Phasering

Posted on Fri Jan 4th, 2019 @ 2:06am by

Mission: Run Afoul
Location: Phaser Range
Timeline: a few hours after the engineering explosion
1836 words - 3.7 OF Standard Post Measure

This was usually the afternoon low time on the Bridge. Most of the other Bridge officers were letting subordinates get some experience on the Bridge while they attended to their other work, and the Captain was in her Ready Room. Jex was in her seat, running a tactical drill on her console. With a soft whisper to herself of victory congrats, Jex blushed a bit as she looked around the Bridge. Replacing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the Chief was relieved to note that no one seemed to have heard her whispered exclamation.

No one except a teenage boy with his empathic skill still under development and with excellent hearing. Stef chuckled to himself as he walked up, clearly working up the courage to ask her something. Hoping not to embarrass her, as he clearly had been witness to her exclamation, he cleared his throat as he approached. "Ma'am?" He started, then waited for her to acknowledge him.

Quickly tapping the command to close out her tactical simulation to bring the console to its normal operating status, Jex turned to the Yeoman. "Y... Yeoman, how may I help you?" the Chief stammered a bit. She obviously knew that Stef had heard her exclamation of victory, but was trying to hide her embarrassment at her emotional outburst being caught.

Stef bit his lower lip, trying to ignore her embarrassment. "I apologize for the intrusion ma'am, however as security chief, are you not responsible for weapons training and qualifications for the crew?"

"I am," Jex nodded as she turned fully toward the Vulcan. "You're going to tell me that your certification is in need of renewal, aren't you?"

"Uhm..." Stef shook his head. "I do not have any ma'am, technically I am not qualified to carry or handle one at all."

"If you're going to be on the Bridge, that should probably change," Jex pointed out. There were almost countless occasions where a starship's Bridge had been the target of intruders, and having a trained defensive line was imperative. She quickly glanced at her schedule and noted that she had some open time coming, turning back toward Stef, Jex asked, "Is your schedule open?"

"My duties are not allotted to specific times ma'am," Stef offered, "I have time when you do." He paused. "Also.. I am not a bridge officer per sé."

Jex fought the urge to remark that Stef would make appearances on the Bridge regularly. Instead, she summoned a subordinate to replace her on the Bridge, "No better time than the present," she offered. "Shall we make our way to the phaser range?"

"Yes ma'am." Stef stepped aside so she could precede him off the bridge and the subordinate could pass them both. "I have never handled a phaser before ma'am," he elaborated, "though I have studied schematics so I should be able to use one..." Yet he didn't seem certain, whether he would be capable. "What is the minimum age for qualification?" he finally asked as they stepped into the turbolift.

"Do not get too caught up in the schematics and the regulations," Jex cautioned with the voice of a teacher trying to teach creative writing as she stepped aboard the turbolift. "Starfleet is very unclear on phaser age limits for a reason. Aboard starships and on scattered colonies, an attacker may not particularly care if a person is too young or isn't familiar with the model."

Interrupting her explanation, she called out to the turbolift's computer as they both entered, "Deck 5." Her almost black eyes fell back toward her student. "The real lesson is to trust your senses and have purpose in everything that you do."

"And what if you cannot trust your senses?" Stef certainly didn't trust his as he was still easily overwhelmed by the emotions of others.

"Use your best judgment," Jex offered as the turbolift arrived at Deck 5. The phaser range was not very far, and she hoped that a little live fire would help Stef understand what she meant. "If things ever go badly, you will not have time to run mathematical proofs on every possibility. Using what you information you have, many times you won't have much more than an educated guess. You just have to make your best judgment call."

The teenager chuckled audibly. "I am not a mathematician ma'am, nor do I run odds on every situation. I keep the captain's schedule and I take care of the ship's animals, what do I need calculated odds for?" He followed her out and onto the range. "I have never used a phaser before," he explained again.

As the pair made their way into the phaser range, Jexasi called out, "Computer, begin training scenario number one." With the computer setting up the range to meet the specifications of the scenario, Jex removed a phaser from the weapons rack and held it up so Stef could see the top of it. With a small smile, Jex explained pointed to the black tip of the mechanism, "Point this end at what you want to shoot." Moving her pointed finger to the lights, she added, "Green means stun, red means kill. All red means you'll disintegrate whatever is in the way of the beam. And this large button fires." She handed it back to the Yeoman, saying, "It really is that easy. Nothing in here will move or shoot back until you are ready to move up."

The computer gave an affirmative chirp before saying, "Phaser range set to level one. Thirty second timed course will begin in ten seconds." With a nod, Jex handed over the phaser. "This is just for me to see where you are now, I don't expect records to be vaporized."

Inspecting the weapon, Stef turned or over in his hand a few times, as if to find the right balance. "Nor do I ma'am," he replied with a small smile, "I was not lying, I have never done this before." He gestured at the targets before taking careful aim. Startled by the discharge, his first shots went far and wide. His subsequent attempt went a little better even though none of the targets got so much as scored. "Hm...". He missed thoughtfully. "I must be the worst shot ever..."

"You would be surprised," Jex nodded reassuringly. The ship's computer had disabled the phaser once the timer had ended, so she had no insecurities about stepping closer toward Stef. "While at the Academy, a fellow cadet managed to shot himself," she pointed out. "Do you mind if I show you a better form?" she asked.

"Not at all ma'am..." Stef took a single step aside to give her some more room. "I would welcome any advice you can give me. What am I doing wrong?"

Picking up her own phaser, Jex took a proper stance. Her left hand outstretched, body turned slightly, and her left foot was forward. "The phaser goes in your dominant hand, stretch your arm, and turn your body slightly to make yourself a smaller target," she narrated. Using her right hand, Jex drew a line from her eyes to beyond the phaser tip as she added, "This position also helps you shoot what you are seeing."

Jex dropped her stance stepped closer to Stef as she holstered her phaser. With her hands, she tried to turn Stef's body to match her previous stance and positioned his dominant out as her was. With her head next to his, she motioned with her hand from his eyes to the space in front of the phaser. "Use the phaser as an extension of your eyes."

The teenager stiffened as he was touched without warning, holding his breath at her proximity. It made him feel a little nervous. "Not an extension of my arm?" he asked slowly, while expelling his breath. He followed her hand with his eyes, shifting to aim the phaser, painstakingly peering over the barrel. "Like this?"

Shrugging a bit, Jex replied, "In a manner of speaking, your arm or your eyes. Imagine throwing a ball, if you look at your target you have a better chance of hitting it." Giving his stance a once-over, she nodded, "Yes. Ready for another attempt? I'll step back and let you tell the computer to start."

Nodding, Stef gave the command, then made a grave mistake. Without realizing it, he had the phaser pointed in the wrong direction after inspecting the battery and the settings. It really showed his inexperience in combat and weapon's training. As he pressed the trigger, he saw the light erupt from the nuzzle before it struck him full force, and at very close range, in his chest. He didn't even have time to cry out in alarm, his body hitting the deck even before the discharge was completed.

Out of instinct or training, Jex's hand immediately moved to her commbadge, "Medical emergency in the Phaser Range, Deck 5." Her next move was to kick the phaser out of the way before moving to apply pressure to the phaser wound. The range automatically disabled kill settings, but a point blank stun shot could still cause serious injury. "Hang on, a medical team is on the way," she reassured Stef as the smell of burned uniform and flesh filled her nostrils and her hand could feel his injury. "You're going to be ok," she added, looking at the man in his eyes to gauge his alertness.

He could smell the burnt flesh too, but it hurt too much for him to object against her touch. His eyes were bright with pain as he made a valiant attempt to focus on her. It was extremely difficult to remain focused on just her face. And while his chest burned with pain, as if every nerve was on fire, the rest of his body just felt numb to him. As if it didn't exist, as if he had no limbs which he could move. Though the simple touch, despite the pain, he could sense her concern. "I am...fine..." he lied, blinking slowly as if afraid of closing his eyes altogether.

She did not need to have empathetic abilities in order to see through the lie but she played along. Before she could answer, two medics made their way into the door. "We had an accidental phaser discharge," she paused to check the light display on the phaser across the room, "level three stun, point blank." Jex nodded at her hand over the wound, "I have been applying pressure, but there are definite burns."

The first medic through the door knelt next to Stef and applied the inoculation device to the yeoman's neck. The device contained a heavy painkiller as well as a round of antibiotic. He then tapped his commbadge and stated, "Two to beam directly to Sickbay."

Stef never noticed the transport. With the administration of the painkiller, the teenager lost consciousness altogether.

Lieutenant Jexasi Rai
Chief Tactical/Security Officer

Crewman Apprentice Stef
Yeoman/Animal Caretaker
pnpc Lhaes
USS Majestic