Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dagen Thor (CE) in Main Sim Undisclosed location Sir I am ready for my close up (CE)

Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Main Sim Undisclosed location Sir I am ready for my close up (CE)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dagen Thor (CE) in Main Sim Undisclosed location Sir I am ready for my close up (CE)
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
snip
As Thor backed the car into the stall he felt a bump as if he hit something solid. The perimeter alarms of the car did not go off and the car seemed to be fine. It was as if Thor hit an invisible wall for him. Leaning back in the seat, Thor would feel the soft, plush material of the seat suddenly felt hard like a brick wall even though his eyes were telling him the material should be velvety to the touch.

GM

“What the ..” he muttered, then looked around him. Calling up the perimeter sensor display Dagen looked for anything that may have contributed to this ‘bump’. A small welling of panic started to slide in. Not that he believed that this whole affair was real and that the over the top drama of the driver was remotely real, but he had personal pride involved here too. And what was with the seat? He asked as he leaned back. Crash systems would envelop the driver, not try to break their spine. Along with the sensor display he set the vehicle on a system diagnostic to try to see what had happened.

While that was going on he stepped out to see what had happened and IF the sensor camera displays were even correct. It may be a state of the art vehicle but if it’s not calibrated right then it was just another accident waiting to happen. Even though he was a tad afraid of ‘scratching the paint’ he did feel a small thrill of looking under the hood to see if he could fix it if he found anything wrong.
- Dagen

As Dagan popped the hood, he might be more interested in the slight distortion in the back of the car then what was actually under the hood. From the front looking back, it appeared as if there was a small refraction of light running through the car right behind Dagan’s seat where he felt the impact. It was subtle like when one looked at something from underwater. Only at the right angle could one see the bend in the light. Since they were not underwater it could only be from a holographic distortion on a portion of the vehicle.

GM

What was under the hood was impressive and he was thrilled with the idea of tinkering and getting his hands dirty (which was a bit of an oxymoron given that in any recent model there was hardly any grease to work with) but his last couple of years aboard the Genesis was such that he sought to identify anomalies and keep what was there going while thinking of ways to improve the systems. Thus it was that that distortion was curious to him and an anomaly. And any anomalies got his ‘spidey senses’ up - at least that was what Sticks said, his old roomate from the Academy so many years ago. Dagen had no idea why that phrase would stick with him so much given that he had almost no idea of what it was supposed to mean or originate from.

That said, he slipped away from the open hood to the place where this distortion was. Shifting his hand about it he tried to discern what it was that he was working with. Was it that they were in a holodeck that was having issues .. or a wide open space with .. wait, wasn’t someone working on a holo-projector earlier just before he saw Reia? That would suggest a larger set piece as it were and not requiring a dedicated holodeck. He moved around to see the angle at which he could see the problem better, going down to his knees to try to see through it. Would this be an escape path for him? To get out of there? Was that possible? He knew how to work the mechanics of a holodeck and use it, but not to necessarily know the physics of it down to crawling through this rabbit hole.
- Dagen, CE

Dagen’s hand would move through the distortion so that when Dagan looked at his hand, it was bent in the perfect 39-degree refractory angle. Visually it would appear as if his hand was broken at the wrists to achieve this angle but there was no pain or discomfort. This could be surmised that whatever was causing the distortion of light was operating at the same incidence of light traveling through water. At this angle, the light refracts out of the water into the surrounding air bending away from the normal.

Reflexively Dagen pulled his hand back at the first incidence of the ‘bend’ but then calmed and experimented further. Technology was at work here. He poked his head up and looked around the garage; this was something that one, he didn’t want anyone to catch him finding, and two, he was expecting more vehicles arriving which could bring in the greater incidence of point one, though as part of a potential program (?) it may not matter but if Broomhilda came by again it would be .. problematic.

As Dagan moved his hand around or inhaled he would find nothing to indicate they were underwater but physics was physics and some things were universal. If he was curious enough to go down the rabbit hole, Dagan would find the farther he reached, the more space there was behind the curious refraction. It would confirm his hypothesis that some sort of hologram was in use. He would also notice that his hand seemed to disappear the farther he reached back as if the distortion was like a curtain on a window where one could not see behind the curtain but there was definitely a wall behind it. How big the space was behind this holodeck “curtain” was unknown.

GM

Seeing himself more clear, Dagen explored his options. There was space beyond which, to him hinted at null space beyond the program - or he may step from one ‘set’ to another .. for that matter, he mused, into Reia’s boudoir. Wouldn’t that be something! He cast that thought away for now. If nobody else knew this distortion and possible bolt hole existed then he would keep it a secret. But was it enough to crawl through to pass beyond? Before getting up he looked around again. He may look to peek through if he had another minute free … then try to find others of the crew to inform them.
Dagen

It took Calvin about ten minutes to determine where Dagen was on the mansion grounds. He could be just as charming as his officers cleaning the room and passing out snacks. Entering the room, his voice was amplified like a megaphone on the concrete wall and floor. “Dagen where the hell are you,” Calvin bellowed scanning the room for his engineering chief.

Calvin Marius CO.

Not having seen anyone just yet, Dagen knelt down to have another look at this holographic anomaly. Of course, it would just have to be that as soon as he had knelt down to have another look, there would be the sudden sound of the Captain calling out to him. Startled he smacked his head on an angled portion of the rear of the car’s side. It was a glancing blow on a smooth surface but still elicited a brief yelp, thus helping the captain pinpoint where he was. A second or so later his head emerged from between two pricey vehicles, his hand rubbing at the back of his head. Surprised to say the least it took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Sir, I ..” when did he arrive here? Standing, then swaying briefly until he settled his swimming head he continued, “We appear to be in a complex holo-experience.” He glanced down. “I was just investigating a glitch in the program.”
- Dagen, CE

“Holodeck program,” Calvin asked confused and irritated. He did not doubt his CE. The man was brilliant but Calvin was having a hard time wrapping his head around the announcement. “How did you figure this out and what is your plan to fix it?” As a CO, Calvin tended to be more of a macro manager with his superior officers. He had to trust them to do their job and rely on their experience in each of their fields. Calvin understood the mechanics of holodeck engineering but he was not the real expert.

GM

“Earlier I was taken on a brief tour. When Bailey and I beamed out to go to Sickbay after her accident, we both woke up here. She was fine.” When Dagen said ‘fine’ his tone had a certain puzzlement to it. “A particularly sharp woman who was full of veiled threats should we not comply to our roles here gave us a brief tour. I saw Reia briefly. But in that tour, Captain, I saw one other engineer working on a holo projector.” Which seemed odd being a holo projector inside a holodeck like thing unless it was in the simulation but a hard copy. “Then when I was in the garage here I saw this.” He knelt down next to the distortion. “This is a classic program glitch. Holodecks don’t usually have them because they are limited in size but open air or large scale holodecks can experience this. It’s usually either a projector micro-element out of synch or a programming glitch, possibly a power projection misalignment. But there is space beyond.”
- Dagen

“How big of a space? Have you explored it yet? Can we use it to get us out of here?” Calvin was peppering his CE with questions faster than the man could reply. Depending on his reply one of them might need to explore the space and the other run interference in case the Prim woman arrived to check on them.

Calvin Marius CO

Dagen waited for the Captain to take a breath. “Unknown. I reached through and didn’t hit a wall. Not yet. I poked my head up when you came.” He wanted to shrug but that likely wasn’t an action to take with the Captain. He seemed urgent in his questions so wondered what was afoot elsewhere. “I’ll scout ahead,” he said. Really, the Captain was more valuable than he was in any universe and it was important that he keep safe.

“Wait,” he started. He wanted to go first but that wasn’t how things were done since he became Captain, plus… “Go ahead, I don’t do well in small spaces.” Calvin glanced at his shoulders which certainly wouldn’t help him maneuver.

Feeling time was of the essence Dagen turned about and worked to scuttle through that distortion field. He was sure that it was just a glitch in the matrix and there was no danger to him in doing so. It was the other end that he wasn’t sure what he might find that could be the danger.
- Dagen

As Dagen crawled into the space he would feel initially like he was in a sensory deprivation chamber. There was not an ounce of light except for the small dim glow behind him coming from the small space he crawled through. As Dagen’s body slipped through it, the light seemed to shrink indicating that it was almost like a one-way window. Unless Dagen chose to attach an anchor or such, he might not be able to find his way back through. At least with Calvin on the other side, he could call out for help.

Dagen called back as he went through. “Dark ahead.” He glanced back. “I see only the light behind and dimming. I’d thought that it might just come out past the holo projection .. maybe hit a wall if we were in a holodeck.” His running commentary plus the sense that he didn’t hear the Captain push on behind him had him moving ahead.

“Ah, F#ck it.” Calvin pushed in behind him. Well if Dagen plummeted into a dark hole like Alice in Neverland he would have about 240 pounds of Marius right after him.

If Dagen found his bearings in pitch blackness and attempted to stand, he would find the space was at least as large as his height plus the addition of his hands reaching over his head. It would be possible to assume the space was at least as tall as the garage behind it. Walking forward however, would be like a fun house exhibit. Dagen had no idea how far the room went or when he would reach another wall.

GM/Calvin

He tested the waters, the dark waters. Why did it feel like him trying to navigate to the latrine in the dark at night with all its inherent hazards along the way? He took a couple more steps forward, reaching about and up. The space was a good size. Perhaps this was a reduction field around the holoprojection. He took a quarter turn to the right and looked back. Dark. But he did hear something. “Sir?” he said quietly.
- Dagen

“Yep,” Calvin stated as he brought up the flashlight to the side of his face clicking it on. It was strange how easily he slipped into the security and Marine role from his youth. While he did not mean to blind Dagen, the maneuver was a simple one most often used to catch the person lurking in the dark off guard. Instincts ran deep when one was a Marine on the front lines. Age and rank had only tempered them but never would they be extinguished.

While Calvin was not dressed as a Marine, that did not mean his current clothing wasn’t full of useful tools. Instead of a rifle, Calvin’s hand dropped down to a canister near his belt. Pulling it out he extended it to Dagen. “Hopefully the landscaping paint will glow. If not it can at least be our trail of breadcrumbs back to the exit.

Calvin CO

Dagen took the canister in hand and knelt to do a spurt onto the ground. He wasn’t, like the Captain, quite worrying about anything leaping out at them. If they were anything like them they’d have light as well - certainly any of their handlers were essentially humanoid. Standing back up he kept an eye on it to see if it did glow some once the light was away from it.

The paint did glow and would work as breadcrumbs to lead them back to the small entrance they used to enter this empty space

The light from Calvin’s flashlight seemed to be swallowed up by the inky blackness for about ten feet. After that, the flashlight seemed to strike something and scatter as if hitting something reflective. Walking forward Dagen and Calvin would find the light was striking a wall clearly bored out by a mining device. This explained the reflective kaleidoscope as the light from the flashlight bounced off the walls. Now the two men had a choice. Go right or go left. One direction would lead to a way out. The other would lead to an almost Mintaur-like maze in total blackness.

GM

Approaching the wall he ran his fingers along it. “Cave? Laser or plasma bores both to carve out and seal the walls,” he said. One of the odds and sods he learned from his time on OP42. “At least we have something to follow here.” He put a spurt on the wall itself to denote their starting point. Beyond that one direction was as good as another. “If it is a one to one ratio for spatial reckoning this would be one big cave to have that scenario happening. But if it’s condensed like in a holodeck the chamber may not be that big. Someone must be operating this. It can’t just go on in a vacuum.” He looked right into the dark, then to the left, then shrugged. “Right, sir?”
- Dagen

The assessment by the CE was correct in that yes they were in a man-made cave and yes one direction was as good as another. Taking a right allowed the two men to walk for about twenty feet before a door appeared in the rock. It was obviously placed there and confirmed Dagan’s experience that this was all man-made for some purpose. The controls on the door were not advanced indicating no one really had a concern about keeping the people inside the space. What would be more interesting than the lock on the door was the small nagging headache that seemed to grow in intensity the farther they walked away from the hologram they exited. Exiting the hologram it would have been barely noticeable but twenty feet from the hologram passageway, it was something that was evident to both men. The pain was centered at the temples and would be radiating out from that spot spreading to all over their heads.

GM