Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vanessa Slade (CNS) in How to Make a Counselor Mad as Hell
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Holodeck entrance the next day
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Vanessa stood outside the holodeck and for the first time in weeks was actually there before the set time. She wore the camo shirts Calvin had suggested and dark pants. She had pulled her hair up in a high ponytail making her vaguely look like she was an extra in a comedy holo-movie about a security officer than an actual security officer. It did not help the visual any more when Vanessa pressed her body against the tan wall of the corridor and hollered out, “can you see me” as she stood still watching Calvin approach, “because no one is going to miss you even in camouflage.”

“You’d be very surprised on how well camouflage works. Also standing still and not visibly breathing.” He moved two fingers in front of his face. “The eyes are drawn to motion like the ears are drawn to sound. Once you have someone’s attention, they lock into you. Thats why the where’s waldo books are so hard. Waldo, being a picture, never moves or makes a sound making the red striped person impossible to find. Imagine if Waldo was dressed like everyone else… you’d never find him.”

Pushing off the wall Vanessa stared at him in rapt attention. Half of it was her secretly gawking at how good he looked but the other half was processing his words. “I am glad you are on my team,” she nodded listening to him. Calvin was not doing this half-arsed which is exactly what Vanessa and her team needed.

Calvin was an impressive form walking down the hallway. Calvin spent a lot of time in the gym and the typical duty uniform did a great job of masking what the phaser tag shirt displayed prominently. The cut of the shirt was meant to be fitted and showed just how well-defined his arms, chest, and shoulders were. It was not just his build however but his pace and stride. It exuded confidence and authority. Calvin might not be in command but he was still a commanding presence. “Nice guns,” she said with a smirk staring at his biceps before following up with, “so that is what we are using instead of the paintball ones,” she nodded to the equipment he was carrying.

Vanessa Slade CNS

He pointed at his skull. “This is the most important weapon.” He said as if he were lecturing at a school.

Now a days the phaser tag sensors were unblockable. So the little tricks like covering them with your hands wouldn’t work. But something like an old school shield would work on the light sensors. It wouldn’t help with a real phaser blast… but that’s the difference in games. “So can I bring a barrier with me during the encounters?” He questioned.

Marius

“Wait there are shields for this game?” Chewing her lip, Vanessa began to realize almost immediately how little she knew about the rules of the game and how Marius was going to be the quintessential ringer for the team.

“In an old engagement I used a serving plate, like one of those things in the dining hall. Weighs nothing and obviously light can’t go through it.” Calvin raised an eyebrow watching Vanessa process his question. It was becoming more and more apparent as to why her team did not seem able to win a match. They were not using shields and dressed in uniforms like they were tourists headed for a vacation on Risa and not for camouflage.

“You use cover all the time when you hide behind walls or trees. In this case we are moving the cover with us.”

If Calvin ever questioned who to not put on a tactical away team the list moved Slade’s name to the top.

“Absolutely we can use them,” she stated as her hand hit the door control opening up the holodeck.

“Um hmmm,” he said.

The room was still the black walls with the sensors indicating the program wasn’t running yet. Walking over to the console she began to explain. “Okay, so we are in a public game of sorts. Since we aren’t all dirtside, we are hooking up to a relay system that will transmit what we do to a mainframe and then send it out to everyone. You know like when you game on an IFEA F-Box. Same principal basically.” After inputting the correct program, Vanessa stopped and looked at Calvin with a concerned expression on her face.

“Sure, makes sense.” He never thought they would get together physically. “What’s the problem?” He questioned. “Is this where you tell me that we can’t use weapons,” he joked.

“Calvin,” she stopped talking and licked her lips pausing to gather her thoughts. It was clear she was nervous about something.

“These people we are about to play with are arseholes. If it gets to be too much or you want to quit in the middle I get it and I swear I will not hold it against you…for too long,” she let out a chuckle before turning serious again. “Just don’t leave me out there hanging without a heads up…okay. We are counting on you but,” she gave him a way out, “don’t let them see you rage quit. You might not have to come back but I will. Oh and just ignore Todd. In fact, if you could kick Todd’s arse or toss him off a holographic cliff during the game I will make it worth your while.”

Touching a button on the wall, the room changed from non-descript walls to that of a forest with thick pines, moss-covered stones, and a leaf-littered floor. Over at a table were three of four middle school-aged kid dressed all in black. Looking over at Vanessa and Calvin, one of the kids pulled out a PaDD and began to play a song. It was an irritating diddy by The Klingon band the Descendants that was popular among teenage slackers. If the tune wasn’t annoying enough the lyrics being sung by presumably the opposing team made it so.

You know it’s kinda hard just to get along today
Our subject isn’t cool but she fakes it anyway
She may not have a clue and she may not have style
But everything she lacks well she makes up in denial

Reaching over and grabbing Calvin’s wrist she whispered, “Don’t let them see you are scared of them.”

Vanessa Slade CNS

“Computer freeze program,” Calvin barked out and looked at Vanessa. “Slade are you telling me Star-Fleet officers, that have gone through basic, have been getting crushed by a pack of middle school gamers? Is that who you threatened to hunt down four hours ago at lunch? A bunch of snot-nosed kids?” He pointed at the frozen field with a thick finger.

“Calvin they are vicious like honey badges with rabies. They are also like Borg. They just keep coming with no care about your welfare. They don’t care if you have to tie your shoe or if you get a comm call or if you skin your knee. And they say such mean things.”

He tilted his neck back and forth. She could hear the joints crack. “Well they are small which makes them half the size…” He tried to come up with excuses.

“They are going to think we are old and slow…” which they were in comparison. He looked over the field with a practiced eye. “Take that ridge. Its about halfway between us. If we run full out we’ll be in position before they will and then they will walk right into us. Let’s turn this meeting engagement into an ambush. When they fall back… translate to turn and run to get space, don’t let them up. Charge after them. They can’t run and shoot over their shoulders at the same time.”

“Can you,” Vanessa suddenly felt a rush of anxiety and admiration along with a healthy rise in her libido as her mind took a turn from reality to fantasy. No longer was Calvin standing in the black and camo shirt explaining how they were going to take out the other team with logical tactical precision. In her mind he was already crossing the field, shirtless, with a weapon pointed back at the enemy along with one pointed forward clearing every possible point of attack screaming follow me. For the first time since joining the Genesis, Vanessa wished he was not Captain Calvin but Marine Calvin.

“Kind of,” he was pretty good at shooting on the move. Forward was easy enough. Shooting over the shoulder was mostly impossible, but one could pivot 180 and fire a few rounds and twist back into the run with a little experience and practice.

“After we crush them in the first round they won’t fall for that twice.”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded still wearing the expression as her mind imagined Calvin pulling his canteen and taking a deep drink as she stared at his biceps the size of tree trunks. “Do we have to do that in the first round?” It was not that she did not want to win the game. It was more that she wanted to see more than one round of the game with Calvin in it.

Calvin CO

A loud air horn-like sound reverberated in the space indicating that while Calvin had checked them out of the game for a moment, the game had not stopped. “Oh my god,” Vanessa blinked pulling out of her daydream. “Computer unfreeze program,” she snapped and took off running at the ridge Calvin had indicated minutes before.

To the occupants of the game, it would appear as if Vanessa beamed into the game however much like Calvin had surmised, the competition was not prepared for Vanessa to immediately begin the game. They were still sitting at the picnic tables with their faces buried in their personal communicators oblivious to the digital world around them. “To the ridge,” Vanessa yelled out waving her hand in a forward motion to the spot Calvin had designated.

Vanessa Slade CNS

“What the ever-loving hell,” Calvin responded and began running after her a split second later. His longer strides had him next to her in four steps. He didn’t really seem like he was running that fast as he kept his upper body fairly steady it was a curse of his very heavy upper-body but it help keep his weapon steady. “First rule in tactical engagement is not to tell the enemy where you are going,” he snapped out grabbing her shoulder and pulling her slightly to the right at they ran to avoid being hit already.

Now they would have to move even faster. If those little rug rats heard them they would be on to the plan and they might be able to beat them to the spot. Hopefully they would not expect them to be running to their objective, anyone could/would want to take the ridge… that didn’t mean they would all run like mad men/women to get there.

Calvin Marius