Blue Ball #22 "War Games"

[on] Sulan materializes in trans porter room one, still wearing the Vulcan meditation robes over her security uniform. Stepping from the transporter pad, she gently taps her comm badge, -/\- "Sulan to Miller: I'm back on board. Anything to report?" -/\- "Nothing, sir." -/\- Miller responds. -/\- "Very well. Sulan out."-/\- Looking up at the sound, Sulan watches as another crewmember beams aboard.

Keeping her eyes shut as she always did until she was sure she had materialized, Hannah didn't notice the other people in the transporter room for a moment. When she opened them, and stepped from the the PADD, she smiled at the new face standing by the transporter officer. She had met PO Ramsay that morning, but she didn't know this Vulcan lady. She grinned, hoping to make a good impression.

"Hi there - I'm Lieutenant Hannah O'Driscoll" she grinned, remembering to subtract the (Junior Grade) from her title. I t was still brand new, and she was sure it should squeak every time she turned around.

Lowering the hood of her robe, Sulan stares at her, with an expressionless face. "Ah, your the daughter of the traitor. Tell me, Lieutenant, do you share your father's political views?" She stares hard, hoping to get the woman to sweat a little. Hannah's jaw dropped. She had experienced snide comments, veiled remarks, even outright hostility about her family situation - but such blatant disregard for her feelings! "I...uh...I mean..."

"Well? When did you know of his betrayal?" Sulan pressed. "I found out when he was arrested - when I was at the academy." Hannah replied, still in shock. Sulan nods. "And do you denounce him and his actions? How do I know, that as tactical officer you will not give this ship onto the hands of whatever enemy can fill your bank account with gold-pressed latinum?"

"How dare you?" Hannah said, angrily, her righteous indignation overcoming her shock. "How dare you say such a thing? You think that just because I share the same gene markers that I am just like you him? You think that I didn't undergo six months in a Starfleet Intelligence debriefing facility being interrogated every day over my part in my father's schemes? You think I didn't have to work my ass off for seven years to get these pips? Just who the Hell do you think you are, lady?"

"Chief of Security. THAT is who I am. The security of this vessel is something I value more than my life. It is both my honor and duty to protect it, and I will do so even at the cost of your feelings...Lieutenant." She adds the honorific almost as an after-thought.

While Hannah managed not to flinch, her insides were doing somersaults. <She's the Beast!> Hannah thought, using the nickname one of the security ensigns she had got to know had attached to the Security Chief. <She's going to eat me alive!> Hannah calmed herself, and, as always in difficult situations, resorted to sarcasm. "Oh dear. And I was so close to getting away with it too. I managed to fool an elite team of SFI investigators, the entire crew of my last ship and the Personnel Bureau, but you have unveiled my clandestine traitorous nature, and my plans to hand over this 60 year old starship to the Klingons. And I would have got away with it too, if it wasn't for that pesky Chief of Security."

Sulan, tilts her head, rubbing the scar tissue on the side of her face, it ached as it adjusted to the ships controlled climate. "Is that an attempt at humor Lieutenant? If so, it is wasted as I have no emotions, nor sense of humor. If it is not, please pray to any gods you believe in before I attempt to remove your cranium from your spinal column."

Hannah was fairly sure she was joking, but offered up a quick prayer just in case. "And I thought it was pretty good, too." Hannah said. "Guess you're just a tough nut to crack. I hear you're beating up your staff. If I find that's true, you're in a whole heap of trouble yourself. And Lieutenant, if you forget that Tac/Sec is separate on this ship, and touch a member of my staff, you won't have time to pray."

If she'd been permitted to, Sulan would have smiled. "Duly noted. You've passed my examination, Lieutenant. I trust it will be agreeable working with you." She turns to leave, then pauses, looking over her shoulder. "I was about to begin a training session with the maggots. Would you care to accompany me? I trust your not adverse to bleeding a little?"

"What?" Hannah said, totally blindsided. "That was a...test?"

"Yes." Sulan said mater-of-factly, as if it was nothing. "You did very well under my interrogation. Far better than I expected." "Uh...thank you?" Hannah said, cautiously.

Sulan nodded. "Now then, if you will please follow me, I have a training session to conduct."

"Uh...sure." Hannah said, following the junior officer in a kind of daze. <What the Hell just happened?>

Sulan moves quickly, entering the hollodeck to find her security teams ready, and waiting. "Greetings, Maggots. I hope you've enjoyed the few short hours of respite you've had in my absence, because I've once again returned to make your lives a living hell. maggots, this is Hannah O'driscoll. Some of you know her by her family's reputation. Let me at that if anyone makes ANY inappropriate comments, I'll be writing a sad letter to the offender's family telling them how that person was eviscerated by me." She clears her throat. "Hannah will be joining us for today's training session."

Hannah nodded, terrified that if she opened her mouth the only thing she would be able to utter would be "Uh...Hi.".

Sulan nodded. "Very well, not that pleasantries are complete shall we begin Lieutenant?"

Hannah nodded again. <What exactly is about to take place?> Hannah thought back to Security drills she had run with her Sec teams back on the Polaris. She figured she should be alright against the officers here - while she was a better Tactical officer than a Security officer, she was an excellent target shot, and was in pretty good shape. She just hoped she didn't screw up, or this crazy Vulcan lady might eviscerate her, as well.

"Very well." She takes off the Vulcan meditation robe, letting it drop to the floor. "Miller, Lewis, Rodriguez, attack me." The three security guards attack at once, without hesitation. To Miller, she delivers a brutal uppercut which causes him to stagger backwards into Lewis, who -to is credit- keeps his feet just log enough for Sulan to sweep kick them both. As they fall, Sulan grabs miller's hand phaser from his belt and fires directly into Rodriguez's chest. He falls to the floor grunting. "Well done. You managed to get within hand-to-hand combat range. But do you realize your mistake? You all should have attacked me from different directions." "Or shot her." Hannah said quietly. "At no point did she say you had to attack hand-to-hand."

"Excellent observation, Lieutenant. A credit to your species." The security guards get to their feet.

"When she indicates her readiness, I want you to attack the Lieutenant. No weapons." Sulan steps back to give them room as the three security officers drop their weapons. "Begin."

<Why did I even get out of bed this morning?> Hannah thought, as the three moved cautiously towards her, aiming to surround her. She noticed that Miller and Rodriguez were still staggering, so concentrated on Lewis. As he swung at her, she dodged his blow, and slipped behind him, getting outside of the circle. She grinned. <Well now, that wasn't too bad.> Her short triumphant reverie was brought to an abrupt halt by Lewis's hand impacting into her stomach. <He hits girls - that's not very nice.> She dodged his follow up, and slammed her knee into his groin. The man fell to the floor in pain. Hannah had no time to feel sorry for him as she turned to the other two, who luckily for her were still fairly groggy from Sulan's attacks. She dropped her guard, and they looked confused.

"I'm not going to fight them." She said. "In that state, we both know I could beat them, and there's no point in causing them any further pain. Speaking of which - is there a med kit around for Lewis?" She knelt down by him. "Sorry, buddy." He grunted something which didn't sound too unfriendly.

"Stop." Sulan says to the Lieutenant. "You are to help them only if they request it. Giving them comfort, when they do not ask for it, dishonors them. Now then, maggots, on your feet. I do not intend to train anyone who cannot deal with the pain of training."

Hannah looked at the Vulcan officer in disgust, but it was her security team. Hannah knew that there would be times when security officers would have to work through unbelievable pain, and Sulan's methods could be justified that way. She wasn't so sure, but it was the Vulcan's call. As it was, she took a certain perverse joy in seeing Lewis stagger to his feet.

Sulan sees the conflicting emotions on the Lieutenant's face, but ignores them. "Today, we will be doing a simulation called 'Overrun'. It is just that. You will attempt to hold a position that is being overrun my enemy soldiers. It is a situation that is unwinable. All of you will most likely be killed in the simulation. You might ask why I'm making you do a simulation with no possibility for victory? Simple. I want to see what your all made of. Any questions?" She asked, looking at each face.

Hannah nodded - it was a standard scenario, and one she'd used a couple of times. Personally she felt its use was limited - the officers knew they weren't going to actually die, and so were willing to take stupid risks, knowing that, as they were inevitably going to get shot, doing so wouldn't cause them to fail the test. It was a favorite of many, however, and she could see it had some value.

"Good." She answered upon seeing no one had any questions. "Here are the rules: Being shot by an enemy will be extremely painful, so prepare. The first of you to be killed will have blood-maggots for a week. That last of you to fall will win one hundred credits of gold-pressed latinum from me." She walks of to the panel. "I expect everyone to do their best. Computer begin simulation Overrun." Sulan and the hollodeck walls fade from view as the simulation starts. They stand in the middle of an old earthen fortress on the summit of a high hill.

Holograms play other federation forces. They're ragged and bleeding, with dead and wounded littering the ground. The commander of the open air fort runs up to Miller, shouting: "Thank God you've come! Our barrier shield is about to go down and we've got only light weapons left-" She interrupted by the sound of static coming across all of the comm badges. The sound is unmistakable. It is the interference caused by an anti matter explosion. The sounds made by the Pegasus as she's destroyed in her orbit above the planet. as proof of this, bright shooting stars could be seen across the daytime sky. Only it wasn't shooting stars, but wreckage of the vessel burning up as they hit the atmosphere . "Alright group, we're all along on this one, so ready your weapons, and stay low." Miller said. The shield flashes, as an anti matter shell hits it, then suddenly, the shield waves and fades out of existence. Miller squeezes his eyes shut as he expects the second shell which never comes. He opens his eyes looking at the base commander. "The... Jem' Hadar sent us a message that they were going to make example of us by beating us hand-to-hand. Once they get the shield down, they're sending troops." he stammers. Miller looks to the Lieutenant. "Ma'am your the highest ranking officer here. What are your orders?"

<My orders? Is this woman testing her staff or me?> "Man the barricades." She said succinctly. "Everyone take a weapon. Find cover, and shoot till they kill you. Once they get inside the fort, we'll pull back to the center, and take cover behind that barricade." Hannah said, pointing. "We fire till they take our guns from our hands, and then we kick them till they break our necks. You understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Miller said, encouraged by her words. "You heard the lady, maggots! Go go go!" Men and woman run to the buttresses of the fort, moving like professionals. One of them shouts back: "God, there has to be at least 100,000 of them!" The troops begin to get nervous. The sound of thousands of feet marching in lock-step can be heard. As one voice, 100,000 throats cry "Victory is life!" as the horde nears the fort. "Their within phaser rage now, Ma'am! Permission to fire?" Miller shouts back.

"Fire at will!" Hannah yelled, and began to fire. She grinned fiercely as she took down her first trooper. <1 down, 999,999 to go...>

The federation barrage cuts down hundreds of Jem' Hadar. The bodies that fall are trampled by their comrades as they advance. No matter how ofter the teams fire, more Jem' Hadar continue to advance. Soon they're nearly at the walls of the fort. One of them throws a grenade which lads near the Lieutenant's feet.

Hannah spotted the grenade, and gave it a hefty kick in mid-air, sending it back into the midst of the Jem'Hadar. <Ha! Soccer training proves useful for something!> Her joy proved to be short-lived as the six other grenades that had been thrown in her direction exploded.

Hannah screamed as agony ran across her skin like liquid fire. Time seemed to stop, and nothing existed for her but the pain as the programme simulated the effect of six pulse grenades hitting her at close range. Mercifully for her the pain was brief - owing to the fact that she would have been vaporised almost instantly. She opened her eyes to find the programme had faded. <Ah well,> she thought, as the hologram faded for her, <at least I didn't die first.>

"Congratulations. Your all dead." Sulan said stepping away from the panel. "Miller, you would have done better if you had shot the enemy as they threw their grenades. It would have killed scores of more of them. Rodriguez, you were far too slow in reloading. You all did very well considering the circumstances, but seeing as how you all died at once, I have no choice but to award the latinum to the Lieutenant."<tag> "Trying to buy some state secrets, Lieutenant?" Hannah grinned. "Split it among the team - I did no more than they did."

"Your certain? You've earned this latinum." Said Sulan, somewhat surprised.

"No more than the rest of them have."

"Very well. It will be divided equally." She turns to the squad. "Well done maggots. Squad dismissed."

Hannah grinned, and shook the hands of the rest of the team. Maybe the 'Beast' wasn't so bad after all. <Either that or she's lulling me into a false sense of Security>

[Off]

A Join post by:

Lieutenant (JG) Hannah O'Driscoll Chief Tactical Officer U.S.S. Pegasus "You know it's a good post when it ends on a bad pun."

Lieutenant (JG) Telek Sulan (Acting) Chief Security Officer U.S.S. Pegasus "'Victory is life'? Then why do I have a collection of Jem' Hadar Heads?"