Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kiama Naim ((A) Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: Blue-shirt Holodeck Hangout

Posted by Ensign Shon Baht (Medical Officer) in Side Sim: Blue-shirt Holodeck Hangout

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kiama Naim ((A) Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: Blue-shirt Holodeck Hangout
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)
Shon wrapped his arm around Kiama’s waste to support her as they limped to the entrance of an abandoned ice cream parlor, which Shon kicked open the door to. He led Kiama to one of the retro-style diner chairs at a nearby table and helped her sit down. “The holodeck’s gone haywire. The computer’s not responding to commands. We need to find the manual control panel, it should be somewhere nearby, but first we need to patch you up.”

Her first instinct had been to protest as Shon helped her walk, but she managed to stop herself from saying anything as she was fully aware that it was the sensible thing for him to do. Not to mention that she didn’t want to fall again; and since she was feeling somewhat dizzy she didn’t trust that she could avoid that on her own.

Once she was sitting on a chair, she replied, “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. Let’s just find the control panel.”

He jogged to the little kitchenette behind a row of replicators and dug through the drawers, making a face as he pulled out a rubber chicken and tossed it aside. “Looks like the shop isn’t immune to the glitches either, but hopefully they’re a little less intense…” He eventually found a knife and brought it over to where Kiama was sitting, using it to cut off a sleeve of his polka-dotted shirt. He moved to tie it around Kiama’s head as a makeshift bandage. Then he cut off the pant legs of his ruined khakis at the knee, grunting as he awkwardly tied the thicker fabric together and strained to make sue the knot was tight. “Do you think this might work as a sling for your arm?” He ran back to the kitchenette and foraged for a spoon. He placed it gently against Kiama’s broken wrist along the joint, then cut off his other sleeve to wrap it tightly. “I’m sorry of this hurts,” he said as he worked.

Kiama felt rather uncomfortable and probably wasn’t the best at hiding it just now. Being cared for by someone else in this way just wasn’t something that came natural to her. Or not anymore anyways. So in order not to feel completely useless and helpless, she started to methodically look around the ice cream parlor, hoping to spot what might be the holodeck controls. At Shon’s question she looked back at him and then at the sling. “I’m sure it’ll do fine,” she nodded.

“That’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” Kiama replied sincerely. Yet as Shon started to make a makeshift wrist splint, she involuntarily inhaled sharply while clenching her other hand into a fist; her nails digging into the soft skin of her palm.

Hopefully, by the time he was done, Kiama had a makeshift wrist splint, sling, and head bandage. All made of Shon’s clothes, which left him looking a little wonky in his sleeveless button down and freshly-frayed khaki shorts. “Do you have any idea how to escape a malfunctioning holodeck?”

(Ensign Shon, Medical)

“Other than through finding a holodeck control panel?” Kiama asked and before Shon even had the chance to answer, added, “Not really. And sadly, computer science has always been one of my weak points. My forte is with living beings. An engineer or Lieutenant Calloway would be much more helpful than me. Sorry.”

Carefully sliding of the chair, Kiama started to walk slowly around the room, looking more closely for what might be the control panel. She did her best not to show it, but she was still feeling dizzy and even slightly nauseated. Not a good sign at all. But that was something to worry about later. Now she needed to focus and she knew that as long as she kept herself busy, that wouldn’t be a problem. Not to mention that she knew from experience that high-stress situations like that made it so easy for her to focus that she ended up not even registering pain and discomfort any more. So that was what she was counting on to happen right now as well.

~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO

For his part, Shon didn’t seem to register Kiama’s discomfort. Whereas in her boarding physical Shon had tried very hard to be polite, in this situation he wasn’t going to give Kiama much choice but to accept his medical help, unless she actively resisted. He was very much in field medic mode.

Shon joined in the search, opening cabinets and looking under tables for the panel. But as he did so, he watched Kiama out of the corner of his eye. He raised his voice to make sure she could hear from across the room. “You got pretty banged up, what happened?” Shon obviously knew what happened. But he was perhaps not so slyly trying to determine if Kiama was disoriented.

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Turning her head to look at Shon, Kiama gave him a look that clearly said, ‘as if you don’t know yourself.’ But she had a good idea what he was trying to achieve with his question, so she humored him and said, “Among other things I learned my lesson about sitting sideways on a scooter in a dress and with no helmet.” A soft chuckle escaped her lips, immediately followed by a soft wince.

Shon offered an apologetic smile as Kiama indicated that she knew what he was up to, but nonetheless waited for her to continue.

“As to what happened: We were driving down the street and the scooter suddenly stopped. Thanks to the laws of physics the two of us kept moving and thus fell off the scooter.” She paused for a moment and wondered if she should go into more detail about what happened, or rather about what she did and didn’t remember about what happened. She didn’t want to worry Shon, yet at as a neuroscientist herself, she knew that head injuries could be dangerous and hiding anything could have severe consequences.

Turning so she could look him in the eyes, Kiama continued softly, “I remember feeling the scooter stop abruptly. And considering that I scraped the palms of my hands and broke my left wrist I must have tried to catch myself. But I don’t remember that. The first thing I remember again is you calling my name.” A deep frown creased her forehead and she added, “I don’t know if I lost consciousness for a moment or if it is just the shock and the surge of adrenaline that is clouding my memory. And to answer any other questions you might have: my vision and hearing are fine. I’m still able to keep my mental shield up so I don’t listen to everyone’s thoughts and I have no trouble sensing emotions. I’m just feeling a little dizzy, so I may have a concussion.”

All of a sudden the pensive expression on her face got replaced by something akin to excitement. “Once we get out of here and you take a scan of brain, I definitely want to see it. Or even better: I want the data. I never had a head injury and I’m curious to see what the scan says.” Kiama was fully aware that that was an … unusual request, yet she couldn’t care less what people might think. Neuroscience was her passion and for her that included analyzing scans of her own brain.

~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO

This time a genuine grin slowly spread across Shon’s face as he shook his head in mock bewilderment. “I’ll make sure you get any scans you’d like. Maybe we’ll throw in a couple extra check-ups over the next few weeks just to make sure we really get a good look at what’s going on in that head of yours,” he joked. Shon was relieved to hear Kiama’s report. Even if she had a concussion, it sounded like addressing it could wait until they had escaped the holodeck.

Kiama chuckled and said enthusiastically, “Works for me!”

From behind the ice cream counter, there was a gurgling sound that made Shon turn. As he did, the replicators started spewing melted ice cream, which expanded unnaturally quickly to create a massive bubbling pile of dairy that rapidly began to fill the entire room. Around them, the ice cream parlor wavered, creating an uneven ground on which they stood. Shon looked at Kiama with wide eyes.

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Following Shon’s gaze, Kiama first frowned as she heard the weird noise and then her eyes went wide. “Uhm....” For a second or two Kiama felt like she frozen, unable to move or think clearly. But then a sudden change came over her, showing Shon a side of her he hadn’t seen before; o at least not to that extend. From one second to the next all joviality and light-heartedness were gone; along with any other display of emotions. She was all focus and seriousness; unaware of the pain in the various parts of her body and the blasting polka music. “We need to get out. Now,” she said in an almost commanding tone while slipping her shoes of her feet. Heels of any kind were not made for running; especially on uneven ground. She wasn’t sure where they should go from here, but an ice cream parlour rapidly filling with ice cream certainly wasn’t a safe place to be. Especially considering that the holodeck safeties were clearly offline.

She only waited long enough for Shon to catch up with her before starting to make her way quickly towards the exit; trying her best not to stumble or slip on the uneven, slippery floor. Yet out of habit she kept an eye on Shon as well, even if it was mostly out of the corner of her eye, while also keeping a close tap on his emotional state. Once again she was grateful that part of her physiology.

Shon eagerly followed Kiama’s lead, not fond of the idea of being swallowed by the ice cream, rather than the other way around. As he moved quickly, his kindly face contorted slightly in slight winces. The adrenaline produced by seeing his friend hurt was wearing off, and his own injuries were starting to make themselves known. Road rash wasn’t necessarily a serious injury, but it was a painful one that slowed him down slightly as his knees screamed. Despite the pain, Shon was determined as ever. Nervous and scared, naturally, but still very much focused on escaping.

Once outside, Kiama took a quick survey of their surroundings. In the short time they had been inside the ice cream parlour things had gone even more haywire. More and ore trees had grown all around them. Trees in all kinds of colours and sizes; from saplings to huge one the sizes of ancient redwood trees. At first Kiama thought it was snowing for it certainly looked like snow. Yet when the first flake landed on her skin, it felt warm and didn’t melt. And at closer inspection the little flakes weren’t exactly white but various shades of very pale pastel colours. And even in the few moments they were just standing outside, things kept changing around them.

While looking around she soon spotted what looked like some kind of shelter. It had three walls and a slanted roof. She doubted that they would find a console there, but it was most likely to be safer there than in the ice cream parlour or here out in the open. At least she hoped that that would be the case. Pointing towards it, Kiama said, “Let’s go there.” Without waiting for a reply, she started to move again, wishing she was better with technology and thus might be able to do something with their communicators so that they could reach the rest of the ship and maybe get help from them.

~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO

Shon’s eyes widened as they observed the chaotic scene before them, having forgotten just how strange this holographic world was becoming. He blinked at the multicolored soot that fell around them, struck for a moment by its beauty in the midst of the randomness. As Kiama instructed him to go towards the shelter, Shon snapped out of his haze and followed Kiama a couple steps behind.

“I hope the rest of the ship is okay,” Shon called as he staggered and winced in his attempt to catch up. “Maybe the radiation from that anomaly is what’s causing the holodeck to go haywire. But if so, lets hope it’s not having a similar effect on other ship’s systems. I mean my time in the holodeck is up in an hour, so if everyone else is okay we just have to find a way to....” he gulped, “… survive… until then and surely we’ll be discovered. Or maybe they’re working on the problem already!” His speech got progressively faster as his nerves built but he tried to stay positive.

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

It didn’t take long till they arrived at the shelter Kiama had pointed out. It was smaller than she thought it would be, but for now it would have to do. With her head bent, she got inside and st down in a corner. Adrenaline was still rushing through her body and made her hyper-focused. Looking at Shon, she said, “I sure hope you’re right, but I don’t like the idea of just waiting here like sitting ducks.” Looking around, she said, “I’ve never experienced anything like this. Of course I’ve heard of holodecks going haywire before, but this …” She shook her head slightly. “This is insane! Anyway, I’d say there are two or three things we should do. One,” she held up her left index finger, “find a console with the holodeck controls. “Two,” she held up her middle finger as well, “see if we can find a way to protect ourselves from further injury. And three,” she put up her ring finger, “figure out together if we can find a way to contact the rest of the ship. We have our communicators after all. Maybe we can rig one of them somehow?” Looking at Shon, she finished, “What do you think?”

~Lt.jg. Naim, aCSO

Shon nodded along as Kiama numbered their possible plans, his eyes fixated on her fingers as he thought through each option as she listed them. He sat with his chin rested on his knees, in such a way that the scraps on his kneecaps and elbows were all plainly visible due to his shredded clothing. His fingers absent-mindedly probed one of the patches of road burn on his leg, causing him to hiss reflexively.

“We already tried looking for the control panel,” Shon said after a moment of thought, “And it didn’t seem to be immediately accessible. So we’ve sorta already tried that. I’m not particularly skilled when it comes to engineering… maybe science is a closer academic cousin than medical? If you wanted to try your hand at the communicators, I could look for a way to keep us safe. Some kind of helmet would be the first priority, considering things are falling from the sky and we don’t want head injuries. Or… additional head injuries, I suppose.” Shon took of his comm badge and tossed it to Kiama before peaking out of the shelter. “Sound like a plan?”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)