and great drapings of red lining the walls. A sleeping Klingon lay on a 'bench' of stone at one side, his chest rising and falling gently beneath the heavy armour that covered his thorax.
The place had a.. dare one say comfortable? edge to it. Quite unlike a Klingon's chambers but then, thought Dacian, these were the lodgings of a dishonourable swine of an enemy. At least he would think so if he were getting into his character a bit too much. He looked at the Captain as he slowly approached the slumbering Klingon, and watched as the Commandant raised his Bat'leth to deliver the killing blow and thus complete their mission. As he swung down, destroying the Klingon, Peractio suddenly realised there were people behind them.
Fool! He should have been on guard, watching the back of the Commandant. A terrible moment of weakness from Peractio which he would not let repeat itself. They were beyond that now, though; the mission would surely be completed once this encounter concluded itself, and with it, Dacian would complete his training and become a full-fledged marine. I hope you are happy, he thought with his mind on his parents. Again, he should have been concentrating. Before he could react the first of the newly arrived Klingons had bested Captain Mercy and buried his weapon in the Vulcan's torso.
Shocked to see green blood starting to flow freely from the initial scoring on the Vulcan's chest, Dacian made to jump into combat with a half-dozen of the warriors; but as he sailed in an arc through the air the simulated surroundings of the inner chamber dissolved, giving way to the familiar wall-grid of the holodeck. He landed and instantly twisted around to see Mercy on one knee, clearly trying to control himself with the pain of the cut.
A laceration like that could not have occurred, not with the holodeck safeties operating at optimum level. It finally dawned on Dacian that there must be some problem with the safeties. While he had been thinking ahead towards graduation, Mercy had become engaged in what could have been a deadly attack. He shuddered to think what would have happened should the worst have come to pass.
As it was, they were fine. Dacian and the Commandant left the holodeck. He only spoke - replying to the Vulcan's insistent warnings that his wife would not be pleased - once they were outside, traversing the passageway. "Pardon me, Captain. But I hope I am not made privy to any tirade from your wife, as much as I would enjoy meeting her, along with the rest of the Dark Phoenix's crew. Am I to be shown to my post first, or is the graduation the next matter on hand? That is, assuming I graduated." Dacian added, feeling slightly let down by his own presumption.
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Post by Dr. Valeia Roquel Mercy on May 1, 2009 21:35:17 GMT
With Naois training a Cadet and Valeia technically on shoreleave, she’d decided to help out in the station’s sickbay. It only made sense with how often his missions ended up in sickbay for her to be close by without actually hovering. Besides, she was quite familiar with the base sickbay and its staff, including friends of hers, and it was nice just treating patients without being in charge for a change. The doctor had felt the usual flashes of panic in between long periods of silence since Naois always shielded when training, so she wasn’t surprised, though not pleased, when her husband eventually entered sickbay followed by a Cadet she didn’t recognize. Outwardly, Naois looked fairly calm and composed, but she knew him well enough to know he was going to be in trouble, since Valeia was able to detect hints of guilt and a little bit of sheepishness as he approached her. The first thing she noticed was that he was limping and the two bloody tears to his uniform. Feeling a flare of fear and annoyance all at once, the doctor went with annoyed and crossed her arms. “Naois Mercy...” she scolded in a disappointed tone, shaking her head as she retrieved her tricorder, ordering ‘Sit’ and indicating the bed as she began to scan. “I told you she would be cross," Naois told Dacian then obediently sat down on the indicated bed. "It is not too bad," he started to explain. "The holodeck safeties were on. I followed every rule laid down on me Valeia, every single one."Glaring at him following his comment about her being cross Valeia snapped, “Well of course I’m mad at you! Is it too much to ask that you manage to complete even one training session and not get hurt?” she demanded, briefly turning her attention to Dacian and ordering, “You too, biobed,” while pointing to the adjacent bed, and then returning her glare to Naois. “And you better have followed the rules because you know I’ll find out if you didn’t. What is it with you and holodecks? So you were running a training program with the safeties set on full, somehow managed to get injured, then stopped the program and came right here, is that what you’re saying?” "Quite so," the Vulcan replied calmly, though visibly stung. "I got slashed early in the program, but as it is one of K'Nara's programs I did not pay much attention to it. However later, when the danger increased, I realized something was wrong, too late to prevent this, certainly. I have already ordered the program investigated and the holodeck maintained." He sighed as she pressed him down on the bed, and closed his eyes, enduring her prodding and other ministrations. He hissed as she touched a particularly sensitive spot. “You should have stopped the program the moment you got hurt and come straight here, and you know it,” Valeia scolded as she checked him over, wincing when he hissed and continuing much more gently. “Any injury no matter how slight with the safeties on full means something’s wrong. After the initial malfunction, you could have been injured far worse or even killed…why didn’t you just stop it right then?” "I do not know," Naois answered honestly, while lying perfectly still. He had removed his shirt so she could get at the cut across his chest with more ease, and he shivered. His skin was covered in a thin film of sweat, from his exertions on the holodeck. "I assumed it was part of the program. Other than that, I do not know."Sighing heavily, Valeia began to treat the slash across his chest, anger beginning to fade into sorrow and disappointment. “I wish you could understand why I worry so much... If you had just stopped the program the moment you were first injured, this would be entirely an unavoidable accident, but it rarely is. I just want you to be as careful with your own safety and health as you would be with mine,” the doctor added softly while moving to see to his leg wound. “I just don’t want to lose you...” "I am careful," he countered, "I always am. Holodecks just do not appear to get along with me." He smiled faintly. "Perhaps you should see to Ensign Peractio? Before he receives his orders to report to the Dark Phoenix?"“Trying to get rid of me?” she teased, a trace of a smile crossing her lips as well. “We’ll talk about this later,” Valeia informed him, though she already knew the mad portion of the discussion was over. She could never stay mad at him for very long. “Don’t go anywhere,” the doctor teased him again as she moved to check on the Ensign as suggested. He had remained very quiet through all of this, and hearing he would be assigned to the Dark Phoenix, she smiled a little sheepishly at him for her outburst. “Hello,” Doctor Mercy greeted softly, using the tricorder to ascertain his status. He had faired better than her husband, coming through the simulation with only minor scratches and bruises, which she began to treat. “This shouldn’t take too long, and once I’m finished you can report into the Phoenix to begin your assignment. While you’re here, I’ll get your admissions physical out of the way too.” <Tag Dacian> A few passes with a dermal regenerator and a series of scans later, and the Ensign was all set. “There you go; all done,” Valeia reported, smiling at him. “Your minor injuries are healed, and you have a clean bill of health. You’re cleared to report to the Dark Phoenix for your new assignment. I suggest reporting to Captain Corval first. Commander Horn is in sickbay, so she would have the information you need.” She felt Naois’ mind brushing hers and glanced up to see him holding out a padd in her direction with an innocent look on his face staying where he was told. With a slight smirk, Valeia stepped over to take the padd from him before handing the padd to Ensign Peractio. “Here are your transfer orders. You are free to go now.” <Tag Dacian> OOC: Congratulations on your graduation. You may now write your posts on the main shoreleave thread.
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