Training Day

Posted on Wed Mar 4th, 2026 @ 12:31am by Lieutenant Irynya & Lieutenant Commander Victoria Cross

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: Mission Day 7 at 1900

It was late in the day and after Victoria's day shift- but apart from the usual goings on of her duties and delegations, today was exciting - it was was finally the day she would help Irynya as promised. Victoria's busy schedule has meant finding the time was difficult, but after trying to clear some time in it, the woman decided to simply make the time - She could put off a class of Cultural Exchange and Bolian pottery. Irynya was newly promoted and needed her bridge certs- a small stepping stone for a go getter like her.

Victoria just needed to set the stage. A Bridge Officer's Test was rough. Hard decisions, pressing an officer to the best of her abilities.
The 2XO paced a perfect simulacrum of a mid-2360s Galaxy Class, one that most history buffs knew like the back of their hand. The setting was perfect for the training- and in no way inspired by a recent model kit that Victoria was building in her free time.

She exhaled and tapped her combadge, and stood from the Captain's chair, leaving behind a stoic Andorian captain with a short graying beard.

"Computer, buzz Irynya and ask her to meet me at the Holodeck for practice."

The meeting request reached Irynya just as she was finishing dinner. She'd taken herself to Debbie's avoiding the ongoing lingering temptation to stay holed up in her room when she didn't have anyone particular to meet. It wasn't that she didn't crave being around people so much as she didn't want to talk about the Kordra-Lisrit anymore. Folks were mostly good about avoiding the topic, but she still felt like a pariah--a feeling she wondered if the other 6 who had been abducted were also struggling with. She hadn't been able to decide if they were treating her with kid gloves or if it was all in her head.

Bridge officer training, though, was a welcome distraction and so she returned her tray to the replicator for recycling and made her way to the holodeck. The whoosh of the doors parting announced her arrival to anyone inside and she stepped through without hesitation, stopping just beyond the arch to take in the setting.

Galaxy class. 2360s. The bridge was all tans and beige with the large curved LCARS stations along the back wall and a similarly curved set of controls for security and tactical just behind the three center chairs -- the middle of which was occupied by a tall Andorian in command red.

A tingle of nerves settled in the pit of her stomach and she scanned the room for the 2XO, offering her a small smile when she saw her.

Victoria spun on a heel to greet Irynya, giving her a smile and a showman's "behold" to the simulated deck. "Lieutenant, today is a banner day for the starship [i]Denali[/i] as you're going to be taking the reigns. Captain Sh'rok has the control chair, and for the sake of the training exercise, I'm not going to explain what's coming in the schedule. You're whip smart, you're going to think on your feet and pilot this [i]Galaxy[/i] class tub to her destination."

She stepped over to the flight controls, and standing next to the console, swiped through her PADD. "Computer, flip a coin between Scenario A and B and forward the results to my PADD. Please make inertial feedback as realistic as possible within safety procedures."

The computer chirped. "Inertial dampeners are to within the range of a Galaxy class engineering schematics. Scenario decision relayed to your personal device."

Victoria looked it over and couldn't resist a chuckle. "Oh boy. Ok. Irynya, please use this time to ask any questions you want. The training session starts when you're ready. I promise, there's no Sense and Sensibility Klingons, if you've heard about that little fiasco."

It took her a moment to place the reference to the Klingons, but once she did she couldn't help a small chuckle. That program had, apparently, been the victim of an issue going around the ship at the time. She knew, both from reports and from any number of conversations with Noah, that it had since been well and truly fixed. She appreciated the attempt at a comedic break, though.

"In this scenario which of my bridge skills are the focus of the test?" she asked, moving to the helm console as she did and quickly glancing over the controls. It was a practice so she hoped that by knowing this she could focus on those areas and maybe break down where she had room to improve after the fact. Still, the fact that she was starting this one at helm gave her pause. She felt sure it couldn't be as simple as proving she could safely pilot a larger ship. "And, will we have a recording of this to review after?"

Victoria stepped in front of the console and spoke warmly, albeit by the book. "This training module is a modified one based on the one from Starfleet Academy. It'll focus on your adaptability, how well you handle pressure, and on the fly orbital mathematics with handshake to the helm's operational systems."

Victoria relaxed in her posture, and nodded.

"The session will be recorded, and if you like, I could have feedback from historical helmsmen and instructors projected in. The computer's data banks are pretty fantastic. For the duration of the training session, I will be present, but I'll be the yeoman. Should you need to stop and ask any questions, ask the computer to pause. No real danger or pressure! It'll be a fun challenge."

Nodding as she quietly considered the skills the 2XO listed, she let her fingers rest lightly on the old style LCARS console, familiarizing herself with the feel of the panel beneath her fingertips. "Ok," she answered, confirmation as much as acknowledgement. She took one last glance around her and then looked up at the tall blonde haired woman in front of her. "Might as well get started then."

Victoria gave her a warm, encouraging smile, and stepped around her to assume a station towards the back of the bridge, her uniform suddenly that of a lower ranking crewman- the Captain's yeoman.

She began to idly punch in sequences into the console. A cybernetically augmented human at Sensors stirred, "Captain, the M-Class planet in this system has issued a emergency call for aid."

Sh'rok spoke with a voice like a dusty old boot, fitting of his many years of service to the Federation. "Onscreen, Mr. Perry."

The forward viewscreen came to life with scenes of a colony on fire. A lupine humanoid with three eyes spoke with a frantic, desperate tone. "Starfleet! I am Yon Chavas of the Hedreen! Our people were celebrating our explorer corps foundation anniversary when our enemies, the Vsalamat, attacked our gathered fleets! Please, help us! They have firepower that is unlike anything they've ever fielded!"

"Don't worry. We will intercede on your behalf and investigate." Sh'rok motioned to Irynya. "Ms. Irynya! To the task. Warp 1.1 and prepare for evasive maneuvers."

"Yessir," the Risian called back over her shoulder. Her fingers were already in motion. Even on a less familiar console, the basic setup was there. "Warp 1.1." The holodeck, to its credit, did an excellent impression of a Galaxy class starship as it shifted to warp. It was a small thing, but Irynya appreciated it. She knew the feel of the Sojourner's deck plating beneath her feet as they moved to different speeds and could tell you which one was which almost by feel now. The Galaxy class vessel felt different adding to the somewhat surreal feeling of the scene. "Ready for evasive maneuvers at your command, sir," she added once she'd done the standard checks to confirm all was well as the ship jumped to warp.

"As soon as we drop out of warp, Helm. Tactical, I want scans of everything within range. Weapons fire, number of enemy vessels. Make sure the phaser banks and missiles are primed, focus on disabling versus destroying. Fire only if fired upon. Communications, prepare a open channel."

A Bolian at communications nodded and swiped through her console.

Three... two... one.

The ship dropped our of warp just as a ship exploded with a warp core disruption, cascading light across the viewscreen of the bridge. A number of Vsalamat vessels came on direct approach. "All active combatants, this is the USS Denali of the United Federation of Planets! We are requesting an immediate end to hostilities so we can mediate a proper end to this conflict! If you fire upon us, you will be disabled!"

Something was wrong. If Irynya was quick, she could catch something creating a wake as if it passed invisibly through the fireball of the destroyed ship. Something invisible.

True to its promise, the holodeck, simulated the effect of a nearby blast with vigor. Iry's station shuddered underneath her and the violent burst of light made her squint even as the viewscreen reacted to reduce the glare. Her fingers were once again already in motion, charting a path around the debris in their immediate vicinity and setting the appropriate impulse drive levels so as not to plunge them right into danger without an immediate heading. The larger vessel was slower to turn than the Rhode Island class Sojourner but turn she did and the Denali missed the brunt of the potential damage.

"Sir," Irynya called out over her shoulder, scanning the incoming nav reports and already mentally charting their next move, "There are 28, no... 27 Hedreen vessels." Much closer to the planet a smaller craft exploded as she spoke. "There are..." she paused, confirming her numbers, "only 17 Vsalamat vessels and..." she frowned.
"Maybe an 18th? I'm not sure sir. There's a wake... a signature through the wreckage of the ship that was just lost in front of us. It could just be an odd distortion, but it looks like the kind of effect made by a small craft. There's just... not one... there."

"Understood, Lieutenant, good catch! Looks like we're about to test ourselves, crew! Tactical, I want immediate gravitational scans to back up the helm-" Sh'rok stood. The old man did lightning fast equations in his head. The Comms Officer looked away from her console.

"Cap'n, Vsalamat hails!"

"On screen!"

A hairless, felinoid alien in a military uniform drew a ceremonial sword from her belt. "Captain Sh'rok of Starfleet! You interfere in a war ancient and justified! My people will claim Hedriis and bring glory to our new alliance! Retreat immediately or be fired upon! The blade is drawn! Do not let it taste blood, peacemaker!" She snapped, taking a seat in her command chair, sword slid into a slot in the armrest.

"New partnership. Tactical. Full missile spread and give us some space. Phasers on every available target, cycle between at full charge. Lieutenant Irynya, combat maneuvers."

The Vsalamat ships were a squadron of vessels maybe the size of a [I]Defiant[/i] class, with angular sharp hulls. Where they lacked in size. They made up for in number, as five ships now stood at the ready and began to scatter as photon torpedoes launched from the [I]Denali[/I] and exploded around the cluster. Shields visibly pulsed. Irynya had an opportunity.

Iry frowned at her console even as her fingers moved to initiate the maneuvers in question. It wasn't necessarily muscle memory--she'd only ever flown a Galaxy Class ship in a simulator like this one. Still, the helm controls were familiar enough that she didn't have to hunt for what she wanted--calculating angles and keying in adjustments as fast as the details were presented to her.

The squadron they had been trying to distract continued to scatter, breaking off into groups even as the torpedoes detonated off their bows, rocking them, but not attacking them directly.

Then she saw it. "Captain!" She called back over her shoulder before executing a particular complicated adjustment to the helm. "If we fire another spread we should go with a broad spectrum. Don't just aim for the ships but the spaces in between. If what I saw was a wake and there's a smaller vessel here somewhere, it may be hiding between the larger vessels. The torpedoes might light them up on our sensors for a moment.

Another adjustment flowed from her fingers, shifting them so that they were closing on the larger group of the scattering cluster. She chanced a glance back over her shoulder at the Andorian man, hoping for some kind of confirmation of next steps.

"Tactical, you heard her! Time to draw our guest from its hiding hole. Target the spaces in between and fire on my mark. Ms. Irynya, I'm going to need you to go into a evasive maneuver, try to get us around them. I know this ship is a bathtub in space maneuver wise, but we need to get her between the attackers and the evacuees. You're the expert and you have full maneuver authority on how to get this done - but get it done."

"Sensors are picking up-"

And with that, a shimmer. A ship decloaked. It was an Orion interceptor, fit for the era. "And she makes herself known. Didn't even need to smoke it out. Hail them. Irynya, engage maneuvers."

Once again her fingers seemed to move before her brain even registered what it is that needed doing. And, just as the captain had noted, the ship moved... but with the grace of cruise ship rather than a speed boat. The leading edge of the wide disc of her saucer section turned and then, with another tap of the flight controller's fingers, dove. Were there an up or down context to consider it would have seemed as if she were going straight down, tilted on the y axis in a direction that on first glance might appear to be moving away from the fracas.

Inertial dampeners flashed bright on the helm, indicating as they moved that they were working overtime to maintain operational levels. It was only a moment, though, and then the ship was tipping back up, this time at a slight arc, so that a moment later they were behind, rather than in front of, the smaller Orion vessel. Like a whale breaking the surface, the flight controller thought to herself wryly. The galaxy class was a top heavy thing. A few more taps and the ship was righting itself so that the leading edge of the saucer was pointed, correctly, toward the rear of the ship they were trying to move behind.

"Pause simulation." Victoria stepped forward, staring out at the Orion ship. The chaos of the battle was frozen in place, and the Galaxy class became something of an eerie quiet in an instant. "Chalkboard, Academy standard," She said quietly. A screen manifested to her left, Iry's right. With a stylus, she drew some holographic equations and long math, with sketches of the defended ships and the Orion vessel. "I'm curious about your reasoning here, Irynya. Not everyone thinks to use the xy axis in maneuvering in space, but you did, rather than a straight line or a orbital curve around the Orion interceptor. Why?"

She put the stylus down on the whiteboard.

"I also have the feeling in my gut that you're way more advanced than this kind of situation, but before I adjust things, I just wanted your thoughts on the maneuvering process."

At the pause Irynya's heart dropped, though her expression stayed calm except for a flicker of nerves that seemed to flow across it at the question. "It's," she frowned, and then started again. "Sometimes in close maneuvering it helps to apply the xy axis to your own perspective. It's not that an orbital curve wouldn't accomplish the same thing..." she watched the XO as she spoke, looking for clues of how her answer was being received, "...but the xy axis got us there faster by about half a second and when you're maneuvering against a much smaller and more nimble vessel a half a second can make the difference between an optimal line of reach for a tractor beam or a torpedo and losing the other ship entirely in the shadow of a larger one."

She chewed her lower lip for a quick moment before adding, "I didn't want to chance that the Orion vessel would put innocents between us and them."

Victoria flipped her stylus in the air and caught it with her free hand, pointing it at Irynya with a glowing smile. "Excellent. I see your reasoning. We are obligated to minimize harm when we can. Smaller crafts like the Hedreen transport shuttles aren't going to win stand up fights often because they can't take the threat from larger vessels. Most Starfleet ships can, and the inertia dampeners, shields, armored plating, it's wise what you've done. Better to take the black eye for a friend than let him take the blow. You have a good head on your shoulders."

"Computer." A buzz. "Load Cross simulation, Petrozavoid Irynya, Sojourner." The bridge was changed. Kodak was in the chair. It was the Sojo, complete with a simulacrum of Victoria and the other bridge crew. Ahead, in the view screen, were thousands of colossal jellyfish-like stellar life forms, collected in a wide sea of space. "These are Petrozavoid Star Jellies in the Kaku system, and they're in spawning season. For the next two hundred years, these animals will be leaving house sized eggs in the thousands across this binary neutron star. The sheer amount of electrostatic radiation created by these life forms are known to short out sensor arrays, and their mobility tendrils and natural propulsion mechanisms can be several miles across. Due to the radiation, you're going to get from here, in orbit of Kaku A, all the way to the Oort cloud to deliver a scientist to a biological research station. Can you plot a hazardous blind course and react to sudden changes?"

The change was sudden, but also familiar -- an odd disjointed feeling between knowing that they were in a simulation and recognizing where she sat down to the grooves in her very familiar seat. The surround in front of her was, as Cross had said, throwing error after error indicating that navigational sensors were glitching and radiation was creating ghosts in the read outs. The Risian's grin was broad. Her eyes gleamed with the recognition of a challenge. "Do we have historical star charts for this space between us and the Oort Cloud, Commander?" she inquired. "The more recent the better."

Victoria held up two sets of data in the form of holographic maps. "I do, actually. Do you want the one from 2399, made by the Daystrom cartographer Andre Peralta, truly a meticulous, careful star mapper like there hasn't been in our generation? Or maybe the one from 2290 sensor sweep from the USS Queen Sarah? Incomplete, missing two entire planets," Her eyes wiggled, "and the asteroid belt caused by a rogue planetoid impacting a moon in 2325? I know you can do it with the older map. I'm not saying that to pump you up. I know it because I know it. It's 71 degrees in here, mate, and I know you can put this boat through the eye of a needle should you be pressed to do so."

Irynya frowned slightly at that before reminding herself that piloting was not the only or even necessarily the primary thing to be measured here. So perhaps there was a right choice in this instance--one that demonstrated adaptability... coolness under pressure... But good sense suggested that she take the Daystrom map. It was the most current and would leave the least amount of room for error plotting her course without navigational sensors while endeavoring not to hit a space jellyfish. Lips pursed, she twisted them to the side considering one second longer before answering. "I'll take Peralta's map," she said.

"Excellent. Excellent. The mission before pride, I say. There's plenty of opportunity to showcase your skill, plenty of opportunities to maneuver this multi-tonne starship in ways nobody has ever done, but every time you touch those controls at that console, everyone's life is at stake. I'm extremely happy you're well trained enough to understand this." She uploaded the maps to the woman's console, "I undersold how great Peralta was, though. If anyone's a hot shot, he's it." She snickered. "But ok. Back to the mission."

The colossal space-jellies weren't mapped on the stellar map, but virtually everything else was. There was asteroids tracked with a tracking algorithm in the computer, the ruins of a moon that had been shattered to smithereens by an impact two generations ago, and a derelict among them of an old Pakled towing scow, for some reason. Victoria stepped back to her place behind the Captain's section and watched the viewscreen, before back to her PADD. She swiped her fingers and tapped a button.

"Yellow alert," Holographic Kodak alerted the bridge. The system buzzed. "Ms. Irynya, please, steady as she goes."

Hazel eyes scanned the map, drinking it in and calculating the clearest routes before space-jellyfish were a known issue. Around her the bridge's normally neutral gray tone shifted, golden bezels lighting the space to indicate the change to yellow alert.

"Aye sir," Iry acknowledged, slowly engaging 1/4 impulse in the direction she'd determined was their best shot. "Tactical, can you put out a deflector ping ever 3 seconds? Use it to light up the jellies on our map?" She hoped the solution might work, though it wasn't something she'd ever tested. With sensors down, though, something like sonar seemed better than relying on the view screen to adjust their course.

Tactical did as requested - and for a heartbeat, there was nothing, and then a myriad of pings ahead on the map. To say hundreds would be an understatement. Like a great throng of birds, they cut an organic pathway through the system, at least the distance of several orbital units. Some were bioluminescent and gave off energy warnings in the sensor feedback, some were just blips, moving slowly with the solar wind. Victoria looked over her console as a holographic version of herself ran a series of procedures on the deflector array, ensuring it had the schedule to ping every three seconds on the button.

The great migration was beautiful.

Iry had the briefest of moments to appreciate what was in front of her and only half a moment more to regret that she wouldn't be able to spend more than that taking it in. But alien interstellar beauty or not her job was to get them safely through it on the other side. As the ping of the deflector died, the information slowly faded out to be replaced a mere moment later with fresh data showing the direction and movement of the jellies.

"Alright folks," Iry told the assembled holographic crew. "Here we go," and with a quick swipe of her fingers across the console, the Sojourner turned, skimming underneath the lingering long tentatcles of one jelly before pulling up and barely passing against the side of another. It was grueling, detail-oriented work that required focus and regular recalibration.

And it was slow. Painfully slow.

Slow it was. Victoria stood at her post, managing the energy to the deflectors and maintaining the schedule of pulses as ordered. Refocus. Recalibrate. Refocus. Recalibrate. With one hand, she maintained the rhythm, and with the other, she reached over to another console near her, tapping and typing quickly with all of her digits to pull up a fast-learning pattern recognizing program in the system to help her automate the process. "Helm, deflectors are running like the waves of a beach, smooth and clockwork."

"Good to hear," Irynya answered, pitching her voice so it would carry back over her shoulder to the ops console behind her. A jelly loomed immediately ahead of her and she nimbly dodged it, working hard to keep the ship's hull from touching the creature as they passed within only a few meters of its side. The proximity set off a series of alarms on her console, all of which she quickly minimized. They were important, but not as important as the navigational work she was already deeply engaged in. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had to navigate with this level of detail, unassisted by the navigational sensors. Possibly as far back as the Academy.

Victoria looked between a screen on her console and stepped over to tactical, peering over a shoulder, and checked her tricorder, double checking on something. She waited thirty seconds, and spoke. "Irynya, put yourself in Kodak's seat for a moment. Tell me how you feel about the current command, about how the Sojourner is doing in this obstacle course?" She returned to her Operations post and used the data from her tricorder to adjust something in her program. "Computer, ensure we have enough power in the deflector array to maintain a pulse every three seconds."

"Power systems at stable output. Scheduled pulses are able to be maintained for another one hour and forty three minutes before a pause is necessary."

The Risian frowned, still making minute calculations and manual adjustments to the console in front of her. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Do you mean literally in his seat or just that you'd like me to reflect on the command implications?" A few quick flicks of her fingers shifted the view ahead of them as a jelly loomed ahead of them and she moved them to slide past its starboard side.

"No, no, no. Not in his seat. You know what, I'm just going to say it. A while ago, you told me we never really have a grasp of what we're going into until we're in it. That's something that's taken root in my thoughts a little, and the 'flying by the seat of our pants' thing. Command is a extremely difficult job that needs confidence and keen skills in improvisation, and I think that you've got the skills for both in spades. I feel I tested you with the surprise Romulan warbird and the conflict situation, but you didn't even flinch! You're great! A prime candidate, even. I'd bet my boots I couldn't get you off your game even if I threw a Q or the Borg at you in the simulation."

Irynya snorted at the last, but a small appreciative smile settled on her lips. She hadn't, however, taken her eyes off of her console, listening, but not willing to pause until Cross told her the simulation was done. A flick of her fingers sent the Sojourner twisting toward the port bow to avoid a jelly that had diverged slightly from the earlier course it had appeared to be on. "Thank you ma'am," she answered as she entered another adjustment. "I'm not sure I'm ready to face the Borg at their best, but I appreciate the confidence."

"Well, theres no risk, seeing as it's a simulation. We can try an escape plan with a Borg Cube, if you're keen? Also, I'm not really quite sure anyone's prepared to face the Borg at their best. I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think anyone was. Picard, Janeway, it was really rough for them. That's the problem with hive minds, they're quick and they adapt to situations very, very quickly, and any one of us is clever, but we're not more clever than six, seven million minds working together at once. But I ramble, Leftenant. You're doing marvelous on the course."

Whether her face was enough in view for Cross to see or not, Irynya's smile shifted toward appreciation. "Thank you ma'am," she said. "Should we run it through to completion?"

"Steady as she goes, Helmsman." Victoria stepped away from the operations console and shoved her hands into her pockets, stepping up a step to walk up to the simulated viewport. The sea of jellies moving in the stellar wind, with nary a care in the world. She stood silently for a good while, and turned back to Irynya with a smile.

Irynya's fingers continued to dance across the console. A minute shift here. A small correction there. To her the jellies were barely sensor data. She couldn't take the time to look up, but after a moment of adjustments she glanced quickly at Cross. "Aye, sir," she responded warmly, and then went back to her work.

---Training With---

Lieutenant Commander Victoria Cross
Chief Ops Officer / 2XO

Lieutenant Irynya
Chief Flight Controller / Bridge Command Hopeful