Practice Makes Perfect

Posted on Sat Jul 25th, 2026 @ 5:22pm by Lieutenant Commander Etan tar-Lexros & Captain Xavier Carey & 1st Lieutenant Kayleigh London & Ensign Sherri Element (Carey)

Mission: We are sick of this.
Location: USS Resolution, Deck 11, Holodeck 1
Timeline: En route to Mondair IV

Etan's newest holodeck program was running when he walked into the deck. It was, as far as the Computer or anyone with data could tell, a perfect recreation of the conditions the crew would find on Mondair IV, with the ability to potentially timeshift as needed. After all, it would be impossible once she ship was on-station to precisely go back in time to the emergence of Patient Zero - but this could tell them where it might have been, who it might have been, and why. Being able to examine the situation outside of hazard suits made things easier as well.

Those entering with him emerged into a space near the main colony compound which would be identical to what they'd find on Mondair IV. A set of tricorders linked to the Holodeck which would report the holographic simulations as "real" was passed out, and tar-Lexros began taking readings. "This is the main colony compound, where Doctor Rutherford indicated the highest disease incidence. The environment around us matches the last sensor readings from the colony, including all colonists and the weather."

Ensign Sherri Element walked into the holodeck, she had received the invite from Lt Commander Tar-Lexros had sent an invitation to anyone wanting to join him in a simulation for the next mission. Bringing with her was a padd which she was reading when she walked in.

Etan smiled when Ensign Element walked in, and handed her one of the reprogrammed tricorders. "Ensign, thank you for joining me. I've uploaded everything we have to the holodeck, so we can run through possible scenarios. Is there any detail you've been interested in studying on this?"

"Honestly, I need the practice, so throw what you have on me."

Kay came in wearing a marine training outfit and was curious how she could help out during this mission. Would it be as a bodyguard or did Etan need someone with some medical skills. "Good morning, sir." She greeted him politely and nodded to Element.

Etan nodded to Element with a slight smile, trying to encourage her. "Fair enough. I was hoping we might be able to run through some of the epidemiological projections and the current spread data to figure out what's causing this. And you'll be helping to work with the fighter wing to coordinate flyovers, so if there's anywhere you think would be best to put down probes, or anywhere to use as a centroid for the scan flights."

The Ops chief smiled more widely at Kay and handed her a tricorder as well, with a wider smile. "Between that and the holographic people having the personality data from what we know about the actual colonists, I was really hoping you could work with the Ops teams and the people as a crisis counselor to make sure that anyone who's resistant understands that we're here to help."

"Oh ok." Kay said taken aback a little. "Yeah sure I can do that, sir. I did a lot of training for that role when I was still serving with other marines."

Etan nodded at the others, and looked up. "Computer, begin simulation."

The colony came to life around them and the sick people started milling about around the Resolution officers. tar-Lexros looked at the others. "Let's see if we can figure out what's been going on here."

Kay decided to leave that to the more science and techinical minded members of the team. She immediatly started to comfort the sick but also keeping a clear eye to see if one of them posed a danger to their team. But there were so many that it was hard to keep track.

Sherri looked around, her job as a pilot would be to transfer, however, with the illness not yet determined the extent, she was unsure whether it would be wise to transfer to the ship.

Etan stood, and took readings, looking at Element who seemed a bit lost while Kay was off being a social butterfly (at least compared to him) with the simulated colony members. He had a thought and looked around, then approached her. "Ensign, these simulations were based on the most recent long-range scans of the colony and the planet. We know that the planet has been in a yellow-flag quarantine for a significant period of time, but they've only requested medical supplies and support. Can you take a look around and see if the simulation might show any evidence of non-Federation resupply ships, or unauthorized deliveries - and see if you can't figure out where they came from?"

"Aye sir." Sherri replied as she walked off into a direction. "Just how old are these scans?" She asked as she walked over to a water fountain. "The virus, do we know what kind, and how its transmitted. The drinking source would be a good source." Looking around, "If this is the main source of water... there would be something nearby if its artificial in nature, meaning someone planted the virus."

tar-Lexros nodded appreciatively at Sherri's insight, gesturing toward the fountain. "The computer built the simulation based on long-range scans rather than cached data. If it could be picked up, it was. It also did extrapolate based on the symptoms to generate the simulation. Let's check the water supply and the local area to see if there's any proof of tampering."

Taking a look around. "How do we know what is normal for the planet, and what is not. What we may think is normal, my be out of the norm for the locals."

Etan held up the PADD and showed Sherri, silently agreeing that her question was totally reasonable. "We have data going back to the establishment of the colony, up until the last scans from their resupply freighters and the long-range scans. If you think there's something missing that might help to define a norm, let's know it now before the shuttle touches down. You and Doctor Rutherford should know what you're going to walk into."