Drills

Posted on Wednesday 20 July 2016 @ 01:33 by Lieutenant Commander David Tan

Mission: Old, New Ship
Location: USS Merlin
Timeline: During Hayes Exercises
1107 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

David had been a little tentative regarding his new position on the Merlin, he had searched his proverbial 'soul' wondering if he was doing the right thing requesting a change of Department. He knew only too well that it could be seen as a sign of insecurity, rather than an effort to expand his options. But he had finally decided that Operations was best for him at this point in time, and would give him the best opportunities regarding a Command role, be it on the Merlin, or another vessel in his future .....

If truth be known, he had completely forgotten about the drills Commander Barstow had required in his capacity as Chief Security Tactical Officer. So when Commander Barstow suddenly sprang the news that he still wanted him to conduct the drills, but from his role as Chief Operations Officer, it came as a momentary surprise, but he had originally made plans for how he was going to carry out the drills, so he brought his plans up on his panel to review ....

He would obviously need to make some changes, given their situation, and the fact that Commander Barstow had somewhat 'restricted' his use of numerous Departments, that being said, wasn't the drills there to adapt to changes in situations, yes they were. No-one scheduled a drill while being invaded or attacked, they were tests of personnel, or their ability to adapt, in times of stress. That was when the idea of using the Shuttle as the focus of both the Intruder and Bio-hazard Drills ! ... Having already met the Deputy Security Officer, the Merlin still awaiting the arrival of their Chief, he knew how lieutenant Yates would be likely to react. David had one asset, he could 'read' people very quickly, and Yates seemed like the kind of Officer who would jump at the challenge ... He just hoped that the Command Staff, of which he was part, would do likewise.

~~~~~

Following the Commander's order that he proceed with the original drills, he was thankful that he had brought with him the data regarding the 'fake' viral infection, from his time on the Galapagos. He casually placed the Isolinear chip in the reader at his station in front of the Center Seat, and uploaded the data. He knew that the two vessels were different in layout and capacity, but he was confident that he could scare the hell out of everyone, including the Commanding Officer, should he be required to do so ..... At the Academy, he had researched the Kobayashi Maru Scenario test countless times, realising that in it's current incarnation it could not be beaten, for obvious reasons given it was a test of character, not of how to defeat an enemy. So he set out to devise an alternative .....

If an Officer had the option, would he save his ship and the personnel aboard, or risk possible destruction ?

Accessing the data-chip, he entered the program and assigned controls to activate said program, then he sat back wondering who to target first.

Commander Barstow had put two restrictions on his drills .. He was not to include, in anyway, shape or form, two Departments, those being: Engineering and Medical.

'OK ......' he thought wryly '..... so they are the area's I need to target should my initial attack fail' ...

He knew that Doctor Miller was completely unaware of his intentions regarding the drills, nor was the dCSTO ... Having been explicitly instructed by the CO to stay clear of the Departments, it was a given that he would need to attack them directly. In his opinion, what was the point of having a drill if the Senior Staff had prior knowledge of the act ? ... Absolutely None !

He asked the computer for the location of the Deputy Chief Security then requested permission to leave the Bridge ... Minutes later he entered Main Security Office on Deck Five:

"Lieutenant, I assume you have received the information regarding the intruder alert, and have taken the necessary actions ?"

"Yes Sir." Yates replied, "It has been an interesting exercise thus far, in fact, to be perfectly honest, a few times I wondered if I was doing the right thing, and obviously, seeing you here I had the feeling I was about to be told I'd failed miserably somewhere. "

"Far from it Lieutenant .... I just wanted to come down and thank you for your exceptional responses. The last time I ran these drills I was a little more, successful. Even managed to capture my Commanding Officer, much to her annoyance. Dropped her on a small Moon for an hour." David said with a grin, "She had to concede that I had done as tasked, despite what she called 'my over-zealousness' .... I'll be concluding the drills formally within the next two hours, so you can at least rest easy on that score. I'll be sure to report your actions throughout to the Commander."

"Thank you, Sir." Yates replied, obviously revealed he had managed to suppress the fictitious incursion. David left the office, a smile forming. In his opinion, the best way to put someone off guard was to tell them they were done with a given situation. If Yates thought the drills were over and done with, then the last thing he would expect is an Intruder Alarm !

~~~~~

Back on the Bridge they were beginning the weapons tests ... David sat at the Ops console and accessed his database for the scenario files. Glancing to his right he could see the Navigator concentrating on the task at hand. Quickly, he accessed the data and implemented his 'Phase Two' scenario level. He figured it was always good to have a few 'surprises' on hand when carrying out such drills ... Granted, he had formulated the scenarios at the request of his former Commanding Officer for use in Cadet / Officer evaluations, but they were adaptable in his opinion.

The isolinear chip used an encrypted algorithm to partition off a minuscule segment of the ships Main Computer, uploading the required program and sensor reconfiguration needed. It then 'gently' inserted a group of pre-selected programs disguised as low-level self-diagnostic routines which all vessels carried out thousands of times per minute ... Downloaded, the isolinear chip severed it's direct link and returned to an apparent 'read only' status. Grinning inwardly, he retrieved the 'chip and began checking on the status of systems and Department power usage throughout the ship ..... He had been tasked with checking out the ships crew against various issues, he intended to to just that, from the Stewards in the Officers lounge, to the man in the Center Seat if need be .....

OFF:

Lieutenant jg David Tan
Chief Operations Officer