Posted by Lieutenant Commander Gravel Mardusk (Chief of Security) in Angelina’s Exam

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Angelina Markeson (Security Officer) in Angelina’s Exam

SNIP

The second static scene appeared:

A single room, Angelina looking through the doorway. In the room were three targets behind a table on which sat a large and complex looking device with series of wires going into blocks of some gray putty like substance: a Vulcan with with a phaser rifle pointed at the door, a human picking up an oblong object with a red button from the table, and a Klingon charging the door with a raised bat’leth.

Mardusk, CoS

This time she hesitated.

Obvious…

She had chosen to save the President thinking it was obvious. But she had been wrong. Here, the man with the red button seemed the obvious choice.

She shot the Klingon coming at the door.

Angelina
Security

Another loud BZZZZZZZZZZZ sounded and the program ended. Mardusk looked her with a blank expression and said “What did you do wrong in these two?”

Mardusk, CoS

Angelina frowned and set the phaser on the bench before her. “Honestly, I don’t know. In the first one, the President seemed to be the one to save. He’s high profile and could be used as a pawn to further someone’s agenda thru blackmail and such. And in the second one, I shot the Klingon cause he was closest threat. Next would have been the Vulcan with the weapon. After getting the first one wrong, I figured the guy with the explosive wouldn’t blow himself up so he wasn’t the prime threat in the room.” She realized she had made errors in what her mind perceived. As she turned to Mardusk, she shook her head. “So how my thinking in error?” Her question was one of sincere desire to learn.

Angelina
Securtity

Mardusk had a two chairs made up and he sat down, motioning her to the other.

“We are Security, right? Our job is to minimize risk, mitigate conflict, and try for the best possible solution for all parties involved, right? So let’s look at the first scene.” and he brought it up. “Look around… situational awareness and analysis, right? Those two abilities should lead to one conclusion. Look at the destruction, the fires, the multiple hostiles… this is an attack. Full scale, no stops. And you chose to protect the one… not the many. Lieutenant, no one person is more important than everyone else. We can get a new president. But right here? You are alone against a superior force that has already proven hostile intent. That -” and he pointed at the incoming transport, ” - is your most needed asset. So you protect that before anything else. So you take down that missle launcher.

Angelina nodded in agreement as Mardusk spoke of their role as security officers. As the first scene appeared again, she shifted in her chair to look around. Deep inside, her gut clenched because she had second guessed herself and chosen the President. Her initial reaction had been the transport for reinforcements. But she feared the President could be used to harm far more than the mere crowd before her.

Next stage..” and the scene shifted to the room.

“Again… our duty is mitigation of risk. That device is an unknown factor, but it is obviously important enough to this group to try and activate it before you can intervene. So? Your priority is to not let that happen. You take the human first, deal with the rest as you can.” and he leaned back and looked at her.

She didn’t realize her bottom lip had slid between her teeth as once more, her gut had been overridden by her head. She hadn’t wanted to blow up, but had thought that because they were in a room, the man with the bomb wasn’t as big a threat because he certainly wouldn’t blow himself up.

“Your threat prioritization is for crap, Lieutenant. You only look at a scenario with a narrow scope. You have to look at the big picture… all the time. You have to be cognizant of how your choices are going to ripple out in the short and long term. And you have to be able to do that on fly. That’s how you become more than a securirty officer and you become an actual asset to the teams and duty stations you are assigned to.”

Mardusk, CoS

“I can’t guarantee I’ll get them right, but may I ask what the other two scenarios were, Chief? I understand I where I went wrong. Reinforcements were definitely needed in the first scenario. And in the second, I shouldn’t have wondered what building we were in. I was there to dissolve a threat and should have done it instead of guessing whether the man would blow himself up or not.” Again, the was no simpering or blaming. For that, she was personally grateful for to herself. She needed to remember that out here in deep space, missions and assignments were not always gonna be the walk in the park she was used to. And trainings here didn’t include long, involved Q&A sessions where what if and suppose were party of the discussions.

It pained her to realize how much of her actual security training was lacking. She also realized that whatever special assignment he had thought to offer her after this training was also gone. But if she wasn’t ready, she wasn’t ready. She’d learn. Of THAT she was certain. She learn and be ready the next time opportunity came around. “So how do I learn to stop over thinking the situation?”

Angelina
Security
(Hopefully not assigned mess hall duty lol)

“Stop tempering your instincts with your brain. I saw you pause both times… you had the answer but talked yourself out if it. Ttust your instincts. Lieutenant. They will get you out if trouble more than they get you into it.” The giant Orion stood up and looked down at the junior officer.

“Your instincts are solid. But your too wrapped up in your head. Learn how to take in what you see, decide what outcome needs to pursued… and then work for that from jump. And remember. We try to do the most good we can… for everyone.”

Mardusk, CoS

Angelina nodded. “Look after the most, not the immediate one. Yes, Chief.” It was visible on her face as she ran over the sims in her head. The Marines could have helped stop the Presidential taking. And they could have quelled the crowds and maybe even saved the kid. She had sacrificed them all for the sake of one man. And in the second scene, she had been sent in to stop whatever was happening. She shouldn’t have worried about the building or the why. She was there, so obviously there was a reason. Stopping the bomber would have saved more than merely the man behind the table. It possibly would have saved her, her team and whoever else was on the other sides of the walls. The Klingon and the Vulcan could have been removed by the team, or even stopped merely with the death of the bomber.

She pursed her lips as the scenes made more sense with Mardusk’s explanations of the ‘big picture’ behind them. And he was right, she had second guessed herself both times. She nodded her head after a moment as her vision focused back on the here and now, “Trust my instincts and remember to save more than the single individual. I will remember that.”

Angelina
Security