Cadet Live Training
Posted on Thu Mar 3rd, 2016 @ 10:43am by Lieutenant JG Ricki St. Louis & Cadet Junior Grade Aric Blake & Lieutenant Yzhara & Cadet Senior Grade Errowyn St. Cloud
Edited on on Thu Mar 3rd, 2016 @ 10:44am
Mission:
By Dawn's Early Light
Location: Academy Levels
Timeline: (before 'The Science of Siege' post)
ON:
Aric had no sooner dropped his bag into a locker than the alert klaxons blared overhead and the comms began chattering with various directives coming all at once. Cadets scattered through the makeshift staging area, arms and gear being distributed in haste by supervising instructors and crew of the station. He'd collected a tricorder and sidearm in addition to the phaser rifle, the heft of the device awkward and encumbering. Catching the eye of a nearby student, he flashed a grin and offered a polite greeting, "Perhaps the next time I'll check the combat hazards prior to taking an assignment," the joke didn't fall on accepting ears, the other cadet rolled his eyes and walked away.
"Friendly sort," Aric commented, slamming the locker shut.
"Come on, Blake!" Errowyn came scooting into the area, "you've been assigned to my team!" Looking him over, seeing he had a tricorder with him. "Awesome!" motioning him to follow as she was equipped the same, minus the tricorder.
"Aye," he replied, hustling to join beside Errowyn. "Does this sort of thing happen often out here? You know, like it's Tuesday so it's station raiding day? I wonder if Friday is Orion party day," he tried joking, sensing the increased tension among the crowding cadets.
Errowyn gave him a smile. "Wish it was that simple." Knowing he was trying to lighten the tense mood that everyone was feeling. "Is that what they do at Sol-3 Academy?" Joining up wit the others.
"Hardly," he scoffed, realizing the most action the Academy had seen lately was probably his own doing. "We had to make our own excitement," Aric paused to take in the gathered group of cadets, each edging their way towards readiness.
Cadet Jasmine would rather have stayed with her host, but orders were orders. She raced to the Academy levels to rejoin her group. Upon entering the level, the entire deck shuddered with enough severity to cause a stumble. She rolled out of it and opened her wristbook. The alert holodisplay blinked dots on a diagram, "Shell breach." Followup thuds in the distance announced the enemy. "Grenades." Scales began deploying over her body. Her hazard suit wasn't Army grade battle armor, but it was better than nothing. "Computer, give me enemy locations, my deck."
==QUERY IDENTITY VALIDATED.== Jasmine's wristbook displayed bright dots on a shadow map. ==HOSTILES SHOW HIGH OCV, LOW DCV.==
Based on movement rates, it was clear that the boarders were intent upon offensively charging through the station, causing as much damage as possible with little regard for defence. She whispered, "They're spreading out." Jasmine was cut off from reaching the other cadets, but computer informed her where they were. The best thing that she could do was flank the attackers closest to them. "Computer, link me into encrypted radio channel with the cadets." A beep confirmed her instruction. She really didn't have anything to say at the moment. The other cadets should know as much about the situation as she did.
A voice called out over the channel, "Here they come!"
Jasmine slowed as she neared the outermost tactical dot. Careful to avoid entering where she could be surrounded, she approached an enemy who was just around the corner ahead. Training would have her shoulder the wall, but she instead pressed against the opposite wall to gain a shallower angle on the intruder. Touching at her other wrist, a short ranged gamma lamp illuminated. This was where things became difficult. Aware that grenades could fire her way at any moment if she was detected, Jasmine studied the refractive patterns of light bending around the corner. There was no clear image to display on her tech glasses, but the microprocessor detected movement. She whispered to herself, "Here he comes." Raising her open palm, she began expending personal energy. A crackling Akazian orb formed. A moment later, it leapt out of her hand and flashed around the corner. Screams of pain ensued, reassuring Jasmine that she had hit her target. She raced forward a few steps to get a look around the corner. Sure enough, a boarder laid writhing on the floor under the burn of crackling energy. She recalled the orb and then drew her phaser pistol. Better it was to expend weapon energy than her own. Setting the weapon on a dangerously high 'Klingon Stun', she blasted the fallen enemy to make sure he stayed down.
==WARNING.==
Jasmine glanced at her wristbook display. Three hostiles were now moving her direction. Not hesitating for a moment, she dashed away. If they pursued her, then she could take them out in a retreating fight. That would take some of the pressure off of the other cadets. If they instead returned to their original attack plan, then she would once again snipe peripheral invaders.
Errowyn jumped at hearing the thuds of impact against the station. Everyone settled in their spot as she did in her assigned location. ~~Whot away to finish out the Academy!~~ She thought to herself as she listened to the instructor give orders. She had her tricorder where it could pick up movement before the enemy came in view as sounds of battle reach the defensive positions of the Cadets. So far nothing was coming their way. First it was the sound of pounding feet, then the beep of her tricorder, grabbing her attention showing fast approaching red dots. She froze as the thought of killing another live sentient being filled her mind as it went against everything her adoptive parents had told her that killing was bad. Very bad.
She watched with eyes wide at the horde of Sojourners come into view, yelling and screaming their battle cries, shooting at anything that moved. She then felt something warm bump into her, momentary drawing her attention to another Cadet that leaned against her, dead eyes staring accusingly at her. She knew the Cadet. One moment cracking jokes, next dead and cooling against her. Anger filled her and time slowed down for her, letting the training take over her. She fired well aimed shots into the mass of Sojourners as fast as she could pull the trigger, causing them to trip over their own dying and wounded comrades.
She was forced to pull back as more and more concentrated fire was sent her way. She felt the heat of the passing energy across the arm and side of her torso as she darted into the first opening she came to. Giving way to allow advancement of the Sojourners deeper into the station. She dove behind an overturned desk as an explosion rocked the room, slamming her and the desk up against the wall, knocking her unconscious to be buried under the rubble thrown by the explosion.
The deck below Aric's feet quaked with the onslaught rising before his location. Soldiers scattered through the expansive ballroom with streaks of phaser fire overhead scorching the air. Taking refuge behind toppled tables, three blasts of energy singed the bulkhead directly above Aric’s position, the intense heat generated by each landing blast momentarily liquefying the metal before cooling to soft carroty glows denoting each hit. The din of shouting orders and return fire served little in the futility of their counterpoint, bodies dropping on either side without any sign of relenting.
Shortly after meeting up with Errowyn to join the others, they’d separated into their respective assignments when the Academy proximity alarms blared. Chaos seized the mockery of order, the junior cadets drawn to fallback positions before explosions ripped into their flesh. Scurrying to get a fix on the situation, Aric fumbled through the tricorder scans. Red dots littered the view with fewer blues indicating their impending failure. “To hell in a hand basket,” he muttered, several more blasts rang overhead as response.
Another round of blasts filled the air before the deck lurched up and jerked Aric from hiding, the concussive flash drew the air from his lungs in rapid succession. His senses reeling, gasping for air and unable to discern between the searing pain radiating from his back to that of the footfalls approaching his precarious position, Aric’s eyes fluttered open and stung from the smoke billowing into the room around the slick gun-metal armored legs straddling his head, clearly not of Federation origin.
END:
Cadet Senior Grade Errowyn St. Cloud.
Cadet Junior Grade Aric “AJ” Blake
Enlisted Cadet Jasmine
Starbase 332
Pegasus Fleet
