08-13-2026, 03:59 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2026, 04:14 PM by Ethan Diaz.)
Ethan was still rifling through the contents of his pack when a voice greeted him from behind.
"Hi! Kalli Thorn."
Ethan turned around to find an attractive, dark haired woman offering her hand. She was about a head shorter than him and looked vaguely familiar. Yes, that's right--she was a senior engineer, he'd seen her on the bridge just yesterday. He was also pretty sure she'd been at the party too. Kalli was perhaps a bit young to be the Chief Engineer, but if she had bridge clearance and worked staff duty, then she obviously knew her stuff and had the captain's confidence. It stood to reason she definitely outranked him too.
Ethan shook her hand. "Good morning, ma'am. Ethan Diaz."
Kalli's smile only grew wider. "You up for this? I would really rather not have to carry you out of that cave, but if I had to carry out Commander Talion, it wouldn't be the first time and you don't look like you weigh more than he does."
"Yes, ma'am," Ethan lied. "I can hold my own. I've been waiting for a chance to properly try this place out. Looks like I'll be getting the full experience today."
In Ethan's defense, it was only a white lie; the mission generally didn't seem like it would be terribly difficult. Get to the caves, locate the commanders, get them out. The only real challenge would be the spelunking--more specifically, navigating potentially deep water with little to no light.
He definitely wasn't looking forward to that part, but it did give him an idea. The hologram of Commander Velaul had told them that each member of the group could bring one additional item to help in their search. Ethan made a mental note to request a headlamp equipped with a night vision scope before they set off. If they were going underground, it would definitely come in handy. He just hoped he didn't end up as the weak link for whichever team that picked him. Frankly, if things went bad enough that he somehow ended up needing to be carried out, as Miss Thorn had jokingly suggested, Ethan would probably resign his commission right then and there.
He looked at Kalli again. "Looks like we've got quite the journey ahead of us. Has the XO ever put together something like this before? I'm not an expert on this holodeck stuff by any means, but the program seems pretty--expansive."
== Tag Lt. Thorn ==
"Hi! Kalli Thorn."
Ethan turned around to find an attractive, dark haired woman offering her hand. She was about a head shorter than him and looked vaguely familiar. Yes, that's right--she was a senior engineer, he'd seen her on the bridge just yesterday. He was also pretty sure she'd been at the party too. Kalli was perhaps a bit young to be the Chief Engineer, but if she had bridge clearance and worked staff duty, then she obviously knew her stuff and had the captain's confidence. It stood to reason she definitely outranked him too.
Ethan shook her hand. "Good morning, ma'am. Ethan Diaz."
Kalli's smile only grew wider. "You up for this? I would really rather not have to carry you out of that cave, but if I had to carry out Commander Talion, it wouldn't be the first time and you don't look like you weigh more than he does."
"Yes, ma'am," Ethan lied. "I can hold my own. I've been waiting for a chance to properly try this place out. Looks like I'll be getting the full experience today."
In Ethan's defense, it was only a white lie; the mission generally didn't seem like it would be terribly difficult. Get to the caves, locate the commanders, get them out. The only real challenge would be the spelunking--more specifically, navigating potentially deep water with little to no light.
He definitely wasn't looking forward to that part, but it did give him an idea. The hologram of Commander Velaul had told them that each member of the group could bring one additional item to help in their search. Ethan made a mental note to request a headlamp equipped with a night vision scope before they set off. If they were going underground, it would definitely come in handy. He just hoped he didn't end up as the weak link for whichever team that picked him. Frankly, if things went bad enough that he somehow ended up needing to be carried out, as Miss Thorn had jokingly suggested, Ethan would probably resign his commission right then and there.
He looked at Kalli again. "Looks like we've got quite the journey ahead of us. Has the XO ever put together something like this before? I'm not an expert on this holodeck stuff by any means, but the program seems pretty--expansive."
== Tag Lt. Thorn ==