[Flashback] Getting Certified

Posted on Thu May 1st, 2025 @ 3:47pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Commander Rhiana t'Aegis

1,837 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Interlude 1 Gamma Quadrant
Location: Holodeck, USS Firebird
Timeline: TBD

[ON]

While the overall situation in this part of the quadrant was carefully stable and there were currently no emergencies on the station, it was time to get back to some more or less routine tasks. One of them was issuing security certifications. This was definitely a routine task and one that Rhiana often delegated to B'Rala. But there were exceptions.

One of these exceptions was why she was now in the empty, black-and-yellow holodeck aboard the Firebird and waiting for the ship's new chief medical officer.

It had been a long time coming, this new certification. It wasn't exactly that the Chief Medical Officer was among those who had to be chased down, and we're always 'busy' with something. Instead, the Tholian could always be found in the sickbay, the easiest prey to hunt down. After the chaos of their last mission, however, they really were just incredibly busy tending to the many injured as well as establishing checkups. Finally, though, scheduling had lined up. And with that scheduled, Kataxes refused to be late. The holodeck's doors slid smoothly open at their exact time of scheduled training, to the exact second.

Clanking into the holodeck, Kataxes towered tall enough for their environmental suit to nearly scrape the top of the doorway. Their eyes were quickly on Rhiana, and above a muffled clicking and chittering, their translator spoke softly, "Good day, Lieutenant Commander."

Rhiana looked up from her PADD when the doors to the holodeck slid open and lowered the device to her side as the Tholian entered. The officer was on time and she appreciated punctuality. "And to you, Lieutenant Commander," she replied politely with a slight nod of her head. "You are, as you know," she continued without any pretense at small talk, "Required to be certified for small arms and personal combat while serving aboard a Starfleet vessel. Have you ever received training with Starfleet phasers, and if so, how would you estimate your skill level?"

Kataxes, if anything, preferred the immediate omission of small talk. They watched in silence, then glowed for a moment before beginning to squawk and creak inside their suit. "In personal combat, I am capable, but my capabilities are not of any humanoid style, nor are they easily nonlethal." They lifted and clicked the long, noticeably sharp clawed end of one of their legs to the floor for subconscious emphasis.

"I have the most basic type one and type two phaser training from my time in Federation space, when Tholian ambassadors would bring me and other High Command directors to Federation stations in the last eight years," Kataxes continued. "I will almost certainly require more training to properly qualify for my certifications. I am very familiar with Starfleet's General Orders and Regulations, including phaser safety protocols."

Rhiana's left eyebrow twitched at the movement of the Tholian's leg and the sound it made when metal hit metal, and there was something like the hint of a smile illuminating her features for a split second. She was intrigued, but personal curiosity would have to wait. "Good. I have scheduled you for the mandatory written test tomorrow and sent you all the necessary information for it." She took a breath and continued in a slightly more formal tone, "Computer, begin programme 't'Aegis - Phaser 1'."

The yellow lines and the exit disappeared while the walls became black, and the two officers found themselves in a wide circle outlined by a raised step all around the ring. A narrow pedestal held a single Type One phaser. "To better evaluate your level of expertise, you will go through a series of automated target practices with movable targets," Rhiana explained. "Their speed and numbers will gradually increase. The exercise stops once you have missed three targets in a row. Unless you have questions, the exercise will begin once you have taken hold of the phaser."

Kataxes clanked up to the pedestal without delay, stopping in front of the phaser and gazing with fiery golden eyes down at it. "I see. I expect there will be advice following my performance."

The Tholian took the phaser carefully in their three-fingered claw of a hand. It was a bit awkward to hold such a small thing in their thoroughly inhuman hand, but they kept hold of it as the holodeck's exercise began. Several circular targets of yellow and black appeared with a flash of energy, stationary, and Kataxes took their time aiming each simple phaser shot. Each one disappeared, one after the next, only one of the first group of targets hit with a bullseye while the others were hit, but slightly off-center. Once new targets took the place of the old, Kataxes started to struggle, missing one shot on a moving target further away. Then, another, the holodeck turned slightly red each time they missed. Targets disappeared, more appeared in flashes of white light, and Kataxes finally missed a third moving target, hitting a phaser blast against the back wall. Their performance for this first try was... below average, but not terrible.

Rhiana watched the Kataxes' performance closely, but never commented or made a sound. She did not want to distract the officer, for even though she decidedly disapproved of having a Tholian crew member and as chief medical officer at that, she still had to make certain that all protocols were being adhered to. And she liked to know whom she could count on in a difficult situation.

When Kataxes missed the third target, the light brightened again, and Rhiana glanced at the statistics on her PADD. "I have seen worse, but not by much," she commented wryly. "Computer, load phaser model I-alternate." The type I phaser disappeared from Kataxes' claws, and instead, the alternate version appeared on the pedestal. It still looked similar to the type I, but it was bigger and appeared to better conform with the 'hand' of the Tholian's protective suit, making it easier to be held and used. "Try the programme once more with this one."

"I highly doubt there are not many you have seen in your field worse than me, but I understand you are using a form of slight hyperbole. I am below average," Kataxes replied through the somewhat monotone of their suit, turning back to Rhiana. They waited, then took the new phaser in their metallic claws much more comfortably. Their crystalline body glowed inside their suit, but nothing was translated.

The doctor then turned towards the training course. With a round of 'practice' and a far more comfortable phaser, they began hitting shots more consistently. Thin beams of energy centered in on the circular targets, sometimes crossing through moving ones to slowly find the center. Now, their performance was much closer to a solid average, and the targets were moving around much quicker. A phaser blast hit the back wall and made a red splotch in the hologram, followed soon after by two more misses. Certainly not the best security team material... but better than before.

"That was almost adequate," Rhiana commented after the targets stopped appearing. "The next exercise will add another level of difficulty, but it will remain target practice," she explained. "Computer, load programme 'Rhiana - Phaser 3'."

At first, and for several seconds, nothing happened. The modified phaser stayed in Kataxes' claw. Nothing moved. No disks appeared. Just when the time began to possibly become long, a person appeared a few metres in front of the Tholian. A Jem'Hadar. It stood a few metres away and waited for three seconds before it raised a disruptor rifle and aimed at Kataxes.

Kataxes appreciated the honesty with a few muffled clicks inside their suit, looking from Rhiana to the flat wall where the targets would appear. The Tholian stood patiently, at first, watching the wall with caution and the phaser gripped tightly. The itch, of course, of a species that detests anything being 'late', began to creep into their crystals.

Then, a person appeared, readying a disruptor rifle. Though certainly not the quickest draw, Kataxes lifted their modified phaser in less than three seconds and fired the red beam of light into the white, spiked reptilian hologram, causing it to light up with similar red energy before falling from a clean shot. Kataxes's glowing eyes narrowed, and they swiveled, legs loudly clanking with each spider-like step.

"Your reaction time was too slow. Had this been a real threat, you would be dead now," Rhiana remarked just before the next target appeared. This time, it was a Cardassian, similarly equipped with a disruptor rifle. Like the Jem'Hadar, the hologramme did not fire immediately but was merely standing there, weapon pointing at Kataxes' back, since that was where the hologramme had appeared.

Kataxes shot more quickly this time, more because their weapon was already raised. "I see," they stated calmly at Rhiana's remark. Able to move on a dime fairly quickly, they fired straight at the Cardassian's center mass, causing it to evaporate into nothing. They moved almost like a crab, scuttling around in place with weapons raised. Whenever they rotated Rhiana's way, they lifted the phaser to avoid pointing it at her. "This is why Tholian tactics do not often include boarding," came the frustrated translation, as they fired another shot towards another airborne holographic target.

"You would never be my first choice for a boarding party," Rhiana agreed.

Immediately after Kataxes hit the airborne target, two others appeared, not quite on opposite sides of the Tholian, but still at a considerable distance from each other so as to force the shooter to move their body and not simply their arm. Literally, a second later, another Humanoid target appeared at the very edge of the Tholian's field of vision. It was a Klingon this time, who also aimed a disruptor at Kataxes. Unlike the previous Humanoid targets, however, it was programmed to fire a well-aimed shot after two seconds. The airborne targets were similarly programmed to emit phaser fire two seconds after the Humanoid.

While the targets were appearing, Rhiana continued to speak. "You are losing time whenever you raise your phaser to avoid aiming at me. I cannot be harmed in this simulation."

The Tholian's head tilted minutely to one side as it considered Commander t'Aegis' comments. At the same time, their eyes, wide set, and firey, took in the dual threats. Their mind considered the problem from a surgical perspective. Efficiency of motion.

Kataxes fired the phaser, and before the shot was completed, they sprawled their legs, reducing their height by half as the long legs screeched against the floor. They looked like a flower expanding on the dark surface. At the same time, they spun rapidly and fired again.

It was better, but not good enough.

"I suspect, Commander t'Aegis, this will not be our last session," Kataxes said and then resumed.

[OFF]

Commander Rhiana t'Aegis
Second Officer / Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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