Chapter 3.

Introductions

The door of my quarters never looked so good. I dragged my ass through it, thankful that I didn't have to open it. After twelve hours of hard training with my men, followed by half an hour of having my whole agenda screwed with, an hour of debriefing and four hours of training with Lieutenant Tan, I was pretty much in the bag. I doffed my armor, breaking my own rule by leaving it on the floor, hit the sonic shower with a vengeance and headed for my bed, fully intending to crash like a shuttle with a blown stabilizer.

The comm signal was supposed to be ergonomically designed to be as insistent as possible, to get your attention, while being unobtrusive enough to avoid annoying you. In the former, it excelled. In the latter, it failed dismally. At that exact moment, it was quite possibly the most annoying thing in the universe.

"Colonel Garren, Please report to holodeck three." Captain Picard's voice held a note of urgency that brooked no delay.

"On my way." I said to the air. I had often wondered why there was never any signal from the computer to tell you when the comm channel was closed. I had supposed that it was keyed to different words and phrases of parting, such as 'On my way' or 'Out'. Oh well it didn't really matter anyway. I got out of bed and undressed so I could suit up.

"Computer, execute program Garren Alpha six, Command code: 'Suit up', default settings, no weapons." Holodeck 3 meant a simulation of some kind, so I would probably need a suit of S.P.E.D.A.R. armor. I didn't want to waste time so I used the new program that I had designed. The program 'Garren Alpha six' was actually a shortcut that allowed me easy access to all data pertaining to S.P.E.D.A.R. The command code 'Suit up' was a subroutine that I had designed to cut prep time by linking the replicator and the transporter together. Using the parameters that I had quoted and the nearest available public replicator (in this case, the one in my quarters) the computer began replicating the components of my armor. As the components were finished, the computer locked on to them with the transporter and beamed them directly onto my body. It only took about ten seconds to 'Suit up' this way and since my physical parameters were already embedded in the program, the modules fit perfectly. I was out the door and on my way to the turbolift twenty seconds after the comm signal had beeped its way onto my shit list.

I manually adjusted the focus on my R.L.P.D. (I really needed implants) and blinked my way into the turbolift control program. The turbolift reached the doors half a second before me and the doors whisked open as I stepped through.

"Holodeck Three," I said. The computer chirped, the doors closed and the turbolift accelerated laterally.

Two sections over and six decks above, the doors opened on a short hallway ending in a "T" junction. Around the corner to the right, the pressure doors of holodeck three were closed tightly. My display autolinked with the lighted panel to the right of the door and showed an active program in memory, the same program my unit and I had been running earlier, but the program status was frozen. As I approached the door, I activated the controls with an eye blink and the hiss of equalizing air pressure announced the opening of the portal.

As I stepped onto the holodeck, Captain Picard was standing over someone. Crouched down beside them was Dr. Dyer, totally engrossed in waving a bone knitter over the person's leg and consulting his tricorder. Picard turned at my entrance and I saw that it was Lt. Tan lying on the ground. Dyer ignored me in favor of his patient, switching to a tissue knitter and waving it around the patient's head.

"What happened?" I asked as I walked over.

Dr. Dyer stood and helped Lt. Tan to her feet. Her eyes were downcast and she remained quiet. "Apparently a training accident," Picard replied, turning to Dr. Dyer. "Doctor."

"She had a broken leg which I have just healed and some minor contusions and abrasions. Her left leg will be stiff for a few days but other than that, she's fine," he said, standing to face me.

"Are you all right?" I asked, looking at Lt. Tan.

"Yes sir," she replied quietly.

I turned to Captain Picard. "Would you mind sir? I'd like to talk to Lt. Tan alone."

"Of course." he replied, again turning to the doctor. "Doctor, unless there's anything else..."

"No sir, she's fine," he said.

Picard nodded to me and they both turned and headed for the exit. As the doors closed behind them, I whirled on Tan. "Lieutenant, just exactly what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Practicing sir," she said.

"I distinctly recall giving you a direct order to get some rest. Did you understand that order?" I demanded.

"Yes sir, I did, sir, but--"

"If you understood the order then why didn't you carry it out?"

She straightened her spine. "Sir, with all due respect, I need the practice, I have a lot of catching up to do."

"I'll be the judge of that," I snapped. I softened my tone just slightly. "I know you need the practice, but making mistakes because you're too tired to concentrate will get you killed, not better. When you gain more experience, you'll be able to carry out your duties with less rest, but you're still training. Physically, you're in excellent condition but learning to use the S.P.E.D.A.R. system is as much mental as it is physical. And mental exhaustion causes more mistakes than physical exhaustion. For right now take advantage of all the rest you can get. You're going to need it because we're going to work that stiffness right out of you. How did you break your leg anyway? Your force field should have prevented that."

"I deactivated it, sir," she said.

"Deactivated it?" I asked. "What the hell for? The whole point of this training is to learn to use the equipment."

"I know sir, I was just trying to figure out how little of the equipment I could use and still perform to acceptable standards."

"You still haven't answered my first question. How did you break your leg?"

She looked down for a moment and then brought herself to attention. "I had finished phase two of the mission. I had gathered all the recon data and was heading back to the rendezvous point to get airborne --"

"You completed phase two alone?" I asked.

"Yes, sir."

That impressed me. My men had nearly blown the whole mission and she had pulled it off seemingly without a hitch. At least until she broke her leg, that is. I kept my face neutral and nodded for her to continue.

"Actually, sir, I thought it would be a lot harder. Anyway, I deactivated my force field to keep their sensors from locking on to me." At this point, she looked down again and her voice lowered. "I . . . tripped on a root . . ."

I almost smiled. However, I held it together and managed to keep my face neutral. "Didn't your T.R. protocols kick in and warn you about it?" I asked.

"No, sir. The computer assessed my skill level as too high to assign the root a priority value above the threshold. It thought I was too good to trip over a root; that I would see it and step over it. But I wasn't looking; I was checking how far it was to the rendezvous point."

"You were paying more attention to your displays than your surroundings. You're using your armor as if you're piloting a ship. Controls, displays, readouts. You don't 'control' it or 'fly' it. You make it a part of you, and to do that you have to constantly tweak the system. Tailor every part of it to your own preferences. Make minor changes that make it easier for you to use the tools. Establish 'macros' -- even tiny ones -- that group commands or procedures together. The most valuable commodity on a battlefield is information; your system gives you plenty of that. The second most valuable commodity is time. If you can save yourself even one second in combat, it might make the difference between whether you go home in a shuttle or a body bag. Now, your system will give you as much information as it has. But it can give you too much or give it to you in a way that is confusing or distracting. Sorting it all out takes too much time to use that information. All this has to be set up before you go into combat. Look, you have a voice interface; use it. I know it sounds strange, but talk to your computer. Tell it what you want. That way it can give you what you need instead of guessing what you want. Like that root, for example, In default mode, the system will only tell you about a threat or automatically do something about it if the threat is immediately lethal. Threat Recognition Protocols have to be individually refined the same as everything else in the system, that's why you have to practice with it in simulations."

I took a deep breath and blew it out. I was beat. "OK, the lesson's over for today; get some rest. That's an order."

"Yes sir," she said and turned toward the exit.

"Oh, and one more thing Lieutenant." I said.

She stopped and turned to face me and stood to attention. Her expression said that she knew what was coming. "Yes sir?"

I hardened my tone again. "The next time you disobey my orders, I will bust you so far down that you'll have to salute cadets. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." She said.

"My unit works because it is a team Lieutenant. We depend on each other for our lives. I expect the members of my team to show initiative and motivation and to freely give their input but after I make my decision and give an order, it is not open for debate or interpretation. Are you reading me Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir. Five by five, sir."

"Reveille is at oh-five-hundred. You're dismissed."

"Yes sir."

She turned and walked off the holodeck.

"Computer," I said, "end program."

The trees shimmered and faded into nothingness and I left the holodeck, headed for my quarters. My reveille was at oh-four-hundred.

--

Beep "The time is oh-four-twenty-seven hours."

"All right, all right, I'm up," I snarled, sluggishly crawling out of bed. I had only gotten four hours' sleep and that was the third time the computer had called me. I wasn't in a good mood. I knew I had a long day ahead of me and I wasn't looking forward to it. I had a meeting with Picard at the ungodly hour of oh-five hundred, I had to introduce Lieutenant Tan to the unit, we had a mission briefing concerning Dr. Monk at oh-six hundred, and more training for the rest of the day with simulations that -- if I got my way with Picard this morning -- were going to be even harder than all those that we had trained in before. The only bright side to today was that we would arrive at Starbase 51 at fifteen hundred hours, where we would be assigned one of the new Inquisitor class ships to carry out our mission. I lumbered out of the sonic shower with only nineteen minutes before I had to be in the Captain's office and only forty-nine minutes before the mission briefing began.

"Computer, coffee, hot, double cream. Two fried egg and bacon sandwiches and a banana." I demanded stepping up to the replicator.

"That selection exceeds your recommended daily intake of fat by twelve point six grams," the computer responded.

"Okay, put milk in the coffee instead of cream," I growled. "I'm going to work it all off in the holodeck anyway, now give me the food I ordered."

I swear the computer's chirp sounded positively disdainful but my breakfast shimmered into place in the alcove, exactly as I had ordered it. I took it to the table and devoured it in three minutes flat, including a second cup of coffee.

When I had finished, I put on a standard Starfleet Marine Corps uniform, standard jungle camouflage fatigues with black shoulders and black combat boots, and four vertical silver slashes for the neck insignia of a Marine Corps Colonel. This insignia had bothered some Starfleet Captains because they felt that it too closely resembled their own neck insignia and they felt it necessary to maintain superiority aboard their ships. Because of this Starfleet had decided that, although technically a Marine Corps Colonel was equal in rank to a Starfleet Captain, while aboard ship, the Captain outranked everyone except a General or an Admiral, and even they had to have a very good reason to pull rank. I therefore deferred to Captain Picard and called him 'Sir'.

I tossed the dishes into the recycler and ordered another cup of coffee in a cup with a lid so I could drink it on the fly. I outfitted myself with an R.L.P.D., (I really needed implants) with a sensor band, a force field and an arm mounted P.A.D.D. I grabbed my coffee and headed for the Captain's office.

I used the time the trip took to run diagnostics on my systems, but as the turbolift came to a halt, the doors did not immediately open. I wondered why until I heard Captain Picard's voice say "Come" and the doors opened directly into the Captain's office. I hadn't known that he had his own private turbolift access in his office.

"Ah, good morning Colonel. Welcome to the ready room." he gestured me to a seat.

"Oh yes," I said. "You call it a 'ready room'. I just have an office." I sat down across the desk from him in a chair that was neither too hard nor too soft.

"Yes," he smiled. "Naval traditions are hard to break. Coffee?" He asked, rising and going to the replicator.

"Already have some, thank-you," I said, raising my cup.

"Of course." he smiled and turned to the control panel. "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot," he said. The tea shimmered, steaming, into existence in the alcove of the replicator. Picard brought the cup back to his desk and seated himself.

He paused, taking a sip of his tea and set the cup and saucer on the desk, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair, steepling his fingers in front of him and turning his chair slightly to the right. "Now, Colonel, I understand you have a problem with the simulations you've been running."

Straight to the point. Excellent, that was just what I wanted. "As a matter of fact Captain, I do. If your holodeck programmers can't come up with something more realistic than the crap we went through yesterday then we're all wasting our time here. How can you expect my team to train for life and death situations when you're putting them up against enemies that don't even shield their force field generators? Any cadet could have breached that compound with nothing more than a stick and harsh language! And that's not all either. The wooded area surrounding the compound was only ten meters from the fence! I could have hidden an army in there and they wouldn't even have known we were there until we were standing on their heads! And only sending two skimmers after us? Come on Captain, this is supposed to be realistic. It didn't fool me, I know it didn't fool Perak and I'm pretty sure that it didn't fool Q'iang either. Even Lt. Tan mentioned it to me when I spoke with her last night. "

Picard scowled. "Alright Colonel, you've made your point. I'll have my people reprogram the holodecks to be more difficult, will that suffice?"

"Actually Captain, it won't. Number one, I want the simulations to be intuitive. I want them to learn from us and develop accordingly. Eventually they should know us better than we know ourselves. The programs should progressively become more and more difficult until it's not possible to defeat them."

"Mmm… and second?"

I sighed. I knew the second thing was going to be hard to attain. "I want your permission to disengage the safety protocols."

Picard glowered. "Not possible. The safety protocols are there to protect --"

"Captain," I interrupted "With all due respect, protecting my team is not the number one priority here, training them is. You set that parameter yourself with this mission. I know that sounds callous but I have to know that they can handle themselves when the danger is real. I thought I could achieve that by tricking them into thinking the simulations were real but they won't fall for that again. Not only that, but my credibility with them will drop accordingly, now that they know I lied to them. The only way to do it now, short of an actual mission, is to let them train with the safeties off. I will, of course, assume full responsibility."

He straightened his chair, placed his hands firmly on either side of his cup and leaned forward. "Responsibility is not the issue here. And at the risk of sounding callous myself, I need live personnel to send on this mission," he replied.

"Well put it this way, Captain, if the men you send on this mission aren't trained properly, they're not going to last very long into it. I have to have those safeties off to do that, and, with all due respect, sir, I need live personnel to return from this mission."

He paused and sighed heavily. "All right," he said, "I will do this; I will allow you to increase the limitations of the safety protocols until they are just barely below tolerance. But know this, I will not deliberately endanger the lives of those under my command for a training exercise, no matter how important the mission. And remember, at that level, any wounds that are not immediately life-threatening will--be--real. Members of your team could still die from secondary incidents anyway and if that happens then believe me, Colonel, I will hold you accountable. Their safety is now in your hands. That is as far as I am prepared to go in this matter."

I sighed, knowing that I had already gotten more than I had expected. I was expecting him to turn me down flat. Disengaging the holodeck safeties is a serious breach of protocol and it was an example of how serious this situation was that he was even willing to consider it, let alone actually do it. "That will have to do then, Captain. I'm certain that the extended limitations will be helpful in our training. Remember, I'm not asking my team to take any risks that I'm not willing to take myself. I'll be right there with them. Experiencing the same dangers as they are."

"I did take that into account when I made my decision. In fact it's the only reason I went as far as I did," he said.

"Now, on a more positive note. We will be arriving at Starbase fifty-one ahead of schedule, our E.T.A. is one hour." he paused and smiled slightly, "Your ship is ready Colonel. Final preparations on the Angeles were completed last night. Apparently, Commander Kretchen has had crews working 'round the clock -- three shifts -- to complete the work ahead of schedule. She's ready for her maiden voyage. Are you ready to take command?"

I almost jumped out of my chair. I had expected the final prep to take at least another three days. I managed to contain myself, however, and simply said, "Yes sir, I believe I am. Um, just a moment, if you would Captain?" He nodded and gestured me to continue. "Computer, personal reminder. Send Commander Kretchen a bottle of Bavalian scotch." Picard chuckled. I turned back to him. "I owe him one for that. Captain, your hospitality has been greatly appreciated, but with all due respect, I'd like to get the hell off your ship and onto mine. Just between you and me, I miss being in charge."

Picard chuckled again. "I understand completely. And just between you and me, Colonel, I'm not really comfortable anywhere but on the bridge of my ship either. After he has completed some Ship's business, Commodore Data will meet you on the Starbase outside hangar bay eighteen at Eleven hundred hours. You'll have the next two weeks to familiarize yourself with the ship and its systems. I understand the Inquisitor class ships have some . . . unique capabilities."

I smiled, he knew as well as I did that I had been 'familiarizing' myself with the ship and its systems since I found out that it was going to be assigned to us. "Yes sir, they do. I'm looking forward to our shakedown cruise. With your permission, sir, I'd like to get my team used to the ship and its 'unique capabilities' as soon as possible. I think it would be beneficial for me and the team to take her out for a couple of days and really get to know her. You know as well as I do that all the technical readouts and schematics in the world can't properly prepare you for the real thing. Some hands-on experience could make the difference between life and death. That would also give your programmers time to reprogram the holodecks with something more suitable to our needs."

"That sounds reasonable. If you like, you can also run a series of simulated attacks on the Enterprise."

"Thank you, Captain." I said. "We'll do that as soon as we get back but for now, sir, with your permission, I have some preparations to make before our maiden voyage."

"Very well," he replied, standing and holding out his hand. I rose and shook it. "Good luck, Colonel. We'll see you in two days. Dismissed."

I turned and headed for the turbolift; the doors opened immediately and swished shut behind me. "Deck eleven," I said. The lift turned ninety degrees left, then started down and I started replanning my day. My schedule, as usual, it seemed lately, was now completely useless. I now needed to plan a series of shipboard training exercises. I had hoped that I would be able to accomplish more with the S.P.E.D.A.R. system before progressing on to the starship training because they already had some previous training aboard starships. They needed the extra time on the ground to remind them that they were down and dirty grunts most of the time and fancy-ass starship pilots very little. We're the Marine Corps, not Starfleet. We do most of our fighting face-to-face, not ship-to-ship. We train for combat first. They train for combat last. That's what makes us better at it than them. And if we're going to be the best at it then we had damn well better train for it!

The turbolift doors hissed open and I stopped myself just as I was stepping out into the corridor. "Computer, what time is it?" I asked into the air.

"The time is oh five sixteen hours."

"Are all the members of my team awake?"

"Affirmative."

"Is the Observation Lounge occupied?"

"Negative."

I stepped back into the turbolift. "Deck one, Observation Lounge." The doors slid shut and the lift began to ascend. "Garren to Alpha squad. Report to Observation Lounge in ten mics."

As the computer had predicted, the observation lounge was deserted. Perak was there thirty seconds after me and the rest of the team arrived shortly thereafter chatting and joking and jostling each other. Donaldson and Simmons were sparring with each other. Tan was last and still favoring her left leg but well in advance of the ten mic time limit. Luckily for her we wouldn't be training on the holodeck today after all. The others looked at her questioningly, trying to figure out who she was and what she was doing here. I called the meeting to order.

"All right, people. Settle down and listen up! Donaldson! Simmons! Secure that shit and have a seat, gentlemen. Lieutenant, sit here please." I gestured Lt. Tan to a seat next to the one behind which I was standing and seated myself. "We have a new addition to our team. Alpha squad, this is Lieutenant Olorina Tan. Lt. Tan, my team." I gestured to each in turn. "This is Lieutenant Perak, my XO, Master Sergeant Leo Kowalski, Sergeant Q'iang, Corporal Mollen Alic, Corporal Joel Simmons, Private Vorn and Private Shane Donaldson.

Gentlemen, Lt. Tan's rank as a lieutenant is a Starfleet rank. It is equivalent to the Marine Corps rank of Captain. That means she outranks all of you. However, that rank does not carry directly over to our branch of the service. Therefore, her rank will be 'Lieutenant, Senior Grade, Starfleet Marine Corps'. That means she still outranks all of you except Perak, by virtue of the fact that he has held his rank longer and that he is executive officer. I expect you all to show proper respect for that rank, even if she is new. We don't have time for you all to 'get adjusted' to her, so let's get this right the first time.

"Now, to business. Training exercises for today are suspended." A chorus of cheers and hoots went around the table. I decided to let it pass on its own.

"How come, Colonel?" Kowalski asked, after their mirth had died down.

"I received news, in my meeting with Captain Picard this morning, that our new ship will be ready for launch ahead of schedule." Another chorus of cheers. "We arrive at Starbase fifty-one in less than an hour. I'm giving you all liberty until eleven hundred hours. At that time, you will report to hangar bay eighteen for orientation with Commodore Data. When orientation is complete, we will be taking her out for a two day shakedown cruise." Cheers and hoots went a third round. I noticed the length of the cheers was increasing with each round so I decided not to let it go this time. "All right, people, settle down and serious up! We're on a schedule here. What are you people, new? You know the drill. Snap to it!" Everyone settled down serioused up. These were a tight knit group already. They needed some leeway so they wouldn't become afraid to speak out but sometimes you have to yank the chain to remind 'em who's boss.

"Sir," Perak asked. "May I ask where we are going?"

"Nowhere in particular, Mr. Perak. It's just a shakedown; we will have no clear destination. But don't all of you think that just because we're not going to be on the holodeck that we're on a vacation. We will be running drills and mock engagements the whole time. You will be expected to become proficient with all the ship's systems and maybe even learn a little."

"Two days?" Donaldson protested. "Sir, how are we supposed to learn a whole ship in two days?"

"I've been looking over the specs." I replied. "This particular ship is pretty unusual. It's not that big and it's supposed to have some kind of smart computer that will teach us as we go. Besides, you've all had Starfleet Academy training. I'm assuming they didn't let you graduate without knowing how to fly a ship?"

"No, sir. They didn't." Donaldson said.

"Very well, then I will expect you all on the firing line at eleven hundred." I raised my voice and looked around. "Comprendé?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The group chorused in unison.

"You're all dismissed." As they all filed out of the room, I gathered my thoughts. Could this work? I wasn't so sure. The odds were definitely against us. The people that Monk hired to work for him would not be like the ones we had encountered on the holodeck yesterday. They would be mercenaries; people who were used to combat--and killing. My whole unit, except for Perak and now Tan was just a bunch of kids. Good kids, but kids. They had gone straight from the Academy to Boot camp and from there right to me. Kowalski and Q'iang only had their sergeant's stripes by virtue of the fact that I needed non-coms and they had shown the best leadership qualities. None of them had any experience in the field. This was supposed to be a nice cushy gig for them. Just test the armor and help to perfect it. They weren't supposed to have to go into full-scale combat. But now they all were. And I had to make damn sure that they all came home alive. I wasn't so sure I could. . .