Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in side - sim: Out of the Frying Pan

Posted by Fleet Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in side - sim: Out of the Frying Pan

Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in side - sim: Out of the Frying Pan
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Shedda tipped her head to the left, considering but it only took a moment. “I was studying the temple ruins in Carcoln Gap on Thoveiturn. I had spent a month trying to figure out the Slioskiolt. Once aligned and struck correctly the sound continues until one of the Slioskiolt is moved. The harmony and vibration is the most serene sound…feeling I’ve experienced. I sat there for hours, just listening.”

Mal’athar, XO

“Then hang onto that. When the fecal excrement meets the rotating blades, you need to be able to hang onto something that keeps you centered.” Alex said as they arrived at Holodeck 3. Walking in, it appeared they had stepped onto the Manhattan’s bridge, complete with current crew. As they entered, the simulation began and the crew nodded to Mal’athar. “All systems green, Commander.” the helm operator said. Cochrane moved and took the XO’s chair. He looked at his XO and said ” Captain, the ship is yours.”

Cochrane, CO

Shedda didn’t grin, but she wanted to. She wasn’t captain yet, but she was going to get there. “Thank you, Grt’jad,” she replied to their helm operations officer. She made her way over to the center chair. It wasn’t the first time she had sat there, but it was weird having Alex on her right rather than her left. All systems green so whatever the situation was, it hadn’t started yet…or it had and she wasn’t aware of it. “Lt Grt’jad do you have our course plotted?”

“Yes, Cmdr.”

Shedda turned to look up at the tactical station, “We have clear skies, Chief?”

Mal’athar, XO

“Course is plotted and ready for your command, Skipper.” the helmsman replied. “No contacts, Captain.” came the response from tactical. Cochrane looked at Mal’athar and said “Ready when you are.” and he grinned.

Cochrane, CO

“Alright Grt’jad take us out of here, 3/4 impulse and once we’re clear take us to warp 6.” Shedda sat back in the chair and flipped the consoles on the command chair open and watched the readings. The Captain was grinning far too much over it all. Whatever was coming she was absolutely certain she was going to fail, but she’d learn from it. “Let’s see where we’re going on the screen, chief.”

Mal’athar, XO

It was hours… almost four passed before the bridge disappeared and the two Command officers were left standing alone in the holodeck. In that time there was a power fluctuation and sensors did pick up an unidentifiable vessel at long range, but it left quickly.

The power fluctuation was ordered to be analyzed and fixed by engineering and long range scans of the vessel were made before it disappeared. On the real bridge the time would be passed in conversation business or otherwise. The bridge crew was well acquainted and used to working with each other. The holographic crew left much to be desired for passing quiet hours in space. But after almost four hours of sitting on a holographic bridge where Shedda thought Cochrane was trying to determine how long he could get her to stay awake and not blink. Her water bottle was empty a couple hours ago. She needed coffee. A LOT of coffee, with even more caffeine in it…oh right, she drank decaff and the stuff that tyrant in the mess had she refused to drink. At this point her refusal was just sheer stubbornness.

Cochrane smiled and said “Thats enough for today. See you tomorrow, 0530 Commander. Oh, and lesson one… combat is rare. Don’t spend your whole time focusing on it. Sometimes we will be in here together, sometimes it will be just you. And not every time will be a combat simulation. I may throw non-combat scenarios at you. So… just go with the flow and do the job as best as you can.” and he patted her arm and chuckled before turning to leave.

Cochrane, CO

Shedda just nodded and watched as Alex left. Then she went and found way too much to do for the rest of the day. Anything that was not sitting on the bridge. She was at the holodeck at 0525 the next morning, thermos in hand. She checked to see if the program was running and then tried the door.

Mal’athar, XO

The door opened and the program was running. Cochrane wasn’t present, but the beginning of the sim was almost identical to the previous day.

Cochrane, CO

Shedda stepped onto the bridge and made her way toward the duty officer, “Status report?”

Mal’athar, XO

“Everything operating within normal paramet-” the Conn Officer replied when a yell came up from the tactical station. “Captain! Three Vor’cha-class Klingon vessels on an intercept course! Weapons powering!”

Cochrane, CO

“Raise shields, have weapons ready but don’t arm them yet. Helm prepare for evasive maneuvers. What is our current location?” Were they somewhere they should not be?

Shedda turned to the com officer, “Hail them.”

=/\=Klingon Vessels, this is the Federation Star Ship Manhattan. We are a scientific vessel on an exploratory mission.=/\=

Mal’athar, XO

There was no response from the Klingons, and the helm reported they were nowhere near any claimed space. The tactical officer said “Weapons hot, Captain!”

Cochrane, CO

“Helm evasive maneuvers, get us clear, set a course and get us out of here, maximum warp. Tactical target their engines I want them dead in the water, but we don’t fire first.” Run? Yep Shedda was not going to risk ship and crew with her tactical skills against 3 other ships. Klingons fought even when defeat was certain. The Vor’cha-class vessel was a power house of a Klingon fighting ship and though had been replaced by the Negh’Var warship, they were still one of the most powerful ship designs out there. If the Klingons were defending something they didn’t want found, then they wouldn’t follow, if they did follow then Manhattan would have to fight.

Mal’athar, XO

The sim suddenly froze and a clap came from behind her.

Mal’athar glanced around as everything froze and then a clap. Well she either screwed up spectacularly or passed this particular scenario. She turned to look at Cochrane as he fully appeared at the back of the bridge.

Cochrane stood at the back of the bridge and said “Perfect! That was hands down the most tactically sound decision you could have made. You are outgunned, outmatched, and way out of your league ship-wise. Solid reasoning and on the fly, as well. Well done, Commander.” and he stopped clapping and came down to the center chair. “One of the most important skills you can develop as a tactician is to quickly and accurately assess your enemy and their capabilities. Know ships. Know important ship names and who commands them, and then learn about the commander. File it away in your head and keep it current. That will win you more fights than anything else.”

Cochrane, CO

Mal’athar nodded. She’d lucked out knowing about that particular class of ship. She knew them of course, but not enough to feel confident in making that decision so quickly again. She’d make it a point to study. She was curious though, “What would you do if they followed? We’re still massively out gunned even if only two followed.” And given that Manhattan was a science vessel it would be a close thing with only one. It wasn’t a matter of borrowing trouble, just an opportunity to learn how Cochrane thought. The simulation hadn’t progressed far enough that she’d gotten scan results from science. She supposed there was always a nebula or star or something they could hide in. That always seemed to be the way, but what if there wasn’t?

Mal’athar, XO

Cochrane gestured to the center chair and sat in the XO spot. “Good question. First and foremost, even with as big as the Manhattan is, and she does pack a punch if need be, we would stand almost no chance in a fight against a single Vor’cha-class. Klingon ships are built to fight first, do everything second. Hell, even their diplomatic vessels have more firepower than most of our frigates. As to how I would fight them? Simple… I wouldn’t. Even if they followed. I’d try and lose them if I could. If I couldn’t, thats when you have to get creative and really know your own ship. So the Manhattan possesses one of the most powerful computer cores in the fleet. And we have entire suites of computer programmers and engineers. So when I first arrived, I tasked them with designing and building a deployable ECM suite that we could use to harass enemy vessel’s systems so we don’t have to engage as a first or even second option. Now, that will be a risky task considering interfacing with unknown species systems, but thats why I wanted it deployable. And isolated probe we drop and let it do its thing. Never fight unless you absolutely have to, Commander. No one actually wins. Between damage and loss of life… any fight is just varying degrees of losing.”

Cochrane, CO

Shedda sat and she listened. The deployable ECM was something she hadn’t been aware of. She’d spent time learning from Faye before she left, and so Shedda was aware of the things she had programmed into the system and what the Manhattan computer was capable. Shedda also knew what their computer science officers were capable of. ‘Hacking’ wasn’t something that she had considered as tactical. She needed to broaden her idea base - throw the box out. Lesson learned, she’d remember and hopefully use that piece of information correctly. “Understood.” Manhattan was an impressive ship, but not a warship. Know ships, commanders, know ship specs and details. She had long nights of studying ahead of her. In that vein, “Alright, so I didn’t get far enough to identify specific ships, but was there anything about those that I should know? Other than they were Vor’cha-class, and all that means?”

Mal’athar, XO

Cochrane nodded. “There’s a ton. More than I can go over right here. But I want you to think about something… all information has multiple uses. And multiple perspectives. When you study a ship class, you aren’t just learning what it does… you are also learning what it can’t do. And that stuff isn’t in the manuals. Thats where you have to think about the specs you are learning. For instance, every intel manual you find on the Vor’cha class will tell you that their engine specs, turning radius, weapons, and so on. But it is up to you to extrapolate that data and think ‘OK, so they have tighter turning radius than the Pendragon class in the Federation fleet; but not as tight as the Ambassador. So, as long as I can out turn an Ambassador, I can out turn the Vor’cha. You have to balance all these separate categories in your head and be able to pull them up luke that.” and he snapped his fingers. “It a lot of hard work and study… and you might never need it. But if you do… there is no other substitute for it. More fights have been stopped by a sound tactical analysis than anything else. Being able to hail an opposing Caprain and address them by name? Tell them you know them such-and-such action? Let me tell you, Commander… dumb ship’s Captains will take the flattery. Astute ones will be wary to match wits someone who knows them by name and action. That is what I refer to as ‘Tactical Diplomacy’.”

Cochrane, CO