I, Maximus

Posted on Wed Apr 5th, 2023 @ 11:09pm by Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver & Lieutenant Rowena "Rena" Campbell & Lieutenant JG Aurora House of Kor & Lieutenant S'Tera

4,650 words; about a 23 minute read

Mission: Good Will Tour: Mountain Home [Part Two]
Location: Triton Seabase: Holodeck Deck
Timeline: MD17: 1000 hours

Max waited on his comfortable lounge chair on the aft deck of the simulated Triton Seabase. He was in the same, simulated position as the infamous day when a family of whales ruined their exploration.

Movie night was still being held as a punishment against the crew as there were more than half of the crew who refused to come to training. Apparently, there were a good number of junior officers from that day still holding their own, petty grudges against him.

Well, this was it. This was the remaining senior staff that had not completed his training course. By not completing his simple training course, now they got to play something much more interesting. Max sipped the last of his orange juice. It was a pleasure to have orange juice fresh pressed and readily available to the seabase nearly all year.

Counting the last person as they entered, Max stood and blew his annoying beach whistle. “Alright, senior staff from our abysmal, accidental event three days ago, it’s time to begin training today for survival purposes. You’ll have to survive and obtain a collective score above ninety five percent. Any questions?”

"What do we do? You haven't told us anything about the training, captain," Roman said. He excelled at any survival scenarios put to him thanks to his history. The part of his job he needed to improve on was leadership. Of course, Declan had been a great help, however, he couldn't rely on the Vulcan all the time.

Aurora huffed softly as she rolled her eyes. While she hated having to be involved in this 'horse and monkey show'...'dog and pony'? Aurora couldn't keep that sort of thing straight, when the crew was sloppy, training was need to iron out the problems so that they wouldn't recur.

“Well, Director. During our last off base research expedition, we had a very minor incident - an encounter with an indigenous mother whale and her calf that could be classified as little more curious baby than lost baby. With the reunion of the mother and calf, we should have been able to have reunited the two beings together and send them, safely, on their way.

“Instead, someone placed a return to base order, which was then carried out with the crew having absolutely no idea how or where to return to base.”

Rena interjected. "How were we supposed to know it was even THERE when Engineering won't share their plans with the rest of the crew?" She wasn't mad at him anymore, but she did need him to know that someone had dropped the ball, and it wasn't her.

Max could hear the exasperation in Rena’s tone instead of the irritation that had been there before. “This is a training event, Rena, and if the fault is to be assigned to anyone, as commanding officer, then the fault is mine.

“All crew should have been trained on at least four ways to re-enter the base under emergency conditions,” Max assured the counselor calmly. Using one of her own tricks, he sent his calming aura out to assuage their trepidations and anxieties.

Max took his shirt off, allowing the warmth of the sun to fall on his shoulders. Then he kicked the release lever for the stairs, “Once we have our small group in the water, we can begin training at the additional ‘emergency all aboard stations order’,” he explained. The railing swung open and then slid inside the outer stainless steel railing. Max opened the deck railing.

It was for optional dive access - specifically for complex diving where a slower introduction to the water made more sense. For example, when one was dressed in an EV suit - rather than taking the stair one at a slow and dangerous time. The open railing left about a meter opening to look down to the simulated calm ocean.

From where Max could see down, it was almost a three meter dive. The sun rippled off the top of the mostly calm water. Max lined his toes up against the edge of the base’s deck. His arms came up over his head fluidly, his body reaching to the sky as his hands came together to point there, his heels lifting from the deck. his entire body slowed in the moment, as had happened once before - and as Vianola had explained El-Aurians’ could do - his breath slowed almost to a stop and then time exploded around him as he leapt from the aft deck in a nearly perfect dive.

Entering the water with almost no splash, Max wondered what he could have done with that kind of temporal understanding as a cadet; he had been barely average as an Academy diver.

He wondered if the crew would think him a show off, but at the very least, Rena should have sensed his surprise.

Shock in his voice, he announced to the crew watching, “I didn’t know I could do that!” He meant every word. The pose, the slowing of time, the pure explosion out of that moment before landing the dive like an intergalactic gold medalist. He could almost sense his own surprise.

Rena laughed at Max; he definitely seemed genuinely surprised. She was dressed today in a one piece swimsuit, in teal - her Fleet issued uniform color, because apparently they needed that?

'Of course, THEY did at Triton, but she meant the royal ''they".

She was also wearing a swimming cap; her ethnic hair couldn't take much more of the brackish water before she started to look like a Brillo pad. She got ready to dive in, as well, executing a perfect swan dive, and landing in the water with a soft splash. She was surprisingly streamlined, considering her size, and actually really DID like the water.

"Okay Max, very nice. I assume you want us to dive in after you and then you will tell us what to do?" S'tera said. Max seemed deliberately vague on what he wanted, but did say something to the effect of once they were all in the water then they would begin. At least that was her interpretation of it.

She was wearing a one piece suit. Not so much for modesty but it seemed to work better for stuff like this. She had her hair tied back in a pony tail. Also for practicality sake. She dove in and looked quite good doing it! She had plenty of practice in her life. She came to the surface. and shook her head. "Okay, Max, now what?"

Aurora's jaw dropped at the Captain's performance, and his surprise at it.

Aurora rubbed her hands down her pink and silver one piece suit, took three steps and launched herself off the deck, diving into the water.

Roman clapped at the dive, though didn’t understand why the Captain was so surprised at his own ability. He wore simple one tone teal coloured knee length swimmers and no shirt. His torso had similar tattoos like his facial memorial one, he went to where the Captain dived off.

He made a motion of tracing the tattoos up his stomach, chest and face before up into the air above to a point. Then he took a deep breath and dove. There was a moderate splash as he’d not been practicing diving for a while. Looks like he would be practicing while working on Triton. Roman returned to the surface and treaded water. “Now what?” He asked echoing the others.

Rena had figured out pretty quickly what was going to happen. Max was going to pretend that something "bad" or dangerous had happened - an unknown creature had approached, perhaps -and they needed to leave, like, RIGHT THE FUCK NOW, and going down the suspicious looking hatch was how they were going to do that. She didn't know if she trusted it enough for her to fit in it, but she'd see.

“Computer adjust parameters for training on emergency reentry procedures,” Max said, bring them all to about mid-chest height for each of them -despite being different heights. “Now,” Max said, pausing as he pointed above them. “You’ll notice our heights have adjusted to mid-chest height. There is, for all intents and purposes, a floor beneath you, so try not to drown in the low water, please.

EMH Christine Graham appeared in the water with the group. “Hi guys! Doctor Grocx is too busy in sickbay, so I’ll be your lifeguard.” The Andorian chuckled and waved. “Doctor Christine Graham, if we haven’t met yet.”

"Hi, Doctor Christine! Er, Graham," Aurora giggled softly as she waved back.

Max nodded, noticing the EMH looked happy to be in a bathing suit and in the water. For a moment, he realized she’d been shunted aside when the new CMO arrived and she appeared excited for any interaction. He would add her to future Science Expeditions.

Roman shifted backwards in the water at the hologram's appearance among them, though it was interesting that holograms can actually be in the water. That meant holoprojectors are mounted on the exterior of the seabase, he wondered as to their range but after a nod in Christine's direction for acknowledgement he turned to the Captain again.

Max signaled the group that they should follow him. “If you look up, you’ll see the majority of the seabase standing tall above us. Here,” he paused and indicated the single set of stairs, “this is where we are going to run into our biggest problem when leading groups of people out of the water. In an emergency, these stairs represent the biggest place for a back flow to occur. As few as ten people can hold up these stairs for as many as twenty minutes.”

“Now, even if you have a shark the size of a Great White, an Earth shark that can grow as long as seven to eight meters, this type of animal can cause life threatening wounds, going to far as to kill multiple people they’ve mistaken as prey. Some have even been known to hunt humans.

“In this ocean, we don’t even know the size of predators there may be. A Great White may be just the beginning size of their predators.” Max paused as he looked at the gathered crew. “Do we have any idea of other options to escape the water using other methods than this single set of stairs?”

Rena raised her hand. "But don't the Romulans keep this part of the planet safe using underwater fencing? The likelihood of a shark attack is quite slim, sir. With respect. And yes. I have heard a rumor that we have trap doors in the walls of the base." She didn't know where they were or how they operated, though.

Max tried not to laugh outright as that would be entirely embarrassing for Rena. “Rena, who told you such a lie as the Romulans, or any O-Class species, being able to erect a force field or underwater fence that would deter sharks?

“Let me be clear to you all! There is no underwater fencing technology that would save this ecology such that the predators would not go extinct. Secondly, our own EM force field technology fails on a regular basis so as to only make it forty percent effective against larger life forms. That’s why we carry weaponry capable of killing such creatures.”

Rena shrugged. "No one told me. They're a race that operates on logic and reason, I would've assumed that was a logical and reasonable thing to do, as they do at Earth water parks and things," she explained.

Max made a mental note to talk to Rena when Roman wasn’t present. As nice a person as Roman was, he was Romulan and Max didn’t need a misunderstanding when it came to off world Romulans and the refugees who had rebuilt their world here and would just as soon toss you to a shark while they explained how there weren’t any in their waters.

Roman smirked. "Well as long as you keep the forcefield generator dry, shouldn't be a problem to create an underwater bubble. A theory worth experimentation," he grinned. He quickly returned to the question earlier. "If in range of our transporters a simple trigger beacon, that could be installed in our various swimwear or gear, could activate a wide area site to site beam-out?"

“Since swimwear changes from user to user, we’re already considering the option of placing transporter technology in the aquatic tricorder,” Max paused and held up his wrist to display the item that looked like a chronometer but functioned as so much more.

"Does water density affect transporter target locks?" Roman asked no one in particular, he hadn't come across that issue before.

Aurora was just taking in all the information...not making any comments as she didn't want anyone to miss anything.

“Only in the sense that we’ll be bringing that water with us, which is why we need to talk about those lower decks that are pressurized. Let’s make an appointment for a later meeting, Roman.”

“Unless we program the transporter buffers to filter the water out, I meant they can do that to viruses, weapons and so on. I will need a little help from operations to work on the coding. Depending on signal depth, we could have the computer beam you to either unpressurized or pressurized pads.” Roman continued excitedly, “oh the subs could act as pattern enhancers or before any deep water exploration we launch probes that will do that job around the chosen areas.”

He finished and blinked, “sorry, rambling as I get lost in ideas.”

“I do believe Captain Montgomery Scott wrote a paper on that about one hundred and fifty years ago, regarding a few humpback whales. You can read it in the library,” Max told Roman.

“Anyway,” Max said before giving a pause. “Let’s get back on track. Let’s assume we’ve got a similarly evolved species and we’ve got blood in the water which sends them into a feeding frenzy. We’ve got a possibility to have multiple people bitten.”

Max pointed at the stairs. In normal height water, you can move along the back of the stair coupler, you can activate additional stair systems.”

Max activated the additional stairs around the coupler and activated them on both sides. “Now, instead of being crammed at one stair, body on body, you’ve got three stair systems to exit the water from.”

Max pointed now above them. “Whom among you knows of the power lift?”

Aurora had a rudimentary knowledge...but she was a bit too nervous to speak up and possibly stick her foot in her mouth.

Rena didn't; she shook her head and shrugged, then looked at S'Tera. "What is he talking about?" She asked the Caitian. Then her eyes shot to Roman. Did HE know?

Roman shrugged at Rena when he noticed her looking at him.

Max could tell from the assembly of confused expressions, Max turned. “Alright? We can work on three drills of this once we gone over it the first time.”

Aurora nodded. [This should prove interesting] Aurora thought.

“Let’s all step back about three meters.” As the group stepped back, the base loomed closer without splashing down. A slight, gentle, backward wave helped the group push themselves move away from the base itself.

Once they we in position but not too far from the base. Max moved in closer. “Okay! This is the easiest and fastest way back onto the base. As Max got close enough, he slowed. “On the side of the base, you’ll see an orange button. It’s lit 28/7 in the event you’re thrown over side at night the base will automatically stop, and if you can hit the orange button, you’ll be back on deck before they can launch a RIB.”

Max pointed at the button now right at the water line against the hull. He touched the button and last minute realized his final reminder. “Watch your head!” He said just before plunging underwater.

From above, a large lighted, white step dropped into the water from the deck above them. When Max popped back up out of the water, he spit out a small mouthful of water and brushed his hair back out of his eyes. “Large but important part, don’t get hit in the head by the stair. Who wants to go first?”

With a sigh, Rena raised her hand, always the "good girl" and also just wanting to get this over with so she could get back to work. The addition of the new CMO had lightened her workload a bit, so that was nice, but she still hadn't done her new training simulation. It was on her personal schedule for that evening.

"I will. To make sure I understand, I walk up the step, push the button, and swim like I'm being chased?" she asked.

What an odd day this was becoming, Roman thought as he watched the step fall nearly on the Captain's head. Seems a failure in design if the step falls onto someone pressing the button when they need to be saved.

He swam over to be next after Rena. "Might wanna hit the button with your leg instead so you can see the step coming down?" Roman suggested.

“Thanks for actually screwing that up,” Max said. “You’ll notice the stair step didn’t fall from Rena’s push. Max pushed the button again, making sure no one was in the way. “First, the stair step stopped descending because a second hit of the button indicates help has already arrived and you’re now being pulled into one of the boats.”

About the same time as Max finished speaking, the white stair step splashed down. Second, if you’ve done it on accident, because maybe a wave shoved you into it, or your co-worker thought he might have a better way to do things, you can hit it again and the step will reactivate. Let me be clear, this step weighs all of about 0.45 kilograms.

“Finally, I wouldn’t swim around like I was being chased during a prey situation as that will indicate prey behavior and you will become more likely to be eaten.”

“Okay, Rena, since you said you would like to go first, let’s have you get on the stair. I expect you’ll want to sit on the stair step, so pull it out from the left to the right side to demonstrate.'' Sliding it back into starting position, he gave it to Rena. “Okay, easy part. You adjust the stair step and swing your legs through, or just one leg if you like.”

“Last, but very important, touch the orange button and wait for it to turn green. Takes about five seconds and away you go.”

She nodded, and did as he said, pulling it slightly further to the right, as she was right-side dominant, and then stepped through, as if straddling a bench, then pulling her other leg through quickly. After touching the orange button, suddenly, she disappeared from view, reappearing on the deck. Nice.

Max watched as Rena was pulled back up to the deck of the base, where a holographic deck crew reset the equipment. Turning to the rest of the crew, he asked, “Who’s next?” Max thought this was the fun one, like a ride at the amusement parks.

Aurora was slightly intimidated by the setup...being a creature of the sea, trying to get out of it was always 'against her instincts'.

"Keep it cool, Aurora. This is for the good of the base," Aurora took several deep, calming breaths.

Max looked around with a smile. “Who’s next?” he asked, enjoyment in his tone. “Director Roman, since I kind of called you out earlier for your excitement?!” Max suggested.

Director Roman? He wondered where that came from as he swam into take Rena's place near the button. "Sure," Roman said and copied Rena's actions though a little quicker on the withdraw from the button after he pressed it.

He boarded the step and was in moments next to Rena. Roman glanced over at her and smiled. "Well that was kinda fun." He said.

"Yes!!" She said with a little laugh. "Hopefully we passed!!"

“Come on,” Max said, seeing Aurora and sensing she was a bit nervous. Max signaled her with his hands. “Just come over here and sit on it. Hold the ropes on either side and press the button, you’ll be fine.”

"Meep! Oh...okay. Gulp," Aurora shivered slightly and swam over.

"C'mon Aurora! You'll be fine!" Stera said encouraging her friend.

"Here goes nothing," Aurora did as instructed...and yelped in a combination of excitment...and fright, as she was whooshed to where Rena and Roman waited.

"Whewy! Tthat...that was AWESOME!" Aurora sputtered when she caught her breath despite her still racing heart.

"Hi Lieutenant," Roman greeted Aurora. He turned to Rena. "I doubt this is over, Counselor, far from it," he said in a low tone.

"Hi, Sir," Aurora grinned back...still slightly winded.

Rena nodded. With the Captain? Likely. Likely indeed. She smiled at Aurora. "Are you ok?" She asked the woman.

"Mostly...got a bit spooked with the speed, but yeah, it was FUN!" Aurora answered, finally getting her wind back.

A moment later, Max came to a halt with the rest of his group. “Hey guys!” he said with a goofy smile. He’s been the one who’d come up as the only one standing.”

Looking over the open rail, Max asked, “Is everyone ready for one last dive back in and finish this training?”

"Like you have to ask if I want to go back in the water!?" Aurora was already running toward the open rail! Aurora took a last step, and dove over the side, howling into the wind!

Max shrugged with a brilliant smile. “What she said!” Much in the same manner, Max made a break to the side of the base, leaping at the last minute, he dove straight up and pulled a tight, double front flip with almost no splash into the water. Coming up, he couldn’t reconcile how well he was diving. He was already formulating an idea about getting his dives judged.

Rena sighed deeply…guess it wasn't over after all. She shrugged, but took a few steps forward before diving in. Unlike the other two, her dives were more simple swan dives, but she surfaced gently. "Sir, I am ready."

Roman had waited for the first three to jump. He was cold and tired. He’d simply had enough. As a civilian, he decided this wasn’t worth all this time and torture, so he simply left the holodeck.

Max smiled and nodded at Rena as the trio waited down below for the appearance of their Science Director. When it was clear that Roman wasn’t coming, Max asked, “Computer, where is Director s’Lovok?”

=/\= Director s’Lovok is in turbolift one, en route to his quarters. =/\= came the gentle feminine computer voice.

“Alright, I guess the three of us finish up as the first group through the training program,” Max said, not really bothered by their Director’s decision. Max just knew now that this arrangement was not going to work out any longer.

Walking the trio underneath the massive base, it sank down around them slightly and somewhat claustrophobically. At the center was a small hub of doors. “All right,” Max said a bit more quietly to avoid the echo effect. “Each door is a fast transport back into the base, depositing us on deck eight. Pick a door,” he said to Rena and Aurora.

Rena sighed when the computer announced nicely that Roman had disappeared; she added it to the ever-growing list of things to discuss at a session with the Captain. She couldn't think of that now, though, and she stopped in front of one of the doors.

“Now Hold your hands at your sides and pull your legs together, just like going down a slide at a water park!” Max said, trying to make this sound like fun. “Only, you’ll be going backwards, up into the base instead of down and out!”

Rena did as he said, and closed her eyes for good measure. She stepped backwards, into the port hole with what was indeed a slide-or more like a chute, like you'd use on the midway of an air jet to get from the boarding room to your plane itself, and suddenly, she was sucked into the abyss. A moment later, she was back on the deck, warm sunshine hitting her face.

Aurora was more ready now than she had been for the stairs and eagerly move to a door, lined up, and stepped in.

"JEEPERS!!" Aurora squealed at the speed and reversal of the 'ride'. Aurora KNEW it wasn't a 'ride', but dang it was FUN!

"Ok Max, guess it's my turn now. Want me to do the same as Rena?" S'tera said.

“You’re the impatient kitty. Get it there and get yourself a good blow dry!”

S'tera smirked at Max. She stepped in to the chamber backwards and felt the air as she was sucked in like Aurora and rena before her. "Wooohoo!" Stera exclaimed.

TAG S’tera

Max moved to his own position and stepped inside, just waiting to hear the mechanics of the machine as he assumed the position and found himself in the abyss as well. When he stepped out, he was also deposited on the aft deck.

Max grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his shoulders. That last ride was better than the first. As he looked at the three women, he was proud they stayed the course. Max would now have to have another conversation with the Science Director.

“Well done ladies. That was a long, but I hope a little more fun than other training programs. Aurora, S’tera, I’d like you ladies to have the civilians and officers trained on these systems. There is a test from Starfleet that they can pass, but this is more interactive,” he suggested.

“I’ve got a warm summer morning, a fire to warm up by and some cocktails if you’re interested. We can even have brunch if you like?”

"Oh yeah! That sounds great, Max!" S'tera said.

Rena smiled and nodded a little bit. "Sounds like a good way to wrap up the morning!" She had a feeling she was in for some teasing now.

“Aurora?” Max offered as he pulled a cart out from the mess hall. “Ladies, who’s up for a mimosa and who is feeling more ‘spicy’ for the Bloody Mary?” he asked cracking his knuckles.

"All of the above sounds awesome, Sir! I'll take a mix of both...if you're ok with that," Aurora swirled her foot, a bit nervous to try such a wild combo...but up for the challenge.

Max gave one of each to Aurora, an odd look on his face as they didn’t really “go together”, but Klingon tastebuds were strange enough, add an Aquadian and who the Hells knew what they could drink?!

"Oh Bloody Mary sounds great!" S'tera says. A nice way to end the day.

Max handed a mimosa to Rena and sat back with one of his own. It was a pleasure interrupting movie morning, since others had heard about their punishments. Regardless of time or interruption, Max would get them all…

 

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